Your point about reincarnation is very interesting. You could even say that the people of Kaiba are partaking in a form of ‘active’ reincarnation; one that they (sort of) have control over and know the consequences immediately (and, importantly, remember). The karmic implications aren’t there but class and social mobility seem to replace it in terms of ascent/descent. I’d be interested to see if Kaiba deals with characters who have sentimental attachments to certain bodies, like mementos and such.

Another interesting point that relates to this (and has been alluded to in the show) is how the change in body can effect the mind. The haughty girl from the first episode who leaves her village once she gets a hot bod is a good example of this. The spurned boyfriend shouts out something akin to ‘you’ll always be a fat girl inside’ which encouraged all sorts of theorising on how the physical ‘encodes’ the cognitive/mental/whatever we call it. You could draw comparisons to people who get plastic surgery in reality – in some cases it causes people to do complete personality u-turns, and in others it does nothing to solve entrenched emotional problems.

Immortality is another major major issue in Kaiba, I think. There hasn’t been much said about it so far, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Kaiba (the character) is apart of some family or organisation that live forever. This is just wild speculation, but that triangle tattoo on his original body’s stomach seemed to be a respected insignia and suggestive of a very high social standing. But who knows. Kaiba whips up so much thought it’s easy to get in a muddle.

this episode is what got me into thinking about the mind and body duality issue and how ‘identity’ is perceived in this world — where the existence of both the external (body) and internal (mind) aspects of people are discounted as mere commodities. If your entire mind/consciousness were to be placed inside a chip, which can be so easily transferred to other people’s bodies, would you consider that to be representative of your identity (set apart from your physical self)? Are bodies mere containers of our consciousness then? It blurs this sense of individualism we ought to have as humans, the supposedly unity of the mind and the body and all that…

With the dualism present in Kaiba, it’s to no surprise that they believe in the concept of reincarnation (Chroniko firmly holds on to this belief too, as shown in this episode), where people’s memory chips are like these immortal souls which can continue to exist even after the death of its supposedly body. Now if only the rich can afford to have their memories uploaded into chips, switch bodies and all that, it also means they’re also the few privileged fucked-up ones who can continue to exist in this world for as long as they want. Until time finally comes that all that’s left in the world would be these corrupted individuals with their skewed sense of morality and humanity.

…and I can’t believe my comment became this long =.=;;; this is what revisiting philosophy does, it seems…

Your point about the commodification of people whipped a lot of ideas in my head with its astuteness. What you describe in Chroniko strongly mirrors the rationale of people who fight in wars. They want to sacrifice themselves to protect their country, they half-believe they won’t die for it, and most importantly they feel their actions will improve their homeland. I agree that it was hopeful that Chroniko acted out of genuine compassion, but the show was brutal in showing her how misguided she was. I guess you could draw the same cynical conclusion about those who fight in wars and how their countries don’t value their individual sacrifices. I wonder if Kaiba will deal with war in its run, actually . . .

Anyhow, thanks for the comment. It was like a mini-blog in and of itself :D

I like the point that you brought up about the kiddie [pron] visuals. It was this element of design that initially ostracized it from mainstream limelight. But I somehow get the feeling that Kaiba is intended to be [elitist] esoteric because even despite how it looks, the themes and motifs that it deals with are not for the casual viewer looking for light entertainment. Kaiba is like a kick in the balls for the contemporary anime with its intricate mechas and supernova explosions and shiny-sleek characters.

As for the disposability of human bodies: I think this aspect of human existence, the fact that the human body has been systematically commodified and incorporated into the universal market, points to something a little more hopeful [fucked up value system withstanding and all]. At least for the short time that Chroniko could hold onto the belief that she’s doing the right thing, she was able to make the sacrifice because she believes that she will not die. That something essential to her will live on, will be reborn into a better place and time where her suffering will be less. This overarching theme of transcending physical death in Kaiba is so enthralling and so painful because it reaches out to the existential anxiety of the masses. Can’t wait to see how they will cultivate this theme as the show progresses.

Kaiba has completely rocked my world with its minimalist character designs and gooey bangs and has brought about the personal revelation that for me, anime is so much more than just the pretty visuals or the trap characters. It is LIFE.

/fangirl

Sorry for the incredibly long comment. btw, nice avatar =D glad you like the artbook

12 episodes is too short for such a show, but I’m definitely waiting for the next episodes!