A Comparative Study of the Manifestations of Good and Evil in Contemporary Art of Iran and Japan (Case Study: Japanese Anime of Princess Mononoke and Iranian Animation of Last Fiction)

Nations have their heroes unimaginable qualities from ancient times; these heroes are sometimes eternal and out of reach like the gods in ancient Greece, the spirits of nature in the land of Japan, and the Emshaspandan in ancient Iran. Each of which is the source of transcendental powers, and sometimes, like earthly and ideal beings, who have appeared in the national epics of every nation, fulfilling the golden as well as unsatisfied desires of a nation. Like Shishigami or the spirit of the Japanese legendary nature and Rostam and Esfandiar in Ferdowsi's epic. It should be remembered that in all myths, the two forces of "good and evil", "Ahuraian and demonic", "good and evil" are always in conflict with each other and "good" will prevail over "evil" and for this reason, the same concepts are seen in the creation of most tribes. The controversy of this duality, one of which is rooted in light and good and the other rooted in darkness and evil sometimes it will end up in the hands of mythical heroes. In the history of ancient Iran, two forces are constantly in conflict with each other, one is the symbol of light and good and the other is the force of darkness, which represents evil. The force of good is the force of Ahura, and the force of evil is demonic, like the gods of good fortune in Japan, who in some manifestations worship demons or symbols of evil. In the manifestations of good and evil, the heroes manifest all the positive traits, and the anti-heroes also manifest the characteristics of evil Therefore, anti-heroes engage with them sometimes for sensual purposes and sometimes to diminish the ability and competence of the manifests of good. These concepts are now conveyed to the audience in the new format with the same messages in this way, the manifestations of the forces of good and evil were widely narrated first in the form of stories and legends it was possible that through art, the heroes in them became visible and carried their own identity and message. In the field of art, animation and anime are some of the appropriate ways to turn myths and stories carrying the concepts of good and evil into a visual message in communicating and conveying the message to the audience. It can be said that animation is one of the most faithful media to the theme and structure of myths inspired by myths and can present the narrative to the audience from a new perspective. Persian and Japanese myths and legends carry some similar features, including in the manifestations of good and evil which can be displayed through animation. In other words, the elements in myths and legends are a good tool for illustrating and ultimately creating an animation. One of these Japanese anime works is The Legend of Princess Mononoke by Hayao Miyazaki and Iranian Animation is the latest story by Ashkan Rahgozar which seems to have a common basis in representing the concepts of good and evil in their images to convey to the audience. Thus, the question posed in this article is: The manifestations of good and evil in contemporary Iranian and Japanese art in the two cases of the Japanese anime Princess Mononoke and the Iranian animation of the last Fiction, what do they have to do with each other? And its purpose is to discover the relationship between the forces of good and evil in the contemporary art of Iran and Japan in the two cases of Japanese anime Princess Mononoke and Iranian animation is the last story. This research is of descriptive-comparative and has been done by library tools as well as observation and review of some Iranian and Japanese animated cinema series. The method of data analysis in this study is qualitative, relying on the research method and by the focus of the present study, comparison and study between picture data on two case studies have been done pictures and texts in this article are mutually exclusive and complementary. In addition to written documents, pictures are also referred to as advanced research goals. Based on the cases mentioned in this article, first, in two sections, the conflict between good and evil, as well as good and evil in creation, are described in general from the point of view of Iranian and Japanese mythology. Then, for a better understanding of the contents, a review of the Princess Mononoke anime and the animation of the last story has been formed. In the following, by examining the method of characterization in two works of form and also the colors used in creating the character of the representatives of good and evil (hero and anti-hero) are examined. As well as the transformations made in the form of the characters of good and evil in the form of Mononoke have been studied. Finally, in addition to adapting the characters of the Iranian guards to the Japanese ninjas, the effects of the demonic touch on the bodies of the heroes and the visual changes in the appearance of positive characters have been studied. It should be noted that using the mentioned method in research, the nature of which is a kind of comparison between cultures and nations opens the way to the issues, questions, and goals in the present article. In the section on the struggle between good and evil, it should be said: The conflict between good and evil is also referred to as the war of light and darkness. This is also the case in the creation of most nations and nations of the world from the point of view of mythology, and the very beginning of the creation of the world, its system has been a dual system. For example, in the creation system of Iran and Japan, from the point of view of mythology, from the very beginning, the forces of good and evil enter the world arena. They are the product of evil. Sarwan is in the Pahlavi writings of the god of time. According to Zoroastrianism, at a time when nothing existed, Zarwan worshiped as a constant god to have a son with the ideal characteristics of Ormazd. At the same time, the devil's sperm is formed next to Ormazd. In Japanese mythology, as well, there is a double standard. The Japanese male deity is called Izanagi Nomikoto and the female deity is called Izanami Nomikoto. Izanagi and Izanami descended on the earth according to the order given by the old gods, they were ordered to create the earth, and finally, they built a suspension bridge between the earth and the sky and stood on it. Izanami is the god of good and Izanagi is evil. Today, such concepts, in the field of art and the production of anime and animation, in addition to differences in nationality, sometimes appear in the same way in the form of pictures. These functions and similar forms can be derived from the use of some identical visual elements in the creation of the characters of the two works. The creator of the artwork, with elements such as form, color, texture, and other visual features, can show the good and evil of the nature of the characters in the anime and animation to the audience through the pictures. Because by using these elements in character creation, some concepts can be represented in a way that is more understandable according to the taste of today's audience. In the Japanese anime, The Legend of Princess Mononoke by Hayao Miyazaki and the Iranian animation The Last Fiction by Ashkan Rahgozar, which have a legendary-mythical genre, some of these performances have the same function and sometimes the same mood. The mentioned cases are a kind of narrator of the manifestations of good and evil in contemporary Iranian and Japanese art in the form of anime and animation.