Rogue Generals: A Different Post-EDSA Uno Philippines TL

Chapter Eighty-Two: Primal Innocence

"Amidst the Era of Rogue Generals, when the international media was constantly covering events in the Philippines and beyond, the later generation of what would become the millennials have started to become engrossed in fantasy books and works of science fiction. For a while, Ayn Rand's books had gained popularity, due to its appealing message of objectivism towards its younger audience. It was not until the fantasy genre craze of the early 2000s that an obscure Canadian author by the name of Steven Erikson would gain international fame for his fantasy novels called the Malazan Book of the Fallen. Erikson's books may not have gained the same level of reputation as J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series, or even that of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, but it was decent enough to have gained enough attraction of various movie makers. Starting in 2004, Malazan Book of the Fallen would eventually be turned into a TV series, as the original plan to create a movie series was far too much of a logistical undertaking for that time period. As Showtime would gain the license to broadcast the series, it soon became the most popular commerical free television channel, surpassing HBO several times, before HBO would counter Malazan Book of the Fallen's popularity in the release of Game of Thrones. However, what no one would anticipate or predict, was that Malazan would have an enormous influence on other cultural icons, particularly in Japan where elements of Malazan and bits of A Song of Ice and Fire had found its way into Rurouni Kenshin and Naruto. Tite Kubo, one of the aspiring manga creators, had released a new manga that was different from his first release, Zombiepowder, called Deathdealer, which was inspired by his experience as a humanitarian volunteer in Vietnam after the Spratlys conflict was over. The main story of Deathdealer was the aftermath of a major war and its psychological toll on ordinary civilians, as well as the shadowy figures that orchestrated the conflict in the first place. Seishi and Masashi Kishimoto, who also worked as humanitarian volunteers in the Philippines during the same time period, would go on to create the all famous Naruto series, though it was Seishi who provided the main plot line, while Masashi did the drawing. The theme of war and peace, as seen in Malazan, would also find its way into mecha anime, with Mobile Suit Gundam 00, which was released in 2008, followed by its predecessor in Mobile Suit XN Gundam in 2014. Of course, the manga creators have read Malazan and A Song of Ice and Fire in their spare time, but one creator was influenced by it the most than Seiji Mizushima and Mitsuo Fukuda." From the documentary, "The Cultural Phenomenon of Malazan", released by Showtime, October 10, 2016.

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"Philippine animation was virtually non-existent during the Tadiar period, as there weren't many artists and animators who worked in their profession, due to the Tadiar regime's constant focus on national defense. In addition, all of the universities and colleges in the Philippines did not offer a single program on animation and visual arts, meaning that the lucky ones who do make it into arts and animation often come from the diaspora. Various Filipino animators who come from the diaspora were often found working for various cartoon series, and there were rare instances where Filipino actors also found themselves drawn into voice acting. Of these voice actors, none would achieve much fame than the Basco siblings. Dion Basco, who would become famous for his role as Ulrick de Oliviera in the controversial sports drama film called Terrace Wars, which was about football hooliganism within the Filipino immigrant community in Australia. His older brother Dante also starred in the movie as Ulrick's best friend Jorge Damaso, who also acted as the ringleader of the old firm. In addition, Dante also bounced between Los Angeles and Vancouver, British Columbia for his voice acting jobs, among which he would voice the role of Canard Pars in Mobile Suit XN Gundam. The fame that Dante would acquire, has also allowed him to create connections to other actors and voice actors alike, including Jake Pempengco, one of the main actors who starred in another controversial movie, Last Stand, and even Sid Lucero, who also starred in the same movie. By the time the Tadiar regime ended its diplomatic isolation, the Basco siblings would be among the very first overseas Filipinos to visit their homeland, though they were careful to not get too involved with the Tadiar regime's main figures. By the time of Tadiar's ouster, many of the Filipino animators and artists would join in the reverse migration back to the Philippines to take advantage of Loren Legarda's plea for her fellow countrymen to put their talents that were cultivated overseas to great use for what Legarda would call the Great Cultural Revival." From 'Grey Walls and Blank Slates: The Pitiful State of Philippine Arts and Animation During the Tadiar Period'.

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FAMOUS CREATOR OF GUNDAM ANIME ANNOUNCES SEVEN YEAR BREAK FROM GUNDAM SERIES, OFFERS SERVICES TO OTHER MECHA ANIME PRODUCERS AS CONSULTANT
Anime News Network
September 29, 2001

(Tokyo) - Yoshiyuki Tomino, the creator of the Gundam series that sparked a massive popularity boom internationally, has announced that he will be taking a seven year break from directing and producing anime shows related to the Gundam series, but will offer his services to any other anime producers working on the mecha genre as a consultant. This announcement comes at a time when Tomino finished directing what would become his erstwhile final Gundam series, Turn A Gundam. Tomino, who opted to take a long break between the last great project in Mobile Suit Gundam F91 (which was released in 1991) and the launch of Turn A Gundam in 1999, had been battling bouts of depression due to the declining popularity of the Gundam anime series for some time. However, the sudden re-ignited interest in the Gundam anime from the success of Turn A Gundam had garnered a new sense of interest in the genre. In addition, there were some rumors that the Gundam series will get an English dub, with Vancouver's Ocean Group Studios being the primary destination for such work.

"Unlike the time when I took my first break back in 1991, this second break will allow me to focus more on improving my own health and to take a much needed vacation," Tomino announces during an interview in Tokyo. "In addition, it will be fitting that my first destination for my planned vacation will be in Canada."

Tomino's decision to go on vacation comes as no surprise, given that he has also suffered from work related burn outs due to the time consuming process he has put on Turn A Gundam. In addition, Tomino's decision to visit Canada is also driven by the same rumors of Vancouver being a possible candidate for the English dubbing of his Gundam series shows, as well as a planned visit to the United States for the same purpose.

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"You know, when I heard that Funimation was doing a joint venture project with Ocean Group Studios, I was skeptical about its success, but when I found out that I was offered a voice casting role as the errand boy in the animated series, Deathdealer, I could not turn down such an offer like that. Like that Dante Basco fellow, I found myself going back and forth between Vancouver and Los Angeles, although I was also casted in just one episode of Law and Order: Extradition as the immigration scam victim, which took me to New York as well. Ultimately though, while the United States remain a top spot for voice acting, Canada is rapidly gaining popularity, due to the low tax rates that was implemented for most businesses. In addition, I didn't like the kind of political direction that Jack Kemp was going. Thus, I ended up moving to Canada, where I made it my permanent residence. It also helps that Canada has been a lot more open towards the LGBT community than the United States, as of late." Maile Flanagan, on her autobiographical documentary, 'The Inner Artist'.

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DEATHDEALER

Synopsis: It is 1997, only one year after the end of the Spratlys conflict, and various humanitarian volunteers from Japan have arrived in Vietnam to help with the relief effort. For 17 year old high school graduate Yushio Takenaka, who failed to make it to the prestigious Tokyo University due to his mediocre grades and wanted to travel before making a decision, a simple relief work in the bombed out ruins of Da Nang, Vietnam, would ease off his daily worries. Yushio not only has to deal with angry Vietnamese soldiers who suffered from the conflict, but other refugees who were desperate for relief, other volunteers with questionable motives, and even the eventful threat of a resurgent Chinese military campaign. Faced with the horrors of life after a major conflict, Yushio's human nature will be put to severe test, but can he make it alive?

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EPISODE ONE: Welcome to Vietnam

Main Cast (English Dub):

Yuri Lowenthal as Yushio Takenaka
Matthew Erickson as Genji Matsuki
Maile Flanagan as 'Errand Boy'
Grey DeLisle as Lt. Huong Kieu
Samuel Vincent as Humanitarian Relief Aid Truck Driver
Michelle Ruff as Desperate Mother
Tia Ballard as Starving Boy
Trevor Devall (special guest appearance) as Philippine Foreign Minister Arturo Tolentino

(Scene opens with the Spratlys naval campaign between the PLA Navy and the Vietnamese Navy, followed by the bombing campaign launched by the PLAAF, before moving forward to the Berlin Peace Conference and former Philippine Foreign Minister Arturo Tolentino's decision to walk out of said peace conference)

TOLENTINO: (slams his hands on the desk) This is a peace agreement that I cannot in good conscience abide by and sign. It is nothing more than a humiliation that will only serve to nurture our desire for revenge! (walks out)

(Scene switches to DA NANG, where a humanitarian center is established for displaced persons. We see the Humanitarian Truck Driver stopping at a road, just before a Vietnamese military check point)

LT. HUONG KIEU: (in Vietnamese) Your papers, please.

TRUCK DRIVER: (hands over the papers) Is there a problem with the road, Lieutenant?

LT. HUONG KIEU: (shakes her head) Other than the pot holes created by the rain and the paved roads destroyed by the bombs, I would suggest that you avoid Druong So 3 for now. (points at the direction of Truong Son) Use that road for now, before turning towards the intersection of Cao Toc Da Nang and Quang Ngai, and make it right.

TRUCK DRIVER: (nods in agreement) Thanks for the advice. (starts driving)

(scene switches to the camp, where YUSHIO and GENJI prepare the emergency rations while ERRAND BOY waits for another task)

ERRAND BOY: (sees a family coming towards the tent) Mister. There's another family coming this way, and she has a starving kid with her.

YUSHIO: (peeks outside) Why don't you bring them over here?

ERRAND BOY: Will do. (goes outside)

GENJI: (puts a set of first aid kits on the makeshift hospital bed) Can you smell it, Yushio? It reeks of the residue from the bombs they dropped.

YUSHIO: (closes his eyes) Try not to smell it, Genji. There might be some radioactive material that came with the bombs. We've already lost five volunteers due to exposure within a month before we came here.

GENJI: That quick? (sees the family arrive at the tent, accompanied by ERRAND BOY) Any medical problems? We'll have to refer you to the doctor at the camp.

DESPERATE MOTHER: We're okay. We haven't eaten anything in days, and the other camps told us that they're already full of other displaced persons.

STARVING BOY: (rubs his stomach) I'm hungry. Do you have any food?

GENJI: (looks at YUSHIO before turning back to STARVING BOY) Our friends are currently preparing some congee mixed with the carabao meat that we butchered on the way here. C'mon, I'll escort you and your mom to the cafeteria.

DESPERATE MOTHER: (cries in happiness) Thank you so much, good sir.

YUSHIO: (monologue mode) I often found myself hearing what my parents say about the life we had in Japan. 'Be thankful we're not as poor as the people on the bottom rank of society' used to be the main slogan of the day. Not only have I recalled it, but I can truly see for myself at how destitute these people are. They've suffered from a war that was imposed on them by a domineering giant to the north, but we have not been prepared to witness the consequences of the conflict. When I first came here to Da Nang, I could not forget the stench of corpses that littered the city. Genji once remarked that several mass graves had been filled with the dead civilians who were killed by the bombing. I can see how families like that desperate mother and her child could endure days of starvation. Then I wonder, 'is this how our grandparents and great grandparents suffered when Hiroshima and Nagasaki was obliterated in a nuclear strike?' I have not yet understand what real suffering is, but I have a nasty feeling that I will get a painful lesson in this soon.

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"The continued conflicts that persisted to this day had a major influence on the development of various anime shows in Japan, especially mecha anime. However, Tite Kubo's blockbuster animated show, 'Deathdealer', was a gritty show that talked about the consequences of a major defeat in a war. In this case, it was Vietnam and the Philippines who suffered at the hands of China during the Spratlys conflict. It isn't surprising that China had banned the showing of 'Deathdealer', due to its excessive negative portrayal of the Chinese government, but the very same government had also saw 'Deathdealer' as a weapon created by Japanese revanchists in league with Western imperialists as a way of inciting the former vassals who once served the Middle Kingdom into a frenzy of Sinophobic racist violence and revenge. Still, shows like Neon Evangelion had been popular with fans of both sci-fi and apocalyptic themes, as the post-apocalypse Earth has become a source of tensions between human beings and the new alien newcomers who have arrived on Earth to consume much of its resources. Full Metal Panic would also launch itself into the alternate history genre, with the discovery of the Whispereds, and the technology around the Arm Slave that would allow the Soviet Union to win the war in Afghanistan, only to face a similar violent collapse of its communist regime to the one that occurred when the Second Russian Civil War broke out. By far, the most controversial mecha anime to date has so far been Mobile Suit Gundam 00 and its spiritual successor, Mobile Suit XN Gundam. While Gundam 00 would cover resource based conflicts and the geopolitical struggle between the various power blocs, XN Gundam would cover the theme of the manipulative shadows that play a behind the scenes role in how conflicts often broke out. It has become so controversial that Israel had banned the showing of both Gundam 00 and XN Gundam, due to its indirect anti-Semitic nature of the shadow men behind the throne. Yet, both Gundam 00 and XN Gundam have only one thing in common, and it is their addressing of the consequences of late-stage capitalism. In addition, XN Gundam has so far become an icon of anti-globalism, as the depiction of the Earth Alliance, an entity that succeeded the Earth Sphere Federation, as totalitarian in nature and is run by an oligarchy, that the populist characters often become a symbol of the newly emerging struggle between globalism and populism. Still, the mecha anime genre had also garnered popularity for various model kits that young people often build in their spare time, and the marketing campaign for those kits had contributed to the maintenance of their popularity." From the documentary, 'Mecha Anime in the 21st Century'.

Gundam XN is basically Gundam SEED?

As I may have pointed out in previous posts, XN Gundam is TTL's version of Gundam SEED, if it was done by the same guys who did OTL Gundam SEED Stargazer.

I could see South Park becoming a bit more controversial than its OTL counterpart ITTL, although is uncut movie would have to change a lot, as Saddam is deposed, and I doubt that the creators would be able to use Tadiar as an extremely old general.

I have watched a bit of Rugrats, and while I would see most of the main characters being young for multiple seasons, they'd become a bit older in the next seasons.

Some things never change. Thailand is still subject to coups and countercoups.

The Thai civil war would mean Washington has to support Bangkok, for they are treaty allies since 1954.