I was astounded by the number of myth sightings I experienced while reading the excerpt from Prose Edda.
First of all, Ragnarok. Described as the end of the gods in the Prose Edda, it appears in various anime series. The most memorable being the character named Ragnarok in Soul Eater. He is a weapon (yes, the characters are also weapons) living inside a human named Crona. He wreaks terrible havoc on his enemies and is actually formed from Crona's blood. Another case of Ragnarok in anime appears in Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. Ragnarok is the name of a devastating bomb that drops on a major city killing countless innocent civilians. It effectively wipes out the main character's sister and, as he thinks of himself as a god, thereby wipes out his motivation to live.
In the popular book series Pendragon, a teenage boy must keep the balance of ten different worlds and ensure that each "Territory's" "turning point" plays out in the right way. In the series, there are many references to "Halla" which is described as everyone and everything. Later it is discovered that Halla is actually a place where the fallen characters of the story end up. Sound anything like the Nordic afterlife realm for those who die in battle, Valhalla?
The video game Tales of Symphonia features a massive tower that connects several worlds. A man named Lord Yggdrasil (who is an 'angel') controls the power of the tower. The tree in the Prose Edda that controls the worlds is named Yggdrasil.
Fenrir Greyback, the werewolf from Harry Potter, comes directly from Fenrir the wolf who bites off Tyr's hand.
Lastly, and slightly more abstract, I want to address the concept of tricksters. I have been trying to understand the main character of Code Geass for a long time. Lelouch vi Britania is neither good nor bad and it took our discussion in class today to comprehend that he plays the trickster. He hides behind a mask of Zero and orders his followers to do his bidding. Although he calls them his pawns and only leads them to gain the throne, his instruction guides the oppressed 'elevens' (the lost Japan) out of the hands of the oppressors (the Britanians). Classic trickster: he helps others by achieving only his personal agenda.
Wow Joclyn, thanks for making all these pop culture connections. Wonder why these distinctly Nordic myths are being appropriated in such multicultural/tech environments. Any thoughts? I was just looking into Ragnarok Online today trying to figure it out.
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