"What in the world is this going to be about..." you might ask.
Today, let's talk about the association of Dragons and the Soul. For any of you have barely paid attention to Overlord, this would most likely be the association between True Dragon Lords and Wild Magic.
魂 is typically the kanji used for Soul. It relates to spirits as well of a person or their essence.
The main connection between Souls and Dragons is basically Eastern thought. That is it has its roots in Taoism. Effectively, the Soul is usually talked about as Yang or Yang Energy. So what does Yin Yang mean literallly? It means Negative Positive Shadow and Sky female and male etc etc. It encompasses many dualities. Yang is often considered the one that causes changes.
Well the Japanese fans like to talk about dragons in Overlord based on these Eastern ideas. Like you all know White Draogn Lord was the typical bad guy dragon who destroyed cities, was greedy etc. The Tolkien dragon basically. But to our weeby neighbors, they like to joke about Western dragons being greedy and militant is an allegory of their true nature (a criticism of Western Imperialsim) meanwhile the traditional view of dragons varied. Originally they were seen as positive forces of nature who blessed and damned people with rain or floods.
Hence the association of the skies or light with dragons based on reading the kanji for souls, ie they are not Soul but Yang or what is normally considered good, if not strong and powerful and all the main masculine traits.
So in the East there are many reasons why dragons can fly despite having no wings. One myth describes that they are not physical creations at all. These beings are made of pure Yang or heavenly matter. Others say it was their association with the sky.
In Volume 10 there is a mention of Buddha being from the South. Now for us this seems like a weird wacky reference. But the Japanese actually take this further with some obscure references.
Basically they linked this line to one in Volume 5, how the Greed Kings were likened to dragons. But where did this come from? Were they dragonoids?
Well that is the thoughts of the West, but the Japanese people actually have an alternative reasoning. What they think is the 8 Greed Kings were a guild named not the Eight Greed Kings >八欲王 but instead the >八大龍王 :
Effectively the Eight Great Dragon Kings.
"NANI?!"
Well that should be a big eye opener. This has to do with the idea that in Japanese Buddhism, the Eight Great Dragon Kings are likened to the disciples of Jesus but for Buddha. WEll the kanji is Dragon King which is what Maru uses for Dragon Lord.
The Japanese fans sometimes love to make jokes about this.
Dragon King can also be used to explain the suits and katanas as less a monk thing and more the yakuza gangster type thing with dragon king. So people like to joke that they were a more Japanese heavy cultural enthusiasts group based on these anecdotes.
It's curious how different cultures lead to different interpretations huh?
Today, let's talk about the association of Dragons and the Soul. For any of you have barely paid attention to Overlord, this would most likely be the association between True Dragon Lords and Wild Magic.
魂 is typically the kanji used for Soul. It relates to spirits as well of a person or their essence.
The main connection between Souls and Dragons is basically Eastern thought. That is it has its roots in Taoism. Effectively, the Soul is usually talked about as Yang or Yang Energy. So what does Yin Yang mean literallly? It means Negative Positive Shadow and Sky female and male etc etc. It encompasses many dualities. Yang is often considered the one that causes changes.
Well the Japanese fans like to talk about dragons in Overlord based on these Eastern ideas. Like you all know White Draogn Lord was the typical bad guy dragon who destroyed cities, was greedy etc. The Tolkien dragon basically. But to our weeby neighbors, they like to joke about Western dragons being greedy and militant is an allegory of their true nature (a criticism of Western Imperialsim) meanwhile the traditional view of dragons varied. Originally they were seen as positive forces of nature who blessed and damned people with rain or floods.
Hence the association of the skies or light with dragons based on reading the kanji for souls, ie they are not Soul but Yang or what is normally considered good, if not strong and powerful and all the main masculine traits.
So in the East there are many reasons why dragons can fly despite having no wings. One myth describes that they are not physical creations at all. These beings are made of pure Yang or heavenly matter. Others say it was their association with the sky.
In Volume 10 there is a mention of Buddha being from the South. Now for us this seems like a weird wacky reference. But the Japanese actually take this further with some obscure references.
Basically they linked this line to one in Volume 5, how the Greed Kings were likened to dragons. But where did this come from? Were they dragonoids?
Well that is the thoughts of the West, but the Japanese people actually have an alternative reasoning. What they think is the 8 Greed Kings were a guild named not the Eight Greed Kings >八欲王 but instead the >八大龍王 :
Effectively the Eight Great Dragon Kings.
"NANI?!"
Well that should be a big eye opener. This has to do with the idea that in Japanese Buddhism, the Eight Great Dragon Kings are likened to the disciples of Jesus but for Buddha. WEll the kanji is Dragon King which is what Maru uses for Dragon Lord.
The Japanese fans sometimes love to make jokes about this.
Dragon King can also be used to explain the suits and katanas as less a monk thing and more the yakuza gangster type thing with dragon king. So people like to joke that they were a more Japanese heavy cultural enthusiasts group based on these anecdotes.
It's curious how different cultures lead to different interpretations huh?
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