Night Shift Nurses and the fertility of excrement
Opening with a scalpel cutting across a black void till blood is gushing out, followed by a psychotic looking woman, it’s evident that this isn’t going to be a pleasant turn of events.
Night Shift Nurses has earned its status as among the most controversial anime titles ever and while the series is over 20 years old that still holds true.
The depiction of assault in adult anime is not uncommon and series such as this is built upon these transgressions to further cement them on its ever-expanding cast of archetypes. However, where this series makes a
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lasting impression is in how everything is animated and written, it’s starkly clear that this is not consent and not enjoyable in the slightest – at least in the beginning. Characters will fight, scream and do the utmost to protect themselves, and this is what makes it a jarring viewing experience.
From being getting their hair pulled, kicked, punched, slapped and verbally abused it’s clear that this is aiming for a different approach with a much darker and a feeling of realistic intent.
For foreign viewers extreme content like this seems far too transgressive and downright criminal but one should always be aware of cultural relative-ism, and the fact that the boundary between real life and fiction (comics) is far greater in Japan than anywhere else in the world, as said by Professor Fujimoto Yukari. Where rigorous social decorum is more expected on a much larger scale and freedom of expression (in fiction) is a lot greater than anywhere else.
Yes, it’s pornography so it should by its definition arouse but it’s also a film so it should by that definition tell a story with themes, narratives and a coherent story-line.
And this is where many are bewildered when it comes to content heavy series like this. While it is pornographic many scenes are more distressing than erotic but as said with a lot of other media who either are trying to parody (Kill La Kill, 2014) or satirize (Bayonetta, 2009) sexuality, there’s always an audience in the mood for enjoyment, no matter how disturbing or vile it may seem to an average viewer.
Arguably Night Shift Nurses set the tone for fetish and violent adult anime for years to come and no one has ever surpassed it in terms of quality, theme and content.
Characters
A series like this is only rivalled in content needs believable well-rounded characters. Its core characters are those that I’ll choose to talk about, Hirasaka Ryuji, Jinguji Narumi and Nanase Ren. First, a short summary of its two antagonist, Hirasaka and Jinguji.
Ryuji isn’t very well viewed in the frame of the narrative. As we encounter him, he lives by paycheck to paycheck in a rather small and messy apartment. It views him as delusional and broken, with low self-esteem and overconfidence, he isn’t well off. Nor is he the man that we meet in his earlier days but this changes when the experiments begin. However, even when he’s efficient he’s also a slave to his own shortcomings, often the planning of said experiments will go horribly wrong. Even when he is alone with his victims, he is never too sure if they’re with him or thinking about someone else, after all his lowly opinion of himself is evident in how he talks about other men or people of higher social rank. His last lines (episode 10) is “So this is the true form of the creature called ‘woman’…”, meaning that he views women as something non-human, in much the same way he framed himself, with a different brain when he talks about his role as a doctor (episode 4). He is as detached as one can be from shame and repercussions. He is not meant to be liked nor sympathized with. He is the avatar for dark and unhinged desires without consequences, which is also why he’s such an iconic figure.
While he is repellent Jinguji will exceed his ruthlessness even further and on a more psychological level, she is far worse. Unlike Ryuji who’s driven by his selfish and violent pleasures to hurt women, Narumi’s driven by pure rage and vengeance towards everyone. Viewed as calculating and cold. Having gained power and connections through her intelligence but also her sexuality. She’s conjured up the idea of the special ward, she knows which buttons to push with people and is always two steps ahead.
In a way she and Ryuji mirror one another in their delusions and sexuality, with him we can clearly see that these experiments are nothing more than some twisted sexual fantasies given space and equipment. His power is his libido and physical strength, her power is her body and alluring ever-expanding lustful appetite. Her delusions are made real by the idea of the ward itself, even if it’s a real project or a trap, to later use as a faulty plan to impale him on his own ego while he’s on the top of his game. This gives allusions to a rivalry or that this is just a game to her, perhaps a re-enactment of her past but this time she’s in control and can subjugate her shared trauma upon those she dislikes, for the pettiest reasons.
After revenge she has nothing left to live and the sustained trauma of how she lost her child, a part of herself and turned into a masochist in order to rise above and gain influence and power from those who withheld it. She’s certainly a unique antagonist in anime, a woman who regained her sense of humanity when motherhood was threatened. When her own was assaulted and taken from her, she gives her life to save another.
It’s third character to be expanded upon is Nanase Ren, an unlikely heroine of the story. We meet her at the start of the story picking Oxalis flowers, who’s meaning is everything from healing, luck, forgiveness and love. A great way to describe her character. Even after getting assaulted till she’s a shell of her former self, crippled with self-loathing and shame, she’s still exhibits some of the former traits just buried deeply within.
Self-defeated and romantically longing for her abuser, she’ll give him all the power he could want, but when her child is threatened, she will fight for her motherhood and show him as he says “the true form of a woman”. In contrast to Narumi, she isn’t corrupt but she’s an excellent case study for trauma-bonding. From being seduced early on, gaining trust, violated, humiliated in front of the man she she loved and constantly being manipulated to do whatever is asked of her. With enough compliments and love bombing just to keep her close but not too close, otherwise she might realize that there really is nothing but darkness behind Ryuji’s eyes. Her last gift to him is a bouquet of white chrysanthemum a symbol of honesty and loyalty, a perfect representation of why she’s not only Ryuji’s favourite but also among the Japanese fanbase.
Themes
Motherhood and fertility are intertwined in the lives of all the characters but have poignant meaning to the three protagonists. They all work in the same field, gynaecology and end up being confronted with the reality of their field, pregnancy. Motherhood is what connects the two women and is what makes Narumi gain a sense of her lost humanity, while she lost her chance at it, the pain of her child still lingers on and makes her drop her goals. She willingly gives her life to save another, an innocent, uncorrupted from Ryuji’s influence.
For Ryuji the idea of reproduction in his personal life is viewed as less desirable than eating faeces. It’s a unimageable hindrance and a grotesque result of his own actions. It gives the women hope, happiness and something that is out of his control. Their control is never shared with themselves, it’s always tied to him and. Instead of celebrating new life he embraces a corrupt reverse view, he eats faeces, waste matter, which no longer hold any nutrients nor shape. He shares their filth in an almost ritualistic manner that might act as a rite of passage into his worldview and gives allusions to that it’s their fertility that they consume, waste begets waste. A symbolic perverse inversion of giving birth.
Assault
It’s treatment of assault is also an interesting subversion in how it ends up diverging each of its five heroines’ lives. Four out of five will insist of not being a victim nor a survivor, instead calling it an act of love. Stockholm syndrome is not in the DSM-5, but another term that comes up is trauma, and trauma-bonding, acting like a defence mechanism to cope through cognitive and perception distortion. Causing an attachment through flattery, trust, criticism, manipulation till the victim resigns themselves to their new reality.
An almost knee-jerk reaction to viewing assault is to either blame the victim or think that it’s their own fault for going along with it. Japan is often called a shame-based society, one that has largely controlled it’s citizens by instilling fear of bringing shame upon themselves or their employee and family. While others have argued that shame is both a personal issue and relationship based that serves as a form of social control, either way it might be of note regarding why its characters are coerced to such an almost surreal degree of degradation.
Night Shift Nurses is a fantasy, yes, fantasy is fiction, but it does raise a point when one’s confronted with such atrocious behaviour that even tests the limit of believability and how to react. After all the series wants to be taken seriously and to give it a sense of realism in the distressing psychology of its characters.
As the young detective Wakai, says “Why didn’t you just report it ?”, he (and parts of the viewers) is largely forgetting the reality of how assault, trauma-bonding, blackmail and shame, has changed the women’s personality in more ways than one.
Visuals
It’s a solid technical viewing experience, since the animation is pretty good. The bodily movement, breasts, thighs and everything that jiggles during intercourse is very well animated. Small touches are given to tears, blood, saliva and everything else that the human body can create.
Tears will sparkle during desperate moments and the intensity of its scatological scenes is impressive in the way they’re animated. Gushing and squirting with bits and pieces of food visible. Character movement is never rushed and are given depth during intense scenes such as assaults, arguments and fights. Movements are realistic and doesn’t default to cutaways.
Backgrounds and characters are not given equal amounts of depth, but they don’t look or feel rushed. The immersive experience is also in its close-knit space, the hospital which isn’t known for having a varied colour scheme. During its later episodes (episode 8-9, especially) is a standout with brooding and dramatic skies. Deceiving greens and intense lighting. Crisp looking colours are shown throughout the series. Be it drug induced hallucinations, fluids in every shape and colour, food and medical equipment. Although during certain pans some images look a bit muddled but it’s a minor nitpick since the look of the show overall is really pretty good.
Audio
Another standout is the score, which is as eerie and cynically fitting. The theme is using a pronounced harpsichord that feels very domineering and gives it a sense of perverse grandeur. The rest of the scores with its slow pulsating beats, gives the scenes another dark and distrusting undertone, as in framing them as disturbing rather than pure titillation. It wants the viewer to feel the same unease as its core characters and rarely does it want to be calm, inviting and warm. The music is almost clinical in sense, with augmented chords, high piano and echoing pulsating electronic beats that sometimes will distort heavily. It moves through the different stages of acceptance of their new twisted reality. It establishes itself almost as secondary character in the most pivotal moments of the series, echoing uncomfortably in the background. With a high marimba note that flows through the scenery during the shows relaxed or tense scenes, switching tempo with an added synth giving the series a constant uneasy tone that doesn’t let go even when it’s not playing, fittingly when its violence can rank up suddenly.
The voice actors all do a great job be it screaming, crying or yelling. They all fit and give it their best to make us root and feel with them, even in the darkest of moments. While Ryuji’s voice actor might be having the time of his life with saying such abnormal and downright fascinating lines which would’ve been hilariously bad for many but in his case, it’s delivered with such a selfish conviction that they come across as more hideous than fun. Among the female cast Shinjou Remi, is someone who’s voice carries a desperation, self-loathing and a concern for how she handles the ongoing events. She sounds very believable and is often a hard character to listen to when she pleads or cries for answers.
Final verdict
Night Shift Nurses is an extremely though series to recommend. Its adults only rating will leave it to a very small audience and its intense focus on scatology and assault will most likely be off putting and make its audience pool even smaller. While it’s reputation for being gross is true, it’s reputation for being disturbing lies more in how one can connect and feel for its characters. Who all end up being drastically different from who they used to be.
The final line in the series is said by the aging inspector Fujita, “Every time I do think that people’s heart is just darkness. They have the core that no one could desire. They’re true darkness.” is a great nod the opening shot of the series in which Narumi slices a black screen, Hirasaka’s black heart in two. Finally breaking them apart.
If dark and psychologically disturbing themes are of interest then it will be a viewing experience unlike any other, it’s a bit more to it than just “shit”, literally.
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