Managing Attorney Noh Jong-eon | Daily Sports 「Noh Jong-eon Culture-in-Culture」 Column

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What, in fact, is a 'true hero'?

In his column, Managing Attorney Noh Jong-eon analyzes two anime heroes who connect across more than 40 years. They are Amuro Ray from 'Mobile Suit Gundam,' which changed the landscape of Japanese animation in 1979, and Hero Himmel from 'Frieren: Beyond Journey's End,' which recently sparked a sensation. Although they differ in genre form as a science-fiction mecha work and a classic fantasy, the two works pose the same, weighty question. If heroes of the past were godlike beings who defeated evil with absolute power, what kind of hero can we empathize with in today's highly complex society?

A boy on a robot to avoid death — Amuro Ray

According to Managing Attorney Noh Jong-eon's column, Amuro Ray in Gundam was not an introverted boy driven by a mission to save the world, but simply a boy who got into a robot in order not to die. Thrown into a war born of adults' selfishness, he is crushed by the overwhelming power of a weapon and vomits from guilt over killing. The ability called 'Newtype' is even more tragic. This ability, which allows deep empathy with others, makes him absorb even an enemy's sorrow and loneliness, trapping him in the contradiction of having to kill, with his own hands, someone he has understood completely. In the late 1970s, young people in Japan who were being consumed like parts on the underside of rapid economic growth projected themselves onto this fragile boy.

"Because Hero Himmel Would Have Done It That Way" — Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

More than 40 years later, in the 2020s, Hero Himmel from 'Frieren: Beyond Journey's End' was a 'fake hero' who was not chosen by the 'Hero's Sword,' which only one who could save the world was said to be able to draw. Himmel's real weapon was not flashy swordsmanship, but kind communication that looked back to reassure companions when they lost their way or grew afraid, and small acts of goodwill that never passed by neighbors in trouble. Managing Attorney Noh Jong-eon pays attention to the recent phenomenon among younger generations of the line "Because Hero Himmel would have done it that way" spreading like a catchphrase. It has become a warm ethical compass that checks us when we want to make an annoying or selfish choice.

The value of a true hero that runs through 40 years

Managing Attorney Noh Jong-eon concludes the column like this. There is no Demon King or space war in the reality we live in. But in everyday life, when hearts that empathize with others' pain and are willing to bear small inconveniences come together, ordinary yet kind communication and goodwill can save one another's lives. That is the timeless value of the true hero that the boy from Gundam and Frieren's hero left us, spanning 40 years.

「Noh Jong-eon Culture-in-Culture」 is serialized regularly in Daily Sports. Managing Attorney Noh Jong-eon of Law Firm Jonjae explains legal and social issues in popular culture based on his field experience.