A Creative Man With Heavy Ideas

 Back in August of 2023, I published "Addiction 2 Fiction: Volume One". As the name would imply this is the first of the series and features three stories. The second story was called "The Tide" and I wanted to discuss the inspiration behind this story.

That inspiration goes by the name...

-Takeshi Shudo-

Takeshi was a screenwriter who's most notable work was the Pokemon anime's first season, as well as the first three Pokemon animated movies. I grew up watching Pokemon, playing Pokemon, collecting Pokemon, so to say this guy's work was part of my early media exposure would be fair.

Takeshi wanted to write stories for growing audiences, with subjects that kids could comprehend if you gave them a chance. Existence and cooperation were the two big ones, but he also wanted to push the envelop of what could be talked about in the series. Things like evolution and consciousness. He didn't just want this world he helped create stay stagnant.

-Behind The Screen(play)-

What I didn't know as a kid-that I learned as an adult-was that Takeshi relied heavily on drugs and alcohol to inspire his ideas. To the point where he was putting himself in the hospital over this stuff. I know this because I have seen videos and read articles sort of mocking Takeshi for these things.

Nobody is exempt from criticism, but those first three Pokemon films are iconic for a reason. Mewtwo struggling to accept his existence free of vengeful anger against his creators. Lawrence the 3rd transforming the collectability of Pokemon into a cruel hunt for deities. Entei protecting Molly like his own daughter even if it's wrong and his actions grow violent.

And most of these movies are backup plots, Takeshi had ideas for stories the studio execs just couldn't run with because they were too off the beaten path for this multimillion dollar franchise. He wanted to tell a story about a T-Rex skeleton roaming the Pokemon world and another one about humans and Pokemon going to war against each other. Maybe they're not all good ideas, but he had them.

-Then Comes The Tide-

"The Tide" is about a fictional writer named Takata Shinji who goes on to write for a franchise called "Elemon". Yeah, it's about as paper-thin as homages go, but the hook here is that Takata can see the characters from his show in real life. This includes monsters based on dragons, bird-men, and an off-brand Cheshire Cat. All the while he struggling to fully materialize his ideas in Elemon shows and movies due to studio interference and corporate changes.

Due to his use of drugs and booze, Takata has disputes with his coworkers, worries his wife and child, and disappoints his parents with every achievement he makes. Or, rather, every achievement "Elemon" makes. Because that's the real kicker. He suffers for a form of art that doesn't need him. That will outgrow him. And his influence will end before even his body gives out.

"The Tide" is inspired by Takeshi Shudo's life, but the story also focuses on passion versus production. It's a story that opens the blinds and shines a light on what bittersweet success can do to a person's mental health.

Based on an incident of the real "Pokemon" show where kids got seizures, there is a part in "The Tide" about the "Elemon" show giving kids seizures and even taking lives, but this tragedy is treated like a traffic jam. Time passes and it's back to business as usual. This, of course, drives Takata to worsen his own condition. He throws his own wellbeing out the window when he thinks to himself,

"I was successful. I was invincible, even. My name was attached to a cartoon that gave nearly seven hundred people-children, at that-painful seizures. And we all just walked away".

-End of The Shore-

I don't want to think I wrote "The Tide" out of spite, but if I'm being honest I was driven to tell a story about Takeshi Shudo that didn't completely paint him as a madman or anything. And it's not one-to-one, ya know? My character Takata has a family drama, he's got issues with his parents, he forms connections with his creations. But the core of the story is my attempt at humanizing a person like Takeshi because I know how much good came from him.

I would not advise anyone to turn to drugs and alcohol when searching for motivation or inspiration, but I won't look down on someone for turning towards those things. What I do think is a great misdeed is dismissing something genuine and positive and valuable simply because of where that "something" came from.

A person born from a hookup is not destined to fail. A baked good made completely by accident is not destined to taste badly. Stories that form from the swirling chaos of the human brain under a substance are not uninspired or hapless. And the life of a writer is not a "rollercoaster" just because they did things their own way.