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Flag

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TVTItem
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Flag
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Flag
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Flag is a series by Gasaraki director Ryousuke Takahashi about a small central Asian country called Uddiyana and its civil war. Japanese photographer Saeko Shirasu has been sent to take pictures of the conflict and the newly formed "United Nations Forces" war machine's efforts to bring peace to the region. During a battle in the country's capital city, the local militia groups and the UNF drive out the insurgent groups and scale a statue in the city square to raise a modified version of the UN's flag. Saeko, attempting to get a picture of two women praying on a rooftop, catches the flag in the picture as well, and photo circulates around the world, inspiring a message of peace and unity for the warring factions, and even spurs discussions of a possible cease-fire agreement.However, an insurgent group eventually steals the flag from its safehouse out of spite, and the UN, not wanting to look taken off-guard, forms a task force called the SDC (Special Development Command) to recover the flag and test the battle-readiness of the UNF's latest combat unit, the HAVWC (High-Agility Versatile Weapon Carrier, pronounced "havoc"). Saeko, for her part in taking a picture of the flag, is offered a chance to work with the SDC and document their progress in retrieving the flag, so that their efforts can act as an inspiration to the world and boost the image of the UNF. Over the course of the story, Saeko has several discussions with her fellow reporter and mentor, Keiichi Akagi, who offered her the Uddiyana job in the first place, interviews the various people who make up the SDC, and learns just what sort of effects the HAVWC units have on the soldiers who pilot them.Flag is a series that greatly modernizes the war story. It portrays a future where the victor of a war is no longer the country with the biggest army or the best weapons, but the country that can best control the minds of its citizens with propaganda like Saeko's flag picture. The HAVWC units are endlessly schematized and their every function is described in detail, but they only see combat on a handful of occasions. The efforts of the UNF to recover a single flag is the least implicitly "realistic" aspect of the shownote Although there are historical precedents, but emphasizes the show's idea that propaganda and the ability to make people rise to action is what wins a war.The series is also notable for being told in an incredibly distinct visual and narrative style. Everything the viewer sees is from the point of view of a camera (though not always the same one), and still images also appear at least as frequently as animated sequences. Furthermore, the whole series is narrated by Keiichi Akagi as he plays back video footage from the various cameras seen in the series on his computer, establishing that while everything the audience sees is from the past, the future of Saeko and the SDC remains unclear. Flag is a series for those interested in a more realistic take on warfare, but that still contains the somewhat fantastic ideals of a war effort to recover a piece of cloth and deadly giant robots in the desert.
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fetched
2023-06-09T14:29:26Z
 Flag
parsed
2023-06-09T14:29:26Z
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isPartOf
DBTropes
 Flag / int_135b9977
type
Bloodless Carnage
 Flag / int_135b9977
comment
Bloodless Carnage: Surprisingly for a series about war, there is almost no blood or gore save for a few minimal bumps or scrapes, which is especially jarring in scenes where the HAVWCs fire on insurgents with seriously powerful mounted machine guns, which would quite literally tear a person to shreds.
 Flag / int_135b9977
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1.0
 Flag / int_135b9977
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1.0
 Flag
hasFeature
Flag / int_135b9977
 Flag / int_1439161f
type
Heroic BSoD
 Flag / int_1439161f
comment
Heroic BSoD: Shin and Chris have these for a short period after piloting their HAVWC units for the first time .
 Flag / int_1439161f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Flag / int_1439161f
featureConfidence
1.0
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hasFeature
Flag / int_1439161f
 Flag / int_14848fa3
type
Multinational Team
 Flag / int_14848fa3
comment
Multinational Team: The SDC. Justified in that, well, it is the UN.
 Flag / int_14848fa3
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1.0
 Flag / int_14848fa3
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1.0
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Flag / int_14848fa3
 Flag / int_1808775
type
Phenotype Stereotype
 Flag / int_1808775
comment
Phenotype Stereotype: Commander Chris Eversalt and Lisa.
 Flag / int_1808775
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1.0
 Flag / int_1808775
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1.0
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hasFeature
Flag / int_1808775
 Flag / int_18d15922
type
Title Drop
 Flag / int_18d15922
comment
Title Drop: The anime's title also served as the name of the first episode.
 Flag / int_18d15922
featureApplicability
1.0
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featureConfidence
1.0
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hasFeature
Flag / int_18d15922
 Flag / int_1e10069c
type
Real Robot Genre
 Flag / int_1e10069c
comment
Real Robot Genre: The HAVWC units are very much vehicles.
 Flag / int_1e10069c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Flag / int_1e10069c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Flag
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Flag / int_1e10069c
 Flag / int_22cf536c
type
Chekhov's Gun
 Flag / int_22cf536c
comment
Chekhov's Gun: Every photographer (rookies and veterans alike) has a digital camera, which makes transferring and copying their pictures a snap. This will become very handy at the end of the series, with an assist from Chekhov's Stuffed Toy Rabbit.
 Flag / int_22cf536c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Flag / int_22cf536c
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1.0
 Flag
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Flag / int_22cf536c
 Flag / int_2612a967
type
It Has Been an Honor
 Flag / int_2612a967
comment
It Has Been an Honor: Saeko manages this with Keiichi, as the video she makes of herself, which he watches after her death, features her explaining that Keiichi's photos made her want to be a photographer.
 Flag / int_2612a967
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1.0
 Flag / int_2612a967
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1.0
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Flag / int_2612a967
 Flag / int_3820a9ea
type
Tomboyish Name
 Flag / int_3820a9ea
comment
Tomboyish Name: Chris Eversalt, the SDC's female commander.
 Flag / int_3820a9ea
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1.0
 Flag / int_3820a9ea
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1.0
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Flag / int_3820a9ea
 Flag / int_382a6399
type
The Hero Dies
 Flag / int_382a6399
comment
The Hero Dies
 Flag / int_382a6399
featureApplicability
1.0
 Flag / int_382a6399
featureConfidence
1.0
 Flag
hasFeature
Flag / int_382a6399
 Flag / int_39ed1c8a
type
Conspiracy Theorist
 Flag / int_39ed1c8a
comment
Conspiracy Theorist: Keiichi dabbles in this following Saeko's death and even hints that The UNF may have been complicit in the attack that killed her. Lisa, however, sets him straight.
 Flag / int_39ed1c8a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Flag / int_39ed1c8a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Flag
hasFeature
Flag / int_39ed1c8a
 Flag / int_40cc0c7e
type
Bittersweet Ending
 Flag / int_40cc0c7e
comment
Bittersweet Ending: Peace is achieved in Uddiyana - at least for now - and the UNF manage to get the flag back. None of the SDC die, and things look pretty peachy. Despite being detained by the UNF and having her pictures confiscated, rendering her entire time with SDC a "Shaggy Dog" Story, Saeko is young and full of joie de vivre and plans to continue taking pictures. At least, until she goddamn dies in a random terrorist attack at an airport on her way back to Tokyo to see her father, leaving her mentor Keiichi to piece together her story from the files she gave him. There is a heavier emphasis on the tragic aspects, so one could reasonably see it as a straight Downer Ending.
 Flag / int_40cc0c7e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Flag / int_40cc0c7e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Flag
hasFeature
Flag / int_40cc0c7e
 Flag / int_42cfbfc6
type
2D Visuals, 3D Effects
 Flag / int_42cfbfc6
comment
2D Visuals, 3D Effects: The HAVWC units are done in CG, but do a reasonably good job of blending in with the environment.
 Flag / int_42cfbfc6
featureApplicability
1.0
 Flag / int_42cfbfc6
featureConfidence
1.0
 Flag
hasFeature
Flag / int_42cfbfc6
 Flag / int_489b4e34
type
In-Universe Camera
 Flag / int_489b4e34
comment
In-Universe Camera: The audience sees what the cameras in the series itself see, no more, no less (excepting the ED). On several occasions, Saeko looks into mirrors and glass surfaces and gets her own reflection (sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally) in her pictures.
 Flag / int_489b4e34
featureApplicability
1.0
 Flag / int_489b4e34
featureConfidence
1.0
 Flag
hasFeature
Flag / int_489b4e34
 Flag / int_4e3d253b
type
Downer Ending
 Flag / int_4e3d253b
comment
Downer Ending: Saeko dies, as a result of someone deciding to set off a bomb at the airport.
 Flag / int_4e3d253b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Flag / int_4e3d253b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Flag
hasFeature
Flag / int_4e3d253b
 Flag / int_4fe8c481
type
Schematized Prop
 Flag / int_4fe8c481
comment
Schematized Prop: Again, the HAVWC units, though the technical specs, as they appear in the show, flash by a bit too quickly to read.
 Flag / int_4fe8c481
featureApplicability
1.0
 Flag / int_4fe8c481
featureConfidence
1.0
 Flag
hasFeature
Flag / int_4fe8c481
 Flag / int_5a4aa505
type
Government Conspiracy
 Flag / int_5a4aa505
comment
Government Conspiracy: It is heavily implied that the Flag was never that important, and that the entire operation was a Russo-Chinese ploy to live test their XR-2 Longku combat mecha against the Western-made HAVWCs. It is also heavily implied that the investigative reporter who was introduced, then killed off by what was officially a stray shot from the UNF troops fighting near his hotel in Episode 2 was intentionally targeted because he was getting too close to the truth.
 Flag / int_5a4aa505
featureApplicability
1.0
 Flag / int_5a4aa505
featureConfidence
1.0
 Flag
hasFeature
Flag / int_5a4aa505
 Flag / int_5bdffefe
type
Jitter Cam
 Flag / int_5bdffefe
comment
Jitter Cam: Occasionally averted, as Saeko has shown that she can be really clumsy with her camera on some occasions, and on others hold it so rock-steady that you wouldn't believe she's not using a tripod.
 Flag / int_5bdffefe
featureApplicability
-1.0
 Flag / int_5bdffefe
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1.0
 Flag
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Flag / int_5bdffefe
 Flag / int_5f146203
type
Dissonant Serenity
 Flag / int_5f146203
comment
Dissonant Serenity: HAVWC units are loud as hell in transit and their gatling guns are deafening. However, when Shin Ichiyanagi pilots his for the first time, all we hear in one of his flashbacks of the battle is the sound of his slow, calm breathing.
 Flag / int_5f146203
featureApplicability
1.0
 Flag / int_5f146203
featureConfidence
1.0
 Flag
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Flag / int_5f146203
 Flag / int_5f52cfcf
type
Intrepid Reporter
 Flag / int_5f52cfcf
comment
Intrepid Reporter: Keiichi more than Saeko, as Saeko claims that she wants to learn what "kind" of photographer she is.
 Flag / int_5f52cfcf
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1.0
 Flag / int_5f52cfcf
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1.0
 Flag
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Flag / int_5f52cfcf
 Flag / int_65acf9db
type
He Knows Too Much
 Flag / int_65acf9db
comment
He Knows Too Much: Some of the Intrepid Reporter characters meet bad ends which are implied to be due to this. Maybe even Saeko.
 Flag / int_65acf9db
featureApplicability
1.0
 Flag / int_65acf9db
featureConfidence
1.0
 Flag
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Flag / int_65acf9db
 Flag / int_8a336276
type
Propaganda Piece
 Flag / int_8a336276
comment
Propaganda Piece: In-Universe, Saeko's flag picture are used as propaganda.
 Flag / int_8a336276
featureApplicability
1.0
 Flag / int_8a336276
featureConfidence
1.0
 Flag
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Flag / int_8a336276
 Flag / int_912b24c4
type
Art Shift
 Flag / int_912b24c4
comment
Art Shift: The animated sequences and photos look quite different. Furthermore, the photos of the war and the photos of Saeko in her childhood as well as from certain scenes in Japan look like they shouldn't even belong in the same universe.
 Flag / int_912b24c4
featureApplicability
1.0
 Flag / int_912b24c4
featureConfidence
1.0
 Flag
hasFeature
Flag / int_912b24c4
 Flag / int_9633f14b
type
Badass Bystander
 Flag / int_9633f14b
comment
Badass Bystander: Saeko has her moment when she heads out into the battlefield to get pictures of mecha-to-mecha combat.
 Flag / int_9633f14b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Flag / int_9633f14b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Flag
hasFeature
Flag / int_9633f14b
 Flag / int_9dd2329c
type
Camera Abuse
 Flag / int_9dd2329c
comment
Camera Abuse: Saeko, from time to time, drops the camera, and at one point gets blown off her feet by the report of the new grenade rifle being tested on the HAVWC. As a result, the camera, and the audience, go with her.
 Flag / int_9dd2329c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Flag / int_9dd2329c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Flag
hasFeature
Flag / int_9dd2329c
 Flag / int_cd83fa5b
type
Spoiler Opening
 Flag / int_cd83fa5b
comment
Spoiler Opening: The ending credits foreshadow a major plot twist, though you're unlikely to realize it until the end. There's a reason the camera in the closing shot has a cracked lense and a huge chunk taken out of it.
 Flag / int_cd83fa5b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Flag / int_cd83fa5b
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1.0
 Flag
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Flag / int_cd83fa5b
 Flag / int_f0fe7e80
type
But Now I Must Go
 Flag / int_f0fe7e80
comment
But Now I Must Go: Saeko tells this to the UNF at the war's end, and they decide to pay her back by smuggling the highly classified photos she took over the course of the war back to her, as Eversalt claims she has earned them.
 Flag / int_f0fe7e80
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1.0
 Flag / int_f0fe7e80
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 Flag
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Flag / int_f0fe7e80
 Flag / int_f1d6144a
type
War Is Hell
 Flag / int_f1d6144a
comment
War Is Hell: One of the main themes of the entire series.
 Flag / int_f1d6144a
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 Flag / int_f1d6144a
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Flag / int_f1d6144a
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Flag / int_name
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Flag

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 FLAG
sameAs
Flag
 Flag
hasFeature
A Mech by Any Other Name / int_fcfb1578
 Flag
hasFeature
Camera Abuse / int_fcfb1578
 Flag
hasFeature
In-Universe Camera / int_fcfb1578
 Flag
hasFeature
Jitter Cam / int_fcfb1578
 Flag
hasFeature
Mukokuseki / int_fcfb1578
 Flag
hasFeature
One-Woman Wail / int_fcfb1578
 Flag
hasFeature
Propaganda Piece / int_fcfa9958
 Flag
hasFeature
Real Robot Genre / int_fcfb1578
 Sliding Scale of Anime Obscurity
seeAlso
Flag
 Flag
hasFeature
12-Episode Anime / int_fcfb1578