@@cameronyoung1290 My assumption is that they're so homophobic they didn't remember gay people exist. Both because "horny is okay if it's gay" would be a pretty bizarre belief even by cult standards, and because...well, you saw the video, you know Happy Science's political arm isn't exactly left-wing.
I said it once, and I will say it again: The idea of Thomas Edison willingly making technology for the sake of humanity alone is the least believable part of these movies.
@@witecatj6007 i actually live in the city he allegedly invented all his crap. there’s a big light bulb statue. It’s in glorious new jersey. i bet you’ll never guess the name of this place…lol
That reminds me of Gundam the witch from Mercury, where there's a character named "Miorine", which in spanish would mean "My urine". Couldn't stop giggling whenever anyone said her name
Geoff you have no idea how excited I am for Happy Science part 3. This is the only thing that can bring us any happiness with the loss of our super space Buddha
Your fundamental mistake was assuming that I haven't already watched and rewatched your first two videos so many times at this point that I know all the comedic beats by heart.
If an afterlife exists, there had better been a celebrity death match style fight between Okawa and L. Ron Hubbard with the two roasting each other’s books while throwing hands.
Years ago at an Evangelion panel, Tiffany Grant talked about how Japan viewed angels the way Americans view UFOs. Me then: Oh, neat! Jeff talks about an anime that views UFOs the way Americans view angels. Me now: Oh no!
Probably because in HS modern science in itself is a religion, hence he is in equal standing to Jesus (Christianity), Confucius (Confucianism), Moses (Judaism), Manu (Hinduism), Maitreya (mainline Buddhism), Zeus (ancient Greek religion), and Zoroaster (Zoroastrianism). That said, the historical Newton was also a deeply religious man; his estate simply chose to keep his writings on the matter concealed until the mid-20th century.
@@azoth6641 that's kind of funny because if the real, actual, Issac Newton could be brought back from the dead, he would be PISSED that HS is blasphemy against Jesus, by being held up as a God and equal with who Isaac believes to be the real God. Lmao.
@@horngatekeeper Have you seen today cults? People believe in even more wacky stuff nowadays because we have the studying is evil being pushed to the mainstream, you can literally make a cult that crystals can tell you about your past life and will get a good following in no time
Honestly, I'm interested if that means people will give me enough money to create so many anime movies of my ridiculous imaginary stories. Just seems a bit annoying to have to actually, like, lead a cult for a while as a side-effect 🙃
The anime cult wars section and the Death Note background kinda makes me wanna see a Death Note-inspired take on the action - two cult leaders playing extremely clever (unlike reality) mind games to grow and manipulate their cults while undermining the other, with the ultimate goal of consuming the rival. Perhaps toss in a third rival detective to give a moral grounding, maybe one who uses the cult rivalry to try and goad them into exposing each other (and by extension themselves).
Honestly I think the third party should be a character similar to the actual movie's Sayako, maybe having her be the partner to the detective, because the idea of a legitimate psychic getting caught up in a turf war between two cults would actually make for a pretty sick story if it weren't focused on venerating the "good" cult.
My friends and I were recently talking about Death Note if there was another arc like the Yotsuba Group arc where L and Light were on the same side. A cult leader with the death note would’ve worked. Where all the cult members protect the leader to make sure he remains unidentified. Maybe they try to bring about the apocalypse by either using the death note directly, or starting a nuclear war by killing world leaders in false flag attacks.
it's hilarious that Thomas Edison is so elevated by these movies when his real life reputation has been worsening since the 2010s and most people now see him as just a shady businessman
Gotta love that El Cantare based his "job productivity is good and CEOs are good actually" cult in Buddhism, the religion which says that attachment to earthly delights and worries is the cause for suffering 😂
@ 16:13 - That: “I’m Hellen Keller” line is possibly one of the most bat fecal matter crazy lines I’ve ever heard in any form of media! I laugh and shake my head in disbelief every time I hear it. 🤣🤔😲
I mean, angels don't have a phisical bodies to begin with and their ability to talk is not a bodily function. It's the rest of the scene that is completely moronic.
You do have to hand it to Happy Science: they’re probably not quite as evil as Aum Shinrikyo. I mean I guess you could argue that by not committing one of the worst and most blatant terror attacks in Japanese history they have allowed themselves to spread their evil further and wider than Asahara ever could, but at least they didn’t attack the Tokyo subway with Sarin gas! Yet!
What's funny is Ryuho Okawa calls himself the reincarnation of Buddha, but any actually devout Buddhist would tell you that the whole point of Buddhas is that they're the only people who never reincarnate. So... I have a feeling Aum was right that Ryuho knows nothing about Buddhism
In fact, it's so central to their doctrine that they say if you ever see the Buddha walking around, you should kill him, because he needs to stay dead. This is why historically people would claim to be the next Buddha and not the reincarnation of Buddha. But since Happy Science is all about treating major religions, even fake ones or ones that aren't even religions at all, like Pokemon to collect, that sorta nuance gets erased, because it would be an admission that these religions are just incompatible with each other and can't be consolidated together
In happy science, both heaven and hell contain office buildings. One as an inescapable pit for the poor and one as an ultimate heaven for the ultra rich. What happens if you grow up poor and envy rich people but then as an adult become very rich and contribute to the economy a lot? Or what if you win the lottery and pay a huge tax? That's contributing to the economy but you might still envy richer people.
Wait, Ryuto Okawa claims he channeled the spirit of Stan Lee to write superhero movies? I mean, if Stan was gonna be channeled, that's probably the thing he'd like to be used for most, but still. What a thing to say.
@@jordanforbes149 Stan Lee has one important advantage over Will Eisner. When people hear "Stan Lee," they think "Ah, excelsior!" When they hear "Will Eisner," they think "The Disney guy?"
A few weeks ago I saw a happy science "spiritual center" in my city in germany. I didnt know they even where here too and i would have never known what it was without these videos. Maybe would have assumed it was like a science center for kids to learn or smth. tldr: looking forward to the third installment of their weird stories
You live in Berlin, I assume? According to their website, the only one they have in Germany is in Berlin, thankfully. It's not a big movement here, just a few hundred people. That's how it is in most countries where they have a branch (usually one office/spiritual center in the capital and a few hundred followers). They consider themselves a global phenomenon but it's ultimately still a very Japanese cult whose teachings don't tend to resonate deeply with the majority of people elsewhere, and they end up being just one amongst a plethora of small esoteric movements :) Still it's always good to be aware and careful, especially with "innocent"-sounding places like Happy Science or the Family Federation for World Peace (a globally more influental, South Korean sect), because these seemingly inconspicuous names are exactly what make people lower their guard :x
@@sleepysera yeah absolutely it was a very small lil thing If I didnt know what it was already I would have never assumed it was from a cult given the name. you really gotta be wary of that kinda stuff
I am a Jew who went to and graduated from Soka Gakkai’s university (yes they have one). I taught English while finishing my degree. Other than opening ceremony/culture festival there wasn’t any prosthelsizing and never an expectation to join religious activity, though my dorm did have a prayer room etc. My dorm mates were even excited when I cooked Jewish food and celebrated my own holidays. I think the only thing was that they were very confused I didn’t celebrate Christmas.
(TLDR: I knew about Soka’s reputation before going but other than getting a book by the creator when I graduated I had no interaction with the religion at all, and the education I got was legit very good)
Yeah, I joined and legit all I ever hear is be cool to people. Help people be cool. And they actually talk about the political activity. They just don't go over every detail, but it's available. Even met Michelle Obama at a youth group retreat.
If I were to take a wild guess, I imagine that being in existence for almost 100 years could have seen the cult's spinoff projects end up rather religiously soft, if not outright harmless. It'd be like going to a Christian Uni in the US. You may see more prayer groups and such, on account of the US's rather prolific religious history and culture, despite recent trends, but I imagine you'd find similar lack of cultish proselytizing. Basically they're just well-funded private schools. I'd be much more worried about primary school, especially boarding schools, mostly from small cults, but I reserve a healthy amount of skepticism for even mainstream ones. I've seen enough "anime" to know where that shit can go down hard and go down fast (into the bedsheets 👉👉 ) (that was a terrible and tasteless joke, forgiveness please understand)
I know everyone, their mother and their dog has pointed this out by now, but it's still extremely funny that Okawa's whole bit is claiming he's the reincarnated Buddha when the whole point of Buddha was that he escaped the cycle of reincarnation.
God, I love cults forever blatantly co-opting figures from other traditions for the rep points. And if you think the phenonemon is new - remember the Magi (the Wise Men) from the Christmas story? Magi were priests of Zoroastrianism! They literally wrote in priests of an older religion travelling the world to fall down at the feet of the new religion to proclaim how awesome and correct it was :D
@@TheEvolver311 Philo of Alexandria was not Gnostic but Jewish. Enochian is a made up language created by John Dee in the 16th century. So maybe you mean the apocryphal Books of Enoch? They are also Jewish, not Gnostic. Gnosticm came about in the 1st century AD.
@zagreus5773 no John Dee made up the enochian/angelic language. Enochian literature refers to the multiple separate books of Enoch all of which were written at different times by different Jewish groups. Also did you not know that gnostic is a term rejected by academic scholarship and is not a useful term. Philo was a helenized Jew who wrote helenic influenced Jewish theology which was heavily influential along with the enochian literature on the various movements you erroneously labeled "gnostic"
Thank you for the last video. I am a second year PhD philosophy student. I am trying to publish a paper on mysticism in religions and Cults. And I have used happy science since watching the first two. Cannot hide the excitement. 🎉
Honestly most of happy sciences influence isn’t traditional religion. Its the UFO mythology. I swear everything in this mythology is only slightly different from what you would hear from crazy callers on coast to coast AM, the conspiracy radio show.
Geoff your doing good work. And my good work I mean fueling my understanding of cults so I can write more accurate cults in my stories. Which is of course the most worthy cause there is. God bless.
Something about how the leader named himself Hermes makes me think Happy Science may have been the inspiration for a certain character from FFXIV. Spoilers to the Endwalker expansion below: The character is Fandaniel. He's literally the reincarnation of a god-like entity named Hermes. Said-Hermes accidentally created a being that wanted to destroy all life because it thought it was the only true path to "happiness." They do make an effort to paint Hermes as sympathetic by making him a genuine person, yet naïve. He was evil because he was corrupted by the amoral society he reincarnated into. If there is a connection, it's probably a jab at how these movies try to make El Cantare's reincarnations always good even if they're born in a corrupt environment.
HOLY HELL! I forgot how bat shit crazy this whole thing is! And now that part 3 is coming, now I will need to rewatch the first two. So there goes about a quarter of my day. So.... thanks Geoff... THANKS A WHOLE FUCKING LOT!
You know, I had just finally managed to block out Happy Science from my memory.... thank you for reminding me what it's like to watch several different theology documentaries simultaneously while also being black out drunk~
I’m well excited for the third part! 🎉 But also… In what universe is Asterion the Minotaur the son of Minos? I mean, Asterion was Minos’s stepson: the bastard of Minos’s queen consort Pasiphaë! How hard would it have been for Space-Buddha-sama to do his f***ing homework?
Its so interesting watching this video right after finishing the comic "We Only Find Them When They're Dead" which deals with dead gods and the existential crisis that comes with that, and then seeing anime Niches howling about how God is dead
I used to go to a Japanese class that was done by happy science, there was a freaking shrine for him with flowers, food and everything! But they didn't forcefeed the cult beliefs to me thankfully
They never "force feed" it's really not about him- it's about the teachings - combing Christian with Buddhist ..and a smidge of Shinto ... But the idea is to get past the things you might think are goofy .. Look into the 8 fold path It's traditional Buddhist .. But happy science does a updated version called the 4 fold path . It's new-ish .... So it has the ish...lol... Like the Jews . Soooo...😂😂😂
@@eisgnom7383 😂😂😂😂 look into "cults " and you never find free food with poison .. Silly ... You tried to sound poetic yet it was just -pathetic .. Soooo close .. Actual cults don't act or teach or build or do good - your confusing them with those in the 80's in Oregon .!!! Lol.. They poisoned food . Lol...
I almost skipped this one knowing it was a recap, but there's a lot of juicier bits of the absolutely nucking futs history of Happy Science in this that the others don't cover (Also, I will never get tired of the "I'm Helen Keller" scene)
Dude sounds like an Anime Protagonist that rejoins with his old friends before he became the Protagonist. "Yeah, and that's my Life right now, what about you, Ryuho-san?" "Ah well, when we graduated I started having these weird Spiritual dreams that told me I was a prophet?" "The Fuck?" "Yeah, ridiculous shit, that was bs though..." "Oh good God I really thought that you were a-" "I'm actually the reincarnation of the six aspects of the divine entity known as El Cantare." "..."
Plot Twists that should have happened. The "Ultimate Destructive Weapon" is revealed to be the severed head of Tong Shau Ping and Okawa has to team up with Chin, Bruce Lee's relative, for the destruction of all 1.2 billion of the ugly reds from the mainland. Would have made so many more believers.
Oh my goodness, I am really stoked for the third part of the Happy Science movie review. Also, my dad once worked for the Indonesia's branch of Tomen back then. The company is now called Toyota Tsusho after being acquired in the 2000s.
I forgot how batshit insane this stuff was...and how absolutely hilarious it was! I'm looking forward to the next part in your series when I get time to watch it. Also, loving the death note tunes :)
My anime club watched these movies as the unofficial showing every year after the winter break started, I am glad more people are being made aware of the batshit insanity in these
Jeff, you did a lot of good research on this. I also feel great pity for you, for that same fact. This is actually very informative - it's not often we get accessible, easy-to-digest accounts of how weird far-right cults form. This has a number of useful applications, which frankly after 2016 happened, are necessary. You're doing a good thing.
I did this during the original video and I'll do it again, I'll slightly defend Sayako's decision in the baseball stadium. At least in the context of how we as the audience 100% know he's a literal demon. By choosing her "Faith" over the lives of 50,000 people, the Demon is left in a catch 22. Either he makes good on his promise and shows his true colors, making it EXTREMELY obvious that he's the obvious bad guy and probably getting on the entire world's shit list. Or he chickens out like he does in the actual film because he knows how much of a disaster that would be for PR. Meanwhile if she DID relinquish her faith and say this faker was the real god, she'd play right into his hands and enable his world-domination plot. Also more cynically, the idea that 50,000 lives lost right now might be worth how much suffering she prevents by not letting this false deity demon take over the world. Obviously, as far as Morals go it's still kinda messed up to say one's faith is more important than so many lives, but in the particular situation it seems to make sense.
But only, frankly, in the cult's twisted views. All she has to do is literally "renounce" her faith and take shit to the police. Considering she was seen with him just moments ago by the time she would get there, it could lend credence to her story. At least the story about the bomb being planted. Forensics would have a *field day* from that shit!
@@jemm113 Admittedly that's a fair point. I'm mostly analyzing the story on its own terms to an extent, with the fact that Religion is enough of a cornerstone of this version of the world that someone claiming to be the reincarnation of the buddha might have actual power both physically and politically, and that if she were to renounce her faith and then go to the police they'd be like "Whaaa, the reincarnation of the buddha would never bomb a stadium silly girl" Or even worse that getting 50,000 new followers just straight-up gives the demon a chance to brainwash the entire city like he did with the Tidal Wave incident to make sure that nobody ever believes what the protagonist says ever, turning her into a Cassandra figure. In "Real Life", religions in general, let alone new religions/cults, don't have nearly as much sway as they do within the world of the story.
Or I guess another way to put it since likes decided to throw this at me again. I analyze it like Fantasy rather than Reality. In a world where Gods and Demons and Magic are real, tangible things, and Faith in those gods and demons has practical ramifications on human life, the idea that the world's divine faith might have more power and leverage and value than the individual lives of a stadium of people might have some credence.
@@aquamarinerose5405 fair analysis. I'm rather agnostic, though grew up rather religious, but am severely anti-cult so I wasn't looking at this from a lens from within the story itself, especially when this story is really meant to be a propaganda piece for the IRL cult where such moral guidance would be faulty. Even if God(s) exist IRL they don't seem to make themselves or their power directly known to anyone so the ramifications would be the same as a godless universe.
Literally every time I see the clip with Helen Keller shwooshing in as a goose, transforming, pausing a moment, then announcing she is Helen Keller, I outright lose it for awhile. The girl's reaction is identical to mine, "What?"
I feel like a crossover video with Tristan from Step Back on a comparison of Erich von Däniken and Ryuho Okawa and both of their wild lives in general would be a match made in inter-dimensional space heaven and
This is now my wrestlemania weekend main event. I been waiting for this forever and this video is just a preview of what is the only thing that matters on friday I can't wait. It's going to be amazing and also I seen both parts like ten times now and I just happy that we might see the space police and space Buddha series of films next.
I keep meaning to go back and watch the Happy Science videos but I'm grateful for the refresher so I can put my eyeballs all over the 3rd one immediately. edit: my mom is in the room with me while I was watching this and was sort of listening and she went 'you used to watch this didn't you?' knowing NOTHING abt anime and I went 'No I didn't! This is a cult anime' edit: also my mother after I told her this was about a cult 'these this guy in japan who has a cult about being from Venus?' to which I immediately said 'yeah that's this. This is the story of his cult told through anime' XD she just said 'he's a wack-a-doodle'
Woah woah what hold up, he didn't go to the *televised* debate, so we escalated to NERVE GAS ATTACKS and TERRORISM??? That went from 0-100 REALLY fucking quick
I love how Ryuho Okawa has declared himself to be way cooler than the god that created and populated the world, the god who invented a bunch of Atlantis stuff, the god who founded Ancient Greece, the god who saved Greece, and Buddha. Clearly some businessman turned cult leader that makes a bunch of sermons and excommunicates and sues his family is far cooler.
Just know how these ideas were conjured and materialised was enough to buffle me hence stimulating my curiousity 😅 well at list you literally introduced your viewers to the teachings the irony of it is that once they study these teachings they will surely question their realities its all mind buffling
There's an interesting story idea here about a benevolent deity who continually reincarnates across the eons and tries to teach people not be assholes, but they keep forgetting his teachings and being assholes when he leaves... too bad it happens to be a weird cult leader's self-insert.
Don't forget, attempting to apply logic to Happy Science beyond what you've been told is the same as doubting it and will be cast to hell for blasphemy.
3:34 Artists have to start somewhere, after all 17:35 The whole "your friends, loved ones and family judge you in afterlife, after seeing your entire life, and thoughts across them about everything" feels like such a good concept i wish other shows used. 25:37 (Sarcasm mode activated) THIS WILL END WELL!!!
'he whole "your friends, loved ones and family judge you in afterlife, after seeing your entire life, and thoughts across them about everything" feels like such a good concept i wish other shows used.' You never saw the 1991 movie "Defending Your Life"? you can buy or rent it on youtube
Because nothing says "I should worship this god" like making multiple failed attempts at uplifting humanity and responding to that failure by flipping the table.
It's coming this week?! I've watched those videos like three times! ... And I think I only started watching your videos last September or so... ...I'll be sure to watch them again before that, too.
Happy Science has also released live action movies. I was cataloging new DVDs at the library where I work and one day had a shock when I that what I was holding was *not* yet another cheaply produced Evangelical Christian movie, but a thinly veiled Okawa biopic! It's called Twiceborn for anyone masochistic enough to watch it.
In Tokyo right now and the cult has like 5 large buildings in the area I am in. It’s a very affluent area and as my partner and I were walking we came across this white building which looked like it belonged in the UK with a large fence around it. We couldn’t figure out what the hell it was because the building doesn’t come up as anything on Google Maps. We walked around it and saw a Buddha statue in the front so figured it was some temple but the style didn’t match any other temples we’ve seen around the city. When we were trying to translate a sign out front a man came up to us and asked us not to take pictures. He didn’t come out of that building though. He came from a nice home from across the street. As we walked we saw 3 more buildings in the area with the same “R” like marking on them and then finally the words “Happy Science” written above the door. We had no idea what the hell Happy Science was before then and now we have seen other large buildings on the block with the same symbols. Creepy shit. They must have an insane amount of money too because these buildings are quite modern and look more like contemporary art museums than temples.
Hey, I just heard that Pete (PremierTwo) who hangs out with the Trash Taste guys and Chris Broad did an English voice-over as El Cantare. It's a small world!
I like how they specify that the hell of the bloody pond is only for people obsessed with the opposite sex. So you can be horny, so long as it's gay.
Based.
I can *feel* Happy Science Members going "Wait, no, not like that! 😢" at this
Huh, good to know they ain't homophobic
@@cameronyoung1290 My assumption is that they're so homophobic they didn't remember gay people exist. Both because "horny is okay if it's gay" would be a pretty bizarre belief even by cult standards, and because...well, you saw the video, you know Happy Science's political arm isn't exactly left-wing.
@@timothymclean that was sarcasm
I said it once, and I will say it again: The idea of Thomas Edison willingly making technology for the sake of humanity alone is the least believable part of these movies.
hahahahahahaha!
people gettin BIG MAD at Thomas Edison lately 😂
@@Anti-Identity-Entity And he deserves it!
@@witecatj6007 i actually live in the city he allegedly invented all his crap. there’s a big light bulb statue. It’s in glorious new jersey. i bet you’ll never guess the name of this place…lol
Every time I hear the name El Cantare I just giggle like an idiot because in Spanish that means "The I will sing" and it's hilarious
I wonder if Ryuto thought it meant "The Singer" or if he just thought it sounds cool.
To be fair, that explains that musical section...
That reminds me of Gundam the witch from Mercury, where there's a character named "Miorine", which in spanish would mean "My urine". Couldn't stop giggling whenever anyone said her name
i can't help but think of the edible mushroom golden chanterelle, since it's norwegian name is kantarell
I had assumed he deposed his Venusian predecessor El Volare.
If Happy Science had any sense, they could use their bonkers takes on alternate history to create a gacha game to rival Fate/Grand Order.
Or their own Kingdom Hearts clone. 👑
Seriously, if this was the premise of a JRPG or something I'd play the hell out of it. I love shit like Xenosaga.
@@ReturnToSenderz Remember that version of Kingdom Hearts with Mickey Mouse in it?
Reborn as a genius happy scientist.
@@terubokmasin3247 Reborn from the anime Reborn?
Geoff you have no idea how excited I am for Happy Science part 3. This is the only thing that can bring us any happiness with the loss of our super space Buddha
The great El Cantare visited me the night of his death and told me it was my mission to share his final works with the world
This will be a national and religious holiday
Welp, time to wait for his next reincarnation I guess. What do you think he will be next time?
@@Shadow6OO Not sure, probably some other dude who feels insignificant and needs money
@@Shadow6OO Me. Pay up
Your fundamental mistake was assuming that I haven't already watched and rewatched your first two videos so many times at this point that I know all the comedic beats by heart.
Did you also say "I'm Hellen Keller!" out loud when the line came up?
@@Voreten I said it out loud and now my mom and sister think I'm insane
Glad it ain’t just me
@@Voreten you are not alone
@@Voreten can you really call yourself a true Mother’s Basement fan if you didn’t? Jk lmao
If an afterlife exists, there had better been a celebrity death match style fight between Okawa and L. Ron Hubbard with the two roasting each other’s books while throwing hands.
I’d pay to watch that
Epic Rap Battles of History!
Record of Ragnarock where you at?
The holy grail wars in 2100 are going to look funny
@@TianZhaoHeavenlyFortune L Ron Hubbard was probably one of the world’s all time most prolific writers in recent history.
Years ago at an Evangelion panel, Tiffany Grant talked about how Japan viewed angels the way Americans view UFOs.
Me then: Oh, neat!
Jeff talks about an anime that views UFOs the way Americans view angels.
Me now: Oh no!
The “sir Issac newton being with Jesus” bit always gets me
Why Newton, of all people? It feels like such a random choice.
@@timothymclean it’s a cult, what donyou expect
Probably because in HS modern science in itself is a religion, hence he is in equal standing to Jesus (Christianity), Confucius (Confucianism), Moses (Judaism), Manu (Hinduism), Maitreya (mainline Buddhism), Zeus (ancient Greek religion), and Zoroaster (Zoroastrianism).
That said, the historical Newton was also a deeply religious man; his estate simply chose to keep his writings on the matter concealed until the mid-20th century.
@@timothymclean He's already an emperor of isekai in an anime, so why not? 😂
@@azoth6641 that's kind of funny because if the real, actual, Issac Newton could be brought back from the dead, he would be PISSED that HS is blasphemy against Jesus, by being held up as a God and equal with who Isaac believes to be the real God. Lmao.
This video is maybe accidentally a guide on how to start a cult but I'm okay with this
Let me know if you plan on following the instructions. I'll follow your career with great interest.
*Mothers basement is not responsible for any cults started as a result of this video but if you make a load of money please send royalties
Step one, time travel to the 1930s
@@horngatekeeper Have you seen today cults? People believe in even more wacky stuff nowadays because we have the studying is evil being pushed to the mainstream, you can literally make a cult that crystals can tell you about your past life and will get a good following in no time
Honestly, I'm interested if that means people will give me enough money to create so many anime movies of my ridiculous imaginary stories. Just seems a bit annoying to have to actually, like, lead a cult for a while as a side-effect 🙃
The anime cult wars section and the Death Note background kinda makes me wanna see a Death Note-inspired take on the action - two cult leaders playing extremely clever (unlike reality) mind games to grow and manipulate their cults while undermining the other, with the ultimate goal of consuming the rival. Perhaps toss in a third rival detective to give a moral grounding, maybe one who uses the cult rivalry to try and goad them into exposing each other (and by extension themselves).
damn, that's just a based af premise
Honestly I think the third party should be a character similar to the actual movie's Sayako, maybe having her be the partner to the detective, because the idea of a legitimate psychic getting caught up in a turf war between two cults would actually make for a pretty sick story if it weren't focused on venerating the "good" cult.
My friends and I were recently talking about Death Note if there was another arc like the Yotsuba Group arc where L and Light were on the same side. A cult leader with the death note would’ve worked. Where all the cult members protect the leader to make sure he remains unidentified. Maybe they try to bring about the apocalypse by either using the death note directly, or starting a nuclear war by killing world leaders in false flag attacks.
That fact that these are dubbed, but not Gundam ZZ is mind boggling in the best way possible.
Wait til you see the cast for the next movies
They got Tom Kenny
@@BasementLifePodcast how the fuck
@@BasementLifePodcast WHAT?!
@@BasementLifePodcast in his Ice King voice or Spongebob's?
@@Gorypaladin346 Cash. Cult money spends as good as anyone else's.
I love how much Geoff despises the song at 7:23 that he decided to play it again to torture all of us.
Thank goodness it's hilarious-bad and not painful-bad!
it's hilarious that Thomas Edison is so elevated by these movies when his real life reputation has been worsening since the 2010s and most people now see him as just a shady businessman
Thanks to Beakman I already had that image of him
Yeah, but those movies were made when everyone thought Edison made the lightbulb and invented electricity, so...
Gotta love that El Cantare based his "job productivity is good and CEOs are good actually" cult in Buddhism, the religion which says that attachment to earthly delights and worries is the cause for suffering 😂
Playing Lights theme over his backstory makes it SO much funnier. He truly did try to become a god of the new world.
@ 16:13 - That:
“I’m Hellen Keller”
line is possibly one of the most bat fecal matter crazy lines I’ve ever heard in any form of media! I laugh and shake my head in disbelief every time I hear it. 🤣🤔😲
My first thought:Helen Keller?!?!
My second thought: Wait, when did she learn how to speak?
@@witecatj6007 When she became a swan angel obviously.
@@arubinojr5670 What was I thinking? Of course! Makes perfect sense!
I mean, angels don't have a phisical bodies to begin with and their ability to talk is not a bodily function. It's the rest of the scene that is completely moronic.
@@noukan42 But she made a lotus when she un-swanned though.
You do have to hand it to Happy Science: they’re probably not quite as evil as Aum Shinrikyo.
I mean I guess you could argue that by not committing one of the worst and most blatant terror attacks in Japanese history they have allowed themselves to spread their evil further and wider than Asahara ever could, but at least they didn’t attack the Tokyo subway with Sarin gas!
Yet!
I feel like the "probably not quite" part needs to be kept solidly in mind at all times.
@@richmcgee434 yeah I added that in after I thought about it for a bit.
What's funny is Ryuho Okawa calls himself the reincarnation of Buddha, but any actually devout Buddhist would tell you that the whole point of Buddhas is that they're the only people who never reincarnate. So... I have a feeling Aum was right that Ryuho knows nothing about Buddhism
Doesn't surprise me tbh; you see plenty of that in the USA with folks who purport to be Christian but have barely read the Bible. :/
In fact, it's so central to their doctrine that they say if you ever see the Buddha walking around, you should kill him, because he needs to stay dead. This is why historically people would claim to be the next Buddha and not the reincarnation of Buddha. But since Happy Science is all about treating major religions, even fake ones or ones that aren't even religions at all, like Pokemon to collect, that sorta nuance gets erased, because it would be an admission that these religions are just incompatible with each other and can't be consolidated together
its why i don't like the religion. According to buddhism only 28 people managed to escape from this shithole, everyone else comes back
He also knows basically nothing about any other religions. Like, why'd he turn Aphrodite, Hermes and Θώθ into mortals?
In happy science, both heaven and hell contain office buildings. One as an inescapable pit for the poor and one as an ultimate heaven for the ultra rich. What happens if you grow up poor and envy rich people but then as an adult become very rich and contribute to the economy a lot? Or what if you win the lottery and pay a huge tax? That's contributing to the economy but you might still envy richer people.
Oh haven't you heard? Only people who are very kind and thankful and happy become wealthy :)
@@northstarjakobsbecause philanthropy is real and not a massive tax write-off
Wait, Ryuto Okawa claims he channeled the spirit of Stan Lee to write superhero movies? I mean, if Stan was gonna be channeled, that's probably the thing he'd like to be used for most, but still. What a thing to say.
He’s also not the best guy to summon I mean Will Eisner is also dead.
@@jordanforbes149 Stan Lee has one important advantage over Will Eisner. When people hear "Stan Lee," they think "Ah, excelsior!" When they hear "Will Eisner," they think "The Disney guy?"
@@timothymclean very true Stan Lee is better for clout
ironically that was less dissrespectful than what his Disney did with his ghosts
A few weeks ago I saw a happy science "spiritual center" in my city in germany. I didnt know they even where here too and i would have never known what it was without these videos. Maybe would have assumed it was like a science center for kids to learn or smth. tldr: looking forward to the third installment of their weird stories
Did you go inside?
You live in Berlin, I assume? According to their website, the only one they have in Germany is in Berlin, thankfully. It's not a big movement here, just a few hundred people. That's how it is in most countries where they have a branch (usually one office/spiritual center in the capital and a few hundred followers). They consider themselves a global phenomenon but it's ultimately still a very Japanese cult whose teachings don't tend to resonate deeply with the majority of people elsewhere, and they end up being just one amongst a plethora of small esoteric movements :)
Still it's always good to be aware and careful, especially with "innocent"-sounding places like Happy Science or the Family Federation for World Peace (a globally more influental, South Korean sect), because these seemingly inconspicuous names are exactly what make people lower their guard :x
@@Alice-me2qk gods no just looking from outside
@@sleepysera yeah absolutely it was a very small lil thing If I didnt know what it was already I would have never assumed it was from a cult given the name. you really gotta be wary of that kinda stuff
I am a Jew who went to and graduated from Soka Gakkai’s university (yes they have one). I taught English while finishing my degree. Other than opening ceremony/culture festival there wasn’t any prosthelsizing and never an expectation to join religious activity, though my dorm did have a prayer room etc. My dorm mates were even excited when I cooked Jewish food and celebrated my own holidays. I think the only thing was that they were very confused I didn’t celebrate Christmas.
(TLDR: I knew about Soka’s reputation before going but other than getting a book by the creator when I graduated I had no interaction with the religion at all, and the education I got was legit very good)
Yeah, I joined and legit all I ever hear is be cool to people. Help people be cool. And they actually talk about the political activity. They just don't go over every detail, but it's available. Even met Michelle Obama at a youth group retreat.
If I were to take a wild guess, I imagine that being in existence for almost 100 years could have seen the cult's spinoff projects end up rather religiously soft, if not outright harmless. It'd be like going to a Christian Uni in the US. You may see more prayer groups and such, on account of the US's rather prolific religious history and culture, despite recent trends, but I imagine you'd find similar lack of cultish proselytizing. Basically they're just well-funded private schools. I'd be much more worried about primary school, especially boarding schools, mostly from small cults, but I reserve a healthy amount of skepticism for even mainstream ones.
I've seen enough "anime" to know where that shit can go down hard and go down fast (into the bedsheets 👉👉 ) (that was a terrible and tasteless joke, forgiveness please understand)
I know everyone, their mother and their dog has pointed this out by now, but it's still extremely funny that Okawa's whole bit is claiming he's the reincarnated Buddha when the whole point of Buddha was that he escaped the cycle of reincarnation.
cults releasing diss tracks in anime form is the funniest fucking thing i’ve never heard of
It was nice hearing you expand on the Aum Shinrikyou rivalry. Insane stuff
"I'm Helen Keller" are words not even spoken by Helen Keller herself.
God, I love cults forever blatantly co-opting figures from other traditions for the rep points.
And if you think the phenonemon is new - remember the Magi (the Wise Men) from the Christmas story? Magi were priests of Zoroastrianism! They literally wrote in priests of an older religion travelling the world to fall down at the feet of the new religion to proclaim how awesome and correct it was :D
Same with John the Baptist and Simon Magus. Their appearances in the Bible are digs at a couple of Gnostic sects.
@@jy3n2 Eh, Gnosticsm is a subgroups of Christianity, it is pretty much impossible that the bible references them, since it came before them.
@@zagreus5773Philo of Alexandria and the mid to late 2nd temple Judaism that was heavily informed by the Enochian literature would beg to differ
@@TheEvolver311 Philo of Alexandria was not Gnostic but Jewish. Enochian is a made up language created by John Dee in the 16th century. So maybe you mean the apocryphal Books of Enoch? They are also Jewish, not Gnostic. Gnosticm came about in the 1st century AD.
@zagreus5773 no John Dee made up the enochian/angelic language. Enochian literature refers to the multiple separate books of Enoch all of which were written at different times by different Jewish groups.
Also did you not know that gnostic is a term rejected by academic scholarship and is not a useful term. Philo was a helenized Jew who wrote helenic influenced Jewish theology which was heavily influential along with the enochian literature on the various movements you erroneously labeled "gnostic"
Thank you for the last video.
I am a second year PhD philosophy student. I am trying to publish a paper on mysticism in religions and Cults. And I have used happy science since watching the first two. Cannot hide the excitement. 🎉
Honestly most of happy sciences influence isn’t traditional religion. Its the UFO mythology. I swear everything in this mythology is only slightly different from what you would hear from crazy callers on coast to coast AM, the conspiracy radio show.
Two cult leaders had a debate, ended in terrorism.
we know who won.
@@vladtheconNot the guys committing the terrorism
The best part about this series is realizing mob is making fun of happy science in that one episode with dimple
Geoff your doing good work. And my good work I mean fueling my understanding of cults so I can write more accurate cults in my stories. Which is of course the most worthy cause there is. God bless.
I have a funny feeling Stan Lee wasn't actually dead yet when those super hero anime were penned with the help of his spirit.
Ryuho is good enough at channeling that he can channel the living. That was covered in one of these videos.
Something about how the leader named himself Hermes makes me think Happy Science may have been the inspiration for a certain character from FFXIV. Spoilers to the Endwalker expansion below:
The character is Fandaniel. He's literally the reincarnation of a god-like entity named Hermes. Said-Hermes accidentally created a being that wanted to destroy all life because it thought it was the only true path to "happiness."
They do make an effort to paint Hermes as sympathetic by making him a genuine person, yet naïve.
He was evil because he was corrupted by the amoral society he reincarnated into.
If there is a connection, it's probably a jab at how these movies try to make El Cantare's reincarnations always good even if they're born in a corrupt environment.
Yes, glad that you mentioned the "beloved" leader is now in his own 9th dimension.
HOLY HELL! I forgot how bat shit crazy this whole thing is!
And now that part 3 is coming, now I will need to rewatch the first two. So there goes about a quarter of my day. So.... thanks Geoff... THANKS A WHOLE FUCKING LOT!
Let's be honest, they had alien catboy Satan. As far as the anime community is concerned it couldn't have been that bad.
Specifically for that reason.
I'm surprised they never made an anime called "The World El Cantare Only Knows"
Never say never. Fingers crossed they will do it. Just with a slight change in titile ""The World El Cantare Only Knew""
You know, I had just finally managed to block out Happy Science from my memory.... thank you for reminding me what it's like to watch several different theology documentaries simultaneously while also being black out drunk~
I’m well excited for the third part! 🎉
But also… In what universe is Asterion the Minotaur the son of Minos? I mean, Asterion was Minos’s stepson: the bastard of Minos’s queen consort Pasiphaë!
How hard would it have been for Space-Buddha-sama to do his f***ing homework?
The universe where Hermes is a human prince and not a divine bastard who lived in a cave and stole cows
Honestly I did not expect Happy Science to have such beef with Aum Shinrykio and Asahara and it's fucking hilarious
Its so interesting watching this video right after finishing the comic "We Only Find Them When They're Dead" which deals with dead gods and the existential crisis that comes with that, and then seeing anime Niches howling about how God is dead
I used to go to a Japanese class that was done by happy science, there was a freaking shrine for him with flowers, food and everything! But they didn't forcefeed the cult beliefs to me thankfully
that's so wilde
Cults don't forcefeed their beliefs. They mix their poison in with free food.
They never "force feed" it's really not about him- it's about the teachings - combing Christian with Buddhist ..and a smidge of Shinto ...
But the idea is to get past the things you might think are goofy ..
Look into the 8 fold path
It's traditional Buddhist ..
But happy science does a updated version called the 4 fold path .
It's new-ish ....
So it has the ish...lol...
Like the Jews .
Soooo...😂😂😂
@@eisgnom7383 😂😂😂😂 look into "cults " and you never find free food with poison ..
Silly ...
You tried to sound poetic yet it was just -pathetic ..
Soooo close ..
Actual cults don't act or teach or build or do good - your confusing them with those in the 80's in Oregon .!!! Lol..
They poisoned food .
Lol...
I almost skipped this one knowing it was a recap, but there's a lot of juicier bits of the absolutely nucking futs history of Happy Science in this that the others don't cover
(Also, I will never get tired of the "I'm Helen Keller" scene)
The plot twist at the end of Okawa being dead already gave me whiplash
So what I’m getting from this is that Happy Science is Japanese Scientology and Soko Gakai is Japanese Mormonism.
Dude sounds like an Anime Protagonist that rejoins with his old friends before he became the Protagonist.
"Yeah, and that's my Life right now, what about you, Ryuho-san?"
"Ah well, when we graduated I started having these weird Spiritual dreams that told me I was a prophet?"
"The Fuck?"
"Yeah, ridiculous shit, that was bs though..."
"Oh good God I really thought that you were a-"
"I'm actually the reincarnation of the six aspects of the divine entity known as El Cantare."
"..."
Real excited for part 3 of your series, Geoff! Also, I'd just like to point out that this video is how I found out that Okawa died, so, uh... yeah.
Have I watched the original two videos thrice each? Yes. Am I still going to watch this? Also yes.
Plot Twists that should have happened.
The "Ultimate Destructive Weapon" is revealed to be the severed head of Tong Shau Ping and Okawa has to team up with Chin, Bruce Lee's relative, for the destruction of all 1.2 billion of the ugly reds from the mainland.
Would have made so many more believers.
Oh my goodness, I am really stoked for the third part of the Happy Science movie review.
Also, my dad once worked for the Indonesia's branch of Tomen back then. The company is now called Toyota Tsusho after being acquired in the 2000s.
Well, not a bad fate for a former cult division!
I forgot how batshit insane this stuff was...and how absolutely hilarious it was! I'm looking forward to the next part in your series when I get time to watch it.
Also, loving the death note tunes :)
My anime club watched these movies as the unofficial showing every year after the winter break started, I am glad more people are being made aware of the batshit insanity in these
Jeff, you did a lot of good research on this. I also feel great pity for you, for that same fact. This is actually very informative - it's not often we get accessible, easy-to-digest accounts of how weird far-right cults form. This has a number of useful applications, which frankly after 2016 happened, are necessary.
You're doing a good thing.
I did this during the original video and I'll do it again, I'll slightly defend Sayako's decision in the baseball stadium. At least in the context of how we as the audience 100% know he's a literal demon.
By choosing her "Faith" over the lives of 50,000 people, the Demon is left in a catch 22. Either he makes good on his promise and shows his true colors, making it EXTREMELY obvious that he's the obvious bad guy and probably getting on the entire world's shit list. Or he chickens out like he does in the actual film because he knows how much of a disaster that would be for PR. Meanwhile if she DID relinquish her faith and say this faker was the real god, she'd play right into his hands and enable his world-domination plot.
Also more cynically, the idea that 50,000 lives lost right now might be worth how much suffering she prevents by not letting this false deity demon take over the world.
Obviously, as far as Morals go it's still kinda messed up to say one's faith is more important than so many lives, but in the particular situation it seems to make sense.
But only, frankly, in the cult's twisted views. All she has to do is literally "renounce" her faith and take shit to the police. Considering she was seen with him just moments ago by the time she would get there, it could lend credence to her story. At least the story about the bomb being planted. Forensics would have a *field day* from that shit!
@@jemm113 Admittedly that's a fair point. I'm mostly analyzing the story on its own terms to an extent, with the fact that Religion is enough of a cornerstone of this version of the world that someone claiming to be the reincarnation of the buddha might have actual power both physically and politically, and that if she were to renounce her faith and then go to the police they'd be like "Whaaa, the reincarnation of the buddha would never bomb a stadium silly girl"
Or even worse that getting 50,000 new followers just straight-up gives the demon a chance to brainwash the entire city like he did with the Tidal Wave incident to make sure that nobody ever believes what the protagonist says ever, turning her into a Cassandra figure.
In "Real Life", religions in general, let alone new religions/cults, don't have nearly as much sway as they do within the world of the story.
Or I guess another way to put it since likes decided to throw this at me again. I analyze it like Fantasy rather than Reality.
In a world where Gods and Demons and Magic are real, tangible things, and Faith in those gods and demons has practical ramifications on human life, the idea that the world's divine faith might have more power and leverage and value than the individual lives of a stadium of people might have some credence.
@@aquamarinerose5405 fair analysis. I'm rather agnostic, though grew up rather religious, but am severely anti-cult so I wasn't looking at this from a lens from within the story itself, especially when this story is really meant to be a propaganda piece for the IRL cult where such moral guidance would be faulty. Even if God(s) exist IRL they don't seem to make themselves or their power directly known to anyone so the ramifications would be the same as a godless universe.
I'm so hyped for part 3!
Also the Timing is just exquisite
Loving the use of the Death Note soundtrack in a video for a guy pretending to be a God
I still think about that Helen Keller line sometimes.
Literally every time I see the clip with Helen Keller shwooshing in as a goose, transforming, pausing a moment, then announcing she is Helen Keller, I outright lose it for awhile. The girl's reaction is identical to mine, "What?"
LETS GOO, I'm so excited for part three. I'm gonna watch this to refresh my memory. I'm definitely be watching on Friday.
RIP Happy Science guy. 7 July 1956 - 2 March 2023
I feel like a crossover video with Tristan from Step Back on a comparison of Erich von Däniken and Ryuho Okawa and both of their wild lives in general would be a match made in inter-dimensional space heaven
and
I still can't believe that there has been a happy science "church" next door to my college for years if not decades
This is now my wrestlemania weekend main event. I been waiting for this forever and this video is just a preview of what is the only thing that matters on friday I can't wait. It's going to be amazing and also I seen both parts like ten times now and I just happy that we might see the space police and space Buddha series of films next.
22:07
Ichino Kurosucky
Thank you, thank you
It's always nice to see you tackle this cult.
I keep meaning to go back and watch the Happy Science videos but I'm grateful for the refresher so I can put my eyeballs all over the 3rd one immediately.
edit: my mom is in the room with me while I was watching this and was sort of listening and she went 'you used to watch this didn't you?' knowing NOTHING abt anime and I went 'No I didn't! This is a cult anime'
edit: also my mother after I told her this was about a cult 'these this guy in japan who has a cult about being from Venus?' to which I immediately said 'yeah that's this. This is the story of his cult told through anime' XD she just said 'he's a wack-a-doodle'
Woah woah what hold up, he didn't go to the *televised* debate, so we escalated to NERVE GAS ATTACKS and TERRORISM??? That went from 0-100 REALLY fucking quick
I love how Ryuho Okawa has declared himself to be way cooler than the god that created and populated the world, the god who invented a bunch of Atlantis stuff, the god who founded Ancient Greece, the god who saved Greece, and Buddha. Clearly some businessman turned cult leader that makes a bunch of sermons and excommunicates and sues his family is far cooler.
Just know how these ideas were conjured and materialised was enough to buffle me hence stimulating my curiousity 😅 well at list you literally introduced your viewers to the teachings the irony of it is that once they study these teachings they will surely question their realities its all mind buffling
There's an interesting story idea here about a benevolent deity who continually reincarnates across the eons and tries to teach people not be assholes, but they keep forgetting his teachings and being assholes when he leaves... too bad it happens to be a weird cult leader's self-insert.
Praise be to CapitalismSpaceHermesBuddha (RIP in Pieces) for this gift
We’re all glowing for happy space buddha because of Geoff’s hard work
Happy cult clowning everyone
Don't forget, attempting to apply logic to Happy Science beyond what you've been told is the same as doubting it and will be cast to hell for blasphemy.
Maybe it's just me but i feel that some of their ideas on what heaven and hell are like could be awesome for an actual story
Very hyped for Happy Science 3
As a peruvian I don't know how to feel seeing my country mentioned in this lunatic anime.
Jokes on you Geoff! I'm rewatching your other Happy Science videos in a big stupid marathon when part 3 drops!
I swear: these ads are excellently placed, every time.
I got whiplash from the sudden twist at 5:45.
After hearing so much about Unit 731 in recent months, parts of the 4th film feel particularly troubling.
My brain paused for the analogue remix of Tubular Bells / Exorcist theme... back to it
That's actually L's theme from Death Note
Thank you for the refresher, I'd forgotten some of this insanity.
"Yeet the beast from Crete," would probably make a good vocal warmup!
"Yeet the beast from Crete into sleet; how neat"
BOOM, now it's a My Fair Lady joke! :V
3:34 Artists have to start somewhere, after all
17:35 The whole "your friends, loved ones and family judge you in afterlife, after seeing your entire life, and thoughts across them about everything" feels like such a good concept i wish other shows used.
25:37 (Sarcasm mode activated) THIS WILL END WELL!!!
'he whole "your friends, loved ones and family judge you in afterlife, after seeing your entire life, and thoughts across them about everything" feels like such a good concept i wish other shows used.'
You never saw the 1991 movie "Defending Your Life"? you can buy or rent it on youtube
The death note OSTs here are perfect
Because nothing says "I should worship this god" like making multiple failed attempts at uplifting humanity and responding to that failure by flipping the table.
I cannot get over how apropos Light's Theme is for this 😂😂😂
Man, with how much Custom Robo music you use, I really want you to do a video on that series some day.
I love the death note music playing in the background lmao
It's coming this week?! I've watched those videos like three times! ... And I think I only started watching your videos last September or so...
...I'll be sure to watch them again before that, too.
Also "I'm Geoff Thew, bye!" seems like a perfectly good outro to me.
Happy Science has also released live action movies. I was cataloging new DVDs at the library where I work and one day had a shock when I that what I was holding was *not* yet another cheaply produced Evangelical Christian movie, but a thinly veiled Okawa biopic! It's called Twiceborn for anyone masochistic enough to watch it.
You realize “the rebirth of budha” is Mob psycho’s OG plot ?
Eeeey Psychonauts 2 backer t-shirt? I have the same one, good choice!
Hype for Happy Science 3!
In Tokyo right now and the cult has like 5 large buildings in the area I am in. It’s a very affluent area and as my partner and I were walking we came across this white building which looked like it belonged in the UK with a large fence around it. We couldn’t figure out what the hell it was because the building doesn’t come up as anything on Google Maps. We walked around it and saw a Buddha statue in the front so figured it was some temple but the style didn’t match any other temples we’ve seen around the city. When we were trying to translate a sign out front a man came up to us and asked us not to take pictures. He didn’t come out of that building though. He came from a nice home from across the street. As we walked we saw 3 more buildings in the area with the same “R” like marking on them and then finally the words “Happy Science” written above the door. We had no idea what the hell Happy Science was before then and now we have seen other large buildings on the block with the same symbols. Creepy shit. They must have an insane amount of money too because these buildings are quite modern and look more like contemporary art museums than temples.
IT'S BACK YESSSSS
Hey, I just heard that Pete (PremierTwo) who hangs out with the Trash Taste guys and Chris Broad did an English voice-over as El Cantare. It's a small world!
Why does everything about happy science make me think "what if Scientology was an anime"
I saw 30 min and was like, this has got to be good, and I was not disappointed
Aum shinrikyo is fucking wild