Unacknowledged Virtue of The Last Unicorn: 3 Synopsis, Storyboards and Synchronicity concluded

Despite the fact that there was no direct exchange of information between Japanese and American productions or between the original author and the film department, subtle thematic expression related to the essence of the work is established independently from a different angle. This fact suggests the “synchronicity” that Jung presented as an example of meaningful accidental occurrence taking place in synchronization. (note)

note:
In contrast to accidental event generations in the real world, the mechanism by which the perspective of the fictional world imparts convergent meanings by the intersection of countless semantic axes is considered focused its cosmological significance, in the author’s study of the anime Madlax,“The Annihilation of Genre Axes in Madlax: Amorphous Fiction of Dislocated Perspectives and Archetypes/Fictional Reality 2”; Bulletin of Wayo Women’s University, (2017). The real world and the fictional world can be understood as continuum that can be speculatively included in a single modal description, as a result of trial for each description as a possible world.



If we understand the deep substance of what manifests itself as existence or phenomenon, which is often implicitly expressed by collective consciousness by choosing the word “God” with tacit consent, as an example of the manifestation of psychic sensitivity obtained from interconnection between consciousness and archetypal Omnium phase, it will naturally lead to consideration of the mechanism of the primordial state encompassing both reality and fictionality as a continuum.

The synopsis tells the episode of the rich town, that the unicorn and Schmendrick stopped at on their journey. This is also omitted in the finished anime. It is difficult to determine whether this is a different version other than Beagle’s scenario, or whether the stages of Beagle’s simplification of the scenario are reflected in this synopsis. In any case, it is puzzling that references to both the video and the sound are made in it. This is what could be seen as the emergence of “new material” that demands verification of various factors.
There is also an episode of Captain Cully, a clownish imposter who disguises himself as the legendary outlaw Robin Hood. However, the way it is digested is too sloppy to be considered as a synopsis of the original story. Overall atmosphere, it gives a strong impression that it is a report written by one who watched a different version of the anime.
　In this synopsis, the episode is told how the unicorn rescued captured Schmendrick from the forest bandits. However, the most important part of the episode that delved into the relationship between the magic and the true nature of event generation principle is omitted, in spite of the fact that it was effectively introduced in both the original story and the finished anime. That is the real Robin Hood whom Schmendrick accidentally managed to call up and succeeded in summoning by his magic. Robin Hood didn’t really exist, and this character was the fruit of a delusion created out of people’s desire. What allowed this non-existent character to be embodied as a phenomenal existence was the power of magic. This thematic setting was the profound philosophical assertion of the original novel. It is interesting to see how various alternative visual descriptions reflecting such metaphysical ideas are managed to be realized by Topcraft.

The episode of Hagsgate town, which has been omitted in the finished anime, is present in the synopsis. However, there is a considerable deviation in the characters’ lines. The scenario was handled by Peter S. Beagle himself, so there is clever exchange of lines in the conversations, but the synopsis is awkwardly descriptive. Even if there was a different version before Beagle cut this episode, how did that part come up in the eyes of the synopsis creator Toshiro Ueno?
The witch who laid a curse on Haggard’s castle also placed a curse on this town. “One day, a man born in this town will destroy Haggard’s castle.” Since then, no children have been born in the town. Twenty-one years ago, however, a baby, unknown to whom, was born and abandoned in the market on a winter night. But the next morning, the child disappeared. And the next day, it was announced that King Haggard had the long-awaited prince. The prince was named Lír…

The curse and the witch prophesy laid on the town of Hagsgate are thematically very interesting, but are omitted in the finished anime. Mr. Katsuhisa Yamada, who was in charge of directing of this work at Top Craft, said that it was impressive that the artist himself was able to cut it quite drastically. (note)

note:
A good example which supports this judgment is the description of the monsters of the Midnight Carnival in the scenario. In the scenario, the monster cages exhibited in the witch’s spectacle show are listed as six from the beginning. (Scenario, p.27) In accordance with this, the episodes of Arachne, and Elli, the god of old age played by Mommy Fortuna herself, very impressive characters in the original novel, have been deleted in the anime. These monsters played an important thematic role in suggesting a way of confirming eternal truth through fictionality that can only be obtained in subjective consciousness, as well as a sense of loss of the real world. The other abbreviated monster was Cerberus.


One can see the flexibility of Beagle’s understanding of cinematic expression, who also worked as a movie screenwriter, but one is curious again who created the alternate version that was not cut.
　The hero who was prophesied to rebel against the king was Prince Lír, son of King Haggard. It’s interesting that his name is not “Lear” but “Lír.” After the King Haggard’s demise, he takes over the throne and becomes “King Lír”. In the original novel, several other allusions and parodies of Shakespeare’s works are introduced. (note)

note:
For the enormous number of references/citations discovered in the meticulous reading of the original text, please see the author’s commentary on The Last Unicorn, Annotated Last Unicorn; Kindai Bungei-sha, (2004).


In the anime, the Red Bull’s appearance is placed immediately after the Captain Cully episode, and the episode of the town of Hagsgate, which enjoys false prosperity amid the depletion of spirits, that was in between, is skipped entirely.

　The synopsis depicts an encounter with the Red Bull and the transformation of the unicorn into a human maiden. The plot development is easy to understand in the synopsis, but the core thematic aspects are not reflected at all. It is hard to believe that this synopsis allowed the Topcraft staff to grasp the profound background theme of the original story. Topcraft had made a bold investment in the production of The Last Unicorn, including the purchase of Kai Nielsen’s art book for 2 million yen in order to study the visual expression of the background. However, the fact that they were not so interested in reading the original novel was confirmed by the interview. This is an example of stimulating metaphysical argument about the essential “identity” in the thematic core, between derivative works created separately from the original. It suggests the mechanism by which countless latent possibilities that have not yet been embodied in the phenomenal world and that have not been reflected in the manifestations of materialized works coexist in the superimposed state of the “archetypal fictionality”, and that an intuitive grasp of this generates a kind of synchronicity beyond the comprehension of logical inference. (note)

note:
An interesting hypothesis that is able to explain the mechanism of such fateful phenomena is the evolutionary theory of the universe and spirit, which is generated and developed by the power of “Fundamental Awareness”, based on the principle of “retrocausality” advocated by Jacques Sarfatti. This theory, which postulates a cosmic cause and a certain fatefulness, seems to be complementary to the magical mechanisms described in The Last Unicorn. He led modern American culture, born in the same year as Peter S. Beagle was, and not only as a superb scientist but also as a mystical thinker with a Jewish cultural background represented by Kabbalah, the ideological association between Beagle and Jacques Sarfatti seems to deserve more attention.


The unicorn is transformed into a mortal being by magical power, and loses her original attribute of immortal existence. In contrast, Schmendrick, who had been transformed into an immortal being by his master’s magic and wandering through the maze of eternity, regains his mortal nature through his encounter with the unicorn. Here is an intersectional scheme of destiny centered on the axis of eternity. The fictional composition, in which magic, prophecy and curse are brought together in a metaphysical thematic axis, was skillfully told in the original novel through exquisite description and dramatic dialogue exchanges. It is easy to see that summarizing these processes as a synopsis would spoil the essence of the work.

In the finished anime, Lady Amalthea’s nipples are depicted just as they are, when transformed by Schmendrick’s magic into human form. Television broadcasting in the United States is strictly regulated, so this scene is subject to censorship when broadcasting. There are also “sensational” and “grotesque” elements, such as the figure of a harpy revealing her breasts and the corpse of the witch cruelly killed by the harpy. Although the synopsis states that there are “no cruel scenes,” Topcraft apparently directed The Last Unicorn with the intention of overstepping the production philosophy for children.
According to Mr. Toru Hara, who was the representative director of Topcraft studio, there was a definite rule that children’s films should be broadcast within 85 minutes. As The Last Unicorn was completed in the span of 97 minutes, so one can see that it was made with a clear intention “for adults”. As the music and sound were provided by the Rankin Bass production in “prescoring”, and the video part was afterward made in Japan, the time judgment part may have been made on the American side. As a countermeasure to Disney animation intended for children, anime works for young adult such as The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit were created, and The Last Unicorn was produced in line with that strategy. Adding this newly found material, synopsis, to the original novel and finished anime work as another comparative axis, it seems to open a window for further consideration of the metaphysical significance of fictional existence. The synopsis description suggests various possibilities that could have occurred in the anime adaptation of The Last Unicorn.