Who is That and Why Should I Care #11 – Juli Bahana

Who:  Juli Bahana
What Show: Infinite Ryvius (2000)
Why You Should Care:

Infinite Ryvuis has often been described as “Lord of the Flies” in space. And that is entirely true. When a student academy in space is attacked, the only survivors are a group of students. Those students were nominally led by an elite group of student council members (The Zweis), however they were just in training themselves from the adults, a set of teachers. One gets the impression these cadets are in officer school, while the other students are training for a number of other positions, but much lower down in the ranks. The anime attempts to show us how real children would behave if all the adults were gone, if all the structure of formal society lifted, and they could do whatever they wanted to. Besides showing us the true state of humans, it also attempts to show us how different forms of government work. It does this by having new groups of kids fight to take over control of the space ship. Each new group of students in charge represent a different form of government, and what this show has to say about democracy may not sit well with you. This is an incredibly thoughtful, deep, and political anime. I respect that.

What I like about Juli Bahana is she is without a doubt the smartest, most qualified, and most respectable member of the Zweis (elite organization of students akin to a student council but one with actual power). I like that Juli got her position not via connections like some of the other students, but just from her pure talent and intelligence, which she then uses time and time again to save the day. Even when Luscon, a doofus among doofuses, is in control, he still deferred to her, subtly acknowledging her skill and aptitude. She got on this student council of space from a scholarship, being the best of the best among the best.

This show attempts to convey how different forms of governments work, and so there are multiple rebellions as new groups take charge from time to time. Juli is often a major force in the many governments, from de factor leader in the beginning (even though Luscon has the title of Captain), to advisor, to undisputed leader and Captain of the Ryvius herself. She makes some of the best choices for who should do what job, and what should be the entire ship’s course of action. She has incredible decision making skills which are put to use effectively from time to time. She even has the tact and decency to resign from leadership when she thinks she made a mistake. Since I am a “political junkie” and someone with a Political Science master’s degree, this is of great interest to me. It’s so engrossing what happens to her.

 Juli is not a natural born leader, she rarely can be confident in her abilities or plans, and needs to believe in herself more. In fact oftentimes she’s quite timid in her approach, to everyone’s detriment. Sometimes it is a good trait for a leader to not want to lead; this often means they won’t try and consolidate power and get rid of rights for the citizens. Juli really does not want to be a leader, and is only doing it because others believe in her. However she lacks the ability to believe in herself and be strong in the face of doubt, and that is her major weakness. And as the show progresses she does grow. While other people recognize and respect her intelligence and skill, she cannot and this often becomes an issue. But as I noted she works on this as the show goes on. However, she is never as brash, never as full of herself, and never as “take charge” as Luscon was. I also like that she’s cute, in a unique sort of way. Her interpersonal relationships are also incredibly interesting and dramatic. Juli is inspirational in many ways. I think everyone should check out Infinite Ryvius . Since writing this all up, I feel like I owe it to myself another re-watch. But fair warning this show is addictive, tense, and gripping. This is a show with cliffhangers, dramatic tension, and edge of the seat suspense that practically forces one to binge watch this. I stayed up many a night to 3 AM because I needed “just one more episode” or “needed to know what happened next” This show is excellent for that. As thrilling and compelling as an anime can be, as I once pointed out.

“You have to be confident in your decisions or everyone will start to waver” – (sage advice for Juli from) Stein Heigar, Information export and 2nd in Command