the valkyries of Record of Ragnarok —the series of Netflix— are the demolishing force behind the curtain of their history, yet they remain in the shadows and are abused; they dedicate themselves to the mission of protecting humanity, responding to the construct of the self-sacrificing woman —of course, it is a girl who has the sensitivity to want to save humans. Despite this, and even ignoring their power, they are not given a space to present their personal history to us, nor are they really recognized for the role they play in the arena. For this reason, we decided to give them a space.
“Behind a great man, there is a great woman” This phrase is too corrosive, the preposition “next to” is not used, much less “in front of”, right? Of course, it is not so because the expression is not naive. People often say that there is nothing wrong with simple phrases that have been inherited over time. But, they have been bequeathed, and precisely for this reason they have had an overwhelming load of meaning for centuries.
In short, the important thing is not to make an aggressive judgment, but expose the conditions of our words to, perhaps, think about them a little more. To all this, Record of Ragnarok punctually symbolizes the phrase “Behind every great man is a great woman”we are able to notice it through the fervent image of our amazing valkyries.
We can’t say much yet because the manga is not finished. But, Record of Ragnarok seems to have already covered half of its history, there are still things to discover and criticize. However, by this time we can already specify important issues.
The true heroines of Record of Ragnarok
No one could deny how “dazzling” the heroes of Record of Ragnarok. From the most unpleasant egocentrics like Poseidon and Zeus to the most seductive like Buddha and Qin Shi Huang. However, far from thinking about their “heroic figures” and the values that these men project, on this occasion I want to dedicate a space to women.
the valkyries of Record of Ragnarok bear the responsibility of the duel in the divine arena, in which prominent gods and humans face each other. However, since humans cannot compare to the gods, the Valkyries will have to provide them with literally everything from them, becoming a weapon that enhances the abilities of men.
The valkyries that play a secondary role are the structural support of the arena of Record of Ragnarok
However, there is something obvious: the question of a spatial fusion of the soul and body of the Valkyries with the heroes. This supposes an intense construct of possession that they cannot avoiddespite the fact that they are very powerful women, without whom, in theory, humans could not even tickle the gods.
the valkyries of Record of Ragnarok they embody the real power that sustains the possibility of combat. However, in the arena, the man and his growth story are focused to generate empathy in the consumer. The Valkyrie is relegated to a secondary role despite the fact that Brunilde, the most powerful of the Valkyries, is the one who, in principle, opposes the gods who are about to exterminate humanity.
Yeah, the valkyries “submit at will” because they have a mission of salvation with humanity. So Record of Ragnarok it presents us with “women as faithful servants who will willingly sacrifice everything”.
The evaporated body of the Valkyries
In the Enlightenment period, the medieval deconstruction of the body-mind dichotomy began, which made a direct relationship between women and men, respectively and restrictively. In the 90s, Bourdieu spoke of a corporeal politics that exposed men as present in space and women from insignificance —the horror of sitting next to a man on the subway or bus that takes over space.
And despite the fact that Bourdieu expired especially because of his notions of biological and natural bodies —since we are now capable of thinking about flexible and constructible corporealities—, it seems that part of the former ideology weighs heavily on Record of Ragnarok.
We say with enthusiasm because we only need to keep an eye on the sand to notice it. Finally, while the Valkyrie’s body evaporates, by adhering to the hero’s, the latter becomes even stronger: it is a fully present body that occupies the Valkyrie’s space and folds her back. Thus, the valkyrie gives him everything and is reduced to nothing while the hero keeps his structure complete and even optimized.
For his part, the body of the valkyrie will be reduced to the hegemonic artifice of the “feminine identity”, it will be subjugated, controlled, possessed, limited and even evaporated. Finally, he will give all his power to his “partner”, but he will stay behind the curtain. And it should be noted that in almost all cases, the valkyries end up having some admiration for the hero who cancels thembecause they are types of “great merits” and “ideal” presentations.
Record of Ragnarok postulates the absolute possession of both the soul and the body of the Valkyrie.
The Valkyrie Archetypes
In addition, we will have a “great” catalog of Valkyries with different personalities. we will have from women with a complex who will help the heroes for love, the case of Thrud, who falls in love with Raiden Tameemon and decides to die at his side, despite the fact that he is the only hero who frees her before they must disappear due to his defeat, until she will be forced to help, the case of Hlokk, the eleventh valkyrie is forced, despite the revulsion caused by her “hero”.
Obviously, we also have Hrist, the girl who has two personalities, Randgriz, the obedient Valkyrie and Göndul, the one with a deranged personality. We cannot ignore Brunilde and her psychopathic attacks.
Nevertheless, each valkyrie responds to some hegemonic archetype of women. And let’s say that they are not the “positive” ones, because they are portrayed, to a greater extent, as emotional, angry or irrational.
On the other hand, until now, no goddesses have been shown —as if there weren’t— we only have Aphrodite, whose design is disconcertingly voluptuous while her voice is almost inaudible. Neither on the side of humanity has a heroine been presented yet.
Aphrodite speaks very little and as “the iconic goddess of love”, its design falls into the crude. It is represented as a patriarchal fantasy reproduced and outlined by the porn industry that is currently being fought.
Not only is it her physical presentation, but the goddess has very little participation, when they focus on her it is in the character of her hypersexualization in a visual way.
Who are the Valkyries of Record of Ragnarok?
Not all the girls have been revealed yet, however, we have the information of those who have already shown their faces in the manga or anime:
- randgrid who fights and dies alongside Lü Bu, is the fourth eldest of the 13 Valkyrie sisters.
- Reginleif, the seventh eldest of the 13 Valkyrie sisters. She fights and disappears alongside Adam in the second battle.
- hrist, the second major, will help Kojiro Sasaki, together they will achieve victory.
- Hlokk, the eleventh valkyrie, wins alongside Jack the Ripper.
- Thrud, it’s the third valkyrie, die happy with Raiden Tameemon.
- Alvitr, the tenth valkyrie fought with Qin Shi Huang and defeated Hades.
- gondul will help Nikola Tesla in the eighth round of Ragnarok. We still don’t know if science will be able to defeat the Beelzebub curse.
- Brunhilde, She is the older sister of all the Valkyries and is the one who orchestrates the human arena.
- Goal She is the youngest of the Valkyries and is always by Brunhilde’s side, however, she always reproaches her for her “insensitivity” and how she forces her other sisters to fight.
We recommend: Record of Ragnarok 2 – An anime that presents a bloody arena, both physical and ideological
Towards a conscious consumption
I liked Buddha, but when he says to Brunhilde: “I love your eyes full of problems“, “Your eyes full of worldly desires”, it just makes me want to throw all his lollipops at him. And it is that our valkyries persist in the shadow of the arena, despite the fact that they are the ones who sustain it.
However, despite all the action and “diversity” —which lacks women— in the catalog of mythical pantheons, the truth is that we should start consuming more critically. Implement in our day to day, the arduous search for options that show us plural female characters that are more attached to our realities. Clearly, Record of Ragnarok does not provide even the minimum acceptable of this.
Besides, Brunhilde is criticized by everyone for her decisions and ways of expressing herself, that’s too much. To all this, if you are still interested… When can we expect a new installment of the series?
When does the third season of Record of Ragnarok come out?
There is no news about it yet, however, with the experience of the first installment, the new season is likely to be announced in April 2023.
It should be noted that the seasons adapt from two to three fights, and the manga is just about to end the fight between Tesla and Beelzebub.
Manga: Record of Ragnarok Battles Update
Humanity: 4 — Divinity: 3
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