I'm no good at this analysis stuff.  I tend to lurk in this part of the forum, anyway.  Even still, I loves me some Fight Club, so what the hey?

Perhaps it's not a fundamental parallel, but I understand your original observation.  Instead of outright split personalities, I see Akio as Dios corrupted, which makes Dios as we see him in the series (that is, when we don't see him in flashbacks) a sort of ghost/opposite to Akio (DUH, I know).  Tyler is everything the narrator wants to be: "I look like you wanna look, fuck like you wanna fuck," etc.  So when the narrator takes on Tyler's persona, he is Tyler, but he can just as easily go back to being the narrator.  As Clarice pointed out, the two never gel.  To the first-time viewer, Marla drops subtle but helpful hints concerning this split and the revelation to come (see the morning-after scene for a blatant example of what I'm talking about).

However, Akio can't turn his Akio side on and off, like the narrator.  In this case, Akio and Dios were once both the same person in a sense, but it's really more of a before-and-after situation.  Akio sure as shit tries to regain some of his Dios side by playing the prince--it worked on Utena, but then, she's no mental giant, and on Mrs. Ohtori, who willed herself to believe it. But as I just stated, he's corrupted, so for those who want to or actually can see the truth, it's not hard.  It's kinda apples and oranges, really.

Am I completely off-base here?

...now I need to see Fight Club. Actually, I need to see it anyway, but this just makes it moreso.

mercurynin wrote:

Am I completely off-base here?

Absolutely not. That Akio and Dios can't officially switch back and forth is a big problem I've had with trying to explain them in terms of psychological illness. I don't think you're supposed to anyway, I think it's more a suggestion of the frailty of an archetype than the series seriously examining MPD, but I do think it was made easy to think of the latter in terms of explaining the former. It's just I've always been tempted, like a challenge to myself, to write an essay trying to explain Akio and Dios in completely realistic terms. Like I said, the lack of changeability was a major challenge, MPD doesn't work in absolutes that way.

Like I said, I'm certainly not arguing that the connection is deliberate or even truly there but it's an interesting springboard. I was also reminded of how Durden explains that sometimes the narrator is Norton, and when he is, he imagines he's watching Durden, and that reminded me of episode 13, where Akio's yapping his mouth off at Dios, as well as when he does it in episode 39. If you could argue any existence of Dios after Akio takes over, it's in that form, where Akio imagines him nearby and talks to him. Dios, of course, never answers. Perhaps this is to show that while he exists in some form it's not one that has any say in what they do.

Shattered...see Fight Club. Fucking awesome movie. I hear the movie is actually way better than the book.

Stormcrow wrote:

I can attest to this. The book has an unnecessary extra character and has lots of extra oddness with Tyler and Marla that might make sense, but is distracting. The movie on the other hand rocks my fucking socks off.

I haven't got anything useful to say about the thread, but I do have to say the book has a better ending, although the movie's is snappier. They're just different enough in tone to make you wonder who learned what from one to the other.

Giovanna wrote:

...and that reminded me of episode 13, where Akio's yapping his mouth off at Dios....

Random sidenote: I thought Akio was talking to Dios in episode 13 too. Then I watched it again, and I'm wondering if he's actually talking to Anthy.

Anywho....

Stormcrow wrote:

This discussion presents an interesting insight into the character of Dios. Jack creates Tyler as his superior alter ego. Tyler is the way he wants to be, does what he wants to do...generally gives him an excuse for all of the things he's wanted, but is afraid of. So what about Dios? Did he lust to be Akio all along? Did he harbor desires for Anthy, even as the prince? Did he secretly want to control everyone from behind the scenes? Is Akio nothing more than Dios's twisted wish fulfillment?

I haven't seen Fight Club, but I do have a reference point on Multiple Personality Disorder, aka Disassociative Identity Disorder. The above statement is essentially what happened to two of the main female characters on One Life to Live. It also happened to one of the female characters on Heroes.

The alternate personality (or alter) is usually created to handle all the things that the main personality can't. On One Life to Live, both characters were victims of sexual molestation as children, and their primary alter was in charge of dealing with the emotional trauma. The main personality would shut off and the alter would take over, often with a different name. The alter would often be aware of the things that the main personality does, but the reverse wasn't true. Interactions between the two were signified by talking to her reflection, or the reflection would speak first.

In terms of Akio/Dios, Dios is the primary personality, but Akio's been in charge so long that Dios was no longer the dominant personality. It's entirely possible that watching Anthy become a human pincushion for his sake was enough for the Akio-alter to take over fully, and possibly permanently. I doubt that's where Akio originated, though. He probably first appeared when Dios started having sexual thoughts about his own sister.

1. LOVE fight club.
2. LOVE fight club book.

3. (more on point!)

I was under the impression that... Dios is the... brother that Anthy saved... and akio is like... all the bad shit that anthy didnt bother with... If that makes sense?

Im NOT saying that Dios (pre-separation) was a man whore and a prince... but i AM saying that... when Anthy sealed Dios away... maybe Akio was kind of like.. the bitter "human" element of Dios... Dios himself is the power, the entity... Kind of like "the holy spirit." he is not the human form, he doesnt take ON a physical body... however Akio is like the physical remnants of Dios... and therefore succumbs to his human desires... (make sense??)

So i think that technically... instead of a MPD... it just IS a multiple personality... .. Akio isnt mentally ill (at least in the schitzo way) but there are 2 separate people from 1 being.

Am i making any sense at all?

it makes sense to me...

I will get into the analysis when I have time, but I loved the book and movie like others have said.

First rule of fight club: do not talk about fight club.

First rule of Ohtori academy: don't talk about student council?

BalamiyaVardihi wrote:

MOTHER.FUCKING.YES.

Excellent.

quoted for truth.
can't think of anything to say that hasn't been said except that if you haven't read the book, you MUST.

that movie was magical for me.
your observations, Gio, make me need to go watch the movie again.