This post is spoiler-heavy, so be warned. I mentioned my desire to read Dungeon Meshi manga in a previous post. Thematically fitting for this post, I managed to get a hold of and read them to the end. And, what do you know? Apparently, there is a demon who grants wishes in Dungeon Meshi.

Suffice to say, Dungeon Meshi managed to bring me into a state of shock (again) on how well-written, and rich the story is. One particular aspect captured my mind and set my brain into overdrive. I suddenly got an insatiable urge to write about it. It’s the winged lion and the wishing trope.

There are a couple of good reasons the winged lion captivated me so much. I’ll be going on a bit of a tangent here, so you’re welcome to skip it. However, I’d like to lay out my personal context on why the winged lion left a unique impression.

A Bit Of Context About This Post

First off, the trope of humans asking a creature of questionable nature is something that I feel so familiar with. Seeing how Laios and Marcille interact with the winged lion somehow ticked off a particular part of my memory.

No, I don’t have any experience summoning demons, nor am I someone who ventured into paranormal activity. But, growing up in a relatively rural area, it’s not particularly strange to encounter these practices. I vividly remember flying kites with friends and finding incense, food, and drinks left for offerings.

In fact, my late grandfather owned several traditional daggers called “Keris”, they are squiggly daggers often believed to harbor spirits and mystical attributes. Supposedly, after his death, none of my family members had any interest in maintaining them. So, one day, those daggers went missing on their own.

I remember a family member saying those daggers were probably searching for new owners since none of us bothered giving them proper care like my grandfather did, like regularly bathing them, chanting weird incantations, etc. In hindsight, somebody might’ve broken into his house and stolen them, which is a more reasonable assumption.

Folklore and Mystical Practices I’m Familiar With

What fascinates me about the winged lion is how similar he is to many entities that I knew in stories and local myths. For starters, there is one bedtime story my late grandmother had, called “Timun Mas“, which translates to The Golden Cucumber.

In short, the story goes like this. An elderly woman lives alone without a family or kids. A giant ogre comes and offers her cucumber seeds to grow. When it’s harvesting time, she only finds one massive golden cucumber, which contains a little baby girl.

She then raises the little girl to maturity. Everything is going well until the ogre comes back, asking for the girl for him to devour. Eventually, the girl and the old woman defeat the ogre by using magical trickery.

The big bad ogre knew about the old woman’s desire to have a family, even if it’s just a child. Similar to the winged lion, who answers to anyone’s wishes and desires.

Aside from folklore, malevolent practices are still common to be the talk of the neighborhood here. Employing little goblin-like spirits to steal from people, black magic to plant nails into the stomach of someone you hate, or weird deals with a demon to smoothen your business, you name it.

The Winged Lion’s Mysticism Hits Close To Home

Given the context I gave, it’s clear that mysticism is a cultural aspect that flourishes here. Personally, I don’t believe in mysticism nor do I endorse it.

However, I appreciate it as an aspect that set the culture I grew up in and for the influence it has. It’s fascinating to see traditional beliefs, or even animism, coexist with modern lifestyles.

Similar to the winged lion’s case, the cost that we need to pay each time we those types of entities is equally extortionate. Usually, it involves doing unhinged stuff, like grave robbing, killing a family member, or downright selling your soul.

Whether in folklore or reality, everyone who makes a deal with a demonic entity has a similar theme behind their motives, an overwhelming desire for something. The very thing the winged lion wants, enjoys, and devours himself, whether it’s for a quiet, happy life, or a corrupt and unnatural one.

Demons And Creatures of The Infinite

Okay, now let’s get to the winged lion from Dungeon Meshi. First thought to be a guardian entity, the winged lion turns out to be the final villain in the story.

Its origin is almost alien to the world of Dungeon Meshi. Somehow, this demon drifted into the world and started liking the abundance of desire he found.

Similar to the Daedras in Skyrim, the winged lion came from a place of infinity, much like the oblivion. It’s beyond human comprehension and left a lovecraftian impression.

Supposedly, this is the very place where ancient magic draws its power. The ancient magic itself began as summoning ritual magic to call upon this demonic being.

Hmm… considering how Marcille handles things as a dungeon lord, what would Phinis Gestor say? Would he be proud of Marcille experiencing such power, or would he make her an example of how not to draw power from the unknown?

Nonetheless, the winged lion’s manipulative tendency and his sophisticated yet unnerving nature feel out of place for Dungeon Meshi, fitting for an intelligent horror.

A Curious and Ambiguous Demon

Speaking of intelligent horror, a theme I found to be prevalent in creatures like the winged lion is they have a completely different moral compass.

In fact, the first things the winged lion expressed when he began feeding his body to bugs were curiosity and amusement. He even observed and experimented with various types and sources of desires.

It’s a great parallel to the main characters in Dungeon Meshi. At first, Laios’s group only amateurishly experimented with low-level monsters.

The taste of monster cuisine to Laios is the taste of desire for the winged lion. A door to an untouched culinary world. Although, it’s obvious the winged lion’s eating journey is something more sinister to us.

Furthermore, there is a degree of intense fixation that the winged lion shows. Over time, his greed and fixation on human desire made him more and more human-like. However, feeding on desires is much like consuming drugs which will never satiate his bottomless stomach.

The Winged Lion’s Desire To Eat Desires

The winged lion’s motive is a perfect fit for this trope. Setting someone up by making them a dungeon lord, then flooding them with thoughts of their own desires.

Then, when the person’s amalgamation of desire is ready to be served, the winged lion devours it. I love how Dungeon Meshi treats the act of eating. It’s our primary need as living organisms. But, we eat not just to stay alive, we also do that for enjoyment.

For something like the winged lion, his obsession with eating desires doesn’t stem from physiological needs. Instead, it’s pure greed and joy-seeking. I wonder what does it mean as a metaphor?

Perhaps, overindulgence in consumerism? Or could it be that the pursuit of infinite happiness leads to a bottomless pit of greed. I begin to sound like an English teacher, don’t I?

A Banquet Of Desires

For the winged lion, the stronger the desire, the tastier it is. It leads to him marinating whoever the dungeon lord is as long as possible before eating their desire.

The most desirable are people with strong desires. We see every single character who becomes a dungeon lord in Dungeon Meshi has quite the issue.

First off, Thistle has an enormous dedication to King Delgal and the kingdom. He’s a complex character with his whole duality of insanity and noble cause. I think he deserves his own appreciation post.

Second, it’s Marcille with her mission of making all race’s lifespans the same. Judging by her reasons and background, it’s a very sympathetic desire. We watched Frieren, and we know how lonely it can be to be alone with dead friends.

Now, let’s look into Mithrun’s background. The reason he ended up as a dungeon lord is rather disheartening. Captain Mithrun was born with physical features like silver hair, silver eyes, and pointy long ears. He was a walking elf beauty standard.

However, he often compared himself to his brother, who had none of that. And the fact that Mithrun was a result of his parent’s affair only made him even more troubled. The final straw for him was a vision of his brother getting chummy with a girl he liked. This is when the demon got hold of him.

And finally, we have Laios’s love for monsters. Laios’s passion for monsters is probably similar to some of ours in anime. It’s no wonder that his love has grown so strong because he has taken an interest in monsters since childhood. To the winged lion, desires like Laios’s are the ones that taste the best, maybe similar to years-old wine.

Ask And You Shall Receive, With A Catch

It’s a popular trope in fiction to have an entity that grants wishes. Often times, it’s a genie, a demon like we have here in Dungeon Meshi, or someone coming from the future. Technically, that makes Doraemon a futuristic cat genie, doesn’t it?

Also, we can’t ignore the tale Aladdin, originally from 1001 Nights or Arabian Nights. Whether it’s Disney’s depiction or the original story, it shows the power a genie holds.

Granting whatever wishes we desire sounds pretty overpowered. So, it’s no wonder with great power, comes a great cost.

I mentioned the cost of involving oneself with these kinds of entities can be life-draining. In the winged lion’s case, it’s literally life-draining. Just like how Captain Mithrun and Thistle experienced.

The Consequences Of Being A Dungeon Lord

What happens when you don’t have any desire in life? Dungeon Meshi gives a lot of hints of its reality by showing us how Thistle behaves.

But, Thistle’s out-of-control obsession with Delgal and maintaining the kingdom is only one of the side effects, though. The real downside of being a dungeon lord, in my opinion, is associated directly with the winged lion.

For example, he constantly pushes desires on you. Just like what Marcille experiences when she becomes a dungeon lord. Imagine being isolated, alone, only with your thoughts of what you want frequently appearing in your mind. In a way, it’s a torture.

Furthermore, what’s more horrifying is those desires only end up as a meal for the winged lion at the end. And, as Dungeon Meshi reveals in the manga, he rarely leaves anything on the plate.

That’s exactly what happened to Mithrun. In the present time of Dungeon Meshi, the only thing that’s keeping him alive is his desire to get revenge on the demon.

In the end of the story, Captain Mithrun actually doesn’t have a single desire remaining after the demon’s defeat. A pretty miserable state to be in if we think about it.

The Dungeon And Unchecked Desires

The winged lion, him leading people into becoming a dungeon lord, and the concept of looking for fortune in the dungeon share a theme with a lot of mystic practices.

Especially, those which appeal to human greed and unchecked desires. Dungeon Meshi’s underlying theme seems to be “be careful or what you wish for.” Although, it’s very well hidden beneath the whole monster-eating premise at first.

As Senshi and Captain Mithrun remarked in the manga. The dungeon seems to give what we want. But, any dungeon explorer must be careful not to ask for too much.

Wanting something and paying unimaginable consequences is a trope of its own. For example, the tale of King Midas and his golden touch. He wants gold so much, that he wishes for everything he touches to become gold. He completely misses, at one point, it will backfire, costing him his loved ones.

Another example is a short story called “The Monkey’s Paw” W.W. Jacobs. The first wish Mr. White asks is for him to get a mere 200 pounds worth of money. Unfortunately, it comes as compensation for his son’s death in the company where he works.

How Physical Limitation Enriches Their Demonic Story

A mysterious entity sealed in an object is not unheard of in anime or other media. Like, the isekaid as objects animes, jinchuriki in Naruto, or (god forbid) the Meridia’s beacon in Skyrim.

Similarly, there are countless myths associated with certain objects containing otherwordly entities. For example, the traditional “Keris” daggers that I mentioned.

However, the key difference in the winged lion case is he’s locked within Thistle’s books involuntarily. And, he’s unable to wield his full power while still under Thisle’s captivity.

It has to be its own trope, right? Unfortunately, I was unable to find the name of this specific trope. There are similar other tropes that use objects to lock in a part, or a whole entity, like a horcrux in Harry Potter. But, I don’t feel it’s the same as the winged lion’s case.

Its Root In Animism

The concept of an object containing a mystical being is not something new in the history of human culture. Animism is especially deep-rooted where I live. The practice of animism usually involves believing an object has its own sentience or harboring an entity with a sentience.

However, in fantasy fiction like Dungeon Meshi, authors can freely depict the interaction between these objects and the characters. So, we can have something as witty as the winged lion or others that typically have a more sacred vibe in them.

The appeal of animate objects in fiction can take form in various ways. In Dungeon Meshi’s case, Marcille’s obsession and pursuit of Thistle’s books which later turns out to have the winged lion.

Conclusion On The Winged Lion Character

The winged lion is an interesting character, to say the least. His arc and other similar tropes involving wish granting tell us a message that we should be aware of what we desire.

Desires can be our driving life force. But, it can be our end too. The winged lion is a great personification of how malicious an unchecked desire can be, though it proclaims no evil for us.

Also, it’s a reminder of a Japanese idiom Laios said in the early episode, “a duck comes bearing a leek.” This idiom roughly means there is no way a good thing will happen after another.

Asking the winged lion to grant our wish is like taking a shortcut to obtain what we want. He drives the question, is it really worth it to impose our desire onto others though the cost is immense? If our desires can be reached with hard work and patience, is it worth the trouble of involving a demon?

The winged lion is a depiction of a longstanding trope in various folklore and legends, a demonic entity who grants wishes. I’d love to hear about my readers’ experiences with traditional mysticism and animism if you’ve ever seen one.

Nonetheless, his character is written marvelously, with wittiness, mysticism, and compelling characteristics sprinkled among his primary role as an antagonist in Dungeon Meshi.

https://seinenrider.com/2024/06/30/the-demon-who-grants-wishes-in-dungeon-meshi/

#animeTropes #CharacterAnalysis #deliciousInDungeon #DungeonMeshi #fantasy #TropesInAnime #Winter2024

So, Dungeon Meshi just finished its first season, huh? I started binging the anime right after Frieren ended. And boy, it didn’t disappoint.

Dungeon Meshi first came off to me like the usual fantasy anime, what I expected was something more like Danmachi. But, its lightheartedness despite the story’s initial premise quickly changed that impression.

This anime quickly grew on me. The characters feel grounded and realistic without reducing their fantastical feel. Like Marcille, for example. Marcille has a magical expertise similar to most elves in anime, but she is way more relatable.

Simply said, I fell in love on how nuanced the characters in Dungeon Meshi are. Especially, after a few episodes watching my two favorite characters, Senshi and Laios.

I love how detailed Laios gets when he rambles about the biology and behavior of monsters. It reminds me of a TV show I watched as a kid where they explained animals and their habitats.

I enjoyed those types of show, because they awaken your inner nerdy tendency, while being informative and fun at the same time. Dungeon Meshi did exactly that.

How Laios is when explaining the monsters in the dungeon alwasy put a smile on my face. To add to that, how the anime integrates his knowledge and Senshi’s cooking, it’s perfection.

Seeing the anime’s approach on world building and its lack of hesitation in presenting how things work in the dungeon was simply fascinating.

Okay, before we go into what I’d like to talk about in this post, let me address one criticism I’ve heard about Dungeon Meshi. There are people who complain about this anime, saying it has too much exposition. They say it’s a whole cooking recipe being read out loud.

Well, we don’t like it when a show is all talk without showing the subject being talked about, do we? It feels like you’re forced to read when all you want at the moment is to watch.

However, Dungeon Meshi doesn’t fall into this pitfall. If anything, the visual presentation of the food and the monsters serve us as the audience pretty well. There won’t be a thing anyone could use to convince me otherwise.

Also, I think anyone who drops this anime because they think it’s too boring hasn’t paid enough time and attention until a certain point. My first thought about Dungeon being a casual funny anime was blown away by how plot-heavy this anime really is.

Especially, the whole part involving Laios and his sister, Falin. What happens between these two simply elevates Dungeon Meshi from something you watch to get a laugh to something we might consider as a classic in the future. And today, I’d like to give a spotlight to Falin.

The Sibling Trope And Falin Touden’s Character

A disclaimer, I am currently an anime-only Dungeon Meshi fan. Admittedly, I feel a strong urge to go to the local bookstore and buy the manga right now.

Okay, now let’s talk about Falin Touden, Laios’s sister. I would never guess the Falin we last saw on the last episode is the same one we first saw on the first episode.

While writing this post and thinking about her character, there are some things that came across my mind. First, her death. It’s a focal point in the anime, and it becomes our Laios and his group’s prime motivation.

In fact, Dungeon Meshi started with Falin sacrificing herself to save Laios from the red dragon’s jaw, didn’t it? A sibling who wants to save/protect the other sibling. It’s a common trope yet hardly ever fail in anime.

Exhibit A: Tanjiro Kamado and Nezuko in Demon Slayer. Also, in Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward was willing to gave up his arm to get Al’s soul. And, of course, Itachi refusing to kill Sasuke in Naruto, although their relationship ended up complicated.

It seems that the sacrificing oneself for another is a major theme in Dungeon Meshi. Especially when it comes to protecting somebody we care about, like a sibling.

Then the second thing is Falin’s overall character. We got to know how Falin is as a person, mainly from Laios and Marcille’s flashbacks. She is talented, a kind soul, and adventurous. A literal angel for a few other characters in the anime, am I right, Toshiro-sama?

Yet, she was shunned by her village because she’s able to communicate with ghosts, lagged behind in school, and a bit awkward.

So far, there is nothing too strange about her. At first, I expected her to be a solid background character who has a significant role later on. And boy, by the time I got to the end of episode 11, I was right, but wrong at the same time.

Dungeon Meshi Tricked My Gullible Brain Cells!

Episode 11 and 12 where Laios finally found and rearranged Falin’s remains was gutty, gruesome, and going by the vibes of Marcille’s totally not forbidden magic, it was heartbreaking. Although, her ancient magic left a bad taste, especially for Chilchuck I reckon.

However, I have to side with her here. After all, as Phinis Gestor in Skyrim said, “Necromancy, as any other type of magic, is a tool to be used. Of course, non-mages may not see it that way, so we don’t go around flaunting it.”

I thought this was the darkest point in the anime. After all, it’s a gourmet anime where we get to experiment with unfamiliar and wacky ingredients for our food, right? (The answer is no. And this poor little guy had his jaw dropped, again, by the time he watched Senshi’s episode.)

People that I know who already read the manga said to me, this is where the REAL Dungeon Meshi starts. I was too innocent not to foresee how Falin would end up. She was turned into a dragon/harpy-like chimera (quick flashback to Nina Tucker), by Thistle, the lunatic magician.

And even worse for Falin and Laios, we started with the premise of the Touden siblings wanting to protect each other. And now, they had to kill each other, willingly or not. Man, not only the food, but the story, and the twist. People weren’t kidding when they say Dungeon Meshi is a top tier anime.

Give Falin A Break!

As I rewatched this particular episode, I thought to myself, Falin really couldn’t catch a break, could she? When she was a kid, people avoided her. At school, not everyone was keen to be friend with her. Now into her adulthood, a dragon munched her like a snack, and then she got turned into a dragon herself.

Much to the Laios and the others’ horror, and the rest of us too, what happened to Falin was a complicated soul binding process, not just combining the red dragon’s body with a human.

However, at one point, Senshi made an excellent analogy. Izutsumi is in a similar situation, but she retains her conscience unlike Falin. Falin’s and the red dragon’s souls are like a sunny side up on a bacon, while Izutsumi’s is like a scrambled egg.

Right now, Falin’s soul is merged with the red dragon, but the one who is under the lunatic magician’s control was the red dragon. So, there is a chance we can separate the two, if we get rid of the dragon part, hence Senshi’s sunny side up analogy.

However, the solution they came up with was also wild. In this dungeon, monster meat that has been digested by creatures loses its identity and thus can’t be used to resurrect or to create another creature. So, for now, the only solution seems to be eating Falin’s dragon parts until it’s only her human soul that’s left.

What happens to Falin feels so unfair. Maybe, it’s the anime successfully making me sympathetic towards her character. But, I can’t help to notice a trope where a good-natured person suffers an unfair circumstance in life.

The Sacrifice Tropes

What happened to Falin remided me about two common tropes involving sacrifices. What I’m talking about are the sacrificial lion and the sacrificial lamb tropes. Both of these are quite similar to each other.

The most defining and simple difference between the two is a sacrificial lamb often times serves as a proof of how the villain is a one hundred percent bad guy, especially when it involves death of a character.

Characters who fall into this trope mostly are non-essential to the plot. Their death counts not as a turning point but to showcase that the villain is indeed a bad guy.

Like a random cute dog the villain kicks for no reason. However, sometimes it’s also a more plot-relevant character who has a meek and timid personality.

Also, there are instances where a good-natured character has to go through some hardships, not necessarily death, albeit not voluntarily. Just like what happened to Falin when Thistle got to her.

On the other hand, the sacrificial lion is much more impactful. Their death or their demise stirs up the story, but also can be an important point where a new arc starts.

More importantly, the sacrificial lion is often a critical character or even one of the main characters. This is how I felt when I first saw Falin’s death, her resurrection, and her eventual transformation.

Her first death sets the first half of settings and motivation in Dungeon Meshi. It makes the moment when Laios killed the red dragon felt like it’s his final destination in the story.

Moreover, what Falin did was out of courageous intent to protect his brother, making her the very definition of a sacrificial lion. Same thing with how Laios was willing to lose a leg in an attempt to defeat the red dragon. It shows their dedication to protect and save each other no matter what the cost is.

In addition to the Touden siblings, Senshi’s dwarf mining crew was also big on the idea of protecting the younger one in the group. So much so, that I think Senshi internalized this idea deeply as he grew older, and then became a caretaker for Laios’s group himself.

What Makes Seeing Someone Makes Sacrifices In Stories Feels Good

Okay, this post can only be so long before it becomes an essay assignment my professors often gave to his class. Let’s wrap it up by examining what’s the real appeal of these two tropes.

For all the history of literature around the world, from various culture, we have many stories of heroic sacrifice. How the Touden siblings were willing to put themselves in harm for each other mirrors this theme.

Especially, when it comes about the sacrificial lion trope. The Toudens exhibit not only self-lessness, but also total commitment to make sure the other one is safe and sound.

The appeal of tropes which include heroic sacrifice has been ingrained in our brain for a long time. I think there are several reasons to this. First, we seek inspiratoin from others, even fiction.

The thought of making a real-life sacrifice that comes with risk, be it financial, or social, can be terrifying at times. Even when we know what we want to do is right.

Seeing someone else doing it might be just the push that we need, even if it’s a fictional character. Think of the trend of saying, “It’s what hero Himmel would do.”

Himmel even inspired an anime fan who stopped a knife attack in Taiwan. That is an excellent example of the sacrificial lion trope in real life, risking his life for the safety of others. That is how powerful inspiration can be.

Second, it’s empathy and sympathy. When we watched Laios’s and Marcille’s flashbacks, I found it to be way easier to share the same feeling because how Falin went down is presented in the anime.

Falin is a likeable character. However, her death elevates memories of her to the point of more than remembering another person. There is a feeling of longing and loss mixed up in between. Especially, for Marcille and Laios, when Falin’s met her death before she teleported them out of the dungeon and saved the whole party.

I don’t think tropes revolving around sacrifice will go old anytime soon. If anything they will likely stay forever since they are genuinely have interesting nuances and are great storytelling tools. How abuot you? What does make the characters in Dungeon Meshi sticks to you the most?

https://seinenrider.com/2024/06/21/falin-touden-and-themes-of-sacrifices-in-dungeon-meshi/

#2024 #Anime #animeTropes #DungeonMeshi #FalinTouden #TropesInAnime #Winter2024

Baka Super-kun! Don't you understand that I... that I like being with you!

*Doki doki sound effects*

(Art sampled from "My Adventures with Superman" Vol. 1 #1)

#DialogueEdit #VisualEdit #ComicEdit

#Superman #MyAdventuresWithSuperman #AnimeTropes #NewComicBookDay #DCComics #Comics

Anime, at one point of time, would put you at the low-end of the social status ladder. Before being nerdy and geeky was cool, pretty much anyone who watches anime were clumped up into “the people who reek of weirdness.”

This put anime lovers into an inevitable lonely space, if there’s nobody who’s as passionate as they were. On the positive note, watching anime is becoming more and more mainstream, with old fans receiving the embrace that they deserve, and new anime fans diving into the hobby without the seclusion the older generation experienced.

Coincidentally, NEETs are among the people with the most experience with isolation. It’s true that this phenomenon is a tragic and sad one. However, I think there is a profound experience about loneliness that only NEETs experience. What is it like to be cast out, exactly? How does it feel?

It just happens that I recently finished reading a classic book, written more than a century ago, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. This book genuinely made me flabbergasted. Not only because of the tragic story, but also because of how Kafka described his protagonist, Gregor Samsa, and his despair in life.

This post might not the typical anime review or trope talk that I usually do. However, the book has many attributes that resemble the current condition of loneliness in today’s society, including what we occasionally see in anime. So, what exactly are they?

How Kafka’s The Metamorphosis And NEETs In Anime Depict Abandonment

In the early days of college, I learned about Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. In short, people work and put effort to attain a certain level of security in some aspects in their lives. After they achieved what they require, they move on to something else that they want.

On top of this pyramid of motivation, there’s the self-actualization state. It’s where we get to define what we are in this world. Maybe some of us are superb with instruments, and thus you define yourself as a musician. Others might be so great at sport, so they decide to dedicate their life as athletes.

However, let’s say hypothetically everyone suddenly loses their hearing, or we get paralyzed out of nowhere. Yes, everyone would suffer from it. But, the ones who would take the most harms are those who depends on these senses, not only financially, but also as a human being.

In The Metamorphosis by Kafka, this is exactly what happens. Gregor Samsa, the protagonist, found himself suddenly turned into a giant bug-like creature. It means he’s no longer able to work, he’s no longer able to provide for his family, and he no longer can be the hardworking salesman for his boss. From that point, all the meaning in his life is gone, just like how most NEETs perceive their lives.

Gregor Samsa And Modern NEETs

Gregor Samsa, gradually finds himself to be more and more miserable in the book. Both because of his own self-inflicted hate that he can’t bring in money for his family, and also because of his repulsing new form. Locked in his room, starved, and lonely, sounds familiar?

Yes, it’s an oddly familiar theme in isekai anime, especially where the protagonist is a NEET. The true terror that Gregor Samsa invokes doesn’t come from his bug-like appearance. But rather, it’s the abandonment that his character experience. The man who was once the sole breadwinner for his family, now he is nothing but a shame and must be hidden.

A shame and must be hidden? Well, isn’t that what a lot of recluse feel nowadays. I don’t know about you, but in this day and age, I feel like people not only become more and more drawn to their online presence. We want to be acknowledged for what we post on our Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, or on WordPress websites just like I do.

However, ask any older person out there who was born before Google was a thing. They’ll tell you, things were drastically different socially speaking. People in a town knew each other, we spoke to strangers in public just to say hi, we asked for directions. And, most importantly, there is no online job market, or online dating, that’s for sure.

On top of that, the common talks among my younger generation is how “rat-racey” this world feels, if that’s even a word. People compete for work against each other more intensely, we care so much about our personal branding and compare it to the next person on our social media recommendation.

So, if so happens you’re one of these NEETs, of course you’d feel the plummeting of your self-esteem. And when we reach our lowest point, we either become someone’s memory or filled with so much hatred to the world. When there’s no reason for you to love the world that seems to smack you like the bug you’re, despair and hatred becomes cultivated.

Their Similarities And Difference

Similarly, it’s what a lot of NEETs have to live with, both in the real 3D world and the fictional anime world. They might not turn into a literal insectoid abomination, but the isolation and the psychological torment they go through are quite reminiscence of each other.

The only difference between Gregor Samsa and NEETs protagonists is Gregor actually had a purpose before his unforeseen transformation. On the other hand, most NEETs in anime are depicted as someone who already lost their hope long before their lives even started.

The main similarity, however, is how they eventually got abandoned by their closed ones. Even in real life, this might also be true. It may sound harsh, but have you ever thought how many people would leave you if you stop giving whatever you are providing them? Or, if you never provide them with anything of value at all? Will they still love you?

At a first glance, both the book and the whole NEET protagonist trope in anime sound like a overly complicated “would you still love me if I were a worm?” question. But, realistically, a lot of people ended up on the streets, either after they got abandoned or their family broke up. And, to end your life in such state, that must feel so horrid

The Eventual Betrayal By Loved Ones

Kafka’s The Metamorphosis ending is one of the most horrifying endings I’ve come across in fiction. Spoiler alert, after a few months, Gregor’s family is forced to cut corners to get by. His elderly parents have to start working again, and they have to rent out a part of their home.

Gregor’s sister becomes increasingly hostile toward him, despite the fact she was the one who took care of him after his sudden transformation. In the end, everyone let out a breath of relief when they find Gregor’s lifeless body one morning.

This ending immediately reminds me of the protagonists’ death scenes in isekai anime. How many of them do you think are mourned by their family? In a similarly morbid situation in real life, of course, people would mourn their family members, even if the deceased had nothing much going on in their lives.

However, it’s not out of the question that they’ll just be buried and forgotten. This is what happens in the book, and I suspect it’s also what happens in Mushoku Tensei to Rudeus’s previous self. It might the morbid thing we, as anime fans, overlook in anime. Still, in my humble opinion, being abandoned even after death must be one of the most morbid things that can happen to a human being.

Personally, this is the part that broke my heart the most. Having an author just bluntly telling me if a person were a bug, no one would love them. They would become a burden to their families, a shame, an abomination. When they eventually died, it would be a blessing. Is this how our current reality now?

So… What Now?

This whole post might sound a bit depressing. The entire world sounds depressing to me to be honest after reading The Metamorphosis. This book brings me back to the reality that might have gone blurred because of how much fantasy and adventure anime has brought to my life.

There’s no power ups waiting for NEETs, there’s no harem of anime girls waiting in the afterlife. It’s actually astounding given that this book is from a century ago. However, should we dismiss anime and minimize it only to a mere wishful thinking? Of course not.

As naive as it sounds, if there’s anything that can we take from the wide variety in anime, it’s that we’ll come through eventually. Yes, life might suck, and it sucks even more if you’re a NEET. However, there are ways to make it better for ourselves. The power of friendship, caring families, or even sheer willpower, just like your classic shonen protagonist.

So, if it so happens that this post reaches out to people who consider themselves as NEETs, I’d say, don’t give up. It’s okay if people call us losers for now, it’s okay if there’s nothing worthwhile for now. However, at the very least, please reach out to someone who cares about you the most.

A good friend can go a long way. You know, like Nijika to Bocchi. Every person deserves a Nijika in their lives. Sometime, all we need is someone who shows us that we’re worthy for our existence, even if we haven’t done a single thing. If you’re not a NEET, then be a Nijika for someone, that could mean the whole world for them.

https://seinenrider.com/2024/04/03/despair-in-anime-neet-culture-and-kafkas-the-metamorphosis/

#Anime #AnimeBlogging #animeTropes #Book #NEET #TropesInAnime

Recently, I’ve been catching up on Dungeon Meshi, and I’ve been entertained by how Marcille reacts to Laios’ dietary ideas in the dungeon. Her panicky and rather frantic personality is so opposite of Frieren. As if it’s not apparent enough, each of them has their own quirks.

Frieren loves weird magic spells, procrastinate almost everything for months, and enjoy her own company. So much so, she was oblivious to Himmel’s attention years ago when they were in an adventuring party together. However, Frieren is still at least more sociable than Elda from Otaku Elf.

If we think about it, the elves in recent anime are far from the typical fantasy elves. Elves, in these past few seasons, have been receiving a new-found love in the community. Where the usual elves of fantasy world are often mystical, sacred, or even evilish in nature, what we’ve gotten so far are some of the quirkiest elves ever.

In anime and western media, they do have a bit of difference. I think anime elves are more playful compared to the other. This is true even in older anime. I finished watching Record of Lodoss War (the 1990 one) a few weeks ago, and in that anime there is the best anime elf so far, Deedlit. To me, she shows the best of a character with a charming personality blended in the typical elven myths and stories.

How Elves Are Usually Depicted Anyway?

Elves have been associated to mystical tropes since the earliest of its depiction in literature. As I was doing the research for this, what tickled me is that elves were thought to be the possible cause of a sudden twitching in an old English medical text.

The elves like we know today might be closer to those in Norse mythology. They even have terms for two contrasting type of elves, Dökkálfar (Dark Elves) and Ljósálfar (Light Elves). Just like in Record of Lodoss War with Deedlit who is a high elf, and Pirotess who is a dark elf.

Of course, modern media like anime takes inspiration from myths and folklore. But, some are more faithful to the olden legends, so to speak. For example, Cate Blanchett’s Galadriel in LOTR pretty much exudes the expected sacredness and beauty a traditional elf would have.

However, anime is more playful with their idea of elves. There are no shortage of elves with the typical anime tropes like the tsundere. Take Elga from Isekai Ojisan for instance. She’s a tsundere, but with her full name Suzailgiererzegalnelvzegilreagranzelga Elga, there is a bit of “classic mythical elf” trope in her.

Plus, she wields ancient artifact armor and weapon. Still, when it comes to today’s elves, they’re just so different from those who preceded them. Let me explain for a bit.

Today’s Elves Are Way More Relatable

Now, elves feel more like a group of people we could stumble upon anywhere, in random bars, perhaps. If anything, they are more relatable than ever. We might admire elves like Deedlit and Galadriel, but I see less way we can say, “she’s just like me” in them.

Some people are picky eaters, some are introverts who enjoy their figurines. Some would just hyperfixate on their hobby and by the time they “wake up” they’re already sixty, so are our elves in these anime I’ve mentioned.

Frieren, Marcille, and Elda are much more relatable. If we had to eat monster meat, of course, we would have the same reactions as Marcille’s. If we have lived for a thousand years, of course, we’d think of time differently, like Frieren. And for some people, spending the day the way Elda does, staying inside and not meeting anyone, sound like heaven.

What does raising their relatability do to elves? Does it simply make them more captivating to the audience? Are we taking advantage from the parasocial fans who get overly attached to the characters? Not really, in my humble opinion, making these elves more relatable means highlighting very human stories.

Humanizing The Long Ears Folk

The big thing with relatability is what kind of audience the anime is trying to bring in. We don’t live in a fantasy world, so of course, all the relatable problems will be humans problem.

Frieren touches themes of grief, death, and regret. Something heavy, yet every one of us will or have experienced them at one point in our lives. Despite that, this anime lightheartedly shows the usual daily life of hers. It adds to the relatability, after all.

By showing her not able to wake up early, fumbling the best man to ever lived, really makes her feels very human. After all, those are common issues that we have as regular people. Even if she’s supposed to be a thousand years old great mage, there is an imperfect side of her that we can all see, relate, and empathize.

Losing The Mythical Aura

There is one downside in twisting the usual elf trope. In old stories, we mostly see them shrouded in a mythical aura. Take Skyrim for example, the high elves are the most attuned with magic, thus the Thalmor often see themselves to be superior to others. The dunmer, or dark elves, have to live with a curse after the event of Oblivion. And, the wood elves are a tribe of ritualistic cannibalism lorewise. There is so much lore to discover behind the elves of Tamriel.

There is something creepy yet enticing in each type of elves in Skyrim. The feeling that I get from them is like when I first learned about the lore of Predator and the blooding ritual, especially when it comes to the wood elves. It’s something that lacks or even outright nonexistent with the relatable elves.

Maybe, this is an inevitable trade-off. When we strip the myth out of fantasy characters, they’ll appear as the human who wrote them. If there is an anime that showcases the daily life of a mythical elf, the elf would have extremely different lifestyle and culture, rendering them to sound out of touch from humanities.

https://seinenrider.com/2024/02/17/the-elves-in-todays-anime/

#Anime #animeTropes #Deedlit #DungeonMeshi #Elf #fantasy #Frieren #OtakuElf #RecordOfLodossWar #TropesInAnime

Let’s talk again about isekai. One of the most booming anime genre of all times. Aside from being a power fantasy and a further exploration of the parallel universe theme, this genre also introduced a particularly morbid trope. Yes, it’s the isekai truck.

Truck-kun is a classic choice for authors to send their protagonists to the afterlife. Seemingly, a random pick for vehicular manslaughter, isn’t it? You know, there are so many other vehicles that can make us face mortality. But yet, the truck stands tall as the superior.

So, some questions popped up in my mind. First, why a truck? Second, why do we need the event of the crash itself? Third, what’s supposed to happen after the truck?

What The Truck Represents

There are some traits about a truck that might make it the stereotypical gateway for an isekai protagonist. A truck is a relatively heavy land vehicle. The brakes, more often than not, should’ve been better than they are. After all, it requires more power to stop the heavier momentum a truck has. So, we need to understand it’s actually difficult, and rather near impossible, to stop a truck in a heartbeat.

Also, with how crowded and noisy the roads can be. We might pass off a truck just as another vehicle. There’s nothing uncommon about it. Every day, the road is full of people in their sedans, big SUVs, and also, trucks. Yet, it’s the biggest mistake we can make. We brushed them off as a part of the ordinary. So much so, we ignore the potential danger that could happen.

However, why is it so sudden? Why now? The isekai truck always comes when the protagonist least expects. But, when we pan around his life, maybe it’s the right time for a change. I’ve talked about NEETs in isekai previously. It’s arguably the lowest point someone can have in their life. So, in a way, the truck represents an involuntary change that will happen, sooner or later.

In short, the isekai truck represents an unstoppable turning point that happens out of nowhere. We can call it fate or coincidence. Nevertheless, there is something about the isekai truck that symbolizes an impactful force we can’t prevent.

You’ve Gone To Another World, But You Leave Another Behind

Weirdly enough, I actually have a personal experience on this. Back in high school, I had a friend who died because of an accident involving a truck. He was going home after school, it was just another ordinary day for him. But, out of nowhere, a truck appeared from a junction, and the next thing we knew was there’s a funeral to attend.

I learned about it the next day, the whole school was cut short. Almost everybody packed up their things, and went straight to the funeral.

Personally, I was shocked. Not just because of the sheer disbelief of what just happened, but also what we saw when we arrived. My friend’s body was mangled, twisted limbs, and all sorts of gory stuff we might expect from a horror movie. A truck did all this?

I left his funeral crying so bad. I didn’t get the chance to be closer to this guy, but I particularly cared about him. He was the typical quiet, non-social guy.

Girls would avoid him, other guys would mock him for being slightly messier than others. I gave him some pointers but, in retrospect, I could’ve said it less harshly. The only thing that I regret is that I didn’t get any chance to apologize.

Whether in fiction or real-life, death is consequential. We sometimes take someone’s life for granted. If anything, the looming possibility of someone’s demise almost never cross our minds.

When it comes suddenly like this, everything becomes clearer. What we’ve done to that person, what we think about them. So, the crash itself, both in fiction and real-life, is a wake-up call for every single of us. Sadly, a wake-up call that costs more than we thought.

The World Moves On, But We Must Deal With Loss

In isekai anime, we mostly follow his journey in the parallel world. It’s rare to see what’s going on in his original world. It’s certainly not the focus of the genre, but the reality only makes this trope more morbid.

After someone’s death, we typically spend some times to mourn. However, that mourning period doesn’t last forever. Life continues whether we like it or not. It’s not that we don’t care anymore about the loss of someone. There’s simply nothing we can do about it.

In anime, it’s fun to see the protagonist’s new adventure. At first glance, they seem to instantly accept their new life and move on. However, if only the anime spare a bit of screen time to the family they left, it’s probably a bit more bleak and realistic. Coping with the death of loved ones is, and will always be, challenging.

By ignoring this crucial aftermath, the isekai genre is missing a chance to showcase the severity of grief and loss seen from the people who love the protagonist. Suffice to say, behind all the fun adventure an isekai protagonist experiences, there is a very dark theme running down this trope.

https://seinenrider.com/2024/01/24/the-isekai-truck-is-an-especially-morbid-trope/

#Anime #animeTropes #Fiction #Isekai #TropesInAnime #Truck

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End definitely has romance elements in it. The spark between Stark and Fern’s is rather obvious. However, Frieren lived rent-free in Himmel’s head. Frieren’s flashbacks of Himmel clearly shows how he tried several things to make Frieren happy, and potentially steal her heart. But, alas, she didn’t catch the clues in time.

Himmel was too loyal to Frieren for his own good. Even until his death, he never fell in love with anyone else. It’s super romantic, but also so heart-wrenching at the same time.

Frieren essentially put Himmel in the party member zone for all his life, and the man just took it. Her unawareness make her a perfect romantically clueless trope, but what is that exactly?

Romantically Clueless, What Is Love Exactly?

A romantically clueless person is someone who always misses social cues, and ignore almost every hint that another person likes them. It’s not something intentional, if anything the unintentional ignorance is an essential aspect of this trope.

We might dismiss them simply as dense or just too innocence most of the time. Not to be confused with the clueless romantic, the clueless romantic actually knows they’re in love, but so clumsy in executing their approach. The romantically clueless, on the other hand, won’t even recognize someone’s feelings for them just because they don’t have the knowledge about romance, or dismiss anyone’s interest in them.

It becomes hilarious, or rather sad in Frieren’s case, when they finally realize the love they were receiving. In Frieren’s case, the trope showcases perfectly the themes this anime brings, time perception, cherishing precious moments, and regrets. But, there are a few things that I noticed in the anime that made her this way.

Why Is Frieren Romantically Clueless?

Whenever I see Himmel head over heels for Frieren in this anime, how Frieren reacts really reminds me of a short animated skit, Is She Into You by Casually Explained. However, in Himmel’s case, he is facing a one-thousand-years old elf who spent her whole life fiddling with magic instead of men.

So, it was an uphill battle for Himmel to begin with. However, there is more than Frieren’s nonexistent experience in love that drives her clueless. It’s a combination of the nature of Elves in Frieren’s world, the existence of the demon king, and Frieren’s own personality.

Elves Aren’t Romantic Creatures

The first reason why Frieren is built the way she is, is simply because she is an elf. As she put it herself, Elves don’t seek out romantic relationship as much as humans. Partly, their long lifespan is to blame. Why seek out a partner when you can outlive most living beings on earth?

Long living elves is nothing new in the fantasy genre. In LOTR universe, Elves are practically immortal, and pretty much only die when they’re hurt or slain. I find it very similar to Frieren, she has lived for more than a millennium, yet she still puts a good amount of cautiousness when facing her enemies.

The only glaring difference between Elves in these two universes is their sexuality. While Tolkien describes his elves to be romantically active, Frieren’s kind isn’t as keen. In fact, they’re kind of dying off due to their own disinterest in romance, and the demon king’s genocide attempt. The latter contributes greatly to the second reason why Frieren put love aside and her hatred against demons.

Elves’ Twisted Perception Of Time

Honestly, this one is a consequence of the long lifespan of elves. The longer you live, the more different you see time compared to those with shorter lives. To put it simply, Frieren might see human lifespan just like us, real-life humans, seeing the lifespan of a real dog.

Frieren’s definition of a short stay in one town is long enough for a college student to finish their degree, twice. Just after defeating the demon king, she bid farewell to the hero’s party, and embarked on a fifty years trip looking for magic, alone. That trip might feel like a well deserved one-year hiatus, rather than a half-century long journey.

With that in mind, we should notice that the hero’s party spent ten years to reach the demon king and defeat him. While to Himmel and Heiter it might be a fairly long time, to Frieren it’s nothing. Eisen might understand a bit how Frieren perceive time. But, the average lifespan for a dwarf is four hundred years, so it’s still a huge difference.

Himmel died at the age of seventy-six. Let’s round it up to eighty, so we get his quest defeating demon king exactly 1/8 of his life. If we assume Frieren is 1200 years old, it takes 150 years for her to feel a comparable time perception. I’d be not surprised if Frieren took Himmel’s flirting just like when a random kid calls he pretty.

Too Focused On Killing The Demon King

If there is anything that can turns a person’s attention away from love, a strong purpose would be on top of the list. Likewise, Frieren has a strong reason why she hates demons, and was determined to kill the demon king.

Frieren’s village was actually a victim of the demon king’s massacre. The demon king for some reason aimed for the total annihilation of elves. He might be terrified of the idea of a race that can actually compete with the demons. However, it seems like he was close to his goal, judging by how rare elves are.

The massacre happened almost around a thousand years ago, yet the demon king only met his demise eighty years ago when Frieren and the hero’s party slayed him. That time reference is enough to picture how strong and terrifying the demon king was.

For this reason, when Flamme decided to take up Frieren as her disciple, she specifically instructed Frieren to lie low until the right time comes. Flamme did instill this idea to her literally a thousand years ago. During this time, Frieren trained her magic, including mana concealment. She might be really engrossed in the final result of their adventure, to the point it’s the only thing within her head.

Frieren Is A Hardcore Magic Nerd

Lastly, it’s Frieren’s own hyperfixation on magic that isolates her from social life. Honestly, it still happens. When Frieren was stuck with Sein, Fern, and Stark in a town, she spent most of her time hanging out in a magic shop.

Heck, whenever someone offers her a job, she always asks for a grimoire. Sometimes it takes her hours to choose if the person has a wide collection. I wouldn’t be surprised if Frieren is the equivalent of a book nerd in modern day.

Most of the time, she prefers to be on her own in her downtimes. To Frieren, magic isn’t just a tool to kill demons. There is much to discover in magic, and it brings her joy to collect the most obscure magic.

However, it also means Himmel couldn’t really relate to her, and vice versa. If only Himmel had been a mage too, things would be different. Imagine them going on a magic book hunt in a date, it would be so cute, wouldn’t it?

In Frieren, It Leads To An Incredibly Romantic Trope, Love After Life

Despite Frieren’s cluelessness of Himmel’s love for her, I think this trope is just a part of a very interesting trope this anime has. So far, I think it’s pretty clear the anime is leading to the eternal love trope. They gave us Old Man Voll who keeps his promise to his late wife, after all.

It’s both tragic and sweet at the same time. When a character keeps their love with their deceased significant other, it gives us a longing feeling as an audience. The only difference between Voll and Frieren is that Frieren is still learning about Himmel’s true feeling. So, the romantically clueless vibe is strong with her.

However, I also can see that this anime may be heading toward the together after death trope. Frieren is going to Aureole, or heaven as humans call it, where we can speak to a dead man’s soul. It’s possible that we see Himmel and Frieren reunited in the end of the anime.

It really reminds me of Sokka and Princess Yue from Avatar: The Last Air Bender. If only Sokka didn’t meet Suki, I think his romantic journey would be so heavy to hear. I suspect Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End will take the heavier route. It isn’t a coming of age anime, after all.

https://seinenrider.com/2024/01/18/frieren-is-the-peak-romantically-clueless-trope/

#Anime #animeTropes #Frieren #FrierenBeyondJourneySEnd #Romance #TropesInAnime

The isekai genre is one of, if not the most rapidly growing genre out there. Almost every season, we can expect at least one isekai anime gets launched to the oversaturated market. When I thought this genre would die out, isekai anime is only getting more and more numerous. They’re unstoppable!

Heck, what inspired me to write about it is that I am catching up to the second season of Mushoku Tensei. Most would say that this anime is the pinnacle of isekai. The original light novel got its first manga adaptation back in 2014, and received an immense praise from manga and anime fans.

The protagonist, Rudeus Greyrat, is the definition of a NEET, at least in his previous life. He was evicted by his family after skipping his parents’ funeral. Later, he got hit by a truck and was transferred into the world where the actual story takes place.

The premise of Mushoku Tensei is the bread and butter for this trope. A NEET gets a fatal kiss from a truck or other fatal accidents, and then gets to live another life, hopefully a better one. Suffice to say, the life of an isekai NEET starts with escaping the suffering in the original world.

The NEET protagonist trope is almost synonymous with the genre itself. But, an isekai doesn’t necessarily have to have a NEET for a protagonist. However, it’s a common trope that authors often bring into the genre. I’d like to point out the good aspects of this protagonist. And after that, let’s take a look at its shortcomings. But first, some might be unfamiliar with the term NEET.

What Is A NEET, And Where Did It Originate?

The term NEET is an abbreviation for “Not in Education, Employment, or Training”. Basically, someone who is wasting their life away in a stage of stagnancy. To get by in their daily life, it’s common for their parents or other caretakers to look after them. And, sometimes they require more than financial support.

It sounds nice, isn’t it? A NEET doesn’t have to attend classes, doesn’t have to show up at work, or be responsible for anything really. However, not having a purpose in life might be the greatest torture of all. It’s like being stuck in purgatory. Simply said, being a NEET could be the lowest point in someone’s life.

We might learn about the term from anime or manga. But, interestingly, the origin of NEET came from the UK. In the late 90s, a report done by the United Kingdom-based Social Exclusion Unit used the term “Not in Education, Employment, or Training” on its title.

After a quick read, I’d say the NEET problem is more than just young people unable to find work. It’s a combination of economic, familial, and education factors, as well as psychological issues. Although the context is of the UK in the 90s, I think what the report tells us still exist in present day. If anything, this whole NEET situation is more pronounced than ever.

A little bit of digging on the internet led me to the fact that at least 1.5 million Japanese are living in recluse. The term NEET is almost entire the same as Hikikomori, the term they use in Japan. We know that Japan can be a nice place to live in. But, at the same time, the number of Hikikomori is just unbelievable.

The Bitter Truth Of A NEET’s Life

I mentioned that being a NEET isn’t as fun as it might seem. On a surface level, a NEET’s life sounds like an infinite holiday. However, to say so means we’re leaving out the various struggles they’re experiencing, be it financial, some kind of addiction or other psychological issues.

Most NEETs are likely to experience these issues. They could become more and more apathetic to the outside world and drown deeper into self-isolation. We might end up losing our closest ones because of the collateral damage the unhealthy mental state causes. So, it’s unsurprising that NEETs often times don’t have friends or loved ones, because they might’ve unintentionally caused them to leave long ago.

Not only that, society isn’t always so forgiving. Often times, people look down on others who are struggling to put their lives together. It can really go downhill if those people are family members, friends, or the closest ones.

The impact of people pointing fingers negatively at you can really blow your self-esteem. The scariest part is all of those can lead to a spiral where the negative self-image actually harms the ones who still care, and further closes the door to future opportunities of redemption.

Lastly, everyone needs a purpose in their life. It’s bad enough to live under the impression that we’re worthless. So, it takes just a little nudge for a psychologically troubled NEET to think they serve no purpose in this world, and actually try to get transferred into another world.

Why A NEET Can Be A Great Protagonist

A mentally unstable, and deep in self-isolation person wouldn’t be the protagonist I’d imagine if it weren’t for the isekai genre. However, why is this trope of picking possibly the most ill-suited person for an adventure so popular?

There are common themes that I noticed after I watched quite a few isekai anime. These protagonists are typically plain looking, seems uninteresting, and quite possibly, actually boring on their own. However, once their second life starts, they live it like there is no tomorrow.

A Metaphor On Second Chances

I feel like the NEET protagonist trope describes what some people wish they have, a second chance. Often times in life, we end up with consequences of our past actions. Some of those, we regret doing. Well, in hindsight, it’s easy to judge our past selves.

Like, why did I mention I religiously played Starcraft 2? Now everyone think I wanted to be a Korean. Or, some other things along that lines would make us cringe and shiver before bed, or in the shower, or when we’re eating alone.

If mere awkward experiences come into our thoughts regularly, let’s try to imagine the things that are going on inside NEETs’ heads. They could be thinking of how others treat them badly, the immediate rejection the moment they decide to open up, or the downward spiral of choosing isolation over living a regular life.

Of course, thoughts of a second chance would naturally come into their mind every once in a while. And, the NEET protagonist is just the right choice if an author wants an audience that relates to this topic. In a very literal way, being born or transferred into another world defines the second chance that many people crave.

If we follow the story through the protagonist’s point of view, we get to see the suffering they endure. And so, we understand their suffering and the context better. This is the part where I wish manga authors would point out more.

Yes, it’s fun to see our NEET protagonist reach their fantasy. Whether it’s getting a fun adventuring party, or reaching the highest political power like Momonga from Overlord. However, shedding light on their previous life will make their isekai process more justifiable, thus enriching the storyline.

There Are Potentials For An Even More Tragic Story

Well, although isekai is a quick way to give a protagonist a reset in their life, it’s not a guarantee they’ll have it any easier. Immediately, Natsuki Subaru comes to my mind as I’m writing this.

The first time I watched Re: Zero, I expected nothing but a generic isekai where Subaru eventually ends up with some kind of overpowered magic or artifact. Boy was I wrong!

What followed was my disbelief that the plot makes Subaru suffers more than he ever had. Just when I thought one death can lead a protagonist to a better life, in Subaru’s case, his gets worse each time he dies. His whole return by death quirk really creeped me out, more than it should.

However, Re: Zero is a great example where an isekai NEET protagonist has to endure the new fate he is assigned to, a worse one compared to his previous life. I think we can agree that it belong to a specific genre that highlights human’s suffering, the tragedy genre.

It seems strange at first, why would we intentionally watch something that only shows suffering? Even outside anime, among the most memorable stories are tragedies. Take the love story of Romeo and Juliet, that’s a tragic romance. Or, Oedipus Rex, that’s a tragedy for sure. There is an element of catharsis in tragic stories.

Every time we think Subaru will be rewarded, the story gets us with demonically evil twists. It’s almost like we as an audience and the protagonist are on board with similar expectations in an isekai. But then, the author says, “not today, kiddo.”

These tragic twists snap our neck and also those expectations so suddenly, that it left impression to both someone watching on a screen and the one who actually is living the torture, the protagonist. Seeing Subaru’s suffering, in a way, also brings us catharsis. Being able to empathize with the protagonist’s struggles, and get sad about it, somehow brings us a strange feeling of relief.

Not Gonna Lie, The Parodies Are Great

On the other hand, the NEET Protagonist isn’t exclusive for power fantasy or tragic tales only. If done right, this trope can be the basis for a great comedy. Especially, if the author decides to make fun of the typical tropes in the isekai genre.

Take Konosuba for example. It parodies so many isekai tropes. From the NEET protagonist itself, the goddess you meet in death, and the format of a typical adventuring party. At first glance, Kazuma’s party might be the normal priest, mage, warrior, and thief we might see in RPG games or fantasy anime. However, upon closer inspection, every member isn’t right in their head.

Heck, even the way Kazuma dies makes fun of the typical “get isekaid by truck-kun” trope. On top of that, the goddess that he meets after death isn’t the graceful we might always expect in an isekai anime. Suffice to say, the first few minutes of Konosuba sent me laughing non-stop. It was a wild experience watching this anime and the first season Re: Zero back to back.

While Kazuma’s background as a NEET plays a comedic role in the anime. Konosuba‘s parody is more well-rounded and happens everywhere, not just on the protagonist. I think the better example is Isekai Ojisan. Although this is a reverse isekai, I think it depicts a perfect parody of a NEET protagonist.

The protagonist, Yousuke Shibazaki or simply referred to as “Uncle”, just came back from a 17 years coma. Turns out, this whole time, he was transferred into another world. Although he became overpowered in the fantasy world, his stories aren’t pretty in any way. I mean, the moment he got into the alternate world, he was immediatly sold as a slave, for a cheaper price than a brush on top of that.

Throughout the entire twelve episodes, we see how living another life in an unfamiliar world can suck so much. Especially, if you’re a NEET. I think Isekai Ojisan did what other isekai anime often forget. Most NEETs will have difficulties in bonding with other people, even those who mean well. Especially, just like average people, not every NEET is attractive.

Even other isekai often overlook this. Most protagonists will pass as attractive or at least average looking, so people don’t really judge them based on their looks. At most, they’ll be judged based on their other worldly behavior and clothing, not their physical features. However, Isekai Ojisan does a great job in depicting this even in comedic manner.

What Could Be The Downfall Of A NEET Protagonist

I know those good points are rather lenghtly, but I think a NEET protagonist is a nice trope to base an anime on. Despite people often calling them as generic and uncreative, I still belief there are legitimate potential and solid ground for them to carry an anime.

However, not every protagonist is the same. Same are great, fun, and they bring a newness that keeps fans coming back to the anime. On the other hand, there are quite a few that… How do I say it? Less than satisfactory.

Even as a hardcore fan, sometimes there are negative things that you can’t refute in an anime that you love, including the shorctoming of the protagonist.

Limiting A NEET Protagonist Into Just A Caricature

The whole reincarnation thingy can be a double-edged sword. More often than not, the initial premise of an anime really narrow down the NEET protagonist to a caricature of a NEET. Although I’m not saying people who live in self-isolation can’t have difficulties socializing, I still believe they’re not creeps by nature.

There is nuance in each person, including people who society deems as failure. However, some authors choose to portray them as total creeps that have nothing going on inside their mind aside from lewd stuff and overly-emo imaginations.

Aside from the bad taste, I think those kind of NEET protagonists perpetuate the assumption that NEETs are people we need to avoid instead of people who need actual help. Heck, the worst feeling, in my opinion, is when people bully you because of the bad image some anime are stuck with, including the portrayal of NEETs.

Moreover, what I hate the most is when the comically one dimensional NEET protagonists. I know hate is a strong word, but I feel it’s justified this time. Sometimes, it feels weird when the anime assumes you’re totally onboard when the protagonist thinks nothing but the most degenerate stuff about the other characters. Like, authors, what are you guys insinuating here?

I understand that showing lewd fan service is part of the entertainment that we get and ought to expect to get in watching anime, or any other media for that matter. Heck, recently, I just finished wathcing the whole The Boys series, and I can’t think of a single episode without one. However, this type of cheapshot in storytelling grows old real fast. It shows the laziness in writing and bad assumptions they have on the audience.

Too Many And Too Weird

Alright, this one might be the result of the whole demand and supply stuff in economics. The isekai genre, as a whole, is a very successful genre, and it’s only natural that they make more of them to satisfy the seemingly growing demand.

However, there is a point where the market will become fatigued. When there is an oversupply of something, of course, the value will decrease. It’s also true for isekai anime and their NEET protagonist. It’s not rare to hear anime fans saying, “Oh, look, another anime with a generic NEET protagonist, how original.”

On top of that, writing is a creative endeavor. What happens when a trope is used too much is authors will try to put seemingly out-of-this world gimmicks into their protagonists. Now, don’t get me wrong, they can work just fine if done properly, or even surpass the more mainstream protagonists.

With that being said, if we put how many isekai anime are and the weirdness they often adapt, you get too many weird isekai anime. I’m not really sure if the appeal of any unique NEET protagonist will eventually fade out if they keep throwing them to our faces.

Moreover, if the anime only has the protagonist’s weird reincarnation quirk as its selling point. Like, “Hey! Look! I was a NEET in my previous life and now I am a vending machine.” or, “Look at me! People called me a pig before, and now I am a literal pig!” As funny as these hooks are, those anime still need to bring a real solid plotline to retain the audience.

Lazy Writing And Greedy Money Grabbing

This last point might have little to do with the trope itself. Instead, I think this is a general pitfall that many genre can fall into. However, considering how massive the market for isekai anime is, this pitfall becomes even more pronounced.

As much I love anime, it’s still hard to see the reality of the industry. Overworked animators and writers plague the behind the screen of anime making. I mentioned how overusing the isekai NEET trope can be a pitfall for an anime. However, when it’s intentionally made to “satisfy the market”.

What’s really ironic is that sometimes the people behind this industry sometimes are seemingly unaware that the fans might’ve had enough of this trope. Well, this predicament might just explain the overly numerous weird anime. But, it still doesn’t check out the requirement of actually exciting plots.

I understand that, like many other of entertainment, anime is in industry where money and big companies are involved. It feels almost impossible for an author to launch their manga independently and gets an adaptation immediately. Still, the audience won’t be forever entertained by creative cheapskates.

This is why when we get a fantasy anime with just a little difference, we almost instantly get excited by it. Look at Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End! It quickly became fans’ favorite shortly after its premiere. Aside from the great storytelling, it shows how tired the fans are with the typical isekai fantasy genre, which often involves a NEET protagonist.

My Final Say About This Trope

Despite what I said about this trope, the isekai NEET trope is still a great basis for a protagonist. It gives a good insight on self-isolation and the effects it brings to people. Not to mention, when the tragic twist gets good, it gets good real hard. The parodies are also some of the most well-loved anime in existence.

However, with how saturated the isekai genre is, the NEET protagonist is in a vulnurable place where it can get too ugly too fast. It can’t be denied that the appeal of a trope is influenced greatly by current anime trend. However, The NEET protagonists still have a place in the overcrowded isekai market, but their anime must have a decent basis in their plotpoints, worldbuilding, and the use of the protagonists’ story itself.

https://seinenrider.com/2024/01/14/the-good-and-the-bad-of-neets-in-isekai/

#Anime #animeTropes #Isekai #Konosuba #MushokuTensei #ReZero #TropesInAnime

What’s a man? I’ll do you one better, why is a man? Is it someone who consists only of muscles and body hair? Can they be a multitude of complex characters unique from each other? Maybe, even someone who fits perfectly into the masculine beauty standards? This time, I’d like to talk about a male character trope that often finds itself under the rug.

The feminine man trope is a trope where a male character has a touch of feminine traits. This trope originally comes from the shoujo and boys love (yaoi) genres. Those are the places where you can find charming men for people who like them, but would often be a total flop for those who are unfamiliar.

Come to think of it, it is possible to meet men who are more feminine than we expect even in real life. On a surface level, even the average men don’t fit into the ideal macho man imagery. However, we need to ask ourselves what constitutes men as men. What we define as manly sometimes can be arbitrary, whether it’s looks, favorite items, or mannerisms.

Drawing the line between what’s feminine and not can be tricky, especially for male audiences. It hugely depends on what point of view you’re taking. In Japan, even how we would address ourselves can put us in a different place on the spectrum of femininity. For this reason, anime characters can appear masculine to the Japanese audience, even though for gaijin they seem on the feminine side.

So, let’s carefully flesh out what it means to be a feminine man in anime. Is it enough for a character to act girlish for a bit to fit in this trope? The defining features of the feminine man trope might have a deeper insight than what meets the eye.

Then, let’s see how feminine male characters twist the traditional gender roles in stories. Like Thanos, a biased perspective is inevitable when it comes to watching an anime. What we see as feminine and masculine might be different. But, we all can agree that this trope gives a twist to our perspective nonetheless.

Finally, we will look at the responses by fans to this trope, shall we? There are bound to be debates for even the pettiest stuff among anime fans from time to time. Well, this trope is in a peculiar spotlight, considering in most places anime is more popular among men than women.

What Is A Feminine Man In The First Place?

The existence of feminine aspects in men isn’t a new concept. If we want to rummage through the library, we can peek into the tale of Nisus and Euryalus in the Aeneid by Virgil.

Euryalus is the more feminine half of the couple, even down to his appearance which is closer to beautiful in description. Nisus, on the other hand, is devoted and always pays close attention for his male lover.

The feminine man often is not under the spotlight of the story. Rather, they occupy a crucial role in supporting the lead. Dare I say, he is the wingman that you can occasionally flirt with. The pretty aesthetic in the feminine man is also a core point of this character trope.

In short, the feminine man trope depicts a man with tendencies to feminine activities, preferences, and appearance. He may or may not involve in romantic relationship with another man. But, that depends more on the genre that the character is in.

One popular form of a feminine man in anime is the bishonen. Bishonen literally means “pretty boy”. A bishonen almost always has androgynous looks, a soft voice, and delicate features. They tick most boxes in the feminine man trope, especially in terms of visual appeal.

Because of the feminine man trope covers a wide range of characters, often times there is confusion in differentiating a simple feminine man, a bishonen, and a trap.

The Difference Between Feminine Men, Bishonen, And Traps

Initially, bishonen was exclusive to the shoujo and boys’ love or yaoi genre. The characters were often strictly boys in their teenage years. Youth has always been associated with attractiveness. But, the connotation of bishonen has to be of barely illegal age has fallen out of trend.

We can easily point out a bishonen because most of them have very attractive androgynous features. For example, a slender and tall stature, dreamy eyes, beautiful locks of hair, and soft to soothing face expressions with clear skin.

Bishonen characters with a bit of masculine mannerism fall perfectly into the feminine man trope. The reason I differentiate the three is, sometimes, it is simply possible for a feminine man to not have the visual appeal a bishonen should always have. Traps, on the other hand, are an entirely different breed, though they do have some similarities.

The trap characters have a certain infamy in the anime community. As the name suggest, trap characters bait you with their cute, girly face and attire only to surprise you with, hmm… how should I put this? A gender reveal. For people who like them, they are a gold mine. But, some others prefer to get hit in the stomach rather than watching an anime with a trap character in it.

A trap character has a glaring contrast when you put them side by side with a bishonen and a feminine man. They often engage in romantic or flirty situations, either as the initiator or as the person others confess their feelings to. Additionally, their gender reveals are commonly played for comedic effects.

On the other hand, you can immediately tell both bishonen and feminine men are, well… men. While bishonen is equally prone to romance, they typically don’t put up an act to appear female. Instead, it’s the people around them who will mistake them for a female purely because of their visual charms.

If you take away the other-worldly looks of a bishonen and put more emphasis on their feminine traits, you’ll get the bread and butter feminine man. Sure, they can overlap with each other given the closeness of their defining characteristics. However, it’s still important to note the prominent features of each branch to avoid confusion.

Björn Andrésen And 70s Androgynous Appeal In Anime

Speaking of visual appeal, there is one actor who influenced the views of countless media on the pretty boy character. Björn Andrésen is a Swedish actor who made his name as the most beautiful boy after his role in Death In Venice.

His androgynous beauty shook the world and earned him the title “the most beautiful boy in the world.” So much so, he became a victim of his own enchanting handsomeness. Many homosexual actors and filmmakers coveted him while he was still underage. There is an amazing documentary about Björn’s suffering as a teenage actor in the homosexual cinema.

Interestingly, Death In Venice got a great reception in Japan. I think it’s not an understatement to say that his extraordinarily gorgeous features inspired the androgynous looks in shoujo manga.

The author of anime and manga The Rose of Versailes, Riyoko Ikeda, took Björn’s androgynous appeal into her main character, Lady Oscar. You can see the striking similarities, from the wavy hair, small mouths, and the shape of their eyes and eyebrows.

The bishonen caters to a distinct male beauty standard. The status quo of attractiveness in men mainly dictates them to have masculine features along with well-built muscles. However, the bishonen appearance emphasizes elegance and aesthetically pleasing feminine features in men, with almost no aggressiveness in sight.

The feminine man doesn’t always rely solely on what meets the eye. It also highlights feminine traits that people may overlook in men.

Feminine Traits In Male Characters

There are reasons why shoujo anime and manga have a disproportionate number of feminine men. This is one place where a female anime fan can enjoy a male character who offers comfort and wholesomeness more than anything else.

On a surface level, the feminine man trope in anime prefers to do things that are traditionally associated with domestic tasks. I think Gojo Wakana from My Dress-Up Darling is a good example. He is passionate about hina dolls and is dedicated to dollmaking craftmanship. However, people around him judges him for what he likes, so he keeps it secret.

Also, the feminine man mostly shows a more reserved attitude, be it because of their personality or people seeing them as unapproachable, especially when there is an aspect of bishonen’s beauty. This kind of feminine man shares the preciousness of the quiet girl trope, invoking the protective instinct of the other characters.

Interestingly enough, a feminine man character can be a social butterfly too. However, they would still avoid conflicts as much as possible, unlike the typical shonen lead who will charge head first into whatever obstacle he encounters. Although this trope can fall into two opposing end of introversion, the characters typically will always retain their moe effects.

Aside from the prevalent “prince charming” theme in romance, one of the main appeals of shojou manga and anime, is we get to see men from a different perspective. Especially, perspectives of men with contrasting traits to the masculine norms. Feminine men in anime tend to be more expressive of their emotions.

I think the emotional openness is the power of a shoujo male lead has similar effects to the power of friendship of a shonen male protagonist. Although people might get the wrong impression that they are melodramatic and unstable, a character who is self-aware of their emotions gives a deeper perspective into what kind of being they are.

Emotional awareness is a core power in a feminine character. It is a road for authors to create conflicts in a story. Emotional challenges give the characters something to fight without turning the whole anime into a generic battle shonen. This is crucial in making character developments and creating relatable personalities.

A Flip To The Traditional Gender Roles In The Story Plot

This trope flips the traditional dynamics of heterosexual romance in the story. The change in the interaction between the male and female lead gives more options for the romance plot. How many times have you been left frustrated because there is a romance that serves no purpose to the characters’ depth?

Most shonen anime are filled with this problematic predicament. The one-dimensional and even downright boring female romantic interests are so common, that it is impossible to live a life without ever meeting one. However, the flip of gender roles that this trope often does can add some spice to a stale romance storyline.

Male Characters As Homemakers And Supports

Let’s go back to The Way Of The Househusband for a bit. Although Tatsu is masculine in every way possible. Yet, I found his character to be extremely feminine. While his activities as a househusband mainly cover domestic chores which are often attributed to femininity, I think there is still more to it.

Tatsu breaks the stereotype that a man must be the provider in the house. Even in real life, some cultures still actively judge househusbands as downright emasculating. However, Tatsu bears his househusband title with unparalleled pride and devotion. This is what prompts me to think that the power behind feminine characters is how they empower themselves despite societal perception.

On the other hand, Gojo Wakana is the ideal supporter for Marin. He work behind the scene and make sure Marin would wear the nicest costume for her cosplay. If we lived in this anime, we might not notice him at all! However, the anime clearly shows how important he is to Marin.

The Signifier And The Signified

Previously I mentioned a character being a signifier for the other. What does it mean exactly? To be a signifier means you make the spotlight shine even brighter for another person. This is where harem anime often fails. The sheer number of romantic interests and supporting characters forces the anime to cut their screen time short.

If a supporting character is badly written, it will end up as a mere accessory for the others. This is my first impression of Sakura in the early Naruto days. Even as a teenage boy, I thought her character was too one-dimensional and lacking depth.

I think this is one of the glaring flaws in certain genres of anime. When they write female characters, the girls tend to serve as little more than a fan service. But, when a male character is supposed to be a supporter of the female lead, he becomes a caricature of a weak man or even an invisible character.

The feminine man trope, however, gives a chance for a male character who is a signifier to be both reliable and proactive. It elevates the caricature of a timid and obedient background male character into an actually contributing one. Take the two previous examples, Gojo Wakana and Tatsu. Both take care of their respective signified female counterparts. Yet, in no way their supporting roles are seen as weakness.

Fans’ Response Towards The Feminine Man Trope

The feminine man trope is rather unconventional, even by anime standards. Naturally, a trope like this is a hit or miss for the fans. The views of an audience depend so much on their backgrounds and past experiences. So, if the viewers of an anime are mostly men with a strict perception of masculinity, it’s natural to expect some backlash from them.

There is a lot to consider when writing this character trope. More often than not, there are more pitfalls than goldmines, in this trope. Combining femininity and male characters isn’t an easy thing to do, in real life men sometimes also show difficulty in embracing their feminine side, after all.

I Intentionally Avoided Watching Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie

I know Shikimori’s boyfriend is the elephant in the room in this post. I haven’t talked about him up to now, have I? There are two main reasons why that is the case. First, it’s a low-hanging fruit to start with him. I’ve heard a plethora of criticism of this anime, particularly about Izumi.

Second, Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie actually shocked me a little bit. I intentionally avoided watching it, partly because the internet got me and swayed me to not open this can of worms of anime. But, eventually, a fellow weeb convinced me to give it a try. I watched it and I could feel each episode shift my views on Izumi little by little.

A Feminine Man’s Moe Is His Throne And Pitfall

Let’s first talk about some fair criticisms of Izumi. By any means, Izumi isn’t the typical high school boy. He is more akin to Saika Totsuka, in my opinion. His moe effects, his adorable image, everything about Saika screams, “Protect me!” So, it’s not hard to find girls wrapped in glee over his cuteness, both in the anime and real life.

Similar to Saika, Izumi’s preciousness plays really well when he is on the screen with Shikimori, his cool and protective girlfriend. The stakes also shoot up whenever Izumi’s special trait, being the unluckiest boy ever, kicks in. That’s where Shikimori would always save him from trouble.

I can see where Izumi’s cuteness can slip into overreliance on his perfect girlfriend, though. Also, he initially felt like a caricature of every helpless girl in anime, only he is a male. Sounds like lazy character writing, right?

However, Izumi also made anime fans extremely polarized. Some judge him even as a downright pathetic male lead, while others love how cute and precious he can be.

What I noticed about this is that the ones who look down on Izumi are often male viewers, while the ones who like him are mostly female viewers. That’s when I realized Izumi isn’t made to be a self-insert character. Rather, it’s Shikimori who is supposed to be under the spotlight.

I think this anime is exactly for girlfriends who love doting their boyfriends. I can speak from experience that some girls really do have Shikimori’s “must protecc boyfriend” instinct. Izumi’s femininity complements their dynamics. And when he shows more masculinity than usual, it feels more special and we are compelled to root for him.

Conclusion And Balancing Masculinity And Femininity In The Feminine Man Trope

One notion that comes up again and again when people dish Izumi is effeminacy. In the eyes of some audience, Izumi is what will happen if you squeeze every ounce of testosterone out of someone. His character is a blatant contrast to action anime protagonists.

When it comes to anime with dark and depressing themes, male characters tend to display depression, grief, or a strong will to face their adversaries. Those emotional themes fit perfectly into the typical masculine storyline. But, it wouldn’t exactly be suitable for the shoujo and romance genres.

Although I can understand where the criticism came from, it would be ignorant to dismiss the demographic who likes male characters with a touch of moe. The feminine man trope has its spotlight here. It challenges the notion that a man should always be stoic and devoid of emotions other than what I mentioned.

The fact is that men can feel butterflies in their stomachs too. Especially in romance settings, bashfulness and love for cute things aren’t exclusive to women. Feeling these emotions doesn’t mean a man is emasculated. Rather, it means they are also human capable of comprehending precious moments.

Also, this trope is full of nuance when it comes to men’s beauty standards. Oftentimes, what counts as attractive in men is how muscular and imposing they look. However, the feminine man trope proves even the less aggressive androgynous look can be as attractive.

https://seinenrider.com/2023/12/06/the-feminine-man-trope-in-anime/

#Androgyny #Anime #animeTropes #Femininity #Masculinity #Shikimori #Shoujo

Just the other day, I caught up to Aijou Rentarou’s hijinks in The 100 Girlfriends Who Really Really Really Really Really Love You. Wow! That’s a mouthful, but also I can attest this is one of the funniest anime they put out this year.

One thing that I noticed is how Shizuka-chan, the small and quiet girl, manages to get herself stuck on an island in a pool. Her floaties got ripped, her phone’s battery just gave up on her, thus she is effectively a maiden in need of rescue.

When she finally spots Rentarou, she lets out maybe the softest and smallest “Hey!” I’ve ever heard in my life. But somehow, Rentarou hears her like he is some kind of bat with echolocation, which is hysterical.

For context, Shizuka always communicates with her phone via a text-to-speech feature, where it reads her favorite book. She is shy and rather insecure about her soft voice. So, she decided it is better for her to communicate by quoting her book.

Shizuka’s shyness got me thinking. Hmm, there are plenty of girls in anime that could’ve used a text-to-speech feature like her. Last year we got Bocchi The Rock!, 2021 gave us Komi-san. Heck, even this season, we got an anime with the word “SHY” as the title.

So, is the quiet girl trope just another character template in anime? Or, maybe we do have a lot of them, and most are very well written.

Why Quiet Girls In Anime Are Popular

The quiet girl trope is among the most used tropes in anime. Considering how many quiet girls we have in anime, there have to be some reasons for them to exist for so long.

First, quiet girls are relatable. It’s not hard to find someone who would get bashful when meeting their crush. For some people, finding a bashful or reserved character in an anime is a “Hey! It’s me!” moment.

Second, it’s their introverted nature. Especially in romance anime, introverted girls who keep to themselves do have their own mysterious vibes. And sometimes, that’s the very thing the main character or the audience is attracted to. What’s more interesting is that some anime gives an idea on how introversion and issues surrounding it actually work.

And the final reason, when it feels great to see them breaking out from the shell for the first time. The more wholesome example would be the anime Hitoribocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu. In this anime, the main character, Hitori Bocchi, makes her way to finally open up and make new friends despite her internal struggles.

The Quiet Girl Is Relatable And Anime Community Is Full Of Introverts

Let’s break down the reasons above one by one. First, the relatability of the quiet girl trope among fans. Surprisingly, but not really, most anime fans are introverts. Or at least, there is a ten years old study that indicates introverts love talking about anime on social media.

Although the study is old, I believe it still holds some truth. There are introverts, such as Frieren, among the most popular female anime characters at the time of writing this post. This supports the idea that the quiet girl trope is highly popular and that there are many introverts among anime fans.

The Beautiful And Mysterious Girl Type

What’s more interesting is sometimes this trope also hits the less discussed side of being an attractive girl and being an introvert. Most people would assume that, as long as you’re attractive, there’s virtually no obstacle for you to make social connections.

However, this is can’t be much farther from the truth. Komi-san from Komi Can’t Communicate really shows how being attractive doesn’t always correlate with being sociable. Right at the first few second of the beginning of the anime, Komi is already turning heads because of her beauty. But, she still struggles to make friends with others.

What I was worried about her character when I watch this anime for the first time is how people will only see her as a pretty face. Yes, being attractive gives an advantage when it comes to attracting attention. But, what’s good about a heap of attention when there’s lack of genuine interaction.

The horror of this situation comes when all that people is only the shell of the person, not what’s inside. It can be genuinely isolating when people reduce yourself into just how you look like, even when you’re good looking. There is an interesting stream by Dr. Kanojia, or Dr. K, on YouTube talking about this exact problem.

What About The Invisible Quiet Girls?

The issue can be more severe when the quiet and reserved character isn’t traditionally attractive. I think it’s also true in real life. There’s a certain line where a person can turn from being “cool” to “creepy” in how society perceive attractiveness.

In real life, the effects of forcing oneself into becoming the exact copy of the ideal expectation can be severe. Women are particularly prone to eating disorders while conforming to what perceived as attractive by society.

Also, I think the problem of turning invisible for unattractive introverts is universal for both men and women. For example, Kaguya-sama: Love is War jokingly makes a reference of Ishigami’s appearance in the anime. He actually is a member of the student council, but he is always overlooked until his official appearance in the middle of the first season.

What’s more terrifying is that sometimes being the unattractive quiet girl can lead to a character with a skewed viewpoint on life. It’s what happens in WataMote. The main character, Tomoko Kuroki, is somewhat similar with Komi-san, but she is not as traditionally attractive.

I’m sure there are many introverts who are struggling to be seen by their peers. And to some extent, it can be attributed to the attractiveness of the person. When an anime puts a spotlight on this type of character, it showcases the experience of the average person at the same time.

The inclusion of these issues can prevent the quiet girl trope from being too one-dimensional. Potential conflicts that arise when variables like bias on attractiveness are introduced give the characters something to either fight against or to accept.

Exploring Introversion, Two Kinds Of Quiet Girls

The quiet girl trope obviously tackles down how introversion and social anxiety work. While the two can correlate, they don’t always mean the same thing. The best example showing the contrast between the two might be that one scene from Bocchi The Rock!

Bocchi, at some point, realizes that her bandmate, Ryo-senpai, is actually voluntarily put herself as a loner. Why? Because she prefers to do things like that. Ryo-senpai is just built different.

In reality, introversion exists on a spectrum. One introvert is completely unique from the other. Although there are some similarities, just like how both Ryo and Bocchi avoid social interactions, their reasons could be totally different.

While the two are introverts, one willingly plunges herself into her own bubble of isolation, while the other is torn apart by her neurotic perception of the outside world. I think this is where the quiet girl trope shines the most. While it gives the idea of a generic template of a reserved person, it has so many options to make itself specific.

More Than Introversion, The Quiet Girl Trope Explores Social Anxiety

If we dive more deeply into this trope, it explores more than just introversion. Both Ryo and Bocchi are introverts, but the latter certainly has an issue. While being an introvert is totally fine, things can easily go south when a character has a social anxiety.

While an extreme example like Shizuka might give an idea how social anxiety might seem from the outside. I think Bocchi perfectly shows how people with this problem process interaction internally.

There are so many scenes of Bocchi freaking out on the idea of performing on stage, being replaced by a more extroverted guitarist, or ended up as a hikikomori at the most extreme. The anime expresses her worries in the most creative way possible.

From Bocchi glitching out, exploding like a balloon when some random guys try to interact with her, to her transforming into a low-poly figure being thrown against a wall. This is the imagery that I want to see when there is a quiet and anxious character.

I would really love if there are more anime that give the idea what’s actually going on inside the head of quiet characters. While anxiety can seriously twist how we perceive the world, Bocchi’s portrayal of her internal struggles gives the quiet girl trope a clearer visual description.

Rooting For Characters With Internal Struggles

Watching a quiet girl character slowly overcomes her shyness and self-isolation can actually be inspiring. When it comes to romance, it’s mostly the norm for the guy to make the first move. When a girl does it, it’s sometimes seen as groundbreaking.

However, the real groundbreaking thing is actually when a quiet character is the one who initiates a romantic confession. Why is that the case? Well, first she has to be brave enough to put herself into the possibility of being rejected.

Second, when it comes to quiet girls, their problems essentially are doubled. Her own personality gets in her way to get what she wants. Not only she has to do an unconventional thing, but she also has to conquer her own reserved nature. When the quiet girl trope takes this route, it places the character into a “conquering the dragon” situation, with their inner conflicts being the dragon.

Yes, I am aware that this sounds like a shonen protagonist moment. But, I think conveying internal struggles is forever an important aspect of storytelling, no matter what the media is. Furthermore, the quiet girl trope is arguably just the perfect outlet to show internal conflicts.

Hilarious Comedy Subversion

Okay, now we know that the quiet girl character trope can cover serious issues, like pretty privilege and social anxiety. But, this trope isn’t limited to highly reflective situations and social issue. When done right, the quiet girl can be the most out of pocket comedic factory.

The ultimate example of this would be Mai from Nichijou in my opinion. If the anime weren’t a comedy, she would be the generic studious character out of the trio. Or, maybe she will be similar to Ryo from Bocchi The Rock!

Mai is such a deceptive character in my opinion. She has the stereotypical quiet and smart student appearance, with glasses and an expressionless face. The first time I watched Nichijou, I thought she would be the common sense of the trio. But no, turns out she always has the most chaotic pranks, and she does them in a very elaborate way too.

On top of that, she mostly does these pranks without even uttering a word. I don’t know what the original mangaka of Nichijou was drinking while they were writing Mai’s antiques, but what she does sometimes are just unthinkable.

I think it was a genius choice to put Mai as the prankster as the trio. Her quiet personality combined with her trolls are two things that commonly sit at the opposite end. It diverts us from the initial expectation we might have at first. Furthermore, we already have Yuuko as the designated foolish character. So, putting Mai on a level that’s makes even Yuuko perplexed is such a comedic genius.

Will The Quiet Girl Trope Continue To Be Interesting?

I think there is so much room to explore in the quiet girl trope. So far, I only provided a handful of examples in a few genres. We haven’t even dive deeply into the romance genre and sub-plot, where the quiet girl trope will almost always appear.

Also, the trope is arguably pretty flexible to be present in various genres. It opens up the possibility of having a serious depiction of social problems, ranging from anti-social behavior to women specific issues.

By including these topics into the character, we will see more diversity of personality and less one dimensional female characters in the anime, despite they come from the same quiet girl trope. All things considered, the quiet girl trope is a timeless trope for prevalent reasons in storytelling that can’t be ignored.

https://seinenrider.com/2023/11/17/is-the-quiet-girl-trope-in-anime-no-longer-interesting/

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