InAnimete: Intermission A - Relationships

Hudson's Note: Over the three days this was written, I had been waking up at 3 or 4 in the morning to watch Suede's stream of "The Rose of Versailles". It was worth it. The price, however, was my piece for the week being beyond human comprehension. I maintain my policy of not editing finished articles (bar this note) with the exception of spelling errors so...good luck, reader.

Well, I just finished My-HiME, an anime about high school girls who are given secret superpowers and thematically related mechs. However, this anime manages to overcome the fact that the previous sentence describes it and manages to become absolutely fucking fantastic. I've also started (but haven't finished) a show called Midori Days. I'll explain the premise of that one a little later, but the main thematic connection between the two shows is the amount of emphasis relationships have on the plot.



Before I carry on this directionless rant, let me just explain what "Intermission" is. I'm getting a little sick of attempting to recall, describe and analyse anime that I've watched nearly a year ago and want to talk a little more about anime I'm watching in the here and now. I don't want to talk about any anime series on its own because, in theory, I'll get to it numerically one day, no matter how long that takes.

My one recourse is to write a vague, meandering think-piece which allows me to incorporate older anime which I have and haven't talked about yet alongside shows which are still fresh in my mind. I don't know where I'm going with this idea, and I'm sure by the end of this post you won't either.

Let me present a thesis to direct my thoughts, for everyones sake: Anime series would be better off culling unnecessary relationships in favour of stronger and more interesting ones. I'm perfectly aware how much vague, subjective and generally pointless language is in that statement, so let's explore it.

Let's return to the two shows I was talking about at the beginning. The strength of My-HiME is how directed it is. There certainly are relationships that appear pointless, but at some point in the show, and not even necessarily the ending, every pre-established connection between characters becomes important. Sure, some of this is simply the sharing of information from one source to another or a one-off obstacle to delay action. Also, these are not inherently romantic relationships. The most important relationships throughout the majority of My-HiME is that of the titular Mai and her brother Takumi, and Mai and her...proxy...sister? daughter? Mikoto. Romance is only one of many relationships.

This probably isn't the best way of showing off My-HiME, but this wall of text needs colour.

Why do I bring up My-HiME? Sure, it's a good anime with a core metaphor based around relationships, but what does that prove? Well, I don't want my core thesis to be read as "there should be less characters in anime". I don't believe that at all. Yes, it is perfectly possible to have too many characters in an anime, particularly when they're all introduced in one session. This is probably the largest reason that I never really liked Negima, even if the sudden introduction of all 30+ characters was intended to thematically symbolise Negi's sense of being overwhelmed by his change of scenery. Too big a cast for the size to ever be justified. I don't care what the manga did: adapt.

No, less characters isn't the answer. Strong relationships, positive, negative, mutual or otherwise, are a very important factor to a good anime, in my humble opinion. If you cull the number of characters in order to focus on a smaller group, that certainly could work. The risk, however. is that by cutting down the number of characters you also potentially sacrifice more relationships that could have been formed. It's probably a reasonable point at which to state that I started watching anime this January, and I have barely any experience writing fiction, let alone something designed for the anime style. This is purely the product of my observations.

Kuga (not 'Kaga' as I kept calling her on Twitter) and her completely legit teacher from My-HiME.

Having a small cast doesn't automatically guarantee a good relationship network. Take Kiddy Grade, for example. The core cast consisted of two people, and I never felt any sort of connection between the two was conveyed in a sense beyond necessity. This borders on the impossibly nebulous concept of "chemistry" between the cast, which is a topic I want to avoid today, and possibly forever, due to the sheer size and subjectivity of the concept. What makes a cast of any size work is a sense that they have a reason to know each other outside the strict rails of the plot. Not in a story sense, but in a personality sense. Common or conflicting interests, a shared identity, a common enemy or mutual friend. Something. If not, there should be two questions: a) Why are they together/do they know each other then? Plot can easily answer this through some circumstance of birth, if nothing else. There is also b) How does this make them feel? Although I feel like a strawman of a psychiatrist saying this, how do the two characters with literally no reason to co-exist or ever connect feel about their forced association due to the plot? Happy? Resentful? Repentant? Whatever the answer is, this is, in essence, a relationship of sorts, and a powerful way of evolving characters and story. I really should provide some examples to explain this ranting.

A good example, oddly enough, can be found in School Rumble. The show revolves around a class full of misfits, and throughout the course of the series, almost every character becomes connected to one another through a spider-web of one-sided crushes, sworn rivalries, friendships, misunderstandings and secrets. It's a brilliant case-study for how important relationships are to the evolution of a series, particularly one so light on large-scale plot arcs. Everything returns to a state of reasonable normality by the end of an episode or two. The takeaway I want to point out is that so few of these relationships exist at the beginning of the show. Sure, the core love-triangle is pre-established, but other than that all relationships essentially emerge from little more than the shared identity of classmates. That's not a strong relationship in any scenario, but it's an important start and, if nothing else, gives an easy way of removing a character that becomes less useful - remove their share in the shared identity. Either remove them from the identity i.e. change schools or classes, or remove the identity entirely i.e. graduate to the next year, graduate completely, dragons destroy the school. The first option, if it works, demonstrates just how unnecessary the character was. The second one makes it perfectly clear which characters are necessary. If any are still relevant to a larger plot but don't have a relationship connection? Easy: make one. In either case, having a character who has no connection to the rest of the core cast has no reason to hang around. It doesn't have to be clear, but it has to be there somewhere.

Tenma & Harima, the lead characters of School Rumble.

A question which may arise from the thesis is "Why anime?" Exactly why is anime a particular medium to talk about this for, and not just fiction in general? Well, anime has a unique length and direction. Anime, in many if not most, have a directed overarching story to tell. This is far more in the manner of movies. They also often attempt to engage in episodic storytelling, in the manner of live-action series, but shorter, or music, but longer. This mid-length narrative model allows for far more characterisation than a typical movie, but less free time for purely character moments, removed from the story, than conventional TV shows. There are probably other similar mediums in this model, and culture is obviously a big factor, but I think this really sets anime apart from other media I consume regularly. It's a small factor, but I think it's important.

I don't know why I've spent so long talking about the construction of a story when that isn't the aspect of anime I'm most familiar with. I'm far more familiar with the obvious: consumption. Relationships, particularly strong relationships, are important for understanding larger metaphors, subversions and connotations. This is where I think Midori Days enters the picture.  The premise of the show is that the desperately lonely tough-guy high school boy wakes up to find his right hand has been replaced by a woman who is madly in love with him. Yes, it sounds absurd. Hell, it IS absurd.

The show also manages to be remarkably uncomfortable at times.

What is significant about this show is trying to work out exactly what this odd relationship is intended to convey, as well as the other relationships emerging through the remarkably small core cast. The show ignores explanation for why this strange series of events unfolds, and relationships, almost completely romantic, dominate the morals and message of the show. The core moral is seemingly regarding respect and denouncing objectification, but that isn't always completely clear.

Why strong relationships matter to the viewer, beyond the obvious point that it makes the show more entertaining and engaging, is that it is a clear marker of the message, morals and politics of the show. What do I mean when I say "politics"? Well, it tells us a lot about the worldview of the characters or creators, depending on how the relationship is portrayed and styled. Take, for example, a man in love with a woman, but unable (for any number of reasons) to be seen as a friend. Yes, the scourge of the straight man, the dreaded "friendzone". Played straight, portraying the man as sympathetic and brutally tortured by a woman perfectly aware of the situation she has put him in, this would demonstrate a show rooted in a traditional, conservative and male-oriented political ideal. An example of this can somewhat be found in "School Rumble" between Harima & Tenma, but it's subverted by the fact Tenma is not nearly observant enough to know what the hell Harima is thinking. This can be seen as better or worse, but it certainly undermines such a potential cliche as the "friendzone".

The perfect subversion of a traditional anime relationship.

Let's have a look at an example of a relationship which, intentionally or not, rebels against traditional archetypes, and thus conservative politics. Midori Days features an episode in which a obsessive doll collector forces Seiji and Midori (the man and his hand) to help him confess his love to a girl who looks identical to a line of dolls that he is most obsessed with. They attempt to prevent him succeeding by making him look like a thuggish delinquent, but this is subverted by the girl being impressed by the outfit. Seiji then attempts to dress up in a similar style and scare the doll collector away from the girl, only for the girl to leap forward and beat the shit out of Seiji.

This is a subversion done absolutely perfectly. Instead of the girl (her name I believe is never given, so I have no other way of describing her) being a passive object of male desire, she is an active participant in the charade as soon as she is introduced to it. She is angry, violent and assertive while appearing traditionally feminine in the rest of her appearances. Gender subversion is really important here (and that's sure as hell going to be another Intermission), but the relationship between Seiji, the doll collector and the girl (Midori isn't overly important in this scene) is a single giant subversion of
cliched, traditional gender tropes.

The contrast: The example of the traditional relationship.

The contrast to Seiji and...unnamed girl is Honda, from the seemingly universally beloved anime "Fruits Basket". I, also, love this anime, but it contains a very clear traditional set of relationships. I couldn't even think of a single relationship to focus on, but Honda's relationship with any given character is, without subversion, blatantly cliche. She is Love Interest, Friend, Romantic Rival, Big Sister Proxy and Housewife. In my opinion, she is the single most boring female anime protagonist in all anime. These relationships reveal a focus on very traditional ideas - inherent differences between genders, women as passive players in romance, woman as traditional housekeepers and nurturers. I'll come back to Honda when I talk about gender, so I'll leave it here.

This returns to my thesis: Stronger and more explored relationships allow for a more in-depth discussion of HOW these ideas are employed. Further exploration of the doll collector and his crush could lead to a fascinating discussion about gender and stereotypes if it was more than a single scene. Hell, Midori Days as a whole would have been more able to convey its ideas if it had strengthened its core relationships instead of creating fleeting but time consuming connections, such as between Seiji and the little girl with a crush on him - that didn't really need an episode to itself.

I'll try and wrap up here. Anime can do incredibly powerful things with our emotions. This may be its core strength. With this ability, the genre has two responsibilities. Firstly, it has to attempt to mimic human interaction in a way that doesn't pull the viewer completely out of the story - this is best done by strong, well developed relationships. The second goal is to convey the message and politics encapsulated in the show. As with the examples of School Rumble, Midori Days and Fruits Basket, relationships with strong writing and setup are the best way to convey this.

I'm sorry if this turned out to be the pointless rant I intended it to be, but I think I talked through a lot of the reasoning I use on talking about anime. For better or worse, it's in one place now.

Cheers for reading,
H. Rourke