Ask John: Why Are Anime Characters So Passive?

Question:
I’ve noticed a very odd trend in anime: you can, apparently, kidnap any random teenager, tell them to do something… and have an excellent chance of getting what you ask for. I’m not talking about cases of blackmail, those make sense, just this ODD penchant for large organizations to pluck folks off the street and, with no real hold on them, demand them to perform. That they usually end up placing these kidnapped individuals in titanic weapons of destruction and telling them to fight just leaves me scratching my head on why our victim doesn’t flatten his kidnappers first and the monster of the week second. Do the Japanese really think that random people forciably conscripted by insitutions that are, let’s face it, not very nice to them [are] so unwilling to lash out when given the chance?

Answer:
Anime typically depicts two varieties of conscription. In the more common instance, seen in countless anime like Bleach and Pretty Cure, the child is enlisted into a duty by a peer or a petition from a non-threatening source. The more troubling instance appears in anime like Zeorymer, Rizelmine, Evangelion, and Symphogear in which the youth is coerced or bullied into accepting a responsibility by authority figures. The explanation for this conscription lies partly in the function of escapist fantasy. The nuance of the later variety of conscription, however, is uniquely illustrative of Japanese social culture.

Anime is largely produced as fanciful entertainment for children, entertainment that captures and inspires children’s imagination. Typical children live routine, mundane lives, so the fantasy of being offered an opportunity for adventure is thrilling and appealing. At the same time, the acceptance of responsibility and risk is frightening. Japanese children that have been strictly raised to be responsible realize that accepting responsibility is a weighty obligation. Rationally, kids may hesitate to agree because they may not want to accept responsibility for a task which they can’t perform satisfactorily. So being impressed into the role eliminates hesitation. The child no longer has to question whether or not he or she is capable of living up to the expectations of the role; the task is assigned rather than voluntarily accepted, so the child need only make the best of the situation and not fear that failure will disappoint anyone. The possibility of suddenly gaining super powers, or suddenly being transported to another world, or accepting the role of a space pirate captain, or becoming a teen astronaut to save a space program on the verge of collapse is an exciting and thrilling possibility that makes anime fun to watch.

Western literature is filled with tales of protagonists conscripted into service who rebel: the Jason Bourne franchise, Universal Soldier, La Femme Nikita. In anime stories, the hero rarely ever abandons his responsibility or position. A rare exception is Cyborg 009 who rebels after learning that he was conscripted by an evil organization and expected to commit evil. Unlike Western and particularly American culture that indoctrinates individuals with a sense of individual manifest destiny, Japanese culture emphasizes social responsibility and respect for duty. Rather than exert an American philosophy of rejecting the unpleasant or changing circumstances, Japanese philosophy encourages individuals to make the best of circumstances rather than abandon or betray expectations, to excel in whatever situation one finds him or herself in. Japanese philosophy encourages perseverance and self-sacrificing tenacity above self-satisfaction. The American instinct may be to refuse or rebel, to turn against one’s conscriptors. The Japanese instinct is to grit one’s teeth and bear it, to accept situations as they are and sacrifice personal happiness for the communal good. In the 2010 Star Driver TV series Wako Agemaki accepted heavy restraints and burdens because she was expected to do so, and her sacrifice was necessary to benefit her community. The current Senki Zessho Symphoear anime television series likewise illustrates this philosophy. Tsubasa Kazanari is a pop idol, yet she ignores all of her celebrity, instead perceiving herself only as a sacrificial weapon to be used in the cause of protecting her nation. She’s unhappy, but she doesn’t reject her role because she deems her self-sacrifice expected and necessary, a sad duty that she must accept and perform. Unless the conscripting authority is unremittingly evil, which grants a moral escape clause, as in Cyborg 009, even if the duty is unpleasant, dangerous, or painful, as in the Bokurano TV anime, for example, Japanese characters still have a moral duty to accept their circumstances and sacrifice themselves for the greater good of the nation. In the individual-centric American culture, any individual unwillingly conscripted into such circumstance would be immediately forgiven for rebelling, rejecting, or abandoning the assigned duty. But in Japanese culture, one assigned an obligation is expected to expend full effort to fulfill that obligation.