We all know by now that, when it comes to anime, the brother-sister relationship can cross a line that is all too solidly defined in modern societies. Of course, most of the time, we have to qualify it with some notion of  disjunct relation (eg not by blood). Yet, a blood relationship hasn’t stopped some anime from taking that path. A couple of notable examples are Koi Kaze and Angel Sanctuary.

Incest, in various forms, is a long running theme in the anime subculture.  Its prominence and necessity for story telling are debatable. For a story such as Angel Sanctuary, it seems to be a superfluous addition. That is in the sense that a plot where lovers are caught up in the dealings of heaven and hell does not need the addition of incest. However, almost everyone who has watched Angel Sanctuary recalls the incest plot over the other parts of the story, mostly because that is what the anime fixated on.

Kio Kaze is the total opposite. Its plot demands the inappropriate relationship because the main character, Koshiro Saeki, is a fool. The plot centers around rejection and grasping at anything that will offer love or affection. The differences between the emotional capabilities of an immature adult and a young women presented as being virtually the same are a core concept of the story. Add to that the want of the main character for affection, to the point of ignoring social programming, makes the use of incest an effective plot device.

Given all that, I’m surprised that the inappropriate feelings scale hasn’t tipped in Ore no Imouto, yet.

On another note, I feel sorry for miss-unrequited-love best friend.  She’s destine to lose out in the end.  I choose to blame that entirely on her shameful lack of hair accessories.

Let us get this out of the way first: MM! is all about a girl that goes Ultimate Fighter on a boy who happens to become sexually aroused by being beaten by girls.

…and it’s pure awesome.

Violent female protagonist are nothing new to anime. For that matter, the basic concept of this show isn’t much different from something along the lines of Zero no Tsukaima,  Toradora!, Hayate no Gotoku!, or any other anime with a short long-haired innocent-looking female lead. It is, in fact, so common that it isn’t even that much of a novelty anymore. It’s almost expected. It isn’t even considered a personality defect.

It’s all great stuff.

I personally think that the form anime takes is a reflection of the collective consciousness of its fans. It is a result of the feedback loop of merchandise and viewership along with fandom on the Internet, resulting in the production of anime that best fits what fans want to watch.  On the one hand, we have shows like Bleach, which prove that a significant block of anime fans are mindless teenagers with no taste. On the other hand, we have the fact that Bleach is a pile of crap. Seriously, why haven’t people realized this yet.  On another hand (we have lots of hands), we have shows like MM! that indicate many anime fans want to be beaten by little girls.

It’s all very straightforward, actually.

Also, I’m diggin’ that bunny-ears hair band.

I know it is a little late to make my Best Show Ever post, but it could not be helped. I wasn’t planning on making a best show ever post for this season. After last season’s Best Show Ever failed to live up to expectations.

As mentioned, in my last BSE post, I usually like to pick the shows early. Due to my last pick, I was feeling a bit disheartened. It wasn’t that B Gata H Kei was a bad show. On the contrary, it was funny and original. The problem was that it finished poorly and wasn’t very re-watchable. Basically, I should have gone with Angle Beats.

This season’s Best Show Ever goes to Seitokai Yakuindomo.

There are many reasons that this show deserves the award. I could point out the generally good animation. I could mention that the show’s warped sense of humor is original for the atmosphere. Bondage Teddy Bear, perhaps? Horny little sisters? Horny student council members? Well, horny everybody.

I could even say it was my favorite character, Hata.

But…I think, it’s Hata’s hairpin that did it.

I’ve always found it interesting that the heroines in anime are often strong, independent, and motivated. Whilst, the male heroes are often indecisive, reckless, and incompetent. The presumption is that this is because of the predominance of male anime fans. I’ve heard speculation that male characters are designed so that male fans can put themselves into the story in place of the male leads. This is more natural selection than design, IMO. (Specifically, I’m thinking about harem comedies, but I think it affects other genre.) The fact that these male characters do relate to so many anime fans is telling.

However, the fact that the female characters are often more popular than the male characters tells us something else. It isn’t always what one would think.

It has often been mentioned that the least interesting character in a harem comedy is the male character. This makes sense, if taken from the perspective of a male viewer experiencing the show through the male lead’s eyes. The other (female) characters play off the male lead to progress the story. The male isn’t as important as the female characters, in that sense.

Moreover, it doesn’t matter what the male character is supposed to be or be thinking in the context of the story as much as what the viewer is experiencing through his eyes (what the viewer is thinking). Thus, again, the story must progress through the use of the female characters. Because the story has to utilize the female characters to move the plot along. These characters become more defined, more human, and more relatable.

What happens when there are no male characters? Can you just give all the girls super powers, big guns, no pants, and mecha?

Will it be enough? Apparently.

Strike Witches is at its heart a magical girl show. There is nothing spectacularly different from any other magical girl show (aside form the striker units). But, like many others of its ilk, it proves that when it comes to anime you don’t need guys when you have a bunch of girls. You just need to give them big guns, independence, intelligence, and the ability to kick ass.

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I almost didn’t post this because there are a lot of contradictory examples that appose the arguments I made here. However, most of the ones I could think of have to do with the female lead being indecisive or incompetent.

I was talking with a co-worker the other day about nescient youth and eventual bumpy rise to a professional career.  I’m probably one of the youngest among my team of co-workers and even the larger organization. I’ve always felt older than I am. So, it’s a bit odd to be surrounded by people who have two or three times the life experience. In some cases, those co-workers have decades more work experience (in the same field), than I.

While talking to my fellow worker, it happened that we had similar stories about working our way through university, about leaving friends behind, and about moving forward. One striking similarity came up that has stuck with me, from that conversation. Neither of us had anything we could consider a mentor or role model.

At the time, when I was younger, it never occurred to me that I needed someone to offer direction.  In my mind I was capable enough. I knew the direction I wanted to go, and I was headed that way. Be that as it may, looking back on my younger days I can’t really say that I was all that directed or all that motivated. Explicitly, I lacked any real direction or drive. It was something I had to find later.

It isn’t like I’m all that experienced now, either. There are differences, though. I have more history, knowledge, and have grown much since that time. As a youth, I lived life as it was presented to me and mistook making choices of the options given to me as directing my own path. But, flowing through life like the winding trails of rain water is not to be mistaken for making important life decisions. It is a childish way of living.

Now that many of the decisions that I had made as a younger me have largely played out their resultant effects. I can reflect on the outcome. The time spend wisely and wasted is clearly visible to me know.  The bad decisions as well as the good are so much more distinct from each other. More than anything, I’ve come to the point that I know that there is so much more that I don’t know. Truly understanding that concept took too long in my opinion.

Now, I can honestly say, I wish I had a mentor when I was younger. I really do. My pride, probably, would have never let me say something like that not too long ago. For a time, I saw my solo adventure through colleges, jobs, and relationships as a badge of honor. Those things were a testament to my talent and drive. It was a big “fuck you” to all those people who tried to hold me back or didn’t think I could do it.  I can see that it merited very little for me.

Life is all about choices. One absolutely has to make those choices on their own, or it isn’t really worth living. Life is also about making mistakes, learning from those mistakes, and using that knowledge later. However, it isn’t a bad thing to have a map of the possible troubles along life’s routes.

That’s what a mentor should be. They are the map. Not necessarily, a map of the route from A to Z. They are a map for any direction or road you wish to take. They can tell you were the bridges are or where the rivers run. You can visit the mountains or the plains, and your map will help you get there. It can’t and won’t tell you the best way or the only way, but it will help get you there.

The younger me really wishes for a mentor.