“What It Means to be an Adult”
I’d like to start this off by presenting a brief synopsis of each series followed by a discussion of the time in which I’ve seen them and my interpretations at the time before going into an analysis of each series in how their themes contribute to the aforementioned title. Structure has been given, so let’s put some muscle on the bones:
SPOILER ALERT FOR ALL ANIME MENTIONED! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED NOW!
“Chunibyo,” for those who don’t know, is not an action series like I was anticipating. It’s actually a romantic comedy anime (I’m a sucker for those) revolving around the antics of Yuta Togashi, a young boy wishing to reinvent himself in a new school after going through a phase of “Chunibyo” where he built this persona of Dark Flame Master and expressed his “fascination” for a world that he has created where he himself is the Dark Flame Master, and Rikka Takanashi, a girl who ends up being his neighbor and is also going through a phase of “Chunibyo” where she has built a persona of being controlled by a being called Wicked Lord Shingan and fashions magical weapons out of basic items like umbrellas or roller skates and is vying to find what she calls Invisible Boundary Lines for some deep personal reason.
I’ve talked about “FLCL” before, and although there is more to talk about with “FLCL: Progressive” and “FLCL: Alternative” I will actually try to be very short on the synopsis because a) season 2 and season 3 are awful b) the story is already so complex it’d be a project in itself to try to explain it. Basically each “FLCL” in what is now in this “FLCL Trilogy” of sorts are all sci-fi/mecha action comedies where an alien known as Haruko enters into the lives of young people either entering or in the middle of their teenage years who are a bit abnormal in the sense that they are either confused, frustrated, or desensitized to the world around them and have manifested certain tendencies that make them seem outwardly “mature” compared to the world around them. Haruko uses her whims and tries to utilize a sort of psychic power that lies dormant in her subjects in order to unearth a government conspiracy made by Medical Mechanica that is housing an astronomical entity known as Atomsk, a being of immense power that Haruko lusts after.
Finally we have “Cowboy Bebop,” an anime considered one of the classics. For those who aren’t a fan of sci-fi/spaghetti westerns, the anime surrounds a group of bounty hunters who sail through space. We’ll refer to ex-gangster and Bruce Lee enthusiast Spike Spiegel, former police officer and mechanically enhanced Jet Black, the wandering amnesiac Faye Valentine, and expert hacker Radical Edward with her special dog Ein as the “Bebop Crew” for the sake of this project. Each member of the Bebop Crew has their own adventure and backstory throughout the 25-episode long culminating in some dramatic battles, dramatic realizations, and all-around amazing scenes that cement the series as one of the greatest anime of all time with its incredible soundtrack, well-rounded and lovable characters, and masterfully crafted story.
I believe each of these anime in their story, characters, and themes are representative of the stages of life. It may not be their overall purpose, but I believe that the order in which I’ve viewed these anime, and the stages in life that I was in at the point I’ve viewed them have contributed to the ideas that I have and I’d like to share them now.
First, “Chunibyo’s” romantic comedy wrapped in a light-hearted nature provided by the beautiful art style and upbeat soundtrack provides a story that shows how the rampant imagination of children shapes the behaviors they exhibit as they enter their teenage years into young adulthood. The delusions that Rikka has, I think, is an imaginative cover-up for the feelings of anguish that she has at the loss of her father, and she hasn’t been forced to cope with those feelings until she meets another person that can at least understand what it’s like to be entangled in their own imaginations. It results in a very awkward love story where each character either exhibits the same behaviors or is critical of them. For the main character Yuta, he’s kind of both, and as far as I know the recent “Chunibyo” movie titled “Take on Me” that came out in 2018 resolves the story with Yuta and Rikka eloping at the end of their time in high school. I bought the movie late last November and watched it over my next big break and although it wasn’t what I expected, it was a pretty damn funny movie and I think the characters in that anime do a good job of expressing that.
For “FLCL,” including the lesser of the 3 seasons, are without a doubt representative of the angst-ridden and confusing pubescent stage of life. This is sort of where we delve into weirder parts of anime, but I’ll be flat-honest and say that at least from some perspectives, people conflate “maturity” with the introduction of gratuitous sex, violence, drugs, and the best rock music ever made. That was actually a subject for another project in itself, but I feel like that objective can be achieved here as well. The presence of these things in “FLCL” is indicative of the audience that “FLCL” is appealing to. For the audience being teenagers, let’s say between the ages of 13-17, arguably a majority of them male, the genres of action/adventure or mecha should appeal to them the most. Thinking of other popular forms of media marketed for teens/young adults (i.e “The Hunger Games” or “Harry Potter” or “Transformers”) the themes of being in revolt, or being considered outcast, or the fantasy of being in a visceral, violent, action-packed world definitely hit their mark. It hit their mark with me to the point where I can hardly stop coming back to watch it. With each main character that interacts with Haruko, there are different aspects of social interactions and self-reflective moments that comment on the nature of the bridge between adulthood and childhood that the characters are in.
Finally with “Cowboy Bebop,” the emphasis is on adulthood and more from a matter of experience and living life, not necessarily being bogged down in the passions of sex, drugs, and violence. Instead of adding these things for shock value or for visual appeal to a certain demographic, the presence of such things are presented as something that is just part of their world. Adults, arguably around 24-30, which make up a majority of the show’s cast, aren’t necessarily as enthralled with the mindlessness of “FLCL” and are far beyond the level where flowery imagery and upbeat themes of “Chunibyo” get their hearts aflutter, and are more desensitized to things like war, murder, and for each of the main characters, the listlessness or depressive nature of having the life of a wanderer. It’s very in-line with the genre of a western, and the idea of having a lone badass character living in a lawless, deadly world devoid of romance or passion certainly applies to the Bebop Crew, save for maybe Ein and Edward, but I feel as if they are the show’s comic relief to prevent this show from being as psychological and/or disturbing as something like “Welcome to the NHK!” (That anime’s not on this list, but I was just using it as an example) or another anime with a purpose to show the less fantastic nature of mankind, something more centered in a cynical realism that resonates with adults.
In the same order in which I presented a synopsis of these anime, I will also try to go into a deeper analysis. I’ll dedicate a page to each of them and conclude after I finish talking about “Cowboy Bebop.” So expect to hear a lot about Chunibyo on the next page. Skip what you want and read what you wish to see.
