... that topic perhaps should be, "annoying sidekicks"
(because for the most part, gods are they annoying)

Another in our Anime Conversations [blah, blah, blah...]
[links to previous entries at the end of this one]


If you haven't been reading these up to this point you might be a tad confused, so I'll introduce what passes for our cast of characters.

"Why in the world would a feature column, even one on some random guy's blog, need a cast?"

Good question, Prof. The guy in quotes is Professor Halford, who was the main character on the first lecture series.

"Hi there."

One reason is that this format gives me a chance to practice writing conversations (handy thing for a novelist) and the other reason: he's just a literary device, a way to turn a lecture (a top-down-- almost always boring-- info dump) into a Socratic dialogue. He is my foil. This is a trick as old as Plato, and he's been dead a long, long time.

"So I've been demoted to a literary device?"

Shut it , Prof, I don't want to have that conversation. You can be the main character next time. Prof's claim to fame is that he is an expert in comparative mythology, though we have yet to see how his expertise will come in handy.

...and our guy in italics

[*snort* ] "what?"

is another literary device, though not as vital. Equal parts self-doubt, and mocking self-deprecation, this represents my inner voice, the one that asks,

"So just how long are you gonna stick with this anime crap?"

You can shut it, too, Mitch.

These characters have names. The names are incidental. In fact, these turkeys also showed up in one of my college entrance essays (also a long time ago, though perhaps not so distant as Plato), so I've being using this device long before I knew what a 'Socratic dialogue' was. This is how we roll around here; y'all should be used to it, it's a device I used extensively in the lecture series, though I was better at hiding it in that application.

"And my nemesis is an idiot named Jimmy."

It's the same idiot, Prof. And that's enough with the 'frame story' I insist on using.

"Dude, did you pick up the scotch yet?"
"Actually, I'd like to know that, too..."

SHUT IT. I am not playing today.

##

Having taken care of the those two,
[*stare down*]
Yes. So.


A bit of terminology:

MC = Main Character

& The Party:

The group of main characters, the protagonists, are typically referred to as The Party, thanks to Tolkien and D&D and roughly 30 years of role playing games. (unless you're a Buffy/Angel freak, and then you likely use the term 'Scooby Gang'.) I'll cover party dynamics in another post. (Here's a teaser. Dude, did I really write that 6 years ago?)

Setting aside close-interpersonal psychology within the framework of the small group dynamic within our main cast (yes, I'm bullshitting you here), there are two relationships that I feel we should take a closer look at: The romantic interest, and the sidekick.

Today, we're covering sidekicks. (except in passing, I likely won't deal with the other. I mean, it's so simple...) Modern sidekicks have been with us for a while, at least since Cervantes. (one might make an argument for Horatio in Hamlet as well, and Shakespeare often had a servant tag along with the MC in his comedies)

Any examples from mythology, Prof?

"Hmm. Hadn't thought of it in quite that light. ...Other than companion animals-- of which there are many, from mounts to servants, guards, and totem animals which double as symbols for the respective..."

I hate to cut you off, Prof, but this is my lecture, not yours. Any obvious examples from, say, Greek myth? The Greeks should be familiar to most readers.

"Well... Heracles and Iolaus."

"What, they didn't make that shit up for the Hercules TV show?"

"No. It's from the Hydra story. As Heracles would chop off one of Hydra's heads, Iolaus-- his nephew-- backed him up by searing the resulting stump with a torch before it could sprout new heads."

In anime, the sidekick tradition draws equally from Disney, as opposed to literature or myth, at least in the case of uber-cute animals not much bigger than the MC's head. We can trace this back to Disney and 1940-- Jimminy Cricket, in fact. At least from my knowledge base, there were no animal sidekicks before that singing, moralizing, annoying cricket 'conscience'. Thankfully (almost) all anime critters are voiceless, though one could perhaps start an internet flame war over whether a nagging sidekick is preferable to one that merely says "piku" or something equally cute/gagging.

We might identify two types of sidekick(& one important variation-- more on that toward the end of the column): the sancho-robin-tanto-type and the cute-animal-companion-type. Both will often serve the same roles. In the case of a human (or at least, a talking) sidekick, however, their own character development will likely form a major sub-plot in the story. Whether they are training hard to be like the MC (their friend/sensei/idol/master/whatever) or are just trying to find a romantic entanglement of their own, the human sidekicks tend to be more interesting. There are story points to be found there.

Cute animal sidekicks are there because they're cute, and to sell even cuter stuffed-animal-plushie-versions of themselves to the fanbase.

As you might be able to tell, I don't like the companion-animal types. 88 times out of 100, you could get rid of them and the story wouldn't suffer at all. Two exceptions I feel like pointing out are Menchi from Excel Saga, whose name can be translated as "Mincemeat" and who is often referred to as an emergency food supply for the main characters, and Kero from Card Captor Sakura, who in general is less annoying than most, and transforms into a Guardian Beast along the lines of Cerebus (from whom his name derives)-- though the fact that this animal sidekick is marginally less annoying than most derives quite a bit from the fact that Sakura is an above average series as a whole.

##

Skipping the hey-let's-add-a-critter-for-merchandising-types... what is the purpose of the sidekick?

Well, we might find any number of reasons (10 in this case; aren't round numbers handy) for the MC to have a sidekick:

1. Student. (or info-dump, if you prefer) If the MC has to explain things to his sidekick, well, he also ends up explaining things to the audience. This is handy for giving all kinds of background info without breaking from the constraints of the story.

2. Confidant. For the purposes of story and to clarify things to the audience, the MC needs to talk to someone, so the author will use scenes where the MC either talks about his feelings (very useful to get an 'inside look' into a character) or where the MC bounces ideas off the guy, talking his way through the process while he figures things out.

3. Combat Partner. "You take the 3 on the right, I'll take the 15 on the left"

4. Comic Relief. (should be obvious)

5. Bait. In those cases where a damsel-or-lad-in-distress isn't handy, the villain can just kidnap the sidekick to provide that extra motivation for the hero.

6. Corpse. Killing off the sidekick will also motivate a hero like you wouldn't believe.

7. Bridge. Sancho Paza served as Don Quixote's link back to the real world. In anime, where our main hero may end up being an 'extraordinary' of whatever ilk (angel, demon, soldier, assassin, stage star, ace pilot, magi, psychic, god... or 'the only guy/girl living who can pilot the giant robot') then having a plain-jane type as a sidekick not only grounds our MC back in reality, it also gives them an important bond. They can't just go off and do whatever-it-is-would-be-easier-- there's this guy back there... Obviously, the Romantic Interest serves this role better, but the Romantic Interest(tm) is Unobtainable(tm), so the sidekick has to do for day-to-day situations.

(maybe I need to do the RI essay anyway)

8. Captain Obvious: "Dude, we need to get out of here!" The MC is often so caught up in revenge/redemption/whatever that he or she is fully prepared to sacrifice his or her life in episode 3. Since there are going to be at least 13 episodes (26 or 39 if it gets picked up by the network) then of course we need someone in the story to drag our hero back from the brink, to keep them from shooting the wad too early.

9. Support. One important variant on the sidekick is the inventor/mechanic back at the base. Someone to fix the giant robot. someone to say "You're pushing yourself too hard." Someone (often an older grandfather sort) (or alternately, a femine-nerdy-type who happens to look unbelievably hot in a pair of coveralls-- seeing more an more of this one) (for the reason stated) to provide not just materiel but emotional support.

10. Proxy.

##

I've saved this one for last. Proxy Fighter is the term I've coined for things like Pokemon, where the kid/hero is the Main Character but doesn't actually bust shit up himself.

The most obvious example of a proxy fighter is Pokemon, and it's many copycats. (Monster Rancher, Digimon, YuGiOh, Beyblade, Duel Masters, Zatch Bell, Dragon Drive, a bunch of others I'm sure I'm not familiar with...) The young MC must train his or her proxy to be stronger and better in combat, which takes place in either set tournaments or in random encounters, but always with such frequency that there's one battle each episode (or more painfully, dragged out over several episodes).

Most Proxy Fighters are also marketing vehicles (see pokemonetisation) though of course I think any show aimed at the under-7-set is just a way to advertise merchandise for a half hour.

However I'd care to characterize these sidekicks (and their creators), it's also pretty obvious that outside of the ridiculously exaggerated and extended fight sequences, the cute critter companions fulfil all the major roles of a sidekick, and an important side note: they're also disgustingly cute and sweet.

Having completely condemned a whole class of anime, let me point you toward a show that I personally love, that is rather decidedly yet another 'proxy fighter', but is so good I recommend it anyway. Something like the exception that proves the rule:

Angelic Layer.
There's this hot new game-- you buy a doll, customize it, and when placed in a special game system ("the layer") you can move the doll with a controller. On one level, the show's about an advanced but not unrecognisable fighting game.

The MC is 12-year-old Misaki; she just moved from the sticks into Tokyo to go to a private school, she's a bit shy, a bit neurotic about her height (she's short even for a 12y.o.) and due to circumstances, she's lived with first her grandparents and now her aunt because her mum has been busy with work for the past seven years. She has issues. So on another level, Angelic Layer is about how Misaki, through learning about the game, learns things about herself.

Without giving too much away:
There's also a thread about the guy who created the game, and why.
There's a thread about crushes and first loves.
There are a couple of love triangles, though these are treated gently and not really the point of the series.

Each opponent is given motivation. There are no villians.

The point of the show is about trying your best.

I'd recommend this to anyone. The reason I own it (other than the fact that I'll watch it at least every 8 months or so) is that I want to have the DVDs to give to future nieces (or my own unlikely progeny) because even though the show was developed with the boy's market in mind, I can think of few shows that are more affirming for developing pre-teen girls. Do your best. Believe in friends. Believe in yourself. It's got good stuff all around.

There are three sidekicks for Misaki:
Tamayo is her new best friend at school, and Misaki's main cheerleader.
Hatoko is an opponent-turned-ally, who not only teaches her a lot about the game, but also happens to be even younger than Misaki.
Hikaru is her Angel, her doll, who fights for Misaki on the Layer. In this case, even though the proxy is just a stand-in during the game, she also has something of a personality of her own, and her development mirrors the development of Misaki, our MC.

Angelic Layer: Listing on ANN -- Review on AoD -- From ADV Films (with trailers) -- Buy it.

(you know, that reminds me: if I'm going to be linking this crap, I need to sign up for some sort of affiliate program so I get credit for it. ...something for the next post, methinks)
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Anime Conversations
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