Televisions
Posted: April 15, 2009 Filed under: Uncategorized 4 Comments »
Why is it that TVs in anime always tell the right things at the right (or wrong) time? I watched Hatsukoi Limited 01 yesterday (AWESOME show, by the way), and the above scene came up. Basically, the television reads Ayumi’s mind, talking about the exact subject that she’s worrying over: to reject a huge gangster-like guy’s confession of love or not.
When this scene flew by, my mind instantly thought “stereotypical scene.”
But why? Why is this scene stereotypical? Why do we see the “person on television tells something important or insightful to the main character by chance” thing happen so much in anime?
Is the television scene the “turning point?”
Doesn’t the TV scene always mark a big plot twist or a big influence to the characters? For Hatsukoi Limited, it’s pushing Ayumi’s decision. For Eden of the East, it’s introducing the setting and sparking a possible conflict. For Cross Game…
…it’s obviously much more than just a regular scene. It is the driving force behind the main character’s later decision to play and succeed at baseball.
So why is it that these important event happen via a television?
I can think of three big reasons why using a TV would be beneficial:
- It’s by chance.
You don’t have control over what comes on the news (usually), and the only things you can do to a TV are change the channel and push the power button.
This helps with the “turning point” idea, since it gives a pretty realistic (though unlikely) method of a sudden change.
- It’s a neutral character/not a character.
Sure, Kou could have learned about Wakaba’s death through his parents, but where’s the fun (or suspense, rather) in that? If news of Wakaba’s death came from his parents, then it would have registered much more quickly to Kou that Wakaba had died.
We don’t expect to see our friends and people we know on television. It just doesn’t happen often, if at all. Even if it does happen, there’s the period of time where we question if what we watched was actually true.
A TV is more distant as well. We watch the news everyday from the safety of our homes, listening to reports of murder, war, and disaster. And the same with Kou. He is in his safe little home, watching a shot of the place where Wakaba died.
- POWER OF THE MEDIA, HELL YEAH
The media is so awesome that they can see into characters’ minds and attack them psychologically with the right bits of information at the right time.
From here on out, this post is 100% spoiler, showing just how damn powerful the media is portrayed in anime.
Always wanted to know how Suloserzakuretard knew that Zero was Lelouch?
Why did School Days turn out so violent?
How did Simon know Nia wasn’t going to last?
You wanna know the truth behind Touma?
That’s right. TVs are powerful.
since numbnuts here deleted the post i gotta repost my comments from before. anyways, sekai scares the shit outta me, and ayumi’s hawt. that is all.
Bah! I blame my combination of WordPress and Chrome.
Ayumi may be hot, but I like that one side character a lot more (Nao, the blue-haired one)!
Very interesting post, and good points come up. TVs are fine exposition for me, and I never thought much of them. They are especially awesome in shows where they magically have the solution to a problem or seem to be speaking straight to the character (see Shugo Chara ep 1)
They’re a great way to bring some new or important information into the plot that otherwise would seem awkward or just flat-out bad! When you see a character on TV suddenly get the “answer” they’re looking for from a TV, it strangely doesn’t feel all that weird.
And I’ve heard so much about Shugo Chara… I guess I’ll have to watch it (though it’s longer than any anime I’ve ever watched).