Ask John: Why Does Good Always Prevail in Anime?

Question:
Why does it seem in almost all anime, there is the overall theme that “love conquers all,” or “good always defeats evil”? I was drawn into anime because of the intricate storylines, but there seems to be little variation between anime these days. I liked Chrono Crusade because it shows that being on the side of good does not always guarantee victory. So, are anime writers getting lazy with their themes these days, or do I just seem to find the ones that all look the same? Or am I just looking for too much?

Answer:
I think you’re right in your observation that, especially recently, there has been a tendency in anime toward happy endings or a “love conquers all” theme. But I don’t want to suggest that this is an especially contemporary trend. I think that positive and reaffirming endings have always been predominant in anime, just as happy endings are the standard for American movies. Relatively recent anime productions including Death Note, Black Lagoon, Basilisk, School Days, and Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo have all had bleak endings, or illustrate the fact that love and justice cannot always overcome any obstacle.

There are a few reasons why the “love” or “goodness” prevails so often in anime. While the triumph of evil is occasionally a striking and memorable event; it’s not something that viewers and readers really want as a steady diet. I think that you’ll be hard pressed to find any passive entertainment medium that illustrates the victory of evil or the failure of love, teamwork, or hard work to overcome obstacles. One may certainly cite tragedy, but tragedy is just one genre surrounded by countless other genres that don’t typically emphasize failure or spite. After investing themselves into a story and its characters, readers and viewers naturally hope for good fortune and happiness to befall the characters. And I believe that humans naturally cherish a sense of hopefulness, optimism, and a belief that sacrifice and effort are rewarded.

While writers have some ethical responsibility to be honest to their creations, and allow their stories and characters to develop their own personalities and progress toward their own, natural conclusions, writers also have a responsibility to write for their audience. Screenwriters often create conflicts and setbacks that are ultimately overcome because narrative structure of that variety is satisfying for a viewer or reader. Furthermore, anime writers must always remember that their primary audience is often children or teens. Therefore anime writers have a social obligation to encourage children and teens with positive goals and responsible role models. Screenwriters don’t want to encourage children to become delinquents or criminals. Anime is supposed to be a temporary respite from the stressful pursuit of bettering oneself through education and employment.

Finally, manga authors, and especially anime screenwriters are influenced by the commercial reality of publishing. Manga authors have the flexibility to compose anything they choose, but publishers aren’t obligated to print material that they don’t wish to print. Anime screenwriters have a professional obligation to compose stories that will generate viewer interest, advertising revenue, and ultimately profit. I suspect that consumers are more likely to purchase reassuring, affirming, moral anime stories, so naturally publishers and producers will hire writers to create stories which exemplify those qualities. In that respect, writers for hire compose what they’re paid to compose, and hopeful, positive stories have a bigger commercial audience than depressing, tragic, or morbid stories.

I’m aware that most anime fans appreciate some variety in what they choose to watch or read. Viewers looking for pessimistic, depressing, or morbid anime can try titles like Death Note, Black Lagoon, Basilisk, School Days, Chrono Crusade, Angel’s Egg, Dangaioh, Nadesico: The Prince of Darkness, The End of Evangelion, Grave of the Fireflies, and Now and Then, Here and There, just to name a few. But anime is fundamentally a bright, fun, cheerful, and cute medium designed to give viewers positive aspirations, confidence, and happiness.