Ask John: How Many Anime Owe Their Structure to Greek Tragedy?

Question:
How much anime owe their structure to Greek tragedies?

Answer:
It’s interesting, I think, that anime it typically the antithesis of tragedy. That’s not to say that anime doesn’t include tragic events, and not to suggest that there are no tragic anime. But anime seems to contravene the conventions of classical Greek tragedy much more frequently than it emulates Greek tragedy. The classical Greek tragedies of Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles are characterized by the illustration of a fall from grace for a person of stature due to an error in judgment. By definition, as described by the philosopher Aristotle, tragedy caused by an external force is “misadventure,” not “tragedy.” So, for example, anime including Graveyard of Fireflies and Saishuheiki Kanojo are certainly tragic, but they do not adhere to the thematic principle of Greek tragedy. The Greek tragedy encourages humility and acceptance of one’s position and limitations. Tragedy often befell those whose desires were greater than their just rights, or those whose thoughtless actions didn’t consider the feelings of others. Anime is frequently about pursuing individual advancement, and as a product of Japanese culture, anime is frequently concerned with responsibility to society.

The tragic Jin-Roh motion picture utilizes Greek tragedy’s fall from grace, but not necessarily the way first impressions may assume. Kei Amemiya is the film’s tragic heroine. Despite being Kazuki Fuse’s enemy, and knowing that he is a wolf destined to “eat up” red riding hood, she still falls in love with him, which leads to her tragic end. Fuse, the film’s protagonist, doesn’t undergo a tragic fall because his status never changes. He’s identified as a beast from the outset.

The original Megazone 23 may be one of anime’s best recreations of Greek tragedy. At the end of the film, Shogo’s friends and lover have been separated from him or killed, and he himself has been beaten and left for dead. Shogo’s fatal flaw, his mistake was not keeping the stolen garland mecha, or opposing the Megazone 23’s military, or even attempting to expose the true nature of the Megazone 23. Shogo’s tragic flaw was his unwillingness to concede the inevitable power of adulthood. But while this tragic theme characterizes Megazone 23 Part 1, it’s undermined and contradicted in Megazone 23 Part 2 when ADAM destroys the adult civilization yet EVE saves the children, approbating Shogo’s belief.

The Grappler Baki television series loosely employs the Oedipal theme of a son that wishes to kill his father in order to take his mother for himself. But Grappler Baki tempers this theme by giving Baki a second, simultaneous motivation for his aggression toward his father. In conventional anime tradition, Baki wishes to battle his father to test his own prowess against the world’s strongest fighter. Spirited Away likewise evokes then counteracts the tradition of Greek tragedy. Recalling the myth of Orpheus & Eurydice, Chihiro begins to look back before fully exiting the world of spirits. But unlike Orpheus who does look back and suffers because of that mistake, Chihiro stops herself in time to avoid a similar tragedy. Even Gurren Lagann uses then ultimately spurns the tradition of Greek tragedy. Kamina’s hubris is his tremendous masculine ego. His unassailable conviction that determination alone is enough to overcome any obstacle leads him to a downfall. But rather than represent a proud man brought low by misjudgment, Kamina becomes an inspiration for the rest of the cast – a martyr instead of a victim of his own ambition.

Greek tragedy is certainly significant for its contribution to the development of Western literature, but the thematic purpose of Greek tragedy seems to be the opposite of the function of typical anime. Greek tragedy engenders catharsis by depicting the fate of people whom the audience doesn’t want to be. Anime typically engenders vicariism by illustrating characters that viewers do want to be, or characters that viewers respect or like. Greek tragedy is about the inevitability and hopelessness of fate – like Oedipus killing his father and marrying his mother unawares, or Cassandra choosing to enter Agamemnon’s house with full awareness that doing so will result in her death. Anime typically uses a more hopeful, encouraging tone. Even ultimately grim anime like Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Serial Experiments Lain, and Berserk manage to exalt their protagonists and make their endings gratifying rather than bleak.