Ask John: Why do So Many Lighthearted Anime Turn Serious?

Question:
I finished watch eight episodes of Stella Women’s Academy High School Division Class C3. I heard the original manga was a comedy/slice of life, but so far the tone of the anime went from lighthearted to super-serious/dramatic. Like Sailor Moon before it, I think the tone in the anime is different from that from the manga. Why is it?

Answer:
Any viewer that’s watched a significant amount of anime will be familiar with shows that started out lighthearted then turned serious and dramatic during the final few episodes. While some comedy titles maintain a consistent tone throughout, like Minami-ke, Joshiraku, and Seitokai Yakuindomo, comedies like last year’s Zero no Tsukaima, Medaka Box, and Upotte almost abruptly turn serious as they approach their endings. The explanation for this sudden shift largely lies in the difference between the nature of manga and anime. By their nature, manga series have an indefinite length. A manga series continues serialization as long as it remains popular. So if readers appreciate a manga series’ humor, there’s no reason for the artist to diverge from the tone and style that fan enjoy reading. Anime series, however, typically have a predetermined length. Particularly for shows that may not have a certain guarantee of a sequel, creating a dramatic, engrossing climax is supposed to make the show more memorable. Series that adhere to a singular lighthearted, episodic nature throughout can get redundant and create a sense that the show never evolves or changes. Serious, climactic endings give shows a sense of closure, as though the show actually built up to something, and some obstacle was faced and overcome rather than the show simply adhering to a simple formula from beginning to end and concluding without any big hurrah.

Injecting conflict and tension into a series is intended to create a stronger bond between characters and viewers, to give viewers a look at another side of the characters’ personalities and force viewers to empathize with the characters in more ways than just laughing at them. Furthermore, while many comedy anime are adaptations of manga or novels, the anime itself is typically written by a screenwriter rather than the original title creator. So the screenwriter may have unique ideas to apply to the story, or may want to take the narrative in a slightly different direction than the original manga in order to put a personal touch on the story and give established fans something new to experience that’s different from the familiar manga.