Nausicaa’s selflessness always makes me cry
A common trope that I’ve noticed in all genres of anime is the many scenes of dramatic self-sacrifice. Even if it’s a comedy series, even if it’s a character who’s not particularly noble, self-sacrifice is one of the most common forms of drama I’ve seen in anime…
Anyone who’s familiar with a fair amount of anime is certain to come across at least a few scenes of self-sacrifice. It’s most commonly seen in shonen anime, where characters are constantly shielding each other from deadly attacks. Shonen heroes protecting friends, family, lovers, or innocent bystanders by jumping in the way of attacks, often getting severely injured in the process, is one form of drama that’s abundant in this genre.
The typical scene will go something like this: 1) an attack or hazardous situation occurs towards the potential victim, 2) the potential victim flinches in fright, 3) for a moment time seems to freeze, 4) then we see a shocked look on the potential victim’s face (and sometimes others around him/her) because 5) the self-sacrificing character has blocked the attack at the expense of injuring him/herself.
It’s pretty amazing how many variations of this scene you can find in anime. Of course, it’s most common in shonen series like One Piece and Naruto, but that’s definitely not the only place you can find it. I’ve seen the scene play out in shojo anime like Sailor Moon, Fushigi Yuugi, and Magic Knight Rayearth, and general action/fantasy series like Slayers and Shakugan no Shana. More mature or otaku-aimed series like Darker than Black, Higurashi, and Kurokami have it to some extent. Even light comedies like Hayate no Gotoku! or children-aimed anime like Digimon have it (in a milder way of course).
The self-sacrifice is most commonly presented as an abrupt scene involving some physical harm on the part of the selfless character to protect another character. However, it can also be more gradual. There are a number of characters such as Ashitaka (Princess Mononoke) and Vash (Trigun) who practically embody self-sacrifice throughout their respective titles, constantly protecting others at their own expense. And, in more subtle ways, characters like Tohru (Fruits Basket) who don’t do a lot of sudden, physical self-sacrifice, but rather, they’re constantly thinking about the well being and happiness of others despite their own discomfort.
I’ve come up with a couple of reasons for the abundance of self-sacrifices in anime. First is the samurai ethos that’s still embedded in Japanese culture to this day – the ideology of sacrificing oneself for your lord in battle. Other extreme forms of self-sacrifice such as kamikaze and seppuku could play a part, too. Basically, the samurai ethos of never giving up the fight to protect your lord/honor/home no matter what injuries you’ve sustained, is still ingrained in Japanese culture. I believe it’s been carried on in a less extreme form with modern Japan’s emphasis on “sacrificing” oneself for your company by giving up your own free time, and simply the “politeness” of Japanese society that emphasizes not causing trouble for others even if it means your own discomfort. Also, the ideology of placing the well being of the group at the sacrifice of the individual. The self-sacrifice in anime is just a creative reflection of this aspect of the culture.
The samurai ethos may be one of the main factors responsible for the appeal of self-sacrifice in anime for its Japanese audience, but I think there’s another factor that gives it appeal beyond Japan. That would be plain old wish-fulfillment. Wouldn’t it be a better world if more people were willing to sacrifice themselves for others the way so many anime characters do? The universal, innate yearning that people have for a hero to save them is even more endearing in anime because the acts of heroism often come at unlikely times from unlikely characters. Instead of the flawless, stereotypical comic book-like hero doing all the selfless acts, in anime, its often the weak, cowardly character overcoming his/her flaws and suddenly performing an act of self-sacrifice that makes us marvel at their character development. Self-sacrifice on the part of characters who are more like us rather than enigmatic superheroes is just something we yearn to see.
Whatever its origin, I personally enjoy the drama of self-sacrifice in anime. Too much of it however, could make it lose its affect, as is the case with some shonen anime. But in general, it’s a great way to produce shocks and suspense, and to also show a character’s development. Am I the only one who wishes more people in real life were as selfless as certain anime characters?
I also love anime’s ability to portray “heroic” self-sacrifice as a selfishly negative or childish mentality, which makes for interesting discussions about which viewpoint is more correct in a given situation.
Some of the deconstructions of this trope, like in Pandora Hearts, lean heavily towards one viewpoint, while others such as Trigun take a more subtle approach to it while trying to dehumanize it. It’s quite interesting how much mileage you can get from this trope.
@ Hogart
Yeah, often times whether a self-sacrifice was warranted or not could be debated, and that’s what makes it fun to discuss. Usually, as is the standard case of a protagonist sacrificing themselves for a fellow protagonist (like the Straw Hats in One Piece for example), there isn’t much to argue. But for other cases, like a protagonist risking their life to save an antagonist, there definitely is room to argue whether they should have done it or not.
I’ve only seen a little Pandora Hearts so I can’t really comment on that example. I’m not sure what you mean by “dehumanize” with Trigun. Would you mind expanding?
It certainly speaks a lot about Japan’s tendency towards group vs. individual kind of mentality.
So in that sense, the question of whether the world would be a better place if people were more willing to sacrifice themselves is still going to be the usual “it depends.” Self-sacrifice works if it results in a certain strategic advantage, but otherwise, it’s kind of wasteful since selflessness for its own sake, when taken to the extreme, leads to things like kamikaze pilots and suicide bombers. And as shocking as those kinds of acts may be, they don’t actually confer any real strategic advantage!
@ zzeroparticle
Yeah, it’s not that Americans don’t like seeing selflessness in their entertainment, it’s just that our culture is often more focused on the individual achieving his/her goals rather than realizing how important the group is. I think all this self-sacrificing going on in anime via samurai ethos is another factor that makes it novel and thus appealing in America (especially where it abounds in shonen series).
By self-sacrifice making the world better, I didn’t mean it in a strategic sense that has to result in death or serious injury. On the contrary, I meant it in a less extreme, everyday sense, where people would be accustomed to sacrificing their own comfort if it means helping others. I don’t think we need extreme self-sacrificing in the battlefield like suicide bombers – I’m much more interested in seeing it in small, daily acts of people being a little less selfish and a little more selfless.
For those who haven’t watched Trigun, likely spoilers ahead.
What I meant by “dehumanize” is simply that the characters that “sacrifice” themselves either aren’t human, or are seen as monstrous or otherwise inhumane. Ditto for the acts themselves.. they are simply not something a normal human could or would do. It tried to show the distance between the ideals of self-sacrifice, and the reality.
Vash’s sacrifices are shown to be something a normal human couldn’t do. Although he WANTS to act human, his concept of being human through suffering is skewed to the point where it takes an act of self-sacrifice from a villain to show him the truth of such behavior and nails home his internal double-standard, where he wants to be the only one who sacrifices himself.
Wolfwood’s sacrifice in the anime shows us some real human consequences, in that he’s not only dead, but it impacts Milly and others pretty terribly. It’s also given that he himself isn’t sure whether it’s something a normal person would do or whether it was Vash’s influence rubbing off on him. It called into question whether it was a “human” act, or whether he was running away from his humanity all along. Was his desire to be more human than monster fulfilled with that act, given that he’s dead just as he’s realized these things?
That’s just what I took home from it so many years ago.
@ Hogart
Ah, I see know. It’s been quite a few years since I’ve watched Trigun too, but I watched it many times back in the day, so I get what you’re saying. Good points, especially about Wolfwood. I watched Trigun when I was young(er) and a newbie fan, so I didn’t think that deeply about it back then.
Agreed that too much self sacrifice in an anime can make it seem cheap. The samurai mentality certainly may have contributed to the prevalence of this trope. But I think in general, self-sacrifice is seen as a very noble thing across cultures, but perhaps it is indeed especially valued in Japan.
@ Yi
Yeah, it can get cheap, especially if they try and make it oh so dramatic each time. If it’s dramatic and plot-moving sometimes, and more subtle other times, I don’t mind it as much.
Self-sacrifice for another is certainly a noble trait in most cultures, but the reasons to do it differ. Even within anime, the justification of certain instances can be debatable. Guess that’s what makes it interesting from a narrative perspective.
Although sometimes I think pulling the potential victim out of the way is smarter than getting yourself between the attack and the victim, the action usually impresses me. But like you said, self sacrifice comes in many forms :)
@ Canne
Heh, yeah, pushing the victim out of the way rather than stand in front of them to take the blow would be more effective. I have seen that in many anime too. But I think the reason it’s not used as much is because it’s not as dramatic since nobody gets hurt =P
Self sacrifice is one of the most heroic yet foolish things ever. if i could save someone at the cost of my life, i just might go for it. like in the anime tales of the abyss (spoiler) Luke is going to give his life to save so many others. I would have done the same thing without hesitation. i would be scared as hell… but i would. The anime dbz goku gives his life to take cell way. but it was foolish because cell came back. but delayed the destruction of earth. so self sacrifice can be good or bad… it all depends on if it was worth it in the end… thank you.
Most anime show/lean toward the idea of this “selflessness for others’ sakes” as being admirable or heroic – along with other things people have mentioned – as well as dramatic. And it is, the idea of laying down one’s life is not something to discredit or take lightly.
Though mentioned earlier, Pandora Hearts explores the rarely-mentioned fact that there is such a thing as being TOO self-sacrificial. It shows how you can, as one reader said, “hurt the ones around you and ruin their lives by so cheaply throwing away your own”. The author tries to show how, sometimes, you DO need to defend yourself and protect your own life, by keeping the thoughts and feelings of those around you in mind.