sensei - Suppose that you, an ordinary student, are on your
way to school and you meet a girl with long blue hair. What should
you do?
boy 1 - Get to know her. She must be a magical girl.
boy 2 - Baka! Run away, there’s going to be a fight!
sensei - It doesn’t matter what you do, she’ll push her way
into your life anyway. Long blue hair indicates a rival to the main
female character. She won’t let herself be ignored.
class - Ah....
sensei - You can expect her to be wealthy, hard-working,
and capable through her own efforts, but she’s missing some special
quality of the female lead. She may be spiteful, but that is
because she is always coming second. In other ways, she is usually
a nicer and better person.
boy 1 - Forget the standard story. That’s who I want.
sensei - You may learn better. But just in case, her
favorite foods probably include....
Anime character archetypes can be this detailed and specific—the long blue hair example is real (but be careful of the difference between light blue and dark blue). Hollywood has nothing on Japan when it comes to abusing cliches.
the Daily Whale
copyright 2008, 2024 Jay J.P. Scott
<jay@satirist.org>