#tropes-in-anime — Public Fediverse posts

Anime, at one point of time, would put you at the low-end of the social status ladder. Before being nerdy and geeky was cool, pretty much anyone who watches anime were clumped up into “the people who reek of weirdness.”

This put anime lovers into an inevitable lonely space, if there’s nobody who’s as passionate as they were. On the positive note, watching anime is becoming more and more mainstream, with old fans receiving the embrace that they deserve, and new anime fans diving into the hobby without the seclusion the older generation experienced.

Coincidentally, NEETs are among the people with the most experience with isolation. It’s true that this phenomenon is a tragic and sad one. However, I think there is a profound experience about loneliness that only NEETs experience. What is it like to be cast out, exactly? How does it feel?

It just happens that I recently finished reading a classic book, written more than a century ago, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. This book genuinely made me flabbergasted. Not only because of the tragic story, but also because of how Kafka described his protagonist, Gregor Samsa, and his despair in life.

This post might not the typical anime review or trope talk that I usually do. However, the book has many attributes that resemble the current condition of loneliness in today’s society, including what we occasionally see in anime. So, what exactly are they?

How Kafka’s The Metamorphosis And NEETs In Anime Depict Abandonment

Franz Kafka

In the early days of college, I learned about Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. In short, people work and put effort to attain a certain level of security in some aspects in their lives. After they achieved what they require, they move on to something else that they want.

On top of this pyramid of motivation, there’s the self-actualization state. It’s where we get to define what we are in this world. Maybe some of us are superb with instruments, and thus you define yourself as a musician. Others might be so great at sport, so they decide to dedicate their life as athletes.

However, let’s say hypothetically everyone suddenly loses their hearing, or we get paralyzed out of nowhere. Yes, everyone would suffer from it. But, the ones who would take the most harms are those who depends on these senses, not only financially, but also as a human being.

In The Metamorphosis by Kafka, this is exactly what happens. Gregor Samsa, the protagonist, found himself suddenly turned into a giant bug-like creature. It means he’s no longer able to work, he’s no longer able to provide for his family, and he no longer can be the hardworking salesman for his boss. From that point, all the meaning in his life is gone, just like how most NEETs perceive their lives.

Gregor Samsa And Modern NEETs

Subaru gets isekaid

Gregor Samsa, gradually finds himself to be more and more miserable in the book. Both because of his own self-inflicted hate that he can’t bring in money for his family, and also because of his repulsing new form. Locked in his room, starved, and lonely, sounds familiar?

Yes, it’s an oddly familiar theme in isekai anime, especially where the protagonist is a NEET. The true terror that Gregor Samsa invokes doesn’t come from his bug-like appearance. But rather, it’s the abandonment that his character experience. The man who was once the sole breadwinner for his family, now he is nothing but a shame and must be hidden.

A shame and must be hidden? Well, isn’t that what a lot of recluse feel nowadays. I don’t know about you, but in this day and age, I feel like people not only become more and more drawn to their online presence. We want to be acknowledged for what we post on our Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, or on WordPress websites just like I do.

Living alone with a bunch of mangas and video games… The usual NEET life.

However, ask any older person out there who was born before Google was a thing. They’ll tell you, things were drastically different socially speaking. People in a town knew each other, we spoke to strangers in public just to say hi, we asked for directions. And, most importantly, there is no online job market, or online dating, that’s for sure.

On top of that, the common talks among my younger generation is how “rat-racey” this world feels, if that’s even a word. People compete for work against each other more intensely, we care so much about our personal branding and compare it to the next person on our social media recommendation.

So, if so happens you’re one of these NEETs, of course you’d feel the plummeting of your self-esteem. And when we reach our lowest point, we either become someone’s memory or filled with so much hatred to the world. When there’s no reason for you to love the world that seems to smack you like the bug you’re, despair and hatred becomes cultivated.

Their Similarities And Difference

Living among trash, consuming cheap alcohol and instant noodle. Bocchi The Rock gets too real in this episode.

Similarly, it’s what a lot of NEETs have to live with, both in the real 3D world and the fictional anime world. They might not turn into a literal insectoid abomination, but the isolation and the psychological torment they go through are quite reminiscence of each other.

The only difference between Gregor Samsa and NEETs protagonists is Gregor actually had a purpose before his unforeseen transformation. On the other hand, most NEETs in anime are depicted as someone who already lost their hope long before their lives even started.

Dying after living a somewhat fulfilling life feels different.

The main similarity, however, is how they eventually got abandoned by their closed ones. Even in real life, this might also be true. It may sound harsh, but have you ever thought how many people would leave you if you stop giving whatever you are providing them? Or, if you never provide them with anything of value at all? Will they still love you?

At a first glance, both the book and the whole NEET protagonist trope in anime sound like a overly complicated “would you still love me if I were a worm?” question. But, realistically, a lot of people ended up on the streets, either after they got abandoned or their family broke up. And, to end your life in such state, that must feel so horrid

The Eventual Betrayal By Loved Ones

Who knows how many NEETs ended up like Rudeus, but without an isekai to be reborn into.

Kafka’s The Metamorphosis ending is one of the most horrifying endings I’ve come across in fiction. Spoiler alert, after a few months, Gregor’s family is forced to cut corners to get by. His elderly parents have to start working again, and they have to rent out a part of their home.

Gregor’s sister becomes increasingly hostile toward him, despite the fact she was the one who took care of him after his sudden transformation. In the end, everyone let out a breath of relief when they find Gregor’s lifeless body one morning.

This ending immediately reminds me of the protagonists’ death scenes in isekai anime. How many of them do you think are mourned by their family? In a similarly morbid situation in real life, of course, people would mourn their family members, even if the deceased had nothing much going on in their lives.

Rudeus true self in “the afterlife” does anyone in his original world miss him?

However, it’s not out of the question that they’ll just be buried and forgotten. This is what happens in the book, and I suspect it’s also what happens in Mushoku Tensei to Rudeus’s previous self. It might the morbid thing we, as anime fans, overlook in anime. Still, in my humble opinion, being abandoned even after death must be one of the most morbid things that can happen to a human being.

Personally, this is the part that broke my heart the most. Having an author just bluntly telling me if a person were a bug, no one would love them. They would become a burden to their families, a shame, an abomination. When they eventually died, it would be a blessing. Is this how our current reality now?

So… What Now?

Uhh.. the world is so depressing.

This whole post might sound a bit depressing. The entire world sounds depressing to me to be honest after reading The Metamorphosis. This book brings me back to the reality that might have gone blurred because of how much fantasy and adventure anime has brought to my life.

There’s no power ups waiting for NEETs, there’s no harem of anime girls waiting in the afterlife. It’s actually astounding given that this book is from a century ago. However, should we dismiss anime and minimize it only to a mere wishful thinking? Of course not.

As naive as it sounds, if there’s anything that can we take from the wide variety in anime, it’s that we’ll come through eventually. Yes, life might suck, and it sucks even more if you’re a NEET. However, there are ways to make it better for ourselves. The power of friendship, caring families, or even sheer willpower, just like your classic shonen protagonist.

Be someone’s Nijika.

So, if it so happens that this post reaches out to people who consider themselves as NEETs, I’d say, don’t give up. It’s okay if people call us losers for now, it’s okay if there’s nothing worthwhile for now. However, at the very least, please reach out to someone who cares about you the most.

A good friend can go a long way. You know, like Nijika to Bocchi. Every person deserves a Nijika in their lives. Sometime, all we need is someone who shows us that we’re worthy for our existence, even if we haven’t done a single thing. If you’re not a NEET, then be a Nijika for someone, that could mean the whole world for them.

https://seinenrider.com/2024/04/03/despair-in-anime-neet-culture-and-kafkas-the-metamorphosis/

#Anime #AnimeBlogging #animeTropes #Book #NEET #TropesInAnime