This Week in Anime

When Your Fav Anime Couple is Problematic

Nicky
LOL, I'm not sure that's the right kind of ship. To be clear, the kind of shipping we're talking about today isn't related to seafaring vessels. I would hardly call myself a boat expert, but I know a thing or two about shipping, so I will try my best to define it if people may be unfamiliar:

"Shipping" is a term that developed in fandom to express the desire for two (or more) characters to be in a romantic or sexual relationship together, abbreviated to "ship." As a phenomenon, shipping is most likely to occur around serialized media when the overall status of most relationships is ambiguous. People in fandom will often form cults around specific ships or characters/pairings and celebrate or root for them in the same way sports fans might root for their favorite athlete or sports team. Shipping is a common motivator for fan works, driving many to pour hours into crafting fanfiction and fan art dedicated to their choice of pairing.

However, one does not have to participate in fandom to ship. The act of shipping can be an independent response and interpretation of media. Elements of romance come in different ways, shapes, and fashions and may even extend beyond the text or creators' intentions. Either way, the potential stops at people's imaginations. Whether you've felt your heartbeat seeing two characters pining over each other or started thinking about how cute it would be for the hero and the villain to stop fighting and start holding hands, it's unlikely you've gone your whole life consuming media without encountering any shipping done by you or someone else. As shipping is highly prevalent in anime fandom, it's a perfect topic for celebrating the season of love!

Yes, but first, I should define "problematic." We talk about ourselves being problematic and things in media being problematic all the time, but it has a particular usage when applied to ships. A problematic ship refers to a dynamic that is transgressive or otherwise taboo. People may find said ship uncomfortable because it goes against societal norms, or it could create a hot button within a fandom. Often, it may refer to a ship that's less than ideal, contains one or more flawed characters, or is overall "complicated." It's the exact opposite of wholesome romances. For some, such drama can be exciting and sexy. The forbidden nature of problematic ships can also make them more alluring to imagine.

They might also refer to any pairing with a character that has already been deemed problematic, like a fan-favorite smarmy villain, an ally with dubious morals, or any character with enough toxic traits that they might as well be marked as hazardous materials. Other times, it can refer to a pairing or character that people do not like for whatever reason. That's part of what makes it a bit nebulous. Everyone has their threshold for what they consider acceptable behavior, especially when it comes to relationships, even when it's only happening in fiction.

Yet, even small stuff can start huge fights within a single fandom, and it's not uncommon to see call-out posts for the most minor things as ammo against another faction, especially if it's coming from the side of an enemy ship! Idol anime fandoms, in particular, can be brutal given the huge amount of potential pairings they possess, and of course, the bigger the fandom, the bigger the wars. It brings a whole other meaning to the term "Love is War."

Yet, it's not as if all media is pure, wholesome, and conflict-free. Plenty of series might portray toxic characters' relationships for drama or as part of their story. To bring up a classic, Revolutionary Girl Utena's thesis is that the entire cast needs to go to therapy.

As an episodic series, most of the run time is dedicated to exploring the characters and their relationships. Some of them even center on taboos such as power, abuse, manipulation, and even incest, all in that delicate shōjo-style, exploring the darker aspects of humanity, all while sympathizing with the characters without necessarily condoning their actions. Yet, one of the best and most exciting relationships also features a character most people would find challenging to sympathize with, and that's the whole deal with Juri and Shiori.

In the introduction, the whole deal with Juri feeling unrequited towards Shiori and Shiori going through a complicated love triangle to make Juri jealous is already dramatic. Still, throughout the series, they continue to hurt each other in the name of love. They're toxic to a T, but the emphasis on their mutual love underscores it as a tragedy you want to see them overcome when everyone else tells them to walk away from each other.

In the sixth installment of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean, every character is a stone-cold criminal deemed unforgivable by society. Yet, they all share the same aspiration of a better life. When Chris and I discussed it, I became fascinated with the character of Anasui, someone most people would probably find pretty despicable. The way he initially treats Jolyne with possessiveness is in no way admirable. Still, watching how his character and feelings grew into something more sincere despite being such a bad person was interesting.

That's the smile of a criminal who has caused too many casualties. I never participated in the old fandom, but I can only imagine this guy had an entire fan army at his disposal judging by the numbers of AMVs set to Cascada's "Bad Boy" still on YouTube. (Markers of historical importance.)

I'm sure many people are giving us a hard side-eye or are getting ready to get up and leave the room at this point because the appeal of a bad character or a bad relationship is lost on them, like what's so good about something bad?! What's the difference between breaking a taboo in fiction vs real life? Does finding this kind of portrayal desirable make someone a bad person? Like, I'm sure some of you think we have some sort of screws loose for admitting this casually without shame, but that's because we think this kind of response to media is normal.

Do you ever watch a fandom split right in two like it was just struck by some natural disaster? Sometimes, ships can do that. That's basically what happened when Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Rebellion dropped to screens.

Madoka and Homura are already great and somewhat tragic from the get-go. Homura went through so many time loops to save Madoka and did not find catharsis until the end of the TV series, where Madoka nobly sacrifices herself for all the magical girls' sins, which is why it's pretty shocking when a sequel movie comes along and pretty much undoes all of that with Homura now declaring herself a villain for loving Madoka. It's a scene that enraged many fans but also delighted them for textually stating a ship that was previously subtext and opening it to new (tragic) possibilities.

We know Homura's obsession is based on a previously healthy and mutual affection that was fostered between the two girls during their brief time together. Still, in her monologues, she states that her suffering and pain are all a part of her "love." Her determination to be with Madoka is an unwavering devotion that might as well destroy everything, like rules, morals, and the universe. None of those matter if she can't be happy with her beloved. The same thing that made her heroic in the series made her become the villain. I can't help but think she's right.

Still, not everyone was down on this development. Many fans were happy for Homura's cool and incredible transformation and desire to be united with her god gf! It's like they have matching cosplays now. Even if her methods are ultimately terrible and have left to see the full repercussions until the next movie (that still hasn't come out). Look, sometimes nothing fuels the fan art machines like the fans' tears. We love suffering.

On the topic of LGBT relationships, there's a meta-commentary on Homura's decision and Class S and the expectation of purity placed on young girls' relationships in yuri. I explained much about Class S in our Yuri is My Job discussion (another outstanding series with many messy ships), but Dokes initial ending fulfills the old Class S cliches of killing sapphic relationships to maintain status quo. Madoka and Homura get to remain pure but separate beings, as living happily together as a real couple would be too taboo. Homura's rebellion is a way of taking back her agency and sapphic identity against a universe that would have her sacrifice her personal happiness for normalcy.

It's also no wonder there's a certain number of queer fans who resonate with these less-than-perfect portrayals. After all, queer people have historically been labeled as taboo, degenerate, and even villainized for embracing our desires with honesty and pride. On the other hand, what heteronormative society finds to be acceptable can leave us feeling alienated and restricted for simply existing as humans do. Real people have desires and flaws and generally act in ways that don't make any sense. That doesn't make us undeserving of things like love and acceptance.

Of course, most of this depends on your suspension of disbelief and your person. There are many ships I won't touch because I find it unappealing or some other hang-up that prevents me from enjoying it for whatever reason. So, I don't blame anyone when they don't find the things I like appealing. Execution also matters more than the premise. I remember a few people being turned off by a comfort series of mine, Kakuriyo -Bed & Breakfast for Spirits-, since the premise features the heroine getting spirited away for an arranged marriage with the oni in charge of a prestigious inn in the spirit realm. Although this is pretty much a plot out of a fairy tale, our modern protagonist is unsurprisingly reluctant about marrying a stranger who kidnapped her and worked out a deal to pay off her grandpa's debt instead of being forced into a marriage. As a hostage in a strange land, there's an obvious power imbalance, but watching Aoi work for herself makes her feel capable of standing on equal footing with even the worst demon.

Still, it shows how even a relationship with a rocky start can improve into something supportive. I've seen similar plots in other series, and in fandom, it's pretty standard to imagine bad guys turning good or what-ifs where your worst couple can find a way to a happy ending. Which reminds me, why the hell has no one made an OVA for Scum's Wish's short sequel manga, Scum's Wish décor?! Talk about messy characters needing a happy ending. I need it solely to see the chapter where Sanae gets to be happy with her teacher GF (problematic in a different way but happy).

Yeah, although generally, many people want their ships to end happily, that's not always the case. Sometimes, it's because we love a tragedy and watch it with the curiosity of watching a train wreck, or other times, it's because we know that in our hearts, they'd be better off without each other, and that kind of fleetingness is its own kind of romance. The best series I can ascribe to that feeling is the strange anime adaption of the literary classic Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo. The entire series is a whirlwind of watching a young lad chase after a blue space vampire who's only associating with him to seek revenge on his family. It's an odd swerve on the book and impossible to look away from, even if you see the terrible events coming from miles away. (Well, especially if you've already read the book.)

Watching this series will have you flopping so hard between feelings of awe and dread that you might as well call it seasickness. It's incredibly sympathetic to Albert's gay coming-of-age while all his friends yell at him for being too gullible. His bromance with Franz is much healthier, I should add.

Who wouldn't want to be deceived by a hot blue space vampire, though? It's important to understand how it is a fantasy for the audience. Sometimes, it's nice to put yourself right in the center of the drama without the damage it causes.

A lot of fantasies are about putting ourselves in roles we might not typically experience. So, the self-insertive practice of putting yourself in the character's scenario is also important, whether being spoiled by an older gentleman or living it up as the upper class of future France. How people enjoy media is actually quite abstract to the point that even I don't always know what I'm going to get out of something until I do.