For the most part, yeah, I’d say it has. Employing grit is almost a lost art in anime. And not in the sense you may think. What I mean is, what happened to the stories where characters got into real trouble with real stakes and consequences?
Situations in which characters actually fuck up and have to pay the price for it?
And I don’t mean they fuck up in the nice way that everyone understands and pities them for. I mean making an actual mistake in which they are in the wrong, don’t get pity points, and even end up hurting someone else (whether intentional or not).
That kind of grit.
What do I mean by “grit”, exactly?
I feel that it’s a more intangible human element that can be hard to put into words. But as best as I can describe it:
GRIT pertains to the element in a story that connects you to a character because they have human flaws. GRIT doesn’t always feel good and is usually hard to swallow. But if done right, it can be immensely cathartic.
GRIT can make your blood boil with anger towards a character; make you uncomfortable with tension and turn your stomach upside-down with unease at an irreversible consequence. GRIT can make you cringe with embarrassment for a character, sigh with relief at a moment of reprieve, cheer and fist pump at a moment of triumph and make you actively addicted to the story and its characters.
In other words, grit takes a perfunctory unfolding of events and turns them into a glimpse at the human experience.
It grounds the characters in reality, no matter how fanciful the setting, and makes them relatable to YOU the viewer.
This only works if you can actually see the characters as a human beings, not just anime characters. This is a combined effort between the storyteller’s skill and your own experiences. You actually have to empathize with or at least understand a character in order for the “grit” effect to take place.
So back to the question. What happened to that grit: Actual stakes and consequences that mean something to you and the characters?
To me, it feels like this human element has been taken out of most stories. Nowadays it seems like most of the story consists of flashy events taking place on a screen with no emotional connection to the viewer. The events all feel couched in the comfortable conventions of anime. It’s as if writers today are all too eager to let the main characters off the hook. The expectation is that all or most of the characters will come out okay. Nobody will really get hurt. Nobody will really have any valid feelings you can relate with. And even if every main character died, it wouldn’t really matter. It might blow your mind, but it won’t break your heart.
Because none of them feel like people.
It feels like even the emotional gut punches have been padded with pillows to ensure that nobody actually feels anything.
I know you can think of a myriad of anime in which this is the case.
In the Context of Anime Shows…
…you’ll generally get a good time with some ups and downs, but nothing too heartbreaking or core-shattering. No one you really like is going to die. And why would they? They’ve been meticulously designed in the creation process so that you’ll dress as them, buy their merchandise, and fantasize about ’em.
But if all of sudden one of these characters did something morally questionable you didn’t like, or god forbid, died, what would you have to wank off to then?
And that’s why the appealing, totally earnest and flawless creatures of anime stories no longer have real grit.
It’s really hard to pull off within the conventions and context of anime.
And upon a cursory look at fandom creations, most people seem fine with it. You can see it in their own stories of inconsequential fluff, where nothing really that bad happens to their characters and everything’s mostly good at the end of the day.
And you know what? That’s probably the way it should be. Not everyone wants to dive headlong into a deep, emotional torrent every time they sit down to be entertained. Not even me!
I feel like gritty stories are the kind that I happen upon or get sucked into, not the kind I seek out. Everyone wants some sort of soothing from their difficult day; to escape into some good, fun entertainment is the way most people do it.
If you’re gonna have your life changed by an anime with an amazing story, it’s most likely going to be an accident or the result of a strong recommendation.
The anime that can pull this off either start from the gate with heavy tones, OR lull you into a false sense of security in which you think you know how things will play out, and just when you think you’re on firm ground…
*SWIP!*
The rug gets pulled right up from under you.
Like I said, I find most of these kinds of stories either by accident or by passing recommendation.
That all being said I have a list of anime I’ve experienced with the element I call GRIT:
Anime and manga with GRIT:
- Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO): A great teacher with huge flaws teaches a class with even bigger flaws
- Onani Master Kurosawa: Go read it.
- Hunter x Hunter: lulls you into a false sense of security with shounen tropes while sprinkling in some grit for flavor…until it dumps the whole bag
- Boys on the Run: Where the main character is an actual underdog loser, but when he wins it feels like a WIN.
- Death Note: Where the main character is an evil dickhead and kills off a fan favorite character
- NANA: Where the main characters are truly likable and logically empathetic. Good drama abounds.
- Outlaw Star: Where the main character is a badass with emotional flaws.
- Gurren Lagann: Where one of the main characters dies to spur the actual main character’s development into a MAN
- Koe no Katachi (the GODDAMN manga): Couldn’t make it through that soft-ass movie, but the manga was INTENSE with some characters you’ll actually despise. If you’ve read it, you know who I’m talking about.
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: Classic grit.
- Hajime no Ippo: Grit epitomized. Characters lose just when they seem most likely to win.
- Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Just when you’re about to fall asleep you get a bag of grit to the face.
In these stories, you’ll find RELATABLE stakes and consequences.
These are the kind of stories I want to see! The kind I want to create!
But it’s so rare to find in the mainstream these days!
It seems most of us are too busy suckling the teat of anime or Disney, to make anything with actual bite any more.
I feel like I always have to seek out to lesser-known works or hidden gems to get my fix.
What GRIT feels like
Sometimes I’ve found that fictional characters have taught me more about life than the people around me.
When you can RELATE to the characters and/or the story events, their lives now mean something to you. You’re no longer just a passive viewer, you’re now engaged in the story as it unfolds. You experience what happens to a character because you can understand them. You get angry at a bully character because you’ve met that person in real life. When your stomach churns with dread, the character you like is in deep trouble, either socially or mortally. You don’t want anything bad to happen to your favorite! And the emotional tension just ramps up until you can’t take it anymore…
Then BOOM!
Your character’s in the clear…
…Or so you thought. Now the very LAST thing you wanted is happening, and you feel every last agonizing bit of it. So much so that you can’t go on, but you must! You MUST see this through because this character isn’t just experiencing some random set of circumstances, but a deep, emotional and logical event in their lives that connects directly back to YOU.
Yes, you’re the one going through the ringer, you’re the one in danger! And no matter what this character’s solution is, it WILL teach you something about your own life. Whether it’s an example of what to do or what NOT to do. You’ve unmistakably come away from this story with a shift in perspective. Because you didn’t just find some mindless entertainment, but a roadmap for your own journey.
Now THAT’S engagement.
That’s GRIT.
It’s those kinds of stories that stick with me long after the ending because GRIT is hard to remove.
Now I just have to go out and write in kind!
Easier said than done…
P.S.
Grit is not to be confused with unnecessary gorefests, edgy shows that pretend to be deep or fucking hentai.
That is all.
Until next time friends,
-Ken