Frieren x Family—The Mind of an Anime Character

DAY 159 - 26/8/6 -

I was working retail the other day, and a customer came up to me. He asked me a couple questions about our store. I was more than happy to answer, but he had a lot of questions. After a while, another customer got in line behind him, so he finished and left. The next customer then said to me, "You know he was giving you attitude." That stunned me. If he was being irritable, I wouldn't have minded, but I didn't know if he was. I couldn't tell what his intentions were, and the whole scenario got me wondering just how much I'm missing when others are speaking.

"What did they truly mean?" That's the mystery at the heart of it. "What were they saying behind their words?" It's a question many have pondered. When we hear others talk, when we read a friend's message, or when we see someone make a face at us, we often think, "What did they actually mean?"

Lately, I've been thinking about this too, especially as I watch anime. In Japan there's a unique aspect to relationships where people (even close friends and spouses) will keep their emotions guarded. This is illustrated in Japanese anime, where characters typically say what they don't truly mean. In fact, this is the main premise for two shows I've been watching.


The first show is Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. The story follows an elf named Frieren who never says what's on her mind. She could be sitting with her closest companions in silence, and she'll only say one line. It could be "I found it," or "I want to go back to sleep." The majority of the show plays out this way; low energy; lots of subtlety. Most of Frieren's characterization occurs through flashbacks, but those scenes are usually told from another character's perspective. As I watched this contemplative show, I just kept asking, "What is that little elf thinking?"

It made me wonder if I was watching the show correctly. Perhaps I was missing something that others found obvious. So, I asked a friend. I said to him, "I'm trying to figure out Frieren but she is so aloof, and I can't tell why." My friend responded, "Frieren’s characterization can be subtle. Both she and other elves will speak contradictory to how they feel. There’s a scene where she describes one of her former party members and it all sounds like complaints and criticism but she says it with a touch of fondness." That's confusing. How am I supposed to know what someone means, when they say the opposite of what they intend?

It's hard enough trying to figure out people in reality. At least in fiction, I want to know someone's thoughts as much as possible. Which brings me to the second anime I mentioned.


In response to my friend's answer, I told him, "I don't do too well with the whole, 'saying the opposite of what you mean' thing. Maybe that's why I appreciate the show Spy x Family." The story is about a father who is secretly a spy, a mom who is an assassin and a little girl that they adopted. These characters are constantly hiding their emotions; always avoiding the pressing issues on their minds.

So far, this is fairly similar to Frieren, but there's a key difference. In Spy x Family, the little girl is a telepath. She can tell whether someone is a good guy, a bad guy or a big jerk. Concerning this story element, I told my friend, "When characters say something in this show, their thoughts are immediately made known to the viewer, letting them know what the character actually believes." And the show keeps up its drama, thanks to a clever trick. Only one character knows what everyone is thinking. The rest of the cast have to make their own inferences, and, true to life, their perceptions are often comically misguided (for better or worse).

When characters know less than the audience, the drama is heightened which can be a ton of fun. However, it can also be thrilling to witness the slow reveal of what's inside a character's head. 

That's the biggest reason why my book is a multi-pov (point of view) first-person novel. In each section, readers are in one character's head. They experience this character's thoughts, but they won't hear anyone else's. One scene could have two pov characters, but readers will only know one side of their conversation. Sometimes this will lead to drama, where the audience knows what the pov character does not. Sometimes it will be thrilling, when readers discover secrets along with the characters. No matter what, it'll be similar to life. Readers will only be in one head at a time, and as they encounter good guys and bad guys, they'll probably be asking that familiar question, "What are they thinking?"

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