A direct pro life message...in an ANIME?! :D

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The anime I refer to is called “Now and Then, Here and There”. Though it only shows up in the last three episodes, I found it surprising how the message was brought out! Very direct. Nothing subtle about it.
If you haven’t seen this show, there’s a character named Sara, who was made a…well, slave of ‘certain sorts’, and finally got pregnant. The doctor who diagnosed her immediately resorted to an abortion as the best course of action. She was terrified by the sudden discovery and saw her pregnancy as a burden. Later, she attempts to commit suicide (killing her and the baby at the same time). What happens next is one of the coolest things I’ve seen in anime in a long time.

Here, skip it to 15:40 and watch it till, like, 18:05. If you don’t have a Hulu account, you’ll have to sit through some advertisements. hulu.com/watch/117945#i0,p9,s1,d0

^ Though I still have kinda mixed feelings about this scene because what Sara does to herself is kinda barbaric. If it weren’t for what happened next, the scene would’ve just been plain terrible.

Here’s another scene from the same show (of a different episode). If you don’t want any major spoilers, then maybe you shouldn’t see this one yet. Skip it to 6:35 and watch till 7:32. hulu.com/watch/117943#i0,p9,s1,d0

Tell me what you think about this.
 
I feel a need to start watching this show…I’ll have to look it up some time soon.
 
To me, that is the only redeeming point in that anime.
Note that the concept of pro-life is not very common here in the Far East with the Philippines as the exception.
 
Crescentinus said:
To me, that is the only redeeming point in that anime.
Note that the concept of pro-life is not very common here in the Far East with the Philippines as the exception.
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Abortions are very rare in anime. In most anime where a girl gets pregnant, which is itself very rare as sex in anime (on or off screen) is very rare - but you can take CLANNAD as an example, the girl gives birth and the child is loved by the father. Clannad has a good portrayal of a male figure by the way. Another example of a girl getting pregnant occurs in the anime OAV series Armitage III. The PolyMatrix movie sequel also has a very caring father in it.

I’ve always said that most anime is more moral than your average Western TV show.
 
Tenofovir said:
Abortions are very rare in anime. In most anime where a girl gets pregnant, which is itself very rare as sex in anime (on or off screen) is very rare - but you can take CLANNAD as an example, the girl gives birth and the child is loved by the father. Clannad has a good portrayal of a male figure by the way. Another example of a girl getting pregnant occurs in the anime OAV series Armitage III. The PolyMatrix movie sequel also has a very caring father in it.

I’ve always said that most anime is more moral than your average Western TV show.
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I actually agree with you there.
No wonder that I love watching anime especially those which are beyond the pale of fame.
 
Crescentinus said:
I actually agree with you there.
No wonder that I love watching anime especially those which are beyond the pale of fame.
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Exactly. When will you have morals such as “The will to live is stronger than anything else” like what Rurouni Kenshin said in any western works? When will you have the power of friendship and self sacrifice being stressed out so importantly in western works like what happened in FullMetal Alchemist Brotherhood?
 
MrSylvester said:
Exactly. When will you have morals such as “The will to live is stronger than anything else” like what Rurouni Kenshin said in any western works? When will you have the power of friendship and self sacrifice being stressed out so importantly in western works like what happened in FullMetal Alchemist Brotherhood?
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Even famous anime are generally speaking, lacking in those morals.
 
Your questions have raised a very salient point, sir. :3
Sorry for the double-post, I had failed in editing. :o
 
The problem I’m seeing here is trying to pigenhole anime as all being the same, as if somehow one could draw a 1-to-1 paralell between Nausicaa by Hayao Miyazaki or Urotsukidoji by Toshio Maeda, and believe me, without getting into any sort of descriptions, those two films could not possibly be further from each other. (I heartily recommend the former – avoid the latter like the plague!)

I’ve seen quite a bit of anime that has life-affirming themes. For instance, Space Battleship Yamato where the crew of the titular battleship voyage on a desperate, near-suicidal voyage, not to destroy the Gamilus Empire, but to retrieve the Cosmo DNA from Iskandar to save the lives of everyone on Earth. Some episodes of Urusei Yatsura, a whacky farce anime, have themes that affirm actual, authentic love – the premise of the series is that a sex-addict teen accidentally gets married to an alien princess, and most episodes revolve around him trying to break away from her so that he can play the field (and ending up on the receiving end of the alien princess’ lightning bolts). However, beneath the premise are hints that he actually does truly love her, such as in one episode where she leaves to get her resident alien card (never has that term been so accurate…) and he goes to pieces from missing her.

And as mentioned above, Rurouni Kenshin has many pro-life themes. Not surprising from a show featuring a protagonist who has given up killing after a very bloody career as a revolutionary assassin. One telling scene is when a supporting character, Megumi Takani, a doctor, had been forced into producing heroin for drug traffickers. In the end, she attempts suicide, thinking there’s no hope for her, and Kenshin talks her out of it, beseeching her to use her talents for the good of humanity.

Then again, there are anime that end up being nihilistic and quite bitter, such as the otherwise gorgeous Grave of the Fireflies, which ends with the main characters dying in a pitiful state and is meant to be an explicit middle finger to the teenagers of '80s Japan by the director who was enraged over Japan’s rising teen deliquency rate.
 
Space Battleship Yamato does have a pro-life theme as Pat had said.
It’s probably the reason why I liked it a lot along with a good story line and awesome character development. :3
 
Pat_Payne said:
The problem I’m seeing here is trying to pigenhole anime as all being the same, as if somehow one could draw a 1-to-1 paralell between Nausicaa by Hayao Miyazaki or Urotsukidoji by Toshio Maeda, and believe me, without getting into any sort of descriptions, those two films could not possibly be further from each other. (I heartily recommend the former – avoid the latter like the plague!)
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I think we can exclude hentai anime. I was speaking more in general terms where most anime, even cheap anime, have themes which recur. The hero is usually a figure who does positive things. For example the hero may step in between two warring factions and try to make peace, or support the underdog or go out of his way to help someone out.

This reminds me: Aishiteruze Baby is a manga and anime where a teenage kid without responsibilities ends up having to take care of a young child, this leads to growth and maturation. In this anime he also talks a young girl his age out of suicide and self mutilation which finally leads her to return to her parents. He also comes down on an unreasonable parent who shows no sympathy toward her child. It’s a shoujo anime.
 
Pat_Payne said:
The problem I’m seeing here is trying to pigenhole anime as all being the same
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I wasn’t applying that all anime are the same. Not at all 🙂 Having watched many anime, I’ve seen masterpieces, anime that bore me to death, as well as those with great moral.

Yes, many anime are pro-life. Look at Vash from Trigun for an example: a character who hates the idea of killing, or even hurting anyone. I guess what I REALLY meant was an anime that seemed to be directly against abortion 🙂
 
I wouldn’t expect much pro-life in anime, as the far-east generally hasn’t had a huge objection to abortion(Mind you, I haven’t watched an anime in years, and I watched the likes of Dragon Ball Z and Cowboy Beep Bop).
 
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