Mashiro-Iro Symphony

Why is it so hard to produce a decent harem? If harems were pointless excursions, it would’ve been fine. If they were unpleasant, completely generic without a hint of originality than fine. Then it’d be easy to review them and dismiss them. It’s rarely the case. Often the anime hints it could be something fun, even as a light drama. All it would take is a little more character development, a few more quirks and a little more conflict.

Mashiroiro Symphony perhaps deserves credit that its path is less common in the harem genre. The harem aspect is the only thing in it that makes it male-friendly. Anything else is so gentle, so fragile and cute that it fits the negative usage of the word ‘gay’. Nudity and sexuality are mostly absent. Hairstyles are all over the place, complex and detailed. Even Miu’s hair, which goes straight down has a unique shape. Each piece of hair has its own curve.

It’s refreshing, since darkness is a persistent feature in fiction. Stories are rooted in conflict and changes, but the serenity of Mashiroiro Symphony is convincing. Many things point towards it – the characters’ fairly pleasant nature, the gentle art style. Its limit shows quickly, but I doubt the limit is in the style itself. Rather, the creators stopped at creating a unique atmosphere and everything else is lifeless.

Our tsunderes (yes, there are two of them) are out-of-place, especially Sana. Airi’s insecurities become integral to development, but when Sana gets into tsundere mode she makes sure to kick the main character because she saw it on other harem shows. Somehow in a world where’s little conflict and everyone’s nice to each other, nobody points out how violent she is. Kicks to the face are quite serious.

Other characters fare better, but their ideas don’t work. As a male lead, Shingo is a little better. Then again, his competition isn’t difficult. Not being a pervert or a dense idiot aren’t praiseworthy qualities. You’re praising him for not being something. What he is, is a tired character type that was done well one in big series but then everyone failed with it. Shingo is the good guy. He reads everyone, knows what they want and take every bad thing people throw at him with a smile.

You might remember this archetype from the Ender’s Game series. Ender wasn’t just a good guy, though. The psychology of it was apparent. Being such a person means containing others, understanding them and putting them above you means pushing yourself to the side. Humans are inherently selfish, so any effort to understand others won’t be easy. Any sacrifice we make for others will affect us. Shingo’s never really affected by all the good deeds he does. He faces the tsunderes like a Charizard facing a Rattata. Laughing it off once is fine, but every episode of self-sacrifice should take its toll. Shingo is just as dull as any harem lead.

The other characters fare a little better, but only Miu is actually interesting. The creators had no idea what to do with the serene atmosphere, so characters end up either incredibly dull or pointlessly wild. Ange decides her sole purpose is to be maid, and what do you make of that? It comes off like a psychological problem, but the anime is too bright for this. As a funny personality it doesn’t work since the world is too serene for it. Only Pannya (an adorable furball that should’ve been Maromi famous) and Miu are interesting. In fact, Miu’s personality is directly related to the show’s nature and it gains steam when it starts exploring it. By the time it arrives we’re at the last episodes, and there isn’t time to explore it.

The basics of a decent harem is here. It’s not annoying, and it focuses more on character interactions rather than embarrassing situations. The romantic conclusion is actually fitting. The two lovers have a clear basis for their relationship and if you seen it coming, that’s only because it makes sense. It’s all just a surface, a pleasant one but that’s it. There isn’t even surprise character deaths or a big explosion to notify you it reaches the climax. How bad is it to be stuck in the position of being pleasant, but not getting much of a reaction?

Pannya is awesome though.

2 pannya’s out of 5

The Friendzone! Or: The Demonization of Desire

Unless you’ve been blessed with asexuality, you’ve had a close brush with the Friendzone. I’m sure it also happens to gays’n’lesbians, but I’m not among you. I’m in the hetero majority and so I can only speak about that experience. Also, I refuse to gender the friendzone. Since the dating scene is rigged against men by nature (Controversial statement? Different discussion), we mostly hear about how men are friendzoned. It can happen to women, too. Nothing about being a female protects you from rejection. So for the rest of this post I will refer to the parties as Rejector and Rejected.

All the narratives you hear about the friendzone revolve around one principle. It’s the demonization of desire. Both parties refuse to acknowledge the other party’s humanity, needs and existence. Both can’t imagine someone exists with different wants. So they demonize them.

The Rejected’s narrative:
“I was a great person. I was kind and nice. They didn’t choose me because I was good enough. They only like assholes. They deserve to be with such assholes for not choosing me. The fact I was nice and kind and worked hard means I deserve romance. I know what’s good for you because…?”

The Rejector’s narrative:
“You didn’t want me! You only want sex! If you really loved me, you’d sit there and be happy for being rejected and that I found someone else! Besides, it’s impossible that you really love me. You can only want sex and that’s why I didn’t choose you. I know what you really want because…?”

Notice the pattern?

Rejection hurts our pride. It tells us that we’re simply not good enough. Sadly, romance and sexuality don’t make sense. They’re not a meritocracy with clear guidelines and ways of improvement. Getting thinner or funnier or more confident won’t necessarily win you the person you want. Rejection is a failure you cannot learn from.

So the only way to deal with this fog is to deny it. It’s always easier to deny failure, to deny other people’s success. When you’re in a system that has no set rules what can you do? You can’t quit on sexuality, so you simply distort it for your own advantage. You say to yourself that you’re actually good. You didn’t win the person because the person was at fault. They weren’t good enough to realize how amazing you are. You end up removing their desires and wants from the equation. Their desire is considered invalid simply because you are not what they desire.

Notice the language I ended up using. ‘Winning the person’, as if it’s a prize.

Of course, nobody owes us romance or sex. Even if we could control attraction, we wouldn’t owe anyone these. These aren’t things you give someone. Romance is something you create together. Sex is something you do together. You cannot remove the other person’s wants from the equation. The moment you do, you’re no longer interested in a relationship.

Another thing the Rejected forget is that the world is full of people they don’t want. They’re so invested in their “I am rejected” position, they cannot see all these people they wouldn’t be in a relationship with. Take a walk outside and you’ll see at least 20 people. How many of these attract you? In your school, how many of the attracting sex you wanted a romance with? There are plenty people you’d reject too. You simply don’t have the opportunity yet.

Now, let’s move on to the other side.

All things being equal, it’s better to reject than be rejected. You haven’t put in any effort. The main thing you get from rejecting someone is that at least one person wanted to. Overall, you’re in the position of power. You’re given a door and you can decide whether to enter it or not.

But a person who wants a relationship with you isn’t an offer you can refuse with no consequences. You’re not offered an object, but a person. Nevertheless, we don’t really like to reject people. Hurting other people is no fun. If those who rejected were good friends of ours it hurts even worse. Guilt is no fun. If hurting those we love was easy, people would commit suicide more often.

One way of dealing with guilt is to sweep it under the rug. If rejecting someone weighs too much on your consciousness, just write the person off as not serious. They only wanted sex, after all. That doesn’t count (Sex isn’t a psychological need, remember. Only SmartPhone apps make people happy). All the effort they put into courting you was just a scheme! It’s also impossible for a person who only wants sex to have good intentions. They must only care about their own pleasure and be selfish in bed.

See what’s happening here? You turn the Rejected into a demon, a person who’s out to hurt you. You spin-doctor their desires as if their invalid. When was the last time you were rejected and took it like this? What makes the desire of the Rejected so invalid?

It’s easier to reject someone once we minimize and dehumanize them. They’re already not sexually attractive. So we just think that they only care about themselves, that they only treat us as a reward and we are the victim. Someone dared to want us sexually! If wanting sex is so bad, why do Rejectors later have sex? Could it be the desire of a sexy person counts more than the desire of a non-sexy one?

The same desire we demonize in the Rejected we have, too. You will also only want sex from some people, or put effort into being liked by those you’re romantically attracted to. If your feelings are valid enough that you’ll act on them, why is the Rejected’s wants invalid?

There’s irony in the tough-guy talk of “Get over it! Nobody owes you sex! I thought you were my friend!”. Just as nobody owes you sex, nobody owes you friendship. If a person doesn’t want friendship – if they’re interested only in romance or sex – they’re allowed to quit. After all, you would break off a relationship you wouldn’t want, either.

There is a solution to this that’s simple in theory but difficult in practice. The solution is to not pick sides. We should accept that both desires are valid. It’s okay to only want sex. It’s okay to not want a friendship and only a romance. It’s okay to only want a friendship with romance.

Sometimes, how we view people isn’t how they view us. When two people want different things from a relationship, it doesn’t work and it’s time to rethink it. Love confessions are such a moment. The two parties should first off recognize nobody is being immoral by wanting something. Then, if both aren’t willing to settle just walk away.

Yes, rejection hurts. Yes, it hurts to lose a friend who wanted more. It’s okay to get angry and listen to a lot of loud music. You need to be aware there’s something a little beyond your anger. We should find ways of overcoming rejection and the guilt not by pointing guns at the other party. Relationships don’t always fail because of one party.

It’s difficult, but not impossible. I stayed good friends with a woman who rejected me and I don’t regret a second of it. It was difficult, but even through the anger I knew that it was her choice and there wasn’t nothing morally wrong about it. That’s life. Rejection happens, but we cannot move from it unless we acknowledge that it hurts, and that it’s done out of malice.