×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
Answerman - Why Are All The Parents Dead?


Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4  Next

Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
albanian



Joined: 18 Nov 2005
Posts: 133
Location: UK
PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 1:10 pm Reply with quote
maximilianjenus wrote:
IIRC, bodacious space pirates is famous for being one of the few animes that got all finished on schedule, whichever that actually means in context.

In addition, Bodacious Space Pirates is a good example of a parent who is alive, actively involved, and fully supportive of her daughter's piratical adventures.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
mgosdin



Joined: 17 Jul 2011
Posts: 1302
Location: Kissimmee, Florida, USA
PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 1:24 pm Reply with quote
albanian wrote:
In addition, Bodacious Space Pirates is a good example of a parent who is alive, actively involved, and fully supportive of her daughter's piratical adventures.


True, though Marika's mom in this case was a semi-retired pirate herself and dad is a supposedly deceased pirate captain. I still think they should have had people's noses grow whenever they say he's dead.

Mark Gosdin
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Zalis116
Moderator


Joined: 31 Mar 2005
Posts: 6864
Location: Kazune City
PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 1:33 pm Reply with quote
Paiprince wrote:
Usagi Drop and Aishiteruze Baby both beg to differ (for the former, let's stick with the anime shall we? Razz )

John Thacker wrote:

In general it's easier without good parenting (another option is the total buffoon parent), but there are some shows with pretty good parenting that are also interesting, like Hime-chan's Ribbon. The exception that proves the rule, since the problems, even with magic, are for the most part fairly mundane and not the crazy action of other shows.
Intact parents definitely seem more common in Magical Girl and other shows aimed at a young female audience, such as the Precure and Pretty Rhythm franchises. And even with some shows from the genre aimed at otaku, like Madoka and Nanoha. But as others have pointed out, missing parents are far from an anime-only feature; take the Western animated show Gravity Falls, where the protagonist twins are effectively orphans able to have all kinds of adventures under the unwatchful eyes of their cantankerous con-artist great uncle.

Of course, missing/absent parents are also a staple in the ecchi/harem genres, though I do appreciate shows like Rizelmine and High School DxD where the parents are aware and supportive of their sons' magical girlfriend or live-in harem.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
malvarez1



Joined: 17 Nov 2008
Posts: 1628
PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 1:45 pm Reply with quote
That sumo thing looks horrific.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Top Gun



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 4566
PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 2:13 pm Reply with quote
Inuyasha became something of a running joke amongst my friends regarding Kagome's parental situation. You have her mom, who always seems quite cheerful about patting her on the back and sending her off to a crazy-dangerous feudal world where demons try to eat her on a daily basis. And then there's her dad, who...apparently never existed in the first place. Seriously. Almost 200 episodes of combined anime, and there's never a mention of him, or even so much as a family picture in the background. Hell, there's a flashback of Kagome's birth, and he's not even there! I'd say she was the product of either a one-night stand or a virgin birth, but since she has a little brother, I guess it had to happen twice.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Mr. sickVisionz



Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 2171
PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 2:22 pm Reply with quote
Key wrote:
Quote:
To use Naruto as an example (simply because most of us know it), how different would the story, and Naruto himself, be if he had parents around? He'd have a curfew, would get grounded for being a slacker student, and would never be allowed to wander off in the night or go on weeks-long excursions. No parent in their right mind would allow their kid to be a soldier, or a warrior of any stripe.

While I agree with you about everything else concerning this answer, I would point out that at least some of the ninja kids in Naruto do have intact parents, and those parents most definitely let their kids do that because it's all part of the "ninja lifestyle."


That's what I was going to say. Naruto is a world where parents pride themselves on sending their children off to compete in what are basically Hunger Games where homicide is deemed an acceptable method of problem solving... just to show off the abilities of the village and secure lucrative ninja contracts.

And this is like something that parents wear as a badge of honor for their children to have done. All of the major legendary characters were kinda known for being war tested and battle proven as children who were to be feared for their murderous efficiency.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
leatherhead333



Joined: 15 Aug 2013
Posts: 1187
Location: Kansas
PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 4:27 pm Reply with quote
I've never liked the idea of dead parents being dead simply because they get in the way. What's worse is the trope of parents being oppressive/unsupportive builds this trend as well.

I'd argue that it's easier to relate to a character with parents that are alive given that most of us at least saw our parents at some point. While I suppose they can't be much more than words of wisdom in slice of life shows I would actually like to see a show where a father and mother go on a journey with their kids. Family oriented shows like "The Eccentric Family" and "Kyousougiga" are some of my favorite shows just because seeing everyone struggle to stay together and protect each other is very heart warming.............and tear jerking. Crying or Very sad
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
sonnets



Joined: 22 Aug 2014
Posts: 6
PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 7:04 pm Reply with quote
Yup we writers pretty much use dead parents as a good excuse for angst and as a way to develop our characters. Either way or I send their parents away.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Shiroi Hane
Encyclopedia Editor


Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 7578
Location: Wales
PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 7:06 pm Reply with quote
Didn't ADV once distribute something unlikely like Farscape?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger MSN Messenger ICQ Number My Anime My Manga
walw6pK4Alo



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 9322
PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 7:09 pm Reply with quote
sonnets wrote:
Yup we writers pretty much use dead parents as a good excuse for angst and as a way to develop our characters. Either way or I send their parents away.


Yep. It's not an anime thing, it's a typical hero's journey thing. Gotta have the parents dead or out of the way so the hero can get out of his provincial life and be thrust into greatness.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Yuki_Kun45
Exempt from Grammar Rules


Joined: 26 May 2008
Posts: 725
Location: U.S.A.
PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 7:11 pm Reply with quote
Dead Parents is a long running trope of fiction. Some like to kill off one parent (most 80s family Sitcoms) some kill both and with anime the parents are "around" just never seen on screen. CLAMP especially loves the dead mother trope.

ANN's Hope Chapeman when she was still doing videos as JO did outline this fact with Digimon how really the parents played such a strong supporting role for the children cast; it really was eye opening.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Beatdigga



Joined: 26 Oct 2003
Posts: 4352
Location: New York
PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 7:12 pm Reply with quote
Inner pain of dead parents are used constantly in all types of fiction.

All together now -

Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Key
Moderator


Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18138
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 8:18 pm Reply with quote
Zalis116 wrote:
Of course, missing/absent parents are also a staple in the ecchi/harem genres, though I do appreciate shows like Rizelmine and High School DxD where the parents are aware and supportive of their sons' magical girlfriend or live-in harem.

In fairness, in the case of DxD it did, IIRC, involve some mental manipulation to get them to overlook many things.

But you're right that, beyond those cases, it's very rare for harem male leads to have parents that are both intact AND present on a regular basis.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website My Anime My Manga
Polycell



Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Posts: 4623
PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 8:46 pm Reply with quote
Top Gun wrote:
Inuyasha became something of a running joke amongst my friends regarding Kagome's parental situation. You have her mom, who always seems quite cheerful about patting her on the back and sending her off to a crazy-dangerous feudal world where demons try to eat her on a daily basis. And then there's her dad, who...apparently never existed in the first place. Seriously. Almost 200 episodes of combined anime, and there's never a mention of him, or even so much as a family picture in the background. Hell, there's a flashback of Kagome's birth, and he's not even there! I'd say she was the product of either a one-night stand or a virgin birth, but since she has a little brother, I guess it had to happen twice.
You're clearly forgetting the possibility that her father's always around, regularly on camera and constantly coming up with crazy excuses for Kagome's absences.
malvarez1 wrote:
That sumo thing looks horrific.
Happened to catch an episode a couple years back when I got dragged to a coworker's house. It's about as theme's line of "They've got gutts and BUTTS!" makes it sound. I was mostly surprised to find it was so damned old.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Sahmbahdeh



Joined: 05 May 2015
Posts: 712
PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 9:02 pm Reply with quote
Super Duper Sumos was bad, but it had nothing on the atrocity that was Mega Babies.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4  Next
Page 2 of 4

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group