Sukisho 10

[mllelaurel]

Ok, I so did not expect this series to go where it did. I've remarked before how numerous anime toy with the idea of multiple personalities, usually utilizing some kind of magical excuse for it. I just assumed that Sukisho would do the same. To my surprise, it went down a different path. The Multiple Personality Disorder (or, more correctly Dissasociative Identity Disorder) here is precisely what it is - additional personalities (or alters) created when the person is traumatized to the point of disassociating from the situation. (Usually said trauma would involve severe abuse in early childhood, particularly sexual abuse.) Effectively, this other personality is what the person would have been like, had they not experienced the trauma, or a different personality type, better equipped to deal with the trauma.

The way Sukisho ended up framing it, Yoru and Ran are alters, created by Sora and Nao, which is a more relistic path than any I've seen taken by an anime before. To think that such a daring move would be taken by a series so easy to dismiss - one based on a smutty BL game!

Disclaimer: To my knowledge no other anime has explained a character's tendency toward multiple identities as actual D.I.D. before. I could be wrong. Also, my own knowledge from D.I.D. comes from online research, rather than interviews or personal experience, so I could have made some errors in summing it up. If so, I would genuinely appreciate any and all corrections.

But still, I'm a little bowled over that the series would do this, considering I dismissed it as completely silly, after watching the first few episodes.

Comments

[branchandroot]

Interesting. Maybe I'll have to start watching it again. I gave up after a few eps, when the sitcom-y-ness got to me.

But that certainly is a lot closer to the most common axis of development than I've ever seen anime come. It seems far more common to do it the way CLAMP does, as a kind of dark-self; it always strikes me as stemming more from the whole concept of tatemae/honne than from any clinical version of dissociation.

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

Interesting. I've never heard of the concept you mentioned, so maybe that's why I've never associated the idea with it, but yeah, the 'dark self' concept does seem to be prevallent.

[amet.livejournal.com]

Been spoiled on the games yet? They end in uber angsty cliffhangers of doom. I honestly fear where this is going. :x

[sharona1x2.livejournal.com]

I was going to post the same thing. The games aren't cute and fluffy at all.

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

Hehe. Nooo, they are not.

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

Semi-spoiled. Therefore, I was kind of prepared for the angst; just not the quality of angst. I also hope that the series won't leave off on a cliffhanger, especially since it has already mix/matched the game continuity a little.

[shirato]

I know!!!! I was surprised (and delighted) as well!!

NEED MORE. :o

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

XDDD The episodes can't come out soon enough!

(By the way, do you still want me to send you the later episodes of KKM, at some point?)

[shirato]

Ooooooooh, yes please!!!! =D *GLOMP*

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

Will do! Just let me know when you're on AIM. ^_^ *glomps back*