Satou Kazuma: Art of the D/ckhead

spoilers for connoisseur baahar the anime protagonist he inhabits a weird position in fiction more than in any other genre the mcs of an anime are more often than not the faces and souls of the story they are positioned in so naturally enquiries about the nature and writing behind that concept can give ample insights into the workings of the medium so for example we ask is a protagonist in anime always a good person a simple question at first with a simple answer no of course not being good is not a prerequisite the protagonist is often just a lens through which we experience a story and in the past there have been examples of very popular protagonists in anime landing at the dark end of the moral spectrum like Lelouch and Light Yagami but looking at it this way reveals something interesting about anime protagonists there are really only two types two boxes in which we can put the vast majority of these emcees with very little variation or overlap on one side we have the too good to be true pure of heart good boys who strive for justice and freedom and are mostly either self inserts or overpowered role models such as Kirito from sao or Goku from the English version of DBZ respectively and on the other side we have the bad guys the edge Lords the maniacs here we find characters that are meant to instill a certain catharsis and a power fantasy by not being constrained by morality and emotion the aforementioned light and Alucard from Helsing come to mind now both of these sides can be executed extremely well with characters like Deku from my ear academia or Lelouch but when described as dichotomous as this it makes the anime landscape of protagonists seem kind of barren and empty with only really two types to choose from with small variations perhaps this is why one of the most enjoyable protagonists from the last few years was for me at least a certain [ __ ] from kono Suba [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] now if you haven't watched kasuba the basic premise is similar to most other Sakai trash shows modern guy gets transported to an alternate world that is part middle-aged part RPG videogame and is tasked with saving / changing it while collecting thirsty white foods like pokemon cards so far so Sao beyond this however the show starts to deviate quite a bit from the standard formula of the genre and one huge aspect that causes this is the protagonist you see the dude getting sucked into the fantasy world this time isn't your average hiro-kun instead it's a young man named Sato Kazuma in order to fully grasp what kind of character Kazuma is I think it's valuable to quickly summarize his presence within the first episode of the show within seconds we are introduced to an absolute loser I'm not even memeing here his life seems miserable alone vapid but it seems like it is of his own choosing he wastes all his time playing video games and avoiding social contact stating that he hasn't seen the Sun in quite some time but because of how he delivers his opening introduction with a dry unfazed tone we don't feel pity for him we feel mostly amused and somewhat encouraged to laugh at him but soon after we get the first break of disestablished personality the shut-in gamer who allegedly hates people jumps in front of what he believes is a truck to save a young woman and dies in the process within six minutes the loser has become a tragic hero so after his death he is confronted with the goddess in the afterlife offering him the chance to continue his life in a fantasy world if he promises to strive to save that world from an evil king of course he accepts and is then told that he can choose one thing to take with him an unbeatable weapon an incredible superpower anything only problem is said goddess had earlier made fun of him for how he died since the girl he saved was never Daedra and his death was in vain so out of spite he decides to take her with him and effectively lock her into that world alongside him until they defeat the king and so as she sobs and he laughs maniacally they are sent into this alternate game-like world and the adventure begins if there is one thing this first episode establishes thoroughly about Sato Kazuma then it's that he does not fit into any of the aforementioned categories of typical Shonen mcs he's neither an evil cunning maniacal edge lord nor is he a power fantasy or an ideal hero he is simply put an [ __ ] and that is genius let me explain as stated earlier this quest quickly turns into a harem for young Kazuma amassing a group of madly attractive anime stereotypes so what is the core defining feature of other Oetzi harem comedies like this the protagonist is usually well pretty lame they usually fall into the righteous hero category but not in the way someone like Deku does they are usually nice and friendly but absolutely vapid and devoid of any actual personality and this is by design these emcees are usually meant to be standards self inserts for the viewer it's how Bella from Twilight was created without a personality because the author wanted to ensure any readers could identify and insert themselves in her and this is the first reason Kozma stands out he is absolutely not meant to be a self-insert he has defined likes and dislikes and a very clear personality and while that may diminish his relatability it makes him a fuckload more memorable and the personality he does display is pretty entertaining to say the least he teases he bullies and he mocks but he does all that with such snark that is just endearing additionally it makes his character a lot more believable of course the shut-in gamer teen whose only real interactions were probably online arguments would be a complete troll think about how real teenagers act and you will find that Kazuma is pretty close but just like most teenagers there is one aspect that despite all the dickish behavior still makes us like him he may be a bit of an ass but he isn't a bad person he simply doesn't take [ __ ] his constant snark and sarcasm paid with moments of friendliness during all that freely sell him as just a teenager who while being a bit difficult sometimes ultimately wants to do good true at times the good he tries to do is connect to the prospect of rewards but him trying to save people and sacrificing himself twice within two seasons definitely doesn't paint the picture of a bad or evil person it makes him realistic most people that age no matter how insufferably smug and cynical they can be are not inherently bad kids he does things he wants to do and enjoys doing and likewise avoids things he dislikes which not only lends to realism but also reinforces him as an actual character and he would be a great character on his own but once he assembles his party of the dumb [ __ ] aqua the explosive lolly mega mean and the masochistic apply warrior darkness that's when he and they really shine now in a lesser show the protagonist would call these people friends all the time while being too shy to ever really interact with them since he'd be too busy bleeding out of their noses whenever their cleavage was visible any notion of friendship would only be present by the characters constantly going I have to protect my friends similarly romance and sexuality would only be present in the form of boob gags and of course the protagonist would never actually follow up on any romantic sexual feelings because that would make him less relatable for usually young and romantically inexperienced target audience luckily ho no Suba is an absolute banger of a show and knows how to handle this the dynamic that is established between these four friends is based around one simple yet effective concept they are all difficult annoying [ __ ] in their own way but they complete each other in their dysfunctions so their interactions are constantly framed around them just being mean to each other insulting and mocking but here's the deal this is so much more convincing as far as friendships go think about your own best friends which phrase is more common between YouTube I love you so much you are my friend or alemão [ __ ] off you big gay once people have a certain cadence and Trust with one another they get comfortable and the shallow insecure compliments make way for confident well-meaning teases and jokes between young best friends appreciation and affection are very often expressed through disses roasts jokes etc connoisseur seems to be one of the few anime that seem to understand this basic concept of teenage human interaction and it makes this group of lovable idiots so much more likeable since we don't just understand that they're friends we believe that they are they might be meaner and sometimes crueler to each other than real-life friends but the fact that it's anime and web that what they do is usually still pretty tame makes them a believable and sincere group of friends they might seem like [ __ ] but when push comes to shove their actions and reactions show a clear care and appreciation towards each other I mean when he dies the second time Cosmo starts crying over having lost the opportunity to hang out with his gang and their reactions to him coming back show us a very distressed and worried side of them these aspects make them very real and make us like them even if their shenanigans might go too far one or two times we like them because they like each other and because we believe that they like each other and cosma works perfectly as the core and the protagonist of this team being gloriously snarky and immensely entertaining yet surprisingly down-to-earth and relatable the last aspect of Cosmos character i want to touch on is just how proactive he is in most shows of this type he'll in most anime the protagonist often ends up being incredibly reactive canary and passive only really acting when some villain or some situation forces them to do so by contrast Kazuma constantly acts on what he wants and actively avoids what he doesn't like he speaks his mind and stands by it and therefore becomes a way more active character this also ties into how to show handle sexuality he actually acts on his sexual impulses something that a typical anime protagonist would usually via mentally ignore or be ashamed of instead Kazuma is pretty straightforward with his desires now some of his advances could be seen as creepy but we got to remember that this is an over-the-top comedy anime so I think it's mostly fine in fact it's relieving to finally see an animate protagonist who actually acknowledges his sexuality and does something about it besides just moping and getting punched I have heard jokes about how Kozma is the only harem protagonist who isn't the bay de Kock but there is at least some merit to that statement as far as male leads go Kozma is an absolute Chad compared to many others again this lends another facet of realism to this dumb and she comedy a young man gets trapped and forced into a party with three attractive young women so realistically some feelings and urges would definitely pop up and perhaps even lead to some active pursuit of romantic / sexual endeavors and Kazuma delivers on that more than any protagonist I have seen from this genre additionally without getting too spoilery for those who have not read the source material let me just say that his advance is actually amount to something it sounds dumb but for a comedy anime this is huge an emcee that not only has a proactive role in his relationship with others but also actually accomplishes something socially instead of always failing for the sake of titillation fanservice and ongoing waifu wars in conclusion Kozma feels human and relatable because he's not a larger-than-life ideal hero nor a dark and edgy power fantasy he is just a dude trying to enjoy the life and people he's given he complains when he dislikes something he gloats when he achieves something he can be petty annoying but ultimately he likes his friends and wants to do good he is an [ __ ] yes but he feels real and by virtue of that he breaks through the conventions of typical anime protagonists and becomes a memorable and insanely entertaining character but what do you think agree disagree despise my very existence let me know and as always liking sharing and subscribing who be greatly appreciated take care and until next time

Channel: Oceaniz

Views: 1,034,580

Rating: 4.8621407 out of 5

Keywords: Anime, Konosuba, Kazuma, Aqua, Megumin, Darkness, Character, Analysis, Comedy, Oceaniz, Oceaniz96

Id: Y22UjYAtV-A

Length: 14min 24sec (864 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 29 2018