With all of these months we've been stuck indoors, it’s no surprise that people have been taking that time to binge-watch favorite shows or movies. Whether it be reality TV, dramas, or thrillers, streaming services like Hulu and Netflix have something that can cater to anyone’s interests. A very popular genre that has been growing in popularity these last few years, however, is anime.
Derived from the English word “animation”, anime consists of hand-drawn and computer animations originating from Japan. Usually, anime are rich stories with well-developed, layered characters, numerous conflicts, and complex plots. Depending on the genre, the stories can be comedic, action-packed, or dramatic, and many times they are stories that viewers can identify with and relate to.
While there’s a wide variety of anime that span from the soft, dramatic romance scene to the comedic mundanity of slice-of-life, there’s a genre for everyone. However, with the constant changing of our current events, looking at how our climate is affecting people mentally is worth considering. Because of this, we’ll delve into the psychological genre specifically, and how themes within this group can be relevant to today.
Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji), an anime based on Japanese manga artist Yana Toboso's manga of the same name, is a psychological, dark fantasy thriller. Boasting two seasons, two additional short series, several Original Video Animations, and a large devoted fanbase, Black Butler is definitely a favorite and a well-renowned series.
To summarize, the story takes place in 19th century Victorian England and revolves around a thirteen-year-old boy, Ciel Phantomhive, and his butler, Sebastian Michaelis. Ciel is an English nobleman and only survivor of the Phantomhive family. After his parents’ passing, he became in charge of managing Funtom Corporation, his family company, as well as taking on the obligations that come with being the sole survivor of a powerful noble family and upholding their name.
Despite all this, the Phantomhives didn't become powerful just by owning a successful company. Their backstory consists of generationally being the Queen's “guard dogs”, keepers of the royal family's secrets. Existing as phantoms in the underground world, they handle tasks and situations the royal family wants taken care of — including the containment and monitoring of criminal organizations; sometimes putting a stop to them when they become extreme.
With a synopsis like this, one might ask, “so how does this pertain to any psychological themes?” Well, at just 10, Ciel witnessed his parents' assassination in their own home, then after was captured and sold to a group of individuals who kept him a prisoner. It’s been suggested that he was physically abused, neglected, and sexually assaulted.
Then, the moment arrived that his captors decided to sacrifice him as part of what appeared to be a satanic ritual. A demon was summoned as part of it, however, rather than respond to the plea from the summoners, the demon heard the plea from the boy. The plea was to free him, and to help him avenge himself.
The demon's terms were that in exchange for helping Ciel get revenge on those who wronged him, he would get to eat Ciel's soul. Until Ciel achieved his goal of avenging himself, the demon would protect him and follow any order he’d give out. Agreeing and forming a contract with the demon, Ciel names him Sebastian after a dog he used to own.
As most people are when having gone through a traumatic event, Ciel was stripped of the person he was. Losing his family forced him to grow up fast, resulting in him giving up his childhood. Not only did he lose his parents, but he no longer had the opportunity to grow into whatever person he had wanted to be
The significance of the demon butler Sebastian is crucial to the story. Carrying out his butler responsibilities to perfection, he follows Ciel's every order and accompanies him wherever he goes as a protector. Many fans have pointed out that physically, Sebastian resembles Ciel's deceased father. Symbolically, like many children who experience severe trauma, Ciel carries a demon with him everywhere he goes. This demon is both a reminder of his past and the pain he suffered, as well as a representation of renewed strength and posttraumatic growth.
Posttraumatic growth is explained as an opportunity to experience growth in one or more areas of life after experiencing a trauma. According to the Posttraumatic Growth Research Group at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, this progress can occur in five areas: increase or change in one’s spirituality, closer relationships with others or a heightened sense of connection with others who suffer, a sense of new opportunities, increased personal strength and a greater appreciation for life.
We can confirm he’s achieved posttraumatic growth in two areas. One, despite having difficulty trusting and opening up to others, develops a connection with each of his servants. All three of them have their own personal struggle or trauma that they've faced, so Ciel feels a sense of similarity between them and himself. His servants develop an undying loyalty toward Ciel, viewing him as a representation of hope, home, family, and redemption from their past. In addition to his servants, Ciel seems to have a keen awareness of the gifts of others. Whether this is an innate trait or something he developed as a result of his trauma, he is better able to read people and assess them quite accurately.
Second, he has developed an awareness of increased personal strength. Despite everything that has happened to him, he carries on with his responsibilities through the protection Sebastian provides. When he is triggered to have a flashback of his time spent as a prisoner, it is his demon who helps ground him by reminding him that these events were in the past. Ciel is the one who makes all the decisions and gives the orders, however, proving he has a sense of control and strength within himself. He is aware that there are things within his ability to control or change.
While Ciel doesn’t cope with his trauma well, he does so in a way that others can relate to. Like many others, he has difficulty overcoming his own trauma. Those who have gone through traumatic events are forced to mature faster as well, and this can be seen through Ciel as well. From an early age, he learned that people can’t be depended on and that the world is unsafe. Although depending on his demon for his own safety, Ciel expresses numerous times that he doesn’t trust him — symbolizing that how trauma can keep a person from being open to new experiences.
Chess is another element that stays symbolic throughout the series. In the manga and in interludes of the show, there are always references to the game — potentially inferring how Ciel views the world. He sees it through a black and white lens, and that in this world one can either take advantage or be taken advantage of. A majority of the characters he interacts with are pawns, insignificant people he can toss when no longer of use.
Closer characters in the story, however, like Sebastian, are a bit more vital to Ciel. While he depends on him like a child, his demon is just a tool to him in the end. Out of all the wrongs that have happened in his life, with this mindset of situations being a “game”, he feels as if events are within his locus of control.
Feeling that sense of authority over his own fate gives him safety, as it does for many victims of mental illnesses. Victims of abuse, PTSD, depression, or anxiety may commonly latch onto the need to have control of situations, or otherwise fall into a feeling of learned helplessness. Ciel displays these both, as he cherishes control but has accepted his fate in the end. While he fears letting others have the reigns and being unable to move his pawns accordingly, he’s accepted what will happen to him in the end.
To conclude, Ciel's life and character represent what it’s like to live with trauma, expressed through layers of symbolic references. While he has people who care about him, he can’t ever truly trust anyone again. He has resigned himself to be defined by his past and feels hopeless for the future. While his way of coping isn’t healthy, it’s how most PTSD survivors deal with their past and teaches us about what it is like to carry the demons of our past wherever we go.
So now why does all of this matter, and why is it relevant especially now? Right off the bat, that same feeling of hopelessness has been something many people have felt. This year has been a whirlwind of obstacles we’ve all had to overcome. With many of these events being out of our hands, it’s normal to want to be able to have a sense of control over them, even if it might not be possible.
This year has presented many demons each and every one of us has had to face; whether those be difficult conversations with family, unlearning and relearning history, being isolated from friends and loved ones for months, witnessing the police brutality and civil unrest rampant in the country, or just struggling to get out of bed. Fatigue has been something everyone this year has felt, regardless of what exactly caused it. 2020 has shown us who our real friends are and who we need to distance ourselves from, despite how hard cutting those ties may be.
When CBS correspondent Susan Spencer sat down with Dr. Vivian Pender, president-elect of the American Psychiatric Association, she asked what the situation looked like for Americans when it came to their current mental state. Pender said that pandemic is aggravating mental illness among those already battling it, mentioning that “the worst is yet to come” in terms of mental health and wellness.
53% of American adults say their mental health has suffered because of the pandemic, and prescriptions for antidepressants shot up 14% after the initial outbreak. “There's gonna be tremendous grief and mourning for all the lost people,” Pender said. “And the lost opportunities, and the lost dreams and hopes that people had.”
In a study done by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, researchers studied the psychological adjustment of people in new situations and a sense of control that changes when transitioning to different periods in one’s life. They concluded that having a high sense of control is related to “proactive behavior” and positive psychological outcomes. This control is linked to an ability to take preventative action and to feel healthy, and impairing that sense has been associated with depression, stress, and anxiety-related disorders.
Now more than ever is emotional and mental health important. With the constant turbulence of our world’s current events, people may experience exhaustion, fatigue, anxiety, and/or depression. The limitations of the pandemic hindered people from surrounding themselves with the company, making the importance of emotional support placed at an all-time high. Getting inspired to use creative outlets may be difficult, and the lack of human interaction from quarantine can discourage people. Be sure to check in on your loved ones, as we never truly know what someone could be going through.
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