I can understand in theory that it’s supposed to broaden the work’s appeal
I don’t think that’s always the purpose, or even the main purpose. Usually the purpose is a mix of trying to build rounded characters which the viewer can relate to such that one actually cares about the drama, and giving the viewer a chance to cope. Appeal-broadening sounds a bit odd to me—who watches Fullmetal Alchemist going ‘ho hum another death/battle to sit through, when are we going to get some more jokes about Ed’s height?‘? If someone wants pure comedy, there are plenty of ‘pure’ series which cater to that, they don’t need to watch a mixed series—and this applies to serious drama as well; that mixes keep happening suggest that there’s some synergy there.
You complain about your suspension of disbelief being broken by the transitions—for me, it can be the opposite: Saikano shattered my suspension by being so purely grim and dramatic without any real intervals in between dramatic moments, so that it was pure bathos; while series like Evangelion or Madoka space out the shattering moments so they actually do impact the viewer.
I don’t think that’s always the purpose, or even the main purpose. Usually the purpose is a mix of trying to build rounded characters which the viewer can relate to such that one actually cares about the drama, and giving the viewer a chance to cope. Appeal-broadening sounds a bit odd to me...
Maybe “broadening appeal” is the wrong phrase to use, but I don’t find it much more likely that the device is used to round out characters: do Ed’s comically violent reactions to short jokes really add something to his character that a more grounded reaction wouldn’t? Giving viewers a chance to cope sounds closer, but still not quite on target; the sense I get is that these transitions are included mainly as a sort of counterweight to the dominant mode, so as not to intimidate or overwhelm viewers (especially younger viewers) that might find the tone oppressive if more conventional emotional pacing was used. Note that they seem a lot more common in shows targeted at teenage audiences and younger.
I thought Madoka handled its emotional pacing fairly well, incidentally: it spaces out its intense moments, but the relief never struck me as jarring. I wasn’t able to sit all the way through Evangelion and I haven’t touched Saikano, so I can’t comment on either.
do Ed’s comically violent reactions to short jokes really add something to his character that a more grounded reaction wouldn’t?
For any reaction to serve character development, the reaction has to be funny; whether the humor must be over the top or more subtle depends on the particular work, creator, and audience but doesn’t change the basic point.
Giving viewers a chance to cope sounds closer, but still not quite on target; the sense I get is that these transitions are included mainly as a sort of counterweight to the dominant mode, so as not to intimidate or overwhelm viewers (especially younger viewers) that might find the tone oppressive if more conventional emotional pacing was used.
What is ‘conventional’? Otherwise, basically what I said...
Hm, not sure what I was thinking there. I’ll try again: teasing Ed about his height is intrinsically humorous, so any reaction which builds his character will be humorous, so the only question is how the humor will be treated and it’s pointless to criticize whether the humor is over the top or moderately broad or very subtle—which kind of humor is best will depend on the audience. That there will be humor must be the case for any decent author, as Arakawa most certainly is. (Notice Nornagest didn’t criticize all the other character-building repeated elements/motif/themes which range from humor to philosophical to tragic, like the watch, which suggests to me that he simply doesn’t like the jokes about height, not that he is making any real point about the general desirability or functionality of these mixed genres. And come to think of it, the height jokes are why any reader is paying attention to how tall Ed is, which ultimately pays off for the reader when, towards the end, he realizes Arakawa has been subtly drawing Ed taller and taller—he is a character who literally grows.)
Notice Nornagest didn’t criticize all the other character-building repeated elements/motif/themes which range from humor to philosophical to tragic, like the watch, which suggests to me that he simply doesn’t like the jokes about height, not that he is making any real point about the general desirability or functionality of these mixed genres.
Hey, that was your example, not mine. I was actually thinking of some of the silliness in Seras Victoria’s scenes in Hellsing when I wrote my original comment, although that particular style of comic relief is common in the genre and FMA isn’t terribly shy about using it. The other repeated motifs don’t bother me because they aren’t incongruent with the local tone of the series.
Comic relief also isn’t the only place this sort of thing shows up, although it’s probably the most common: a lot of anime takes a similar approach to erotic fanservice, for example. Although now that I think about it, that version does happen fairly often in Western media...
What is ‘conventional’? Otherwise, basically what I said...
By “conventional” I meant the kind of emotional pacing you see in most Western television, or in most anime aimed at adults: less abrupt changes in tone, more emotional consistency, and a slower pace overall. I don’t buy “coping space” as a complete explanation because that’s a basic element of competent emotional pacing no matter how it’s executed; the slapstick interludes in FMA et al. are a distinct (and fairly unusual) mode and need additional explanation. The demographic considerations in the grandparent are my best guess as to what that is.
I don’t think that’s always the purpose, or even the main purpose. Usually the purpose is a mix of trying to build rounded characters which the viewer can relate to such that one actually cares about the drama, and giving the viewer a chance to cope. Appeal-broadening sounds a bit odd to me—who watches Fullmetal Alchemist going ‘ho hum another death/battle to sit through, when are we going to get some more jokes about Ed’s height?‘? If someone wants pure comedy, there are plenty of ‘pure’ series which cater to that, they don’t need to watch a mixed series—and this applies to serious drama as well; that mixes keep happening suggest that there’s some synergy there.
You complain about your suspension of disbelief being broken by the transitions—for me, it can be the opposite: Saikano shattered my suspension by being so purely grim and dramatic without any real intervals in between dramatic moments, so that it was pure bathos; while series like Evangelion or Madoka space out the shattering moments so they actually do impact the viewer.
Maybe “broadening appeal” is the wrong phrase to use, but I don’t find it much more likely that the device is used to round out characters: do Ed’s comically violent reactions to short jokes really add something to his character that a more grounded reaction wouldn’t? Giving viewers a chance to cope sounds closer, but still not quite on target; the sense I get is that these transitions are included mainly as a sort of counterweight to the dominant mode, so as not to intimidate or overwhelm viewers (especially younger viewers) that might find the tone oppressive if more conventional emotional pacing was used. Note that they seem a lot more common in shows targeted at teenage audiences and younger.
I thought Madoka handled its emotional pacing fairly well, incidentally: it spaces out its intense moments, but the relief never struck me as jarring. I wasn’t able to sit all the way through Evangelion and I haven’t touched Saikano, so I can’t comment on either.
For any reaction to serve character development, the reaction has to be funny; whether the humor must be over the top or more subtle depends on the particular work, creator, and audience but doesn’t change the basic point.
What is ‘conventional’? Otherwise, basically what I said...
Could you explain? This sounds false to me, both in general and with respect to Fullmetal Alchemist specifically.
Hm, not sure what I was thinking there. I’ll try again: teasing Ed about his height is intrinsically humorous, so any reaction which builds his character will be humorous, so the only question is how the humor will be treated and it’s pointless to criticize whether the humor is over the top or moderately broad or very subtle—which kind of humor is best will depend on the audience. That there will be humor must be the case for any decent author, as Arakawa most certainly is. (Notice Nornagest didn’t criticize all the other character-building repeated elements/motif/themes which range from humor to philosophical to tragic, like the watch, which suggests to me that he simply doesn’t like the jokes about height, not that he is making any real point about the general desirability or functionality of these mixed genres. And come to think of it, the height jokes are why any reader is paying attention to how tall Ed is, which ultimately pays off for the reader when, towards the end, he realizes Arakawa has been subtly drawing Ed taller and taller—he is a character who literally grows.)
Hey, that was your example, not mine. I was actually thinking of some of the silliness in Seras Victoria’s scenes in Hellsing when I wrote my original comment, although that particular style of comic relief is common in the genre and FMA isn’t terribly shy about using it. The other repeated motifs don’t bother me because they aren’t incongruent with the local tone of the series.
Comic relief also isn’t the only place this sort of thing shows up, although it’s probably the most common: a lot of anime takes a similar approach to erotic fanservice, for example. Although now that I think about it, that version does happen fairly often in Western media...
Yes, yes, think about it more...! :)
By “conventional” I meant the kind of emotional pacing you see in most Western television, or in most anime aimed at adults: less abrupt changes in tone, more emotional consistency, and a slower pace overall. I don’t buy “coping space” as a complete explanation because that’s a basic element of competent emotional pacing no matter how it’s executed; the slapstick interludes in FMA et al. are a distinct (and fairly unusual) mode and need additional explanation. The demographic considerations in the grandparent are my best guess as to what that is.
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