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Unwritten Anime Rules #11: The Power of Friendship
Rule Background
An anime character needs a reliable, dependable group around them and together they get in and out of tough situations and build a strong friendship. They do everything together and make their own family. And then the villain shows up that threatens that family and the MC takes action to beat them, but not only for the goodness of all, but for their friends.
This rule is kind of like sports or any competitive sport - think football, basketball, competitive math, or etc. At some point, critical moments come down to one player and their entire team is counting on them to tip the tables in their advantage. Anime does pretty much the same thing...except they’ll literally call it out with a vocal roar of “MY FRIENDS ARE COUNTING ON ME, SO I CAN’T LOSE!!” And like the competitive example above, real life and anime are really similar (minus the exaggeration). Battle anime, like sports series, and shounen are most famous for this trend, but I’ve seen it span several genres - like comedies, sci-fi and otherwise. The range of this rule is more related to the severity of how it’s shown. The themes could be there but the characters are screaming it out, as compared to the themes are in-your-face and the MC is screaming his lungs out that he’s being counted it. I’m looking at you, Fairy Tail.
Examples & Exceptions
I just mentioned the most famous recent example of this rule: Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail does a great job of showing friendship to the point that it legitimately becomes a power-up of power-ups. Elements of Dragon Ball Z and its movies, Gurren Lagann, Gintama, pieces of Jojo, One Piece, YugiOh!, Naruto, and Bleach all showcase it - but to different degrees. Even the videogame Kingdom Hearts totes this rule frequently - with Sora yelling it at his enemies. Having friends that are counting on you in anime, or videogame, automatically makes a character more powerful.
Exceptions to this rule are the dream crushers. By that I mean the anime that do the opposite of this rule are aiming for despair or hopelessness. An example of this would be Attack on Titan but could also be categorized as pure naivety and “I’m different than the countless others” mentality. There is a good middle ground that aims for realism and fantasy blended together, but these are more often seen in slice of life and lighter-hearted anime.
Origins
Let’s take a closer look at how “The Power of Friendship” is framed. Usually the main character cast is up against a powerful foe/antagonist that is pummeling them. It’s up to the MC to make the difference, but the villain stomps on their thinking. They’ll spout, “Friends? Why would you have need for them if you were strong? To be strong is to be lonely!” or something like that. Then the MC gets angry, with a stout powerup, and yells that everyone is counting on him, before taking on and defeating the undefeatable foe. Just. Like. That.
Truthfully, if this rule is used to its extreme, then it becomes a turn-off for many anime fans just as much as it attracts others. The idea of friendship is warm - full of happiness, jokes, great memories, and shared emotions. It makes sense that someone can feel empowered by being depended on, and that alone is enough of a terrific, and sometimes cheap, triumph over evil. The fact remains that friendship is a powerful enough tool, when used correctly, to bring an MC back from the brink of destruction, and that alone is a fantastic triumph.
The Verdict
Friendship is a cornerstone of most anime, and most media for that matter. If the anime is a shounen, has a decent sized cast (10-15 recognizable characters), and has competition - then you can almost rest assured that there’s gonna be some friendship powers on display. Still, that doesn’t mean they all have it but it could be in there and depending on how it’s used it can be anime’s greatest ally or worst enemy. Still looking at you, Fairy Tail.
Likelihood the MC can’t lose because his friends are counting on him:
75%
~D.