Metanoia in Anime

Abstract

Through the concept of metanoia, this essay surveys examples of its occurrence in anime and suggests possible reasons for its relative frequency there. The author discusses the concept in his study of protagonist and antagonist characters, and the related concept of the story arc—revealing how a character changes over the course of the film and how the narrative plot is affected by the character’s transformation. The author particularly explores the varieties of rehabilitated antagonists in the context of Japanese anime and examines the literary and cultural antecedents for this sort of character and the character’s shifting moral stance. He also compares and contrasts them to the typical western character arcs and different hero-types featured in Hollywood films. The author concludes that the occurrence of metanoia in Japanese anime is influenced by Buddhist beliefs, for example, the concept of karma and subsequent changes of the spiritual identity of the character.