If there’s one Western superhero that is similar to an anime/manga lead character, it has to be Batman. He’s full of angst and rage, had a rough past, and has the looks of a bishonen oji-san when he’s not brooding. If you love exploring the psychology of other animated characters, I recommend you check out the Arkham Sessions, which aims to shine a light on a guy who loves being in the dark.
One of the most awesome people in fandom, Dr. Andrea Letamendi, and supergeek, Brian Ward, decided to do a podcast series that takes a psychological look at every episode of “Batman: The Animated Series” from the early ’90s. If you are a fan of villains, this is a podcast that will encourage the darkness in your soul. They plan to cover all the major villains of Batman, which I think is arguably the best rogues’ gallery in American comics. Get ready to hear things like “The Joker wants Batman’s attention and love, that’s all!” and “BATMAN HAS ANTI-SOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER!!!!”
Here’s one of my favorite episodes of the podcast, Episode 7 “P.O.V.”, which covers multiple perspectives and how people view events and situations differently from others based on their own beliefs. You know this is something fandom can be guilty of when it comes to highly contested issues.
For those not familiar with Andrea, she is a licensed psychologist who is heavily into geek culture, writes a blog about the psychology of superheroes, and has done a panel on the psychology of cosplay. Andrea also has a character based on her in the Batgirl comic series and conducted a survey on the demographics of cosplayers. Brian is a producer/writer/editor who’s worked on many documentaries focusing on popular pop culture series/movies and is in charge of producing Blu-Rays/DVDs for various cartoons for Shout!Factory.
If you wonder “Why Batman?”, the character has influence in Japanese pop culture. The Big O’s Roger Smith was influenced by the character. There was also the famous Bat-Manga back in the 1960s’, which became the subject of a book. Masakazu Katsura is arguably the most well-known Japanese Batman fan in the world. He pays homage to him in several of his series. His current work, ZETMAN, has characters that act similar to certain characters in the Batman universe. If you ask me, Jin/Kouga/Haitani are Batman/Harvey Dent/Joker in Japanese form.
We need to show the world that fandom does teach people something. Comics, cartoons, anime, manga – we’re all in the same boat. They move us and can help us become more than who we are. More importantly, we can relay that knowledge to other fans and create a better and more educated fandom. Support Andrea as she’s not only helping to fight the good fight for us, but for those who are mentally struggling with their own lives.
Anybody now having some thoughts in start doing an anime/manga educational show?
You can watch all episodes at Brian Ward’s official YouTube page. Follow Andrea via her blog, Under the Mask.
(c) Manga Therapy – Where Psychology & Manga Meet – Read entire story here.