Hina drama is overdone?

Tsukkomii said:
This may be a year or two late, but Hina's drama was definitely not overdone but realistic in all senses, as many people here have stated.

But the reason as to why people would think it is in the first place may have to do with just how little the Western anime community knows of Japanese society in general. Yes, bullying is evident in every society; no matter where you come from, bullying exists in some form or matter. However, in Japan, bullying is a topic that shouldn't be taken so lightly. There is a reason as to why Japan has one of the highest number of suicides among other countries, and youth bullying is a part of that.

While the education systems of other countries may constantly downplay the act of bullying and promotes the idea of standing up against the bully through whatever means, this doesn't exactly work in a conformist society like Japan. As displayed by Hina's classmates and homeroom teacher (whom many people despise but is real in how she acted), the Japanese do not want to get involved in drama and often turn a blind eyes to these sort of matters. They understand if they do get involved, who knows what will happen to them the next day, week, month, or even year. And that's exactly why Hina is probably one of the strongest characters in Sangatsu: despite knowing what would happen to her if she had gotten involved with the bullying, she still stood up for Chiho and took on the bullies head on.

And what some people don't get is that Hina isn't just sad, but angry at her bullies for even putting her and Chiho through this mess. Angry at her teacher for not speaking up on the topic. Angry at her classmates for running away rather than standing up. And angry at herself for not being able to do anything for Chiho in the end. Also, Hina definitely developed as a character once this arc included. If it were season 1 Hina that had to gut the thought of Takahashi leaving Sangatsu City, she definitely would have been devastated, breaking down in a fit of tears and probably wouldn't have accompanied Rei and Takahashi for dinner.

Before anyone writes this off as just unjustified ramblling, this bullying arc was so powerful in its message that the anime had been used by the Japanese government for an anti-bullying campaign. Source here

If that doesn't prove how effective Hina's arc is, I don't know what else to say.

TheAskald said:


That's definitely an interesting insight, I didn't consider the cultural context, that support what is happening during this arc.

That said, I have no problem with all the stuff that happens during this arc. My original complain was only about Hina behavior.

Sangatsu totally blew my mind and is by far one of my 3 favorite animes of all time, but god that 4th episode was a bit painful to watch. My problem is that Hina really cries about anything this episode (see the forum "Dear god, Hina can cry about anything", that I agree with). Again, I know that some people that have been through this manage to relate a lot more and understand, but for me something feels off about Hina behavior during this episode.

Anyway, Sangatsu is a once-in-the-decade anime, and talking shit about a mild detail isn't doing justice to my love for it.

celebes said:
I agree. The bullying was minor but her reaction was blew out of proportions. It's the same with everything in this anime - the humor, kind interactions between characters etc. everything is crancked up to the max and makes me feel uncomfortable. I guess you have to have emotional problems or history of being bullied to enjoy this. To me it's so boring because of the plot (or rather lack of plot) and interactions between characters looks fake - nobody is this lawful good in real life.