Family-Unfriendly Aesop: Difference between revisions

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* At the end of ''[[Eden of the East]]'', Akira (the hero) makes a comment to the effect that Japanese have great potential but need someone to rule them to unlock that potential. In the end, though, it actually subverts this aesop by more or less stating that while it might achieve great results, it would be wrong to do so. Similarly, Akira/the series seems to take the viewpoint that since national tragedies/catastrophes bring a country together, causing one is a great idea so long as you can figure out a way of doing it without killing anyone.

** How about just a simple one? "[[Grey and Gray Morality|In most of conflicts there is no clear distinction between good and evil]]".

* ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'' ''revels'' in this. "Never follow your emotions, you'll end up dead." "Never believe in the power of friendship - you'll also end up dead." "Helping others will ''royally'' bite you in the ass." "If you ever become a better person, you'll get killed." "''Never'' sacrifice your individual well-being for the good of the universe." This is later inverted by the end of the anime in {{spoiler|the new world created by Madoka}}.

* ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'' ''revels'' in this. "Never follow your emotions, you'll end up dead." "Never believe in the power of friendship - you'll also end up dead." "Helping others will ''royally'' bite you in the ass." "If you ever become a better person, you'll get killed." "''Never'' sacrifice your individual well-being for the good of the universe." This is later inverted by the end of the anime in {{spoiler|the new world created by Madoka}}, then {{spoiler|re-stated by the events of ''[[The Movie|Rebellion]]''}}.

** Madoka, even before {{spoiler|the new world}} is more complicated than that. While pretty much all instances of "selfless" actions come back to bite people in the ass, the characters make it clear this is not intrinsic to the acts themselves, but due to those doing them ''pretending'' to be selfless. Sayaka seemingly uses her wish to heal someone else, but really just wanted the boy to love her. Kyoko wishes for more followers for her father, but was really wishing for a better family life. This is spelled out to the characters repeatedly, and it takes a whole lot of pain before Madoka makes a truly selfless wish, fully aware of what she wants and what will happen.

* In ''[[Tiger and Bunny]]'' the message seems to be that there is nothing wrong in receiving corporate sponsorship, even at cost of product placement, and working with the system, even if it has has flaws {{spoiler|and may be corrupted from within}}. Not as family unfriendly in Japan as in the West, with it's tradition of worshipping underdogs, rebellious spirits and [[Cowboy Cop|people who don't like playing by the rules]] and portraying those who get funding from big industries as "[[Designated Villain|sellouts]]".