Character relatability in anime is sort of an awkward concept. When people talk about a character being relatable, it often means that character reminds them of themselves but not necessarily of how they actually are, but of how they see themselves. Thank goodness, cause a whole bunch of anime characters are really wackadoodle and it would be terrifying if most people were actually like that.
Can you imagine getting your teeth literally knocked out every time you tell a random girl at school that her dress is really nice or something?
This said, I always figured that relatability was not a big factor for me. I like myself just fine but I prefer watching characters that are different than me. I just find that more entertaining. I’m a bit too laid back to be a good protagonist. Or at least I use to be, work is wearing me way down lately.

Anyways, my point is that I was always fine with characters not being directly relatable to me as long as they are generally consistent, well written and interesting. And in my head relatability had no effect on my enjoyment. Or so I thought… Like I said, the people we think we are aren’t always the same as the people we actually are.
Lately, I once again started thinking a bit about the subject when trying to figure out what was wrong with the characters of a show I’m watching. I want to stress once again that a character who is relatable isn’t necessarily one that has the same “stats”, i.e. same gender, age, background, occupation…. but rather one that seems to think and act like we would.
This brings me to two generally similar KyoAni shows I have seen and that had a very different impact on me.
Sound Euphonium! is a coming of age drama with comedic elements. It stars a generally aimless young lady who has lost her passion for music but thanks to an enthusiastic friend rekindle her drive by joining the school club (orchestra) and starting to compete again. She has an emotionally charged relationship with another musician who is occasionally a friend and occasionally a rival. Through the shared experience she slowly learns to come out a bit of her shell and find her footing but she does remain ultimately herself.
Free! is a coming of age drama with comedic elements. It stars a generally aimless young man who has an enormous passion for swimming but has lost his passion for competitive swimming. Thanks to an enthusiastic friend he rekindles his drive, by forming and joining the school swim club and starting to compete again. He has an emotionally charged relationship with another swimmer who is occasionally a friend and occasionally but mostly a rival. Through the shared experience he slowly learns to come out a bit of his shell and find his footing but he does remain ultimately himself.
Sure, there are differences in these two shows. Tons of differences in fact. But there is no denying that they also have a huge amount in common. On top of that having been made by the same studio, production values are more or less equivalent. And they just look alike. That makes these two shows perfect for comparison. Since I really loved one of them, I thought it was brilliant and find myself thinking back on it all the time whereas I liked the other one o.k. but I haven’t finished the last season.
When thinking about it, the deciding factor in this case really has a lot to do with relatability for me.

Now I know what I said earlier about stats and all that, this one time though, the characters I found most relatable also happen to objectively be a lot like me. I loved Sound Euphonium! whereas I liked Free! but prefer 50% off. And there’s no denying that the similarities between me Kumiko are rather striking.
I was in fact once a fairly aimless high school girl. I was introverted but not that shy and had some good friends around me. I was also part of the orchestra were I played (and still play) the Euphonium. No one knows what a Euphonium is. My spellcheck has it as an error. I have had to explain the instrument (like a small tuba but has more in common with a trombone…) for years. You have no clue how excited I was to find an anime on the subject. Unreasonably excited, that’s how!
And I also had those confusing and exciting rushes of feelings and attraction during those years that I wasn’t quite sure what to do with so I just sort of drifted along.

I get Kumiko. I’m not saying she’s best girl or even a great leading character, but I understand on a deeply personal level every decision she makes. It doesn’t matter if the show develops her enough for the audience to sympathize with her choice because I already know all the inherent reasoning behind those choices. I’ve made them. I get that sometimes you’re just sort of lame and lazy for no reason but other times you’re super productive and decide to practice for hours and you don’t even know why exactly. I get it because I’ve been there.
When Kumiko or any of her friends get all moody and down on themselves, I think yeah, I remember how that feels. Don’t worry girl, it’s gonna pass. I’m here for you. We’ll get through this together. You go, girlfriend!!!
When Haru and his friends get all emotional about some upcoming swim meet, I’m all like: you guys o.k.? Do you need a soda or something, get that blood sugar up a bit maybe?

This is of absolutely no fault of either show. I’m not exaggerating how similar they are and if anything Fee! is a bit more comical which makes it more likely to appeal to me under normal circumstances. It’s just that Sound Euphonium sort of felt like I was watching a dramatization of my own high school life and apparently, that’s much more of an appeal than I had realized.
It filled in character development and really sped up my attachment to those characters. It made me connect to the plot and the action. I felt those butterflies before the concert. I didn’t need any explanation for the flow of events or the turnarounds because I had lived them. I got it…
I’m not saying relatability is an essential factor in anime. Not at all. And I still don’t think it’s even an important one. What I hadn’t realized though, it’s that it can bolster other aspects quite a bit. And that’s a huge plus.
So do you have any shows you like because you find them relatable? Are characters you relate to like you in real life or do they just think like you? Did you know what a Euphonium was before the anime?
I didn’t necessarily find the entire anime relatable, but Free! did tick a lot of general “relatability” boxes for me. After all, there just aren’t that many anime centered around swimming out there (are there any at all aside from Free?), so as a former competitive swimmer myself, I couldn’t help but sit up and pay attention.
That makes sense!
I have had a…shall we say “different” kind of life from most humans, and as such there are few anime characters I actually find remotely relatable in stats or much else. That said, one of the things I like about anime is they are, in general, very fair to the women who are bar girls, or girls who work in hostess bars. And it really warms my heart to see it treated as a JOB, just what they do, not something that somehow makes them into a certain type of woman that is hated by women and lusted after by men. Kudos. Because my work was very similar and, you know what, it’s a JOB. Okay, often a really fun job (face it, I went drinking and dancing to earn money, instead of spending my money going drinking and dancing), and like any other job, sometimes an awful job. However, rarely do those women get to be in anything like a lead role. I do always enjoy seeing them though so I suppose I have to say it’s true, I am more fond of shows with characters that are relatable to me. I mean, off the top of my head – the mother in Toradora, and Akari Kawamoto in March Comes In Like A Lion are really well portrayed women that I recognize from women I worked with. True, they are in slice of life and rom-coms that I loved, but they are certainly a factor in why I loved those particular shows. And don’t get me started on my spirit character, Yuko in XXXHolic. A wise, somewhat drinky, witch. The rest of that show – good as it is – is just background. LOL.
Sigh, my nonce is failing again *eyeroll*
Yuko is my spirit anime as well. Seems once again we are kindred spirits
I have had a…shall we say “different” kind of life from most humans, and as such there are few anime characters I actually find remotely relatable in stats or much else. That said, one of the things I like about anime is they are, in general, very fair to the women who are bar girls, or girls who work in hostess bars. And it really warms my heart to see it treated as a JOB, just what they do, not something that somehow makes them into a certain type of woman that is hated by women and lusted after by men. Kudos. Because my work was very similar and, you know what, it’s a JOB. Okay, often a really fun job (face it, I went drinking and dancing to earn money, instead of spending my money going drinking and dancing), and like any other job, sometimes an awful job. However, rarely do those women get to be in anything like a lead role. I do always enjoy seeing them though so I suppose I have to say it’s true, I am more fond of shows with characters that are relatable to me. I mean, off the top of my head – the mother in Toradora, and Akari Kawamoto in March Comes In Like A Lion are really well portrayed women that I recognize from women I worked with. True, they are in slice of life and rom-coms that I loved, but they are certainly a factor in why I loved those particular shows. And don’t get me started on my spirit character, Yuko in XXXHolic. A wise, somewhat drinky, witch. The rest of that show – good as it is – is just background. LOL.
Yuko was amazing. Now I want to rewatch XXXHolic again!
Agreed on both points
Most of the time I’ll watch an anime because that’s the person I wish I were.
I’m not. I can’t be. But I can pretend.
Same
I definitely agree a lot with the whole “the person we think we are can be different from who we actually are”. At least to me that’s always a big piece like in an anime that classic scene where a character is having trouble getting a soda out of the machine and the main character shows up to smoothly whack the machine and the drink pops out?
I probably wouldn’t be bold enough to actually do that in real life but I like to think that I Could do that and so it feels like a relatable moment to me. It’s like what my ideal self would do in a way. Then there’s also the parallel where characters I really enjoy watching I may not want as a friend in real life but boy are they entertaining to watch. If there is a show where I don’t like the main cast it’s automatically going to be lower for me because not even great writing and animation can make up for a cast that I don’t really care about
I know what you mean
I just drop in to say that I thought Kumiko was an excellent main character. Love her to bits.
I did not know what an Euphonium was before I watched the show. I was quite happy that the show introduced me to this instrument (and a little miffed that I didn’t already know, considering I’m actually interested in music).
I was so disappointed with myself that I hadn’t thought to shorten it to UFO myself
Now that you mention it, relatability has a pretty big impact on my enjoyment, too. Sound Euphonium isn’t the kind of show I’d normally enjoy, but I watched it when my daughter was in band. There were a lot of parallels — so I could relate to the characters much more than a “routine” high school drama.
And Kumiko has really great hair, doesn’t she?
She really does