Why do I such have an obsession with this 'character' or rather her 'situation'?

[brandygang]

I have a weird unconscionable problem (if you would consider it that) and I want to know what you literature buffs think of it.

I've been obsessed with a side-character in a 'story'. And by story I mean cartoon/anime with no literature qualifications >.>. in which I can't stand how her arc ended.

This gist of it went like this:

There was this character named Koko who was brainwashed by an evil demon to launch a cliche evil plot to help him become king of the demon world. Of course they were stopped by Koko's former friend Sherry. And Koko was 'saved' and restored to normal and went back to being a French peasant. And than a French college-bound peasant I suppose? With no memories of being anything other than that due to Sherry's meddling.

Here's the conclusion of that pretty much:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XqlQGlkTJo

Of course, this irks me with a sort of inquisitive frustration that I cannot easily describe. But I'll try.

First of all, Koko wasn't REALLY a character. If anything, she was a plot-device. Her perspective, personality, interest, everything about her was never fleshed out. She was never characterized or developed. The entire story was about Sherry (The real main 'side-character' of the shop), and Koko was only Sherry's motivator for introducing Sherry into the show. That's it, nothing more, not even foil for Sherry.

Now I understand she was never meant to have any other role than that, but for some reason I've become un-healthily obsessed with her. It's literally consumed my mind to the point where I could write pages of rants about it, but I'll minimize it here.

I don't like that her memory was erased when Zofis lost, depriving her of any decision she had in the process After she went unconscious conviently when her and Zofis were defeated so she couldn't be talked to about how she felt with the whole situation.

I hate how it was done, so contrived and cheaply so that it didn't give Sherry the actual chance to 'overcome' any differences the two might have had, and only further confirmed how much of a device Koko was rather than a human being which she 'was'.

I was infuriated at how Sherry used Zofis's own powers to restore/erase Koko for her own benefit after all of the hype went into showing 'manipulating' is wrong, therefore making Sherry just a complete and total hypocrite in that she doesn't care about whether Koko is really truly free or happy or not. But rather that Koko 'acts' in a fixed manner Sherry finds appropriate and behaves contently.

Of course none of those are real dilemmas because that's (how one person called it) a 'distorted view' on things. She was turned evil, burned her village, left and chilled in some temple, (which was never shown) then was cheerfully saved and went back to being whatever with no consequence. (And no plot-holes existed with that) A nifty story with a happy ending.
So why am I so obsessed with this when I know it's not logical to care about what's not logically worth obsessing over? She has no real character or personality, so any hypothetical sceneries in my mind are void and pointless. (You cannot speculate on what was never there) On the other hand, Sherry's entire role up to that point had been defined by her desire to save Koko. Meaning any interaction with her that might have resolved this is either impossible or had terrible implications.

In some stories (or shows) a reader might criticize the author for killing off a character or putting them in a certain position. This is usually because the author wrote them with more complexity than the role they were suppose to play, or at least the reader saw it that way. And the integrity of the character arc should usually take prevalence over the plot they feel, if they get attached. Why would anyone get attached to such an unsympathetic shallow character however? Why does this occur with me to a character that had so little screen-time (5-6 episodes worth maybe out of an 100+ episode series) and yet I can create entire mental-worlds with her. (All incorrect of course due to speculation unless we're accept PoMo as rather objective here) I'm starting to think I have Aspergers for how obsessed I am.


This wasn't real literature, it was a show. Their was no problem with the narrative, only in the way I perceived it. It's completely nonsensical and I've known it for far to long but cannot stop speculating about it. What does that say about me?

However ridiculous this post may seem, if any of you have any thoughts on this please do share. (I can also provide more info or rants if needed)

[Fen]

Literature can be infuriating whether because it is terribly written, holds appalling views or the characters are well written but horrid. I have known people refuse to carry on reading certain books due to their terrible writing and characterisations. Perhaps this is why Koko sticks in your mind. Someone you like or identify with is being so badly mishandled by the writers.

Is it illogical to care about a fictional character? No, so why should matter if the character is the hero or a minor player whether shallow or fully developed if they exist we can care. You also so say there is nothing wrong with the narrative except your perception. Stories are subjective if your opinion is that it was lacking that is as valid as someone who believes it to be fantastic.

I think you should keep in mind that an obsession probably wont be helped by talking about the subject more. Try and find another show or something to keep your mind busy.

[efdaney]

Brandy:

May I suggest that, on some level, you are perhaps relating to this character or her 'situation.' It really has nothing to do with how well or poorly the character was written. Maybe if you think about it, you already know what it is about her that is so familiar to you. If not, everyone has an unconscious level to their mind. It carries information about our selves and our past that we don't consciously know about. Information from the unconscious mind can leak out in different ways such as dreams. So my theory: Your mind is trying to signal you that there is something significant about this character. Try to focus on what exactly it is about the scenario that troubles you. You understand that you are placing implications and emotions on the situation that, objectively, were not in the show. Those are YOUR emotions. Try and think whether you are going through or have ever been through a similar situation. It may be right in front of your face. If you don't remember any specific situation in your life, just aknowledge that that is an emotional trigger for you. Accept that whatever it is about that situation really bothers you, and that may help you move on.
Again, try to focus on specifically what bothers you and how you feel about it. For example, from my reading, the story had to do with erasing memories. So, possibly you have a repressed memory that is trying to surface. You also mentioned that you were bothered by the way the story ended. So you may be looking for closure in some respect. You also seem extremely bothered by the lack of depth in her character. So that probably relates to how you feel about a similar situation. Those are my suggestions. But you should try and think about yourself. There is a REAL REASON why you cannot leave this be. It is not that wierd and I don't understand how it would be considered unconscionable. You don't seem to be doing anything wrong.
As for being obsessed, it is only unhealthy if it is negatively impacting the rest of your life. For example, if you are losing friends over this. If that is the case, you should defineately talk to a therapist and/or psychiatrist. There could be a number of things going on that are treatable. If you are doing okay in the rest of your life, then you will probably get over this eventually.

[cyberbob]

Anime characters really stick with you.

I also used to analyze characters and think up stories for them when I watched it. There's also fanfiction people who do it as a hobby.

I think this is because anime characters are more archetypal than American characters, who are more based real life people and conversations. We have a tendency to fill in the personality blanks that American characters try to fill for us.