LogFAQs > #887232808

PK_Spam posted...

It still surprises me that everyone tries to justify Asbel's dad being a dick after his death.

Aston is a perfect example of a classic Japanese storytelling trope, one that doesn't translate well to Western audiences: the stern, strict, emotionally distant disciplinarian father, who nonetheless secretly loves his children and wants the best for them.

This trope is the sum-total of several cultural trends that are very strong in East Asian cultures (and Japan specifically), but have little, if any, presence in the Western zeitgeist. One is respecting one's elders - we have that here, but only to an extent, whereas in many Asian cultures, the concept of holding your parents in extremely high regard is considered a duty of the children (it stems from Confucianism - Confucius once stated "A youth who does not respect his elders will achieve nothing when he grows up" - and it even has a specific kanji, typically translated as "filial piety", in Japanese). Indeed, children rebelling against their parents expectations and finding their own way in the world (it even has its own TVTropes page: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CallingTheOldManOut ), with the parents eventually coming to accept their children for who they are is a classic Western trope, whereas in the East it's far more likely that they would eventually come to their senses and obey their parents wishes.

Two is the importance of cultural status - status exists here, but not anywhere near in the same way it does in Japan. In Japan, your social status is determined by your cultural status - what school you went to, what grades you got, which company you work for, what position in that company you hold. Much of this is determined in school years and, as a result, many Japanese parents tend to push their children hard (sometimes too hard - Japan has one of the highest youth suicide rates in the world) to excel.

Three is the duty of the eldest child (or sometimes just eldest son) to take on the family business, which remains a prominent cultural aspect in many parts of Japan (particularly the more conservative/traditional areas, to the point where it's not uncommon for a company owner who lacks and heir to formally adopt his successor into his family, even if that successor is a teenager or young adult).

This is all rolled into a single character in the Strict Japanese Father (tm). Though appearing uncaring and stern, sometimes to the point of borderline abuse, he relentlessly pushes his children into the role he has chosen for them in life. The children typically grow up to be very successful, but harbouring a deep-seated hatred towards their father. They then discover, often near or after his death, that he had previously kept a journal or confided in another character that he secretly hated doing this to his children, that he loved them and only did what he did because he wanted the best for them; invariably, the child will show regret at how they failed to appreciate the value of their father's stern conduct.

In the West, this resolution is deeply unsatisfying, because a parent who discards their child's love in favour of pushing them to financial, academic, and/or social success is a bad parent (indeed, Western culture would say he has missed the whole point of being a parent in the first place); in Japan, the character often has a tragic air to them, because they gave up everything - even the love of their children - in order to ensure their child's success. Not only would they be considered a good parent, they'd be considered a great one for sacrificing so much for the sake of their child.

It's not easy to explain, but Aston is one of the best examples of a character archetype that really lays bare some cultural dissonances between Japan (East Asia in general, really) and the West.
---

Kill 1 man: You are a murderer. Kill 10 men: You are a monster.
Kill 100 men: You are a hero. Kill 10,000 men, you are a conqueror!