Sometimes a romance anime is just consciously absurd for absurdity’s sake, but there are also some rare occurrences when such series actually have a profoundly meaningful theme or message embedded somewhere within that absurdness. These qualities are oftentimes hard to even realize, just because there is usually a lot to wade through to reach them. I found this out for myself first hand when watching the series Amazing Stranger on Crunchyroll.
It didn’t become immediately apparent that there would be something much deeper at play until much later on in the 12-episode series, especially when each installment is only about 12 minutes. As someone who is passionate about romance anime and watches as many of them every year as possible, I was initially drawn to Amazing Stranger because of its ridiculous premise and for a change of pace from the notorious best romance anime of the season.
Clearly, those who initially decide to watch a story that involves 2-D anime dolls coming to life in the home of an otaku who prefers them over so-called 3-D girls are looking for something very specific, and it’s rarely a deep, meaningful plot or underlining theme. But when that actually started happening in Amazing Stranger, it was a pleasant surprise that made the show even more enjoyable.
Amazing Stranger Gives a Ridiculous Premise a Deeper Meaning
Based on the manga Over Drive Girl 1/6 by Öyster, anime produced by Studio A-Cat
This shift starts becoming clear when the aforementioned otaku named Haruto Bouida starts interacting with more than just his most important doll, Nona, which, of course, awakens first. From that point on, a pattern is established, where every doll that Haruto exposes to his otaku lifestyle realizes that there is more to life than being a hero or fulfilling their given role in their respective series. From there, they eventually identify a new dream beyond their character that’s rooted in the real world.
While a powerful theme on its own, it’s wonderfully ironic and shows incredible growth for Haruto since he is effectively helping his dolls become less like the 2-D characters they are based on and into the 3-D girls he vehemently rejects. Amazing Stranger also expands upon an implied understanding of what a period-correct or accurate modeling of a certain character from a particular moment in time would translate to in terms of its limited mindset should it come to life.
Using A Strong Literary Device to Innovate Mystery
Much like how such a doll modeled after a certain moment wouldn’t come with a weapon or wear certain attire that this character only acquires at a later part of the story, the same doll wouldn’t come with the knowledge of something her character only learns about from a later part in the series. In other words, a doll that’s created after a character doesn’t necessarily become the true embodiment of what they were based on by gaining the accumulated knowledge of that actual person, for example, should they come to life.
Even more impressively, Amazing Stranger uses this to completely revolutionize an overused mode of storytelling that too many anime series depend on. In most cases, the past of a character is withheld to create an air of mystery, but the reasons or modes that this information is kept ambiguous too often feel forced or too convenient. The Nona doll literally doesn’t know because she wasn’t built with this knowledge, so she could accurately represent a certain moment in time, forcing her to “experience” the truth in real-time with the character she was based upon.
So, while Amazing Stranger is still ridiculous and does deliver the many guilty pleasures its premise promises, it also becomes a lot more meaningful due to its compelling albeit ironic theme that persists throughout and how effectively it reimagines how phenomena can unfold based on understood realities.
Watch on Cruncyhroll
