Oozora Yuujin: Double Standard in Digimon/Appmon Fandom
Seriously, why is no one talking about this?
If you watch Tri and Appmon more carefully, you’ll find that Oozora Yuujin has pretty much experienced ALL the Tri girls’ main problems.
1. Yuujin and Meiko: Being hurt both physically and mentally because of their cute, problematic partners.
But compared to Meiko who can only cry and run, Yuujin (despite his low self-esteem, just like Meiko’s) has guts to stop Shutmon using his own body.
2. Yuujin and Sora: Caring for others while neglecting themselves.
Worse, when they can’t solve their own problems by themselves, they will pretend like they can handle everything on their own. At least, Yuujin finally opens up to welcome the others’ help, rather than throws himself into more trouble like Sora does. It’s not all Sora’s fault, though. Haru and the others are doing it right when they offer Yuujin help. While Taichi and Yamato can only complain and make Sora feel worse (Just imagine if it was Takeru who talked to her. The story would be different).
That being said, Yuujin still ends up diving by himself into danger to save Offmon, and needs Haru and Globemon to rescue them.
3. Yuujin and Hikari: Being possessed by god-like, balance-seeking yet destructive digital entities.
Hikari, while her body is being taken over, still manages to resist Homeostasis from inside. Yuujin? Indeed, he manages to take over half of his body when being controlled, to call Haru’s name. But when Leviathan finally takes full charge of him, he helplessly lets Haru do everything, until Leviathan offers Haru to save the world by killing them both.
4. Yuujin and Mimi: Being alienated in new environments.
We see Mimi get rejected by her new friends for her Daters Cafe, but still able to stay believing in herself and her ideal. While little Yuujin reacts to being rejected (even by someone he barely knows) as if no one would ever want to have him around again. Until Haru comes and helps him through it.
See the similarities and differences now?
This is only my guess, but the writers might intentionally put Yuujin through these “girls problems”, to let us see the real Yuujin, which is not as perfect as he seems to be.
But why should “girls problems”? Why not giving him more masculine problems, such as unable to protect younger sibling, rivalry, or being a good leader, like Taichi and Yamato used to struggle with? Doesn’t Yuujin resemble those two? An active, popular protagonist-like boy? They still can show Yuujin’s flaws through “boys problems”, right? So, why should “girls problems”?
I will try to answer this later, but let me get something straight first.
I enjoy Appmon. But I am sick seeing Yuujin being treated by the fandom as Taichi’s expy (even after the plot reveals his vulnerability without Haru) just because he plays soccer, is a boy, and is said to be an ideal protagonist, when there is already Sora, whom Yuujin obviously shares more similar traits with, rather than with Taichi.
“But Yuujin can’t be Sora’s expy! Because Yuujin is portrayed as a popular, active masculine sportsman, and Sora is a girl just too motherly to be compared to one.”
Yeah, right. You must forget how Sora was when she was a kid (she even played soccer too, for God’s sake!). And you didn’t truly watch how Yuujin and Offmon’s interaction went. If Yuujin can’t be called as a patient, loving parent that is succeed in bringing up the cowardly Offmon to be a capable fighter, I don’t know what he is to Offmon.
I’m not saying that Yuujin should have been a girl, to make his character and this show proper. I’m also not saying that Taichi is better than Yuujin, or the girls. The point is, Taichi is the base character for most Digimon protagonists. And Yuujin, if he was really modeled after Taichi, should have faced those “girls problems” above with much more protagonist-like ways, like Mimi or Hikari does (who are not even the protagonists).
But, nah. Yuujin turns out to be a woobie, fragile distressed damsel. Something that Taichi would never become, but Sora and Meiko would.
And that is NOT a bad thing either. Personally, I never see any characters as bad. If they are written like that, then that’s how they are. The only thing that can ruin the characters is either the writers’ bad writing, unreasonable inconsistency, or the audience’s high expectation. And those, of course, are not the characters’ faults (I’m looking at you, 02-Sora).
However, Appmon writers are bunch of talents (or rather, trolls) that trick the audience to think of Yuujin as the Taichi for the un-Taichi-like protagonist: Haru. They also seem to be aware on how the double standard between boys and girls works, and use it to surprise the audience.
Writer A: Let’s write a wimpy, shy introverted main character for the new Digimon series
Writer B: All right, but sure he would overcome his weakness, take a level in badass, and save the world, right?
Writer A: Of course. And that’s why he would need “someone special” to be rescued from the baddies. It would mature him dramatically in no time.
Writer C: Oh, a love interest! Interesting! *writes Ai-chan* Here she is! What do you say?
Writer A: She’s cute. But looks boring. Please make another.
Writer C: *writes Eri* Here! Another one, but stronger and more confident. She would help the wimpy main character to grow a backbone.
Writer A: Is she going to be kidnapped?
Writer C: Well, maybe. That’s how it usually works, right?
Writer A: No, scrap that. It would reduce this show into another chickification trash. The older audience have had enough of that.
Writer B: Hey guys, hear me out. Make another one like Eri. Strong, confident, and kind. But this time, change her into a boy. There wouldn’t be any chickification if the victim was a boy. The older audience would never expect it either. They might not even realize.
I’ve seen some comments complaining about how Yuujin and Offmon had stolen the spotlight from Haru. But no one seems to ever complain about Yuujin’s “chickification”, which rendered him almost useless in the Ultimate 4 arc and the last arc (except for being Haru’s living emotional crutch and maybe, fetish fuel, as him being crucified under a time bomb, or put into bondage suit while being possessed/mind-controlled, seems to be well-received among his fans).
On the other hand, Eri impressively freeing herself from Knight is considered as a very compelling point that some even regard her as the best DigiGirl ever. If Eri ended up in Yuujin’s position, she would promptly be accused for being another chickification victim, like Sora, Izumi, and Nene.
Appmon cleverly avoids itself from being tagged with chickification trope, by subjecting a boy (Yuujin) to it. And not just a boy. He’s (seemed to be)confident, active, kind, brave, protective, patient, one of the chosen ones, able to kick ass, in short: almost perfect protagonist-like boy.
If Yuujin was a girl, in this kind of kids/shonen anime,even with a “weak” protagonist like Haru; admit it.The way how she was treated throughout the series: being so much devoted to a boy, to the level being distressed, kidnapped, possessed, and finally sacrificed for the said boy’s character development, would be a “very annoying, yet unsurprising thing” to see, since Digimon has quite reputation in chickifiying its action girls.
Girl!Yuujin would be deemed as a Mary Sue subjected to the most severe chickification that Digimon series had ever done. No “female Taichi” would ever be tagged to her. Even if she played soccer and wore goggle.
Regardless of the special treatment Yuujin got from the fandom because of his gender, Digimon Universe: Appli Monsters, though might not be the best series, still nails at what it specializes the most. Surprising the audience while staying to be faithful to the plot and the characteristics of its casts.
No one would ever think that Yuujin being broken is the price that Haru has to pay, in order to grow himself as a real protagonist. Most audience might have expected that Yuujin would be Haru’s mentor (or at least, rival) since he has already been a “protagonist” from beginning. But haha. Let alone mentoring, Yuujin has been always depending on Haru, like Haru is the whole world to him. Turns out Haru also feels the same way toward Yuujin. But instead of depending on, Haru chooses to be a protagonist (hero) that Yuujin can depend on, to make up for the fact that he can’t save him from Leviathan.
Appmon last episode is pretty much an antithesis to what it appears to be in the first episode. “Yuujin the confident hero and Haru the kindhearted side-character” has been flipped to “Yuujin the selfless, sacrificial lamb and Haru the dependable, determined hero”.
More impressively, this ending doesn’t come out nowhere. Yuujin himself admits that he has always been saved by Haru, both physically and mentally. This pattern is used throughout the series, yet a bit contradicted in the last episode.
In the last arc, the writers makes Haru rise up with determination to save Yuujin as usual, only to be forced to kill him off, in order to stay being a real protagonist and save the world (very cruel scenario, if you ask me).
Last but not least. Yuujin never sees himself as a protagonist, or a hero, or a leader. He is just forced to be seen as one, despite his fragile heart and weak mental, which people tend to shrug off because of his first impression as the polar opposite of the un-Taichi-like protagonist, Haru. And that explains why Yuujin is so easy to be destroyed, unlike Haru.
Yuujin is right. He’s no protagonist. Haru is the real protagonist.
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