Sonny Boy

Sonny Boy is a series that if you ask someone to interpret it for you, you will get a different answer every time. It has incredible re-watch value and cemented itself as my own personal anime of the year and among my most favorite of all time. It is not hard to understand what it is trying to show on the surface, as it outright tells you what it is trying to express in each episode. All the viewers had to do was pay a little bit of attention; something that is rare, and do little bit of thinking; something that is even rarer. Called pretentious and nonsensical, I can't accept that as the series was outright telling the viewers what it wanted to say. It is the viewers fault simply for not paying attention. As I look at the so called criticism of this series, which it can have just as everything else, I can't help but notice that the people talking the worst about this don't watch anything else like it. People are generally hostile to what is different; people are generally close minded when it comes to engaging media. Have an open mind. In the end, there will always be someone that will love or hate a series. Consensus is public opinion but public opinion has been wrong before.

The characterization is extremely detailed to the extent that the way the characters wear their clothes tells you about them. The staff zoom in to their live reactions, and use body language and facial expression to great effect. The backgrounds, if looked at closely, also reveal more about the characters and story. The art is beautiful and flows with a feeling of naturality most of the time. The music is phenomenal, and it was a pleasure to hear Toe and Sunset Rollercoaster's songs play during my favorite two parts in the series.

In analyzing Sonny Boy, the viewers are analyzing the absurd. What the viewers make the mistake of doing is that they wanted an answer for everything which is impossible in this series. This isn't something that spoon-feeds the viewers like other media. Sonny Boy's mystery to it's craft is that it incorporates the mysteries and uncertainties of life into it's plot and visual storytelling. The writers put out the messages they wanted, and left the rest to the imagination. Thus, sometimes the viewers are helpless and their interpretations are left only to the uncertain and mysterious; such is life. If you say "I don't know," you are correct.

The story involves a a reoccurring event of classroom drifting. An entire class is given random supernatural powers; sometimes powerful ones and sometimes not so powerful ones. Some of the powers have to do with the insecurities of the power holder. As the students begin to realize this and start experimenting, their powers clash together somewhat subconsciously, and they are sent to the This Worlds; different realities full of worlds with unique rules and visuals. Left stranded with uncertainty about being able to go back, the students begin to form factions as some try to assume command, some look for a way to get back, and while others try to escape or follow their own paths. As some of them venture out, they see that in some worlds the kids have become hopelessly mindless societies, and in others some of the kids have existed for so long that they lost their sanity.

It is a beautiful journey to try and return to the source; while pouring out meaningful lessons about life. The kids are forced to grow up and find resolve in this hopeless situation.

(post-review spoilers and analysis starts here) Of all the characters, Hoshi is one of the more fascinating. The director said that he was supposed to be portrayed sort of like a politician. The devilish end of his arc is very fitting with that. Hoshi is the only one that knew this was going to happen, but decided to remain because of his savior complex. God, who just loves having fun, was telling Hoshi many things in the beginning to promote this complex of his. Sometimes when Hoshi speaks it's in God's voice to show that he is not being himself but is being somewhat manipulated by God though he himself is trying to do the same thing. His power is making a prayer position that allows him to insert images into people's heads, but eventually the kids get tired of him, his powers, and his ideas. According to Hoshi, there is no way out and they are doomed to stay and make the best of it. He encourages the kids to stay as a friendly team and wants to save them all. His downfall soon begins as he begins to realize that he cannot be the savior he wants to. Even God turns around and discourages him, telling him that nobody asked to be saved and that his mission to do this was pointless. Broken and discouraged, you can begin to see the downfall of his character which leads eventually to his descent into madness. Rajdhani, after travelling for 2,000 years, brings back to Nagara and Mizuho the unfortunate tale of the end of Hoshi. He went against God, and began torturous experiments in a struggle to create death. He managed to create a form of it and triggered a mass suicide with the students that followed him, beginning with himself. He saved them, so to speak.

Rajdahani himself is one of the best characters in recent anime and my favorite one in Sonny Boy. Incredibly smart, but written in a way to not make him feel too smart, he carries positive energy as he tries to analyze the This Worlds and creates great inventions. He assures the kids that a way back will be figured out. His fascination with science and experimenting helps the cast eventually find a way back. Unfortunately for him, his desire to wander the This World's and carry out more scientific research while meeting new people makes him unable to go back as he did this for 2,000 years. The viewers can see that his sanity is slowly slipping away as he forgets how to act human more and more. Because time flows differently in different This Worlds, and everyone is in stasis in the This Worlds, he'd die coming back since he'd automatically age 2,000 years. But to him, someone who loves to learn and do scientific research, perhaps it was his own personal heaven to stay there and follow his passion for eternity. He'd eventually become a forest, literally.

Mizuho is my second favorite character. Her power is to cause a form of immortality that came about of her intense desire for no one to die. Brutally honest but laid back, she becomes one of the few who stayed with Nagara and struggled for a way back until they finally achieved it. Though she can be harsh in her honesty, it's to help people and force them to hear what they need to hear. She'll often show her soft side to her closest friends, and direct hostility to her enemies. As she cried with the desire to go back home, I realized I felt that this character is very precious, and always rooted for her and hoped she'd make it. Thanks to her cats, she is able to live the luxurious life she never had such as endless good food and a castle all for herself and her pets. But as much as she spoiled herself and acted carefree and smug, you can see in her face during the running scene with Nagara, the marvel, that inside, she was a scared child, desperately wanting to go home and uncertain of what will happen to her and her friends.

Her cats, that helped cause the drift, all have powers involving bringing goods back from the other world and copying them. Sakura, the white cat, assumes an overprotective role for Mizuho's own good. All of the cats watched her grow since she was very little, and because of old age, they don't have much time left themselves. The drift kept them together, but ultimately, and as painful as it was for Sakura, she had to learn to let go and say goodbye to her "child," as all mothers eventually have to do as part of being a parent

Nozomi is a stranger in a strange land as a transfer student, who then gets placed in an even stranger land. Her smile and influence are the bright light that helped Nagara grow as a person. There are many cuts to her eyes, as she is very observant and came to realize a lot about the cast during the time she was there. Towards the end, her optimism fades while trying to come to terms with the fact that she died in the other world between the drifting, leaving only her, the copy, uncertain of what will happen.

As Toe's song began to play, I couldn't help but feel sad for Asakaze's depressed and hopeless stare. It's revealed in the world post-drift that he really was a good and kind person. But as God is having fun and trying to meddle, Aki, a student with the power to take on the form of other people, is sent in to corrupt him. Asakaze is very insecure about himself, and Aki's physical and emotional trickery corrupted him. He got full of himself and developed a God complex. But God still wasn't done with him yet and had Aki make him create a form of death in the This World. After being rejected by Nozomi, he let her die instead of saving her. He looked confused and wondered why he didn't do it, but it's because he is the type of person that may think to do something but end up acting out differently. God would make fun of him at that moment and say that Asakaze doesn't know how to really look into his heart as a result, and mocks him that he sure has benefitted from his powers. Left alone in the middle of the this Worlds warping and spinning all around him, having lost everyone and left in the void isolated for the never ending eternity to come, it was truly a tragic end. As corrupted as he got, I developed a soft spot for him in the end. As Nagara and Mizuho begin getting tired and falling behind while running to the light, Asakaze reached out with his hand and I believe sacrificed himself by turning into birds and clearing the path to freedom for them. His moment of redemption, I suppose.

Sonny Boy as a whole changed my life and really showed me just how great anime still can be. Unfortunately, it will be misunderstood and hidden in the corner from of the treatment it got; a fate that happens to a lot of classics.