This Anime Has A Serious Issue No One is Addressing...

There is one thing that people tend to overlook when reviewing Studio Chizu’s BELLE. Despite being directed by legendary filmmaker Mamoru Hosoda (Wolf Children, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) and providing an optimistic take on technology and the internet, the film falls short when it attempts to portray how people should safely help victims of abuse.

Resources:
Child Help Hotline:
phone: [phone]

The Hotline:
phone: [phone]

Child Welfare Information:

List of Crisis Hotlines:

SOCIAL MEDIA

CHAPTERS:
0:00 Intro
2:16 Suzu's Grief & Rebirth
7:17 Belle & The Beast
10:55 An Overly Simplistic Approach To Abuse
23:43 Final Thoughts

RESOURCES
Anime Mentioned:
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time | 2008
Wolf Children | 2013
Belle | 2021

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My name is Phoenix and I dive into the world of visual storytelling in anime and sometimes manga on a weekly basis.

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I do not own any of the animated content in this video.

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[TheAnimeTea]

RESOURCES + A Special Message below:

Hey all, I know this is a heavy video, I’m working on a much lighter video about bishonen sports anime coming soon. I want to clarify in case my point wasn’t clear enough, that I understand Belle is an animated movie so it is prone to being overly dramatic, optimistic, and simplistic. But since it took the time to bring up DV, which happens to real people and children on a daily basis, I think it’s problematic not to address how to actually handle confronting abusers and helping victims. Also I may have cut it out accidentally but many reviewers on MAL also brought up this point so check the sources link to read up on other people’s opinions about this topic as well and feel free to, respectfully, share your own. Let’s chat. Thank you for watching!

[AobaKuronuma]

I was so frustrated with the end of the movie and how it just didn't tie up the storyline with how the kids were taken care of. Or her relationship to keep in contact. It just makes me think earlier in the movie when he was like "People say they are going to do something and then it gets better for a little while and then goes back to how it was."

[rochellerodriguez]

I feel like anime in general has a weird aversion to showing teens interacting with adult caregivers in a positive way. I am also bothered when media engages with realistic depictions of serious issues but then the author doesn't bother resolving them in realistic way.

[vertigale]

The ending sent a dangerous message, absolutely. But what was just as dangerous to me was this viewpoint that was pushed in this movie that you have to reveal your real authentic identity ONLINE!!! That is such a terrible message to send to kids on the internet. DON'T DOX YOURSELF, PLEASE.

[Rosemont]

Thanks for this. Japanese reviewers on generic review sites and some even blogs had spoken about this issue when this film first came out, and I wish more reviewers over here had taken off their "prestigious at Cannes Film Festival/15-min standing ovation" rose-tinted glasses off when the film tackled this topic.

[TindraSan]

I feel like the natural reaction most abusive adult men would have to a young girl staring them down, taking some of their power from them,
would be to double down on the violence to reassert their own position of power
rather than cowering away like some 8yr old bully realizing his own mortality for the first time.

Violent people express all negative feelings through violence, fear included (fear especially).

[snugglyduck]

Yeah I always hated that if you stare or confront the abuser, it will shock them into realizing their ways are abusive and wrong. What it really does is escalates it when they are faced with it. I remember leaving the hair brush that my mother beat me with next to a report card that had a couple of unsatisfactory marks on it in grade school, so when she came home, she saw it and proceeded to beat me harder than ever and broke the brush on me. It wasn't until I grew stronger than her in maturity that she had no way to abuse me physically anymore, just emotionally.

[brendagomez]

I wanted to love this movie, I really did, the visuales are breathtaking and Belle Is just gorgeous. But the story Is lacking in a lot of Places for It to be memorable.

[MillyKKitty]

I felt pretty awkward watching the "romantic-vibe" scenes with Belle and the Beast while they were still thinking he was some adult man or woman 🗿

[jeffbaskin]

Before I begin, I want to state that I agree with you about what should have happened towards the end of the story. Suzu shouldn't have been alone on the train. She shouldn't have confronted the abusive father by herself. The film should have showed how they made the brothers lives better. (It's very easy to see Suzu as another person who promises to help, but doesn't really change anything. The brothers are still with their father at the end of the movie.)

I believe the ending became what it was because the writers wrote themselves into a corner. The climax of the film had to be a moment where Suzu, like her mother, jumped into the dangerous river to save someone. It's the moment she truly comes to terms with and understands why her mother died. I believe that is why the writers chose to make sure that she was alone. Suzu's stakes had to be as high as her mother's. She had to be in mortal danger.

I do believe that they should have handled the ending in a better way, but the real world concerns were trumped by story telling convenience. Hopefully, concerns like this will get back to the creators, and this will make future projects better. I honestly believe that the writers should have done better, but I can see why they wrote that ending. It was Suzu's journey, not the brothers.

[rapana]

Apparently (and according to a friend who is not watching anime much, but studied the Japanese culture/had first hand experience of living there for a while - with not just positive experience at all) - the mere fact that such a big name as this director adressed the CV/DV situation in Japan so openly, was really really positive and "brave", since Japan tends to be very shush hush about anything that could either damage the reputation or stirr up commotion... Not defending on how it was handled in the film though, it made me feel same uneasy as you and your points are very valid. But wanted to provide cultural context comment... -what seems to us as shocking and kind of a dangerous solution, might be something a person living there sees as a "miraculous" "brave" step forward that would in reality possibly not happen.. So him just showing that a girl would go that far to save the abused kids and giving some "hope" in saving kids irl might be quite eyeopening or inspirational to Japanese audience... who have 6-10 year olds commune by train alone to school or being left behind by workaholic parents, as part of actual culture...
It is exactly because the issue is not being properly adressed and CV not properly fought against in Japan, that a film like this from an acclaimed director might be just the very first step needed for the closed up culture to face the ugly stuff... because they are so afraid to do any radical changes. So in the end, I do hope what people take away from the film will not be "go face an abuser all alone", but rather "go stand up against CV/DV if you can... "do not close your eyes", "do not be hush".
Thanks for the video though, and it is very nice of you to pin the help hotlines for those who might need it!

[rachelcurtisb]

I was on board with the CA plot line UNTIL the end. I went from crying tears of joy to frustration and screaming at the screen for her to not leave them.
As a a victim of CA I can’t tell you how many times I wished someone close to me would come and take me away from my situation.
I wanted her to take them both away, to get some sort of custody and have them all heal together.
Because that’s what I wanted so desperately and I can’t even describe the pit in my stomach that was left after the credits rolled. It hurt it hurt me a lot, I wasn’t triggered but it effected me more than I think I should have.

[figgytablet]

Thank you! I actually was exasperated with this movie. I guess it was sooo hyped up that I went to the theater to see it then I wonder why? It's good but not great and the resolution was soo unrealistic with her only going by herself to rescue the kids then nothing. I agree with you whole heartedly for addressing it.

[rileybear]

My issue with the Beast/Belle is the movie acts so effing dramatic when he bests up the other players. Like if they die in the vr they die in real life. Which….they don’t right ? My thing was like, “why y’all acting like he murdered your kid in front of you?”

[jaycee]

I really wanted the beast to be her dad in U. He joined the AR to try to get close to his daughter when nothing else seems to work, and he knows that she’ll probably join eventually (maybe he’s the one that recommends it instead of her friend). His own grief shapes him into a beast-like creature in U, though. He ends up growing closer to his daughter and helping her with her grief while she helps him without knowing it. Happy endings with no weird abuse side-plot from left field.

[SirisLayer]

Belle made me so angry! The movie starts of good and just grows weak and then disastrous dissonant and tone deaf to the subject of domestic violence and abuse. Thank you for making a video about this, I was considering making a kind of vent video about it but my scripts always end up being way to messy and angry. :')

[itoo]

I was so hype for this movie. I saved all the songs. Belle (both versions) is literally my wallpaper on my phone. BUT, girl that 3rd act of the movie was not it. We could have had it all :(((

[holo-star]

as i was watching this, i fully thought it was implied belle and the beast would be romantically involved. The dude who was the actual love interest didnt really feel right. I was actually shocked when the beast was like- 12. Made me feel very weird finishing the movie

[allyvollheim]

Thank you so much for making this video! My friend recommended this movie to me and as someone who is extremly sensitive to the abuse of children due to my upbringing and line of work, I was devastated by the ending. When I expressed to my friend how devastated I was by the end message of this movie she grew quite irritated and said I was being over dramatic and it was "just a movie", but I was more concerned about the distressing real world implications that the movie conveyed. The implied message that what the main girl did for the boys was enough to ensure their safety is terrifying, the idea that the abused child feels like "he just needs to be stronger" and that's the solution to his abuse is heartbreaking! He has had to been "strong enough" for far too long already! Someone needs to get them away from their father! Children in those scenarios should NEVER have to feel like it all depends on them to "endure" and "be stronger" to get through such abuse. For the movie to tell children suffering from abuse that they just need to tough it out and that they should be satisfied with a hug is crushing and monsterious. The fact that none of the adults went with her is horrific, as well as how the boys were just left once again with their father as always by the end with no update on their wellbeing while everyone stands around patting eachother on the back for doing NOTHING and thinking they SAVED them. I worry for any child who watches this movie and might so poorly mishandle such a dangerous situation due to any influence from this movie should they ever encounter it in the real world.
"My friend trusted me enough to tell me that their parent hurts them, but hey, I gave them a hug so that fixes everything, right?"
Shame on this movie for implying abanding children to their abusive homelife is something to be celebrated when already in reality so little is often done to protect the children who need it in far too many cases that these children end up dead.
This movie just tells us with a smile to keep doing as little or less and be proud for it.
The movie did not HAVE to have a happy ending if the directors did not want it to, but don't show me a knife and tell me it's a flower.

[koolkel]

The way I read the scene of Belle showing up and protecting the boys from their father, when she turned around and stared at him in the eyes, with the blood from the mark he made on her, rolling down her cheek. I read it as it dawning on the father that when he beats his boys, it's parenting. But when he beats this stranger, it's assault.
And sadly I think he realized this in a "there's no way I can cover my ass and keep from getting arrested for this, " way, rather than him realizing what a piece of shit he is for beating and assaulting his children.
Which yes, Belle getting hurt is what probably will get his ass finally thrown in jail, and the boys removed from the home, but it's still incredibly reckless judgement on the choir ladies or just the writers for not at least trying to make the adults seem responsible in this situation.