I must admit, I've had to reread your article a couple of times to make sure you're talking about the same anime I'm thinking of. As a couple of other comments have mentioned, I think you've actually missed the whole point of the story. Yes, it is about exploitation, but by no means does it glorify that exploitation - in fact it does the exact opposite (more so, in the manga). The scene between Rico and the bellboy, as well as Henrietta's reaction to Elsa's death clearly amplify that. Using the latter example, Jose (who would probably be happier having Henrietta play her violin, than killing people) is suddenly hit with the knowledge that if he ever stops being the centre of Henrietta's world (or even finds a girlfriend), he's dead. The handlers are as much victims of the system as the girls - as Lauro found out... too late.
Your article also contains several errors:
- Henrietta is the least programmed of the girls, as Jose actively resists having her overly conditioned. Likewise, Hillshire allows Triela some freedom, due to her age.
- You say they could fight their way out of being exploited. How exactly would they do that, when firstly they have no free will and secondly, their world revolves around their handlers (and I use that word deliberately) so what exactly would they do afterwards?
- oh and a small point - it's a seinen series, not shounen.
Unfortunately, from reading this I get the impression you've gone off half-cocked and have written this according to your own agenda, without doing adequate research. If you'd taken the time to analyse the story in full (i.e. read the manga as well as watch the series - which encapsulates a fraction of the story) you'd see that Aida Yu (amongst his many talents) is well researched in psychology, all of which is shown in the story to highlight the plight of the girls... as well as their handlers.
In some respects I agree with you, it's terrible what's happened to these girls (just look at Rico, who should be a happy 10-year old, pulling a gun on a boy she knows and saying mechanically, "I'm sorry."), but as has been mentioned elsewhere, is this existence really worse than the one they were 'rescued' from? Henrietta had been almost tortured to death, Triella was rescued from a snuff film, Rico was seriously deformed. I'd say however bad their current situation is, it's better than where they were before - would you want Henrietta to carry the memories of her abuse with her, or would you rather have her in some semblance of happiness with Jose. Think about it - even the opening song starts, "In truth, there is no better place to be...".
Just a final point, because I'm curious - if the show was about little boys of the same age in the same predicament, would you have still written your article? And if not,why not?
I must admit, I've had to reread your article a couple of times to make sure you're talking about the same anime I'm thinking of. As a couple of other comments have mentioned, I think you've actually missed the whole point of the story. Yes, it is about exploitation, but by no means does it glorify that exploitation - in fact it does the exact opposite (more so, in the manga). The scene between Rico and the bellboy, as well as Henrietta's reaction to Elsa's death clearly amplify that. Using the latter example, Jose (who would probably be happier having Henrietta play her violin, than killing people) is suddenly hit with the knowledge that if he ever stops being the centre of Henrietta's world (or even finds a girlfriend), he's dead. The handlers are as much victims of the system as the girls - as Lauro found out... too late.
Your article also contains several errors:
- Henrietta is the least programmed of the girls, as Jose actively resists having her overly conditioned. Likewise, Hillshire allows Triela some freedom, due to her age.
- You say they could fight their way out of being exploited. How exactly would they do that, when firstly they have no free will and secondly, their world revolves around their handlers (and I use that word deliberately) so what exactly would they do afterwards?
- oh and a small point - it's a seinen series, not shounen.
Unfortunately, from reading this I get the impression you've gone off half-cocked and have written this according to your own agenda, without doing adequate research. If you'd taken the time to analyse the story in full (i.e. read the manga as well as watch the series - which encapsulates a fraction of the story) you'd see that Aida Yu (amongst his many talents) is well researched in psychology, all of which is shown in the story to highlight the plight of the girls... as well as their handlers.
In some respects I agree with you, it's terrible what's happened to these girls (just look at Rico, who should be a happy 10-year old, pulling a gun on a boy she knows and saying mechanically, "I'm sorry."), but as has been mentioned elsewhere, is this existence really worse than the one they were 'rescued' from? Henrietta had been almost tortured to death, Triella was rescued from a snuff film, Rico was seriously deformed. I'd say however bad their current situation is, it's better than where they were before - would you want Henrietta to carry the memories of her abuse with her, or would you rather have her in some semblance of happiness with Jose. Think about it - even the opening song starts, "In truth, there is no better place to be...".
Just a final point, because I'm curious - if the show was about little boys of the same age in the same predicament, would you have still written your article? And if not,why not?