Arcanes Handling Of Jinx Is Something All Anime Can Learn From

Arcane’s Handling Of Jinx Is Something All Anime Can Learn From

With careful and nuanced storytelling, Jinx is shown as a tragic and sympathetic figure, even as her actions become steadily more villainous.

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Arcanes Handling Of Jinx Is Something All Anime Can Learn From

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Arcane season 1.

Already hailed as one of the best video game adaptations, Arcane’s portrayal of Jinx’s mental illness is careful to show her turmoil as sympathetic and understandable, making it an important piece of representation for people facing their own struggles. Where too many stories depict mental illnesses as little more than cute and edgy quirks, Arcane avoids romanticization, showing instead how Jinx’s inner demons negatively affect both her and the people she’s closest to. As a result, Jinx is a character who feels like a victim even as her actions take a more and more villainous turn.

Stories across all media, from books to video games, have a history of misrepresenting mental health issues. This can range from dismissive and condescending depictions of “quirky” characters to demonizing the mentally ill as an inherently dangerous or violent group of people. This is why other portrayals, like Joker, have drawn criticism as betrayals of mental illness sufferers, for failing to give enough nuance to separate illness from villainy. Tropes like these give a severe mischaracterization which can have a serious negative impact on real people who’re struggling with such illnesses. Arcane works against this by making a point of showing not only Jinx’s mental illness but also its root cause and the continuing harm it does to her.

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Arcane’s story begins with Jinx as a little girl, named Powder, and shows all of the events which clearly traumatize her as a child. The taunts from her adoptive brother, Mylo, undermine her self-confidence, which is combined with her need for approval, her fear of abandonment, and her guilt after the accidental deaths of her adopted family. When Jinx is later shown as a teenager, it’s immediately apparent that she’s still haunted by the past. Arcane uses a different style of animation to take full advantage of the visual medium, showing how past trauma affects Jinx’s every action, with her inner demons shown tangibly when she’s struggling hardest. Notably, the voice and face constantly given to her doubts and anxieties is that of Mylo — the same voice that used to tell her that she wasn’t good enough as a child, emphasizing how negative reinforcement during her formative years has had a profound impact on her.

The fact that she chooses the name of Jinx is significant in itself. As a child, this was what Mylo derisively called her, blaming her for things going wrong. Choosing this name is all at once a painful and constant reminder of her past, and also a coping mechanism to try and become someone else entirely, with her inner conflict accentuated by excellent voice acting by Ella Purnell. This inner conflict fuels Jinx’s anger at herself, which she then directs outwards, causing her to lash out. Repeatedly, Arcane shows how events in the present act as psychological triggers, forcing Jinx to relive her past trauma and to take seemingly irrational actions as a result.

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Jinx’s mental illness is handled delicately, keeping her characterization sympathetic even when her actions are clearly villainous. She’s very much controlled by her past trauma and how it skews her perception of the world. Ultimately, while she may become the antagonist of Arcane, she never truly feels like a villain. If anything, she’s shown to be a tragic figure and a victim of consequences largely out of her control. This is highlighted by the moments when her vulnerability shows through, revealing that underneath, all she truly wants is acceptance.

The care shown to Jinx’s character is likely to be developed even further in Arcane season 2, after Fortiche studios devoted so much of season 1 to her story. The portrayal of her struggles has drawn praise from audiences for its care and nuance (via Reddit), in a world where mental illness is too often treated with derision and ridicule. Like so much of the storytelling in Arcane, it’s a breath of fresh air.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/arcane-jinx-mental-illness-sensitive-empathy-important/

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