Anne of Brown Gables: A Reflection on Kana Hanazawa's Performance as Lucy M in Bungou Stray Dogs

Below is spoilers from Bungou Stray Dogs, that one show from the Bones animation studio which recently finished airing. Being the strange person I am, I will once again sidestep any concerns about whether this is good or not.  (For the record, I found it enjoyable, but don’t’ draw any conclusions from that, gosh.) This finale was an absurdist (by non-Kaiba anime standards, that is) festival in being strange. But, if art is political, and it is, strangeness is not simply that. After all, Yuasa’s Kaiba was deeply interested in human bodies, which it explored through its characteristic strangeness.  And that, ladies and gentlemen and other groups not represented in either, is what we’re gathered to discuss. Rather, permit me to talk at you.

Imagine you are at a busy intersection, you see a strange red-haired girl in the crossing, and then suddenly you appear in a demented toybox (see below). That’s what this finale does to main characters Tanizaki (orange-haired) and Atsushi (white-haired), who belong to the Agency, along with a hapless man dressed in a lab coat and a handful of others. Insanity is written all over this toybox: the sky is violently pink, while there are cheerful banisters adorning a nonexistent ceiling. And in the below frame, nobody has their face. Meaning…that the person standing there, with maroon hair and a black dress could hardly be normal.

 

This maroon-haired girl (MHG) – played by the alluring Kana Hanazawa (Kanahana) – wears a bright smile (shown below), as she welcomes the crowd to Anne’s room. [Anne to be introduced later.]  Kanahana’s performance as Lucy invites the characters into a simultaneously warm yet off-kilter atmosphere. Her nonchalant tone passes this situation off as simply a game to be played, but this does not assuage anyone’s fears. (After all, most of these people aren’t mentally equipped to deal with a crisis situation, especially not one as bizarre as this.)

At this point in the episode’s narrative, MHG has shown two seemingly contradictory sides – an enjoyment of the surreal, shown by the room decorations, and the warm hospitality expected of a woman. Her dialogue and mannerisms – clasping her hands together – act to ask the guests to stay. But if MHG simply existed in the realm of gender roles, then she would not be a very interesting villain. However, behind her warm smile is a black door, behind which people caught by her are imprisoned.

In reality, MHG is fighting as an agent of the Guild, an American group formed with criminal intent, so she puts on a tough face. (If she loses, she will be discarded and left to die.) Kanahana’s performance effectively balances sinister with friendly, allowing for a sophisticated portrayal of someone on the verge of losing everything. But however close to becoming hysterical she may seem, MHG never gives in entirely, maintaining a sense of composure. Her immense inner strength holds her together.

Explaining the rules, she holds up a key that can open the black door. But then they must play with Anne, her familiar. Confidently, she draws attention to a white door through which people may escape.

 

However, MHG has until this point forgone a common pleasantry --  yes, she finally addresses herself as Lucy M, and her ability as Anne of Abyssal Red (see below). Once summoned, Anne dwarfs everyone else, conveying Lucy’s intimidating persona. Though she explains that Anne is shy but playful, the people in the room become frightened, and leave in a panic. Lucy freely accepts her ability to frighten people, allowing her to take control of her destiny. This can be considered a truly empowering act, though it goes against the wishes of others – it is powerful for the self. Rather its lack of convenience means that she refuses to cow down to societal expectations of her, as both a woman and an outsider.

Lucy’s inward resilience is beautifully portrayed by her anticipation of Anne to defeat the remaining stragglers (Atsushi, Tanizaki, and lab-coat-guy-man) – finally, she reveals her smile, a feature blemished by her braces, and her pupils dilute, giving way to the whites of her eyes. But this act allows Lucy to embrace herself, “braces and all.” When I wore braces, I was afraid to smile, but Lucy’s brave enough to not be held back.

Now the two apparent sides to Lucy come to a full battle – the warm smile is intrinsically different from the maniacal smile. There must be some resolution that is not simply insanity – if Lucy is driven by that force, then she becomes  a cliché, the woman who steps out of line and becomes an unreasonable villain. For me, Ryukishi’s character Brenda, a woman driven by her Christian beliefs to “guide” the creation of a better world, meets this “golden standard” easily. However, Lucy represents a more complex villain, one driven by a traumatic past (see below) and a desire to stay alive, no matter the tough face presented. Standing before Atsushi, she reveals her past – like him, she was an orphan. As a child, she grew up in an orphanage, being forced to clean chilly windows and treated abusively. And similar to him she was taken in by the Guild.

Her resilience comes from these traumatic experience  but cracks start appearing, as she is only human. (Unlike Brenda, who lacks those misgivings that make one human.) She wonders “why is it only me that has to suffer? Why can’t it be you?” In that moment, Lucy lays bare her real concerns about losing, and being discarded by the Guild. The strength she places on display in the beginning, though it is wearing thin, came from deep within her and it moves in parallel with her ability to switch between the mode of hospitable and the mode of arrogant.

Through events in the rest of the episode, which I will not get into, Lucy is soundly defeated. But her time of defeat is a chance to see the rest of her strength at play. Atsushi, reaching out to console her, is evaded by a teary Lucy. Rather than accept his help, even though they come of similar backgrounds, she takes the high ground and refuses to acknowledge his efforts. In doing so, she circumvents the occurrence of the “male savior” phenomenon, which circulates back into breaking normed gender roles. No matter his intentions, she will fight as her own being.

And, that, is why I admire Kanahana’s performance as Lucy in this episode. 

Works Cited
Bungou Stray Dogs. Bones, 2016. Dir. Takuya Igarashi. Per. Kana Hanazawa. Anime.