As much as I disliked Diabolik Lovers, the anime made a good case study as to how the writers and developers justified the kind of men the Sakamaki become and their treatment of Yui. Was it really justified? In some cases, it was definitely debatable - they all clearly disrespected women because of how their mothers treated them.
And that brings me to my main point: the Diabolik mothers.
In episode 1x07, the audience received a glimpse into the childhood of the Sakamaki brothers. Yui learned a little about them and their relationship with their mothers. Although many of them have radically different personalities, the commonality was the abusive mothers. So surprise surprise, all the boys have mother issues.
 |
| From left to right: Beatrix (Shuu's & Renji's mother), Cordelia (The triplets' mother), Christa (Mother of Subaru) |
Each of these women wouldn't be anywhere close to being candidates for mother of the year and Cordelia was the worst of the three. It made me wonder why on Earth she had children.
The second wife, Beatrix, was always grooming Shuu to be an ideal heir since he was the eldest in the family and she neglected Reiji, who years down the line, killed his mother via an assassin. She chose to make Shu wonderful because of Cordelia's immaturity and bullying. Yes, she conceived before Cordelia did but seriously, not her fault.
Honestly, Beatrix represented most mothers in most cultures - competitive and community orientated. The eldest usually had it the hardest because they represented the family's 'good breeding'.
So even though Reiji was ignored, he was being such a baby for ordering an assassination of his mother. He wasn't the first second child to be ignored nor would he be the last. I can understand Shuu's laid back behaviour and don't blame him for it. He clearly reached his threshold early in life.
Now, the mother I really felt for was Christa. The poor woman, who looks incredibly sweet based on the picture above, had horrible living circumstances because she became mentally unstable. This was motivated after she realized she was nothing but an experiment to her husband. Also, she was locked in her room.
Since she underwent cognitive dissonance, the response she had was to encourage Suburu to kill her. Unfortunately, her encouragement was done via verbal abuse and would've been shitty to go through. She had a love-hate relationship with him. Suburu merely wanted his mother to love him and she just wanted to die.
I believe in the game, they reconciled but in the anime, they didn't. I thought highly of Subaru here but became disappointed in him as well. It was going so well where he was short-tempered but kept his distance. Then he couldn't hold back any longer and
Although Beatrix and Christa didn't have healthy relationships with their respective sons, at least they loved them. Reiji regretted killing his mother because she wasn't the monster he she would be. On the other hand, we have Cordelia, one of the messed up and psychotic anime mothers I've seen.
As mentioned previously, Cordelia and Beatrix were always in competition. They pitted Shuu and Ayato against one another. The difference between the methodology was that Cordelia had no problem torturing her son if he didn't do well (eg. submerging him in water until the brink of death).
And - the icing on the cake - she had sexual relations with Raito...her own son. Kanato was so screwed up in the head because she completely ignored him, had sex with Richter in front of him and had him sing until his vocal cords bled. Laito and Kanato loved her in an abnormal way (Laito would kill her lovers so he could monopolize her) whereas Ayato hated her.
Interestingly, Ayato was the most similar to her - arrogant and selfish. Really sad that he was the main love interest. Cordelia is someone I could go on about, especially when her children came together to kill her in a violent manner in comparison to Reiji, who had his mother killed by a third party.
But I think the basic point has been made - Cordelia was psychotic, selfish, arrogant and dominant.
Parents are so important in a child's life, no? When we're young and defenseless, parents/guardians are the ones to protect and nurture us so that nature doesn't claim us. In North America, many children have a privileged life - they don't have to worry about being bombed or basic needs most of the time - that relationships with the parents are emphasized.
Like I said before, this anime really showcased the consequences of terrible parental figures. I felt sorry for 4/5 of them when a glimpse of their childhood was given and it really placed Yui at the centre of it all, where she wasn't anything like their mothers. They had a positive figure in their lives but they still managed to eff it up, sadly.
I truly believe the triplets were the most psychotic of the Sakamaki brothers because of their mother. It was also incredibly creepy that when Yui was beginning to awaken, they were turned on by her 'sweet blood' - Cordelia's blood that run through her veins.
There are a lot of anime that focus on a character's tragedy where their parent was not ideal. I'm not sure where the theme came from but it definitely shined through. I initially posed the question of whether or not the boys were justified in their treatment of Yui.
Had Yui confronted them about it and never forgave them, then I think it would've been better. But a Japanese woman seems to have to accept much of what is pushed at them by men, according to what was depicted in this anime. She stayed with them for a month before season 2 began and I'm not sure what to think of it.
Would they treat her better after what happened in the last episode? I don't know if I'll watch it but I think I'll read into it.
0 Comments