I love Binge Watching. I really like watching international movies and tv shows on my laptop with the subtitles on. The combination of reading the dialog and watching the action makes me feel like I am reading a moving book. My brain is engaged.
Recently, I discovered Atelier, a Japanese show created by Netflix. It’s adorable. The heroine, Mayu, is a fiber geek. (I, too, love fiber.) Her first job out of University is working at an Atelier, or Workshop, that makes custom lingerie.
The show is set in Tokyo, Ginza. We are treated to a visual feast of the high end shopping district. We are introduced to the cutthroat fashion industry in Japan. We are invited into the lifestyles of young singles in Japan.
There are only 12 episodes. There are continuing story lines throughout the show. At the end, I wanted more.
But I was struck, thinking about it afterwards, how much I was reminded of another character thrust into an unfamiliar environment: Anne of Green Gables.
I think both heroines, Anne and Mayu, must be archetypal characters. It’s amazing to me, that Anne who is Canadian and Mayu, Japanese, have the same resonance. A favorite reference to Romance writers, “Heroes and Heroines” by Cowden, LeFever, and Viders, lists eight female and male archetypes. I believe both Anne and Mayu are Spunky Kids. Never down for long, trying to find their places in their new worlds. Through the stories each becomes their own selves, and moves on from the place where they start.
And, they also change the worlds that they inhabit.
What say you? Have you seen Atelier?
Julie,
Great post! I like the analogy of subtitles in a movie as a “moving book”. I am going to have to check this out on Netflix!
I haven’t seen it, but it sounds interesting.
I’m also going to have to look up those eight archetypes. You’ve got me curious.
Thanks for sharing.