>>11377913No. I've actually written fairly detailed deconstructions of what I think is going on prior. A brief summary.
-Animation allows an extra layer of control and social engineering. In live action media you of course have complete control over the chain of events, characters, and other people's reaction to them (suspension of disbelief is not complete, so watching this is a form of brainwashing). You can't eliminate entirely the fact that a child is a child either. In animation however you can construct a character with a bizarre mix of traits, ie subtle signals of fertility like womanly hips with a childlike face, or the demeanor of an older / old outright woman. Modern anime especially is a few boiled down archetypes, they're caricatures of real women, but nonetheless archetypes are what people are drawn to and constitute the basic relationship dynamic.
-A watcher, particularly with social isolation or whatever else, will readily self insert as a prepubescent girl. Essentially, it's the right mix of the object of one's younger self's desire and fixation (early childhood psychosexual development), and is blank enough that the individual will see the character as a reflection of themselves. A mirror, a proxy. Self which is not self. Since they're already isolated and have failed to develop, this forms a complex where they're attempting to engage with a long buried younger version of themselves, are afraid of or unable to "move forward", and like any relationship the character is also a lens or a world to explore. Other people are worlds to explore. So it serves as a substitute. Fear of vulnerability and connection with others, desire to explore.Path of least resistance, outlet with no risk of change.
That's based on introspection in part.I thought Rei was attractive as a teenager, and thought an adult version of Lain would be attractive.I never watched that much anime (and nothing after ~2005).I can see how one may get trapped in a vicious cycle.
