!!Welcome Otaku’s!!
Now, I know I dropped the ball yesterday, but this was supposed to be the blog for our Otaku Tuesday segment. To make up for this, there will also be another blog posted later today. Hopefully, all this craziness will change after Finals Week is over, and I’ll be able to maintain the weekly schedule a little better. Anyway, hope ya’ll enjoy the following post :D
The Presence of Structuralism in Mashima’s Fairy Tail
I am a nerd. I always have been, and I always will be. However, I being a nerd does by no means make me any less of an academic. In fact, I would say that me being a nerd and having the hobbies that I do makes me more inclined than most. Unfortunately, by way of modern academia, many would say that reading comic books and manga all day does little to actually further any sort of scholarly aptitude. But why is that? Why can’t I go on record and cite a comic as a reference? Why would it be so wrong to look at a comic book every now and then as a subject of study? Personally, I don’t see how they can be any less educational or valuable than any other form of literature. Graphic novels, across the board all seek to do exactly what every other piece of literature is seeking to do, and that is tell a story. They are trying to convey messages, teach lessons, and speak as a voice reflecting their current generations. Graphic novel, comic books, manga—all of them—each can be used not just as entertainment, but as a study tool, as a reference, and as a point of theoretical study. Which is exactly what I will seek to show through discussing the ways in which Structuralism can be related and seen in Hiro Mashima’s famed manga, “Fairy Tail”.
Now, with all that has been said, I’m sure there is some speculation as to how Structuralism, or any theoretical school can be applied to a graphic novel, but I believe that it is completely possible. However, before we can being by proving the improbable there needs to be a firm understanding of the theory of Structuralism and a few of terms that go hand-in-hand with it. So, to begin, Structuralism is defined as being the literary theory coined by linguist Ferdinand de Saussure, and it holds that language is a self-contained system of signs. Saussure also went on to claim that there is a distinct difference between “language” (a system of signs) and “speech” (putting language into practice). In addition to this claim, Saussure also went on to list a set of important ideas and concerns in regards to the structure of linguistic signs. According to his work, every sign has the following three components: the signifier (sound image), the signified (the concept), and the referent (the real object referred to). However, these are all just a precursor to the three actual main points that de Saussure lays out in all of his lectures. First, one of Saussure’s main points is that the linguistic sign does not link a name and a thing; instead it links a concept and an acoustic image. Second, is that the linguistic sign is arbitrary, though the connections between signifier and signified can change; for example, “mouse” will always mean a furry mouse, but over time, language and its signs can change to the point where “mouse” can now also mean a computer mouse. The last point that is made by Saussure identifies the two ways of analysing language: synchronic and diachronic, where synchronic means looking at language at one point in time, and looking only at the relations between elements within a language, and where the diachronic method of analysing language is to track the development of language over time as the language evolves and signs change through looking at individual elements at different times.
Now, after looking at the most common definition of Structuralism, and some of its most principles concepts, we can then go and try to apply them to graphic novels, specifically Hiro Mashima’s Fairy Tail. Honestly, there are several places in which the use of linguistic structuralism can be applied in this series. However, the most prominent way in which to give an example can be found in the title itself. The title, Fairy Tail, is a play on words and the use of these words all in itself. Commonly, when one thinks of a fairy tale, they think of the whimsical fairies and tales of the Brothers’ Grimm, however, that is not the case in the naming of this series. Instead, Mashima names this his series for what it is, a fairy’s actual tail, as in the appendage, which can be clearly seen in the Fairy Tail guild’s logo. Coincidently, there is a lot of ties to the whimsical and magical throughout the story, however, because of the title and the want for it to reflect the setting, elements, and actions found within the text.
Now, after that short application of the principles of Structuralism to Fairy Tail, there must then come a more in depth look into how Structuralism can be applied further into the main text/plot of the tale. For assistance in that regard we can look towards the work of yet another key figure head in the field of Structuralism, Vladimir Propp, and his work with morphemes, narratemes, and binary opposites. Basically, while dealing with the folk tales of his own time and generation, Propp found that each could be separated into analysable chunks (morphemes), and then further into 31 key narrative units (narratemes). These narratemes could then go onto to be divided into four segments: Introduction (setting the scene), The Body of the Story (departure on the main quest), The Donor Sequence (hero gains a magical object, potential solution is reached), and The Hero’s return (hero returns, complications may arise, resolution). However, out of all of the narratemes there comes a set list of seven basic character types, or dramatic personae, which include: the hero, the dispatcher, the helper, the villain, the donor, the princess and her father, and false hero. From these three conceptual ideas that have been put forth by Propp and his work with folktales and morphemes, the readers come to see the underlying structural system that is present in both Structuralism and most present day graphic novels, such as Fairy Tail.
Therefore, let us look at the ways in which these structuralist notions can be seen throughout Mashima’s famed graphic novel, Fairy Tail. First, let’s look into the application of the four segments of narratemes to the plot, setting, and characters of the story. On several occasions, just before the start of story arcs or canons, the reader physically sees the actions that create setting for the departure of the heroes, the donor sequence in which the heroes gain some sort of magical aid or support, and also the heroes return to their home, the guild house. With that, we also see the implementation of all 31 of the other narratemes and morphemes. Also, when looking at the story and its characters, the reader is also gifted with the luxury of visually seeing the characters, their roles, and the evolution of their personae, such as with the hero, the dispatcher, the helper, the villain, the donor, etc. All of these can be seen throughout the text…literally seen. So again, how are graphic novels not scholarly?
Not the mention, there is also one other structuralist concept that absolutely must not be forgotten when discussing story and text structure— binary opposites. Simply put, the concept of binary opposition is the “means by which the units of language have value or meaning; each unit is defined against what it is not” (Fogarty). That is to say, that binary opposites is the relation of positives and negatives. For example, what is white is black, what is female is male, and in the case of Fairy Tail, what is good comes as a result of something evil. That said, the reader can clearly see the presence of binary opposites as they read about the countless adventures of our good heroes as they face several incomprehensible evils (Saber Tooth, dark guilds, E.N.D, etc.).
In conclusion, I am a nerd. I always have been, and I always will be, but by no means does that make me any less of a scholar. Not only that, but by no means does the format and presentation of the texts of works that I read, limit them to the amount of scholarly capacity that they hold and can yield to their audiences. As we have seen, graphic novel, manga, and comics can all be viewed as subjects of further theoretical study, as well as simple entertainment. Therefore, I applaud Mashima, and the multitude of other graphic novelist for creating the works of literature that they have, and presenting it in a way that should be held in more respects than it has been given.