Lessons from the Jellyfish Princess

After Baby the Stars Shine Bright came out with their Jellyfish Princess inspired dresses, I just had to watch the anime. If an anime is cute, quirky, and preferably a comedy, I can't resist! When I was snowed in at my boyfriend's in the mountains (two days straight of snow and ice storms!) I sat down and watched the entire series of 11 episodes in one day. Heh, my nerd side is showing!

Besides being a cute and funny anime, with plenty of tongue-in-cheek humor, I feel like there was one strong lesson running through the series. To begin with, let me give you the basic syopsis (don't worry, there's no spoilers to the overall plotline):

Several nerdy girls (otaku) with various obsessions, live together in a 1920s apartment building. The story centers around Tsukimi, whose nerd passion is jellyfish (while the others like a Chinese drama, older gentlemen, trains, and kimonos/traditional Japanese dolls). They're all so obsessed with their hobbies that like many otaku, they're rather social inept, and such, are terrified of what they call 'the Stylish' (which seems to be gyaru? XD). Tsukimi winds up making friends with a Stylish, and things take a turn for the worse when they realize that their beloved apartment building is on the brink of being torn down.

So, that's the setup.

One of the themes running through this anime is the idea of appearances. The nerdy girls' social anxiety is strongest when in public, because they're so intimidated by better-looking people - so much so that they often refuse to go out, even to see things that pertain to their hobby - even though she loves jellyfish artwork, Tsukimi had a panic attack at being with so many 'Stylish' in Shibuya and had to return home early  without seeing the exhibit. Seeing all those pretty girls, she remembers her mom hoping that she'll grow up to be a beautiful princess... and feels like she'll never be one. As she says, "I'm not sure where, but somewhere along the line, instead of becoming a princess... I ended up a freak." I think we've all had that feeling - whether looking at outfit snaps, magazines, or just the pretty girl next to you in class... that we'll never measure up. The world can seem full of pretty girls that cast the rest of us into shadow.

After she makes her acquaintance with her new cross-dressing friend Kuranosuke, a 'Stylish', no less, in a bouffanted pink wig and purple spandex tights, she and all the rest of the 'nunnery' as they call themselves eventually get makeovers. While Tsukimi's makeover is mostly for fun, the other girls are required to put on their 'battle clothes' so they can fight against the closure of their building. Calling them 'battle clothes' reminded me very much of a poem by Novala Takemoto, in which he speaks of lolita clothing as 'battle clothes' - the clothing we don as we go into the world, whether to protect ourselves or to protect our right to dreams, it's hard to decide. The exact quote:

These are the battle clothes of the precious ones, the few chosen to fight the many who lack the power to see dreams.

Haha, Takemoto rhapsodizing again about the fantastical majesty of the lolita. But in a way, he's right. Standing up to the conventions of society is a 'battle' - something lolitas do every day. The way it's used in Jellyfish Princess, being stylish is their defense in the battle against everyday society - like being taken seriously at business meetings.  Kuranosuke says, you don't have to change who you are if it's not what makes you happy or comfortable... but sometimes you have to 'put on your battle clothes'. For some, perhaps that's a business suit; for others, a Louis Vuitton bag; for us, perhaps, a frilly pannier and and Alice bow.
Anyone can be a 'princess' if they really want to. I firmly believe that if you want it, it's there. No matter what you look like, what you weigh, how much money you have, your gender, your orientation... It's there. I never thought, as an awkward teenager in high school and often the butt of class jokes and bullying, that someday I could be a model. Between my long, unstyled ashy hair and bushy eyebrows, right down to my ugly shoes and too-big khakis, I was far from anything resembling cute. I didn't know how to wear makeup, or style my hair. In many ways I identified with Tsukimi, the sweet and lovable nerd. I wish I had had a gorgeous cross-dresser to teach me the ropes!

It's only because of lolita that I really felt motivated to 'learn to be beautiful', in a manner of speaking. Like Tskumimi, I assumed I was a lost cause. But because of lolita, because I loved it so much and wanted to be like that so much, I had to try. But at the end of the day, when the eyeliner and hair extensions are safely retired to their drawers - being a princess isn't just about physical beauty. What Tsukimi gains most from being dressed up and primped isn't her looks - she loses her social anxieties of being accepted and can express herself freely in her 'disguise', showing other her wonderful heart and making new relationships. To put it simply, she gains confidence, and learns to be herself. While being attractive is nice, being confident is irreplaceable. Tsukimi, fantasizing about what it must be like to be so stylish, seems much more entranced with Kuranosuke's big personality - though she calls it 'using her beauty as a weapon', it's really more having the guts and sense of entitlement to speak up for yourself: confidence. Believing that you have worth, being proud to be yourself, wanting to let your personality and spirit shine... are the kind of things that make you beautiful. I know that sounds like an after-school special. But it's really true. Don't wait for a modeling agency, a guy, your mom, the online community, or whoever to tell you you're beautiful to believe it. It's not something in your genetics, in your makeup bag, or in a bottle of hair dye. Giving yourself the tools to feel beautiful will make you believe it - and then so will everyone else.


I really hope you watch this anime, it's short but so sweet and poignant. Watch the entire series on hulu.com!


with jellyfish kisses,

Labels: inspirational

posted by Victoria Suzanne @ 10:17 PM