Summary
Codependencyis a psychological concept that explores the world of unbalanced relationships in which the two parties in a relationship have an extreme level of reliance on one another. While codependency is not considered an illness or condition, it is something which could result in some devastating situations.
Anime is diverseenough that it caters to different sorts of couples, with some being cute, and others being a tad worrying. There are somecodependent relationships in animewhere one party enables the other in their behaviors, which, most of the time, is detrimental to both people.
Darling In The Franxxwas released in 2018, and for a while was the talk of the whole anime community. It followed child soldiers who had topilot mechsby partnering with members of the opposite sex.
The big romance in the show was betweenHiro, a former prodigy who could no longer sync with his partner, andZero Two, an elite pilot who was dubbed the ‘partner killer’. After initial friction, Zero Two takes a liking to Hiro, but the relationship does feel a little too intense sometimes, as Zero Two sees Hiro as the only person she can be with, while Hiro himself develops something of an obsession with her.
Flowers of Evil
Takaois a normal student with a crush. When he does something he isn’t supposed to, he is blackmailed by the class creepy girl,Sawa, who saw him in the act. She more or less forces him to become her friend. What comes after is a steady descent into madness for Takao, as he is pushed and prodded to reveal his ‘true self’.
While Sawa acts like shedoesn’t care about Takao, it becomes evident that she is dependent on him in order to avoid being alone anymore, and is willing to push him to some very dark places in the hopes that she never returns to her solitude.
While codependency is typically considered problematic, it does have a tendency to look cute in some scenarios. For instance,Isaac and Miria fromBaccanoare a criminal couple who seem besotted with one another and incapable of being apart.
The two don’t seem to ever age, and they provide a lot of the comic relief inBaccano. It also seems clear that the two cannot do without each other. For Isaac, he constantly depends on Miria to support just about any idea he has, while Miria seems to cherish the time they spend together, never wanting to be apart. One could easily imagine how this could get dark over time.
Hanabiis a young high school girl with a massive crush on her homeroom teacher, Narumi, whileMugiis a dashing young man in love with his music teacher, Akane. The two can’t have who they want, so they more or less settle for each other.
Scum’s Wishwas a twisting maze of love, unrequited feelings, forgiveness, and change. Mugi and Hanabi’s relationship was all fake, and they only depended on each other to stave off loneliness. This caused a lot of trouble for the people around them and there were quite a few broken hearts as a result.
Happy Sugar Lifeis one of those shows that has a moe esthetic, but covers a much darker premise. The show followsSatou, a beautiful girl who seems perfect and well-adjusted, but who is actually a psychopath. She meets, takes in, and falls in love with a young girl,Shio.
The relationship between the two seems cute, butSatou is obsessive, and would do anything for Shio, including murder. The show delves into the darkness of this character, and viewers will find that even the much-loved Shio isn’t as innocent as she seems.
Amanodiscovers that his diary, which he uses to keep track of his daily activities, is able to tell him events that happen in the near future, and he then finds out that the pretty girl in his class,Gasai, has a dairy that does the same. Shortly after, the two discover that they have been pulled into a deadly game where the winner gets to be called a god.
Future Diarywas reallypopular in the 2000s,but the duo of Amano and Gasai were always a bit problematic. Amano was a pushover that let himself be used on numerous occasions, while Gasai was a manipulative and deeply disturbed individual who had decided to wholly attach herself to Amano. The two were together, but there wasn’t always a sense of genuine care between them, as each had something they wanted from the other.
TheLight Yagami/Misa Amanerelationship dynamic is a crazy one as soon as it’s put under scrutiny. inDeath Note,the audience is presented with a cold-hearted megalomaniac, Misa, who is then stalked and forced into a relationship even when it is well known that she will only be used for the psychopath Light’s ends.
Some fans argue that Misa deserved better, but it is clear that she was not a good person herself and was fully in cahoots withLight in his murderous activities.Interestingly, the two characters depended on each other in the most unhealthy way possible; Misa to fulfil her fantasy, and Light to further his ends.
