But Damn If It Didn't Compel Me - Blog Posts
After finally watching Amphibia I have so many thoughts, not on how each girl embodies the characteristic of their respective gem (mind, heart, strength), but how each has another characteristic as their secondary strength, and the third as their greatest weakness.
As related to the image above, it's pretty well established that:
> Heart = Anne
> Mind = Marcy
> Strength = Sasha
But their characters aren't so one-dimensional that they simply fit those archetypes. After all, each character has been amazingly well fleshed out and have complex issues of morality and beliefs that they cannot be shoehorned. I know this will get long so I'll put it under the cut.
For example, Anne is known as the Heart by virtue of being able to empathise with almost anyone; her connections with others are shown to be her greatest strength throughout the show. However, it is easy to see that her greatest weakness is Mind. Not just from an intellectual point of view as the show already delved into in contrast to Marcy, but also her ability for manipulation and long-plan conception of consequences or even planning. Any of her 'calculating' attempts at manipulating her way out of situations only succeed in instances where she understands the other person, like with the Plantar family, but fall wayside with strangers because she has yet to understand their heart.
However, Anne's been shown to be incredibly athletic and stubborn to a fault, indicating that Strength is her secondary characteristic in relation to the Calamity Box.
By understanding this, we can see that Sasha's frankly overpowering physical strength and perseverance is supported by her calculating Mind. Without her raw social intellect, Sasha would never be able to subjugate others like she so successfully does within the show. Unfortunately, her inability to empathise and understand the emotional consequences of her actions have also been explored, indicating her failings at Heart.
Lastly, Marcy is incredibly intellectually intelligent and quick to understand and learn from her mistakes, making her the easiest to place as her characteristic, which is Mind. She is also shown to be kind and excited to make friends, as well as capable of understanding others and their motivations, even if she is prone to being a bit short-sighted when it comes to getting caught up in her interests, which makes Heart her secondary. While it can be argued she was physically weak back on Earth, her captaincy and expertise with rogue-like abilities show she is strong in a physical since coming to Amphibia. So why would her weakest aspect be Strength?
Well, Marcy's instance of running away from home and her problems to a fantasy world shows her inability to stand strong against personal conflicts which she has no control over. She is capable of admitting her mistakes, yes, but she struggles to confront her problems in the first place, instead choosing to run from her parents and even continuing to try to drag the girls further into other worlds to avoid her looming future.
It's just amazing how much thought has been put into balancing these girls' characteristics; not just against each other, but also within themselves. I hope in the future these weaknesses will be explored and overcome in various ways!