What is GAR?

Ok one last post for Sze before I really close this blog as I don't really know where to put this one.

GAR is a term for an anime character archtype, similar to moe or tsundere. Character archtypes are usually very complicated to explain plainly and better to experience simply, but I'll try my best to put it in words here.

GAR is usually used in sentences like this:

"He is so GAR he made me cry."

GAR characters frequently appear in Shounen anime, or anime intended for boys. It is also consequently usually applied to male characters although there are instances when females have been called GAR.

Shounen anime is rather popular in Singapore and to quote some right off the bat we have stuff such as Bleach, Naruto and One Piece. A good example of a GAR character would be Kurosaki Ichigo from Bleach.

GAR characters typically evoke a feeling of extreme admiration in adolescent young boys towards the GAR character, to the point of tears. This is usually because the young boy has not reached that level of GAR-ness yet in his life. However it should be noted that GAR is also sometimes used by full-grown men in other contexts such as:

"I never knew that Henrietta was so GAR."

Refering to the Cyborg Henrietta in the anime/manga Gunslinger Girl. The sentence specifically refers to this scene in volume 5 of the manga:



I personally find GAR very stupid. You can read this post done by a married Singaporean anime blogger to understand why GAR appears mostly in Shounen anime and moe appears frequently in Seinen anime, or anime intended for men.

"In the same vein, it’d also explain why we avoid certain series. I’m sure Grouseaux despises most war-themed anime because as an insider, he knows how silly most of them are. Having served in the army like most Singaporean males, I too have a higher bar for war anime. One of the reasons why I strongly recommend Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu over Saikano is the ludicrous manner the armed forces were depicted in the latter. Extrapolating this train of thought, this is also the reason why I have low regard for GAR in anime. Would one admire GAR anime characters if HE IS GAR in RL? (That said, of course there are well-crafted GAR characters in anime, worthy of respect though they are are far and few.) Like frivolous anime wars is to Grouseaux, so is anime GAR to real men."

"This conversely explains why real men worship moe - it’s everything they are not and will never be."

"(Incidentally, the most GAR thing I believe a man can do in RL is to undertake childbearing in place of his wife. Not just the delivery but the whole ten months ordeal. Now that is a GAR I can never hope to attain.)"

To summarise using my own point of view, the reason why GAR in anime is freaking stupid to grown up men like me is because, I myself am easily more GAR in the first place. Unless of course you're not. I have done all kinds of horrendous stuff and I'll just quote one example out of numerous ones. Aside from fucking subordinates that deserve it until their backside tear, I once had to scold this captain with all his children in the backseat for refusing to budge from a double yellow line. Ok I admit, I really didn't have to hollar at him using the insane amount of decibels that I did use, but I was already pissed that I was conscripted in the first place. And the captain's stubborness didn't help. I didn't really give a fuck about what his kids thought about him at that point of time and come to think about it, I still don't care. Yeah I knew I could have gotten into trouble but I didn't, and I had an ace in the hole. The idiot parked on a double yellow line. And he is only a freaking captain anyway.

The arguement goes that anything GAR that a GAR character in any anime does can't possibly impress me. Moe, on the other hand, is an entirely different story, and I'll briefly argue out why moe is really for men and GAR is just for whimpy boys. To understand fully, just pick out any anime with moe characters and give it a go seriously such as CLANNAD, or Manabi Straight!

Most people don't understand why men are attracted to moe in anime and usually make an initial judgement that that kind of anime is for pedophiles. I don't really blame the them, but in actual fact this is not the case. Will any animation studio waste tens of thousands of yen just to make an anime for pedophiles? The logic defies common sense.

I've always been captivated by Fuko's incessant determination.

If we look seriously at most moe characters in Seinen anime such as Nagisa or Fuko from CLANNAD, you'll see that unlike stupid GAR characters, moe characters can achieve things that we men can never possibly achieve. Nagisa has great potential to fixing up Tomoya's family and Fuko did manage to mend some broken ties. These kind of things require quite a bit of moral courage from stubborn men.

I mean I really can't do this kind of stuff now. The only thing I'm really good at now is scolding people, regardless of rank. I'll just adjust my decibels and tone to suit the correct rank. I can't really mend broken families and stuffs. In fact I guess I'll achieve just the opposite.

I mean look at what Fuko did for her sister's wedding. Do you think anyone of us will really throw our face away to do something like that for our older sisters? I really don't think so.

But that's really just the brief explaination and I'm not skilled enough to put moe fully in words. Just watch more moe anime and read these posts from top to bottom if you want to understand the truth:

Ken Akamatsu's (mangaka of Love Hina and Negima!?) intepretation of moe
Moetry for you
The Moe image

To end off, MOE is the true GAR. Those who have not fully matured will not understand or appreciate this. However, mature men with clouded perceptions are not likely to understand this either.