Death the Kid sparks conversations about OCD and other mental illnesses. Is it good or bad?
Death the Kid is a memorable character from a memorable and rather over-the-top anime Soul Eater. Kid is the youngest son of Lord Death and a death god (shinigami) himself. He is honestly quite cool, with his magical skateboard and two guns, who are also his friends. However, one of the most crucial aspects of his personality is what is generally assumed to be obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). At least, that is what it is called in the anime, and that is what many fans believe.
OCD has a lot of types, but it generally involves obsessive thoughts and compulsive actions meant to keep those thoughts at bay. For Kid, his obsession with symmetry makes him compulsively check and recheck things he believes he needs to keep in order. Like his toilet paper; it needs to be folded into perfect triangles, and if it is not, Death the Kid can have a breakdown.
Mental health is a delicate topic. On the one hand, it is attractive to storytellers, especially when they want to showcase extremes. For example, yanderes have extreme personalities specifically because of their mental instability, and it is fun to watch the results of their extremes appear on screen.
In reality, people with mental illness are not very likely to go yandere; in fact, they are way more likely to be victims of violence. One could argue that portrayals of mentally ill people as dangerous is inappropriate. From this perspective, at least, Death the Kid is a good portrayal. He has a little OCD but is overall quite rational and, most importantly, a good character, a protagonist of the series. Diversity wins!
However, not everything is perfect in this portrayal. See, Death the Kid’s mental health is mostly used for laughs. The spectators are expected to smile and laugh as Death the Kid works himself up about his name not being symmetrical during the exam, or fails to help his friends because he is not sure if he folded the toilet paper correctly. That is another mental illness trope: it can be a way to explain plot points and gaps. After all, a “crazy” character can behave in unpredictable ways for no reason other than their craziness. Death the Kid not helping the other protagonists because he is not sure if his toilet paper is properly folded is an instance of that trope.
It is also important to note that while those are meant to be funny moments, Kid does not seem to be having much fun. We are ultimately invited to laugh at him, not with him. Although we do laugh along with other characters, in particular, Kid’s closest friends, who identify his condition as OCD. Death the Kid is usually miserable or undergoing a total breakdown while his friends laugh at him or scold him for making things difficult.
Now, mental illness is not a joke. Living, breathing people suffer from OCD, and they might find the depictions in Soul Eater to be tone-deaf or inappropriate, as well as simply incorrect. The question of whether Death the Kid's OCD is any way similar to real-life experiences is still being debated.
In fact, there are debates on whether Death the Kid has any mental illness at all. People comment that the creators of the show might not have known enough about OCD, which resulted in a flawed depiction. And eventually, there are people who simply claim that whatever the Kid has (Madness of Order) is a made-up thing the character suffers from as a shinigami, which means that people should not apply it to real life.
The last one is a weak defense. First, even manga readers admit that the anime did not explain that Madness of Order very well. Second, it doesn't really matter that the illness was made up by the creators to only affect shinigami. What matters is how people perceive Death the Kid and whether they identify with what they see.
To be clear, people identify with Death the Kid. People identify with Death the Kid even when they disagree with the way his mental conditions are portrayed. And when the OCD is put aside, what do we see the Kid doing?
Well, when all the embarrassing aspects of his mental health are ignored, Death the Kid is a hero, an amazing fighter, a good friend… In fact, one might argue that all these qualities are even more pronounced when you consider that Death the Kid struggles a little bit more than other characters. He does have to make sure that the toilet paper is folded right before he goes and helps his friends. Or, to be more serious, he does have to struggle with his mental health while still managing to be a good and loyal friend and a badass fighter.
Mental illness in media has a long way to go, and a decade-old anime might not be at the forefront of flawless approaches to depicting mental health. Death the Kid’s portrayal is far from perfect. The OCD struggle should not be played for laughs, but at least, in this anime, it is played at all. It is very rare for depictions of mental health not to involve hatchet-bearing maniacs. To see the hero of the series, one of the most powerful and amazing characters in it, be like you, must mean something.
Death the Kid is an imperfect depiction of mental health struggle, but he is definitely a memorable one, and if he sparks a debate or two about OCD, it is just another reason to talk about OCD, which is ultimately a good thing.
Death the Kid sparks conversations about OCD and other mental illnesses. Is it good or bad?
Death the Kid is a memorable character from a memorable and rather over-the-top anime Soul Eater. Kid is the youngest son of Lord Death and a death god (shinigami) himself. He is honestly quite cool, with his magical skateboard and two guns, who are also his friends. However, one of the most crucial aspects of his personality is what is generally assumed to be obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). At least, that is what it is called in the anime, and that is what many fans believe.
OCD has a lot of types, but it generally involves obsessive thoughts and compulsive actions meant to keep those thoughts at bay. For Kid, his obsession with symmetry makes him compulsively check and recheck things he believes he needs to keep in order. Like his toilet paper; it needs to be folded into perfect triangles, and if it is not, Death the Kid can have a breakdown.
Mental health is a delicate topic. On the one hand, it is attractive to storytellers, especially when they want to showcase extremes. For example, yanderes have extreme personalities specifically because of their mental instability, and it is fun to watch the results of their extremes appear on screen.
In reality, people with mental illness are not very likely to go yandere; in fact, they are way more likely to be victims of violence. One could argue that portrayals of mentally ill people as dangerous is inappropriate. From this perspective, at least, Death the Kid is a good portrayal. He has a little OCD but is overall quite rational and, most importantly, a good character, a protagonist of the series. Diversity wins!
However, not everything is perfect in this portrayal. See, Death the Kid’s mental health is mostly used for laughs. The spectators are expected to smile and laugh as Death the Kid works himself up about his name not being symmetrical during the exam, or fails to help his friends because he is not sure if he folded the toilet paper correctly. That is another mental illness trope: it can be a way to explain plot points and gaps. After all, a “crazy” character can behave in unpredictable ways for no reason other than their craziness. Death the Kid not helping the other protagonists because he is not sure if his toilet paper is properly folded is an instance of that trope.
It is also important to note that while those are meant to be funny moments, Kid does not seem to be having much fun. We are ultimately invited to laugh at him, not with him. Although we do laugh along with other characters, in particular, Kid’s closest friends, who identify his condition as OCD. Death the Kid is usually miserable or undergoing a total breakdown while his friends laugh at him or scold him for making things difficult.
Now, mental illness is not a joke. Living, breathing people suffer from OCD, and they might find the depictions in Soul Eater to be tone-deaf or inappropriate, as well as simply incorrect. The question of whether Death the Kid's OCD is any way similar to real-life experiences is still being debated.
In fact, there are debates on whether Death the Kid has any mental illness at all. People comment that the creators of the show might not have known enough about OCD, which resulted in a flawed depiction. And eventually, there are people who simply claim that whatever the Kid has (Madness of Order) is a made-up thing the character suffers from as a shinigami, which means that people should not apply it to real life.
The last one is a weak defense. First, even manga readers admit that the anime did not explain that Madness of Order very well. Second, it doesn't really matter that the illness was made up by the creators to only affect shinigami. What matters is how people perceive Death the Kid and whether they identify with what they see.
To be clear, people identify with Death the Kid. People identify with Death the Kid even when they disagree with the way his mental conditions are portrayed. And when the OCD is put aside, what do we see the Kid doing?
Well, when all the embarrassing aspects of his mental health are ignored, Death the Kid is a hero, an amazing fighter, a good friend… In fact, one might argue that all these qualities are even more pronounced when you consider that Death the Kid struggles a little bit more than other characters. He does have to make sure that the toilet paper is folded right before he goes and helps his friends. Or, to be more serious, he does have to struggle with his mental health while still managing to be a good and loyal friend and a badass fighter.
Mental illness in media has a long way to go, and a decade-old anime might not be at the forefront of flawless approaches to depicting mental health. Death the Kid’s portrayal is far from perfect. The OCD struggle should not be played for laughs, but at least, in this anime, it is played at all. It is very rare for depictions of mental health not to involve hatchet-bearing maniacs. To see the hero of the series, one of the most powerful and amazing characters in it, be like you, must mean something.
Death the Kid is an imperfect depiction of mental health struggle, but he is definitely a memorable one, and if he sparks a debate or two about OCD, it is just another reason to talk about OCD, which is ultimately a good thing.
_15548.webp)
