26th January 2011

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Robot Relations (Karakuri Odette)

This week, I decided that I’m going to join the Manga Movable Feast by doing an entry on this month’s MMF book, Karakuri Odette, by Julietta Suzuki. It is an interesting series that takes a look at how androids & humans interact with one another. Karakuri Odette represents a world that could be our reality someday. Going forward, will we be able to treat androids (& robots in general) as more than just tools & toys?

(For more information on what the Manga Movable Feast is, you can read this great description of the monthly event by Katherine Dacey, the Manga Critic.)

Karakuri Odette is a science fiction/romantic comedy series about an android girl named Odette Yoshizawa. The story chronicles her life in high school. She is fascinated with human emotions and is programmed not to hurt anyone. Odette decides to go to school because of her experience watching a drama about high school girls. She gets her creator, Professor Hiraoki Yoshizawa, to enroll her into one to see the difference between herself & high school girls. The series goes into love, friendship, loneliness, & what it means to be human.

The first thing that came to my mind while reading about Odette’s adventures was Chi, from the manga series, Chobits. That was another series about a robotic female who liked a human male. There is another android character that Odette also reminds me of: Aigis from the video game, Persona 3 (her story is almost similar to Odette in terms of understanding to be human).

With society’s fascination with robots, making robots that appeal to people is really a grueling task. There are a lot of psychological factors to consider when making one. The issue of gender in robots is also a concern and can draw a lot of controversy. Female robots have often been portrayed as domestic servants or sex objects in fiction. It’s refreshing to see the character of Odette as a innocent android who wants to understand how people live. The Professor is very supportive of her ventures & her attempts to become more “human”. The student body doesn’t know that she is a robot, but they have warmed up to her. Although a couple of students know Odette’s identity (Asao Kurose & Shirayuki Ringozaka), they have kept it to themselves.

Regarding the two characters mentioned, Asao & Ringozaka help to make sure that Odette doesn’t get into trouble. What gets us attached to things that seem human? According to an article at Psychology Today, the oxytocin hormone plays a huge role in how we develop bonds. Human beings enjoy being around strangers & communicating with them. The hormone makes us feel good whenever we find joy in being around and/or talking to certain people. Oxytocin can also cause people to develop a habit of bonding with objects with human-like qualities and giving life to them (e.g. naming cars, pets, etc.). It doesn’t differentiate what’s exactly human and what isn’t.

Karakuri Odette shows much how much humans want to bond, whether it’s with a person, place, or thing. It’s part of human nature. Both Asao & Ringozaka represent normal people being motivated by an inner need for an attachment with someone/something (Odette) that plays an important role in their lives & makes them feel comfortable.

The most important thing is comfortability. Unfortunately, most people tend to have a very depressing view on androids in regards to them being creepy and possibly being smart enough to destroy the world. (Though in Japan, things are very different since some Japanese don’t seem to enjoy talking to strangers and prefer speaking with an android) Media stereotypes do not tell the whole story. There is also the “uncanny valley theory”, which states the more realistic a robot looks & behaves, the more likely people will find the robot to be disturbing. It is possible to treat androids as people, since we do have a tendency to form attachments over many things. However, we cannot expect so much from android creators since AI development is very tricky & can get extremely complicated.

So is Odette the “perfect” android for society because of her good & non-judgmental nature? What really defines a “perfect” android? Finally, I want to ask all the MMF folks who have written about the manga: how would you interact with Odette if she existed & was a close friend of yours?

With many advancements in robotics, many issues could be raised regarding possible relations with androids. Before anyone freaks out, remember two things: ask questions first, then judge later. That is probably the one lesson that is stressed throughout Karakuri Odette & one that should be taken to heart.

Karakuri Odette was originally published by Hakusensha in “Hana to Yume” Magazine in Japan. The series is collected into 6 volumes. The English version is currently published by Tokyopop in North America.

Tagged: androidskarakuri odettemanga movable feastscience fictionshojomanga psychologypsychology of androidsJulietta Suzuki