Seems like I’ve suddenly turned into someone who looks at the trends in shounen anime…
This wallpaper I discovered (which ended up being my desktop for a very long time) got me thinking about what backs represent in a few of the anime I’ve seen. Every now and then you see a protagonist being said to have a “wide back” or something similar. What stands out in my memory, “Did his back always use to be this big?” Of course, it’s not supposed to be anything literal – saying that a hero has a “wide back” is just another way of saying that they’ve grown or matured, and that they’re able to take on more responsibilites. A specific example I can think of is Ed from FMA. At some point during the middle of the series Winry, who’s known Ed since their childhood, remarks that that his back wasn’t always that large. I think this is something that’s easy to take notice of due to the two’s relationship. Winry’s seen Ed before and after the experiences that have shaped him into the the man he is today, so more than anyone else she notices the differences between him then and now.
And naturally, there’s also the example of Gurren Lagann – the amount of times the camera’s shown the heroes from behind looking forward to the next challenge makes the point in and of itself. It brings up the idea of someone’s back not only bearing responsibilites and burdens, but also being a way that those who came before them and support them an urge them on. It acts as a connection between those who pass on the responsibilittty and those who now bear it. The same thing happens a few times in Ippo as well (which will always continue to crop up in my posts from now on, it seems). Whenever a protagonist is about to go down in a significant fight, something that helps them keep going is the though that their friends and loved ones are right there behind them, spurring them onwards.
Grand Punk Railroad 
BROFIST
http://ghostlightning.wordpress.com/?attachment_id=6882
You guys need your own show.
Archer have wide back in Fate Stay Night!
Truth.
And his back muscles were *magnificent.*
Unless this is like the rubber nipples on Batman’s suit and he just wore a buff costume. 🙂
In Godannar, the main character Gou is frequently described as having a wide back by his wife.
She married him for his back!
I seem to recall that Winry said Ed’s shoulders were broad, not that his back was big. Usually (IRL), broad shoulders means manliness… though of course, if you have broad shoulders, you’d probably have a big back.
In the Rurouni Kenshin manga, there’s a short chapter that I will always remember as one of my favorites, about Sanosuke and the kanji on the back of the shirt he always wears. In that chapter was a poetic line (or so I remember) about how children grow up watching the backs of those that they follow. Simply put, people grow up by following what those ahead of them do, and it spoke to me of leadership, responsibility, and legacy, that there’s always someone watching your back and following your lead. Uncommon wisdom from a truly special manga.
[…] Kadian on Kanji on Our Backs That Let Us Lead Original post: On Our Backs, In Our Hearts […]
Hmm…I think I’m going to go do a lot of back exercises at the gym today.
Baby got back?