Appare Ranman: Appare’s Moral Dilemma and Its Implications on His Character Development

 

Appare Ranman is the story of Appare Sorano and the samurai Kosame, who are stuck in Los Angeles without any money and no means to get back to Japan. The story is set up in the late 19th Century, around the Meiji era. The protagonist, Appare, who comes from a respected merchant family, decides to go on an adventure. At the same time, samurai Kosame is given the chore to make sure Appare doesn’t do anything stupid because of his eccentric nature. In an attempt to take back Appare to Japan, both of them get stranded at sea unable to call for help. They are later rescued by a passing American steamship. This is how they end up in Los Angeles. Now in order to get back, they decide to participate in the Trans-American Wild Race.

Appare might be eccentric, but he is a genius engineer as well. So, participating in the Trans-American Wild Race is very exciting for him as it gives him the opportunity to develop a custom automobile. Because of his genius, he is often overconfident and rude to others. But in the latest Episode he shows that there is a compassionate side to him as well and the past notions about his nature are set to be challenged.

In the second phase of the Race, Appare appears to undergo changes previously unthought of. Although eccentric and arrogant he gives up pragmatism for the sake of friends which is unlike him. All of this transpires when he is in a pickle during the race. Gil the Butcher has set up dynamites in order to hurt and block the frontrunners of the race. Appare who is right behind Gil finds himself in a tricky situation as he knows if he tries to overtake Gil using his hybrid engine to catch up to Al and Jing, he will cause quite consequential damage to the vehicle, risking his chance of winning the race. But on the other hand, if he stays behind and conserves the engine, he has a chance of avoiding the dynamites and later overtaking the Butcher after clearing the valley.

Appare decides to do the right thing and overtakes Gil in order to warn the frontrunners to avoid the dynamites. Although he succeeds in warning the racers, because of overexertion his car breaks down leaving him, Kosame and Hototo stuck in the middle of nowhere. But lucky for them, Jing and Al offer to help them out and tow their car to the next pit stop. Appare is himself surprised by their actions as he seems to question himself for not sticking to the plan and unnecessarily indulging in moral dilemmas.

What makes Appare even more conflicted is the fact that instead of driving alone and trying to win the race, Al and Jing offer to help them, risking their chance of winning the race. After a lot of persuasions, he finally gives in and accepts their help. With everyone fast asleep, Appare tells Kosame how he has gone stupid while sitting around a campfire, as the entourage camp out of the night.

Kosame is very happy to see Appare go through this moral dilemma as it shows that even though Appare may be eccentric and rude, he is definitely not a sociopath. His compassion despite the conflict that he is going through is something that Kosame has never seen. He tries to help Appare make sense of his actions. He tells him that human beings are not like machines and therefore, all of their decisions are not always logically sound. There are situations where people choose to go with their emotions as they don’t always think with their brain only, but also with gut and heart. Appare still can’t understand and make sense of his actions, but he still keeps listening to what Kosame has to say.

Appare being socially awkward struggles to interact and express himself well in social settings. But the events that unfold in the second phase of the Trans-American Wild Race shows a remarkable shift in his characterization. So far, Appare has been portrayed to be the consummate genius engineer who is always pragmatic about situations and hardly shows any human emotions. If it was the usual Appare, he would have been practical about his choices and would have decided to stay behind Gil the Butcher so that he can overtake him after clearing the valley so that he can easily win the race. But what he did was completely uncharacteristic of him as he let go of his pragmatic ways in order to help others.

It is also very intriguing to watch Appare and Kosame trying to understand each other. They are now growing together by complementing each other. Kosame helps Appare by giving him a much-needed moral compass to go with his eccentric and sometimes uncaring nature. While Kosame too is helped in return by the protagonist as he introduces him with unconventional and exciting propositions which challenge the samurai to think beyond his traditional worldview.

It is going to be very interesting to see what Appare does in the upcoming episodes. Will he go back to being rude and uncaring or will we see a more matured and considerate version of him. His relationship with Kosame is growing as they get to know each other better after being brought together by the absurd turn of events. Only time will tell what ends up happening with their moral beliefs and convictions as they go through their chaotic and crazy adventure in America.

Devin Smith is a creative person who has been writing blogs and articles about cyber security and utility software programs. He writes about the latest updates regarding office.com/setup and how it can improve the work experience of users. His articles have been published in many popular e-magazines, blogs and websites.

Source : Appare Ranman