Pressured Preference

During the fourth episode of Samurai Flamenco, Maya said something that rings true for a lot of people, even if they don't want to admit it; that being, even if there was the possibility of people figuring out that she is Flamenco Girl, she doesn't want that fact to hold her back. That fear of what might happen, keeps a lot of people from doing things they want to; a lot of time resulting in many people doing things that are more "normal", rather than one thing they enjoy for the sake of not standing out.

That reaction to what is essentially peer pressure is pretty natural behavior, considering that human are social animals and responding to a group's queues is pretty much instinctual. So when people go outside of the norm, it is both commendable and difficult to know were to go from there, since you don't have much of an example to follow. Samurai Flamenco plays well to this type of feeling because there are many smaller scale crimes that not many people care about, and Samurai Flamenco is one of the few to take the initiative and crack down on the problem. So even if I had my suspicions of Flamenco Girl and her intentions -- which have been cleared because of fifth episode -- it is nice to see someone else on Kazama's side to help push him forward.

Funny enough, there is one more anime this season that also presents the main character with decision that he is fearful of the possible outcomes, however in a different way; that anime is NouCome, where absolute choice gives you no option but to pick one of the choices. And that no other option is something plays a bigger role for decision making. You have a choice, but not really, though you still are weighing the possible outcome of each of the choices.

No Other Choice

When the pressure from your peers is lessened, yet still there, it changes what you are focusing on in the time of choosing. There is still a lingering pressure for sure, because they will still label you as weird; the thing that softens the pressure from your peers was the curse of absolute choice. It makes it more imperative that you pick something that will be to your benefit, rather than letting your peers pick for you. Even if a majority of the choices are not really to your liking, it is a good practice of actually knowing what you truly desire.

So I kind of wonder, if people had to pick an option, but to from something they enjoyed or something their peers deem acceptable, would more people be able to pick what they want? From the many options or accuses people make to avoid becoming an outcast, limiting it down to what is the essence of what you are picking -- rather than the gradient that some people may think is a choice -- would be an interesting method to judge peoples ways of weighing their options.

Easing Up

Whether you are truly choosing something or your own, or being influenced by something to choose, some people might find out that picking for yourself ends in making you more happy in the long run. Other people's opinions should only really inspire you to do something and not control your decisions making. Even if peer pressure is something that you can't overcome right now, it is much easier to remember that being around these type of people are only temporary matters. The thing will be around until your dead is you. So if you are trying to impress people that aren't going to be with you past maybe one to four years, you probably need to ask yourself who really is the fool?