On Vogler's [Polarity] and a Brief Analysis of The Demon Girl Next Door

1. Opposites Attract#

Two people with contrasting qualities are drawn to each other.

2. Polarized Conflict Attracts an Audience#

When opposite poles are brought close together, conflict is born. Conflict grabs the audience’s attention.

3. Polarity Creates Suspense#

Polarity generates suspense about the outcome. Which worldview will prevail in the end? And so forth.

Our own lives are also full of polarized conflicts, so the audience looks for clues on how they should cope if a similar trial arises in their own lives.

4. Poles Can Reverse#

When conflict heats up, the poles can reverse.

When this happens, the force that once drew the two together turns into a force of repulsion.

5. Reversal of Fortune#

When a reversal occurs, the character’s fortune is also overturned.

Ideally, someone’s fortune should reverse at least once within a single scene.

6. Recognition of Secrets#

Reversals occur in scenes where a secret is revealed.

7. Reversals in Romance#

In romance, lovers swing back and forth between opposing poles like trust and doubt, cycling through reversals time and again. A love story that begins in rejection and mistrust gradually reverses into mutual attraction as the two overcome their differences and discover common ground.

8. Polarity and Character Arcs#

A polarized relationship enables an exhaustive exploration of the characters.

9. The Opposite Pole#

When one character undergoes a reversal of polarity, a movement in the opposite direction is triggered, to some degree, in the person at the other pole.

10. Going to Extremes#

Those who experiment with qualities opposite to their own can sometimes run wild, pushing all the way to the far extreme of that opposite pole.

Such characters may swing like a pendulum between their original polarity and its opposite, and in some cases, eventually settle into a well-balanced point somewhere in the middle.

11. Reversal of the Reversal#

It is rare for opposite poles to reverse completely and permanently. People operate under a powerful rule to remain anchored in their fundamental nature. So, a character who experiences a reversal and gains new insight will pull back once more to their original pole. However, the place they return to will be slightly different from where they began.

12. Polarity Seeks Resolution#

A polarized conflict is sometimes resolved by converting to a third option.

This is just like deriving a synthesis from thesis and antithesis.

13. A Polarized World#

Polarity is a meta-pattern; it operates at every scale, from clashes between individuals all the way to clashes of cultures and values.

14. Internal Polarity#

Stories can also be built around polarities that exist within a person’s inner psyche.

15. Agon—The Energy of Contest#

The potent energy of polarity was recognized as “agon.” This is the force of struggle and conflict that governs every contest. Agon also carries the connotation of a verdict—settling clearly who is stronger, or who is right.

Agon is also the etymological root of agony. Agon is embedded within protagonist and antagonist as well.

16. Polarity Gives Direction#

Clear polarities make the story’s direction easy to follow.

However, if misused, they can drastically oversimplify a situation that should rightfully be far more complex. That requires caution.

Example: The Demon Girl Next Door, Vol. 3#

Polarity: Light vs. Dark

In the formula above,

• A = Momo Chiyoda
• Z = Shamiko

you can just substitute them right in.

Shamiko tries to entice Momo Chiyoda to fall to darkness. While Momo refuses near the end of Volume 2, she begins experimenting with getting closer to the dark side by wearing black hair ornaments and black clothing.

Near the end of Volume 3, Momo undergoes a temporary reversal of polarity in order to save Shamiko from a nightmare. The reversal is resolved soon enough, but from that point onward, whenever she becomes mentally unstable, she begins falling to darkness.

Example: The Demon Girl Next Door, Vol. 3 (An Example of Internal Polarity More Faithful to the Rules)#

Polarity: Lone Wolf vs. Small-Scale Enterprise Mazoku

Once again, in the example above,

• A = Momo Chiyoda
• Z = Shamiko

you can simply plug them right in.

At the beginning of Volume 3, Shamiko points out one of the biggest flaws Momo Chiyoda carries. Namely: “You try way too hard to make everything work out nicely all by yourself!”

Momo puts on an air of not taking it too seriously, asking, “Are you sure you should be telling your arch-rival your weakness?” In reality, however, Shamiko’s observation had enough impact to force Momo to reconsider her own polarity.

In Episode 4 of Season 2 (The Demon Girl Next Door 2-Chome), Momo asks Shamiko to help search for Sakura Chiyoda. Through Rule 9, Momo’s polarity has flipped.

(Under pressure from Z, A begins swinging like a pendulum, experimenting with extreme words and deeds.) (A experiences a temporary reversal of polarity, pushing Z toward the opposite pole.)

However, sending Shamiko into Café Asura all on her own was, just as Rule 10 says, an act of going a bit to extremes.

As a result of raiding Café Asura, Shamiko develops amnesia from the magical cooking. Momo heads in from the outside to rescue her. In the process, Manager Shirosawa points out: “It means that your request was putting pressure on this girl.”

Through everything that follows, Shamiko acquires the strength to face crises on her own, and Momo Chiyoda learns the necessity of relying on others.

Example: Titanic#

Polarity: Upper Class vs. Lower Class

Once again, in the above framework,

• A = Rose
• Z = Jack

you can just substitute them right in. Vogler conducts a detailed examination himself, so I’ll omit it here.

The “Shamiko = Jack” Theory#

It just dawned on me: in The Demon Girl Next Door, Shamiko, much like Jack, often influences those around her as a [Catalyst Hero].

Shamiko’s character is already quite mature from the very start, appearing to have little room left for personal growth within the narrative. (Of course, that isn’t to disregard the ways Shamiko grows in various aspects, either.)

This might be a vestige of The Demon Girl Next Door having originally been conceived with Momo as the protagonist.

Aufheben Shamiko#

According to Vogler (p. 495),

Sometimes the polarity of a story is resolved because the polarization itself is recognized as a mistake based on misunderstanding, or something that would never have arisen if both camps had simply communicated well from the start.

From Volume 3 onward, once her own problems are largely sorted out, Shamiko frequently functions as a [Catalyst Hero], resolving the conflicts arising among those around her in this very manner and guiding them toward a synthesis.

For example, regarding the conflict between Mikan Hinatsuki and the “curse that causes minor misfortune to rain down on those around her whenever she gets upset,” Shamiko managed to resolve the conflict and give birth to Ugallu.

The words spoken by Philosophical Shamiko might literally be Shamiko’s philosophy.