Notes on Inverted Structure (Foldback Structure)

Inverted Structure#

Roughly speaking, an inverted structure (contrast structure) is where multiple themes introduced in the first half of a narrative are resolved in reverse order in the second half.

It might be easier to visualize it as folding back up a furoshiki (wrapping cloth) in reverse order after spreading it open.

Apparently, this was originally discovered by Romanian folklorist Mihai Pop from the structure of the Romanian folktale “The Maiden as Soldier.” Ideally, I should refer to the original work, Metode noi în cercetarea structurii basmelor, but I couldn’t track it down (and even if I had, I probably wouldn’t have been able to decipher it anyway).

According to The Reversal Structure of Ainu Oral Texts: As Cases Not Based on Ikyo-houmon-tan (tales of visits to strange lands), an inverted structure is a structure defined by the following two characteristics:

• A: For elements placed in the “first half” of the story, corresponding elements in the “second half” appear with a relationship of “negation,” “opposition,” or “contrast” to those in the “first half.”
• B: Elements placed in the “second half” of the story appear in reverse order relative to the arrangement of corresponding elements in the “first half.”

Example: Kemono Friends#

For example, if you analyze Kemono Friends through this structure, it would look something like this:

• (Ep. 1) Kaban wanders the Savanna Area without a purpose.
  • (Ep. 1) Kaban does not know what kind of animal she is.
    • (Ep. 1) Kaban fights a Cerulean, but cannot save the victim, Aardwolf.
      • (Ep. 2) Kaban obtains the Japari Bus.
      • (Ep. 11) Kaban loses the Japari Bus.
    • (Ep. 11) Kaban fights a Cerulean and saves the victim, Serval.
  • (Ep. 12) Kaban declares that she is human.
• (Ep. 12) Kaban journeys across Japari Park with a clear purpose.

As you can see, events that occurred in the early stages of the story are wrapped up in reverse order by contrasting events toward the end.

Example: Leitmotif Usage in the Ace Combat 04 Soundtrack#

Actually, even before I learned about “inverted structures,” I had already noticed a similar structure in the soundtrack to the video game Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies. So I was super surprised to find out that this structure actually had a proper name.

• (Tr. 1 Shattered Skies) Opening
  • (Tr. 2 ISAF) Debut of Mobius 1
    • (Tr. 4 Operation) Briefing while at a disadvantage
      • (Tr. 18 Stonehenge’s Attack) Attack from Stonehenge
      • (Tr. 23 Stonehenge) Attack on Stonehenge
    • (Tr. 25 Second Strike) Briefing while having the upper hand
  • (Tr. 38 Heaven’s Gate) Mobius 1’s final strike
• (Tr. 40 Blue Skies) Ending