Sugar Apple Fairy Tale: How to Script Your Conflicts

 

Episode 4 of 'Sugar Apple Fairy Tale' is the best episode of this anime season in handling its conflicts. When it comes to conflicts in story-telling, I'm sure many people are familiar with the conflict graph.

It begins like this: An incident occurs at the beginning. The characters move to counter that incident, giving rising action. At the most climatic point of conflict, the characters deal the final blow. Tension is absolved and we fall down to our resolution. 

This way of dealing with conflict and tension is the oldest trick in the book but is also the most oversimplified version of it. The truth of the matter is, tension and conflict are infinitely complex. If you have been following my recent blog posts, you may note that I've been talking non-stop about different categories of progression; We have circumstantial and internal conflicts; We have implicit and explicit struggles. And when it comes down to the feeling of tension itself, I have discussed in my essay on 'Squid Game' how tension is an emotion that is highly malleable, being a tricky thing to balance out when we factor things like attention span and audience expectations.

Hence in this essay, I want to truly break down the nitty-gritty of how 'Sugar Apple Fairy Tale' approached its conflicts in episode 4. We are going to discuss the different types of conflicts it employs. We will think about how those differences affect the audience's level of tension and enjoyability. And finally, we will conclude on the take away of how to script your conflicts.

Disclaimer: This is written by an anime-only and will discuss events up to episode 4. I have also written another piece on 'Sugar Apple Fairy Tale' discussing how it establishes character chemistry. The ideas there are loosely associated and I will reference them, but it's not a necessary read.

https://zxcaderu.blogspot.com/2023/02/sugar-apple-fairy-tale-how-to-establish.html

The Lowest Point

The start of episode 4 begins at the lowest point of Ann's journey thus far. Jonas' evil scheme had been executed to perfection, and though the immediate threat to life has been eliminated, it didn't matter as the most crucial treasure was stolen -- Ann has lost her prized confectionary, the golden ticket to her aspirations.

It is at this point where we ask ourselves: Where are we on the tension graph? Are we at the inciting incident, given that now we have the potential plot point of foiling Jonas' scheme? Are we at the climax, given that we are right in the middle of the biggest tribulation Ann has faced? Well, the answer is much sadder than that, for we are at the resolution. The inciting incident actually begun in the previous episode when the dogs attack. The climax was the tense scene where the villain is escaping and our protagonists were surrounded by threatening hounds. That threat was eliminated off-screen, and in the very first second of episode 4, we were already in the falling action, heading towards its resolution. 

Why that is true is due to a simple and yet crucial factor. It is Ann's mental state that decides which point of the graph we are at. We see her kneeling on the ground, dirty, spiteful, tearful, a far cry from the usual determined aura she usually exudes. Let's consider a different scenario. If we rewrite Ann's mental state to be that of anger, with her wishing to get back at Jonas, then it will be accurate if we see ourselves at the point of rising action. Jonas' scheme will be the inciting incident, and now tension will lie in whether she will be able to catch up to him. However, the truth is far from that. Rather than being angered or resolute, Ann is depressed and loss. She does have anger, but it is misdirected at Shall for not fulfilling the reckless request of hers. It is clear that she is neither motivated to chase down her enemy nor is she emotionally stable enough to rely on her allies. For the audience, tension simply does not exist in such a state of mind. After all, why would we feel invested in a goal that our protagonist has given up on? Why would we possess stakes when she had deemed herself truly loss, with nothing to gain? At this point then, we are at the stage of resignation, beaten down by conflict, loss without motive. We can hence make our first observation: tension and stakes are closely associated with the character's motivation. If our characters have no desire to slay the dragon, or is simply resigned to its fiery breath, then not much tension or stakes can be roused from that -- All that can be felt is voiceless pity.

Recovery

As the old saying goes: When at our lowest, the only way we can go is up. Why conflicts are interesting at all, is because we desire our heroes to drag themselves out of the ditch. We see inspiration in their struggle. Hence, when writing a conflict, one of the most important question is: How did our heroes pick themselves back up?

The first incident to bring about such change is the birth of the fairy Lusul El Min, who was effective in providing a dramatic shift in tone. After our previous tragedy, everyone was dealt a heavy hand and had to harbor depressive emotions. Lusul El Min's mystical birth then not only served as a relevant plot point, it also served as a break in that spiral, a possible change in wind.

The second and perhaps more interesting event is in Shall's choice to remain. This decision is not only uplifting, but is powerful only because there were three episodes worth of build up before it. In my previous essay on this series, I noted how the central conflict of episode 1 is the intensely-charged dynamic of the slave and the slave owner. In episode 2 and 3, this conflict is put to the wayside to integrate our roster of characters and deal with the more urgent ambitions of Ann. Now, in the fourth episode, this conflict suddenly resurfaced, and gave us a sudden pay-off with Shall's growing fondness for her. 

Initially, such a writing decision seemed strange to me. This is an old conflict that had no correlation whatsoever with our central issue. Would reintroducing it not result in a clash of plot elements? Well, not exactly, owing to the fact that us audience members are hypersensitized to our feelings of tension. Tension can be defined as the sense that something ominous would soon happen in the story, but to break it down into its base concept, tension simply deals with audience expectations. At first when Jonas was escaping, I'm sure many of us expected the conflict to move towards pursuing him. However after we witness Ann's lack of motivation, we realized that no such conflict would occur and in extension, no such expectations would take hold. In that void then, it is much easier for us to accept any new conflicts to be brought forward, simply owing to the fact that we aren't preoccupied with anything to begin with. Second and perhaps more importantly, there is also an implicit shift in expectations. When there are many things to lose, we will always expect them to be lost, but when all is lost, we expect different -- We wish for hope. Hope is perhaps the opposite of tension; Rather than fearing the ominous results, we are wishing for improvements, anything that can make the situation better. If I have to graph out hope in relation to tension, it would look something this.

With this graph, the upper quadrant is where audience will feel tension, while the lower quadrant is where our tension transform to hope. While in truth these two feelings are not mutually exclusive (tension is born from the hope that the heroes will survive), I think this graph still succeeds in explaining a simple concept that is almost universal in how we audience 'expect' in media: when things are going well, we tend to expect the worst, but when the worst hits, we always hope for the best. The graph then informs us of our journey thus far; Ann suffered at the hands of Jonas and is plunged to her lowest point; Because we are attached to Ann, we hope for her to improve, which comes in the form of Shall. In such a scenario, we can then say that Shall isn't a detour or a distraction. He served as the important support that will bring Ann back into her motivated state. Similarly, we can see how flexible the author is. Rather than reintroduce Shall's conflict as an element of tension, it is instead introduced as the resolution of one, a form of levity for Ann. Such levity is also pivotal in managing the audience's emotions as well. Like I have discussed in my essay on 'Squid Game', tension is a tiring emotion that must be carefully balanced out, and in this case, so is despair. We can't overly dwell in the negatives as depressive emotions weigh equally hard on our hearts. We need moments that promise us a light at the end of the tunnel, and in this case, Shall provides that relief. What we can glimpse from the graph then is the importance of achieving that balance, of maintaining a healthy ratio of both tension and hope.

https://zxcaderu.blogspot.com/2021/10/squid-games-genius-manipulation-of.html

Meanwhile, an entirely different conflict swerves it way to the forefront as well, in the name of Ann's inadequate skill. This is a conflict introduced in episode 3 and was momentarily pushed aside by the sudden intrusion of our main conflict. In episode 4, it is subtly brought back up in the form of a resolution, with Ann finding her own stylized beauty in crafting fairy statuettes. This conflict shares a few major similarities with Shall's conflict; Both are resolutions to their personal issues; Both serve as motivating forces that would lift Ann out of her depressive state. However interestingly, there are subtle differences in their results that have significant impact on our viewing experience. The first difference is that Ann's inadequate skill is actually closely associated to our central conflict, compared to Shall's. This makes sense since our competition necessitates that she crafts a product worthy of gold, while Shall's presence is comparably miniscule in it. This leads us to our second difference, in that because of that necessity, her resolution is hence a direct preparation for our final conflict. Hard to visualize? Well, it was difficult for me to put into words at first, until I realize that there is a pretty apt anime term for it -- Ann's resolution is a training arc.

Oh yes, how can we all forget, the training our protagonists all have to go through after getting their asses whooped by the villains. The story purposes of a training arc should be intuitive to all. It justifies power levels, making it so that it is reasonable for our heroes to beat the villains. Secondly on a more emotional level, it is also so damn satisfying to see hard work leading to deserving results. However, it is also interesting to note that Ann's training arc is a deviation from such traditional story beats as well. If you think about it in the terms of power scaling, Jonas is actually much weaker than Ann, which is canonically confirmed by Hugh. Moreover, Jonas stole Ann's statuette, so the struggle is less on whether Ann can out skill Jonas, but more on how she is gonna poof an entirely new piece out of thin air. We can visualize it better if we think of a hypothetical situation where she doesn't go through the entire Hugh episode, and we simply have it so that she still manages to make an improved product with her original skill. In that hypothetical then, we realize that while Ann's personal inadequacy is closely associated to our main conflict, it is neither derivative or necessary. But even with all that said, oh boy, does its inclusion make a world of difference. 

Emotional weight and investment; A simple way to see its effects is to simply compare the two competitive pieces side by side. Do you prefer the statue of the butterfly bouquet or do you prefer the fairy statuette? In hindsight the answer is obvious. You would, of course, prefer the piece that is owned by our heroine. However, perhaps a more instinctive feeling we actually possess is in how much more emotional weight we have towards the fairy statuette . This is a piece that symbolizes Ann's friendship with the fairies, this is the piece that is promised and admired by Shall. This is also the piece that will bring her her victory, and this is the piece that have journeyed through a story arc by itself. At the end of the day, this small fairy statuette inspires much more investment than any beautiful bouquet possibly can, and it is worth noting that such a thing wouldn't be possible if Ann's inadequate skill wasn't established, built-up and then resolved in such efficient manner. In the grand scheme of things then, this minor inclusion can be said to have done wonders, not only making victory taste sweeter, but by doing so while tying a bunch of symbolic themes along the way.

Conflict, Goals & Mini Victories

So we have just reached 2266 words in this essay and we have only just reached our central conflict. Are you impressed yet, cause I sure am. When it comes to our main conflict, we touch on some age ol' concepts that have been tried and tested for centuries of story-telling -- The twist and turns.

At first, the king states how Ann's piece is much more beautiful; A win. Then we meet an unforeseen road block where only the bigger piece can be picked; Oh damn... Mithril Lid Pod has returned! Hell yea! But then Jonas began lying out his wretched teeth; Piece of shit!

While the effects of the twist and turns should be intuitive to everyone, it is still interesting to note that some of the familiar progression structures have been repeated as well. The winner being momentarily declared to be Jonas has the same sense of finality as Ann's resigned state at the beginning. Similarly, Mithril Lid Pod served both the role of Lusul El Min and Shall, being the tonal shift and the motivating force to her. We can see this in action with our previous tension/hope graph.

Perhaps more interesting to note is the role that Hugh took in this conflict, which is that of an unbiased arbiter. As the sugar silver viscount, he is extremely knowledgeable and can see through the bull shit that Jonas spouts. As the person the king trusts as well, he has the influence to restate the rules, allowing for near hopeless circumstances to turn into unexpected rays of hope for Ann. In the majority of the conflict then, he stood on the side of honesty and proficiency, which just so happens to favor our heroine. In this case then, we have to consider, how does having such a powerful ally influence the audience's feeling of tension?

Well, if tension is people's expectations of the ominous, then it can be safe to say that having a powerful ally like Hugh, would greatly negate some of the tension in that scene. In fact, I think the feeling was precisely undermined when Hugh caught wind of foul play, saying "it seems as though they might have been made by the same artisan." I remember feeling back on my watch through the sense of victory in that moment, knowing that Jonas' wretched plan was on the verge of being snuffed. 

However, it isn't to say that maintaining high tensions in conflict is the only way to make it enjoyable to watch. Sometimes, even if the results are predictable, you would still get a kick out of watching villains fall. One such way is utilizing the age old "poetic justice". This term can be defined as the victory of virtue and the defeat of vices in an ironically apt manner. The phrase highlighted here is 'ironically apt', for it is the method which inspires greater catharsis, much more than the results. In our case, it is poetic justice that the final stage of our competition posits our characters to recreate the piece. This not only foresees the downfall of Jonas, but makes it so that it is a defeat that he had administered on himself by his own grubby hands. In the example of poetic justice then, we can see that the results don't matter if they are predictable, all we want to see is the villain being ridiculed in the most humorous way possible.

When we consider the final stage of the competition as well, we can note the same quelling of tension. When Hugh mentioned that the winning conditions were to mimic the piece and the immediate reaction of Jonas was to shake in his panties, there may have been no doubt whatsoever that the victor would be Ann. In that moment, while some may still expect a final twist, for others, the result may have already been written in stone. In those cases then, our tension in our tension/hope graph would lie somewhere near the zero line.

Whenever that is the case, the show has to make a drastic shift in what emotions they want to pursue. If tension and the feeling of unpredictability is no longer on the table, the writers would need to be creative in fueling the scene with a different emotion that the audience can enjoy. With that said, it is now more apt than ever to introduce the younger and cuter sibling of "conflict" -- Goals.

Goals and conflicts can be congruous in many scenarios. We can consider Ann, with her main conflict being her spar with Jonas, and in extension, would lead to her fulfillment of her goal to become a silver sugar master. In that example, both goals and conflict are synonymous, sharing the same means and destination. But perhaps when goals start to shed its coat is in another example of Ann achieving her own style. 

Does achieving self-actualisation have a direct impact on the conflict at hand? Well, there is a connection but that association is loose and not necessitated. After all, even without achieving actualization, Jonas would still be defeated by the original skills that Ann already sharpened. In this case then, the need to achieve self-actualization neither have immediate stakes or gains, but is rather a goal -- One without the need of immediacy nor the fear of loss. Goals don't have to feed into the tension/hope graph specifically because we don't have an urgency to expect them to be fulfilled. If for example, Ann achieves self-actualization in the next story arc, or the arc after that, we may not even notice a difference or have an issue with it. 

Let us consider them under the limelight. It was an unfortunate circumstance that Ann wouldn't be picked as a winner. In that case, we can say that the resolution to our central conflict is slightly unsatisfying. Jonas did get his face slapped, but what of our rewards? In the end, she failed to become the silver sugar master and also will fail in achieving her initial vision of honoring her mother in Pull Soul Day. However, this is precisely when goals come in clutch. The praise that Hugh gives to her for her originality is a goal that gives the sense of improvement. It allows us to see a form of victory that is different from what our original conflict promised, and yet remains just as sweet. Similarly, Ann's silent prayer to her mother, asking her "did you see that?" is a different form of honor she originally envisioned. The goal was still ultimately fulfilled in the form of a daughter who she can be proud of, a student who had successful evolved her floral signature. And finally, further long term goals were even established, with the queen wishing upon Ann to return next year to compete. 

Goals in essence then, are extremely flexible and satisfying. As they have stakes that are less apparent or are wholly absent, their conditions for fulfillment can be molded into different states, ones that promise the same sense of uncertainty that conflicts do. Similarly as we can see in this case, goals were used as both consolation and reassurance, promising us that though Ann lost the war, she still won the battle. As a possible learning point then, we can also observe how goals add a layer of complexity to our conflicts, allowing for not only different win conditions, but also a wider variety in satisfaction.

Just as an additional example of shows that utilize their goals efficiently, we can look no further than this season's 'Tenten Kakumei'. Episode 5 promised an epic battle of wizards and dragon, and yet around the half way mark, we were blessed with a confession and promise between Euphie and Anis. Was the scene necessary to battle the big bad? No, not really, but it sure is damn satisfying to see our two main leads grow closer.

And last but not least, we have our mini victories. My, oh my, how can I ever forget one of my favorite techniques in story telling. If conflict deals with central issues, and goals are loose associations with lesser stakes, then what mini victories are, are minor details that have no relevance to the central conflict whatsoever. One of my favorite examples of mini victories is in episode 3 of 'Lycoris Recoil'. In that episode while the central conflict is the mock up battle and the central goal is the bond between Takina and Chisato, our mini victories lie in the throwaway details like Takina eating a candy, her smile at the end, and also her willingness to join board game night. Those mini victories all had their own miniature build up moments, those mini victories all matter little to the grand scheme of things, but oh god, do I love how much more climatic flavor they add to its ending.

https://zxcaderu.blogspot.com/2022/07/lycoris-recoil-art-of-presenting.html

For 'Sugar Apple Fairy Tale', our mini victory was of course, with Shall and Mithril Lid Pod. Shall calling Ann's name and pulling her into his embrace was cool and all, but can we talk about the subtle mini victory of him kissing Ann's hand. These are small details that have arisen from episode 1 where we learnt that Ann possesses the sweet scent of sugar like Shall's sister, and also in episode 3 where he confesses that her fingers carried that same scent. And now, we loop back around to episode 4, where we are gifted a kiss on them that not only carried a lot of romantic weight, but also double up with how he treats her like his own family. And by episode's end, Mithril Lid Pod reaffirmed his promise as well, and you might have mistakenly assumed this was episode 13 with how well the show tied up its loose ends.

The thing is, this feeling of 'this felt like the season finale' is a thought that I'm sure many people have felt before. But I hope that with this essay of mine, you have come closer to understanding that that feeling is usually built off of many writing decisions and machinations at its base. In this case, we can consider how episode 4 resolved four different types of conflicts, one major and three minor. We can consider multiple ups-and-downs the show had brought us through with the tension/hope graph, and see how such a journey has satisfied many facets of emotions and expectations we the audience may have. We can also consider how the show has managed to give three different types of resolutions as well, hitting on conflict resolution, goal fulfillments and mini victories. And finally, we can laud about how this entire episode had done every one of those things in under 23 minutes, while other shows strive to do even one of them throughout their entire season. Perhaps then I stand by my belief -- Episode 4 of 'Sugar Apple Fairy Tale' is the best episode out of this season in scripting its conflicts.