For a reason I will never understand, cute things getting punished is a common trope in anime. For this reason, Oruchuban Ebichu breaks my heart. Ebichu, the adorable (one might say sickeningly so) hamster of the title is mauled and abused in every episode, after having only lovingly cleaned her master's home. Reality check, eh? This shit happens in the real world, people. Another reality check? Office Lady, although she is constantly taken advantage of by her lousy boyfriend, always comes back to him. A pretty typical unhappy romance, all things said! Oruchuban Ebichu succeeds because it seeks to destroy the bubble ofsafety that other anime wish to sustain. Anime like Spirited Away and Mind Game wish to teach us that there is magic in everyday life, there for the taking. Ebichu shows that there is no magic, only a cruel world that punishes innocents for doing good.

Cute, huh?