Main Article Content
Abstract
The phenomenon of growing social apathy in modern society signals an urgent moral crisis that needs to be examined. This research aims to analyze the representation of Aristotelian virtue ethics in Wind Breaker Anime Episode 10 Season 2 as an alternative medium for moral education. Using a qualitative approach and content analysis method, the study explores how the concepts of arete (moral excellence), phronesis (practical wisdom), and eudaimonia (true happiness) are manifested through the actions and transformations of characters, especially Suzurin. This episode features a series of virtuous actions such as apology, empathy, forgiveness, and self-acceptance, which reflect Aristotle's doctrine of the golden mean and character formation through habituation. Collective support, moral courage, and the granting of second chances are interpreted as manifestations of justice and friendship (philia) within a social context. The analysis results show that Wind Breaker not only presents an entertaining narrative but also offers ethical values that can encourage moral reflection and character development in the audience. This research affirms the potential of anime as a pedagogical tool in revitalizing classical ethical values for the digital generation. Thus, this study contributes to expanding the scope of ethical approaches in popular culture and contemporary moral education.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Ahmad Farid Fanani Fanani

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References
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References
Akbar, Zarina, and Maratini Shaliha Aisyawati, ‘Coping Strategy, Social Support, and Psychological Distress Among University Students in Jakarta, Indonesia During the COVID-19 Pandemic’, Frontiers in Psychology, 12 (2021), 697244 <https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.694122>
Annas, Julia, ‘Virtue Ethics and the Charge of Egoism’, in Morality and Self-Interest (Oxford University Press, 2007), XXV, 205–22 <https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195305845.003.0011>
Babbie, Earl R, The Practice of Social Research (Cengage Au, 2020)
Bamkin, Sam, ‘The Taught Curriculum of Moral Education at Japanese Elementary School: The Role of Classtime in the Broad Curriculum’, Contemporary Japan, 32.2 (2020), 218–39 <https://doi.org/10.1080/18692729.2020.1747780>
Bernard, H Russell, Research Methods in Anthropology: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017)
Berndt, Jaqueline, ‘Anime in Academia: Representative Object, Media Form, and Japanese Studies’, Arts, 7.4 (2018), 56 <https://doi.org/10.3390/arts7040056>
Brouwer, René, ‘Justice in Aristotle’s Ethics and Politics’, in Aristotle’s Practical Philosophy (Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2017), pp. 51–64 <https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64825-5_4>
Bywater, Ingram, Ethica Nicomachea (E typographeo Clarendoniano, 1890)
Chen, Jingying, Yidan Liu, Jian Dai, and Chengliang Wang, ‘Development and Status of Moral Education Research: Visual Analysis Based on Knowledge Graph’, Frontiers in Psychology, 13 (2023), 1079955 <https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1079955>
Chopik, William J, Ed O’Brien, and Sara H Konrath, ‘Differences in Empathic Concern and Perspective Taking Across 63 Countries’, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 48.1 (2017), 23–38 <https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022116673910>
Cohoe, Caleb Murray, ‘Knowing in Aristotle Part 2: Technē, Phronēsis, Sophia, and Divine Cognitive Activities’, Philosophy Compass, 17.1 (2022), 99–121 <https://doi.org/10.1111/phc3.12799>
Cooke, Sandra, and David Carr, ‘Virtue, Practical Wisdom and Character in Teaching’, British Journal of Educational Studies, 62.2 (2014), 91–110 <https://doi.org/10.1080/00071005.2014.929632>
Crisp, Roger, Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics (Cambridge University Press, 2014)
Deci, Edward L, and Richard M Ryan, ‘Self-Determination Theory’, in Handbook of Theories of Social Psychology: Volume 1 (1 Oliver’s Yard, 55 City Road, London EC1Y 1SP United Kingdom: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2012), I, 416–37 <https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446249215.n21>
Dimmock, Mark, and Andrew Fisher, ‘Aristotelian Virtue Ethics’, in Ethics for A-Level (Cambridge, UK: Open Book Publishers, 2017), CLXXVIII, 48–63 <https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0125.03>
Fukuzawa, Ai, and Ikuko Sugawara, ‘Social Support and Participation as Factors Relating to Ikigai and Life Satisfaction in Lonely Older Japanese’, Ageing International, 48.2 (2023), 465–81 <https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-022-09486-6>
Harada, Ken, Hidehiro Sugisawa, Yoko Sugihara, Shizuko Yanagisawa, and Masaya Shimmei, ‘Social Support, Negative Interactions, and Mental Health: Evidence of Cross-Domain Buffering Effects Among Older Adults in Japan’, Research on Aging, 40.4 (2018), 388–405 <https://doi.org/10.1177/0164027517701446>
Hernández-Pérez, Manuel, ‘Looking into the “Anime Global Popular” and the “Manga Media”: Reflections on the Scholarship of a Transnational and Transmedia Industry’, Arts, 8.2 (2019), 57 <https://doi.org/10.3390/arts8020057>
Hursthouse, Rosalind, and Glen Pettigrove, ‘Virtue Ethics’, ed. by Edward N Zalta, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, 2018) <https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-virtue/>
Kosman, L. A., ‘7. Being Properly Affected: Virtues and Feelings in Aristotle’s Ethics’, in Essays on Aristotle’s Ethics (University of California Press, 1980), XL, 103–16 <https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520340985-010>
Kraut, Richard, ‘Aristotle’s Ethics’, ed. by Edward N Zalta, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, 2018) <https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-ethics/>
Liu, Shang, Dan Lai, and Zhiyong Li, ‘The Identity Construction of Chinese Anime Pilgrims’, Annals of Tourism Research, 93 (2022), 103373 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2022.103373>
Megawati, Hermeilia, and Herdiyan Maulana, Psikologi Komunitas: Peran Aktif Psikologi Untuk Masyarakat (Bumi Aksara, 2024)
Morvan, Camille, and Alexander O’Connor, A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance (Macat Library, 2017) <https://doi.org/10.4324/9781912282432>
Nieuważny, Jagna, Karol Nowakowski, Michal Ptaszyński, Fumito Masui, Rafal Rzepka, and Kenji Araki, ‘Does Change in Ethical Education Influence Core Moral Values? Towards History- and Culture-Aware Morality Model with Application in Automatic Moral Reasoning’, Cognitive Systems Research, 66 (2021), 89–99 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsys.2020.10.011>
Norman, Zoncita, ‘Understanding Aristotle’s Eudemian Ethics on Virtue and MacIntyre’s after Virtue’, SSRN Electronic Journal, 16.4 (2016), 425–50 <https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2746968>
Okabayashi, Hideki, Jersey Liang, Neal Krause, Hiroko Akiyama, and Hidehiro Sugisawa, ‘Mental Health among Older Adults in Japan: Do Sources of Social Support and Negative Interaction Make a Difference?’, Social Science & Medicine, 59.11 (2004), 2259–70 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.02.024>
Ono, Akinori, Sumiaki Kawamura, Yasuto Nishimori, Yuki Oguro, Ryosuke Shimizu, and Sari Yamamoto, ‘Anime Pilgrimage in Japan: Focusing Social Influences as Determinants’, Tourism Management, 76 (2020), 103935 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2019.06.010>
Papouli, Eleni, ‘Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics as a Conceptual Framework for the Study and Practice of Social Work in Modern Times’, European Journal of Social Work, 22.6 (2019), 921–34 <https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2018.1461072>
Richardson, Mary, and Nancy Sherman, ‘The Fabric of Character: Aristotle’s Theory of Virtue’, The Classical World, 84.6 (1991), 479 <https://doi.org/10.2307/4350927>
Russell, Daniel C., Practical Intelligence and the Virtues, Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy (Oxford University PressOxford, 2009), LVIII <https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199565795.001.0001>
Tachibana, Koji, and Eisuke Nakazawa, ‘The Consciousness of Virtue: Uncovering the Gaps between Educational Specialists and the General Public in Their Understanding of Virtue in Japan’, Frontiers in Psychology, 14 (2024), 1171247 <https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1171247>
Taggart, Gabel, and Jen Zenor, ‘Evaluation as a Moral Practice: The Case of Virtue Ethics’, Evaluation and Program Planning, 94 (2022), 102140 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2022.102140>
Wahid, Abdul, ‘Keadilan Restoratif: Upaya Menemukan Keadilan Substantif?’, Jurnal Ius Constituendum, 7.2 (2022), 307–21
Xu, Wenjie, Luyu Jiang, and Xiaoxiao Feng, ‘The Identity Construction of Chinese Anime Pilgrims: A Netnographic Investigation’, Tourism Management, 91 (2022), 104024 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2022.104024>
Yin, Robert K, ‘Enhancing the Quality of Case Studies in Health Services Research’, Health Services Research, 34.5 Pt 2 (1999), 1209