anime: Soul Hunter: the end + Saiyuki(well, Kougaiji...)

[meganbmoore]

Ok, seriously, how did I forget about Saiyuki in my other post?  Why did no one scold me for it?  I guess it's just so extremely different from the source material that it slipped my mind.

I actually thought about Saiyuki more and more thoughout the series, mostly because Bunchu reminded me of Kougaiji.  They're both good guys, and arguably the most honorable and noble characters of their respective series, but they're both stuck working for the bad guys.  In Kougaiji's case, of course, he has no choice-if he doesn't his mother will die, and though it's not explicitly stated, it's pretty clear that his good behavior is what keeps his sister safe, too., and even that can't always be counted on  Not to mention that Yaone and Dokugaku would likely be in a whole lot of trouble if he left, too.  With Bunchu it's different...he swore to always protect the Yin dynasty generations ago and he's determined to continue to do just that...if the current leader is corrupt, then he'll see to it that a proper leader is put in charge.  To him, the two princes must be protected so that they can continue the dynasty.

Kou Hiko, however, only sees two boys who need to be protected from the "evil stepmother" and allows them to choose their own fate, and I think that's part of why he's my favorite character:  he arguably goes through the most and worst in the series, yet he never stops being a good guy and never puts his own pain before others or what needs to be dunno.  Also, even though it's never directly addressed, he's the only hero who's completely human and doesn't have a Paopei(the devices that give them powers) yet not only is he able to hold his own against them, but he's actually able to take a lot of them.

You know, I have a thing for good guys forced to work for the bad guys, and for friends forced to fight each other, and this has both...

My other favorite, in addition to Kou Hiko and Bunchu, is Kou Hiko's son, Kou Tenka.  The best way to describe him is Sano from Rurouni Kenshin, only not as aggressive and more...urm...languid if there's no fighting going on, and with a bigger sense of responsibility(and he's not as much of a mooch...ok, there's a character that reminds me of Kougaiji and a character that reminds me of Sano...would it have been possible for me to NOT like this?)  Really though, I liked all the characters.  In most anime, there's at least one character that drives me batty, but not here.  The voices for the magic animals annoyed me, but that's the voices, not the characters.  Even though they weren't my favorites(though I love them both) I was sad when Nataku  and Raishinshi were gone for a few eps...they bring a lot of life and energy to the show.

It's interesting, though, the core group of heroes and the villain are, on the surface, a fairly standard setup and dynamic for a comedy-fantasy anime a la Those Who Hunt Elves or Louie the Rune Soldier, but it's actually a pretty serious and complex show, despite the comedy parts(which there are plenty of)  As far as the ending itself goes...well, like most series where they have to make up the ending while the manga is still going or because they didn't get as many episodes as they thought they would, there are a few plotholes, but it was pretty good-it concluded instead of just stopping and it wasn't a big mess and was a pretty satisfying conclusion all told.  Plus, there was a surprisingly low mortality rate.

Incidentally, I looked at the first volume of the manga today and even though the art isn't my thing, it's not terrible and the book looked pretty good, so I'll probably get it once funds are available.

Also, since I had Saiyuki and Kougaiji on the brain, a couple Kougaiji vids from youtube.

 

 

Comments

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

Kougaiji and Bunchu are characters that had circumstances been different would have been the foremost fighters on the "good" side. That's what makes them tragic and also very interesting. If anything, they show more commitment by being on a side they don't agree with than the heroes ever do. Kou will always be my second favorite behind Sanzo (I just can't shake the cranky monk).

Anime has a tendency to make very interesting villains sometimes, much more so than typical western fare.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

The cranky monk has his appeal(a lot of it) but Kou is one of the characters that just kinda makes me lose coherency.

Part of what makes characters like Kou and Bunchu so interesting is that they have a much larger, stricter sense of honor in asia than we do. In a story written here, both Kou and Bunchu would be written as much weaker characters, and would switch sides early on...Bunchu would decide that the fact that the emperor had been corrupted would take priority over duty and honor and switch sides, and early on, Kou's mother would have either been killed off or "saved" freeing Kou and friends to swirch sides(lets face it, Kou would win over mom for Lirin any day of the week) The idea of having an entire series where one of the protagonists was working for the bad guys, and HONESTLY working for them, not being brainwashed or working under cover, is something most western writers could never come up with or understand.

Often the "villains" are the most interesting characters in anime and manga. Darcia, a guy who started out nice and good but was forced to become hard and ruthless, is likely my favorite anime character, and Magatsu Taito, my favorite manga character, is technically a bad guy, but hes a "bad guy" because he's loyal to his friend and can't abandon him.