Of Swords and Parasols

In my Soul Hunter  posts, crumpeteer and I got to talking about how a lot of villains in anime and manga tend to actually be good guys, or at least, understandable, something that never really happens as much in western literature. (and she made her own post on the subject here)  Which isn't to say we don't have more than our fair share of cackling, scenery chewing, out to destroy the world villains, we have plenty of those, it's just that good and bad in manga and anime tend to be many shades of gray with a little black and white at opposite ends of the spectrum, as opposed to black and white dominating the spectrum, with a bit of grey in the middle.  There are exceptions, of course, but they're exceptions, not a common theme. 

Quick note:  While the 2 characters that prompted this post(and thus, everything outside the cut) are cases of good guys stuck working for bad guys, that's not the entire post.  Most of what's under the case is more cases of good and bad not being as black and white as western fare.

In anything that came out over here, a protagonist, such as Kougaiji in Saiyuki or Bunchu in Soul Hunter would never be allowed to stay on the wrong side through the bulk of the series.  What's more, they (and others like them) are, technically, on the wrong side by choice...they are both operating of free will, fully cognizant of their actions and the consequences of their actions. 

Kougaiji, however, is arguably the nicest guy in Saiyuki.  If he doesn't work as the chief enforcer of the villains, his mother will die, period.  In addition, the villainess is actually his father's lover, and she's the mother of his half-sister, Lirin, who she has bad plans for.  It's very clear that Kougaiji's good behavior is the only thing standing between Lirin and regular experimentation(and even that isn't a sure thing) and his two friends, Doukugaku and Yaone are, in many ways, completely dependent on him.  Only their loyalty to him and his to them keeps them from succumbing to the madness other youkai suffer(and for that matter, while she's not exactly a pushover, Yaone would be a goner without his protection)  As far as strength and power go, the only ones really on a par with Kougaiji in the series are Goku and Hakkai, both good guys, if he wanted to, he could walk, but if he did so, everyone he cared about would suffer, and with the exception of Lirin, either be driven mad and sent to kill him, or just killed off.  Because of this, he's trapped, and likely will be until the end of the series.

Like Kougaiji, Bunchu is one of the most powerful people in Soul Hunter.  However, while Kougaiji is trapped on the wrong side because of his emotional ties to those dependent on him, Bunchu is held captive by his sense of honor and duty.  He swore generations ago to always uphold and protect the Yin Dynasty.  He's well aware that the current ruler is corrupt and beyond redemption, but he is, however, the CURRENT ruler...who has two children.  The princes, therefore, ARE the Yin Dynasty to him, and his hope for the future.  Like Kougaiji, his honor and goodness is used against him and he's manipulated to be forced to wage war against Kou Hiko, the only man he's ever called friend in three hundred years.  He knows he's being manipulated, but he has no choice...Kou Hiko has become a rebel, and has to die.  Bunchu's choices are to let Dakki's people kill him or his own, and if it's his own, then he can ensure it's an honorable death, and that others won't be killed in the process, especially the princes.

In a western fantasy, in either Kougaiji or Bunchu were allowed to remain themselves and not eventually revealed to be evil or be portrayed as weak or comedic, then early in the story, Kougaiji's mother would be either killed or free, allowing him, Lirin, Yaone and Doukugaku to switch sides, and Bunchu would have chosen to turn against his corrupt ruler as opposed to try to maintain the dynasty he had served for so long early in the story. The idea of having a good guy serving the bad guy without brainwashing or direct control, or their being a weak character, for the bulk of the series, simply wouldn't happen.  The idea of "right and wrong" tends to take precedence over obligation, honor, loyalty, etc. in western literature...the good guys fight for the good guys, and the bad guys fight for the bad guys, and never the two shall meet.  Neither Kougaiji nor Bunchu-or many other characters, some of which I'll get to in a minute- would ever exist with the complexity they do, and wouldn't be nearly as interesting or appealing.  Yes, there are exceptions in western literature, but they're the exceptions, as opposed to a common theme.

On the flip side(which would be a whole other post if I really wanted to get into it, but I will a bit under the cut) just like the bad guys aren't always necessarily bad, the good guys aren't necessarily all good, and it's not uncommon for a person who starts out good to become bad, or vice versa..

Note: consider anything listed in the tags as spoiler fodder.  I'm actively trying to avoid direct spoilers, and especially for anything I know that hasn't been released yet and largely stick to motivations and roles, but some spoilers are a necessity. I think it's MOSTLY safe though, except for Wolf's Rain.

ETA: LJ is playing havok with formatting again.  *growls*
ETA 2:  Not saying either approach is superior, really, just that it makes things interesting, as long as it's done well.

I went on a slight movie binge earlier this week, and likely will fairly soon again(that backlog got large-ish recently)

 (6) Blood Rain: this is a Korean movie set in the 1800s, about the investigation into a serial killer who is killing informers who accused a former town official of being a christian(apparently a crime at the time) and is killingt hem in the same methods, in order, that the official's family was killed, to try to force him to confess.  It was good and pretty interesting, and I wish I'd paid more attention while I watched it, because it also had what is likely the most graphic death I've seen in a movie, and had animals dying on scene...by that, I mean that we actually see chickens' heads getting chopped off.  Good as it was, I don't think I could rewatch it.

(7-9) Breakfast at Tiffany's, Sabrina, and Roman Holiday: No sooner did I get the Audrey Hepburn boxed set than I started watching it.  All the movies more than lived up to their classic status, though each had  several moments where I had the remind myself that these movies are the reason that the cliches exist.  I liked Breakfast at Tiffany's quite a lot, but I hope it never gets remade.  Why?  Because it's a movie about a call girl and a kept man growing up and falling in love with each other.  Here it's great, but modern moviemakers would feel compelled to make it wallow in angst and depression and have them go on about how wretched they are and how they should better themselves and there'd be a kidd given up for adoption or a miscarriage or...*shudders and moves on*  As much as I love the Ford/Ormond/Kinnear version of Sabrina, I happily admit that this one is far superior.  While I think Ford and Ormond are the closest among modern actors who could have pulled off the role, there's really no comparing to Audrey or Bogey.  That said, while I liked Holden just fine, I preferred Kinnear's David to his...Kinnear came across more as immature and in fascinated shock at Sabrina's return, whereas Holden feels more like a cad.  I also missed one of my favorite moments from the remake, when Sabrina first comes home and David is still trying to figure out who she is, and Linus, without even actually stopping to look at her, recognizes her at a glance and blithely goes "Hello Sabrina" and ruins her fun.  I think my favorite of the set, though, was Roman Holiday, though I may change my mind if I rewatch it and Sabrina in a month or two.  It was wonderfully straightforward and refreshing, and not only does Gregory peck get to originate the most reused scene and speech of all big secret/revenge fiction, but it has what's probably one of the best straightforward, don't-tack-on-a-happy-ending-just-to-have-one movie endings this side of Casablanca.

(10) Death Note: The Movie I already talked about the other day.

(11) Brother Beat:  This one is a live action japanese drama about three brothers, now in their early twenties, who were raised by their single mother after their father's death 15 years earlier.  Since their mother,despite trying hard, is effectively useless, theoldest brother, Tatsuya, takes on the role of both mother and father.  The series is excellent, but has the misfortune of being almost completely overlooked by the dorama community, as it aired during the asme season of Nobuta wo Produce(excellent) and 1 Litre of Tears(I'm told it's also excellent, but I have no intentions of everwatching it, even if it does have Fujiki Naohito, whose name I can never spell correctly)

12) Prince Valiant: The Complete Collection: Vol 1: Prince Valiant is one of those properties I've wanted to check out in any form for a long time, but never had the chance to, until now.  It held up quite well, though not quite as well as Gargoyles *shakes fist at the sheer criminality of there being no official DVDs for the second half of season 2* and instead of trying to redo Arthurian mythos, it uses it as a backdrop of young people aspiring to be knights of the round table, and only touches on a few pieces of the actual mythology, which is something a lot of Arthurian tales could learn from. *stares at certain movies that, while very good on their own merits, don't hold up as retellings of King Arthur*  Some of the later episodes(which I believe are early season 2 episodes) are a little too heavy handed in their messages, but I liked it quite a bit and will definately be adding the second set to my collection, when I can.

Currently Watching: Cowboy Bebop(anime, fun but a little too much "style over substance" so far) and Magicians of Love(taiwanese live action series, insnely fun and over the top and I should take a break, but can't seem to)  goal for the week is the rest of those 2(including CB movie) and the oter 2 Audrey Hepburn movies in my backlog.