Yet more and more Kenshin
Mar. 13th, 2006 11:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieDamn you, Rurouni Kenshin, I just got into the Kyoto arc and the whole thing got really really arced and I can feel a marathon coming on but I can't, not during the week. Argh.
You know, Kyoto arc is really making me think. Kenshin can’t just live in Kaoru’s dojo, away from the world if he knows about really bad stuff happening, stuff he has the power to stop. It’s all well and good but if he knows about all this happening and doesn't stop it (like the Shishio problem), he is culpable, because he is one of the few people who can put an end to it. But if he does want to stop the injustice and interfere, we see where it landed him last time. After all, this is how he became the political assassin, and barely managed to escape with shreds of his soul. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Someone will have to do something bad, so the only question is who. And of course, this keeps reiterating that politics is dirty, and that the people Kenshin worked for were not necessarily worthy of devotion: they destroyed Sano’s group, they tried to kill Shishio because he knew inconvenient secrets (and if Kenshin didn’t show himself so uninterested in everything, would have probably bumped him off too), and now don’t want to rock the boat and get involved.
You know, I had this bizarre revelation. Kenshin is Buffy. And not just because both of them are short, preternaturally good fighters. It’s in what their friends are and mean to them. Remember in earlier seasons of Buffy how everyone was carping that Buffy was breaking the rules by going to school and doing normal things, by letting Willow and Xander into her secret etc etc. And how often her friends ended up in danger because of her. But then we saw that ep, “The Wish” (probably my favorite BtVS ep), and the parallel universe where Buffy did do the normal Slayer thing: focused on the mission, no friends etc. And she had her humanity leached out of her, and she ended up dying.
And this is what Kenshin makes me think of. Because Saito is right: his friends get in danger by being around him. If Saito wanted to, he could have slit the throats of unsuspecting Kaoru and Yahiko at any time, while he was waiting in his innocuous police uniform, not to mention that of sick Sano (who he did beat into a pulp) or Megumi who is nursing him and is not a fighter anyhow. And Saito is also right that Kenshin expends energy protecting them. Kenshin wouldn’t have had to beg the Pirate Queen and exchange himself for Kaoru if there had been no Kaoru. Saito’s brutal, brutal lesson (chest wound? Urk. Not to mention the emotional disemboweling) hits home for Kenshin precisely because he is right. BUT. Not only do the Kenshingumi (it gets tiresome typing out all their names every time) save him back repeatedly, but what they do is provide love and friendship and humanity. They give him something to live for. If he still was a random wanderer with no ties, no connections, he’d be dead because in one of the fights he’d just fight a little less because he’s had nothing to live for. Or, in the alternate, since every time he takes up the sword there is a danger the Battousai persona, the unhesitating killer, would emerge, in one of these fights, some opponent will be really good and he’d become Battousai, and kill and then he’d be gone for good. And even though he is a better fighter when he is like that, no holds barred, not only does it mean giving up his soul, he’d also be dead pretty soon. The only reason the government let him live after the revolution is because he went low and adjusted to civilian life. If he went on a killing rampage, he’d basically be Shishio the Second, the Battousai they ended up trying to burn alive. So Kenshin does need his friends. A lot.
He isn’t Saito after all, who keeps fighting and killing for the government in a never-ending circle, because that is all he knows.
And of course, Kenshin is lucky in his friends. Even after he left, for good (as he and everyone thought), Yahiko and Kaoru and Sano are still coming after him. I love the fact that Kaoru completely shuts down when Kenshin leaves (OMG, the fireflies scene! I totally must write about it below). She just ends up lying in her bed, not eating, and just crying quietly and whispering 'Kenshin.' Of course I don’t need any such excuses as love of my life bidding me good-bye forever before I decide to stay the whole day in bed, but that’s another matter. But of course she does end up snapping out of it (and I love that it’s Megumi who makes her. Despite all of Megumi’s teasing, she genuinely loves Kenshin (though I don’t think romantically) and likes Kaoru, and when push comes to shove, she wants them both to be happy together). And so Kaoru and Yahiko end up taking a steam boat to Kyoto. To do what? What is Kaoru’s plan? Help him fight, bring him back, or just see him again, I guess. Who knows. I don’t think even Kaoru does.
I am also thinking Kyoto is going to get a but crowded, what with Kenshin going there to fight Shishio, Saito joining him there to do the same, Kaoru, Yahiko and Sano following Kenshin. Aoshi following Kenshin (though not to be buddies) and Misao following Aoshi. Good Lord.
And speaking of Misao, I love the girl. She is hyper, and effective, and fun, and young and spontaneous, and very very persistent. I adore her interactions with Kenshin. She also has a torch ten feet tall for Aoshi, which is uber amusing because:
a. Good taste, girl!
b. Aoshi is so serious and intense all the time, the thought of any lengthy interaction between the two is just…makes me full of glee
Well, the one thing they have in common is that both are monomaniacal. If and when the two get together, their kids will be really really obsessive.
And speaking of Aoshi, he is back! And he is unhappy. Or even unhappier than usual. And he wants to kill Kenshin. He did give him fair warning and asked Kenshin to kill him or he will come after him. Talk about displacing your issues. Aoshi can’t deal with the guilt he feels because the men under his command died to protect him. Yes, I understand that what he is trying to deal with is very traumatic: when he was wounded and couldn’t move out of the way of the Gatling gun, his men stopped the bullets with their own bodies, as he helplessly watched in horror. And to someone who is all about loyalty to his retainers this is horrifying. But. This isn’t Kenshin’s fault. He wasn’t the one with the gun. So Aoshi really shouldn’t displace his guilt in doing the whole “I’ll kill Kenshin and put the title of strongest on your graves.” Because, not only is that wrong, but even if he did kill Kenshin, what then? He won’t find peace. I hope he realizes that at some point, but until then, he is uber-cool as he fights with two short swords, Legolas-style, which is all elegant and deadly and freaking hot. Yeah. My Aoshi love still burns strong…
Completely unrelated, I love the interlude in Shishio’s village, where Kenshin loses it, in his quiet way, when he sees those bodies of the kid’s parents, hung and mutilated. He just cuts them down, despite the villagers’ threats (the villagers don’t want to be punished) and goes off to find the “Lord of the Manor.” This time, when he fights the goons, he says that he usually tells people to get out of the way if they don’t want to be hurt, but this time he wants to hurt them.
OK, I said I was going to talk about the fireflies scene. I think that is hands down my favorite scene in the show, so far. And not just because I am a Kenshin/Kaoru shipper. It’s just because they pulled out all the stops to make this very very pretty. And angsty. Into every OTP a little angst must fall, after all. But that scene with Kaoru watching the fireflies, and she is worried sick because Kenshin might go back to Kyoto and if he does, he will have to be Battousai and that’s it, he is gone forever out of their lives, and then Kenshin materializing out of the dark and they just watch the fireflies and they don’t talk much and he tells her he is leaving, and then he hugs her, which is huge and startling and unusual because before that the most they did was touch hands and it was a big deal, and he whispers ‘farewell’ and walks off as she collapses on the ground and cries quietly. It’s totally beautiful. Oh, my poor OTP.
It’s interesting that part of her shut-down afterwards is because ‘he told me farewell to my face’ and part of the way Megumi brings her out of it is to tell her that it’s better than what the rest of them got. She is the only one Kenshin told good-bye to, so she is the most important one to him, and the one with the most chances to bring him back. Of course, on the road, Kenshin thinks they all must hate him now, as he flashbacks to all of them, especially Kaoru. Poor guy. I guess he doesn't realize how much they love him. He is very unassuming.
I especially love the bit where Kenshin remembers touching Kaoru in the rain (hand, shoulder?) and Kaoru remembering the same. They both remember the same moment, which is uber-awwwww. And then he tells Misao to forget Aoshi because he left her for her own safety. Which might very well be true, but displacing your own issues much, Kenshin?
I keep on loving Kenshin/Kaoru. They really do work together. And Kaoru does something that I love: she doesn’t interfere in his fights and get him in more danger than he’d be otherwise. She helps fight quite often, but she doesn’t do that stupid “I’ll throw myself between you and hold your hands down so the bad guy can hit” women in a lot of these stories do. She knows when to fight and when to keep out of the way. In the fight with Saito, she is scared out of her mind for him (and rightly so). I so want an icon of the moment she bows her head and touches her back like this, as a very hands-off hug. But when he starts fighting, she doesn’t interfere, even though the fight is so horrifyingly fast and brutal (it’s my favorite fight so far), not even when he ‘transforms’ into Battousai in front of her eyes and she despairs. The only time she gets into it, is when Saito wounds Kenshin and Kenshin is temporarily defenseless on his knees and she jumps in front of Kenshin, shielding him with her body.
Also, the scenes of Kenshin walking the Tokaido Road with his sword and people freaking out and staying away, which is what he wants to keep them away from him and safe. It sort of gives you a glimpse of how hard and lonely his life must have been before Kaoru, with everyone shunning him etc. Also, I am not keen on his sleeping outside, his chiropractor’s bill will be huge. Feeling protective of a fictional anime trained master swordsman-assassin, who can completely destroy a bridge in two seconds flat, is bizarre, but there it is.
You know, Kyoto arc is really making me think. Kenshin can’t just live in Kaoru’s dojo, away from the world if he knows about really bad stuff happening, stuff he has the power to stop. It’s all well and good but if he knows about all this happening and doesn't stop it (like the Shishio problem), he is culpable, because he is one of the few people who can put an end to it. But if he does want to stop the injustice and interfere, we see where it landed him last time. After all, this is how he became the political assassin, and barely managed to escape with shreds of his soul. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Someone will have to do something bad, so the only question is who. And of course, this keeps reiterating that politics is dirty, and that the people Kenshin worked for were not necessarily worthy of devotion: they destroyed Sano’s group, they tried to kill Shishio because he knew inconvenient secrets (and if Kenshin didn’t show himself so uninterested in everything, would have probably bumped him off too), and now don’t want to rock the boat and get involved.
You know, I had this bizarre revelation. Kenshin is Buffy. And not just because both of them are short, preternaturally good fighters. It’s in what their friends are and mean to them. Remember in earlier seasons of Buffy how everyone was carping that Buffy was breaking the rules by going to school and doing normal things, by letting Willow and Xander into her secret etc etc. And how often her friends ended up in danger because of her. But then we saw that ep, “The Wish” (probably my favorite BtVS ep), and the parallel universe where Buffy did do the normal Slayer thing: focused on the mission, no friends etc. And she had her humanity leached out of her, and she ended up dying.
And this is what Kenshin makes me think of. Because Saito is right: his friends get in danger by being around him. If Saito wanted to, he could have slit the throats of unsuspecting Kaoru and Yahiko at any time, while he was waiting in his innocuous police uniform, not to mention that of sick Sano (who he did beat into a pulp) or Megumi who is nursing him and is not a fighter anyhow. And Saito is also right that Kenshin expends energy protecting them. Kenshin wouldn’t have had to beg the Pirate Queen and exchange himself for Kaoru if there had been no Kaoru. Saito’s brutal, brutal lesson (chest wound? Urk. Not to mention the emotional disemboweling) hits home for Kenshin precisely because he is right. BUT. Not only do the Kenshingumi (it gets tiresome typing out all their names every time) save him back repeatedly, but what they do is provide love and friendship and humanity. They give him something to live for. If he still was a random wanderer with no ties, no connections, he’d be dead because in one of the fights he’d just fight a little less because he’s had nothing to live for. Or, in the alternate, since every time he takes up the sword there is a danger the Battousai persona, the unhesitating killer, would emerge, in one of these fights, some opponent will be really good and he’d become Battousai, and kill and then he’d be gone for good. And even though he is a better fighter when he is like that, no holds barred, not only does it mean giving up his soul, he’d also be dead pretty soon. The only reason the government let him live after the revolution is because he went low and adjusted to civilian life. If he went on a killing rampage, he’d basically be Shishio the Second, the Battousai they ended up trying to burn alive. So Kenshin does need his friends. A lot.
He isn’t Saito after all, who keeps fighting and killing for the government in a never-ending circle, because that is all he knows.
And of course, Kenshin is lucky in his friends. Even after he left, for good (as he and everyone thought), Yahiko and Kaoru and Sano are still coming after him. I love the fact that Kaoru completely shuts down when Kenshin leaves (OMG, the fireflies scene! I totally must write about it below). She just ends up lying in her bed, not eating, and just crying quietly and whispering 'Kenshin.' Of course I don’t need any such excuses as love of my life bidding me good-bye forever before I decide to stay the whole day in bed, but that’s another matter. But of course she does end up snapping out of it (and I love that it’s Megumi who makes her. Despite all of Megumi’s teasing, she genuinely loves Kenshin (though I don’t think romantically) and likes Kaoru, and when push comes to shove, she wants them both to be happy together). And so Kaoru and Yahiko end up taking a steam boat to Kyoto. To do what? What is Kaoru’s plan? Help him fight, bring him back, or just see him again, I guess. Who knows. I don’t think even Kaoru does.
I am also thinking Kyoto is going to get a but crowded, what with Kenshin going there to fight Shishio, Saito joining him there to do the same, Kaoru, Yahiko and Sano following Kenshin. Aoshi following Kenshin (though not to be buddies) and Misao following Aoshi. Good Lord.
And speaking of Misao, I love the girl. She is hyper, and effective, and fun, and young and spontaneous, and very very persistent. I adore her interactions with Kenshin. She also has a torch ten feet tall for Aoshi, which is uber amusing because:
a. Good taste, girl!
b. Aoshi is so serious and intense all the time, the thought of any lengthy interaction between the two is just…makes me full of glee
Well, the one thing they have in common is that both are monomaniacal. If and when the two get together, their kids will be really really obsessive.
And speaking of Aoshi, he is back! And he is unhappy. Or even unhappier than usual. And he wants to kill Kenshin. He did give him fair warning and asked Kenshin to kill him or he will come after him. Talk about displacing your issues. Aoshi can’t deal with the guilt he feels because the men under his command died to protect him. Yes, I understand that what he is trying to deal with is very traumatic: when he was wounded and couldn’t move out of the way of the Gatling gun, his men stopped the bullets with their own bodies, as he helplessly watched in horror. And to someone who is all about loyalty to his retainers this is horrifying. But. This isn’t Kenshin’s fault. He wasn’t the one with the gun. So Aoshi really shouldn’t displace his guilt in doing the whole “I’ll kill Kenshin and put the title of strongest on your graves.” Because, not only is that wrong, but even if he did kill Kenshin, what then? He won’t find peace. I hope he realizes that at some point, but until then, he is uber-cool as he fights with two short swords, Legolas-style, which is all elegant and deadly and freaking hot. Yeah. My Aoshi love still burns strong…
Completely unrelated, I love the interlude in Shishio’s village, where Kenshin loses it, in his quiet way, when he sees those bodies of the kid’s parents, hung and mutilated. He just cuts them down, despite the villagers’ threats (the villagers don’t want to be punished) and goes off to find the “Lord of the Manor.” This time, when he fights the goons, he says that he usually tells people to get out of the way if they don’t want to be hurt, but this time he wants to hurt them.
OK, I said I was going to talk about the fireflies scene. I think that is hands down my favorite scene in the show, so far. And not just because I am a Kenshin/Kaoru shipper. It’s just because they pulled out all the stops to make this very very pretty. And angsty. Into every OTP a little angst must fall, after all. But that scene with Kaoru watching the fireflies, and she is worried sick because Kenshin might go back to Kyoto and if he does, he will have to be Battousai and that’s it, he is gone forever out of their lives, and then Kenshin materializing out of the dark and they just watch the fireflies and they don’t talk much and he tells her he is leaving, and then he hugs her, which is huge and startling and unusual because before that the most they did was touch hands and it was a big deal, and he whispers ‘farewell’ and walks off as she collapses on the ground and cries quietly. It’s totally beautiful. Oh, my poor OTP.
It’s interesting that part of her shut-down afterwards is because ‘he told me farewell to my face’ and part of the way Megumi brings her out of it is to tell her that it’s better than what the rest of them got. She is the only one Kenshin told good-bye to, so she is the most important one to him, and the one with the most chances to bring him back. Of course, on the road, Kenshin thinks they all must hate him now, as he flashbacks to all of them, especially Kaoru. Poor guy. I guess he doesn't realize how much they love him. He is very unassuming.
I especially love the bit where Kenshin remembers touching Kaoru in the rain (hand, shoulder?) and Kaoru remembering the same. They both remember the same moment, which is uber-awwwww. And then he tells Misao to forget Aoshi because he left her for her own safety. Which might very well be true, but displacing your own issues much, Kenshin?
I keep on loving Kenshin/Kaoru. They really do work together. And Kaoru does something that I love: she doesn’t interfere in his fights and get him in more danger than he’d be otherwise. She helps fight quite often, but she doesn’t do that stupid “I’ll throw myself between you and hold your hands down so the bad guy can hit” women in a lot of these stories do. She knows when to fight and when to keep out of the way. In the fight with Saito, she is scared out of her mind for him (and rightly so). I so want an icon of the moment she bows her head and touches her back like this, as a very hands-off hug. But when he starts fighting, she doesn’t interfere, even though the fight is so horrifyingly fast and brutal (it’s my favorite fight so far), not even when he ‘transforms’ into Battousai in front of her eyes and she despairs. The only time she gets into it, is when Saito wounds Kenshin and Kenshin is temporarily defenseless on his knees and she jumps in front of Kenshin, shielding him with her body.
Also, the scenes of Kenshin walking the Tokaido Road with his sword and people freaking out and staying away, which is what he wants to keep them away from him and safe. It sort of gives you a glimpse of how hard and lonely his life must have been before Kaoru, with everyone shunning him etc. Also, I am not keen on his sleeping outside, his chiropractor’s bill will be huge. Feeling protective of a fictional anime trained master swordsman-assassin, who can completely destroy a bridge in two seconds flat, is bizarre, but there it is.
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no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 04:38 pm (UTC)And ironically it's the fact that Saito is completely unscrupulous that makes him the only male in the series who is able to adapt. It's not that Saito is a psychotic killer, he's just a survivalist. It brings up the point that if for the men to survive in this time of transition, fighters like Kenshin, Aoshi and Sano have to become like Saito, and maybe that's not worth it.
Oddly enough, I like Saito. I get where he's coming from too, which is probably a place a lot more realistic that Kenshin. I love the scene where Kenshin and Sano find out that Saito is married and Kenshin makes a comment along the lines that that has to be one brave woman.
And she had her humanity leached out of her, and she ended up dying.
And transversely, it's Kenshin's friends that seperate him from the bad guys sometimes. It's not that he couldn't handle things on his own, but his friends (which eventually tenatively include Aoshi and Saito) save his butt from the fire more times than you can count.
Aoshi is so serious and intense all the time, the thought of any lengthy interaction between the two is just…
And if we're going off the fact that opposites attract, it's an OTP made in heaven. Personally I think her bubbly personality is good for him. She'll have to tone down the hero worship a little, but once she settles a little, I can see her at least giving Aoshi a sense of humor and a little spontenaity.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 04:50 pm (UTC)Which he desperately needs. Otherwise the guy is going to keel over from stress before he's 40. Or 30.
She'll have to tone down the hero worship a little
I think she definitely will. It's hard to keep up hero-worship when you have daily interactions with a person. She's basicially had her memories only and those tend to become rather rosy with time. When she deals with real Aoshi on a daily basis, the unrealistic worship will dissipate double quick.
The scary thing is, I made a "These Old Shades" ref a while back, and while Aoshi isn't much like Avon character wise, Misao is freakishly Leonie-like.
Kenshin makes a comment along the lines that that has to be one brave woman.
ROFL. Ain't that the truth!
I get where he's coming from too, which is probably a place a lot more realistic that Kenshin.
I don't think I like Saito, not yet (though I might get there), but I do find him very interesting. He is probably the most pragmatic character in the series, but he does have his rules and idealism.
I think why Kenshin isn't like Saito (and vise versa) is because:
a. Kenshin was a lot younger when he had his involvement in the revolution.
b. Saito was a member of a group that was more akin to a SWAT team than anything. Yes, they assassinated on occasion but they were a group with rules, leaders and a lot of other duties. Kenshin was all by himself, and all he'd do is assassinate people he'd never met.
c. Saito didn't kill the wife he loved by instict and accident.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 05:03 pm (UTC)When she deals with real Aoshi on a daily basis, the unrealistic worship will dissipate double quick.
And let's face it, Aoshi isn't exactly a barrel of sunshine to deal with. It's going to take someone as dogged as Misao is to be able to put up with him.
And Kenshingumi= Scooby Gang
Kenshin- Buffy
Kaoru- Willow
Aoshi- Angel
Saito- Spike
Sano- Xander
Yahiko- Dawn
Misao- Anya
Megumi- Joyce
no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 05:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 05:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 05:23 pm (UTC)Joyce/Xander. The Apocalypse is coming...
no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 05:12 pm (UTC)Buffy was breaking the rules by going to school and doing normal things, by letting Willow and Xander into her secret etc etc. And how often her friends ended up in danger because of her.
I can't speak to the Buffy v. Kenshin comparison, having never seen a single minute of BtVS, but when you describe it like that, it makes me think of Harry Potter. I guess the need for friendship and love to maintain our humanity in dire circumstances is a common theme.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 05:19 pm (UTC)Yes. Though of course no one wanted Harry not to have friends or viewed them as a weakness.
The pacing, the use of silence and stillness... it was just beautiful.
I don't think it could have been done the same way on film either.
It was during an episode of Fushigi Yuugi when it hit me: I remember the precise moment I went from thinking "this anime would make a really good live action" or "it's as good as" to realizing that it couldn't be done as well live action and that it's had its own artistry.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 09:58 pm (UTC)Except Harry. Well, not exactly, but there were more than a few occasions in the books where he tried to keep things to himself or cut other people out to protect them. (The first one that comes to mind is when he was about to go to the Ministry in the end of OotP.)
I remember the precise moment I went from thinking "this anime would make a really good live action" or "it's as good as" to realizing that it couldn't be done as well live action and that it's had its own artistry.
It's something of an epiphany. This isn't popularly accepted as an art form, so it takes a while to sink in. It truly is an art unto itself.