Character discussion: Akira
Okay, so I've pretty much read the entire series, gotten to know the characters, so I'm going to go out on a limb and write my opinions/views of them. I'm not going to write about all of them(my GOD what a feat that would be!), but the ones that I know best. Please be nice, I'm in a Bleach craze right now, so I have to make the transfer to SDK...I'm a little hazy on manga references.
It may be a little long. Maybe I'll do it in parts.
Akira
I would have to say that Akira is one of the characters that really affected me. Yeah, he's arrogant and stand-offish, but we all know that there is a lot more to him that meets the eye.
I say that Akira is a big, fat, FAKE. He is such a faker he's even convinced himself most times. He has the hugest inferiority complex I have ever seen in an anime character (or at least he really cares about it). We know that Akira is an orphan, basically raised by Kyo and Bon. He greatly cares for both men, and I'd go as far to say that he sees them as father figures. Bon, because when Kyo was too busy giving him tough love, Bon cared for him, patched up his scrapes, gave him a pillow to sleep on (Bon, actually, haha), carried him when he was too tired to walk, and made sure he had food to eat. Maybe Bon is actually the mother figure...(Bon in a pink apron....).
The words "I'll make you the second strongest in the world" obviously had a great affect on Akira. Kyo may not have said anything on blood ties, but he taught Akira that you don't need samurai blood to be a strong warrior. Or rather that Kyo doesn't give a damn when it comes to that formal stuff. Akira really takes this to heart. When he fought Tora in Aokigahara, he flat out told Tora that he had more street cred, therefore he was tougher, therefore he would beat Tora. If I remember correctly, he said something like "Unlike you who have been pampered since birth, I had to fend for myself" Unsure of where the next meal would come, blah blah. So relying on one's self is something that Akira holds in great esteem.
Cut to Mibu land, Anthony tells Akira that he's gone as far as he is going to, he's not going to get any stronger. This pisses Akira off, probably because he partly believes it. Anthony said that since he doesn't have any samurai blood in him, he can't get stronger. So little Akira runs off like the baby he is (seriously, he throws tantrums. Evidence coming up).
Cut to Kyo and co. in Tokito's lair, Akira throws the biggest tantrum ever. Kyo doesn't want him to fight because it's too dangerous or something like that (I have to go back a read it), and Akira blows his top. He goes as far as to quit the Shieiten and ignore him when Kyo says that he always has a place to come back to (by Kyo's side. HOME, another big thing with Akira). Now I say that Akira is a fake because of what I read in the manga (vol 30-something). When Akira talks (Japanese), he uses polite speech, sometimes even uber-polite speech. When one speaks like this, it shows that they are aware of social positions, and that they themselves are very polished and high-class and that they know well enough to show proper respect, yadda yadda. When I was reading this, I saw him slip all the way into casual man/yakuza speech (using verb endings that are seen as rough and un-cultured). Then I went back to the scenes from the Shiseiten days and see younger Akira speaking the same way. This Akira is loud, annoying, and rough when he talks, he has a real dirty mouth!
So why does he now speak so politley? He's putting on a show, and he fools most everyone, besides the Shiseiten and Kyo (who know his real self). It's only when he gets really angry and upset does he revert to the rough speech, showing his real self that he thinks isn't good enough i.e.---->inferiority complex against all those with samurai blood. He feels like he must present himself better than everyone else (strength, morals, etc.), and he fools himself too. Because if he doesn't believe it, then no one else will. He knows that to put himself on the same level as people like Tora and Shinrei (when I say that I mean nobles), he has to work ten times as hard as them.I mean, he puts his own frickin eyes out to get stronger! So he shows a cultured, intelligent, soft spoken Akira. He thinks that this is the way to gaining respect and strength.
Don't get me wrong, I love Akira, he is really a great character that my heart just breaks for. When he was fighting Tokito, when he opened his eyes, and "walked ahead of Kyo" was just the pinnacale of heart-breakage for me! Another scene that really got me is in Tora's monolouge as he fights Spade/watches Akira fight Tokito. Tora remembers back to when he saw Akira with his shirt off (yuuum....sorry). He was taken aback by all the scars that Akira had, Tokito notices this too (a lot actually, all over his shoulders and torso). Tora realizes that this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to understanding Akira. He sees that he and Akira are at complete different places, and that it's true when Akira said that Tora can't even begin to think about what he has been through. I really pity Akira, but I'm sure he wouldn't like that! (He HATES pity, I'm sure).
So Akira has issues, big ones. By the end of the series (manga), I think he is one step closer to accepting himself as good enough. And I don't mean that he'll stop trying to get stronger, I mean that he is one step closer to liking himself, and shaking off the complex that he has. Although he continues to try and defeat Kyo, I think that by the end, he doesn't really care as much as he did. Evidence to the little smile he had on his face after Kyo beat him again (in that omake chapter at the end of vol. 38, with no dialouge). He was just happy enough to be near Kyo again (and no, I'm not talking about yaoi).
Yeah, I still think that Akira is a baby that throws tantrums, but hey I love him anyway.
Okay, I was going to do Shinrei next, but this turned out to be so long, I don't wanna anymore. So that'll be next. I hope this stimulated ya'll enough to anticipate another faux-essay from me
opinions?
It may be a little long. Maybe I'll do it in parts.
Akira
I would have to say that Akira is one of the characters that really affected me. Yeah, he's arrogant and stand-offish, but we all know that there is a lot more to him that meets the eye.
I say that Akira is a big, fat, FAKE. He is such a faker he's even convinced himself most times. He has the hugest inferiority complex I have ever seen in an anime character (or at least he really cares about it). We know that Akira is an orphan, basically raised by Kyo and Bon. He greatly cares for both men, and I'd go as far to say that he sees them as father figures. Bon, because when Kyo was too busy giving him tough love, Bon cared for him, patched up his scrapes, gave him a pillow to sleep on (Bon, actually, haha), carried him when he was too tired to walk, and made sure he had food to eat. Maybe Bon is actually the mother figure...(Bon in a pink apron....).
The words "I'll make you the second strongest in the world" obviously had a great affect on Akira. Kyo may not have said anything on blood ties, but he taught Akira that you don't need samurai blood to be a strong warrior. Or rather that Kyo doesn't give a damn when it comes to that formal stuff. Akira really takes this to heart. When he fought Tora in Aokigahara, he flat out told Tora that he had more street cred, therefore he was tougher, therefore he would beat Tora. If I remember correctly, he said something like "Unlike you who have been pampered since birth, I had to fend for myself" Unsure of where the next meal would come, blah blah. So relying on one's self is something that Akira holds in great esteem.
Cut to Mibu land, Anthony tells Akira that he's gone as far as he is going to, he's not going to get any stronger. This pisses Akira off, probably because he partly believes it. Anthony said that since he doesn't have any samurai blood in him, he can't get stronger. So little Akira runs off like the baby he is (seriously, he throws tantrums. Evidence coming up).
Cut to Kyo and co. in Tokito's lair, Akira throws the biggest tantrum ever. Kyo doesn't want him to fight because it's too dangerous or something like that (I have to go back a read it), and Akira blows his top. He goes as far as to quit the Shieiten and ignore him when Kyo says that he always has a place to come back to (by Kyo's side. HOME, another big thing with Akira). Now I say that Akira is a fake because of what I read in the manga (vol 30-something). When Akira talks (Japanese), he uses polite speech, sometimes even uber-polite speech. When one speaks like this, it shows that they are aware of social positions, and that they themselves are very polished and high-class and that they know well enough to show proper respect, yadda yadda. When I was reading this, I saw him slip all the way into casual man/yakuza speech (using verb endings that are seen as rough and un-cultured). Then I went back to the scenes from the Shiseiten days and see younger Akira speaking the same way. This Akira is loud, annoying, and rough when he talks, he has a real dirty mouth!
So why does he now speak so politley? He's putting on a show, and he fools most everyone, besides the Shiseiten and Kyo (who know his real self). It's only when he gets really angry and upset does he revert to the rough speech, showing his real self that he thinks isn't good enough i.e.---->inferiority complex against all those with samurai blood. He feels like he must present himself better than everyone else (strength, morals, etc.), and he fools himself too. Because if he doesn't believe it, then no one else will. He knows that to put himself on the same level as people like Tora and Shinrei (when I say that I mean nobles), he has to work ten times as hard as them.I mean, he puts his own frickin eyes out to get stronger! So he shows a cultured, intelligent, soft spoken Akira. He thinks that this is the way to gaining respect and strength.
Don't get me wrong, I love Akira, he is really a great character that my heart just breaks for. When he was fighting Tokito, when he opened his eyes, and "walked ahead of Kyo" was just the pinnacale of heart-breakage for me! Another scene that really got me is in Tora's monolouge as he fights Spade/watches Akira fight Tokito. Tora remembers back to when he saw Akira with his shirt off (yuuum....sorry). He was taken aback by all the scars that Akira had, Tokito notices this too (a lot actually, all over his shoulders and torso). Tora realizes that this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to understanding Akira. He sees that he and Akira are at complete different places, and that it's true when Akira said that Tora can't even begin to think about what he has been through. I really pity Akira, but I'm sure he wouldn't like that! (He HATES pity, I'm sure).
So Akira has issues, big ones. By the end of the series (manga), I think he is one step closer to accepting himself as good enough. And I don't mean that he'll stop trying to get stronger, I mean that he is one step closer to liking himself, and shaking off the complex that he has. Although he continues to try and defeat Kyo, I think that by the end, he doesn't really care as much as he did. Evidence to the little smile he had on his face after Kyo beat him again (in that omake chapter at the end of vol. 38, with no dialouge). He was just happy enough to be near Kyo again (and no, I'm not talking about yaoi).
Yeah, I still think that Akira is a baby that throws tantrums, but hey I love him anyway.
Okay, I was going to do Shinrei next, but this turned out to be so long, I don't wanna anymore. So that'll be next. I hope this stimulated ya'll enough to anticipate another faux-essay from me
opinions?