KHR vs Project Arms
i... lost my first writeup of this. oh well. i hope we can all settle for the crappy rewrite.
i'm sure this is nothing new anyway, but for the sake of the people i've been squeeing to, i'm finally getting it out into the open :D
i'm sure KHR has been compared to other j-media (i dunno the right term for this, it seems to pay tribute to a lot of different j-media by mashing up cliches?) such as one piece, kingdom hearts, etc, and comparisons with the (kinda old) award-winning shounen series Project Arms are unavoidable.
and i suppose it was already apparent to shounen manga aficionadi in the beginning... but for people in the english-speaking fandom who don't read a lot of manga to begin with (such as myself), the resemblances between KHR and PA came as a pleasant surprise.
so, on this post we are going to have a small comparison between some of the main characters of:
and
[images taken from random sources off the web...i'm afraid i was in too much of a hurry to keep track. i'll try to replace these with proper screengrabs sometime, but in the meantime if any of these images was used in your site and credit is in order, please let me know.]
SHINGU Hayato
Arms: left arm (and gokudera wants to be the "right hand," GET IT?!)
angsty hot-headed white-haired transfer student, comes to new school with unexplained grudge against protagonist classmate. ends up being protagonist's head cheerleader and best friend.
* i love the balance of angst and pure fury this character has. he's still a crazy messed-up kid, but he's definitely no victim. i can't help but squee a little every time he comes on.
GOKUDERA Hayato
angsty hot-headed white-haired transfer student, comes to new school with unexplained grudge against protagonist classmate. ends up being protagonist's head cheerleader and willing love slave dedicated underling.
* i think i've elaborated enough on this character XD the resemblances between this hayato and THAT hayato are just so striking that i enjoy it whenever they come to the fore.
TOMOE Takeshi
Arms: legs (yes)
coward, weakling, avoidant with v.low self-esteem. smart, however, with good sense of self-preservation. also bears a pair of the most kickass (literally?) "arms" in the show.
* i laughed. he's so different from the KHR takeshi, and yet the physical resemblance is undeniable. there was even a time i think that he tried to jump off the school roof, but couldn't because he was too chicken XD
can't help but feel the variations are deliberate. i have a little more respect for KHR takeshi's characterization now.
PS: i call him "hot legs".
YAMAMOTO Takeshi
self-assured, outgoing, popular, capable. driven to be useful, admittedly not very smart. will not run from clear and present danger even if it hits him in the face.
* designed to be sexy, clearly. i think now that it's a stroke of genius that amano decided to make him a confident and balanced character, in contrast to the weakling sub-hero on which he was (presumably) based. either way the takeshi character acts as a great buffer for the "right hand man", and an awesome support for the protagonist.
PS: i also call him "hot legs".
KURUMA Kei
Arms: eyes
powerful but bitter loner. formerly an enslaved killing machine, now driven to survive alone no matter what. adopted wholeheartedly by protagonist and his gang of two, becomes a grudging ally.
* her angst, it is mighty. and yet, i love how the protagonist and his pals seriously act like they don't have time to suspect her of betrayal XD when she bitches about her power always taking away the people she gets close to, they just go ahead and prove that they can't be gotten rid of that easily.
still a potential enemy, but at the moment under the spell of her adoptive "family's" unconditional acceptance.
ROKUDOU Mukuro
powerful, charismatic and elusive. experimented on as a child by his own mafia family. kills them all except for two minions and starts up his own world domination scheme. adopted wholeheartedly by protagonist (and nobody else, iirc), becomes a grudging ally.
* like kuruma kei, definitely has his own agenda. but unlike kuruma kei, possibly completely insane. charisma makes a big difference; i can honestly not see kuruma kei as a formidable opponent of takatsuki ryou precisely because she lacks the ambition, the cunning and the leadership potential. mukuro, on the other hand, displays all the characteristics required of a decent arch-enemy.
also, as for the use of the eyes - as i understand it, kei's eyes allow her to predict her opponents' moves and neutralize/mirror their powers, as well as heal her own injuries. very useful, but mostly defensive. mukuro's "hell eye" gives him access to a variety of powers, the limits of which are as yet unknown.
TAKATSUKI Ryou
Arms: right arm
head "arms", leads the other arms in a rebellion against the people who made them that way to begin with. very self-sufficient and strong-willed, with strong sense of loyalty to his friends, constantly struggling to master the malicious rogue AI which threatens to take over his body.
* honestly, after today's shounen manga trends, i found a non-antihero/non-idiot savant protagonist most refreshing. much like the fudou akira of old, the good-hearted ryou has a dark side that he has to temper (i.e. the arms AI "jabberwock"), which constantly tries to break him by invoking his love for his family and friends.
SAWADA Tsunayoshi
coward, weakling, avoidant with v.low self-esteem. beloved by murphy's law, never seems to get a break. is nonetheless very loyal to the people he calls his "family," and subconsciously fast growing into his ubermensch legacy.
* see, he actually resembles PA takeshi here, it's just like he and yamamoto were PA's ryou and takeshi with their personalities swapped XD interesting deviation, and still quite endearing... and compared to the ever-avoidant PA!takeshi, has quite a few moments of genuine greatness.
ps: i only get to watch Project Arms on local cable on weekends, and i tend to miss episodes if i forget the time/happen to be out of the house.
so i would like to give my love to all the little sisters out there who recap episodes of anime they don't like very much for their big sisters who are out of town for work or just really, really forgetful XD ♥
i'm sure this is nothing new anyway, but for the sake of the people i've been squeeing to, i'm finally getting it out into the open :D
i'm sure KHR has been compared to other j-media (i dunno the right term for this, it seems to pay tribute to a lot of different j-media by mashing up cliches?) such as one piece, kingdom hearts, etc, and comparisons with the (kinda old) award-winning shounen series Project Arms are unavoidable.
and i suppose it was already apparent to shounen manga aficionadi in the beginning... but for people in the english-speaking fandom who don't read a lot of manga to begin with (such as myself), the resemblances between KHR and PA came as a pleasant surprise.
so, on this post we are going to have a small comparison between some of the main characters of:
and
[images taken from random sources off the web...i'm afraid i was in too much of a hurry to keep track. i'll try to replace these with proper screengrabs sometime, but in the meantime if any of these images was used in your site and credit is in order, please let me know.]
SHINGU Hayato
Arms: left arm (and gokudera wants to be the "right hand," GET IT?!)
angsty hot-headed white-haired transfer student, comes to new school with unexplained grudge against protagonist classmate. ends up being protagonist's head cheerleader and best friend.
* i love the balance of angst and pure fury this character has. he's still a crazy messed-up kid, but he's definitely no victim. i can't help but squee a little every time he comes on.
GOKUDERA Hayato
angsty hot-headed white-haired transfer student, comes to new school with unexplained grudge against protagonist classmate. ends up being protagonist's head cheerleader and willing love slave dedicated underling.
* i think i've elaborated enough on this character XD the resemblances between this hayato and THAT hayato are just so striking that i enjoy it whenever they come to the fore.
TOMOE Takeshi
Arms: legs (yes)
coward, weakling, avoidant with v.low self-esteem. smart, however, with good sense of self-preservation. also bears a pair of the most kickass (literally?) "arms" in the show.
* i laughed. he's so different from the KHR takeshi, and yet the physical resemblance is undeniable. there was even a time i think that he tried to jump off the school roof, but couldn't because he was too chicken XD
can't help but feel the variations are deliberate. i have a little more respect for KHR takeshi's characterization now.
PS: i call him "hot legs".
YAMAMOTO Takeshi
self-assured, outgoing, popular, capable. driven to be useful, admittedly not very smart. will not run from clear and present danger even if it hits him in the face.
* designed to be sexy, clearly. i think now that it's a stroke of genius that amano decided to make him a confident and balanced character, in contrast to the weakling sub-hero on which he was (presumably) based. either way the takeshi character acts as a great buffer for the "right hand man", and an awesome support for the protagonist.
PS: i also call him "hot legs".
KURUMA Kei
Arms: eyes
powerful but bitter loner. formerly an enslaved killing machine, now driven to survive alone no matter what. adopted wholeheartedly by protagonist and his gang of two, becomes a grudging ally.
* her angst, it is mighty. and yet, i love how the protagonist and his pals seriously act like they don't have time to suspect her of betrayal XD when she bitches about her power always taking away the people she gets close to, they just go ahead and prove that they can't be gotten rid of that easily.
still a potential enemy, but at the moment under the spell of her adoptive "family's" unconditional acceptance.
ROKUDOU Mukuro
powerful, charismatic and elusive. experimented on as a child by his own mafia family. kills them all except for two minions and starts up his own world domination scheme. adopted wholeheartedly by protagonist (and nobody else, iirc), becomes a grudging ally.
* like kuruma kei, definitely has his own agenda. but unlike kuruma kei, possibly completely insane. charisma makes a big difference; i can honestly not see kuruma kei as a formidable opponent of takatsuki ryou precisely because she lacks the ambition, the cunning and the leadership potential. mukuro, on the other hand, displays all the characteristics required of a decent arch-enemy.
also, as for the use of the eyes - as i understand it, kei's eyes allow her to predict her opponents' moves and neutralize/mirror their powers, as well as heal her own injuries. very useful, but mostly defensive. mukuro's "hell eye" gives him access to a variety of powers, the limits of which are as yet unknown.
TAKATSUKI Ryou
Arms: right arm
head "arms", leads the other arms in a rebellion against the people who made them that way to begin with. very self-sufficient and strong-willed, with strong sense of loyalty to his friends, constantly struggling to master the malicious rogue AI which threatens to take over his body.
* honestly, after today's shounen manga trends, i found a non-antihero/non-idiot savant protagonist most refreshing. much like the fudou akira of old, the good-hearted ryou has a dark side that he has to temper (i.e. the arms AI "jabberwock"), which constantly tries to break him by invoking his love for his family and friends.
SAWADA Tsunayoshi
coward, weakling, avoidant with v.low self-esteem. beloved by murphy's law, never seems to get a break. is nonetheless very loyal to the people he calls his "family," and subconsciously fast growing into his ubermensch legacy.
* see, he actually resembles PA takeshi here, it's just like he and yamamoto were PA's ryou and takeshi with their personalities swapped XD interesting deviation, and still quite endearing... and compared to the ever-avoidant PA!takeshi, has quite a few moments of genuine greatness.
ps: i only get to watch Project Arms on local cable on weekends, and i tend to miss episodes if i forget the time/happen to be out of the house.
so i would like to give my love to all the little sisters out there who recap episodes of anime they don't like very much for their big sisters who are out of town for work or just really, really forgetful XD ♥