Kingdom Hearts 2 (sort of): Princess and Witch
Disclaimers
Kingdom Hearts fans: If you've seen the anime series Revolutionary Girl Utena, then this picture will probably make more sense than if you haven't. If you haven't, hey, look! Kairi and Namine in pretty costumes!
Utena fans: If you haven't played the Kingdom Hearts games (Kingdom Hearts 2 in particular) then you won't know these characters. But hey, pretty new Duelist and Rose Bride!
On to the pic!
I've been thinking lately about Disney women, and how, more often than not, they're either Princesses (who are sweet and lovely and can do no wrong) or Witches (evil and malicious and often beyond redemption). Exceptions to this rule are depressingly rare. Women who have a dark side, but are not portrayed as all out evil, are much less common in stories than men with the exact same qualities; moral ambiguity is less tolerated in heroines than in heroes.
I found it interesting that in Kingdom Hearts 2, a Disney-themed game, the lead female, Kairi, is both a princess and a witch. Even if the witch part of Kairi, Namine, has her own name and identity, they still add up to a whole person. But neither of them completely fits the archtypes they're named for: rather than sit around, waiting to be rescued all the time, Kairi wants to help protect the people she cares about, and while Namine has magic powers that she uses against the heroes, and is perhaps more devious than Kairi, she is still not a wicked person.
'Utena' has very much to do with princesses and witches, working twisted fairy tale elements into its story. Utena is a Princess who wants to be a Prince, and Anthy is a Princess who is called Witch for wanting to protect her brother. Since Kairi is a princess who wants to protect others, and Namine is a witch who has done no real evil, it felt appropriate to draw them in costumes modelled on Utena and Anthy's. (They say hello!)
Explanation aside, I'm just really jazzed to be posting a colored piece. *hearts her Prismacolor pencils*
Kingdom Hearts fans: If you've seen the anime series Revolutionary Girl Utena, then this picture will probably make more sense than if you haven't. If you haven't, hey, look! Kairi and Namine in pretty costumes!
Utena fans: If you haven't played the Kingdom Hearts games (Kingdom Hearts 2 in particular) then you won't know these characters. But hey, pretty new Duelist and Rose Bride!
On to the pic!
I've been thinking lately about Disney women, and how, more often than not, they're either Princesses (who are sweet and lovely and can do no wrong) or Witches (evil and malicious and often beyond redemption). Exceptions to this rule are depressingly rare. Women who have a dark side, but are not portrayed as all out evil, are much less common in stories than men with the exact same qualities; moral ambiguity is less tolerated in heroines than in heroes.
I found it interesting that in Kingdom Hearts 2, a Disney-themed game, the lead female, Kairi, is both a princess and a witch. Even if the witch part of Kairi, Namine, has her own name and identity, they still add up to a whole person. But neither of them completely fits the archtypes they're named for: rather than sit around, waiting to be rescued all the time, Kairi wants to help protect the people she cares about, and while Namine has magic powers that she uses against the heroes, and is perhaps more devious than Kairi, she is still not a wicked person.
'Utena' has very much to do with princesses and witches, working twisted fairy tale elements into its story. Utena is a Princess who wants to be a Prince, and Anthy is a Princess who is called Witch for wanting to protect her brother. Since Kairi is a princess who wants to protect others, and Namine is a witch who has done no real evil, it felt appropriate to draw them in costumes modelled on Utena and Anthy's. (They say hello!)
Explanation aside, I'm just really jazzed to be posting a colored piece. *hearts her Prismacolor pencils*