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opinions
Why Kamorgana, who likes Saitou, will also defend Enishi with everything in her power.
(SPOILER WARNING)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/all_about_yukishiro_enishi/message/96
I usually prefer "villains", or better, as Watsuki defines Saitoh, "dirty
heroes". They are way more interesting and complex to me than the, sorry, bland
and self-righteous heroes, I think this is similar to Genocide and Firuze's
opinions. Especially when it comes to writing: if the hero is good because is he
good by nature, well, that doesn't leave a lot of possibilities to dwell on his
motivations, does it? Mr. Joe Perfect has just no appeal to me: bo-ring, and so
unrealistic A world in black and white is good for fairy tales, for Disney
movies, not for reality,and not for such a complex fiction as RK is). This is
why I liked Enishi in the first place.
I must say that if RK is my favorite manga, it's because, surprisingly, I happen
to *like* the main hero. I like the real Kenshin, not the one I see in so many
fics, where his deeds are denied (erased) and/or excused. The one who committed
crimes, cold blooded, and realized he did wrong. If the extent of what he did is
belittled, he looks like a whiny idiot, whipping himself for ten years for such
nothings, instead of someone who has the courage to change his path. I like that
he did wrong, realized it (not because of his inner, superior nature, but
because he felt, in his heart, the loss he inflicted to others), and tries to
become a better person. I think that I loved Kenshin the most after his fight to
Soujiro, when instead of preaching for his church (as any self-righteous hero
would have, and as I expected), he encourages him to find his own answer. I had
the same surprise during his explanations to Yahiko, at the Aoiya, after the
Kyoto fight. That was definitely unusual. I like Kenshin who has been Battousai,
who tries to atone for it, WITHOUT arrogantly pretending to be a model for
anybody else.
This last ramble has a point. RK is also an exception to me, as I like almost
all the characters, for what they *are*, not for what I would like them to be.
Not only Kenshin, but also Saitoh, Enishi, Sano, Aoshi etc...They have all a
dark side, and a light side, and I accept both, I like them more for this,
because it makes them human. I take the WHOLE, I don't select. Here is my point,
here is why I started to root for Enishi: double standards.
Maybe, it's because I read only the japanese version of RK, since I could barely
get the whole matter until I could understand every nuance. Thus, I couldn't
decide immediately who I liked or not: I didn't know what they were
saying/thinking, and my first likes/dislikes were getting upside down with every
new read...until I understood all and in the process, I ended up liking
everybody.
I was so surprised, then, when I started to read fanfictions, to realize that
some characters were hated and made all wrong, that they were denied any
reedeming quality. I found it so unfair, as Watsuki made an effort to give, imo,
depth, or a sympathetic aspect, to every single one of them (with the notable
exception of Kanryuu). And Enishi was coming first on the line. This is why I
like him, too, because I root for the underdogs, when I feel that they get an
unfair treatment.
Apart from this general reasons, that can apply to several other characters, I
started to like Enishi when it appeared that he didn't kill Kaoru.
Until then, though I perfectly understood the reasons of his revenge (though not
approving his ways), he was the complete villain, with flawless plans, which
succeeded. Too much of a villain for me to find him interesting *personally*,
though I really liked that Enishi gave a new perspective to the story, and made
Kenshin's crimes real, showing their consequences, the suffering of the families
of his victims, along with his own when Tomoe died. Enishi gave the two sides of
the story, what he had been through was moving, yet he was Mr. Joe Perfect
Bad Guy. Not killing Kaoru showed me that he was way more complex than this,
that he had indeed good sides. Then, the scenes on the island showed the human
side of him, his weaknesses, his wrong interpretation of what Tomoe wanted
(especially with the visions of Tomoe that Kenshin had, in parallel, where she
is way more likeable, imo, than during his report of the events).
That last point was heart wrenching to me. I was feeling for this character, who
had nothing happy in his life but childhood memories, and he lost even that, on
the beach, because he misunderstood Tomoe. It was partly her fault and partly
his, because of their tempers, but it was so sad. The moment when he saved
Kaoru, which is imo when he realizes his mistake, was the one when he became a
character I was rooting for. I was happy to see him in Rakuninmura, and I wanted
him to find his way and his own answer, his own way in life, as did, each in
their different ways, all the other characters of RK.
Of course, I like his temper, his devotion to his loved one(s), the fact that he
is smart and so inventive, I adore his "Mr I have a plan" side. He is a
firework, always ready to explode with emotions in spite of it...a wonderfully
challenging character to write about!
My favorite character is Saitoh, because his qualities/flaws are those that I
like/accept the most. I have my personal likings drawing me to a character
rather than to another one. For the same kind of reasons, Enishi is my second
favorite. Yet, he becomes the first whenever I write about him...in the same way
that I root for any other RK character anytime I use them in my stories. So, I
love Enishi, yes, for all these reasons and more, but it doesn't take anything
out of my liking for other characters. I like him *more* that's all (^-^)