Manga Reviews: Black Bird (Part 2)

[aikaterini]

So, during my last post on "Black Bird," I briefly talked about the manga's protagonist, Misao. Now I want to talk about Kyo, her love interest and basically the Japanese version of Edward Cullen.

In the very early beginning of Kyo's introduction, I thought that I was going to like him. We get a brief shot of back-story where we learn that he and Misao were best friends when they were little and that for some reason unbeknownst to Misao, he had to move away. I've seen some people dislike this factor in their relationship, because they feel that it's a cliche. Personally, I rather like the whole "knew each other since they were kids" romance. I think that it's sweet and I tend to like romances that grow out of friendships. It sure beats "love at first sight" romances where the two leads confess their love after only knowing each other for five minutes. So, I didn't mind that story element so much. And when Misao discovers that Kyo, after being gone for many years, has moved back into her neighborhood, I was actually looking forward to their reunion. I did think that it was rather amusing that when Misao sees the teenage Kyo for the first time, she thinks that he's a girl at first (that's how pretty he is). 

But of course, like everything else, I was soon met with a nasty surprise as I was disappointed again. When Misao meets Kyo again, it's after he saves her from being killed by a demon (I'll get into that later). She finds out that he's a tengu (a Japanese bird demon) when black wings sprout from his back and he beats the other demon up. At first, I thought, "Wow, Kyo's cool! Yay, a powerful yokai bishie!" I didn't mind that she had to be saved by him because she was in a dangerous situation and he was the most powerful person there at the time. If he kept having to save her over and over again (which he does) and had been nice, it would have been annoying, but at least I would have liked him. The trouble is that what transpires between Misao, Kyo, and a third party is exactly what happens between Bella, Edward, and a third party in Twilight. Bella gets into trouble, someone wants to kill/hurt her because she's just so special, Edward shows up and saves her, and then Edward uses her tendency to get into trouble as an excuse to control her. Which is exactly what Kyo does as well. He licks her wounds without warning and without her permission, even when she begs him to stop. True, his ministrations do end up healing her cuts, but, according to Misao, they also hurt her. Despite their beneficial effect, his actions are still intrusive and violate Misao, especially since he does them without asking her first. There's one oh-so-delightful scene where Kyo is annoyed by Misao disobeying him and what does he do? He picks her up, flies over a great height, and threatens to drop her. All while Misao is terrified and is holding onto him for dear life. And when Kyo does finally land, we learn that he was indeed trying to scare her in order to "teach her a lesson." 

...Yeah. Sound familiar? Look, I really don't care if he's handsome or a yokai anymore. Any liking that I may have had for him vanished the moment that he started saying stuff like this:  



The sad thing that what he's saying now, "It doesn't matter if you want it or not. This body of yours in danger," could apply to both him and to the demons that torment and attack Misao on a daily basis. We do eventually learn why demons keep attacking Misao, and yes, it unfortunately does have to do with her body (and is very similar to Bella Swan's inexplicable allure) and there's nothing she can do to change it, but this statement is also Kyo's behavior to Misao in a nutshell: "You're in danger, so I'm going to do whatever I want to you to keep you out of it." Again, it's very similar to what Edward Cullen does in the Twilight series.

Another creepy thing about Kyo that's also confusing is the fact that when he does come back to Misao's town, he poses as a teacher in her high school. Okay, how on earth can that happen? I'm pretty sure that when I read the pages that showed a flashback to Misao and Kyo as children, they looked around the same age. I'll admit that I don't know much about educational standards or hiring practices in Japanese high schools, but wouldn't Kyo be a little too young to pass as a teacher? The only way that he looks different as a teacher is his wardrobe: he wears a suit and glasses. Yeah, big disguise there. *snorts* Please correct me if I'm wrong, but in what sane universe could a teenager be able to become a teacher? As far as I know of in the United States, you have to actually graduate from high school, go to college, and then go on to graduate school to earn your degree to become a teacher. Most people who do undergo such a process are no longer teenagers by the end of it. Again, I don't know much about the school system in Japan, but I'd imagine that the process would be similar. There's no mention of Kyo hypnotizing anybody (in fact, there's conveniently no mention of the staff at all) or resorting to any magical measures to fool the school into letting him teach there. He's just there, as a way for him to keep an eye on Misao and be around her all the time. And here Edward Cullen posed as a student. Pfft, what an amateur. 

So, yes, ladies and gentlemen, Kyo is the Japanese Edward Cullen. He's a supernatural creature who is both handsome and domineering, who uses his love interest's irritating tendency to get into trouble as an excuse to control her, who has a fetish for her blood, and who comes off as abusive. Our Hero, ladies and gentlemen.  

Comments

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

"He licks her wounds without warning and without her permission, even when she begs him to stop. True, his ministrations do end up healing her cuts, but, according to Misao, they also hurt her. Despite their beneficial effect, his actions are still intrusive and violate Misao, especially since he does them without asking her first. There's one oh-so-delightful scene where Kyo is annoyed by Misao disobeying him and what does he do? He picks her up, flies over a great height, and threatens to drop her. All while Misao is terrified and is holding onto him for dear life. And when Kyo does finally land, we learn that he was indeed trying to scare her in order to 'teach her a lesson.'"

0.0.

Sweet space Jesus. He's that bad?

*Jots down ideas as an example of 'What Not To Do When Designing A Love Interest'*

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

It got to the point where the author actually had Misao think to herself, "Is he abusive?" in one later scene. Maybe the author got a lot of hate mail about Kyo's behavior and that was just her way of reassuring fans that no, Kyo's not a jerk, he really is the one for Misao...blah, blah, blah. But it was only that one scene.

I actually think that the manga itself victimizes Misao more than Kyo does. I haven't gotten to the events that occur in the story, but you'll see what I mean when I get around to talking about them. Even the covers portray Misao as vulnerable, frightened, and weak. She's always crying and never looks happy.

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

I kind of thought the author was male? I mean...the name sounded very...male. *Just me, though*

And I see what you mean about the covers. I remember seeing one image on TV Tropes (on the Bastard Boyfriend page), and it definitely freaked me out (even if I didn't know where it was from at the time until...well, now). You know this one?

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Black-Bird-V1.jpg

Yeah..."uncomfortable" is definitely an Understatement there. :/ *Currently shipping poor Misao with the only Nice Guy in the manga* :(

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

/I kind of thought the author was male? I mean...the name sounded very...male./

Nope, as far as I know of, Kanoko is a female name and Black Bird's mangaka is definitely female: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanoko_Sakurakoji.

Usually, Japanese given names that end in "-ko" are feminine, although I wouldn't be surprised if there were exceptions.

/And I see what you mean about the covers. I remember seeing one image on TV Tropes (on the Bastard Boyfriend page), and it definitely freaked me out (even if I didn't know where it was from at the time until...well, now)./

Wow, I didn't realize that "Black Bird" was popular enough to end up on TV Tropes. Yes, I've seen that cover before and that's basically how the rest of the covers look. Do the artist and the fans just think that Misao looks appealing when she's hurt and distraught and on the verge of fainting? Is this some sort of Japanese version of a harlequin romance cover gone wrong? I don't know. *shrugs*

[arynia.livejournal.com]

This...creeps me out. Big time. And considering the types of guys Misao is attacked by, it really does seem that they're pulling out all the stops for them just to make sure that Kyo comes off better.

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't know the name of that trope (it's probably on TV Tropes somewhere), but I don't like it at all. Basically, it's a way for the author to substitute actual plot with a pointless love triangle and to say, "See? My designated male love interest isn't so bad after all! He could be worse, like this guy."