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aikaterini) wrote2011-06-22 07:56 pm
Manga Reviews: Black Bird (Part 4)
In my last post on “Black Bird,” I mentioned near the end that Kyo is the real protagonist of “Black Bird.” In this post, I shall explain why.
First, let us look at the official definition of a protagonist, shall we? Here are a few definitions, courtesy of Dictionary.com:
pro·tag·o·nist /proʊˈtægənɪst/
[proh-tag-uh-nist]
–noun
1. the leading character, hero, or heroine of a drama or other literary work.
2. a proponent for or advocate of a political cause, social program, etc.
3. the leader or principal person in a movement, cause, etc.
In ancient Greek drama, the protagonist was the first or leading actor. The word itself is derived from the Greek word “protos” (πρώτος), which means “first,” and the Greek word “agonistes” (αγωνιστής) which means “actor, competitor.”
One would think that Misao is the protagonist since the reader views the events of the manga through her perspective. She fits the general definition of a protagonist since she is the principal character. However, a protagonist of any media (film, book, TV show, etc.) is implicitly expected by the audience to do something that warrants his or her involvement in the plot, something that justifies why he or she is the main focus of the story. The plot of a story usually depends on or influences the protagonist’s actions, which is why many people prefer active protagonists, since an active protagonist usually ensures a dramatic plot.
I have seen many complaints from Harry Potter fans that Harry was a passive protagonist in the later books of the series. They argue that he was not decisive or independent enough and that he mostly relied on other people to make decisions for him. I would argue that Misao is far worse of a protagonist because she is not a heroine in any sense of the word. She saves nobody, she’s often the one needing to be saved, and the only big decision that she has to make is whether or not to stay with Kyo. She does not seem to have any goals or aspirations and she exhibits no significant talents in anything. One never gets the sense of what she wanted to do with her life before Kyo showed up. Since there is nothing for her to work toward, there is no journey or path for her to take. She’s unsure about marrying Kyo because her marriage would force her to leave the human world, but we never see what the stakes are because we never see any facet of her mortal life that she’d miss, other than her family and human friends who don’t play a significant role in her life anyway.
In contrast, Kyo does have a goal and he does work for it. According to the rules of his clan, only the leader can marry. Like monarchy in the human world, leadership in the tengu clan usually passes down to the eldest son, which in this case would be Kyo’s older brother. However, Kyo wants to marry Misao so badly that he works hard to improve himself, challenges his brother for the title, and wins.
At first, Kyo’s efforts seem admirable…until one realizes that Kyo had decided that he wanted to marry Misao from the time that they were playmates as children. After Kyo’s family had to leave town, he and Misao were separated for years. During that period, Kyo trained to become the head of his clan so that he would be able to marry her. Apparently, it never crossed his mind that Misao could turn into a completely different person during those years and that he might not want to marry her anymore after seeing her again, especially since he and Misao parted as small children and met again as teenagers. Nor did it cross his mind that Misao might not want to marry him, thus all of those years of sacrifice and hard work would have been for nothing.
It’s a simple and nonsensical goal, to be sure, but it’s a goal nonetheless. Kyo had an objective in mind, worked for it, and won. He is now the head of his clan, entrusted with all the responsibilities that come with the position. His singular objective now is to marry Misao and eventually father her children. Which is not an impressive objective, but it’s more impressive than Misao’s by virtue of actually existing. Kyo is a far more active and interesting character than Misao and yet she is the designated protagonist of this manga.
Not to mention that most of the villains who attack Misao in this manga are motivated by Kyo. True, Misao’s super-special blood is what causes lesser demons to attack her, but as for the bigger demons, all they care about is Kyo. Misao is just a piece of bait to them. For example, in one volume, there’s a female demon who disguises herself as a harmless schoolgirl in order to get close to Misao. Once she gets Misao alone, she tries to kill her so that Misao will no longer be competition for Kyo’s affections. (Do I really need to go into detail about how stupid and sexist this is? Yes, kill the girl that your crush loves. I’m sure that will make him fall madly in love with you. Idiot. Also, a woman attacking another woman over a man? So original.) There’s another demon, a kitsune, who kidnaps Misao and hurts her in order to get back at Kyo (there’s bad blood between them). And if you think that’s bad enough, he gets away with this twice. Twice, before Kyo finally kills him.
How about Kyo’s brother? It turns out that he’s less than pleased about being booted from the top, so he kidnaps Misao to use as bait for Kyo. There’s some stupid, convoluted explanation about how the reason why Misao doesn’t fully remember her days with Kyo as a child is because her memory has been tampered with and the only way to get it back is if Kyo is seriously wounded or killed. But yes, Kyo’s brother kidnaps Misao, ties her up, threatens to rape her (oh, yes, did I mention that in addition to being threatened with violence, Misao is frequently threatened with rape?)…all so that Kyo can swoop in to save the day.
Misao’s magical blood is ostensibly the source of all her troubles, but all of them can also be traced back to Kyo. She’s just a damsel in distress for him to save. He’s the one who works and struggles for his goal and goes out to save the person he loves. He’s the one that the villains want to defeat. Which is why I believe that he’s the true protagonist of “Black Bird,” regardless of his official status as love interest.
no subject
Oh, don't apologize, Rape as Plot Device really bothers me, too.
That's good to know. *Grins, relieved* Seriously though, what you're describing is...damn. Apparently the author doesn't really get that no, you can't use rape as a plot device in fiction. At least...not so poorly. (Seriously, imagine if the author actually went into detail about Misao's thought processes after...y'know. I mean...*Jots down as part of growing list of opportunities BLACK BIRD missed out on*)
And glad to help -- albeit slightly. :) *Hugs* Seriously, I admire your bravery in taking this on. :)
no subject
On a more serious note, though, "Black Bird" is pretty tame when it comes to other manga out there. One particularly infamous one, "Haou Airen," comes to mind. Be warned, the "love interest" in that story is a downright loathsome rapist, hands down. There's no question about it; he flat-out rapes the "heroine" and yet they're supposed to be a romantic couple anyway. I am not brave enough to read *that* manga, I can tell you that much. :(
no subject
On the subject of Transmission Hawk, don't worry; I haven't abandoned it. I'm just taking some time off. *Sighs* Let's say it's pretty exhausting at times. :)
And Jesus, HAOU AIREN definitely sounds awful. I don't blame you for avoiding it. 0.0. *Hugs* Seriously...why, manga author? Just...why? 0.0.
no subject
Yes, "Haou Airen" is as awful as it sounds. You can check out Shaolina's sporks of it (she hasn't finished the whole manga yet, so the parts she's done aren't too bad, compared with the rest) here: http://shaolina.livejournal.com/tag/haou%20airen
no subject
Serious trigger warnings here
[TRIGGER WARNINGS HERE FOR MENTION OF RAPE AND SEX SLAVERY]
At one point, Hakuron shoots an ex-girlfriend of his because she arranged to have her classmates kidnap and gangrape Kurumi because said ex was jealous, etc. Kurumi was understandably traumatized at the sight of her bf killing someone and being so blase about it and refuses to let him touch her. He gets furious and responds by essentially turning her into his slave. He fires the household staff and forces her to do all the chores, working her to the point of exhaustion. He also rapes her continuously, wanting her to be addicted to his body. And yes, he actually says as much. At one point, she's overworked to the point where she collapses. One of Hakuron's men is horrified and takes her to a hospital, where she ends up leaving before being cleared because she's so brainwashed that she simply has to go make Hakuron breakfast. And we're actually supposed to consider it a kind moment from Hakuron that he tries to make her happy by telling her breakfast is good, when the whole thing is HIS OWN FAULT.
At another point, Hakuron tries to rape her to the point where she's so physically exhausted, she can't sit up. He leaves her unguarded and unrestrained, figuring she's too weak to leave. She somehow manages to escape and is found and taken in by a kind guy named Kafei, who brings her to live and work at his family's restaurant.
Kafei is the only remotely likable character. He ignores his family warnings that Kurumi is probably an escaped prostitute who will bring trouble. He makes sure she's calm and happy, he comforts her when she wakes up with nightmares, and never makes her tell him anything she's uncomfortable talking about. He tells her all he wants is to see her give genuinely happy smiles and gives her a gentle peck on the lips, once.
Hakuron eventually finds Kurumi and of course goes storming in to take her back. He has his people beat up Kafei when Kafei tries to stop this, which causes Kurumi to get yelled at by Kafei's mother for causing her son to get hurt. Hakuron then is all, "Oh, you can stay if you really want to", but of course she goes with him because he spent the past however long specifically programming her to be dependent on him.
It managed to get worse, before I quit reading. Hakuron takes Kurumi back and they start having sex (actually consensual this time). Kurumi's happy that Hakuron's being loving again... and then he reveals that he had Kafei kidnapped, tied up, gagged, and positioned so that he had to watch Hakuron screwing Kurumi. Kurumi's horrified, while Hakuron gloats to Kafei and sends him off.
The only thing remotely resembling a silver lining is that karma bites Hakuron in the ass. He and Kurumi go to get married at the end (because clearly this is a guy you want to spend the rest of your life with) and Kafei shows up and pops a cap in Hakuron's chest. Naturally this is meant to be a tragic ending, but the fact remains that Hakuron dies and Kurumi gets sent back to Japan and is not longer abused by anyone.