Ship wars and why they don't let us appreciate and enjoy good characters (Akane Kurokawa and Kana Arima). PART 4

¿Akane and Kana's downfall?

So, in the past few weeks, I've been watching some videos and seeing certain comments that make me wonder about the reading comprehension level of some people who read Oshi no Ko's manga.

Because, ¿since when did we start calling a character development a “downfall”? I think that at this point (and because this is the fourth post I have done on this topic), we are all aware of the great capacity that anti-fans have to distort a story and misinterpret the motivations behind certain characters' actions, for the sole purpose of making them look bad.

So this really shouldn't surprise me. BUT, when I tell you that the way Kana and Akane's respective haters are reacting to the new paths their characters have taken in the story IS WILD, I mean it. ¿Perhaps are we reading a different story? I genuinely believe that could be the only logical explanation for all this madness.

KANA'S DOWNFALL

None of you will let me lie when I say that the favorite arguments of Kana's haters are that her character is “practically useless to the story”, and that her only purpose is to be a possible romantic interest for Aqua. Ah, or my favorite (sarcastically), that Kana's character is so “obsessed” with Aqua that she literally became an idol just because he asked her to, and that “proves how dependent she is on him, and how horrible she is”. Wow.

MANGA SPOILERS

As many of us already know, currently in the manga, Kana is no longer an idol. She decided to leave the group B-Komachi to pursue her passion of being an actress again. And no, that decision had nothing to do with Aqua.

In fact, you could say that this was the first step she took to overcome her dependence on him. Because it's true: Kana became an idol because Aqua asked her to, and one of the motivations that made her continue on that path was the idea that, one day, she would become his favorite idol, his star. HOWEVER, this doesn't make her a “horrible character”. That makes her an exceptionally good and well-written flawed character.

She's not perfect, as LITERALLY NO ONE in the story is. But Kana has one of the best backstories that perfectly explains the reason behind the decisions her character has made so far.

Kana's character is the perfect representation of the consequences that child actors have to face in the entertainment industry. (something that, as we have always known, is a central theme of Oshi no Ko: the dark side of the world of entertainers. Kana may not be involved in the revenge plot the way Aqua or Akane are, but she is by no means unnecessary to the overall story).

Kana's mother and manager, both, ditched her when she began to lose popularity and her career was falling apart. This left her with severe traumas, something haters love to overlook.

She learned that she would only receive her mother's support and affection when she shined on stage. She learned what it felt like to be abandoned, even by her fans, if she wasn't “good enough”, if she wasn't the "genius actress Kana Arima".

This is where Aqua comes in.

The importance of having someone who believes in us.

Aqua offered Kana the opportunity to have a fresh start in the industry. This time, as an idol. But not only that, here comes the most important thing: Aqua gave his UNCONDITIONAL SUPPORT to Kana.

For her, the feeling of having someone who supports you and is on your side no matter what happens is very important. It's something precious. Kana's “obsession” with Aqua isn't something that came from nowhere. In fact, it's not even an obsession. It's attachment, it's affection and yes, it's dependency, but it has a reason: Aqua is the person who restored Kana's trust in herself as a performer, who told her he believed in her and in her talent.

He became someone special to her. That's why she later developed feelings of love towards him and, consequently, wants to be with him. There's nothing wrong with that, and it's not pathetic either. However, it is true that because of the unhealed wounds that Kana still has due to her past, it isn't an entirely healthy thing.

The importance of believing in ourselves.

Since we know that no character in Oshi no Ko is perfect, then we have to recognize that no relationship in the story is either. Aqua and Kana's relationship isn't perfect. And that's okay, since there are reasons for it.

Kana often let Aqua's actions affect her to a worrying level (such as when she became depressed when Akane and Aqua became a real couple.). Witnessing that, we readers wanted nothing more than for Kana to stop being affected by it. For her to realize that her feelings for Aqua, at that time, were doing her more harm than good. And it finally happened, during the incident with the film director.

It was at that moment that Kana surely realized that she was losing herself because of her feelings for Aqua. For her character, that time was her lowest moment: she thought she had lost Aqua to Akane, and along with him, her motivation to continue being an idol. After all, that hasn't been her true dream, at least not like it is for Ruby and Mem. And, all of that together, began to affect her performance on stage, especially after the audience started to favor Ruby more.

For that reason, Kana thought that the only thing she had left was her acting career, and she desperately wanted to rebuild it. In that vulnerable state, Kana was about to make mistakes she normally wouldn't make, like sleeping with a director to get an important role in a movie. After all, she's the one who has the most experience with the dangers of the industry. But, I'll say it again for the people in the back: that was her lowest moment. When a character hits rock bottom, they can only go up. And it's exactly the path Kana's character is on now.

¿But do her haters realize that? Sadly, but not surprisingly, no. They don't.

For Kana's haters, the fact that she has given up being an idol is “proof that her character is a waste” and that the “author no longer knows what to do with her”.

Before, they hated Kana because she joined B-Komachi only because of Aqua, and complained that she had no personality and was toxic because she couldn't decide for herself. Now that Kana has left the group to focus on what SHE is passionate about, they say her character no longer has a purpose and is facing her downfall.

Little do they realize that it's a time of great growth for Kana, who has taken the first step toward stopping suffering from her feelings for Aqua. Perhaps even finding a better way to deal with her traumas and finally heal.

But yeah, of course, let's keep saying it's her downfall, I guess.

Ship wars and why they don't let us appreciate and enjoy good characters (Akane Kurokawa and Kana Arima). PART 3

Channeling Ai's charisma: ¿Another reason to hate Kana and Akane?

In this post, I'd like to talk about how both Kana and Akane managed to channel a part of the legendary figure known as Ai Hoshino (Akane, by acting like the person who was Ai. Kana, by performing like the idol who was Ai). However, instead of that being a reason to applaud both of them for their incredible abilities as performers in the entertainment industry, it became another reason for anti-fans to hate the characters. The figure of Ai Hoshino as a tool for measuring a person's talent.

At this point, the figure of Ai has practically become the epitome of what a “perfect idol” should be. And even that title has transcended to what a “perfect performer” in general should be. For that reason, the fact that both Kana and Akane came to mirror Ai's talent at one point, is the author's way of telling us how great both of their abilities are as performers. It's not a competition to see who can replace Ai. Of course, it is essential to clarify that, although both characters have suffered criticism from their respective anti-fans, Akane is the character with the most unfair treatment. And this is due to the way in which the antifans have decided to interpret the moment in which she acted as Ai for the reality show.

Anti-fans have never been able to forgive Akane for the fact that her acting had such an impact on Aqua. ¿Why? Because they decided to think that Akane acting as Aqua's mother was going to cause him to fall in love with her. Instead of seeing it as a showcase of Akane's amazing acting skills (the way she can bring a character to life, especially a character as mysterious and with many secrets as Ai) the anti-fans interpreted that action as a threat to their ship AquaxKana. Thanks to that, the antifans have created their own version of the manga, where Akane has copied Ai's personality and acts like her around the clock because she is obsessed with Aqua. A version where they can forget that Akane is an ACTRESS.

“I hate Akane because she only copies Ai.”

Akane didn't copy Ai. She acted like Ai for a job. No one says things like “Andrew Garfield is copying Peter Parker” or “Heath Ledger is copying the Joker”, right? Because it's just wrong to reduce an actor's work to something as basic as “copying”. And all to create illogical reasons that anti-fans use to say that their ship is the right one. “Kana is better for Aqua because she's like Ai without knowing it, it comes naturally to her, not like Akane who just copies her”. (I wish I was making this up, but I've actually seen comments like this). ¿Why forget all the other good attributes of Kana and say she's good for Aqua only “because she resembles Ai/is like Ai” ¿Why reduce a good character to her resemblance to another? When it came to Akane, her impersonating Aqua's mother was “weird” and “creepy” and “toxic”. ¿Why now, with Kana, the exact same thing suddenly becomes a reason for Aqua to love her? It has already been established that to Aqua, Kana is like a light in the darkness. Kana doesn't need to be Ai. During her first concert, a panel of Kana was shown very similar to Ai's, but not to establish that she would be the next Ai, but to show the great potential that Kana has to be an idol. In a way, Akane and Kana haven't let Ai's spirit die completely, and that's wonderful. It's like a way of saying that Ai will live on forever in the next generations of big stars. (If only antifans could see that).

Ship wars and why they don't let us appreciate and enjoy good characters (Akane Kurokawa and Kana Arima). PART 2

As I said in my previous post, when it comes to ship wars, fans who spread hate will always look for ways to make the character they don't like look bad. Even if they are wrong and their way of interpreting the characters goes against even how the author himself wrote them. But at the end of the day, everyone has the right to express their point of view, right? Sure! As long as they are aware that they are not giving valid criticisms, but highly subjective opinions. Changing the narrative to our convenience

“Kana/Akane is annoying” is a totally valid opinion. However, it's not a criticism that provides any value or even prompts a reflection on the character. In fact, when you see a comment like that, it's the easiest way to recognize an anti-fan, rather than a person who is actually interested in understanding the characters or the story. Why? Because when someone else on the internet asks an anti-fan why they have that opinion (why they think Kana or Akane are annoying), their common answers are usually misinterpretations of the characters: “Kana is annoying because she is a typical tsundere.” Although Kana has certain characteristics of this personality type, in reality, she totally breaks away from the tsundere stereotype. Kana is never physically violent when she and her love interest (Aqua) have a misunderstanding. Or when she is embarrassed. Kana is much more direct and honest than other tsundere characters (for example, Taiga from the anime Toradora!). And, most important of all, Kana has an amazing backstory that explains the reasons why she is the way she is. Why she sometimes decides to push others away before they can leave her, or why she tends to make sharp comments. Since she is in fact NOT a typical tsundere, comments like this totally lose their validity. “Akane is annoying because she makes Aqua worse.” Honestly, these kinds of comments from anti-fans are the funniest to me, because then they contradict themselves when another anti-fan says that they hate Akane because she has a weak personality. I mean, they can't even pick a common ground to hate her for. Again, they change the narrative at their convenience, completely ignoring how the author has written the character. Akane is another perfect example of Oshi no Ko's recurring theme: nothing, and no one, is what they seem. At first, it seemed like Akane would be a typical dandere: withdrawn, shy, and afraid to voice her opinion. Then, the character blew everyone's minds when she showed off her incredible acting talent, and unmatched research and deduction skills. Once we get to the Tokyo Blade arc, we see more facets of Akane's character, and it's all thanks to her rivalry with Kana. We discover that Akane can be very competitive, but she also has an honorable side, as she didn't want to beat Kana on stage if she wasn't showing her full potential. We also discovered that Akane can hold her own very well during an argument fight with Kana, who is known for having a very sharp tongue. If Akane had the weak personality that anti-fans say she has, then she wouldn't have even gone so far as to challenge Kana, or she would cry and apologize every time the two of them argue. Akane didn't do this. She stood her ground and battled to the end with the person she used to idolize (and kinda still do). So, back to the topic of “Akane making Aqua worse”. Akane's wish has always been to support and help Aqua. To help the boy who saved her life to stop enduring so much pain by himself. When Aqua revealed his dark desire to her (which is to kill his father), I'm sure most expected her to react in the most basic and predictable way: “B-but, Aqua-kun, killing is wrong. Revenge is wrong.” But what did Akane do instead? She showed another side of her, as a morally gray character, and told Aqua that she would help him. She didn't judge him. For Akane, the world is not just black and white. She can understand that Aqua, a person who is good at heart, must have his reasons for wanting to kill someone. She also sees that Aqua has a terrible trauma related to guilt, and so she wants to help him carry it. If some can't understand how that moment changed things for Aqua (from no longer seeing Akane as a tool, and instead feeling like he finally found someone who understood him), that's fine. But they shouldn't try to pass off Akane's desire to become a support for Aqua (who up until that point hadn't let anyone see that side of him) as her making him worse, because that's simply not how the author wrote it.

Ship wars and why they don't let us appreciate and enjoy good characters (Akane Kurokawa and Kana Arima).

The saddest thing that tends to happen in ship wars is that the fans of each side (those who spread hate) will always try to belittle the character that the opposing group prefers. They do this by misunderstanding the characters at their convenience, finding flaws in them that aren't really there, or even ignoring the flaws that both characters may share.

Spoiler alert if you have not read the manga

“AKANE IS OBSESSED WITH AQUA. She wants him to fall in love with her by copying Ai.” WRONG Akane is an actress. During the reality show, her fellow actors gave her the idea to play a role to gain popularity with the audience. Aqua was the only guy present when that happened, and he ended up giving her the description of his ideal girl (Ai). Akane, wanting to do something nice for him as a gesture of gratitude for saving her life after her suicide attempt, decides to accept the role. Then, for the rest of the story, Akane never acts as Ai again, until she is recruited for a film that Aqua himself is producing about his mother. “KANA IS OBSESSED WITH AQUA. She became an idol only because he asked her to, and her emotional state is very dependent on him.” AN OVERLY SIMPLE AND SHALLOW STATEMENT. Due to childhood traumas, Kana has abandonment issues. For her, Aqua became not only the person who helped her save her career, but also someone who supports her unconditionally and believes in her talent. Something Kana never had and doesn't want to lose. Adding this to the fact that Kana is still a 17-year-old teenager with a crush, it makes sense that some of her decisions are based on Aqua. And that some of Aqua's actions (like kissing another girl) have a major impact on her.

All right, I'm going to say it.

I get that some people weren't on board with the way Lucie and Cordelia's friendship was handled at the end of this trilogy. But saying that Grace (Grace, of all people) was the one who better understood Lucie, is just wild. Especially, when the only argument used to explain it is that Grace discovered Lucie's powers before her friends and family.

Even though it is true that, in Chain of Iron, Lucie spent a lot more time with Grace than with Cordelia, it seems that we are forgetting WHY. Lucie didn't decide to spend time with Grace because she WANTED TO or because she felt some kind of connection with her. She did it because both of them shared the same goal. Hell, Lucie didn't even care if Grace were to be found guilty of doing necromancy with her. Because she was not thinking about her at all.

The main reason why Lucie didn't tell Cordelia, James, or any of the friends she grew up with, about her powers and her plan to bring Jesse back to life was because she wanted to protect them. At least, that was her intention. She didn't want them to be accused of knowing her plan and not stopping her. Because she loved them and cared about them. It wasn't the same with Grace (why would it be? Lucie didn't know Grace at all, and the little of her she knew was that she broke Lucie's brother's heart. Not really a great place to start a friendship).

It seems that people are confusing the fact that Lucie was, to some extent, more honest with Grace than with any of the other characters in Chain of Iron, and thinking it was because she trusted Grace more than anyone, including Cordelia. Again, the important question is WHY? Because Grace was already involved. Grace was, in fact, the first to propose the idea of using necromancy. Lucie didn't have to worry about lying to a person who was planning to do the same thing she was. And even then, Lucie didn't tell Grace all her secrets.

Also, Lucie desperately needed a partner, and sharing information with Grace was part of their deal. She was tired of continuing to lie to everyone, of feeling that she was alone in her mission. She wasn't, but I highly doubt Lucie would have chosen Grace as her partner in crime if she'd had the chance (and yes, I'm talking about the infamous scene with Malcolm Fade that practically gave us Lady Midnight).

Finally, let's not forget that Lucie was afraid to reveal her necromantic powers to Cordelia because she thought she would lose her. She thought she was not worthy of being Cordelia's parabatai because of the nature of her powers (after all, Lucie has already suffered rejection during her childhood for being the daughter of a warlock). With Grace, Lucie could not have cared less whether she considered her worthy of being her friend or not.

Hot take, but I think that Christopher's death was made on behalf of Grace's character arc.

"WHAT??? THE F*CK IS THIS PERSON TALKING ABOUT??!!

I know. Let me explain. But first, let me say that I'm not a Gracetopher shipper.

I neither hate this fictional couple nor do I think that the people who do ship them are in the wrong or anything like that (I'm part of the “Christopher being aro” squad, though). Also, I am not writing this to change anyone's mind. This is simply an observation of mine, and I would like to know if anyone else shares it (it's okay if no one does! Just don't send hate😔). So, if you like this couple, then please be aware that this post may not be for you.

All right! Now that we got this out of the way, let me begin:

I love Christopher. He, as a member of the Merry Thieves and as his own person, was one of my favorite characters of this trilogy. So, of course, I was sad with his death. But I didn't think it was meaningless, or a last minute kind of thing. I believe it had a purpose: not to reduce Grace's character, and her incredibly complex journey, to a romantic relationship.

“Oh look, Grace is good now! I mean, she did end up with Christopher, right?” PLEASE NO.

I seriously wish I was joking, but I promise you, I've come across enough posts and comments to think that some fans of the books decided that they liked Grace only because Christopher was her potential love interest. An idea that was only prompted by the family tree, before Cassie Clare decided to change it.

Because, let's be real, how many times did these characters interact so that they could develop a romantic attraction for each other? There was a mutual understanding between the two of them over science? Of course! Christopher's sympathy for Grace's situation? Absolutely! This boy was a kind soul. Grace's gratitude towards the one person who didn't see her as Tatiana's blade? It existed and it always will.

But Christopher didn't know Grace completely (didn't know of the unwanted kisses that she forced upon James and Matthew, or the horrible truth she revealed to Malcolm Fade). And Grace knew nothing about love (the romantic type, at least). She only knew the twisted and manipulative version that Tatiana showed her. She said it herself in Chain of Thorns: Tatiana made her hard and cold.

“But Christopher could have been the person to teach her about true love” AGAIN, PLEASE NO.

This is just like the “she could fix him” trope. And only because this time the female character was the “broken one”, and the male character was her “savior”, it still isn't right or makes it any better. I mean, this is practically the same issue some people had about Matthew and Cordelia, and the reason they didn't want them to end up together.

Besides, Christopher already WAS Grace's savior. He showed her kindness and patience when she was at the most hopeless point in her life, when she was locked up in the Silent City. He gave her the opportunity to help him with the creation of the fire messages, and helped her to rectify some of the damage she had done to people (like Cordelia).

But most importantly, he showed her that she was worthy of a second chance. In fact, before he died, he made sure to make his friends understand that they should no longer treat Grace with resentment, or else they would be just like Tatiana. In doing so, Christopher also gave Grace the opportunity to continue to improve as a person, and learn to love herself, without fear of further judgment.

Grace is now free to walk her own path. The actions she takes from now on will allow her to find the peace she so desperately needs. And she couldn't have had that by fulfilling her role as Christopher's wife in the misleading family tree. And I think that's for the best. I think the author saw that several people weren't getting this message, so she made a reminder that being in a romantic relationship shouldn't be grounds for your past mistakes to be forgiven. Or the only reason for you to feel worthy of a second chance. Sometimes, all you need is someone who believes in you, like Christopher believed in Grace. Like he believed in all his friends.

Unpopular Opinion of Chain of Thorns

I loved that the ending of Chain of Thorns was not somewhat sad or tragic as originally planned. I really can't understand people who say this was a bad book because it had A HAPPY ENDING and that it didn't feel earned. (Note: We are leaving aside things like plot holes and character arcs decisions). Would a sad ending have felt more satisfying? After everything the characters we came to adore and root for went through? I don't think so.

I also don't think it's a very valid criticism to say that the book was bad for its happy ending BECAUSE happy endings are "overrated". I understand that maybe some people are tired of seeing stories like that and so they feel that way, but then isn't it better to look for other kinds of stories??? The ones that have the heartbreaking ending they are looking for? Because the Shadowhunter Chronicles is just not the place. And if at this point some people haven't noticed, then they only have themselves to blame for feeling disappointed.