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hikariobsessions · 6 years

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[RANT] IkeSen’s Uesugi Kenshin - The Yandere

...Also known as “Why you shouldn’t be afraid of portraying character flaws.”

DISCLAIMER

This is another personal opinion post, (one I’ve been saving for a rainy day); this time addressing a more specific topic regarding Kenshin, which I mentioned briefly, but tried to avoid on my previous post about IkeSen’s Translations (because I didn’t want to spoil things too much and I’ll try not to reveal too much here as well).

But it's specifically in response to an observation outlined in this wonderful paragraph by @rizosrojizos

Another possibility that occurred to me just now is that the English team may be inclined into political correctness? That is, that they have a fixated negative understanding about what a yandere is, or that they don’t understand yandere Kenshin at all—things that get lost when trying to translate one culture into another. Maybe they fear that if they portray a more faithful translation of Kenshin and MC’s relationship, we, as a western audience, would complain about them “promoting” toxic, abusive, and manipulative relationships and possible Gaslighting or Stockholm Syndrome. That could explain why English MC is on guard and a smart mouth around Kenshin–so that we see her as a strong person, a fighter, and not a weak-minded victim.

- I’m mainly doing this post ‘coz I’m sick of a certain stupid internet joke that got me ranting about Beauty and the Beast to my hapless, irl friend.

- Cybird’s localization team and writers are beginning to worry me about the portrayal of my favorite character, Uesugi Kenshin but I’m trying to be optimistic. (I’m gonna post this anyway before they release it)

- There will be some major spoilers in this (probably) about Kenshin’s route specifically (both routes) BUT go ahead if you don’t mind being spoiled...

- I change my usual tone compared to normal posts for rants out of impulse and the free-for-all nature I’m approaching this particular post type.

- Again if the title didn’t already warn you, this is a Rant. It’s going to be long and caked with profanity which isn’t particularly aimed at anyone, but may or may not offend some people. You have been warned, and do proceed with caution. IT’S FUCKING LONG. >.>

With that said, let’s get on with it, shall we?

Fears of portrayal

Maybe they fear that if they portray a more faithful translation of Kenshin and MC’s relationship, we, as a western audience, would complain about them “promoting” toxic, abusive, and manipulative relationships and possible Gaslighting or Stockholm Syndrome.

OKAY...

The short answer is, yes, certainly the Cybird English localization team can have inhibitions when portraying the ‘yandere’ trope. But we might just be putting words in their mouths at this point.

Here’s the thing, Western audiences aren’t the only people that are against/or would complain about “toxic, abusive and manipulative relationships.” Japanese content makers (I imagine) also have an awareness of what kind of shit they put out in the world, and the Japanese audience, the kind of things they tolerate.

And the portrayal of Kenshin’s yandere, I reckon, had that awareness; and he wouldn’t be the character that he is today, if they didn’t take into consideration the appeal he needed to have to feature in a fucking dating sim and win the hearts of women across Japan (apart from his noted Ikemen status).

In saying that, there’s no tangibility whatsoever (as far as I know) in assuming how cultural products are received by international audiences, so from my point of view, it’s all speculation and delves on the uncertain to the point where the conversation doesn’t necessarily get us anywhere (she says as she writes another long-ass post about the topic), unless Cybird decides to step in and give us their two cents.

BUT addressing Kenshin’s Yandere a bit more specifically based on my experience of his route...

Here are my two cents (or rather, an insane number of words for another fucking Tumblr post.)

In the same way that people & characters can be pushed into a generic stereotype, they can also be quite the exception to it. Characters are meant to portray humans most of the time or have some humane qualities about them (just look at all the Pixar movies). And as we all know (fucking hopefully) humans are much more than just one characteristic, or a label put on them.

Take a look at Nobunaga, for example. I could call him the Domineering type or in Japanese ‘ドS’ [which vaguely means ‘Dominant Sadist’ in a way], but it doesn’t change the fact that he’s fucking ticklish, eats fucking candies or has a big-picture ambition; it’s just one aspect of his personality.

That’s why I don’t think there’s any reason for the English localization team to be scared to portray Kenshin, and his ‘yandere’ side, even if they are trying to be “politically correct”. That’s part of who he is. But it’s also not everything about him. I’m quite the individual exception, but for someone who doesn’t have that much experience liking ‘yanderes’ or has not been exposed to much anime tropes, Kenshin still became one of my favorite characters in the game. To each their own.

***BTW I can appreciate people who are turned off by it; that’s fine, there’s nothing wrong with that. I can totally understand.***

***SORT OF SPOILERS***

To me, Kenshin’s ‘yandere’ aspect in the main story was portrayed as sort of flaw that kept him from striving for a healthier way of living. And that’s something he overcame (with the help of MC) and was part of his character development. Don’t get me wrong, it didn’t completely go away by the end, it just calmed down into a healthier and more playful aspect of him.

***END OF SORT-OF-SPOILERS***

On to the next point...

...they have a fixated negative understanding about what a yandere is, or that they don’t understand yandere Kenshin at all...

I’m living in the hope that Cybird and their localization team are not looking at these characters 2-Dimensionally and, personally, I know that’s arguably not the case from what I’ve seen of the released characters so far in the ENG App. So I’m praying to god that this isn’t what happens.

This might be a bias in terms of process as someone who writes my own stories...but when writing characters, or more specifically, translating characters that have already been created, don’t judge them, or at least aim for understanding first. This is advice also given to actors and directors in filmmaking when thinking about how to portray characters for the screen. Judging them is the audience’s job, not the creators.

If you judge them before you try to understand them, bias/agenda is going to show in every aspect of your work. That defeats the general purpose of storytelling, which, to me, is to convey ‘truth’ about the themes, the characters of the story and the human condition as a whole.

***Pardon the sudden hippie vibe that the last line kinda conveyed. But I digress.***

So...if the localization team judges Kenshin based on a fucking anime stereotype and tries to “fix” him because they have this fucking inhibition about crossing cultural fucking boundaries...Just. Ugh.

Here’s @mischievouslymasamune ‘s post on these cultural differences as well.

Also for those of you who want to raise the argument of Stockholm Syndrome and whatnot...

Or you know...

Keep reading to obtain a modicum of cultural knowledge of what it is, and the issues pertaining to it. Up to you ^_^

Let’s veer away from IkeSen for a moment and look at this other cultural media that’s been in the spotlight because of the same goddamn internet joke that is fucking Stockholm Syndrome. Does anyone know what it is? I mentioned it in the disclaimer ^^^

Here’s a well-meaning media student, similar to myself, talking about it...

***The main points I want to focus your attention towards are between [1:56- 11:22].....but the entire video is worth a watch if you’re one of those people who is passionately declaring “STOCKHOLM SYNDROME” against the original Beauty and the Beast movie. IT’S NOT ABOUT STOCKHOLM SYNDROME.Thank you.***

BUT THE MAIN TAKE AWAY (as in quotes and shit from the video):

Lindsey Ellis (video person) said it best here...

“Your uninformed observation doesn’t make you smarter than the media you consume; it just means you’re not paying attention.” - Lindsey Ellis

So let’s all be informed, shall we?

Here’s a brief definition of Stockholm Syndrome:

Stockholm Syndrome which is also known as Helsinki syndrome is a mental illness developed by the hostages to cope up with the situation. The mental condition or the feelings actually arises because of the bond that develops between the hostage and the captor while performing intimate actions. In simple words we can say that Stockholm syndrome is the emotion that develops among two people where one person physically and mentally harasses the other one. - Pramod Kerkar, MD, FFARCSI, ePain Assist

As for Gaslighting...

Gaslighting is a tactic in which a person or entity, in order to gain more power, makes a victim question their reality. It works much better than you may think. Anyone is susceptible to gaslighting, and it is a common technique of abusers, dictators, narcissists, and cult leaders. It is done slowly, so the victim doesn't realize how much they've been brainwashed. - Stephanie A. Sarkis Ph.D. , Psychology Today

But this is for Cybird’s localization team in particular if they are actually scared of portraying Kenshin in this way. Don’t, as Ellis observes, “miss the forest for the trees” whilst also only having “a passing pop culture knowledge of either forest or trees” when it comes to Kenshin’s route.

Now I know there are only a few people out there that have actually played the JP App and Kenshin’s route, and those of you who haven’t can only take my word when it comes to this post.

I’ll try hard to add-in appropriate screenshots/quotes whenever I can find them to back up what I’ve seen in the stories. But with that being said...

Let’s go back to Kenshin now, shall we...?

***Also - The definition of ‘yandere’ I’ll be using, is this one and this one***

Because of recent events in the English app and how Miss Sass (English MC) has been vocal about her ‘Mr. Sad-Dangerous-Murderer’ encounters with Kenshin; he has been depicted so far as nothing beyond that.

Maybe they’re just setting it up, maybe not; maybe they’re trying to act consistently with how Miss Sass has reacted to Kenshin in the released routes so far...maybe not. Who knows? I’m not Cybird. I wouldn’t mind so much if it was the former, and if you’ve read my previous rant, you will already know how I feel about Miss Sass.

The main problem I think we have with regards to this story, I suppose, is the fear that it will be depicted as an abusive/manipulative relationship in Kenshin’s part. ...There’s also the fear that Miss Pure (Japanese MC) was subject to Stockholm Syndrome and hence, Miss Sass would also be..... *SIGH*

You all need to give more credit to Cybird’s Japanese team. Seriously.

Remember what I said above about characters fitting into a stereotype, but also being quite the exception to them?

Well, here’s Kenshin breaking stereotype:

Mr. Crazy inside and out

...the Yandere is sweet outside, crazy inside... - TV Tropes

- From the moment she meets him, Kenshin has never taken on the facade of a gentle, sweet and caring person. Instead, it’s the opposite. He scares people so as not to get close to them. But MC starts to see beyond that.

Translations:

MC: ...You know, at first glance you really come off as cold and unfriendly but... I can’t help but notice the part of you that’s kind and has this strong sense of honor.

Kenshin: What kind of dull joke are you spouting out now?

Little by little, I began to see Kenshin’s true self. While also never bringing to light my role as chatelaine for the Oda Army.

- Kenshin’s Yandere is crazy inside and out. In other words, the craziness he holds inside him manages to seep out into his actions, whether he’s conscious of it or not. This is seen, not just in how he acts towards MC, but also against Sasuke and other people that are close to him (often a comedic interpretation).

- His unhealthy violent yandere nature is honest and well-established from the get-go, but not lauded. Especially, by the MC. She questions his love for war, and further on into the story she sees it as a flaw that he has that’s been influenced by his past and needs time to heal

Mr. Too-innocent-or-in-denial-about-his-feelings-to-be-manipulative

MC: “Is there something wrong with other people seeing me? Will it somehow cause trouble for you?”

Kenshin: “I don’t know. But just imagining it somehow makes me feel unpleasant.”

- In the beginning, there are no pretenses when it comes to how he has resolved to live according to his values. He likes war, so he lives and plans on dying for it. He likes sake (alcohol) and pickled plums, so he eats and drinks as much as he pleases etc. etc.:

「乱世の生は短い。ならば、せいぜい己の自由に生きるのだな」

“Within these chaotic times, life is short-lived. With that in mind, all one can do is live freely to the best of their ability.” - Kenshin to MC

- In this sense, he isn’t manipulative. He’s way too straightforward for his own good and arguably, somewhat innocent because of that.

- The only time when he's consciously in denial of his own feelings is when it comes to MC because of his ‘issues’. Even the term ‘conciously’ is debatable. He can’t even explain it himself for crying out loud. ^^^ see screenie above.

- Also, his actions when he has MC imprisoned seems to be consistently at odds with what he says/thinks himself while she’s in there (bunny army, a moon-gazing date, bachelor pad tour etc.).

The fucking prison wooing Shenanigans of Mr. God of War. I mean seriously if you’re gonna be a kidnapper/captor, at least try to be a dickhead. (NO. PLEASE DON’T. I LOVE YOU JUST THE WAY YOU ARE)

I want you to smile. -Kenshin, probably.

This is THE BIG ONE.

....but the Yandere's jealous, possessive and obsessive nature won't let them accept the possibility that the person they love can be happy without them. - TV Tropes

Apart from the fact that he has her locked up, in no way does Kenshin act as an abusive captor. He doesn’t harass her into liking him. He doesn’t try to overpower her, mentally, to get her to stay with him. Do we all remember our definitions above ^^^? If not, scroll up and let’s keep on being informed.

This doesn’t mean he isn’t “PROBLEMATIC”. This doesn’t mean he isn’t “POSSESSIVE”. In his main story, Kenshin’s possessiveness comes from the fear of losing MC, and his backstory explaining why he is the way he is. But again, even with that in mind, his “possessiveness” is never put on a pedestal or lauded, especially by MC.

PLUS the MC certainly isn’t ignorant of the ‘issues’ that Kenshin has --- but at the same time, she doesn’t try to overlook the genuinely good man behind these flaws (backstory or not).

<<<MAJOR PLOT SPOILERS AFOOT. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED>>>

「教えろ。どうしたら以前のお前のように笑顔になる」

“Tell me. How can I make you smile the same way you did before?” - Kenshin to MC

OKAY.

I was looking for references and stuff I’ve written down, and I couldn’t stop myself shedding a tear while looking back at Kenshin and MCs interactions. MY HEART WAS BEING STABBED REPEATEDLY FOR THE SAKE OF THIS GODDAMN POST.

I just...gnnhh... *dies briefly* ---> *is resurrected by the miracle that is Kenshin’s character development*

I don’t want to get into this that much because the example I’m thinking of is basically the CLIMAX of Kenshin’s route. For both romantic & dramatic. And I don’t want to ruin it ^^; (those of you have done it in JP app perhaps you know what I’m talking about ;))

<<SEMI-SPOILERS>>

But the point that gets across in this part of the story, is that there’s no doubt just how much Kenshin loves MC. To the point where he decides that letting her go (despite his possessiveness), is much better than having her get hurt because of his way of loving/or hurting her because of how he is.

For a “yandere” to do that -- to value the happiness/well-being of the person they love over their own obsession with them, and being like:

IF THAT’S NOT LOVE, I DON’T KNOW WHAT IS. And apologies guys, but the hipster vibe is strong in this one.

"Love is when the other person's happiness is more important than your own."— H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

“You don’t know about real loss, ‘cause it only occurs when you love something more than you love yourself” - Robin Williams, Good Will Hunting

And to Kenshin’s MC

“I knew that love, to me, is when you’re looked at and the person looking at you sees you whole. They don’t look at you with any desire for change, with any lacking being visible. Love is complete understanding.” - Guillermo Del Toro, The Shape of Water

(How’s that for a fucking movie reference, Clarice?)

<<END OF SEMI-SPOILERS>>

We all have different definitions/interpretations of love. In the stories we experience in IkeSen there are various portrayals of just that: different kinds of love. And Kenshin’s love story just happens to be one of my favorites because it stands on its own when it comes to uniqueness and how heartfelt it is.

And simply put I would hate to see it ruined because of what? Cultural differences? A fear of portraying a character because of a vague definition of a stereotype? 😢 COME. ON.

So now, before I start throwing fucking flowers everywhere and preaching world peace; how about we answer, the golden question?

Does MC have Stockholm Syndrome and/or is she a victim of Gaslighting through Kenshin?

^^ Considering all the stuff I said above, perhaps we can cut this answer short ^^

Rest assured, that the relationship that develops inside the prison is by no means, abusive nor manipulative. Therefore MC doesn’t develop feelings for Kenshin out of survival instincts or as a coping mechanism. She chooses to stay, based on her own reasons and is not “brainwashed” to do so.

What are her reasons? Well, you’ll just have to find out when Kenshin’s route is released (if they decide not to change it) or, you know, get the JP app. Whichever.

Here’s the thing... YES, Kenshin is possessive; YES, he is problematic; and YES he does lock you up in a twisted act of caring--

BUT PLEASE let’s not start using random internet-jokes-disguised-as-fucking-“science”-terms so hastily.

Oh, and just to keep us going on our well-informed streak...

In many parts of the world, Stockholm syndrome is referred to as contested illness but many legal authorities consider it as a fake mental condition. - Pramod Kerkar, MD, FFARCSI, ePain Assist

A fake mental condition.

Final thoughts

If you’ve read this far, well done 😮 👏🏽 👏🏽 You are probably a very tolerant and patient person (with a huge amount of free time, as I do ^^;), so thanks for reading 😭 😭

I’ll be leaving you with thoughts on the ENG MC x Kenshin.

In the Japanese App, there’s no doubt that the MC is depicted to be a lot more patient and tolerating. I suppose you could argue that that’s the kind of person that’s needed to fall in love with an intense character like Kenshin.

But if the ‘Miss Sass’ thing seeds into Kenshin’s Main Route in how it’s depicted in English; and becomes this competition for fucking dominance, given Miss Sass’s no bullshit and judgmental attitude...I really don’t know how I’m going to feel about it (I actually do --- but let’s not make this post more profane and unprintable than it needs to be).

Hehe 😅 And there you have it, I’ve had my fill~

As with anything when it comes to these rants, if you have your own arguments, disagreements or opinions on anything that has been said, please feel free to comment, message, reblog -- coupled with a degree of civility, of course.

I’ll be more than happy to start discussions with people, ENG and JP users alike; and other users from other walks of life for that matter~ ^_^ Cheers everyone and stay kind~

-Hikari <3

#ikemen sengoku #ikesen #rant #personal #uesugi kenshin #イケメン戦国

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