Much as I love the MANGA for Samurai Deeper Kyo, the main problem I have with it is the way women are represented. I know there is Shihodo, a very aggressive lady, and even more aggressive Akari (technically a man but technically a woman), Okuni who is manipulative, Sakuya who is wise, Mahiro who is passionate, Kosuke who is loyal, and Yuya who is the main female character.
Let's start with Yuya. She's sweet, loyal, stubborn, amusing, caring, brave, and determined. Those are good qualities, but at the beginning of the series, she is a much more willful, abrasive, and independent girl. She can fight at least a little bit. But as the story progresses, and she becomes more involved with Kyo, she becomes weaker. Always getting herself into trouble and getting hurt. What gives? Is she a weak little princess always in need of rescue? As strong as Kyo is supposed to be, I think his woman should be a tough chick -like Yuya starts out as. I like Yuya all the way through the series, but I just wish she had some of the spark she starts out with throughout.
Shihodo is probably the most interesting female in the series. She's a woman, but she's crass and willful and very, very strong. The main problem is the way her love makes her weak. In the end she overcomes it, so it's a good character development.
As for Akari, she (he?) is interesting in that she is very feminine but wasn't that way originally. Her love makes her stronger. But she is like that because she was a man, in body and mind. Personality traits developed when her mindset was still male transcribed over into female mentality. She isn't being rebellious as, for example, Yuya (should be).
The rest of them are stereotypically female. It kinda irks me. I want to see tomboyish, rebellious, stubborn, mean, and tough girls, because I'm that way. I'm not a nice person, and I like to see likable characters with similar traits. Plus, particularly in Japanese culture where you are more expected to fit into a mold than in our culture, girls are expected to be girly. And in Samurai Deeper Kyo, the female characters are more stereotypical than the males.
This has been bugging me for a while. It's mainly the Yuya thing, but the other part a bit, too. I'm not feminist anything past "everybody (males and females) should be who they really are, who they want to be. gender doesn't really matter."
AND! I'm really excited for Vol. 29 on Tuesday. I really love that volume!!!!!!!!!!!
