#and yet when she's offered love and happiness (arguably the greatest desire of her heart)

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Yoshikage Kira

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

“You can call me Yoshikage Kira. I'm currently 33 years old. Not that you'd care, but I reside in northeast Morioh's villa district. Also, I've yet to marry. In order to make a living, I work for Kame Yu department stores. After a long day's work, I return home no later than 8 PM. I don't like smoking, but do enjoy the occasional drink. I'm always in bed by 11 PM, and I make it a point to get no less than 8 hours of sleep each night. Before bed, I drink a warm glass of milk. It's always coupled with 20 minutes of stretching to decompress from the long workday. Sweet dreams are the usual result of this. I then awake as refreshed and recharged as a newborn child, ready to take on the day's challenges. And after my last checkup, I was given a clean bill of health. For as long as I could remember, I've done everything in my power to live a productive life that allows me to pursue a lasting inner peace. This may be a foreign concept, but I choose not to concern myself with winning or losing, life's troubles, or enemies who bring sleepless nights. That is how I cope with this backwards life we find ourselves living. It's what brings me happiness in a world fraught with hardship and misery. Of course, if I were ever to engage in combat, I would win the battle without question.”

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is an absolute wealth of fantastic villains, some of the absolute best fiction has to offer. Villains like Dio and Funny Valentine and Diavolo and Pucci have become iconic among fans for their crazy personalities, quotable lines, powerful stands, unique designs, and overall character. But one villain stands out as perhaps the greatest creation of Hirohiko Araki, the villain of what is arguably the best part of the franchise: Yoshikage Kira of Diamond is Unbreakable.

Kira is the remorseless serial Killer who has been living in plain sight in Morioh for years, killing women and taking their hands to be his “girlfriends.” He miraculously was never caught despite being active for over a decade, due to a combination of sheer luck and his incredibly dangerous Stand Killer Queen. The utterly terrifying part is that for the most part he seems like an absolutely normal, average guy who otherwise wouldn’t stand out too much in a crowd (well, by JoJo standards anyway, he does dress a bit too colorfully to fit in to a crowd in the real world). This is also what makes him so great as a JoJo villain: even among the others, he stands out. Kind of ironic, all things considered.

Actor: The dub chose to grace Kira with the voice of D.C. Douglas, who you may know as Albert Wesker or Legion. To say that his voice work is perfect would be an understatement; he truly sells Kira as a normal guy while at the same time leaving an air of uncomfortable dread around every word Kira says. And when Kira snaps… brrrrr. Douglas really outdid himself here.

Motivation/Goals: Yoshikage Kira simply wishes to live a quiet life, free from the worries that the common man has. He just wants to live and brutally obliterate women until the end of his days, never being caught or facing justice. This is the gist of his character when first introduced, but of course, things change when Josuke and the gang get on his tail; he then goes out of his way to escape them by stealing the identity and life of a man named Kosaku Kawajiri, and when even that fails due to Kawajiri’s son catching on to him he gains a new ability so he can simply obliterate them all. The long and short of it though is that Kira is very much your typical serial killer pushed too far, though with his abilities, Kira is a lot more than “typical.”

Personality: Kira’s personality when compared to other villains like DIO is actually very subdued. For the most part, he is very calm, collected, and doesn’t really ham it up to any great extent. But when he does, it’s usually extremely terrifying; just look at the scene where he invades the couple’s apartment and kills them if you need evidence of how utterly terrifying Kira can be when he raises his voice

All that being said, once Kira gets Bites the Dust all bets are off. He becomes a lot hammier, though none of it feels like a betrayal of his character; it more feels like after all his desperate attempts to escape and all the fear of being caught, he is finally winning. And then when he starts to lose… it does sort of bring back memories of DIO after drinking Joseph’s blood, with how unhinged and even maniacal he starts to become.

Final Fate: Kira has the honor of dying twice within the span of a single episode. First comes when he is pushed into the path of an oncoming ambulance, which accidentally backs up over his head, killing him. Kira’s spirit ends up on Reimi’s street, and together with Arnold she succeeds in making Kira turn around and face the hands of the wicked spirits that live there, who proceed to tear him and Killer Queen apart and drag them to oblivion.

Both deaths are fitting and have a sense of irony to them. An ambulance reverses over him and tears off his face, just as he did to Kosaku Kawajiri; there’s also the fact that his face being mangled by the wheels of the ambulance technically gives Kira the anonymity he so craved. Then of course there is the fact that Kira is dragged off by the object of his desires, torn apart and brought to a place where he will never again experience a quiet day.

Best Scene: For Kira in his original appearance, it’s almost definitely his brutal murder of Shigechi. When he’s Kosaku Kawajiri, the final activation of Bites the Dust and his final fate really take the cake.

Best Quote: You know there is only one quote that could possibly go here. The single most famous thing Kira ever said. And while the dub unfortunately had to censor the line because there are some words you just can’t say on TV, the line still managed to be as epic as promised even if it did have a bit of unintentional hilarity to it:

“When I was a young boy, I remember discovering Leonardo da Vinci's enigmatic Mona Lisa while leafing through a tome of the master's works. It was my first time laying eyes on her! The beauty before me, well, it aroused something in me... it gave me a rock hard cock!”

The “cock” was bleeped out in the broadcast. I just love how this drops all the pretense and subtlety of the manga’s translation, it’s really beautiful and really showcases just how desperate and unhinged Kira has become.

Final Thoughts & Score: As has been noted and alluded to, there is a hilarious irony to Kira. By being a JoJo villain who does his best to appear as average and mundane as possible, he stands out compared to his garish, posing, flexing, hammy peers in the series. Of course, this really does just help make him all the more intriguing and unique… which, if he were real, would just frustrate him all the more.

Frankly this is the easiest 10/10 I have ever given to a villain. I hardly even have to think about it. Kira is just my absolute favorite villain subjectively speaking, and even objectively he’s just a fantastic character who fits the story so well. The ultimate enemy of a man who can fix anything is a man who can blow up everything, it’s pure brilliance, like a shining diamond perhaps. Then there’s his design, which just oozes cool, as well as Killer Queen’s design and myriad powers, which are likewise insanely awesome. Is it any surprise that he’s my go-to inspiration for when I design serial killer OCs?

There’s also just how he contrasts with the part as a whole. Diamond is Unbreakable is very relaxed and laid-back, plot wise. Compared to the previous three stories, which were all about fabulous muscle-bound vampires trying to take over the world, this is just a simple story about a gang of teens trying to find a killer and protect their town. There’s a lot of wacky situations and side characters, and overall the tone manages to stay fun and lighthearted… until Kira steps on the scene. Kira’s every appearance brings in a lot of dark, terrifying, and truly gruesome moments, and even with some of the levity provided such as his rambling about the erection he got from the Mona Lisa he still manages to be incredibly creepy and unnerving until his dying breath.

Kira is just an utterly fantastic villain with cool powers, a great voice actor, and two really fun playable appearances in All-Star Battle (Kawajiri’s Great Heat Attack is one of my favorites, it’s so funny). And while it’s obviously sad but still expected such a fantastic villain has to die, we can all take solace in knowing that some day in the distant future we will see him again (sort of) in Part 8. Still, it’s doubtful it will fill the hole Kira has exploded in the hearts of JoJo fans everywhere. 

#Psycho Analysis #Jojo's bizarre adventure #diamond is unbreakable #kira #yoshikage kira #kosaku kawajiri

[robhainesauthor]

Pyreflies in the Tower

Warning: Contains spoilers for The Dark Tower, Final Fantasy X & Final Fantasy X-2

At the end of The Dark Tower, with Roland Deschain on the threshold of the tower itself, Stephen King takes a moment to address the reader directly. He explains that this is the end of his seven-book epic, that he wishes to tell you no more of Mid-World and all that lies beyond. He calls out those readers who demand specifics of what happens after, "the grim, goal-oriented ones" who must know what Roland finds at the end of his journey. After all, the contents of the tower are rarely the point of dark tower stories; it's the journey to arrive at that threshold which resonates so strongly with us all. He warns that should you read on, "you will surely be disappointed, perhaps even heartbroken".

Yet - after complaining that some readers will feel cheated if he doesn't give them a more fleshed-out ending - King then plunges into a final, divisive scene which tries (and arguably fails) to describe the interior of the Tower and what lies at its peak.

When I first read The Dark Tower, this apparent act of literary cowardice infuriated me. I agreed with King; I had enjoyed the journey, and I didn't need to know what lay inside the Tower. But if there was more to be read, after seven indulgently-long books how could I simply stop, and assume that whatever came after brought no further context, no sense of completion or conclusion that I would otherwise have missed. While there's a valid argument for me taking responsibility for my own enjoyment, that's a temptation I - and many other readers - will never be able to resist.

As a storyteller, I'm more sympathetic. There may be a Right Ending to a story, one thematically consistent with all that went before; often there is an ending the reader wants to see, a True Ending where their favourite characters get what they deserve, and which ties up all their loose ends. Sometimes these two do not coincide.

---

This all came to mind recently while replaying the inconsistently numbered Final Fantasy X & X-2. Despite water-breathing anime sportsboy Tidus being ostensibly the lead character of FFX, the plot revolves around the pilgrimage of the young summoner Yuna and her efforts to rid the world of Sin, an enormous prayer-powered space whale from a long-forgotten war. While travelling together Tidus and Yuna fall in love, yet even the revelation that Tidus is a dream of the ethereal Fayth - and that defeating Sin will cause him to cease to exist - does not deter Yuna from her path.

In a genre full of unsatisfying denouements, FFX's ending is a shining light, perfectly balancing the salvation of the world with the emotional stakes for the main characters. Faced with a choice between the lives of all the inhabitant of Spira and the continuing existence of her lover, Yuna makes the Right choice, the heroic choice, the one which every element of the storyline prior to this point foreshadows. She banishes Sin, then in her rush to embrace Tidus passes straight through his now-ethereal form. It's a singularly heartbreaking moment, and perfectly encapsulates the weight of her loss in her moment of greatest triumph.

The power and poignancy of the ending reverberated in the collective conversation of FFX's fans. Considering how irritating a character Tidus is for most of the game - a spoiled, oblivious man-child obsessed with being the centre of narrative attention - he is clearly changed by the end of his journey, and the bittersweet end to his relationship with Yuna spawned reams of fanfiction. When the Japan-only Final Fantasy X International edition included a bonus cut-scene teasing Yuna's discovery of a recording of an imprisoned man looking uncannily like Tidus, it seemed to point to an obvious conclusion: the first true Final Fantasy sequel had heard fandom's outcry, and somehow Tidus's continued unexistence would cease.

---

Of course, no JRPG plotline is ever that straightforward.

By comparison to FFX's strictly linear pilgrimage, Final Fantasy X-2 hops back and forth between locations from the prior game as Yuna and her friends explore the colossal shifts in culture and the balance of power instigated by their overthrow of Spira's theocracy. Similarly, the sequel's tone is a more mercurial affair, its weighty sociopolitical plotline balanced with frequent deviations into joyous flights of fancy - from impromptu pop concerts to anime-inspired farce - and against the odds it works. The Tidus-a-like turns out not to be our aqueous attention-seeker after all, but rather a thousand-year old ghost - named Shuyin - genocidally obsessed with avenging his lover, a summoner bearing more than a passing resemblence to Yuna.

Faced with Spira's destruction at Shuyin's hands - ably assisted by yet another improbably-named ancient weapon of mass destruction - Yuna has no choice but to bring low this ghost who wears her lover's face, and to banish him once more from the world. In a story preoccupied with themes of coming to terms with the consequences of your actions, of learning how to live again in a world set adrift from the status quo, Yuna's victory is in making peace with her choices and finally letting Tidus go.

I would argue this is the Right Ending. It's the ending the entire thematic thrust of FFX-2 builds towards, and also the ending Kazushige Nojima, the scenario writer for both games, had originally intended when he told Famitsu: "We had several ending patterns prepared, but when it came to ‘what about a happy ending?’ at the time, I thought ‘no, there can’t be one’." 

And yet it's not the True Ending, nor even the Good Ending. For those you must play this 80+ hour RPG again, in the exact order the developers intended the story to proceed, and meeting a number of very specific criteria along the way. Without adhering strictly to a guide, I would reckon the 100% completion True Ending to be nigh-on impossible.

For this display of dedication, an act of painstakingly stepping through FFX-2 again in almost ritualistic fashion, Tidus is mysteriously returned to life by the Fayth and tearfully reunites with Yuna. It's ostensibly a happy ending - Yuna gets what her heart desires, an outcome only made possible by her determination and persistence - yet simultaneously it unpicks the thesis which the bulk of FFX-2 seems to support: Yuna will always love Tidus, but she doesn't need him. The True and Good Endings may well be true and good, but are they the Right Ending for this particular story?

---

Yoko Taro, when talking about the writing process for Nier: Automata's euphoric Ending E, told Siliconera: "I started thinking about what would be the most fitting ending for all of those characters, and that resulted in the E ending. It’s not something that I desired, but I believe, in the world of writing, the characters move toward that ending themselves, and they directed me to write toward that end. In the end, it’s probably what the characters had hoped for – what they would have desired." 

Similarly, even though Nojima may not have intended FFX-2 to have a happy ending, he told Famitsu: "after the game was released and I was able to see the fan reaction to it, I changed my mind."

I spent tens of hours reading Stephen King's epic series. I spent hundreds of hours playing FFX and FFX-2. When readers and players live in someone else's world for so long, growing to care deeply for their favourite characters, is it a bad thing to give them the ending they long for, even if the story seeks a more fitting conclusion?

Unlike books, games have the luxury of multiple endings, and I've always felt the urge to follow a story to its very limits. It's only recently that I've begun to question whether the True Ending and the Right Ending are necessarily coexistent. 

Then again, perhaps there's an argument to be made for FFX-2's approach, gently gating fan-favourite endings through effort. I couldn't resist simply turning the page when the True Ending of The Dark Tower was offered to me, but when FFX-2 asked for another eighty hours to bring Tidus back from the watery depths, I hesitated. Did I care that much, or could I happily accept the ending I felt was Right, even if it wasn't the True Ending I knew existed out there for those dedicated enough to reach it?

After all, if I couldn't live without Tidus and Yuna's happy reunion, another eighty hours immersed in the minutiae of Spira might not seem like such a trial, but more of a painstaking ritual, a summoning of a beloved spirit back from beyond the Farplane. 

And who am I to deny the faithful their rituals?

Inspired by Critical Distance’s Blogs of the Round Table on the topic of Denouement. 

Big thanks also to J. B. Rockwell for digging out the text of the Dark Tower Coda for me when I realised I no longer owned the book, and was increasingly concerned my annoyance from years prior had corrupted my memories.

#the dark tower #final fantasy x #final fantasy x-2 #denouement

[chuckbhai]

Dot in the sky

If I had to begin this story, with my hand on heart. Speaking only the truths to myself, it would be a narrative I have never truly understood.

Arbitrarily almost, we crossed paths albeit virtually. Curiosity arguably, the driver of this interaction led me incrementally deeper. As I delved further for little reason more than to humour the situation, I found a response I had yet to encounter. She took to me in a manner of subconscious disbelief, that an oddity like myself could exist. At least it felt that way, yet I knew this had a little less to do with me than she seemingly thought. We continued to humour one another intermittently.

After some time had elapsed she fell prey to her presuppositions to some degree and urged us to halt this interaction for it would lead to an inevitable unpleasant end. Yet her difficulty in doing so indicated some form of interest, at least that is what I understood from the situation. Curiously, and with a sizeable amount of promise and goodness that had manifested itself in my opinion of her and what had transpired between us innocently, I countered the haste toward the proposed termination, which I viewed as unnecessary, by providing my contact details as I knew it would at least provide a source of contemplation if anything. She hastened to the close, and I willfully accepted whatever would come.

The first major source of my attraction would come when she seized opportunity and called me. With no warning, and caught blindsided for a brief moment I was left stunned. A shiver of excitement ran down my spine as her boldness spoke to my deepest desires, she was undeniably different. I had ceased to encounter an individual with sufficient faith in my avatar to behave so spontaneously, nor had I encountered such boldness in a woman who had any measurable interaction with me. The curiosity coupled with the feint pointers had now grown into a deeper and more profound pursuit. I had found what I yearned for unwittingly, in this very moment to pursue her with a strenghthened conviction.

At the height of my experience in my days so far, I left my expectations open-ended. What developed subsequently had proved this a wise decision.

We spoke. And immediately the purpose of this call for her, became apparent. She too had been brought forth by her curiosity and aimed to establish whether or not I was the same oditty on the spur of the moment that she had come to know over time. To say the interaction was fruitful is to understate revelation. For a swab of bravery had left us dancing in Nirvana, even if it be that we were to part ways after this.

With a major tool acquired, I remained opened to new heights. We would talk, and talk and talk. We would speak as if time had no bounds. With an undertone of tension, reciprocity and warmth we explored worlds within one another. From the vast disparity in our origins to the great value in our mutual significance, we had traversed it all. From her most sincere convictions to her greatest fears, it became all I cared for. Her weakness and fragility became my most pleasurable duty and her strength and confidence were the objects of my admiration. This was it, as far as I was concerned, as her honesty and loyalty read like a novel to me, I never looked back.

As we continued day upon day, we knew this would not last forever. Time was not infinite, our obsession with this exchange became a burden and soon the repercussions would announce themselves. As we did little to resist temptation, the beauty of our dialogue was contrasted with regular bouts of conflict. This development led to an unorthodox script, filled with the glory of discovery at one time and painful excess and transgressions at another. Often a single conversation had the undulation characterised by nothing I had ever seen. The force of nature began to balance us, as our hearts sought conflict with our rationale.

In a moment of thoughtlessness, I transgressed my place and she departed. The regret and anger at myself only intensified as my hurt ached for her soothing return. I wrote and wrote all that I could, for no other purpose but to proclaim to her the significance she was to me and that she deserves the finest this world had to offer, even if that is not me. A feeling I still hold to this day.

A few days the length of an entire season to me had passed, and I found it in me to deliver the message. As she responded, my world was reset and my heart found it's equilibrium again. All it needed was acknowledgment from her, and an understanding of my weakness. I was content, in the knowledge that she was too.

We progressed carefully on, not without fault but thoughtfully nonetheless. We had much of the same difficulties but began nagivigating them with our increasing understanding. My heart spoke to me all that time ago before chaos had ushered it's way in, and I wanted more than ever to share my journey of life with her, and to partake in hers.

As the narrative ascended once again, the boldness in me yearned for progression. Just as her boldness led us down this floral path, my boldness too would come to the fore as I journeyed to relish her physical presence, I wanted it more than ever.

As we spoke on a certain Thursday night, I made the assertion that I would fulfil my desire to meet. It was a false threat, spoken with humour but possessed an element of seriousness and consequence at least to me. As I left the house before noon, headed in her direction for no reason other than arbitrary business on her side of town I was convinced that I would not meet with her, and so I left unprepared in every sense. Upon my first stop, mere blocks away, the temptation and thought of regret had I not acted upon my convictions began to consume me. I warned her of my iminent arrival and hurried in her direction. As I arrived and lie in wait for the blessing of her presence, I experienced an anxiety and unpreparedness the likes of which I had never wrestled with before. It became painfully unbearable. Unfamiliar territory, reflection upon the actions that led me here, the reality of what was about to happen, the severity of the risk, it was all far too much. This was little however, in comparison to next few minutes.

She walked in. My God she walked in. She just. She smiled. She. She just. She was there. She was more beautiful than I had ever imagined, she stole the breath of every pant I had endured. I could do little but stammer. Dishelved, underdressed and unprepared I loved and hated this moment with all my heart all at the same time. Ultimately I left with absolute regret.

She didn't message. And as for me, too embarrassed after the happenings to utter a word, we waited in silence again. I delivered nothing in person that she saw in me all this time, I knew it.

In time to come however we worked through it and with subsequent acquaintments it soon became time to sit down in one another's presence and experience the third dimension.

On our first true encounter, the meeting exploded into the euphoria of that very first phone call. However in her presence, staring into her beautiful, glorious eyes and cataclysmic smile it was a world beyond. Words do little justice to that day, and I hope some day I could capture the articulation needed to express the way I truly feel.

Ironically, the path that led us in and out of destruction in the previous dimension of our relationship replicated itself. Nirvana, obsession, destruction and rising from the ashes again. I had little vision, blinded by love I made all the same mistakes again. And in part lost faith in myself. We slowly began rebuilding.

The story that speaks to me today and in recent times past is one that upon reflection yearns for and is fulfilled by the dynamic and the beauty of our mutual presence and the communication of our affection. I hunger to be with her and make her happy, unfortunately in the denial of my true capacity as a consequence of my place in life and temporary blinded foresight, I do little but deliver sub par. I treasure her and her presence and what we have, but I cannot say that I have done the ultimate justice to her and what she deserves. I am concerned with forging my path in the world, trying to understand myself and who we are together and reaping from that growth. Yet in that process I unwittingly forsake the acknowledgement of what is required of me to be with her, now or ever and fail in an important aspect of what it means to pursue her hand.

I find a renewed confidence however, in the success we have had in overcoming past obstacles, and in the manner in which she has sculpted my potential in such short a space of time. I reflect today on the future of possibility and the rise above all the difficulties to a little dot in the sky. A dot in the sky that marks the entrance to a space where perfection plays eloquently with reality. A place in which my darling and I will reside, forever.