#but out-of-character fanon + the rudeness of certain fans has definitely soured it for me

[kaladinkholins]

Very interesting to me that a certain subset of the BES fandom's favourite iterations of Mizu and Akemi are seemingly rooted in the facades they have projected towards the world, and are not accurate representations of their true selves.

And I see this is especially the case with Mizu, where fanon likes to paint her as this dominant, hyper-masculine, smirking Cool GuyTM who's going to give you her strap. And this idea of Mizu is often based on the image of her wearing her glasses, and optionally, with her cloak and big, wide-brimmed kasa.

And what's interesting about this, to me, is that fanon is seemingly falling for her deliberate disguise. Because the glasses (with the optional combination of cloak and hat) represent Mizu's suppression of her true self. She is playing a role.

Take this scene of Mizu in the brothel in Episode 4 for example. Here, not only is Mizu wearing her glasses to symbolise the mask she is wearing, but she is purposely acting like some suave and cocky gentleman, intimidating, calm, in control. Her voice is even deeper than usual, like what we hear in her first scene while facing off with Hachiman the Flesh-Trader in Episode 1.

This act that Mizu puts on is an embodiment of masculine showboating, which is highly effective against weak and insecure men like Hachi, but also against women like those who tried to seduce her at the Shindo House.

And that brings me to how Mizu's mask is actually a direct parallel to Akemi's mask in this very same scene.

Here, Akemi is also putting up an act, playing up her naivety and demure girlishness, using her high-pitched lilted voice, complimenting Mizu and trying to make small talk, all so she can seduce and lure Mizu in to drink the drugged cup of sake.

So what I find so interesting and funny about this scene, characters within it, and the subsequent fandom interpretations of both, is that everyone seems to literally be falling for the mask that Mizu and Akemi are putting up to conceal their identities, guard themselves from the world, and get what they want.

It's also a little frustrating because the fanon seems to twist what actually makes Mizu and Akemi's dynamic so interesting by flattening it completely. Because both here and throughout the story, Mizu and Akemi's entire relationship and treatment of each other is solely built off of masks, assumptions, and misconceptions.

Akemi believes Mizu is a selfish, cocky male samurai who destroyed her ex-fiance's career and life, and who abandoned her to let her get dragged away by her father's guards and forcibly married off to a man she didn't know. on the other hand, Mizu believes Akemi is bratty, naive princess who constantly needs saving and who can't make her own decisions.

These misconceptions are even evident in the framing of their first impressions of each other, both of which unfold in these slow-motion POV shots.

Mizu's first impression of Akemi is that of a beautiful, untouchable princess in a cage. Swirling string music in the background.

Akemi's first impression of Mizu is of a mysterious, stoic "demon" samurai who stole her fiance's scarf. Tense music and the sound of ocean waves in the background.

And then, going back to that scene of them together in Episode 4, both Mizu and Akemi continue to fool each other and hold these assumptions of each other, and they both feed into it, as both are purposely acting within the suppressive roles society binds them to in order to achieve their goals within the means they are allowed (Akemi playing the part of a subservient woman; Mizu playing the part of a dominant man).

But then, for once in both their lives, neither of their usual tactics work.

Akemi is trying to use flattery and seduction on Mizu, but Mizu sees right through it, knowing that Akemi is just trying to manipulate and harm her. Rather than give in to Akemi's tactics, Mizu plays with Akemi's emotions by alluding to Taigen's death, before pinning her down, and then when she starts crying, Mizu just rolls her eyes and tells her to shut up.

On the opposite end, when Mizu tries to use brute force and intimidation, Akemi also sees right through it, not falling for it, and instead says this:

"Under your mask, you're not the killer you pretend to be."

Nonetheless, despite the fact that they see a little bit through each other's masks, they both still hold their presumptions of each other until the very end of the season, with Akemi seeing Mizu as an obnoxious samurai swooping in to save the day, and Mizu seeing Akemi as a damsel in distress.

And what I find a bit irksome is that the fandom also resorts to flattening them to these tropes as well.

Because Mizu is not some cool, smooth-talking samurai with a big dick sword as Akemi (and the fandom) might believe. All of that is the facade she puts up and nothing more. In reality, Mizu is an angry, confused and lonely child, and a masterful artist, who is struggling against her own self-hatred. Master Eiji, her father figure who knows her best, knows this.

And Akemi, on the other hand, is not some girly, sweet, vain and spoiled princess as Mizu might believe. Instead she has never cared for frivolous things like fashion, love or looks, instead favouring poetry and strategy games instead, and has always only cared about her own independence. Seki, her father figure who knows her best, knows this.

But neither is she some authoritative dominatrix, though this is part of her new persona that she is trying to project to get what she wants. Because while Akemi is willful, outspoken, intelligent and authoritative, she can still be naive! She is still often unsure and needs to have her hand held through things, as she is still learning and growing into her full potential. Her new parental/guardian figure, Madame Kaji, knows this as well.

So with all that being said, now that we know that Mizu and Akemi are essentially wearing masks and putting up fronts throughout the show, what would a representation of Mizu's and Akemi's true selves actually look like? Easy. It's in their hair.

This shot on the left is the only time we see Mizu with her hair completely down. In this scene, she's being berated by Mama, and her guard is completely down, she has no weapon, and is no longer wearing any mask, as this is after she showed Mikio "all of herself" and tried to take off the mask of a subservient housewife. Thus, here, she is sad, vulnerable, and feeling small (emphasised further by the framing of the scene). This is a perfect encapsulation of what Mizu is on the inside, underneath all the layers of revenge-obsession and the walls she's put around herself.

In contrast, the only time we Akemi with her hair fully down, she is completely alone in the bath, and this scene takes place after being scorned by her father and left weeping at his feet. But despite all that, Akemi is headstrong, determined, taking the reigns of her life as she makes the choice to run away, but even that choice is reflective of her youthful naivety. She even gets scolded by Seki shortly after this in the next scene, because though she wants to be independent, she still hasn't completely learned to be. Not yet. Regardless, her decisiveness and moment of self-empowerment is emphasised by the framing of the scene, where her face takes up the majority of the shot, and she stares seriously into the middle distance.

To conclude, I wish popular fanon would stop mischaracterising these two, and flattening them into tropes and stereotypes (ie. masculine badass swordsman Mizu and feminine alluring queen but also girly swooning damsel Akemi), all of which just seems... reductive. It also irks me when Akemi is merely upheld as a love interest and romantic device for Mizu and nothing more, when she is literally Mizu's narrative foil (takes far more narrative precedence over romantic interest) and the deuteragonist of this show. She is her own person. That is literally the theme of her entire character and arc.

#blue eye samurai #mizu blue eye samurai #akemi blue eye samurai #blue eye samurai meta #just in case... im gonna tag this as #mizukemicritical #akemizucritical #though this post isnt actually criticising the ship itself but rather fanon's portrayal of the ship and the characters #for that reason lemme also tag this as #wank.mp3 #feel free to disagree of course but please be civil #and if you need to rant about how wrong i am without any convincing evidence kindly feel free to make your own post. peace and love <3 #fandom.rtf #meta dissertations.pdf #shut up haydar #edit: for full disclosure. i do rather dislike this ship. but obviously it's fine for anyone to enjoy it. please do! have your fun! #it's just that as usual! popular fanon and fandom around a ship is what has completely deterred me from any sense of enjoyment of it #it's a shame too because i was very open and even eager for some mizu/akemi romance in the future #but out-of-character fanon + the rudeness of certain fans has definitely soured it for me #but that doesn't mean people can't enjoy it obviously! ship and let ship!!! #plus it has its appeal which i DO STILL see and enjoy!!!! #i would even go as far as to call them soulmates because their narratives and characters are LITERALLY intertwined!!! #but. yeah. my gradual distaste for this ship is indeed very unfortunate.

[sinnbaddie]

So, I saw a post by @stilena regarding this article;

https://m.ranker.com/list/why-sakura-doesnt-deserve-the-hate/anna-lindwasser

I’d like to debunk a few things from this article.

This doesn’t make sense in the slightest. First off, you say she’s not cruel to her friends, but then say her behavior towards Naruto could be improved? That’s very contradicting, and it seems like whoever wrote this article is trying to find evidence she’s a good friend when it’s quite the contrary.

“Other fans think she destroyed her friendship with Ino over a boy, but it had little to do with Sasuke...”

This is complete BS. They didn’t even try and find any other reason to give why Sakura broke her friendship off with Ino.

The main reason she destroyed her friendship with Ino, is because she found out Ino had a crush on Sasuke. They literally lied on an article to make her look better than she is, and saying “other fans think,” no, actual fans know what happened, and what fans know is that Sakura broke off her friendship with Ino because of Sasuke. There was no, “differentiation” in place at the time. Maybe when she was like 12-15 she wanted to be different, but it did not happen when she was 5.

They also contradict themself later in the article;

“...when she discovers Ino has had a longtime crush on Sasuke too, it quickly sours their relationship and fuels their rivalry...”

So, at first they say their friendship wasn’t broken off bc of Sasuke, then say it was the reason it soured? This whole article is very contradictory.

The whole rival thing is stupid as hell, too. Ino never wanted to be rivals, she wanted to stay friends. Also, comparing Sasuke and Naruto’s rivalry to Sakura’s and Ino’s is very rude to Naruto and Sasuke, seeing how Naruto and Sasuke actually cared about each other and were friends throughout it mostly.

Even when Ino and Sakura were “ok,” when Sai met Ino, Sakura was rooting for him to call Ino ugly. Who the fuck does that to someone who helped you and was friends with you? Someone who called you pretty, and kind, someone who genuinely valued your friendship?

Either way, Ino’s friendship with Sakura was destroyed because of Sakura having a crush on Sasuke, not because she wanted to differentiate from Ino.

“...learns he’s an enemy of the state and puts aside any personal feelings...”

What?? Puts aside her personal feelings? The only time she’s ever put “aside” her feelings is when she tries to kill him. She’s so bent on him acknowledging her that when she got stabbed by Madara in the war and he didn’t notice her, she whined about it in her head. It was stupid as hell to try and fight Madara 1v1, but if her sole purpose was to “distract” him I can get behind that, but the purpose was so Sasuke can notice her. She’s extremely shallow considering Sasuke.

I mean look at this shit; she’s so damn obsessed with him that not even a fucking war can keep her attention off of Sasuke.

“...to perform her ninja duties and protect her village.”

When Sasuke was leaving, she begged him if she could go with him. Protect the village? If Sasuke accepted her self invite, then she would be a rogue ninja, someone who detached from the village.

And it happened again when she went to kill him. Albeit that she was trying to make it seem like she would actually help him, but if Sasuke actually gave her the chance she would take it. Sasuke saw through her bullshit though because he’s not a fucking idiot like she assumed he was.

“...don’t get to see Sakura spend a lot of one-on-one time with Sasuke after the first few arcs, they do witness the evolution of Sakura’s feelings.”

How can Sakura’s feelings evolve if she never has one-on-one time with Sasuke? When do we witness her feelings evolve from just looks? When does Sasuke open up to her so her feelings can evolve? They can’t, we don’t, and he doesn’t. The only time we as viewers see Sakura’s feelings evolve, is when they start to become obsessive. These are not kind feelings, these are obsessive ones.

“Even fans who aren’t on the Sasusaku ship can appreciate how she handles her emotions.”

The only thing I appreciate is that Sasuke keeps denying her advances because he doesn’t want romance with her, which he’s stated multiple times. She never handles her emotions. Just in general, too. From her constantly crying, to her anger issues, her trait is being unable to handle them. I’ve never once met an anti ss fan who appreciates how she handles her emotions. This is absurd in it of itself.

“Sakura cares deeply for Sasuke, not because of his looks, but because of who he is.”

Sakura cares for her idea of Sasuke, not Sasuke himself. Like the quote above speaking on her “evolved feelings,” shes never shown to care about Sasuke’s well being, seeing how she tried to kill him. Again, Sasuke has never opened up to Sakura, only Itachi and Naruto, and they have the audacity to say Sakura cares about Sasuke because of who he is.

What does Sakura think of Sasuke as a person that isn’t what Sasuke shows to everyone who he doesn’t actually care for? She cares about his cool, calm, and collected personality? Was he so cool, calm, and collected whenever Naruto was brought up, or Itachi? Is it because he is quiet and reserved? Was he quiet and reserved when he was a child, before Itachi slaughtered their clan in front of him, 518,400 times? Does she care about his strength and smarts? Does she know he wanted to be intelligent and strong enough so he could kill Itachi? Does she know on a deeper level than just “I want to kill a certain man; I want revenge”?

No. Because Sasuke never let Sakura know the real him because he doesn’t care about her as much as Naruto, or Itachi. He never once thought about her throughout his years gone from the village in Pt.1 and Shippuden, while he thought of Naruto occasionally.

The truth of the matter is, Sasuke does not care about Sakura, his supposed wife, as much as he cares about Naruto, his best friend, someone he considers a brother.

“...she refuses to compromise her principles solely because she loves him.“

What principles are we talking about here? Didn’t she falsely confess to Naruto, drug him, Yamato, and Kakashi, and try and kill Sasuke on her own? Like I mentioned above, wasn’t she the one who idiotically charged Madara (someone she knew stomped the five kage, and who was basically a god at that point, too), and get stabbed for it, only to be upset that Sasuke didn’t notice her nor care about her wellbeing?

“She’s still her own person.”

Take away her crush with Sasuke she’ll be her own person. I’ll admit, in the beginning of Shippuden, she did well. Why? Because Sasuke wasn’t there and was barely mentioned. Kishimoto said in an interview that Sakura is obsessed with Sasuke (if someone can send me the interview It’d be much appreciated as I can’t find it as of now).

She’s only her own person when you take Sasuke out of the picture. Throughout both series her actions and intentions has been based around Sasuke. She isn’t her own person and it’s absurd to think of her as one when it’s shown time and time again she is not.

This whole article is complete bullshit, seeing how many of these “facts” are lies to make it seem like Sakura is some lovely person. She’s not, and she’s not a good person towards Sasuke either.

It’s ok to admit Sakura isn’t the best character nor person in Naruto, because she’s not. It’s fine to think Sakura as kind, and loving, but only in fanon. Canon Sakura is not what you, and the person who wrote this article is talking about.

You can like Fanon Sakura, but don’t dismiss that Canon Sakura is a jerk who is heavily involved with her own self and benefits, maybe not fully but in regards to “love, and friendship” she most definitely is.

#anti sakura haruno fandom #anti sakura uchiha #anti sakura haruno #anti sasusaku #pro sasuke uchiha #uchiha sasuke #sasuke uchiha #pro ino yamanaka #ino yamanaka #naruto #naruto shippuden #kingliho analyzes