Kizuna is one of my favorite animes. Ranmaru and Enjoji are dem boyz. I love them. I love their relationship. I love their love. I think I've watched this thing a hundred times, but, truth was, I'd never read the manga. Bored of the same thing, and lacking in content, I decided to add it to the Stephen King binge I'd been on lately. Nothing better than reading the actual book, right? Wrong.
So much rape. And not so much rape itself, but the disingenuous way that rape was handled partially, if not totally, because the main characters were men. None of this was in the anime. And I'm glad, though I feel tricked. Ran is almost raped, drugged, and sleeps with this dude's brother because the drug demanded that he sleep with somebody. He experiences very little trauma due to this incident. And the reasoning seemed to be, at least to me, because he's a man. Then, that self-same brother gets raped by some stranger and, save for a moment where he's triggered for like two seconds, life goes on in that shit happens type of way.
Ran was always kind of bitchy, but it was funny in the anime. His antics just made him thoughtful and kind of insecure despite the fact that's he's beautiful. It was cute. In the manga, he's feminine to the point of being really distracting and rather irritating. I kept imagining him with breasts to see if the story would change for me. And, in the end, I discerned that it would not. I found him to be so annoying, this character that I loved. I couldn't figure out why Enjoji would put with his cheating ass for two seconds, let alone a lifetime. His apology was kind of like: "You weren't there and I slipped on a dick and that's that." He was absolutely irrational at times and it was not cute. Once, casually, Enjoji asked him if he was on his period and I was like: Is he?
Mercifully, these things didn't happen in the anime. The anime just presents their beautiful relationship with its ups and downs and flaws and whatnot. Ran's still crazy but he comes of as a man who is in love with another man and they, together, are beautiful. Truth be told, I don't really mind him being extra bitchy with sauce--there are dudes like that and they deserve to be loved...alawt. That part was just a little surprising, and I wanted to slap him all the time. Enjoji likes him though and that's all that really matters to me and he's still brave, being crippled and forcing himself to walk so he wouldn't be a burden and all that good shit. Still one of the most courageous, bad ass things I've seen this fiction-life and that's after he threw himself in front of the car to save his lover's life. Sooo...
I suppose I was just surprised by the...difference. I wouldn't have liked this story as much if I'd read the manga first, I think. It would have definitely gone into the category of things written a little wrong for me. I realize that it's a little dated, and, truly, it's better than a lot of the stuff written during that time. Like...nobody died, for example. Attacked by dinosaurs. So the other could be alone forever and regret his life 'decisions'. Still, it dropped a peg or two in my esteem. Not a lot, considering, but a little. And I find that to be a little sad.
_____
I read a lot of Mr. King. I recommend: Revival (The Great God Pan), Dr. Sleep (nice to see you again, Dannnnnny) and this weird thing called Blaze (Of Mice and Men). Also read Jerusalem's Lot over again--because I forgot the way that little town started its horrible legacy.
_____
Side-watching: Luke Cage and laughing because 'It's racist!"
The definition of the world racism does a lunatic dance in America. Is basic literacy really that low in this mofo?
Dumb-de-dumb-dumb-DUMB.
It's a good show. All black men should be bulletproof these days. Then the cops would have to drop nukes on them.
No comments:
Post a Comment