Who The Hell?

A geeky, bibliophilic, tree-hugging, English tea-drinking, procrastinating, oversleeping, folk music-listening, anime-watching college student. Loitering in the halls of life and writing graffiti along the way.

-o-

Favorite Anime / Manga Series:

Inuyasha (manga + anime)

Scrapped Princess (anime)

Ouran High School Host Club (anime)

Full Metal Alchemist (manga + anime)

Bleach (manga)

Ranma 1/2 (manga)

Azumanga Diaoh (anime)

Trigun (anime)

Jubei-chan: The Ninja Girl (anime)

Story Status

As of... oh... whatever...

Um. Basically, anything that is not yet complete is dead in the water. While I still actively read fanfiction, my desire to write it has nearly waned to the point of no return. I dabbled, I had my fun, now I'm ready to go back to being the lazy reader and barely-there reviewer.

On a (possibly) positive note, I do still have some interest in Complications (some of that interest pertaining to renaming the damn thing). It may be updated, ah, eventually. Problem is, when I have the free time to write stuff not due for class, I rarely turn to fanfiction. I choose, rather, to focus on several original stories I am working on. However, as I said, I rather liked the concept and the outline I had planned for Complications, so if I ever return to fanfiction writing, that will probably be what I pick up. Everything else is hopeless, though. xD Don't hold your breath.

Warning: Ensuing Rant

I keep this up because I find it continues to be relevant. Move along if you're not interested in a healthy dose of hot air.

Before you engage in the act of Kagome bashing, please - stop and use your brain before verbally abusing her character. I get particularly annoyed with Kagome bashers. Partly, I will admit, because she is my favorite character and I have an understandable bias; but mostly because the arguments people use to justify their hatred of her character are completely ridiculous. I'll touch on the ones I come across the most often.

Issue 1) Kagome is weak and useless.

Answer) Lets look at the facts here for a moment. Most of the time, the only reason people say this is because they're comparing Kagome's fighting performance to Sango's, Miroku's, Inuyasha's, etc. You have to think about Kagome's situation and background. She was a normal, every day schoolgirl for fifteen years of her life. She wasn't raised from childhood to fight and eliminate demons, like Sango and Miroku were. She wasn't raised in an environment where demons were any real threat. To her they were just myths her grandpa wouldn't stop babbling about. She got thrust into that world in the blink of an eye. Is it really fair, or plausible, to expect her to start fighting like a seasoned warrior out of nowhere? Considering the fact that she's had no previous training, she took to her bow and arrows quite well. Not to mention, most normal, average people, if put in her situation (flung into a world full of blood-thirsty demons) would've run home screaming and never come back. Kagome didn't. She knew her duty and stuck with it. That in and of itself proves her strength of will, and that's just as important. She's got plenty of physical/spiritual strength, as well. Kagome's the only one who's nearly obliterated Naraku. The others have gotten in good hits, yes, but Kagome's the one who came closest to destroying him. I mean, really, all she left was a head... Naraku even admitted that she had the power to kill him (manga volume 12).

Issue 2) Okay, so even if Kagome is good with a bow and arrows, in battle she has a tendency to play the damsel in distress and shouts Inuyasha's name constantly.

Answer) See above. Also, I would hardly call Kagome a damsel in distress. Later on in the series she takes quite a few successful shots at attacking demons with her arrows (and I can think of several cases in which she tremendously aids Inuyasha's attacks). I would also attest that the combat style of the Inuyasha series is rather reminiscient of an RPG - when one character is facing off with an enemy, the others tend to stay on the side-lines while yelling that character's name in an alarming manner, and yet apparently unwilling to jump into the fight and help. You see this often when Inuyasha is fighting. All of them (not just Kagome, people), including the professional demon slayer with the gigantic boomerang and the monk with the black hole in his hand, stand a safe distance away from the battle and worry over who's winning without actually doing much to help their friend even the odds. Go figure. Fault Takahashi-san for the strange fighting schematics, not Kagome.

Issue 3) Kagome's a sadistic bitch who abuses the power of the subjugation spell far too often.

Answer) I've been seeing more and more fanfiction floating around cyber space dealing with this topic, and honestly, I'm getting tired of the self-righteous authors who think they are taking up Inuyasha's cross and defending him against some vile form of abuse by bashing Kagome because she has "sat" Inuyasha on more than one occasion. Seriously people. Get a grip and stop blowing things to insane, mutant proportions. Kagome hardly EVER sits Inuyasha once their friendship begins to develop in the canon, and not NEARLY as much as fanfiction would have us think. Take a glance at the manga. The sits virtually end altogether once they learn to trust each other, and she if does use the subjugation spell after that, it's generally for a pretty good reason (such as saving his life). The only reason she appears to sit him so often in the anime is because of all those useless filler episodes that spammed up the series. In fact, that is pretty much the definitive mark of the filler episode - if Kagome is sitting Inuyasha needlessly, you can probably bet that it ain't canon. Don't penalize Kagome's character due to fillers - fillers have destroyed many a good character before her and they will destroy many after. On top of all this, I have a difficult time feeling much sympathy for Inuyasha's subjugation plight for two reasons. One: for all the emotional turmoil Inuyasha has put Kagome through (oftentimes needlessly), I think a few sits are well deserved and just what karma has in order. Two: you can't penalize her for sitting him in the beginning of the series, because seriously - the dude tried to kill her. Kill her. With his bare hands (er, claws). You don't think you'd aim a few good hard sits at someone if they had tried to end your life?

Issue 4) InuYasha only protects Kagome because he needs the jewel shards and/or because of the rosary and/or her face looks like Kikyo's.

Answer) Anyone who's read the manga or seen the anime can attest that this is a blatant and horrendous lie. Example - Inuyasha says to Kagome in the manga (volume eight), "I realized that I really do want you with me." Sure doesn't sound like Inuyasha only wants Kagome around for the jewel shards or because she holds the power of the rosary over his head, now does it? Example two - Kagome asks Inuyasha in the manga (also volume eight), "Am I just Kikyo's replacement?" To which Inuyasha replies, "Haven't I told you over and over again that you're not! To me you are only you." And this sure doesn't sound like Inuyasha views Kagome as Kikyo's replacement in any fashion. 'Nuff said.

Issue 5) Kagome's stupid/ditzy.

Answer) Kagome has proven her intelligence in battle and outide it more times than I can count. That becomes apparent within the first few manga chapters and the first few episodes of the anime. Kagome's the one that tied the crow's foot to her arrow to kill the crow demon making away with the jewel. I don't care if it shattered the jewel in the process, if she hadn't done it, the crow would have swallowed it (as Inuyasha had already tried, and failed, to kill the thing) and they would have had an invincible demon on their hands. They all would've been slaughtered, no doubt. Kagome's the one who figured out Yura's weakness (the red skull) and destroyed her. Kagome's the one who destroyed the toad demon that possessed the prince in the eighth episode. It's also because of Kagome that the Miroku we know and love joined the group: if she hadn't so aptly (and intelligently!) read his character and thrown herself at him during his battle with Inuyasha, one of the two boys would have ended up dead or seriously injured, and I'm sure they wouldn't have become traveling buddies. The list goes on and on. It only gets longer as the series does.

Issue 6) Kagome's annoying.

Answer) Opinion, not fact.