Adaptation Decay! I am so stealing that phrase (if you don't mind) -- it fits PERFECTLY.
Ah, I think the wiki article wasn't written well (and serves me right for leaning on that, instead of watching, but honestly, I couldn't take any more of the series). Rin and Sakura are blood-sisters, righto. And sure, we can give Sakura all sorts of motivations for why she won't/can't fight, but the end result is the same: Rin is the only other girl in the game, and Sakura's existence is solely to serve the idiotic lead, by cooking and cleaning for him.
The thing is, I don't have an issue with a character who doesn't want to fight, or isn't inclined to, or who doesn't want to see other people fight and/or get hurt. It's when these are the only characteristics you see, and they're gender-tied, that it becomes so constricting. Sakura's actions aren't wrong or stupid, in themselves, but it gets that way (for me) when she's one of only a few representations on the screen. Keep your power and end up alone/losing (Rin), embrace your power and go evil-crazy-bad (Ilya), or surrender your power and win the boy (Sakura).
I think what gets me the most is that the storyline is supposed to appeal to boys, who can see themselves in Shirou's shoes. Really? Are there boys even more loser-ish than Shirou, to see him as an improvement over themselves? Because I'd think any teenaged boy with even remotest braincell in his head would find Shirou a pathetic excuse for a human being, even aside from his sexist, faux-damaged presentation. Who wants to put themselves in the shoes of such a total wuss?
Re: All hail adaptation decay. :)
Date: 19 Oct 2011 03:53 pm (UTC)Ah, I think the wiki article wasn't written well (and serves me right for leaning on that, instead of watching, but honestly, I couldn't take any more of the series). Rin and Sakura are blood-sisters, righto. And sure, we can give Sakura all sorts of motivations for why she won't/can't fight, but the end result is the same: Rin is the only other girl in the game, and Sakura's existence is solely to serve the idiotic lead, by cooking and cleaning for him.
The thing is, I don't have an issue with a character who doesn't want to fight, or isn't inclined to, or who doesn't want to see other people fight and/or get hurt. It's when these are the only characteristics you see, and they're gender-tied, that it becomes so constricting. Sakura's actions aren't wrong or stupid, in themselves, but it gets that way (for me) when she's one of only a few representations on the screen. Keep your power and end up alone/losing (Rin), embrace your power and go evil-crazy-bad (Ilya), or surrender your power and win the boy (Sakura).
I think what gets me the most is that the storyline is supposed to appeal to boys, who can see themselves in Shirou's shoes. Really? Are there boys even more loser-ish than Shirou, to see him as an improvement over themselves? Because I'd think any teenaged boy with even remotest braincell in his head would find Shirou a pathetic excuse for a human being, even aside from his sexist, faux-damaged presentation. Who wants to put themselves in the shoes of such a total wuss?