Gaga over GAR? I don't think so!

Being a non-fan of shounen animes, I don't really focus on its archetypal characters. Well, out of sight, out of mind. In actual fact, other than tsundere and moe there are many archetypal anime characters out there and one of the most prominent ones is GAR.

Actually GAR character is the exact opposite of moe character. Nonetheless both of these characters serve same purpose: to evoke the emotion of the target audience. Moe is created in order evoke the feeling of love and protectiveness towards the characters among men and on the other hand GAR is to inspire the feeling of extreme awe and worship towards the characters among adolescent boys.

What on earth is GAR?

The word GAR is actually created by English-speaking audience. A GAR character usually a male character although, there are cases where female character can be GAR as well. In addition, a GAR exhibits intense masculinity and extreme strength. This is to ensure that the audience admire and worship him.

More often than not, GAR character always appears in shounen animes as well as mangas. Series such as Bleach, Fullmetal Alchemist, One Piece, Naruto, Inuyasha, and etc are chock-full with GAR characters. It is seldom to see a GAR character in a seinen series because, GAR characters only appeal to the adolescents. the A good example of a GAR character is none other than Kurosaki Ichigo from anime / manga BLEACH. I believe he is the GARest character to date!

Another prominent GAR character is Edward Elric from FULL METAL ALCHEMIST. Despite is chibi state, Ed has proven himself that he is worthy of being admired and worshiped by the fans and non-fans alike.

However, there are cases where GAR characters are female. Anime such as CLAYMORE exudes GAR theme even though the protagonist is a female: Claire. She is portrayed as a half-breed who is extremely strong and masculine.

Well, I guess that's it! This all I can say about GAR anime. I am not a GAR anime fan so this is just my two cents.

[Note]

In my previous post, I have discussed on moe characters. Based on my reading and observation, I realised that moe characters only exist in seinen animes or mangas. As I can see both CLANNAD and SUZUMIYA HARUHI NO YUUTSU are seinen anime and the existence of moe-fied characters are agreeable. So, does it mean that K-ON! is a seinen too? Or maybe it is NOT a moe anime?

Aishteru yo! - My choice of Anime couples

Couple 1

Names : Nomiya Takumi and Yamada Ayumi
Anime : Honey and Clover (both seasons)

Why do I like them:
Nomiya is like a knight in shining armour. Time and time again, he gallantly 'scoops' Yamada off her feet- who is broken-hearted by Mayama’s rejection- and rescues her from being even more humiliated. It is so obvious that this is a love at first sight for Nomiya. He is in love with Yamada from the moment he sees her. In season 2, the scene that forever etched in my mind is when Nomiya holds Yamada's hand when he sleeps so that she will not run away when he wakes up the next morning. In addition, I like him because he is cool and bold enough to declare his love for Yamada even though he knows that Yamada is reluctant to accept him since she is so besotted with Mayama. No matter what, I'm rooting for him all the way!

Comment :
I strongly believe that this is not an unrequited love. Even though there is no definite scene that Yamada responds to his love but there are some hints scattered all over!

Couple 2

Names : Otani Atsushi and Koizumi Risa
Anime : Lovely Complex a.k.a Lovecon

Why do I like them :
I like the determination shown by Koizumi in winning Otani’s love. Koizumi is so certain that one day Otani will accept her as a girlfriend. And guess what? She wins his heart after all. In fact, towards the end of the series, Otani finally admits that he can’t live without Koizumi no matter how hard he tries to deny it.

Comment:
Beauty is certainly in the eyes of the beholder!

Couple 3

Names : Inuyasha and Higurashi Kagome
Anime : Inuyasha

Why do I like them:
They are the cutest couple ever!!!! I like Inuyasha’s ‘silent’ love for Kagome. And I adore the way Inuyasha demonstrates his care and concern for Kagome. I love it when he persuades or apologizes to Kagome. There is a hint of tenderness in his voice. However I detest the idea that Kagome is a pushover. In the anime, she always sacrifices her feelings just to give way for Kikyo. Somehow, other than Naraku, I think Kikyo is the real culprit in this series. Her presence is merely a nuisance to the development of Inuyasha-Kagome's relationship!

Comment:
WTF?! Inuyasha has never kissed Kagome even at the end of the manga series. Not even a single peck on the cheek!!!

Couple 4

Names : Chiaki Shinichi and Noda Megume a.k.a Nodame
Anime : Nodame Cantabile (both seasons)

Why do I like them:
I really enjoy the idea that these two share same interest and both of them are gifted musicians. I also like the way their love develops in the anime. There are certain subtleties that really attract my attention and they are the reason for me to watch this series. I also like the ways both of them complement each other. In one of the episodes (season 2) Chiaki vows to make both of them a golden couple in future. Now, doesn't that sound like a marriage proposal? You tell me!

Comment:
Sometimes, Chiaki is way too rough and too harsh on Nodame. I hate it when Chiaki abuses and scolds her like she is dimwitted (well, sometime she does look and act stupid). But all that put aside when finally he kisses her in the second season (spoiler)....

Couple 5

Names: Kyon and Suzumiya Haruhi
Anime : Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu

Why do I like them:
These two are the most mismatched couple ever! But opposite definitely attracts. I like these two because the combination makes them hilarious! Even though both of them hate each other’s guts, they really complement each other. In fact, Kyon is the anchor that keeps Haruhi grounded. He is the one who tones down Haruhi's precarious personality and insanity.

Comment:
There is no exact confession, but in the last episode, Kyon confesses that Haruhi is more than just a classmate and that her ponytail turns him on. And then he kisses her (oopps! another spoiler).

The Big Kahuna: Sesshomaru...

Name : Sesshomaru
Age : Appears 19 but his real age is remained unknown
Species : A full-fledged Dog demon
Family : Inuyasha (half-brother)
Friends : Jaken, Rin and Ah-Un
Admirer : Kagura (Naraku's incarnation)
Weapons : Tenseiga, Toukijin and Whip
Ability : Poison Flower Claws, flight, heightened senses, superhuman strength and speed, immunity to all poisons and sickness


Sesshomaru is a full-fledged dog demon who prefers to fight alone. His true from is a gigantic white dog with similar markings as his humanoid form. When he transforms, his body is surrounded by bright red aura and a tornado circling around him (see picture). Apart from that, he has a superhuman strength and incredible immunity to any poison or dark magic. He is even immune to Naraku's toxic miasma and for that reason, he dubs him as a 'perfect demon'.

In the beginning of the episodes, he is only accompanied by Jaken. However, later in the episodes of the series, he is accompanied by a group of friends. He, apparently, hates his half-brother -Inuyasha because he believes being a half-demon, Inuyasha is a disgrace to the family. He also despises the fact that Inuyasha is bestowed by his late father a powerful sword known as Tetsusaiga. Tetsusaiga has the power to kill 1000 demons with a single stroke. He, on the other hand he is bestowed a sword called Tenseiga which has the reverse effect of Tetsusaiga. Tenseiga is powerful enough to revive the dead. Later, he instructed Kaijinbo (an evil black-smith) to forge a powerful sword to match Tetsusaiga and the sword is named Toukijin (see picture). In the early episodes of the series, Sesshomaru has (time and time again) tried to steal Tetsusaiga form Inuyasha. Nevertheless, towards the end of the series, he seems to lose interest of the sword since the sword is protected with a barrier that repels demon.

Unlike Inuyasha (who is so childish, clumsy and loud), Sesshomaru is stoic, collected, cold and he is a man of few words. It's really hard to understand him. Earlier in the episodes, he acts as the antagonist or the villain (beside Naraku). This can be seen when he incessantly tries to slaughter Inuyasha. He even declares his undying hatred for his half brother and vows to kill him with his own hands. Nonetheless, later he displays his compassion by adopting a young human girl named Rin. Furthermore, Sesshomaru is also an anti-thesis of traditional hero. This can be seen when he tries to save Rin from being killed by Naraku. Then, in one of the episodes (Band of 7 Arc), he even saves Kagome, Sango and Miroku from Mukotsu's poisonous mist despites his great hatred for humans and humanity. These are, by far, the best examples to illustrate his so-called 'heroism'.

Well, compared to Inuyasha, Sesshomaru is much more powerful and invincible. I like his character because he embodies a true greatness of a supposed protagonist, which is kind of ironic. Sesshomaru, the real deal...






[Note]
There are several discrepancies - regarding the plot as well as the development of Sesshomaru's character - between anime and manga version. As for this posting, I only stick to the anime version since I don't really read the manga...

Love At First Sight : INUYASHA

When I saw my younger brother watching INUYASHA (Inu = dog, Yasha = spirit, Dog Spirit) ever so intently on one Sunday afternoon, I asked him what so special about this anime. He just smiled and ignored me. Well, IMHO it didn’t really strike me as an outstanding anime. It was maybe because the drawing and the 'mannerism' of the characters didn’t really catch my attention. I dunno… For me it didn’t have the effect like other animes that I have watched so far. It didn’t have that ‘human-like’ element. In fact the fighting scenes were not that amazing, at least to my standard. I mean, what kind of hero that has dog ears? Come on!

But, one fateful afternoon has changed it all. I was so bored waiting for the latest episode of my favourite anime to be downloaded only to discover that it would only be released two weeks from that day. So, out of boredom, I browsed around on what anime I could watch to fill in the two weeks of waiting. Then, I decided to download INUYASHA’s first episode. And, guess what, I did!

To my surprise, the first episode was rather enticing! It literally begged me to download the next episode, and the next, and the next, and the next and suddenly I realised I WAS HOOKED!!!! It's certainly love at first sight...

OMG! I simply love the plot, the conflict and most importantly the characters! When Kagome Higurashi accidentally falls down a well located on the grounds of her family's shrine, she discovers feudal Japan, a world filled with magic, sorcerers and dangerous demons. There Kagome encounters Inuyasha, an ill-mannered but kind-hearted half-demon (han-yo), and begins searching for the shards of the sacred jewel (Shikon No Tama) with which her fate has become inextricably entwined.

I mostly enjoy the love-hate relationship between Inuyasha and Kagome. It always makes me smile and my heart skips a beat. It’s so intriguing and yet sweet!! I love the squabbles that they always have and I also love the fact that Inuyasha loves Kagome and never admits it.

I really dunno whether to root for Kikyo (who was resurrected with part of Kagome's soul) or not. I know the fact that she was tricked into ‘killing’ Inuyasha but, she she’s not the real victim here. I think she is only a nuisance in this story. She only initiates Inuyasha’s confusion and she’s the third wheel in Inuyasha-Kagome’s love plot. But, then again she plays a key role in bringing Kagome into Inuyasha’s world.

Shippo (the fox demon) is the cutest anime character ever! I even named my kitten after him. He is witty and got the spunk! He’s Inuyasha’s punchbag (literally) but he never gives a damn about that. He just minds he’s own business. I also like the fact that Rumiko Takhashi uses a cat as the sidekick (of Sango). Well, Kirara or Kee LaLa is not really a normal cat she is a nekomata (cat monster) that can transfrom into a gigantic phantom-tigeress that simply loyal to her mistress.

Sango (a demon-slayer) and Miroku (a cursed monk) are both important in this story. Both of them have their own missions in killing Naraku (the one who tricks Kikyo and Inuyasha). Both of them have different history and their vengence brought them together as a team.

Anyway, enough said! I think this anime is in the class of its own. Although there are some episodes that rather repetitive and dragging, all in all it's a must watch. The only thing that I regret most is, I haven't got the oppotunity to watch the movies . I'm still looking for the link so that I can download it!

If you are interested to download the anime (it's in RMVB format, so please make sure you have a Real Player installed first), try this link
http://realitylapse.com/info/inuyasha/splash.php