#Fuuma but he has way stronger and firmer personality beside being emotional so I'd say that makes up for it to some degree; ofc there's his

[noa-ciharu]

Better sister? Kotori or Hokuto?

I had to double-take for this one because I almost jumped to discuss who is better written character. That'll be whole different kettle of fish which can be summed up with: TB and X are different genre-vise, storytelling, pacing and amount of characters, so even if they're in prequel-sequel relation it's unfair to compare them.

Now as to who was a better sister, I'd say Hokuto. But not because Kotori was a bad sister or failed to address Fuuma's needs, not that. But because she was never given the opportunity by narrative to be flashed out or receive character development.

Also there's a thing of TB vs X plot setting and difference in Subaru's and Fuuma's (I'm referring to early X Fuuma prior to transformation) personality and emotional needs. I'll keep the rest under cut:

Let's start with Hokuto first.

What I'd say right off the bat is that her bubbly extroverted personality brings a good contrast to Subaru's timid nature. She encourages him to want things, to be selfish for once. To be human. When Subaru is feeling down (which is often), she knows exactly how to cheer him up and what to say.

The thing is, Subaru is prone to self-blaming tendencies and self-destruction as result (this comes out in form if self neglect during TB where he puts other's needs over own even if it inconveniences him). Hokuto grounds those anxieties mostly by consoling him and pointing out facts. Subaru feels understood by her and allows himself to open up and be vulnerable. And I'd say that's what Subaru needs the most.

Hokuto understands Subaru in a way he cannot understand himself. Subaru needs this sort of comfort. We all know what self destructive mess he turned into without Hokuto around him after TB end (ofc that wasn't the only reason, but was one of reasons).

Hokuto wanted Subaru to have something for himself, something he selfishly wanted. That's why she took a gamblit even if knowing Seishirou was dangerous and encouraged their relationship. Needless to say it turned disastrous. She felt like she was one to blame.That combined with desperate wish to protect her brother resulted in Hokuto seeking Seishirou out so she’d put her life spell on him. 

Now, she knew it was risky but she encouraged Subaru’s and Seishirou’s relationship; but Hokuto wasn’t reckless about it or some ‘mindless rabid fangirl’. There were quite the few times like these, where he jokingly cut their moments short or told Subaru to think about what he feels for Seishirou.

Very obvious interruption.

She even put knife to Seishirou’s throat and threatened to kill him if he ever hurts Subaru. Also when Seishirou joked (or not?) about seducing Subaru for real Hokuto told him she’s fine with it only if Subaru is first.

Was her decision to sacrifice herself so Subaru would come back a right one? I don’t believe there’s a clear-cut answer to that. Was it the only possible way to wake Subaru up? Was that the only guarantee Seishirou would leave Subaru alone and never kill him? Did her death caused Subaru to live through fate worse than death? Perhaps tragedy of her death is exactly in fact that it was avoidable. Still, Hokuto herself said it was selfish and hypocritical of her to wish for Subaru to live no matter what when she was about to basically commit suicide by proxy to reassure that.

That ‘I love you so much I’d gladly sacrifice myself for you’ is type of logic we see in X later on. However I’d say Hokuto was aware what sort of state Subaru would be in aftermath of her death but thought Subaru being beaten down and depressed was better than being dead to the world. Plus not to mention she believed in Seishirou and Subaru potentially getting happily together. Yes, Hokuto said ‘there’s no person who can’t love’ but in my opinion love sometimes isn’t enough. Especially if you cannot accept it. Optimistic of her yes, but very unrealistic.

Still, most major issues in TB are Seishirou’s fault, directly or indirectly, so if it weren’t for him Sumeragi twin would remain together. Even if Hokuto can be pushy sometimes in order to tease or push Subaru’s boundaries (like in Karaoke chap where she dared him to sing duet(?) with Seishirou but he got really anxious at idea), she’s caring and understanding. I’d say someone with intuitive knowledge of how Subaru’s mind and empathy work with enough of empathy and kindness of their own and rationality to ground his anxieties is exactly type of sibling/friend he needs.

Now let’s move onto Kotori.

While in TB I’d say all three characters were equally well written, with X that isn’t the case. CLAMP themselves said they created Hokuto with intention of killing her; they did so with Kotori too, that’s obvious. Both of them died and that served as one of traumas to Subaru/Kamui. But the difference is that CLAMP made it beyond obvious with killing Kotori for Kamui’s character development.

When X starts it becomes obvious characters don’t live in ‘normalcy’. Kamui has powers of gods and is constantly tormented by ‘fate’, Hinoto is a dreemgazer, Sorata, Arashi, Yuzuriha etc. all of them have powers and so on. Fuuma and Kotori as exception: before X timeline started they were just your regular teenagers.

Except not exactly:

I don’t want to put any DSM label on it but it clearly is trauma response. As she grew up Kotori didn’t consciously remember what she saw (probably it was such traumatic event she blocked it out as self-preservation mechanism) but that doesn’t mean memories aren’t there; causing mental issues in the shadows. It’s implied Fuuma knew the truth what happened to their mother but lied to Kotori that she died out of sickness. No wonder why Kotori lost it completely when she saw Tokiko’s corpse later on. Keep one thing in mind: even if X characters don’t react to gore scenes, that doesn’t mean those scenes aren’t traumatic irl. If someone saw head rolling they’d need years and years of therapy. In that manner it’s Kotori who has more adequate reactions then, let’s say, Kamui or Fuuma who saw Tokiko exploding and were effected by her death but not manner of death. Nonetheless I’d say it’s plot convenience she’s the only one affected. Also there’s her temporary insanity which I’d address later on.

Kotori is flashed out personality-vise; sweet, innocent girl who cares for others. She also had connection to nature, even allegedly could communicate with them (I’m not entirely sure on this one or how it worked). Her heart condition kept her from pushing herself too much. Also she had a ‘sweet but weird girl’ vibes:

Maybe this is just how being 16 and having a crush is.

Now, those two sibling bonds are different at their core because not only Hokuto and Kotori are hardly anything alike in terms of personality and experiences, but Subaru and Fuuma too. For example, all those comforting moments and Hokuto talking senses into Subaru - we don’t have those between Kotori and Fuuma since Fuuma doesn’t have same character flaws as Subaru does (low self-worth, tendency towards self-blame etc.). She expressed her care and love for brother differently:

Sweet and caring. Kotori probably knows she can’t do much for Fuuma or anyone else as well... X plot is tragic. But she’s showing care in little things like mentioned above. Plus seeing Kotori being in good mental, emotional and physical state is all Fuuma asks for. Their parents are dead and all they have is each other. Plus their sibling interactions are really cute and innocent. And to think how it all turned out...

In bond he has with Kotori (and Kamui) Fuuma takes the role of a protector and someone who offers comfort. That’s neither good nor bad, it’s simply their dynamic that was naturally established due to their personalities and needs. So in that manner Kotori was also a good sister. She’s there for him in all ways she can. To be fair, Fuuma is in far better mental shape than Subaru so Kotori doesn’t really need to offer reassurance and ground his anxieties in manner Hokuto does to Subaru. Neither siblings understand what’s going on with whole fate of world thing and why Kamui is avoiding them/ is doing what he’s doing.

However, my main beef with her character arc (not Kotori herself, I’d say her personality and bonds with Fuuma and Kamui were established well over first 5-6 volumes) is how it was handled from volume 6 to 8; from moment she saw Tokiko’s head to her death (which we still don’t know why happened; my guess is because she said ‘if Earth were to shatter I’d rather shatter myself’ which litteraly happened considering how her body was torn to pieces). She falls into temporary state of insanity and talks to Kakyou about Fate and stuff. Those conversations occurring within mindscapes were nicely handled, but what was happening in reality wasn’t, in my opinion.

There’s nothing wrong with needing protection and physical/mental/emotional support, but it felt like plot device to me so she can be killed later on. Don’t get me wrong, each story is filled with plot devices, minor plot holes that are never addressed so plot can flow smoothly, etc. - but in this case skeleton in behind was beyond obvious. I feel like her entire character turned into plot device in certain point and her sole purpose form there on was to set a stage for another tragedy which would serve as Kamui’s character arc. He’s the protagonist, I know. It’s common in stories to see one character getting killed for other’s character development (alot of minor characters in rg veda for example) but I wish her final moments before death were handled differently. I’m sure more can be added here but I can’t think of anything more at the moment.

So in conclusion I’d day both of them were pretty good sisters in way that their brothers needed the most. Of course circumstances were way different along with their personalities and we didn’t get to see too much of Monou siblings in X. If I had to choose based on who’s the better written character, doubtlessly it’s Hokuto; partially because she undergoes certain character development and we get to see her in various situation, whereas Kotori was never given opportunity to because of X plot and her fragile heart and mind.

But we shouldn’t be putting girls in competitions like these. They both rock and I think they should kiss <3 Thank you for coming to my TED talk.