#I didn't really think aboit him before looking up for fandom stuff

[madmachaca]

Thoughts on Saga and Kanon and my undeniable preference for one of them.

Between Saga and Kanon, I prefer Kanon... for a looooooong shot.

Saga is not a character I particularly like... he is not even on my top 6 favorite Gold Saints, (not including Kanon, who it's on his own category). Speaking only about the goldies,there is at least 6 dudes I like better than Saga and the funny thing is that, on paper,I should like him a lot more. He is an interesting guy, his story is interesting, and so are his motivations and circumstances, but as it usually happens with fiction, you tent to like those characters you connect with...those whose stories speak louder to you. And Kanon does speaks louder to me.

I think that Saga's struggles and internal conflict are great for a tragic story. Being split between being good and a freaking maniac could work very nice as an allegory of the two natures of men (like the devil and the angel on the shoulder thing). Having him being described by people around him as pure, and good beyond human nature, while he has this insanely dark side that takes control over him while he is forced to watch the chaos and damage he causes as he struggles to take control back, is very interesting and almost poetic. A very exaggerated representation of "human nature": we are not always perfectly good, and sometimes our "darker side" comes out but we should be able to recognize when our actions and wants are harmful and stop in our tracks. Saga doesn't have control over it, and the result is this very tragic man. Later when we learned he was possessed, this becomes a hostage situation, but for the sake of allegory, I do believe the compararion still works (but not as good as before because it takes responsibility away from him).

When he is finally free of his curse and it's completely in control of his actions, he looks back to all things done (which mind you, weren't even his fault) and decides (by himself) that the only acceptable punishment is death. Right in from of Athena, the godess he was supposed to protect but end up trying to kill, he takes his own life as a way to atone for all damage he caused.

I recognize him as an interesting character, with an interesting story....and yet....

I like Kanon way more .

Because I love redemption stories. And for someone to be redeemed, first they have to acknowledge they were bad and they need to be held responsible for it.

When we first met Kanon he was bad. He was very close to a classic super villian with an plan that could have worked if it wasn't for those kids and their Phoenix. And if we make conclusions with the information we are given we realize his reason for being evil were actually very spiteful. He wasn't possessed, he didn't met a supernatural being who used him oe manipulated him... he is just a very intense case of "being the evil twin" (added to the possibility of him being kept a secret and neglected as a potential saint because Saga got the cloth) and later it evolved to a case of "fuck you, Saga, I try to share something with you and you locked me up to die, asshole, well, watch me, bitch....and fuck you too, Athena...just because" (this is what I imagine he was actually thinking).

And then, fast forward to when he is the Sea Dragon, and his pillar got destroyed, and he is confronted with the truth of why he is still kicking...something must have broken inside of him, and as a way to return the favor, likely, he throws himself in front of Poseidon's trident and saves the one person who thought he was worth saving...and miraculously, he survives.

In Destiny, I believe, we learn that he did considered following Saga's path and was about to kill himself but realize there was still more to do. His mission was not over yet. Going back to Saori he offered his sevices to the person he once tried to end, and fought in her name for one last mission. Still alive, still aware and still responsible for all the harm he caused.

I like Kanon because I am a hopeless fool.

To me, there is something every delightful about a story arc where someone so terrible is able to change his ways. Because this is human nature too.

There is something foolishly hopeful about a story of a person who was able to prove they was able to recognize thier wrong doings and accept they were, well, wrong, as they try to compensate all the bad things caused. No one had the obligation to forgive or accept him. But still he went back.

He had no right to come back demanding anything...and he didn't. He asked for forgiveness but he never really expected it, insted he offered his life to keep fighting...and fighting he eventually died.

And I really like that.