#except funnily enough when the female character is the hinge character???

[monabee-draws]

Sometimes I want to get invested in a new rarepair and then I look it up only to realise that the fans of said rarepair are crazy and mischaracterise one of half of the canon ship so that they can justify breaking them up for the sake of the rarepair😮‍💨 people need to learn that multishipping without character assasination is 100% totally possible and people break up for neutral reasons all the time OR the magic of fanworks is that you can pretend the original ship never got together in the first place. Or, you know, polyamoury🌈

[ryukoishida]

In Defense of Fuujin Ranbu (Warning: Unnecessarily Long, Spoilers)

Main points for discussion, for those who can’t decide whether or not to click into this mess of an essay:

Shaghad’s role/purpose in the story

As character foils to Narsus and Hilmes

As a plot device

Alfreed: Why wanting to get married to the love of your life is not a crime

Scenes in Fuujin Ranbu

Introduction

Let me just start off by saying that I appreciate and respect people’s opinions: Whether you enjoyed a series or not is, of course, entirely subjective, but I feel that without knowing the details of the novels, it’s somewhat unfair to judge the quality of Fuujin Ranbu purely based on Arakawa’s manga (which is only up to about Book 3 or 4 at this point, whereas FR covers up to Book 6) and this anime adaptation. Granted, I’ve also talked to a few fans who’ve read up to the latest novels and still dislike the Gilan arc for various reasons, which is fine, and I totally respect that.

General Problems with FR

Everyone can probably agree that there are a few things in FR that are seriously lacking/problematic:

Animation quality (been there done that even back in S1)

Farangis’ between-the-legs shot in the OP

The fact that this adaptation doesn’t even try to stay faithful to the novels (see: cutting of Merlane and Kubard working together scene, cutting of Jimsa escaping and deciding to follow Arslan scene, Bodin and his gang showing up to steal Ruknabad etc. etc. I can make a two-page list)

Ruining characterizations (i.e. Merlane)

So, I won’t go any deeper with those topics.

Shaghad’s Purpose: Foils to Narsus and Hilmes, Plot Device

However, I do want to address the character of Shaghad. In the anime, Shaghad seems like a very flat, one-dimensional character: two-faced, greedy, stubborn, manipulative, and doesn’t hesitate to betray his old friend for his own gain. Part of it is probably due to how short the series was and they didn’t have time to establish his character more, but I don’t think that’s even necessary because the show had basically told us what we needed to know.

From my own interpretation of the novel series and in addition to FR, I think Shaghad’s character serves two purposes: character foils to both Narsus and Hilmes, and a plot device in the second arc after the time skip.  

There are a few facts that have already been established in canon in regards to Narsus and Shaghad’s relationship that makes Shaghad the perfect foil to Narsus’ character:

Narsus and Shaghad are distant relatives and close friends; they study in the same academy (so presumably their intellect levels are about the same) and share the same ideals back when they were younger.

However, while both eventually left their positions in the palace, they left for two entirely different reasons: Shaghad left because he wanted to have an easier life in Gilan, and Narsus left because his policies were at odds with Andragoras’. Their lifestlyes afterwards reflect their different mindsets as well: Shaghad chose to indulge in the materialistic world by going into trading and using slaves, but Narsus chose to live in the mountains away from society with only the most basic needs.

It’s also important to note the difference in their attitudes towards their job/responsibilities: there were several instances during which Narsus had to help Shaghad out because he got into scandalous affairs (i.e. he didn’t take his duties seriously).  It’s precisely that difference in personalities rooted so deeply in them that ultimately drives them apart.

It’s been also shown (at least in the novels) that Shaghad has an inferiority complex, and he compares himself with Narsus a lot in terms of their intelligence. The fact that Narsus outsmarts him every single time pisses him off, and he lets this rage drives him onward for three years until he comes up with a plan to take vengeance on Narsus.

Shaghad is capable of being good — the fact that he shares the same ideals about abolishing slavery as Narsus is evidence to that. He’s also incredibly clever and certainly not “dumb”; after all, he single-handedly organizes the pirate troops, starts the rumors about the treasure island, and sets up a supposedly perfect trap for Arslan, which would probably have worked if his opponent wasn’t Narsus. So, it’s not that Shaghad is just a stupid villain who goes around killing people without any plans; it’s just that, when being compared to Narsus, anyone wanting to fight against that man’s intellect would seem less-than-bright.

I never really thought about this until now, but if we look at Shaghad and Hilmes’ characters, it’s interesting to see that they’re similar in many ways; these similarities also link to the idea of Shaghad being a plot device in the series:

Jealousy/Inferiority complexes: Shaghad feels inferior to Narsus, and this in turn allows the jealousy to stew and grow until he’s become so blinded by his own rage that he’d stop at nothing to take Narsus’ life. Similarly, Hilmes feels inferior — his burned face that he always hides behind a mask and the way he demands absolute loyalty from his subjects in fear that they’ll betray him. He’s jealous of Arslan in many ways as well, as has already been shown in S1.

Blinded and driven by vengeance: At the end of FR, Shaghad is sentenced to living his life as a slave for a year. His stubbornness, in addition to his already boiling rage against Narsus, makes him ignore rationality and the chance to start anew, and instead he becomes so fixated on defeating Narsus that he’s willing to throw away his own identity to become Hilmes (see Plot Device) in the second arc just to do so. On the other hand, in the first arc (Books 1-7), Hilmes feels that an injustice has been done to him; he’s so intoxicated by the belief that he’s the true ruler of Pars that, even despite his true love Irina’s words, Hilmes insists on his quest, and in the process of that, he’s used and indirectly taken thousands of Lusitanians’ lives, destroyed his beloved country, caused many of his countrymen’s deaths due to Lusitania’s invasion, and released the damn devil Snake King Zahhak himself by taking the sword Ruknabad to prove his status.

Funnily enough, in the second arc after Irina’s death, Hilmes isn’t driven by the desire of vengeance as much as his own ambitions, and at the same time Shaghad is the one who adopts Hilmes’ identity as well as his avenging spirit.

Shaghad’s other purpose in the novels is to basically push the story along as a plot device. In the Gilan arc, his interaction with Narsus is to teach Arslan a harsh lesson: In this world, especially during wartime, there’s no friendship that lasts forever. People change for the worst sometimes and if one cannot accept that fact and continues to be tied up by emotions and having a weak resolve, you will not survive in this harsh world.

Disappointing as it may sound to some fans who have taken a liking to him, he’s not there to be memorable. His character hinges on his friendship and falling out with Narsus, which leads him to Misr and Hossain (Book 8) in his desperation for vengeance. He willingly discards his own name and identity, and instead adopts the identity of the most obvious symbol of revenge in this series — Hilmes and his mask. If anything, at this point of the plot, Shaghad has become even more “one-dimensional” and his character more dumbed down for the sole purpose of destroying Narsus. Even the real Hilmes, when they finally meet in Book 11, notices right away the man’s obvious hatred for Narsus.

Having only read up until book 13, I’m not sure what’s happening to Shaghad, but it’s clear that his character is now only serving as a plot device to get the story going, especially now that Hilmes, who wants to take over Misr by using Shaghad, has met him and will “work together” with him. If the character is merely there to get the plot rolling, and if he’s not even the main villain to start with, there’s not much point in giving him traits that are not helpful to the plot’s development.

Alfreed

Because I will defend my girl Alfreed until the end of time, I just want to put it out there: What’s wrong with wanting to get married to the love of your life?

“Strong female character” doesn’t just mean physically strong ladies kicking butts and being a badass who’s independent and need no men (Farangis is a perfect example of this, except there’s that whole sexualizing her thing with all the fanservice but we’ve all already acknowledged this); a strong woman can make her own choices and live the way she thinks it’s best for her own happiness and well-being, and if happiness means getting married to the man you love and respect, then by all means!

I also want to stress that Alfreed is not just the “ohmygod the only thing I want in my life is Narsus” character that the anime will have some people believe; in fact, there had been many instances in which she’s proven her skills and worth again and again, even in the anime. For example, she’s led her own troops during several battles, and Narsus trusts her enough to give her dangerous tasks on many occasions. And don’t forget: the Zott clan and even her own brother Merlane respect her and trust in her that they support her to be the next clan leader.

Notwithstanding their marriage in Book 15, guess who else is at fault for the skewed portrayal of her character? Yeah, it’s Narsus. On more than one occasion, Farangis has scolded Narsus for being wishy-washy when it comes to his feelings for the younger girl. Narsus is 26 — a good 10 years older than Alfreed and more experienced — and he’s absolutely terrible when it comes to commitment in a romantic relationship. If he honestly doesn’t feel that way about Alfreed, he could have just had a talk with her privately, and that’ll probably be the end of that. Instead, he pointedly ignores any discussion that involves him and Alfreed (as Daryun has commented once), so what’s a love-struck girl who receives no response supposed to do? Logically, she’ll assume that if Narsus trusts her enough with responsibilities in the court, he must appreciate and respect her in one way or another, since being the straight-forward man that Narsus is, if he doesn’t like something, he’ll just say it outright. With that safe assumption, Alfreed continues to love him from the sidelines.

Her character doesn’t just rely on her relationship with Narsus, either. She looks up to Farangis a lot as a mentor, and they share a sisterly bond that keeps growing throughout the series. In the second arc, Alfreed and Farangis are sent on a mission by Arslan that puts them both in serious danger a few times, and they overcome them with their own abilities and by working together; Farangis trusts Alfreed’s skills enough to let her handle fighting the villain in the Oxus arc on her own (Book 11). She is a strong, young woman capable of standing on her own and is not afraid of showing her love and desires.

Plot in Fuujin Ranbu

The last thing I want to address is the plot. As mentioned before, this new adaptation is not known for staying faithful to the novels. But just to talk about a few scenes being mentioned:

Narsus and Shaghad’s epic fight on the ship being ruined by Azrael’s appearance: The original scene actually has Daryun and Shaghad fighting, and obviously Shaghad knows he cannot win so he bolts, and Azrael swoops down and attacks his face, thus ensuring that they can capture him alive. Admittedly, it’s not super convincing and a bit too convenient, but it’s not the first time this happened (see Azrael saving Arslan before they reach Peshawar in S1).

Lack of Narsus’ backstory: As much as we all wish to know more about Narsus, it’s just simply not the point of the series. Narsus is a supporting character; yes, he’s flashy and does amazing feats with that brilliant brain of his, but he’s only there to support Arslan until he becomes the king and the country is truly peaceful. Parts of Narsus’ past has been revealed (e.g. him working for Andragoras and then quitting etc.) because it shows the reason why he’s willing to join Arslan and his philosophy of doing things the way he does. It’s unfair and unreasonable to ask for more if Narsus’ background doesn’t serve an actual purpose to the main plot because with such a big cast, it’s impossible to write out every single character’s backstory.

The ending: It’s not a satisfying ending, and with only 8 episodes and so many scenes being cut in order to cover the contents of 2 books, it’s not a satisfying season, either. But the last episode isn’t meant to wrap up all the plot threads anyway, and even though we still have yet to receive news about a third season or a movie, it’s almost certain that there will be a continuation, or they wouldn’t have left it that way.

At the end of the day, Fuujin Ranbu is far from being a masterpiece. It’s not the perfect adaptation we all wish it was, but it had some great moments and scenes as well!