This is a static copy of In the Rose Garden, which existed as the center of the western Utena fandom for years. Enjoy. :)

#26 | Back to Top04-16-2010 12:57:37 AM

Scoluron
Rose Bride
From: Portland, OR
Registered: 11-03-2009
Posts: 114

Re: Who's Your Least Favorite Character?

Juri.  I don't like otherwise confident, serious people projecting cowardice to the point of A.) madness, B.) futility, and C.) blind stupidity.  I find her random side geeky interests a boring shtick.  That wouldn't make her my least favorite character, except for the fact that she shows potential for being cool in the last four episodes, which contrasts with the cool/hardcore she's supposed to be throughout the series.


"Himemiya! I've misjudged you!" "My image of you is ruined."

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#27 | Back to Top04-19-2010 09:49:00 AM

jmie5
Precious One
Registered: 10-21-2006
Posts: 298

Re: Who's Your Least Favorite Character?

I despise Touga. He's a prick and an insensitive jack-ass. I can appreciate that he's smart and handsome, but he totally fucks over Nanami and everyone else in the show. In short he's a dick. A rich dick.

I don't know why I love Touga, but I do; he's very useful, as far as the series goes, but that example of an inappropriate post is just hilarious.  I don't know why it made me laugh so hard, probably because, jimho, it's sort of true true, and maybe that's why I love him so much, that duality; it's not like rooting for the ass-of-a-villain for me.  Anyone ever see West Side Story/hear the "Gee, Officer Krupke" song?  "Deep down inside us, there is good / There is good!"  Where that good is for the majority of the series, dunno, but I still appreciate the character as a whole. 

I feel bad for saying that Shiori is definitely my least favorite character; someone once eloquently posted why she's valuable, a long time ago, but I just, she rubs me the wrong way.  I'm still wondering why I can appreciate Touga and not her.

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#28 | Back to Top04-19-2010 07:18:55 PM

OnlyInThisLight
KING OF ALL DUCKS
Registered: 01-15-2008
Posts: 4412

Re: Who's Your Least Favorite Character?

jmie5 wrote:

I feel bad for saying that Shiori is definitely my least favorite character; someone once eloquently posted why she's valuable, a long time ago, but I just, she rubs me the wrong way.  I'm still wondering why I can appreciate Touga and not her.

There was actually an entire thread once discussing why we forgive some characters their flaws and not others, mostly concerning double standards with gender.  I can't remember where it is, but I believe it was called "The Prince and the Whore."  It focused more on Touga and Kozue, but it was also very insightful on a broader scale.

Actually, I've been meaning to start a discussion thread of my own, where we swap the genders of each character and determine if that would change our perception of them.  Like, what if Ruka had been a girl?

Last edited by OnlyInThisLight (09-17-2011 09:01:32 PM)

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#29 | Back to Top04-24-2010 07:24:25 PM

iluvmichaeljackson
Wakaba Wrangler
From: US
Registered: 04-24-2010
Posts: 11
Website

Re: Who's Your Least Favorite Character?

Wakaba. She's too um, well, annoying. Honestly speaking, I think I can tolerate/relate to Chu-Chu more than I can to Wakaba.

She's too much of a stereotypical teenage girl. I find it very hard to believe that anyone in real life is like that. :/

I do like her, as I like all the characters in the series (yes, even Akio). I just think that, in the spectrum of favourite SKU characters, Wakaba comes in dead last, followed by her sweet Onion Prince. He didn't get her spot because, well, I like onions. emot-smile


I am an imaginary living body come to its end.

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#30 | Back to Top04-24-2010 09:07:06 PM

Malacoda
Sunlit Gardener (Finale)
Registered: 07-26-2009
Posts: 180

Re: Who's Your Least Favorite Character?

My least favorite character (outside of the undevolved minor characters such as the BHB) is Saionji. I simply cannot relate to him.

iluvmichaeljackson wrote:

Wakaba. She's too um, well, annoying. Honestly speaking, I think I can tolerate/relate to Chu-Chu more than I can to Wakaba.

She's too much of a stereotypical teenage girl. I find it very hard to believe that anyone in real life is like that. :/

I have to politely disagree with your statement on Wakaba's personality. If anyone in the series is a typical teenage girl, it's either Nanami or Keiko. Wakaba's not petty, nor does she have superficial emotions. And Wakaba also has one of the most interesting Black Rose duels.

But I am a Wakaba fan who likes civilized debate. Feel free to disregard my comments emot-keke

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#31 | Back to Top04-25-2010 08:52:21 PM

iluvmichaeljackson
Wakaba Wrangler
From: US
Registered: 04-24-2010
Posts: 11
Website

Re: Who's Your Least Favorite Character?

Malacoda wrote:

I have to politely disagree with your statement on Wakaba's personality. If anyone in the series is a typical teenage girl, it's either Nanami or Keiko. Wakaba's not petty, nor does she have superficial emotions. And Wakaba also has one of the most interesting Black Rose duels.

But I am a Wakaba fan who likes civilized debate. Feel free to disregard my comments emot-keke

Well, I like Wakaba, but she is definitely more typical than Nanami. Nanami and Keiko are what most teenage girls aspire to be (sad but true), more of an ideal than a stereotype (especially Nanami). I would say Keiko, on her own, is pretty "typical" as well, but Nanami, no way!

Wakaba is not "pretty" but she's pretty boring, and she is (I hate to put it in these terms but I think it's a good match) the "Meg" of the story if SKU was Family Guy. xD
She's basically, in my opinion, like every teenage girl protagonist in those boring tween movies everyone knows and dislikes: boring and always wanting to fit in or be noticed in some way but knowing full well that this will never happen. Wakaba's advantage over them is that she is terribly cute.

Even though she's my least favourite, I couldn't imagine SKU without her. Or Chu-Chu. I do love Wakaba's lunches though. They're super-cute. x3

I don't think anyone in SKU has superficial emotions. Maybe Chu-Chu lol. No, but not even the "schmoe" characters like Wakaba and Keiko can be deemed "superficial" IMO.

Nanami and her brother-love can hardly be deemed "typical". -giggles-

Don't get me wrong, though. I do love Wakaba (and her duel song is one of my favourites, earning its place on my iPod along with Juri's, Nanami's, and Kozue's duels, among others). I just don't like Wakaba as much as I love the rest of them. Juri and Nanami are my favourites. Hee. :3


I am an imaginary living body come to its end.

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#32 | Back to Top04-25-2010 09:07:31 PM

Prince_of_Stars
Someday Shiner
From: The Hellsing Organization
Registered: 06-12-2008
Posts: 4165
Website

Re: Who's Your Least Favorite Character?

Miki. I wish the guy had balls. Akio too. He's just too full of himself and his abilities, and his extreme cowardice makes me want to full out slug him.

Last edited by Prince_of_Stars (04-25-2010 09:08:27 PM)


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Sir Hellsing: Leader of the Feminine Failure Revolution
Faithfully failing at feminine tasks, gender roles, and the conventionality of femininity since 1990.

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#33 | Back to Top04-26-2010 04:10:00 PM

Melancholic_Soul
Dancer Romancer
From: VA
Registered: 04-28-2009
Posts: 1514

Re: Who's Your Least Favorite Character?

My least favorite character is probably Movie!Saionji. He seems so much more pretentious and egotistical than anime!Saionji or even Manga!Saionji (who is possibly my next least favorite chara) Also I'm not a big fan of anime!Dios, but I do like to stare at Manga!Dios...it's always the tall,dark, and handsome guys isn't it?


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v476/anthy_utena/rukasan.gif Believing in the power of Love and Justice since 1999
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#34 | Back to Top04-26-2010 04:57:26 PM

Grell Sutcliff
Saionji Slapper
From: Keene, NH
Registered: 04-26-2010
Posts: 25
Website

Re: Who's Your Least Favorite Character?

My least favourite character in the series has got to be Shiori, hands down.
Her inferiority complex just annoys me, especially how she hides it by tormenting people and being downright manipulative. Granted that Juri is throwing herself down a vortex of insanity and mental torture by still associating herself with Shiori by still caring and wanting to protect her, it makes me want to shout at the TV/Computer when Juri still loves such a horrid character. Don't get me wrong, I love Juri, but how could anyone appreciate Shiori? I know (and respect) there are other people who like her, but, for me, she was the main character in the series that rubbed me the wrong way no matter ho sweet she acted. She is even more annoying in the movie.


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~To Whom The Black Rose Weeps~

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#35 | Back to Top05-02-2010 10:59:26 PM

76089172
Saionji Slapper
From: sacramento
Registered: 04-25-2010
Posts: 26

Re: Who's Your Least Favorite Character?

That Onion King does the trick for me...  Even in a series with three-and-a-half recap episodes, somehow Prince Onion manages to stand out as the most thorough waste of time.

That's the kind of guy that bothers me most in real life, too.  He's so busy deciding what he's entitled to next that he'll never come close to considering whether or not he deserves anything in life at all.

I love Nanami, Wakaba, pretty much everyone else..  But not him.


don't think twice

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#36 | Back to Top05-05-2010 09:12:42 PM

chrisb
Eternal Eschatologist
From: Tx,USA
Registered: 01-18-2010
Posts: 956

Re: Who's Your Least Favorite Character?

My least favorite is Touga. He pretty much adds nothing to the show and turns Utena into a total idiot when he's not even worth it. He doesn't seem to have much depth and he isn't as extreme as the other characters. He's more of a subtle dick with a lil kindness in all his douchiness.


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#37 | Back to Top05-05-2010 11:30:43 PM

haelsyx
Caretaker
From: sunlit state
Registered: 10-09-2009
Posts: 211
Website

Re: Who's Your Least Favorite Character?

Recently I've begun to get frustrated at most of Touga's lines in the first arc, especially when he's with Utena because I can't believe she's falling for it. Of course this is what comes from compulsively re-watching the series for the third or fourth time.
Oddly enough, I don't mind him so much in the last two arcs, even when he's mind screwing with Nanami, [maybe I just don't like Nanami?].


{livejournal} {youtube}
Its an odd thing, but anyone who disappears is said to be in San Francisco-Oscar Wilde.
Anyone get the feeling finding Utena is going to be a lot like where in the world is Carmen San Diego?

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#38 | Back to Top05-06-2010 04:51:00 AM

Tamago
God of Comedy
From: Minami Goushuu
Registered: 10-17-2006
Posts: 14280
Website

Re: Who's Your Least Favorite Character?

If I have to pick a character I dislike in Utena, it would have to be Miki's sleezy piano teacher, I'm glad that Kozue pushed him down the stairs.

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#39 | Back to Top05-06-2010 06:17:56 AM

Alexa
Anthy Assailer
Registered: 12-13-2006
Posts: 74

Re: Who's Your Least Favorite Character?

I don't have any characters I dislike; just ones I don't find that interesting. 

So... Mitsuru.  He's kinda "blah," to me.

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#40 | Back to Top05-07-2010 12:46:14 AM

haelsyx
Caretaker
From: sunlit state
Registered: 10-09-2009
Posts: 211
Website

Re: Who's Your Least Favorite Character?

Tamago wrote:

If I have to pick a character I dislike in Utena, it would have to be Miki's sleezy piano teacher, I'm glad that Kozue pushed him down the stairs.

Word. emot-dance
Also the sleazy vice principal with the thing for girls in short skirts. school-devil


{livejournal} {youtube}
Its an odd thing, but anyone who disappears is said to be in San Francisco-Oscar Wilde.
Anyone get the feeling finding Utena is going to be a lot like where in the world is Carmen San Diego?

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#41 | Back to Top05-19-2010 09:42:09 AM

Zabel Z
Ohtori Paramouri
From: Brazil
Registered: 05-18-2010
Posts: 91

Re: Who's Your Least Favorite Character?

Chuchu. That monkey/mouse thing is surely annoying [Saionji mode off]

AND Miki. I mean, he makes me yawn...


Damm kids, get out of my lawn!!!

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#42 | Back to Top05-27-2010 10:36:37 PM

YostinAust
Pathtracer
From: Tallahassee, Florida
Registered: 04-02-2009
Posts: 352

Re: Who's Your Least Favorite Character?

Well, its not like I really hate any of the characters, but I do have some problems with a few.

Ruka - what the fuck is he doing in this series? He's in and out in under two episodes. And he doesn't even have a distinctive personality. He's just Touga, except maybe a bit less of a douche.

Saionji - hilarious when played for laughs, but just stupid if you try and take him seriously. He's just so over the top and brutish that its often impossible to think of him as having any depth.

Juri - all she does is kick utena's ass, have a deep voice, and angst over being a lesbian. I'm sorry, but she's the one character whose problems simply don't make any sense. Touga wants power, saionji wants love, but juri has problems because she didn't get the memo that everyone is bi in this series.


"In this age, the mere example of non-conformity, the mere refusal to bend the knee to custom, is itself a service"
     - John Stuart Mill, On Liberty

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#43 | Back to Top05-28-2010 06:16:23 AM

Neva Caruso
Tenjou Tilter
Registered: 03-10-2008
Posts: 87

Re: Who's Your Least Favorite Character?

YostinAust wrote:

Well, its not like I really hate any of the characters, but I do have some problems with a few.

Ruka - what the fuck is he doing in this series? He's in and out in under two episodes. And he doesn't even have a distinctive personality. He's just Touga, except maybe a bit less of a douche.

Saionji - hilarious when played for laughs, but just stupid if you try and take him seriously. He's just so over the top and brutish that its often impossible to think of him as having any depth.

Juri - all she does is kick utena's ass, have a deep voice, and angst over being a lesbian. I'm sorry, but she's the one character whose problems simply don't make any sense. Touga wants power, saionji wants love, but juri has problems because she didn't get the memo that everyone is bi in this series.

All of the Duelists are trying to capture or recapture something unattainable, often something that they believe they've lost.  To my mind, Juri's issues had less to do with her being a lesbian (though the fact that the object of her affection was another girl probably gave her incentive to keep her crush a secret) than the fact that she was desperately, obsessively in love with someone who had treated her badly, resulting in a holding pattern of self-loathing and self-absorption from which she was unable to move forward (and which probably kept her from noticing or caring about anyone else's love life, hence "not getting the memo").  She knew that fixating upon Shiori, or at least the ideal of Shiori, was not good for her, but she couldn't stop herself.

This is, of course, just my opinion.  You don't have to like Juri.  She certainly doesn't always make it easy.  But her problems do make sense within the context of the story.

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#44 | Back to Top05-31-2010 08:12:52 PM

YostinAust
Pathtracer
From: Tallahassee, Florida
Registered: 04-02-2009
Posts: 352

Re: Who's Your Least Favorite Character?

Wow, I hadn't thought about it that way. When watching the series, I tended to focus so much on utena and anthy so much that I guess I neglected some of the other characters. There's so much symbolism and so much going on its hard to take it all in, you know?


"In this age, the mere example of non-conformity, the mere refusal to bend the knee to custom, is itself a service"
     - John Stuart Mill, On Liberty

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#45 | Back to Top06-02-2010 12:26:34 AM

Ruggahissy
Ballgoer
Registered: 10-26-2009
Posts: 148

Re: Who's Your Least Favorite Character?

My opinion of the characters is always changing. I used to like Touga and majorly dislike Siaonji but with time my opinion of Saionji has improved while my opinion of Touga has gone down. I used to think Miki was just such a cutey but now I find him just a 'lil creepy (but he's still a cutey). My least favorite is propably Touga, but he's such a hilarious dick that I can't stay mad at him too long.

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#46 | Back to Top06-02-2010 01:08:41 AM

PrettyPeopleWithSwords
Rose Smilee
Registered: 05-26-2010
Posts: 131

Re: Who's Your Least Favorite Character?

I'm due for a rewatch but based on what I remember . . .

Nanami - Annoying, not funny, kills a kitten.

Shiori - THAT VOICE, smug as fuck.

Kozue - Like Shiori, her smugness gets irritating.

Juri - . . . I'm not sure, I guess I just hate how everyone thinks she's Little Miss Perfect when she's basically just a really cold twisted person whose only redeeming qualities are superficial things like her fencing abilities and her . . . hotness (even though she has the same ridiculous figure as every other girl in the show)?

Oops I apparently hate almost all the female characters in the show . . . honestly every character is very flawed and pretty unlikeable in a lot of ways. But of course those flaws make the show.

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#47 | Back to Top06-02-2010 10:28:32 PM

Nebula
Miki Molester
Registered: 06-01-2010
Posts: 39

Re: Who's Your Least Favorite Character?

I'd have to say Ruka, hands down.  His appearance in the anime seemed really awkward to me.  He came in out of the blue, more or less took aped Touga's act (manipulation, having the ladies swoon over him), and broke Shiori in a single episode; granted, the girl's far from emotionally stable, the setup for it was incredibly rushed.  In fact, everything about him was rushed.  If he had been developed more beforehand, or given stronger connections to what was all ready established in the series, I would've liked him more, but as it stands he just gave off irritating Gary Stu vibes.

...plus, I was stuck with the dub the first time I watched the series.  So on top of that, I had to deal with his obnoxious fake British accent, too.

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#48 | Back to Top06-03-2010 03:09:52 AM

OnlyInThisLight
KING OF ALL DUCKS
Registered: 01-15-2008
Posts: 4412

Re: Who's Your Least Favorite Character?

Ruggahissy wrote:

My opinion of the characters is always changing. I used to like Touga and majorly dislike Siaonji but with time my opinion of Saionji has improved while my opinion of Touga has gone down. I used to think Miki was just such a cutey but now I find him just a 'lil creepy (but he's still a cutey). My least favorite is propably Touga, but he's such a hilarious dick that I can't stay mad at him too long.

Are you me?

Because that's pretty much how I feel about said characters.  I hate what Touga does in the series, and I hate what certain rose-colored glasses fans make him out to be more, but damn if he isn't fun to watch and analyze just as much as the other characters.  So in weird way, I prefer his bastard-series self over his plot device princely movie self. 

And the first time I watched the series, no lie, I was terrified of Saionji.  I actually got a little queasy with nerves every time I saw him on screen or around Anthy, because dear god the bad shit is about to happen vibes were fierce. 

I first brushed off Miki as a cutieface who wasn't shallow by any means, but whose analytical weight was more or less carried by his sister.   I've since learned this isn't true, but at the cost of Miki's cuteness.  Now I can't help but hone in on that tiny, hard-to-place, quiet bit of selfishness and malice of his every time I see a shot of him in the series or even in the Let's Play thread showcasing how adorable he is.

emot-gonkemot-gonkemot-gonk

I'd like to think that SKU had a particularly strong effect on me because I fell for its every trap when I first watched it, because I didn't quite 'get' it.   I assumed it was a friendly little mildy exploitative ambiguous lesbian romp, that Anthy was so meek it was tiring, and that Shiori was da devil.  I misread every character, I never saw a single plot twist coming, and I learned a whole helluva lot as a result.

Last edited by OnlyInThisLight (06-03-2010 03:11:15 AM)

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#49 | Back to Top06-03-2010 07:38:30 AM

Neva Caruso
Tenjou Tilter
Registered: 03-10-2008
Posts: 87

Re: Who's Your Least Favorite Character?

Nebula wrote:

I'd have to say Ruka, hands down.  His appearance in the anime seemed really awkward to me.  He came in out of the blue, more or less took aped Touga's act (manipulation, having the ladies swoon over him), and broke Shiori in a single episode; granted, the girl's far from emotionally stable, the setup for it was incredibly rushed.  In fact, everything about him was rushed.  If he had been developed more beforehand, or given stronger connections to what was all ready established in the series, I would've liked him more, but as it stands he just gave off irritating Gary Stu vibes.

Heh.  Viewers are perfectly within their rights to find Ruka irritating, or his actions objectionable (because a lot of them are objectionable), or think that his story line was rushed.  I think he's an interesting character, since he tries and fails to be Juri's "prince" in the same way that Utena eventually succeeds in becoming Anthy's, but I certainly see why a lot of other viewers don't like him, and it's a lot harder to defend him as an important character than it is to defend, say, Juri as one.

I would not, however, call him a Gary Stu, simply because his story is so self-contained.  If he'd appeared on the scene with his sex appeal and manipulation and mad fencing skillz and uncanny insights into the way that Ohtori works (okay, that last part is mostly fanon), and then stayed, we'd all call no way.  The question of what qualifies a canon character as a Sue/Stu is DEFINITELY a separate (and very subjective) debate, but I think that said canon character has to completely usurp the narrative in order to be one.  And Ruka doesn't.  He has an important impact on one supporting character's arc, and it was the kind of impact that none of the other canon characters could have had, because (except for Shiori herself) none of them had a close relationship with her.  (And the long-term effects of his machinations are never spelled out, other than a couple of hints at the end of the last episode; we're left to freely interpret them for ourselves.)

I'll allow that his sudden appearance was jarring.  A couple of flashbacks in previous episodes would have made it less so.

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#50 | Back to Top06-03-2010 01:38:14 PM

Nebula
Miki Molester
Registered: 06-01-2010
Posts: 39

Re: Who's Your Least Favorite Character?

Neva Caruso wrote:

Heh.  Viewers are perfectly within their rights to find Ruka irritating, or his actions objectionable (because a lot of them are objectionable), or think that his story line was rushed.  I think he's an interesting character, since he tries and fails to be Juri's "prince" in the same way that Utena eventually succeeds in becoming Anthy's, but I certainly see why a lot of other viewers don't like him, and it's a lot harder to defend him as an important character than it is to defend, say, Juri as one.

I would not, however, call him a Gary Stu, simply because his story is so self-contained.  If he'd appeared on the scene with his sex appeal and manipulation and mad fencing skillz and uncanny insights into the way that Ohtori works (okay, that last part is mostly fanon), and then stayed, we'd all call no way.  The question of what qualifies a canon character as a Sue/Stu is DEFINITELY a separate (and very subjective) debate, but I think that said canon character has to completely usurp the narrative in order to be one.  And Ruka doesn't.  He has an important impact on one supporting character's arc, and it was the kind of impact that none of the other canon characters could have had, because (except for Shiori herself) none of them had a close relationship with her.  (And the long-term effects of his machinations are never spelled out, other than a couple of hints at the end of the last episode; we're left to freely interpret them for ourselves.)

I'll allow that his sudden appearance was jarring.  A couple of flashbacks in previous episodes would have made it less so.

The Gary Stu comment was based on my first impression of him.  Like I said earlier, he entered the show with surprising ease and very little buildup, which is something that a lot of Sues and Stus do.  Even though I know how his mini-arc turned out, the initial dislike still lingers on.  Still, I admit that calling him a Gary Stu is too harsh, and you raise a very good point about how self-contained his story was.  Despite his clumsy entrance, he didn't really have an impact on Ohtori beyond Juri and Shiori, while an actual Sue/Stu would have done a lot more during their stay.  As for the aforementioned fangirls ...now that I think about it, the fangirl masses have swooned over every major duelist except for Nanami.  Squee over Ruka isn't really out of place in retrospect.

Also, since you're a Ruka fan, I have a question: I haven't read Ruka's arc in the manga, but everything I've heard about it makes his appearance sound more natural than it was in the anime.  Do you know anything about the differences between the two?

Last edited by Nebula (06-03-2010 01:39:09 PM)

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