Lurv wrote:
reviewer complained about Sanetoshi's design

Sanetoshi's design is likely the only thing of value to his skin-deep villainy.  That reviewer is simply attacking a type of beauty that he himself likely has no hope of ever attaining, and secretly despairs that most real girls prefer pretty boys over chunky dudes.

lurv wrote:
and it got me thinking what the purpose was

In the Chinese school of thought that separates all things to Yin and Yang, Yin is supposed to represent darkness, cool/coldness, death, ghostly entities, secretiveness, AND femininity; so it is rare that hyper-masculine male ghosts appear in ancient Chinese folklore, as hyper-masculine males (usually men of the military) will usually became powerful demi deities post death in ghost stories.

edited to add:
In fact, it is thought that women, children, and non-masculine men (usually bookworms, the sick, and/or passive aggressive males in ghost stories,) has a higher chance of getting haunted by ghosts than virile, rough-mannered men (the "yang" reps) do.  Sanetoshi is depicted as a secretive, coldly sly ghost, him looking like a dude will so go against the Asian concept of "yin" ghostliness.

Last edited by gorgeousshutin (08-14-2012 05:08:00 PM)