Spotlight Character: Koshiro Saeki MAL Character Information Page: Koshiro Saeki MAL Favorites: 4 For the next week I would like to have everyone familiar with this character discuss what they think makes it an exceptional character. What attributes make it stand out in the ocean of interesting characters that exist in the realms of anime and manga. Unlike the other two subjects I will not force this conversation to fall into any set structure. Characters that are nominated typically get here because they are adept at breaking the existing character moulds and defying definition. Because of this freedom I encourage everyone to do their very best to stay on topic and keep any and all debate civil. Have fun and I look forward to seeing what everyone has to say about this character. RESULTS OF THE YOU DECIDE POLL Koshiro Saeki was NOT inducted into the club Character list: 7 Yes - 36.8% 12 No - 61.1% 53 Don't know this character - 70.6% of the total number polled 3 Abstained - 4.0% of the total number polled |
santetjanJun 21, 2010 2:56 PM
| You do not beg the sun for mercy. |
Koshiro said: I... I'm going to buy some condoms! Such a romantic guy... |
| So, I'm at the middle of the series. It's the most confusing thing I've ever been exposed to. And it's a good series. I want to comment two things about this character that I find very interesting. I may vote yes. The first is his design. The guy actually looks like a guy. Armhair and stuff. That is so rare in anime that I find it hard to look at him. The second his that his characterization is almost all done through the eyes of the sister. Both characters are simply generic, but I think that's what was intended. However the characterization given by the girl make this character much more than a character: make him a human being. I've never been in the portrayed situation or met anyone like this, so I don't know how exact or near to reality this could be. But so far, it seems that he's a human being. I value human beings a lot. |
 Waratte Oemashou Sore ha Chiisana Inori |
| Well I guess I can say I really dislike this guy. I think he's ugly as hell, he's a disgusting barrel-chested burly and hairy guy. I hate his beard and anyone in the IRC channel probably heard me only refer to him as 'amish guy'. I hate how he spends more time grunting like an animal than actually talking. I hate how he always seems to be lost in deep thought when honestly I think he's just remembering the time he sniffed his little sister's panties. He completely disgusts me in so many ways. His line of thinking is exactly identical to a pedophile and that's one of the things that bothered me most. When people are disgusting and perverse with fetishes, I figure meh they're weird but ok. The problem I had most with this is that he was looking at his younger sister..who's 12 years his junior..not just from the context of some newly ripe puss, but as a candidate for the most fulfilling and loving relationship he could hope for. It makes me want to puke and if I knew someone like this in real life I would honestly believe that their death would make the world a better place. That being said, I think the characterization at work here is amazing. I watched the anime rather than read the manga..and I've gotta say I'm glad because most things I hear lead me to believe the anime gave a superior portrayal of this character and story itself. Sure I am completely disgusted and repulsed by this guy, but as a character he's very well crafted and remains consistent throughout the series. All of the things I truly hate about this man are the things that make him an outstanding character. He's ugly and hairy as a man..the way so few anime men are. He's actually desiring his little sister in the context of a relationship rather than simply as a cum dumpster. He is aware of what society thinks about this sort of relationship and it pains him, but ultimately he disregards it and accepts his desires. This is great to see compared to the more generic pervert who seems unaware of how society views him. Though one thing that bothered me about this series...everyone was always like "She's my sister" or "She's your sister". I felt like there was a giant elephant in the room that nobody mentioned...that being the fact that she is only 15 and he's 27. Ultimately, I was very surprised at this character and the anime as a whole. I'm glad I watched it since it really came out of nowhere and impressed me with the quality of storytelling and even the level of symbolism involved. Great show. Disgusting..but great show...and this character played a very large part in that. |
Yuunagi said: Koshiro said: I... I'm going to buy some condoms! Such a romantic guy... Apparently, this was cut from the anime. As were a few other statements, to be replaced by something a bit more polished, and a bit more symbolic instead of simply awkward. This difference between anime and manga might play a role in how Saeki is perceived. In the manga, Saeki is, as has been mentioned before, more or less a hulking bear with an implacable look on his face and a seems to be continuously at a loss for words, often failing completely in packaging what he means in any socially accepted way. The way he phrases things, his posture and actually also the very sketchy general look in the manga, coupled to the relatively strong shadow lines that often play on his face, make him seem bumbling, awkward and somewhat of an elephant making his way through a porcelain factory, moving very carefully, but in doing so constantly wrecking things in his nervous movements. This sense is, of course, very deliberately created, as it fits with what was likely the theme of Koi Kaze: average Joe falling in love with his underage sister and really, really trying to deny it or move away from it whenever he realises that he might feel something, but that it's wrong to feel that way. It might have worked, had the plot not suddenly done a 180 and have both him and his sister throw everything they said before in the wind and end up between sweat-drenched blankets. All of a sudden, everything that came before more or less became false: where did the determination go? There was really nothing that gave rise to the ending but some sudden and inexplicable change of resolution. Perhaps, though, not really placing any weight into what the man feels or decides stems from the fact that much of Saeki's thoughts and actions could already not be taken seriously from the very beginning: here we have a man, a complete stranger, going out with some minor he doesn't know after his very colleague mentions that it might be a good thing to go out with a high schooler randomly walking by, so that he would get over his earlier break-up. This is so utterly ridiculous that nothing that came after ever could have the slightest real impact, as the world portrayed in the manga seems to be completely detached from any society known to man. This sense of detachment is only heightened by the big black hole in the plot: everything and anything that goes on only concerns the fact that the man is in love with his sister. Not once has anyone said anything in more than a joking fashion about the fact that not only there's a huge difference in age, but also that one of the two is in all respects a minor, Nanoka mentally and physically even appearing to be far younger than her stated age. The silence is perplexing. Still, those are issues more strongly pertaining to the story than to the characters, even if one might ask why the characters, too, pay so little attention to it. However, the main problem with Saeki as a character is the complete lack of anything else appearing to go on in his mind than his desire. Now, I'm not one to rule out the force of obsession in making a good character out of hand, but to have any real meaning, the obsession must be shown to influence all matters of life. In this case, the entire focus of the character remains squarely on his desire, but it does not touch anything besides his particular attraction, and even considering this attraction it never becomes clear what he wants to do with or get out of it. In the end, Saeki to my view ends up being not so much underdeveloped but underexposed, a vinyl record with the needle stuck at 'Oh my God, she's my sister!' without this thought leading to something else. I don't know what to think of this character. He could hardly be taken serious, but that's mostly the fault of the manga as a whole. The same applies to his singular focus in every thought he has. Yet for all this, the manga does an admirable job at showing his struggle with himself, so much so that at the end it isn't clear whether he won or lost said struggle. |
| You do not beg the sun for mercy. |
| He's no prince charming and he's a far cry from the generic male lead (i.e. not a teenager). I agree that the use of an average guy gives the issue more weight by making it more realistic than your typical manga dealing with incest. Which isn't that hard when most of the competition focuses on H-scenes and little else. The story even goes as far as invoking genetic sexual attraction and deliberately avoiding the Westermarck effect. However, I feel that this realism benefits of the story rather than the characters themselves. They are designed to support the situation, and nothing more. As mentioned earlier: santetjan said: However, the main problem with Saeki as a character is the complete lack of anything else appearing to go on in his mind than his desire. |
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