Maurox said: No, I dislike Chihiro because she lacks ANYTHING to set her aside from the rest of the cast. Even her charadesign is dull. Other girls have actual characters, some special feature that makes them unique.
Chihiro is unique because she has nothing to make her unique.
Because what? She likes guys. Oh wow, most girls probably like guys. She likes music. And not in the "OK, we're making a band and we're going to ROCK!" way, but rather the "OK, let's do some music, girls. OK. After school. Yeah. Yeah. Bye."... WHY THE HELL SHOULD I LIKE HER? Name one trait of hers that makes her a likable character.
Going for this kind of character (when the manga has been hammering into our heads that reality sucks) is a slap to my face TBH.
I've seen too many Harem RomComs ending with main character choosing the worst possible character out of the bunch, and Kaminomi had so many great characters - I said to my friend once that I'm kinda pissed at the manga because there are so many nice charadesigns and personalities that are wasted because it's obviously impossible to make a harem end here - and out of all those characters (like... what? 20? ) to actually manage to choose YET AGAIN the dullest and the least interesting character...
Sometimes I feel like they are doing this out of spite.
Though I still could be wrong, and I pray to Keima that it is so.
So, is a character good just if he/she can be stereotyped in an archetype?
Ayumi the sportive type, Shiori the library girl, Kanon the idol, etc...
Yeah, those girls could be the main heroines in a galge, because they have some prominent qualities that you can find in games heroines.
However Chihiro is special exactly because she can't be stereotyped in that way by Keima, who called her "a mob character" for this reason. But this is also the reason why she's always been the most unpredictable and complicated girl to him. He can't predict her behaviours, and this makes their relation very exciting. In fact, she made Keima very depressed during her first arc, and she made him depressed again now. Her actions have always a strong emotional impact on him.
Despite to be apparently a minor character, just because Keima, according to his game logic, called her like that, she's always been a main character, and her characterization is very rich and interesting.
She thinks that she has not any special skills, so she suffers for this reason.
She lacks of self confidence, so she thought that she could "shine" if she went out with popular guys. Yeah, I understand that attitude can be very unlikable for a male reader, but I'm a girl, and I don't care if a female character is not "pure"...
Anyway, she wasn't happy with that lifestyle, and she didn't really like those guys.
Later, she understood that she must improve herself through her personal efforts, without relying on other persons, even if she hasn't any special skills, like instead Ayumi and Kanon have. So, she created her band.
Her character development has been amazing: she accepted also her feelings for Keima, because even if he is the worst weirdo in the school, she understood that reputation is a stupid thing compared to true love, and she tried to get close to him.
Her relation with Keima is wonderful, because when they are together, he is simply himself...he doesn't wear a mask like he does with Ayumi and other girls.
Yeah, he lies also to Chihiro, but with her, he doesn't change his personality...He doesn't tell her some fake and corny lines like "I'll be your shadow", like he tells Ayumi; with Chihiro, he acts very natural. He is often very romantic with other girls, but not with Chihiro, and I like this. :D I know it, you could think it's weird what I'm saying, but I dislike Keima's corninesses. ^^"
Finally, Chihiro is very cute, in my opinion. I love her tomboysh hairstyle, her funny expressions, her sarcastic smiles, her casual clothes...Her look is very unique to me. But also if she wasn't very pretty, what would be wrong with it? I think it's great that in a shonen manga you can find also normal looking girls, and not only sexy and beautiful types.
I repeat, I'm female and I can relate to Chihiro really well, because I think she is very realistic and complex, behind her apparent "plainness".
She isn't your typical bishojo in harem manga, but she is special exactly for this reason.
Finally, in my opinion this manga's aim isn't the one to show that reality SUCKS. It's really the opposite. Keima is growing up and learning to accept and appreciate reality. |