How would you rate this character overall?
10
11.9%
7
9
16.9%
10
8
13.6%
8
7
22.0%
13
6
10.2%
6
5
1.7%
1
4
1.7%
1
3
1.7%
1
2
0.0%
0
1
0.0%
0
I don't know this character
20.3%
12
59 votes
kasumisama said: Splitter said: Personally, I think Sagara's shining moment was the end of TSR. If you haven't seen TSR and you're judging Sagara, I don't think you have the right personally. TSR spoilers It's Sagara's humanity in full bloom. His complete evolution from military-phile (a status that isn't without warrant. If I grew up in guerilla warfare, I'd imagine it's possible I'd become that kind of person) to functional human being. I guess this goes to show that one man's shining moment is another's facepalm inducing cheese. Emotional scenes out of nowhere were totally unconvincing to me, so I couldn't rate FMP: TSR well. What do you mean by emotional scenes out of nowhere? I am confused as to what you saw as unexplained or unjustified emotional cheese? |
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| Sousuke is definitely an interesting character. However, what makes him stand out from the other characters is his naivety in real-life manners and his military reasoning that puts him into hilarious situations. He's a rather tough character when you consider his childhood and how he grew up in combat, but it does explain his serious attitude and lack of a normal lifestyle. |
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| I didn't see or read enough to feel that I could really give this a full vote, but I think I would stand where I decided given time. I did like his character overall, but I don't really think it is up to par for the club, although I may be completely off on this. |
8GaugeBrett said: kasumisama said: Splitter said: Personally, I think Sagara's shining moment was the end of TSR. If you haven't seen TSR and you're judging Sagara, I don't think you have the right personally. TSR spoilers It's Sagara's humanity in full bloom. His complete evolution from military-phile (a status that isn't without warrant. If I grew up in guerilla warfare, I'd imagine it's possible I'd become that kind of person) to functional human being. I guess this goes to show that one man's shining moment is another's facepalm inducing cheese. Emotional scenes out of nowhere were totally unconvincing to me, so I couldn't rate FMP: TSR well. What do you mean by emotional scenes out of nowhere? I am confused as to what you saw as unexplained or unjustified emotional cheese? I'm assuming kasumisama is referring to TSR being considerably more drama and emotionally oriented than its predecessors. In which case, I strongly have to disagree with you, at least in the case of FMP:TSR. Although some anime rely on melodrama almost as a crutch, TSR does a good job namely because of a considerable increase in character the development, that was blatantly missing from fumoffu. Not that fumoffu was bad, I just don't consider fumoffu to be a necessity in the FMP canon. In any case, I can understand your views on this entirely. I do remember anime that have an almost overbearing amount of dramatic sequences that overly tries to provoke an emotional response within the viewer. Sometimes it doesn't work of course, but in the case of TSR, I think an increase in emotional tension was a necessity to flesh out Souske's character more from being a taciturn soldier, into more of a relateable human being. Souske seems to deviate from the stereotypical male lead which is already and indication that his character is more than your typical harem male lead. In my opinion, the ability for a viewer to relate with the hamartia and strength of an anime character truly make a character "great." In which case, Souske fit's the bill perfectly. |
| Sousuke... where, oh where, to start? I guess it would be appropriate to start at the very beginning with a History Lesson of the events that happen prior to the main FMP story. According to a document seen in the first season of the FMP anime Sousuke was born 7/7/1984, however this has not been confirmed and is still considered debatable. He is of Japanese decent, but has no clear nationality and his parents identities are unknown and they are assumed to be deceased. At the age of three Sousuke was the soul survivor of a crashed Japanese airliner and was rescued by Andrei Kalinin who, at the time, was the leader of a Soviet Spetnaz team. After being rescued Sousuke was put into the Soviet state child care system and later was placed in the KGB training program designed to create child soldiers. At approximately 8 years of age he was trained as an assassin and was sent to Afghanistan to assassinate General Majhid. He failed his mission and was instead adopted by the very man he was sent to kill who renamed him "Kashim". From then on he was trained in guerrilla warfare and fought as an insurgent against the invading Soviet forces. Early on in the war Sousuke was captured by Kalinin's forces and they were reunited for the first time. Soon after, Kalinin decided to desert the Soviet army and take Sousuke under his wing. He put Sousuke though specialized Spetnaz training from which Sousuke learned Japanese as well as some Russian. At approximately age 10 Sousuke began using captured and rebuilt Soviet AS's like the Rk-89,91, and 92 models to continue fighting against the ever growing Soviet presence in Afganistan. He quickly became proficient at piloting these weapon systems, but the Soviet forces eventually overwhelmed and crushed the last of the Afghani resistance forcing Sousuke to escape the country with Kalinin. Shortly after arriving in Cambodia Sousuke and Kalinin were once again seperated and for the next 5 years Sousuke lived on as a mercenary fighting in regional conflicts and most notably the "Fifth Middle East War". He built a solid reputation as a soldier during this period, gained a group of friends, and was eventually scouted by Melissa Mao to become a Mithril Operative. He is made part of the SRT and is trained to operate the M9 Gernsback as the team's pointman. End History Lesson I'll be back in a few hours when I've finished writing my actual character review and break down. LoL. |
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| @aarons016 You mentioned that Sousuke needed to talk more, or relay his feelings passively. My question to you is how would that be achieved when you take his personal history into account? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I mentioned in my earlier post that Sousuke suffers from a type of trauma. 8Gauges history lesson, plus what is already evident in the series, is proof of that. As a child he was thrown into a situation that none of us can imagine - having to kill, having to maintain control of his emotions, having to watch the people he knew or cared about get killed, having to survive using his training and his wits, and most of all, never really being sure who was his friend and who was his enemy. Now imagine you had that kind of upbringing. Would you be able to relate to people easily? Or talk? Or relay your emotions passively? I wouldn't bet on it. Sousuke's fall back position is his training simply because it's kept him alive when all else has failed. Yes, he is human, but that doesn't mean that he's going to behave the way you want him to behave. Sousuke's personality changes are revealed not in his actions, but in his reactions, and this is prominently shown in The Wind That Blows at Home, and throughout TSR. His reaction to losing Kaname in TSR is proof of that, as the normally taciturn Sousuke goes off the rails and abandons his duty - I'd say that was definite proof of a major personality change, especially for someone who has lived by his training for so long. It's not simply "a glimpse of those latent thoughts and feelings" as aarons016 puts it, but a major shift in how he views the world and himself. If this isn't the case, then I hope someone can explain why a character who has survived for so long because of his faith in his training would suddenly give up everything he knows? Or maybe you can answer why someone who has obeyed orders for so long would suddenly stop listening? I think one of the main problems with TSR is simply the fact that everyone who watched FMP and Fumoffu expected Sousuke to continue in his semi serious/semi comedic manner. When they got drama, action and character development, they automatically closed their minds to everything that was going on because the character that they were so used to had evolved, and they weren't ready for it. One of the other problems is simply that many people, when critiquing a character, never ask themselves "Given the characters history, personality, actions, reactions, surroundings, and acquaintances, how would I react in that situation?". Of those that do ask that question, only the minority will be objective about the answer. One final point. A lot of people I've spoken to about FMP, Fumoffu and TSR have mentioned that they wanted Sousuke to open up to Kaname. Imagine the kind of things Sousuke has seen and done. Would he really want to tell the person he cares about the most all of that, and risk her being afraid of him, or pitying him, or hating him? If any of us were in that position, I doubt we'd do any different (this is what I mean by putting yourself in the characters shoes). The more realistic a character is, the more able you are to imagine a given scenario in relation to yourself. In the more serious episodes (and indeed, in many of the comedy moments as well), Sousuke's character is very realistic in his behaviour, actions, and reactions. |
ArchaeonApr 10, 2008 8:43 PM
| What a day! What a lovely Day! |
| While I can't really give any detailed opinions on Sousuke's character since I've only seen Fumoffu, I think I might comment on the nature of character development. I think there are two types of character development: one is what most of you probably think of; the character in the series develops and grows over time. The other is that the viewer develops which causes pseudo character development since you view all his previous actions in a different light. It is possible to have both types of character development operating simultanously as well. I would say Guts from Berserk is a good example of this. His character (in the present) develops in the traditional sense, but our perception of his character develops as well after the flashback fills in the background. It seems to me like Sousuke's character may be developed more through the second method I mentioned. If that's the case, then I don't know if it's very fair to judge him with a standard only meant for the traditional method. |
| Post Forward - Most of what I will write is not based purely on opinion or frivolous speculation, but in reference to actual internal character monolog that you are only aware of after reading the Novels. Since we are discussing a character and not the anime or manga specifically, I believe that it is fair to use the original source to shed light on elements that were overlooked in the secondary adaptations. Season one breakdown: Ok, lets get down to the character analysis. Sousuke, as you can tell from his history, is a character that comes from a world that is almost impossible for most of us to even imagine, let alone understand. Instead of box cars and legos, he played with AK's and live grenades. Instead of being read bed time stories, he was read field training manuals. Instead of loving parents he had drill sergeants and combat instructors. He was taught how to do nothing except to eat, sleep, and breathe war. I think it would be fair to say that he knew more about death at age 10 then most people know about life at age 20. The only things he was given to support him though the hell that was his childhood were order and routine. Order and routine are what honed his instincts and kept him alive in the most deadly environments. They are what kept him sane as he lost comrade after comrade, some of whom he claims died in his very arms. They are what made him into the perfect weapon, an unflinching machine, with "the eyes of a God damn Saint." But all of it, the order, the routine, the training, and especially his instincts... all of it becomes useless the minute he is placed in a normal social environment and he is completely and utterly powerless. This is why Sousuke is so absolutely hilarious to watch during the first season of FMP and Fumoffu. It is also why most viewers completely miss the slow, but monumental growth of his character throughout the first season of the anime. I partially blame Gonzo for their heavy handed handling of the source material which they milked dry of its high octane action, but ultimately failed to provide much else. Still they did manage to do a few things right in regards to characterization that helped to display the real Sousuke underneath the generalizations we've come to associate with his character. In the first season during his fight with Gauron in episode 7 Sousuke says something most peculiar and it has been forever been etched into my memory as some of the most awkward lines ever uttered by a protagonist. Chidori, trying to draw out more fighting spirit from Sousuke, cries out to him and asks him to imagine what will happen to her if he loses this fight. Kaname: "If you lose, they will rip off all my clothes, play around with my body, and kill me... You'd hate that right?" Sousuke: "Yeah..." Kaname: "Does that make you angry?" Sousuke: "I guess..." Most people would look over this and probably not think much of it. But honestly, who would ever respond so indifferently and unemotionally to mental imagery like that? The protagonist isn't supposed to sheepishly say "I guess" to something like that, he's supposed to declare with a loud and bold voice, "Hell yeah I'd be pissed!". However since he doesn't respond in such a manner, I think this comes to say a LOT about Sousuke's psychological state. Certainly he has seen many terribly gruesome things already in his life and by now he is surely desensitized to things like the ones she asks him to imagine, but for some reason this time it's different and for reasons unbeknownst to him he becomes upset. I believe his choice of words reflects this internal confusion and proves that he is beginning to change. Then immediately afterward Sousuke does something which gives my speculation some real tangible evidence. For a few moments he actually manages to ignore his instincts and internal programming when he chooses to follow Chidori's advice in the middle of the battle. He closes his eyes in front of his advancing enemy, he throws out the science and logic that tells him it's impossible, and he entrusts his life to someone who he's barely known for a month and is tantamount to a stranger. Of course it all pays off in the end, but this is something that really supports my claims. Then in the next arc we get to see something that makes his character become even more believably human. During the hostage exchange situation at the school Sousuke ignores both emotion and procedural protocol when he calmly and coolly selects the release order based on the which would provide the highest chance of everyone's survival. Even though disobeying the the standard protocols is out of the ordinary of Sousuke, I still feel that his behavior here demonstrates that he has lapsed back into the old habit of basing his strategies solely on his own instinct and real-time situational logic. In the final arc of the first anime season we see the results of this back and forth of this internal struggle begin to bloom. For the first time, we watch Sousuke fail to activate the LD in combat against Venom. This failure nearly gets both himself and Mellisa killed and also sows the seeds of self doubt in Sousuke's metal psyche. For the first time, he begins to see the Arbalest as a detestable and faulty weapon that has been unwillingly thrust upon him. It's here that we first catch a glimpse of the the tight wrappings of order, routine, logic, and instinct beginning to loosen and reveal his character's fragile inner core. He falls into a deep depression and when Kaname attempts to console him he just snaps and berates her. In the end he still manages to make things right and save the day, but the underlying problems go resolved and fester until they finally erupt in the second raid. (On a side note... You may have noticed that I have completely skipped over the "Wind Blows at Home" arc in my character analysis. I have two reasons for this: 1) because so many others here have already talked passionately about it and 2) Because it is actually an anime original arc. I find the fact that Gonzo does it's best work revealing Sousuke's original nature in what technically amount to 3 filler episodes incredibly ironic. None-the-less I am still grateful that they made them because otherwise, just about everyone here would have written Sousuke off as nothing more than a flat one dimensional character based on his overall poor representation in the first season.) Season two (TSR) breakdown: As I have stated before, it is in TSR that we for the first time get a chance to Sousuke's character evolution brought to the forefront. KyoAni handles everything in that regard masterfully. Hell, they even made appropriate and free flowing filler for the series that was able to accentuate Sousuke's growth. The Nanking underwater tunnel episodes were more than just entertaining fillers, they were created to reiterate Sousuke's inability to properly operate the Arbalest and his growing hatred of the machine. But enough about the filler, lets get into the meat of the story. Episode 6 is probably the single most important episode in all of the FMP anime to date. Sousuke voluntarily subjects himself to a social test by allowing Kaname and Kyoko to take him to a hair salon. His very comedic failure of this test is not what is important, but what is important is the fact that for the first time he has willingly put himself in an extremely uncomfortable and (at least in his eyes) potentially deadly situation without first receiving orders to do so. Then immediately afterwards he continues this display of irrational behavior when, for probably the first time in his life, he finds himself completely relaxed while defenseless in the care of another person. He even momentarily succumbs to fatigue and is able to fall asleep right in front of her. He doesn't fully understand why, but it becomes clear that he has become dependent on Chidori for his internal stability. This is why his character undergoes a complete and violent meltdown when his mission to guard her is aborted. But what is most confusing and what Sousuke can't figure out is why he has become like this. Never before has he been so affected by something that amount to nothing more than a mission objective. His character then proceeds to completely unravel. He is made to feel guilty after being berated by Tessa for questioning his reassignment. His pride is crushed when he is utterly defeated by Clouseau in an AS battle to protect the honor of his fallen commander. His conversation with AL makes him feel as if even the very machine responsible for his current situation is now mocking him. The final straw is laid on by Melissa after the car accident in Hong Kong and he finally breaks. Sousuke is frustrated, confused, and feels lost in his own mind. He contemplates abandoning his life completely and traveling to the nearest waring region that might purchase his skills as a mercenary. He finds comfort in the idea of engaging in mindless continuous combat and the thought that he could very well die at any given moment just to become another statistic on the battlefield. At least then he wouldn't have to worry think about her or anyone else who he had allowed to get to close to him. But he was not able to do that just yet which is why he wonders aimlessly for hours, tries drinking alcohol for the first time, and even walks strait into a trap he knows could very well end his life. In fact, it isn't until the last few moments before he empties an entire clip into Gauron's mangled form that Sousuke completes his regression into who he used to be 5 years ago. The vicious animal that Gauron had adored had completely returned. In the novels, after learning of Kaname's death, he literally says that he doesn't give a damn if Mao, Weber, and everyone ends up dead. Then when Kaname shows up a few moments later he appears to make a complete 180 degree turn is is almost immediately back to "normal". However, this would be an inaccurate description of how he has changed. Sousuke at this point has derailed from his previous life and created his own path using his own free will. In the final scenes where he talks down to his superiors he shows us that he will no longer be an idle lapdog following orders. He will continue to complete his assigned objectives not because of he is told to do so, but because it is his CHOICE to do so. He makes it clear that from now on he is the sole master of his own destiny and he will crush anyone and anything that tries to get in his way. Afterword To me at least, all of this proves just how deep and highly evolved the character of Sousuke Sagara is and also demonstrates how much further he can progress. Which if you read the continuing novels you will certainly get to see. As of the latest novel I've read, Burning One Man Force, Sousuke has evolved into a completely new character and his growth is truly amazing. He has actually been able to rid himself of his fragilities, while at the same time expanding upon his humanity. He no longer demonstrates uncertainty in any of his actions. He is so assertive at times he actually comes off as a bit aggressive. And now he exudes the aura of someone who could gain the total control of any situation that he might be thrown into. So anyhow... In conclusion, I hope that maybe I've been able to shine a little light on this amazing and unfortunately under appreciated character. If by writing this I have managed to sway even a single vote in the coming polls to yes, then I will consider my work here a success. I also hope that this may lead fans to read the novel series who have not already made an effort to do so. Sagara Sousuke He is neither says much, nor demands your admiration, but he certainly deserves it. |
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