Thoughts on Kagome?

I'm having a bit of trouble getting a handle on Kagome's character, so I was wondering what others think about her. Do you like her, hate her, are indifferent towards her, does she remind you too muchof Akane Tendo, what? Let me know...

On an unrelated note, I must say that Yura of the Hair is one of the most appealing, attractive character designs I've seen in a long while. Pity she has such a small role...any brief, minor characters from a series you wish you could see more of?

Dex, esp. liking the shot of Yura looking down the well...^

She doesn't remind me of Akane Tendo, but she does remind me of an American stereotype of a high-strung high school girl. I don't know how 'stereotypical' it is in Japan, though. Personally, I like her. But what do I know: I like Motoko from 'Love, Hina'. :-P

I like Kagome a lot. She's spunky, handles all the weirdness she's thrown into with admirable aplomb, and doesn't take crap from anybody. Ph33r the hairspray.

She's not very much like Akane, really. She's much more a modern girl, much more confident in herself, and not really as nice.

Oh geez, tons.

Notably, but in no particular order: King Cold from DBZ, the cool little girl Kai Pirate in Outlaw Star, Anna from the Ranma 1/2 anime, Keiko Sonoda from Utena, the replacement pilot for Akito in Nadesico, Juni and Area from Street Fighter, Nazuna from Inuyasha, Remy from Slayers and Ran Fuan from Dragonball.

Uh-huh. ;p

Blade

In what way, shape, or form is Kagome even REMOTELY reminiscent of Akane?

Because the two are about as far removed from one another as possible.

If anything, I'd call her a cross between Usagi and Makoto...

I really like Kagome. I like her spirit, her heart, and her mind. I like the way she thinks her way through the problems they run into. I like that she carries a first aid kit and a pack of contemporary supplies. I also think the perspective she brings to the era of warring states from our era. She's clearly from a time and place in which life is easier for young girls than it was for Kikyo and Sango. I think she's a good role model for girls.

The thing that tends to annoy me about Kagome is the fact that in the story, she's given miko powers, yet she seems to take them for granted and certainly doesn't attempt to do more with them. Nor does she seem interested in attempting to explore that part of herself. How often does she just sit there with a bow across her back doing nothing but looking concerned durring a battle? Watching the first Inuyasha movie, her powers were explored a bit more including her ability to communicated across time. Inuyasha was only able to defeat the Chinese youkai at the end with her powers combining with his.

I think the trouble with Kagome lies in the fact that at times they need her to be the 'damsel in distress' and at other times, they allow her to be a powerful miko. Since she is only 15 (at episode 100, I'm not aware that she's had another birthday in the series), she is still very immature and if it weren't for Shippou, she'd be the baby of the group. So if I look at it that way, I suppose her actions are normal. However, I would love for her to grow in power and to have more arrow attacks as well as explore the ability to defend herself as she did against the youkai in the first episode.

As for Yura, I'm not sure what you saw in her. However, I will say that Kagura intrigues me simply because she's a marionette looking to have her strings cut. Should she be successful, will she be able to walk? There's an almost Pinochio element to her.

Hmmm...I can't think of any brief, minor character I'd want to see more of. I'd LOVE to know why Sesshoumaru cares so much about Rin. He tries to act like he doesn't care, but he wouldn't keep her around if he didn't nor would he 'fly' to rescue her when she got in trouble trying to aid Jakken. It's a weird father-role he's taken for Rin. That's why I like 'Inuyasha' so much

Damn. It's amazing to see things like this these days.

Back when I first got into anime, Ranma 1/2 was the FIRST (or second) series a newbie saw. Now, it seems the newbies have no clue what Ranma even *is*...O_o;;

Ah. OK, I've at least heard about Ranma 1/2. The guy who changes into a girl (or vice versa) for some reason? I know about the show, but I've never seen it. I probably wouldn't recognize a character by name if I haven't seen the show he/she is in. Some I might if I've heard enough about them here or on web boards or something, but generally I wouldn't. It sometimes takes me a while to remember the names of characters in shows I'm watching at the moment. The shows I've been buying so far have been things that seem to get generally high recommendations and as I recall, Ranma 1/2 wasn't exactly topping the list. That's why I haven't really thought about buying it; other shows seemed to be better first choices. It might be good to see Ranma 1/2 at some point, but I already have enough stuff if I include items on the way that I'll be busy for months even if I don't rewatch anything right away. But thanks for clearing that point up; at least I now know you're talking about someone in Ranma 1/2.

She's Nancy Drew: smart, courageous, prepared, able to adapt to a new situation and make sense of it. Now you've got me thinking about, she is much more like the heroines of American stories for young girls than most anime heroines.

...

'The times, they are a-changin'...'

Blade

The female main character, in fact. As for Ranma, most people like the first season, you might want to pick up the box set of that if it's within your price range, which will give you a good idea of whether you're like the rest of the series.

Or you can just pick up the manga. Like the Inuyasha manga, it's far superior to the anime.

I'd suspect that if you like the combat, action and humour in Inuyasha a lot, you will likely appreciate Ranma as well.

Blade