Let's start a little backwards, from the second newest game in the series: .hack//G.U.
One theme of .hack//G.U. is pretty generic in story-driven video games: love. Holy Gandhi, though, this dude has quite a harem. In no particular order, an inner-suicidal/outer-bubbly girly girl, a mysterious woman obsessed with an even more mysterious man, an ambitious fighting champion, a little girl/boy split personality, a legendary bisexual, a walking brain with breasts, an altruistic mother-like figure in a kimono, two serial killers, and a cat.
Let's focus on the actual two important characters though: (Continued after the break.)
The mysterious girl, Shino
and her bubbly look-a-like, Atoli.
Oh, why not? Let's throw in the fanbase champion, Alkaid.
Why Alkaid is Important
Those of you who haven't played .hack//G.U. Vol. 2 (or .hack at all) will probably look at this list and ask: "Why does it seem like you're just tossing Alkaid in there?" The reason is simple: She's more popular than Shino and Atoli in the fan community. Everybody loves her attitude more, her design more, her voice more, and even her breasts more. The most important factor is her character compared to Haseo, the protagonist of the G.U. series.
It makes sense why people would rather see her with Haseo than the former two candidates: their initial characters click better. Haseo and Alkaid are both grumpy assholes who love to kill weak and strong players alike. They're both blunt in speech and demeanor. They even use the same types of weapons in combat. They're very similar, and we all know what that means: They're compatible.
On the other hand, Shino is always calm and collected, while Atoli is always happy and optimistic. I'm sure most of us have figured out that the saying, "Opposites attract," is all too often B.S. A relationship between similar people develops faster, which is also why Alkaid is so important in Haseo's development. The two became friends much more quickly than Haseo became friends with both Shino and Atoli. In fact, until about 1/4 of the way through the second volume of the G.U. trilogy, Alkaid and Haseo despised each other, but they seemed to (relatively) instantly become close friends.
Sure.
And then tragedy strikes. Alkaid bites it halfway through the game, and there's even a whole dramatic cutscene in which she disappears in Haseo's (figuratively) shuddering arms. This alone is what made her, ironically, a candidate for Haseo's affection: her death.
I'll go back into Alkaid (bow chicka bow wow) after talking about the other two.
Shino: Haseo's First Harem Member
Despite her story being what's probably the most important theme in G.U., she isn't talked about much. That's because she was "dead" (in a perpetual coma, actually) when the series started. They instead talk about it in G.U.'s lesser prequel anime, .hack//roots. Long story short, she is an older sister figure to Haseo, and he grows a very unrequited fondness towards the girl... and then she's killed, throwing Haseo into a 6 month quest for revenge leading up to the events in the G.U. games.
The murder that started it all.
Unlike Alkaid, she's very, very obviously important; no in-depth analysis needed. She's the primary reason why Haseo became so hopelessly conflicted and went out on a personal vendetta, leading him to stumble upon other important characters, like Alkaid and Atoli.
Atoli: The Coincidence
Atoli's first appearance.
The subtitle is a little inaccurate, considering that Atoli's character model's resemblance to Shino's and her importance to the story isn't a coincidence, but that's not important. What is important is what that "coincidence" meant to her.
It's no mystery that Atoli genuinely cared about Haseo from the start, even when she barely knew him and was the victim of his teenage angsty rage. Because of this, once she found out about Shino's existence, shit hits the fan, and for about a volume and a half, Atoli believes that her friendship with Haseo is nothing more than what she thinks he sees in her: Shino.
Angsty rage.
Of course, this really is the case in Vol. 1. For most of the game, Haseo truly is unable to let her go simply because of her resemblance to his fallen friend. However, this relationship, unlike Haseo's relationship with Shino and Alkaid, turns completely. It's not just from dislike to love, but from complete estrangement to almost a brotherly obligingness to protect her. It's a unique relationship in video games, in my opinion, because the starting point seems hopeless: He only hangs around her because she reminds him of someone else he loves.
Haseo: It's just not the same...
Atoli is also the prominent heroine. Shino is dead for most of the story and Alkaid isn't even relevant for a large majority of it. Haseo fights for Shino and Alkaid, but in Atoli's case, it's mutual. Of course, Atoli plays the damsel in distress at times, as most epic stories often abuse their heroines to be, but for most of the story, Atoli is in the thick of the action.
What more is that she fights with Haseo for his causes. Her conflict with and jealousy towards the other two female characters is obvious, and yet, knowing that Haseo fights for them, she supports him. She even admits at one point that she, Haseo, and the rest of the cast is fighting for Shino and Alkaid.
Girl's got some cajones.
So Which One is the Right One?
Atoli.
Am I really biased at this point?
Even to the Shino fans, it can't be denied that Atoli is the one meant to be the main and final love interest of Haseo. She's even the last character seen with Haseo in the main story of the games. In the non-canon movie, Trilogy, their very explicit love story is even the central theme. In the canon epilogue anime episode, Returner, she even speaks to Shino about it, to which Shino herself admits that Atoli would be the best choice for Haseo's affection. Alkaid (story-wise, the third-wheel of the love triangle) is only seen in short cameos in the latter two.
And even so, the zealous Alkaid fans persist.
WHAT? D8
Why Shino and Alkaid Lose
It's easy to answer why Shino loses. Shino gave Haseo up so that he would be with Atoli, and, even more surprisingly, vice versa: Haseo gave up Shino. Like I said earlier, Shino even tells Atoli that she had no interest in Haseo as a lover, and encourages her to be that for him.
That speaks magnitudes in regards to Atoli's advantage: The entire plot of G.U. revolves around Haseo's fight to return Shino (and later, the other Lost Ones, like Alkaid) to consciousness. He goes insane for six months looking for an answer. He forgoes all ideas of friendship and love because he's so blindsided to save Shino and bring her back to him.
And when she's finally back, Haseo makes his choice, and it's not his long-time affection Shino, but the troublesome girl who annoyed him and stayed by his side selflessly when things got bad: Atoli.
No, Alkaid isn't an option.
If Shino lost out to Atoli, how can Alkaid win?
I'll be honest, I love Alkaid's character. I think that in a real situation, Haseo might have chosen Alkaid over the other two. However, the story of .hack isn't a real situation, it's a story that revolves around very specific plot points, one of which is unconditional friendship.
Alkaid undoubtedly would've played the same role as Atoli did if she was given the chance, even in a more practical role. Too bad she didn't have the chance, and because of that, she loses to Atoli. Arguing that Alkaid is Haseo's canon pairing is like arguing that if Piros, pictured below, was in as many cutscenes in Atoli, he would've ended up spawning Haseo's children.
A minor character is a minor character, especially in a series like G.U., in which it is very specific and very known who the main characters are and who the minor characters are. Everything but the community polls and the little tidbits of fanservice (i.e. the flexible marriage event) points away from Alkaid.
As much of a valid match Alkaid would've been, she just isn't given the grounds by G.U.'s creators. It's not just personality, but experiences that decide who ends up with who in a story.
Atoli as Symbolism
What's so great about the Japanese media is the prominence of symbolism. Every character can represent something, just like in classic American literature. The only difference is that anime and video games are more appealing to the younglings.
What Alkaid stands for in the G.U. cast isn't really relevant to the love triangle/rectangle, but to Haseo himself: he experiences loss through Alkaid, but handles it in a different way. With that as proof, the player knows that Haseo's changed. Atoli's contribution isn't so different.
What Shino represented was obvious: What messed up shit loss can do to a person. She represented Haseo's past comfort, forcefully taken away from him. She symbolizes Haseo's entire struggle to reclaim what was once "his" -- the plot behind all three volumes of the game. Unfortunately, she remains, throughout the series, a symbol for his unhealthy anguish.
Atoli is what I think is the most special among the characters, rivaled only by Ovan. She was with Haseo through all of his battles, inside and out, and her paranoia becomes more and more untrue with each fight. The fact that Haseo picked Atoli over Shino makes Atoli a symbol of the changes Haseo's gone through. That choice represents Haseo conquering his demons, represented by Shino.
This is the main reason why I am 100% sure Atoli won in the end. G.U. was a story of a boy in conflict who gradually figures it all out. Atoli herself is a symbol for that gradual change.
Room for Argument
Is my word 100% fact? Maybe not, but since I played the first volume of the G.U. series I appreciated Atoli's character more than Shino or Alkaid. It's not because she was cuter (which she was), but because with Atoli, you always saw a change in Haseo. With Shino, you saw comfort but Haseo made a drastic turn downwards. With Alkaid, you either saw a strong comrade in her, or a situation very similar to Atoli's identity crisis with Shino: particularly, and ironically, with the scene Alkaid fans consider proof that she "won": The honeysuckle scene.
Sure, explaining a flower's meaning randomly is a very explicit way to imply that you like someone, especially when that flower means "The bonds of love," but let's think about who Haseo was thinking of when he did that... Shino. And in the end, Shino still lost.
Atoli: YAAAAAAAY!
No comments:
Post a Comment