Power of Sunflower

Zyl — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 12:47:36 +0000

Baka-Raptor’s reckoning that Kei was 20 times better than xxxHOLiC’s first season is somewhat hyperbolic but I do agree with the core of his argument. Watanuki is, or rather – becomes, less whiny and shows tremendous growth as a lead. But also because, as he changes, so do the people around him and their interactions.

The character of Kunogi Himawari stands out in this respect. I had thought that Itou Shizuka had been rather wasted in playing this supporting role since she had so little screentime. I had only read the manga up to Vol.9 so I was surprised and delighted by her arc across Ep 11 and 12 of Kei.

An ominous sense about Himawari had been building up since the first season and we finally learnt the reason why. Shizu-sama is at her best when playing women who are strong but with a vulnerable side too like Tama-nee from ToHeart2, Hinagiku from Hayate no Gotoku and Amanda Werner from BLASSREITER. I’d say Himawari fits into this typu too. There’s a strength and vulnerability all interwoven in her faux nonchalance and cheerfulness as she reeled off the list of misfortunes she caused those closest to her, classic Itou Shizuka ‘Being genki in order to cope’ delivery. Watanuki easily saw through it all and summarized her pain: ‘She must have been lonely.’

And she made a great sacrifice to save Watanuki’s life. Large deep scars don’t just adversely affect a cute girl’s appearance but as anyone with significant amount of scar tissue knows, the scars themselves can feel stiff. Or even painful. But mostly annoying, for example, when you walk into an air-conditioned room from hot outdoors and you can feel the scar(s) pulling as they contract at a different rate from the surrounding flesh. Her tearful lines about being sad at causing Watanuki’s accident but being glad to have saved the life of the only person who has said he was glad to have met her was also great Shizu-sama stuff: tears of pain and sadness mixed with tears of relief and happiness.

We get more Itou Shizuka goodness when Watanuki gives Himawari the little bird that he ‘incubated’, a bird born just for Himawari and thus immune to her attribute. Watanuki has always described her as cute and cheerful but this is probably the first time that we’ve seen her truly cheerful from the bottom of her heart. From her heartful ‘Thank you’ to her whimsical attempts to name the bird, I enjoyed so much, yet again, the power of sunflower across the full spectrum of emotions (backed up by dandelion – Tanpopo) brought to us by the one and only Itou Shizuka.

hontou ni sou omou? » XXXHOLiC Kei

Power of Sunflower