So often in manga female characters are used to further the development of the male protagonist. It is usually the main female character who encourages the protagonist to open up about his emotions or complete his mission. The death of a sister, mother, or girlfriend is used as a mechanism to further drive the plot. One manga I have found to be the exception of this is Attack on Titan (AOT for short) written by Hajime Isayama . In AOT there are many examples of well rounded female characters who have their own personality and arcs apart from the male characters. For this blog post, I will focus on the main female character Mikasa Ackerman.
Aot manga spoilers ahead...
Some background:
Mikasa lived in the countryside with her parents until the age of nine when they were killed in an attempted kidnapping. Eren, visiting the family with his father, killed two of the kidnappers and encouraged Mikasa to kill the last one when he was unable to. After this event, Mikasa is taken in by Eren’s family and lives with them. Mikasa becomes very attached to Eren since he saved her life. She wears a scarf Eren gave to her and only takes it off once in the entire manga series. Throughout the series she stays by Eren’s side and is extremely protective of him.
But why should Mikasa be considered a strong, well-written female character?
Mikasa is a clear example of a well-written female character. She is motivated by her love of those close to her, especially Eren. Mikasa has multiple female friends whom she also loves and protects.
At the end of the manga, Mikasa stops Eren from his mass murder rampage and kills him. This is a HUGE moment for her character development since in the past she has done everything to prevent Eren from being harmed in any way. Mikasa chooses herself at this moment instead of Eren when she previously put Eren before her wellbeing and depended on him for her personal happiness. Isayama does a great job of writing Mikasa at this moment because he frames it as her choosing herself while also still having feelings for Eren. She has conflicting feelings and emotional depth, these attributes make her a well-written female character. She is not one-sided or simply obsessed with Eren. She certainly does not fit into the damsel in distress stereotype, or any other stereotype for that matter, and although she cares for the main male character, she is not just a plot device to help him and ends up being the hero.
Thank you for reading my blog post/rant!!
-Callie
I also do not like books that use a female protagonist as a pawn in a male protagonists game, but Mikasa seems like the opposite. I was considering starting AOT, and after this review I will definitely start it! Great post!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE MIKASA!!! One particular thing I love about Attack on Titan is how complex their characters and well-written they are and Mikasa is certainly not an exception to this. I love how Isayama doesn't make her completely helpless and water her down to liking Eren, and also not being completely stoic and devoid of any of these emotions. Her relationship with Eren is an interesting one and it's one that has driven her to join the Survey Corps and feel the need to protect him. Additionally with Eren claiming that anyone part of the Ackerman bloodline being only able to protect their host, it was definitely a twist that surprised me and yet adds to her character (and may or may not had me pacing around my room when I read that). I totally agree that the ending scene is so pivotal for her character; Mikasa being the one to behead Eren and stop him was something I really liked. I really agree with your point that Isayama does a good job of making her a love interest to Eren, and yet not just using her as a plot device and actually developing her as her own character. Great post Callie!
ReplyDeleteYES, she is such a complex character and I could not agree more with your comment! You remind me a lot of the character Eren.
DeleteThanks, Callie! I personally see a lot of you in that charming young man, Floch!
DeleteWhat a great post, Callie! I myself have personally only seen a few episodes of AOT, but Mikasa is a character who definitely stood out to me in them. It is great to see that there are so many elements included in her personality and character arc, such as still having character flaws that although may make her unlikeable, are definitely more realistic. I am glad that Isayama decided to give so much depth to her character, allowing her to be a strong protagonist. Another character that stood out to me personally in AOT is Hange! I hope if you decide to write about another Attack on Titan character again, you can do it on them. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Cora Lewis-Patterson. I definitely think Hange stood out to me as well!!
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ReplyDeleteSPOILERS IN THIS COMMENT: Mikasa was such a complex character. She was both physically and mentally strong, but as you said, she also had flaws. One scene I remember is when they were deciding who to give the titan serum; Erwin or Eren. She attacked Levi for wanting to save Erwin. However, especially towards the end of the manga, where you face death in every chapter, Mikasa remained headstrong and led the group to stop Eren. I hope you write more of these manga character analyses!