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Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo
We're going to have to agree to disagree on this one. I think Kyousuke had shown considerable personal growth over the course of the series, and what happened in the finale amounts to a serious regression of character.
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Well, if you want me to understand your argument, you would probably have to qualify/describe the nature of the personal growth you think we were shown and how it was negated by his choice here. It (still?) isn't very clear to me how this episode negates anything that was shown about Kyousuke's character, values, or opinions. I don't think you can say that his "personal growth" was that he was forced away from his sister and that was somehow making him better off, because that's not what Kyousuke himself seems to think about it (ref: Episodes 11-15). Character development is helping us understand what the character thinks is important, not whether the character is doing things that we think are ultimately best for him. (This is why even villains need character development; we're not necessarily going to think what they're doing is right, but we'll at least understand a little bit of what they think and why they think that way.)
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think you're saying that over the last few episodes he was heading down a path you think is better for him, and now he's made a decision that prevents him from continuing down that path. And my point is just that he's only being consistent to what he's said and shown before. So we can agree to disagree... but I think we're sort of saying two different things.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo
Again, I don't see why this has to be a questioning of valuing Kirino. It's not about valuing - it's about right and wrong, and self-respect. It's perfectly fine for Kyousuke to value and love and honor his little sister, as any brother should. But that's not the issue - the issue is him ingratiating himself to her, despite being treated like dirt. The issue is him allowing her to behave the way she does and proving, frankly, that he seems to like it. And the issue is with his forgoing relationships with two perfectly acceptable (and one spectacular, in my admittedly biased view) romantic options because of what appears to be sexual interest in his sister. Why is it so hard to make a value judgment on that? It's incest - and this isn't some throwaway comedy. For all it's wackiness it's actually a pretty smart and complex story. Aren't we allowed to say that for Kyouske, incest is a pretty bad idea?
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Well, you can say whatever you'd like, of course. But I don't think the show is presenting this whole situation in a way that's nearly so "black and white", even if the ultimate moral issue (
if they were to go all the way) is a black-and-white issue to you. He hasn't forgone relationships with anyone yet, but he seems to have some baggage that causes him to immediately dismiss the idea that any girl could love him. He always thinks the girls are joking or messing with him. But he knows that he cares for people, and that caring inspires him to act. He also seems to feel some sort of debt to Kirino, which he perceives as his responsibility as a brother (but he is starting to understand may be something more). But what does it all mean...???
Anyway, I get that you're basically saying "Stay away from that Kirino, Kyousuke, because she treats you badly and you've got way better options out there." And I'm not necessarily either agreeing or disagreeing with that,
but I don't think it would make any sense for Kyousuke to come to that conclusion right now without going severely out-of-character. I wouldn't feel better if Kyousuke went out of character even if they arrive at a destination I like; the journey is more important than the destination to me. (Of course I get that everyone feels differently. Opinions...)