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Apr. 24th, 2005 10:54 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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ship_manifestoTitle: The Sun Also Shines at Night
Pairing: Monou Fuuma x Shirou Kamui
Spoilers: X manga (by CLAMP), movie & TV series
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
chinofuuma
The Sun Also Shines at Night
Monou Fuuma x Shirou Kamui
According to a prophecy, two groups of people blessed – or cursed – with supernatural powers are to decide the world’s fate in 1999. The Dragons of Heaven (Ten no Ryuu, Seven Seals) exist to protect the humanity and preserve the world as it is, and the goal of the Dragons of Earth (Chi no Ryuu, Seven Angels) is to let the nature be reborn and purified by getting rid of humans who pollute their world. Both groups are led by Kamui, the so-called Twin Stars. Eventually, one of them will die, killed by his opponent; the surviving Kamui will determine the world’s future. But the Twin Stars are best childhood friends – if not more… The tale of the Twin Stars is incredibly complex and practically impossible to describe in a short essay, and I find myself unable to list all the important facts and scenes, but I’d like to express my own feelings towards this pair of characters.
When we meet Shirou Kamui, the hero of the story, for the first time in volume/episode 1, he gives an impression of being an extremely rude, somewhat antisocial and generally unpleasant young man. However, he does have reasons to act this way – he is aware of his strange powers and is constantly targeted by all kinds of mysterious beings. He tells his friends, Monou Kotori and Fuuma, to stay away from him – but only because he doesn’t want them to be hurt. This is, perhaps, not the best way to protect your loved ones – perhaps, but one shouldn’t criticize Kamui – he’s still young and not mature enough. But when Kamui decides to join the Dragons of Heaven - again, in order to protect his friends – it is revealed that Fuuma, one who was so kind to him, is his Twin Star, his destiny is to fight against Kamui – and the sweet and innocent Kotori, Fuuma’s little sister who loves Kamui so deeply, becomes his first victim as Fuuma changes into a cruel, merciless Chi no Ryuu… It takes Kamui some time to accept this, but finally he expresses what seems to be his biggest wish: to bring Fuuma back by all means.
But I have made a friend, and now
he is unique in all the world…
Antoine de Saint Exupéry, The Little Prince
Kamui’s life is most definitely not simple, and it is not easy for him to express his feelings, but it doesn’t mean that he never lets Fuuma – or other people – know that he is his most important friend. His vow to bring Fuuma back is probably his most significant expression of love (platonic or not – that will be discussed later), but there are many small scenes (both in the anime and in the manga) that also make it rather obvious – well, at least to those of us who want to see them as a couple. He comes to see Fuuma’s basketball game (in the anime), even after telling Kotori that he is not interested in things like that. He is extremely worried about Fuuma’s well-being, even though he tries to hide it. The heart-wrenching X movie ending shows Kamui holding Fuuma’s severed head and crying, with Forever Love, a sad ballad by X-Japan, as a background song… Fuuma keeps hurting him, but Kamui can’t forget him and view him as his enemy and just that – and he doesn’t want to. As long as there is hope.
I have decided. I will bring Fuuma back.
I never wished you any sort of harm;
but you wanted me to tame you…
Antoine de Saint Exupéry, The Little Prince
Fuuma’s strong emotions are practically impossible to ignore. Hugging and touching Kamui is, as funny as it may sound to some of you, clearly a favorite pastime of his, and he’s willing to sacrifice himself for Kamui’s sake – that is, until he turns into a Dragon of Earth. But are things really that… primitive? One should not forget that Fuuma is a complex character – a CLAMP character, and that alone says a lot. Fuuma’s true wish is still unknown to the readers, but according to his own words, Kamui is the only one who can make it come true – what could that possibly mean? It is hard to guess right now, but one can’t help but notice the sadness and pain in Fuuma’s eyes. Is he really just a villain, a perfect killing machine whose aim is to destroy Kamui completely – or is there something else that some people fail to understand? Unlike most ‘best friends turned evil’, Fuuma does remember his former relationship with Kamui – and it seems that it is still just as important to him. But what are we to expect from him now?
Only Kamui can grant my true wish.
One runs a risk of weeping a little,
if one lets himself be tamed…
Antoine de Saint Exupéry, The Little Prince
X is a tragic story, and it is really hard to expect a happy ending (and by ‘happy ending’ I understand something similar to the Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon finale – love, peace and a sweet kiss under a full moon). In the movie, Kamui kills Fuuma despite not wanting to do that. In the TV series, he sacrifices himself in order to save the world – and Fuuma along with it; he dies, promising to stay in Fuuma’s heart forever, the way his mother and Kotori live in his. The manga is still unfinished and it is practically impossible to predict the ending, for the CLAMP artists are famous for their originality, among other things. In any case, while I and many other fans would really like to see Kamui and Fuuma happy and alive, it is, perhaps, a bit naïve to hope for something like that. One should not forget, however, that the relationship between Kamui and Fuuma is truly deep. There is love, even if it brings pain to both of them – but they say that love is the most beautiful thing in the world. Even if it is painful. Even if it kills.
Kamui and Fuuma have it all – soft touches that don’t really add anything to the plot but show their closeness to the readers (and make their hearts beat a little faster) and hint that there might be something more than friendship (since it is not totally natural for two boys to caress each other’s hands and faces, even if they’re close friends), promises, emotional conversations, desire to protect each other… Even the Twin Stars symbolism becomes meaningful – they are connected by Destiny itself, they’re almost like Light and Darkness that oppose each other but can’t exist by themselves, can’t cut the red string of fate and become separated. To me, their relationship is practically a definition of what true love is – it is something that can change destiny, for human hearts can do incredible things for love’s sake. In the TV anime, Kamui refuses to give up and proves that Kakyou’s predictions weren’t true by purifying the world and bringing Fuuma back to normal. Such love hurts, but it is even worse if you give up and forget an important person.
As long as both of them are alive, there is hope. No matter what happens.
The sun also shines at night. Someday, maybe, the sun will shine for them.
Sites & Fanworks
Fuuma x Kamui fanlisting
Heroes by Gold
Impossible to Love by DragonMage
Pairing: Monou Fuuma x Shirou Kamui
Spoilers: X manga (by CLAMP), movie & TV series
Author:
chinofuumaThe Sun Also Shines at Night
Monou Fuuma x Shirou Kamui
According to a prophecy, two groups of people blessed – or cursed – with supernatural powers are to decide the world’s fate in 1999. The Dragons of Heaven (Ten no Ryuu, Seven Seals) exist to protect the humanity and preserve the world as it is, and the goal of the Dragons of Earth (Chi no Ryuu, Seven Angels) is to let the nature be reborn and purified by getting rid of humans who pollute their world. Both groups are led by Kamui, the so-called Twin Stars. Eventually, one of them will die, killed by his opponent; the surviving Kamui will determine the world’s future. But the Twin Stars are best childhood friends – if not more… The tale of the Twin Stars is incredibly complex and practically impossible to describe in a short essay, and I find myself unable to list all the important facts and scenes, but I’d like to express my own feelings towards this pair of characters.
When we meet Shirou Kamui, the hero of the story, for the first time in volume/episode 1, he gives an impression of being an extremely rude, somewhat antisocial and generally unpleasant young man. However, he does have reasons to act this way – he is aware of his strange powers and is constantly targeted by all kinds of mysterious beings. He tells his friends, Monou Kotori and Fuuma, to stay away from him – but only because he doesn’t want them to be hurt. This is, perhaps, not the best way to protect your loved ones – perhaps, but one shouldn’t criticize Kamui – he’s still young and not mature enough. But when Kamui decides to join the Dragons of Heaven - again, in order to protect his friends – it is revealed that Fuuma, one who was so kind to him, is his Twin Star, his destiny is to fight against Kamui – and the sweet and innocent Kotori, Fuuma’s little sister who loves Kamui so deeply, becomes his first victim as Fuuma changes into a cruel, merciless Chi no Ryuu… It takes Kamui some time to accept this, but finally he expresses what seems to be his biggest wish: to bring Fuuma back by all means.
But I have made a friend, and now
he is unique in all the world…
Antoine de Saint Exupéry, The Little Prince
Kamui’s life is most definitely not simple, and it is not easy for him to express his feelings, but it doesn’t mean that he never lets Fuuma – or other people – know that he is his most important friend. His vow to bring Fuuma back is probably his most significant expression of love (platonic or not – that will be discussed later), but there are many small scenes (both in the anime and in the manga) that also make it rather obvious – well, at least to those of us who want to see them as a couple. He comes to see Fuuma’s basketball game (in the anime), even after telling Kotori that he is not interested in things like that. He is extremely worried about Fuuma’s well-being, even though he tries to hide it. The heart-wrenching X movie ending shows Kamui holding Fuuma’s severed head and crying, with Forever Love, a sad ballad by X-Japan, as a background song… Fuuma keeps hurting him, but Kamui can’t forget him and view him as his enemy and just that – and he doesn’t want to. As long as there is hope.
I have decided. I will bring Fuuma back.
I never wished you any sort of harm;
but you wanted me to tame you…
Antoine de Saint Exupéry, The Little Prince
Fuuma’s strong emotions are practically impossible to ignore. Hugging and touching Kamui is, as funny as it may sound to some of you, clearly a favorite pastime of his, and he’s willing to sacrifice himself for Kamui’s sake – that is, until he turns into a Dragon of Earth. But are things really that… primitive? One should not forget that Fuuma is a complex character – a CLAMP character, and that alone says a lot. Fuuma’s true wish is still unknown to the readers, but according to his own words, Kamui is the only one who can make it come true – what could that possibly mean? It is hard to guess right now, but one can’t help but notice the sadness and pain in Fuuma’s eyes. Is he really just a villain, a perfect killing machine whose aim is to destroy Kamui completely – or is there something else that some people fail to understand? Unlike most ‘best friends turned evil’, Fuuma does remember his former relationship with Kamui – and it seems that it is still just as important to him. But what are we to expect from him now?
Only Kamui can grant my true wish.
One runs a risk of weeping a little,
if one lets himself be tamed…
Antoine de Saint Exupéry, The Little Prince
X is a tragic story, and it is really hard to expect a happy ending (and by ‘happy ending’ I understand something similar to the Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon finale – love, peace and a sweet kiss under a full moon). In the movie, Kamui kills Fuuma despite not wanting to do that. In the TV series, he sacrifices himself in order to save the world – and Fuuma along with it; he dies, promising to stay in Fuuma’s heart forever, the way his mother and Kotori live in his. The manga is still unfinished and it is practically impossible to predict the ending, for the CLAMP artists are famous for their originality, among other things. In any case, while I and many other fans would really like to see Kamui and Fuuma happy and alive, it is, perhaps, a bit naïve to hope for something like that. One should not forget, however, that the relationship between Kamui and Fuuma is truly deep. There is love, even if it brings pain to both of them – but they say that love is the most beautiful thing in the world. Even if it is painful. Even if it kills.
Kamui and Fuuma have it all – soft touches that don’t really add anything to the plot but show their closeness to the readers (and make their hearts beat a little faster) and hint that there might be something more than friendship (since it is not totally natural for two boys to caress each other’s hands and faces, even if they’re close friends), promises, emotional conversations, desire to protect each other… Even the Twin Stars symbolism becomes meaningful – they are connected by Destiny itself, they’re almost like Light and Darkness that oppose each other but can’t exist by themselves, can’t cut the red string of fate and become separated. To me, their relationship is practically a definition of what true love is – it is something that can change destiny, for human hearts can do incredible things for love’s sake. In the TV anime, Kamui refuses to give up and proves that Kakyou’s predictions weren’t true by purifying the world and bringing Fuuma back to normal. Such love hurts, but it is even worse if you give up and forget an important person.
As long as both of them are alive, there is hope. No matter what happens.
The sun also shines at night. Someday, maybe, the sun will shine for them.
Sites & Fanworks
Fuuma x Kamui fanlisting
Heroes by Gold
Impossible to Love by DragonMage
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no subject
Date: 2005-04-25 12:54 am (UTC)I don't think Fuuma ever would have acted on his love had Kotori stayed alive. I honestly think he does love Kamui, but so did Kotori, and Fuuma loves Kotori just as much as he loves Kamui. Therefore, he wouldn't get in Kotori's way and would allow her and Kamui to be together. But when the darker side took control, Fuuma's true emotions came out--Kotori was out of the way so there is nothing to hold him back now.
I'm not too sure on what level Kamui loved Kotori, but it was pretty obvious he did. Of course he loves Fuuma, so maybe he wouldn't ever want to make Fuuma angry/sad and then would hook up with Kotori because of that. Before she died of course.
Warped CLAMP thinking ^^
no subject
Date: 2005-04-25 11:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-30 03:36 pm (UTC)I just wish CLAMP would start up the manga again, it really kills me for it to be unfinished like this ;_;
Wonderful essay..
Date: 2005-05-22 11:11 pm (UTC)Personally, I would like to add that I don't think that Kamui's love for Kotori was necessarily romantic but could also be interpreted as kind of brotherly love. Then again, it just might be wishful thinking on my behalf.
Although I sometimes enjoy reading S/S, S/K and others, in the long run F/K are the couple I truly want to see together in the end. In my opinion, they are bonded by fate. Meaning, that they were destined to be together.
no subject
Date: 2005-05-28 08:13 pm (UTC)T__T
Date: 2005-06-29 11:39 am (UTC)I am X-fan, and I am very happy, that I read your work. Nice job. I couldn't not love your essay ^^.