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ishaslife · 1 year

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Harada Sanosuke: Analysis | Hakuoki

Please keep in mind that everything in the following post is my opinion and will contain spoilers for the Hakuoki games: Kyoto Winds and Edo Blossoms as well as the anime. Also disputing talk of assault.

I don't get the hate towards Harada. I have seen so many posts or comments talking about how Harada is this borderline sexist, possessive dude who doesn't allow Chizuru to come out of her shell and makes her this damsel in distress. Also, how he doesn't have any character besides "I want to meet a beautiful woman and have a family and a nice house by the ocean". So, first of all, there is nothing wrong with being a damsel in distress, I wholeheartedly believe that Chizuru would've died the night she came to Kyoto or been eaten by the furies had the Shinsengumi not saved her, she isn't helpless I know that but she isn't a warrior either and she is no match for furies or trained soldiers, Harada knows this. As for his stereotypical view on genders, he never uses them in a way to harm anyone and always has Chizuru's best interest in mind.

At the last leg of Kyoto Winds, if you're romancing him, he tells Chizuru that "the battlefield is no place for a woman" believe me, I was put off to hear that but he follows it by saying "and you're not a warrior" and he isn't wrong again. Chizuru is not a fighter and she would very likely die or not be able to fight in a battle for various reasons. He doesn't necessarily mean "you're woman and you don't belong in battle" he basically means that she isn't a woman who's a warrior.

Chizuru isn't weak. She's strong but not in a masculine sense, her strengths lie elsewhere, in, I suppose what most would consider "feminine" aspects of life. She is a woman of the 1800s and is good at things that women are expected to be good at in those times and has done very brave things like risking her life coming to Kyoto. The reality is that she is a good cook, she knows a good bit of healing, she can clean and she works very hard to keep everyone's spirits up, she has some skill with a sword but not enough to fight trained samurai or rabid furies. She does owe the Shinsengumi and she knows this, that is commendable. All this doesn't make her weak or small or a damsel in distress, she does all she can and what she's good at; just like Harada does what he's good at and that's fighting to protect people, he often talks about how being a Samurai isn't about fighting, it's about protecting women and children (please remember that this is during a time when MOST women were still homemakers). Despite wanting to embody the epitome of masculinity, people tend to forget that Harada is very kind and gentle towards Chizuru, asks her about her thoughts and feelings and does the same in return, tells her to let herself feel what she feels and not hide it which are also qualities that aren't toxic or toxically masculine, in fact, in those days they would've been considered feminine and weak. People don't tend to like the fact that Harada's route more human and doesn't allow Chizuru to find out more about her demon blood and I agree. I do wish that the devs would've added more story to Chizuru and her bloodline in Harada's route aside from the romance. Harada doesn't seem to mind that she is a demon, as he has said plenty of times and it would only make sense if she wants to know more about her family and where she comes from, which would make her choice to live as a human feel more earned and satisfactory. Edo Blossoms in general was a very rushed game and feels more so like an epilogue than a proper story like Kyoto Winds which is a shame but oh well.

Harada has never struck out to me as someone who is possessive or even misogynistic. As a lover, he wants to look out for Chizuru and protect her, as every partner should. Even as a friend, he wants to look out for her because he swore to protect her, like the other Shinsengumi men and Harada likes to keep his promises. His flirty remarks here and there are just part of his personality and how he is, he likes to joke around, be carefree and make girls blush and he knows his limits, something that he calls Nagakura out on, saying "you don't understand when a girl starts to get uncomfortable", something along those lines I believe. Although Chizuru is a predefined character who has her own thoughts and feelings, most tend to forget that she is still being played by the player and many tend to self-insert themselves in the game like I did. A lot of her personality changes with who she romances. With Harada, her whole self-inflicted angst is that she is a monster and he's a human, hence he'll never like her the way she likes him (remember that Chizuru has had a crush on him for a while now and Harada knows this as he fancies her too but he doesn't push it because he doesn't want to cause complications) Harada only properly says he loves Chizuru when SHE confesses to him, saying that he has always had putting his feelings into words which is something I can relate to.

Most people have qualms with a scene that comes a while after this, where Chizuru decides to leave for Edo alone because she doesn't want the man she loves to have to choose between his best friend and her, the woman he loves. So, let me break it down: When she goes to say goodbye, Harada gets sad and says "you're not even gonna bother consulting me, are you?" to which Chizuru replies "that's right, I'm telling you. Right now." Harada gets a bit upset after this and that is valid, he brings up a fair point that this is war and if they separate now, there's a very likely chance they won't see each other again. And Chizuru knows this. They are a couple and couples make decisions together, her telling him that she is going to go to Edo by herself is hurtful if you put yourself in Harada's shoes. Being told such a thing would get anyone angry, he isn't mad at her because she wants to go alone, he's mad because she didn't even bother talking to him about it. She calls herself pathetic and says that she feels like she is a burden to him. This is self-deprecation on Chizuru's part, not Harada's, from the beginning, he has wanted to care for her and protect her. He has never seen it as a burden or something that bothers him, it truly makes him happy to do so. Harada contemplates and says that he has never wanted much from life, only to be with a beautiful woman, have a beautiful home and some peace and quiet and he has had plenty of opportunities to do so but he never did because he couldn't commit but now that he has found Chizuru, he finally feels like he can be happy with someone and commit to the good, idyllic life that he wants. He points out that she chose him and told him that she wanted to spend her life with him so; according to me, her choosing to go to Edo alone is a bit counter-intuitive, it's almost as if she came to say "goodbye" to Harada hoping he'd change her mind. It is also a bit selfish on Chizuru's part because they are in this together, even if he went on to fight with Nagakura, he'd keep worrying about how Chizuru is and what happened to her. Honestly, this whole scene would've gone a lot better if she just talked to him about it rather than tell him.

Another scene which seems to put people off is their kiss in the beginning of Edo Blossoms, Chizuru is sad and distressed because of how Sanan has been speaking to her and basically threatening her, telling her that she doesn't care about the the Shinsengumi and has concocted a lie about Heisuke, saying he's getting worse (we don't know this to be false at this point in the game) and has told her to not tell Harada about it because he may get angry and that might cause him to want to leave altogether. After days of not talking to one another, Harada has had enough and asks Chizuru why she is so sad and crying, she ends up getting very hysterical and doesn't give him a clear answer for obvious reasons, not knowing what to do, Harada kisses her out of the blue. Now, I have heard that this is assault or harassment by harada because "he kisses her against her will" but I disagree. The definition(s) of assault according to the Cambridge dictionary is:

to attack someone violently.

to make a sudden, violent attack on someone.

And harrasment:

behaviour that annoys or upsets someone

behaviour that annoys or troubles someone

illegal behaviour towards a person that causes mental or emotional suffering which includes repeated unwanted contacts without a reasonable purpose, insults, threats, touching or offensive language.

behaviour towards someone that is threatening or that annoys or upsets them.

If it was assault and/or harrasment, Chizuru wouldn't have liked it (and we know she did) and she had every opportunity to push him away but she doesn't. Chizuru is a decently strong woman and she would never tolerate any form of mistreatment. Even if her efforts were futile, she wouldn't stand being kissed by someone she doesn't like. Besides, if one has played Kyoto Winds, they know that Harada knows Chizuru and respects her, he wouldn't do something to her that he knew she wouldn't like. He is also not the kind to assault someone, a big part of his personality is protecting the helpless. Harada knows she likes him and she does, we as the player know this and Harada likes her, even if it is unspoken or she chooses to be oblivious of it (but it isn't since at the end of Kyoto Winds, Harada tells her "when you fall for someone, you want to protect them always"). Besides, this is a romance in a video game. Inserting myself in this scenario, as I'm sure many of us do when playing these games, I would not categorise this as assault, I'd want to be kissed by my crush. Eventually, it does help her calm down and she is able to talk to Harada about what she's been going through and he looks out for her. Those saying it's "unrealistic" to do such a thing, this is an anime game taking place in the mid 1800s where a woman is surrounded by a harem of men who look after her, oh and also, demons. Of course its unrealistic, it's a video game. In reality, she'd have died the night she came to Kyoto or worse.

Harada's Personality:

Harada is a bit of a complex, he's simple but he's not. He is hyper masculine but he's very gentle and kind. He likes the ideal of protecting the helpless, even in a relationship, he sees it as a man's job to protect the woman he loves. Some may call this sexist but I don't think so, as a partner, you want to protect your significant other, whether it is physically or emotionally. Either both can do it or just one, in some relationships that works, that is, if the other doesn't expect the same in return and that's absolutely fine. As a straight female, I adore the idea that the man I love would want to protect me, it is heartwarming to hear such a thing from your significant other and for them to put it into action. Harada is one of those people, he wants to protect Chizuru and doesn't expect her to do the same, mostly because she can't. She isn't too skilled physically so it only makes sense that Harada would be the physical protector. This doesn't make him sexist, it is just his preference. And there is nothing wrong with a man being physically dominant or being the protector in a relationship, some people like myself are into that. It doesn't make a woman weak to be physically protected by her partner, her strengths may lie elsewhere like Chizuru's do. She is very grounded and allows Harada to be more open, which in a sense is emotional protection. He opens up to her about his feelings and thoughts and things he's always wanted from life. Things, he's never even told his closest friends. She looks after him in a more traditionally feminine ways and is happy doing so. Harada is very level-headed and always tries to put himself in other people's shoes before making a decision, he's thoughtful and dutiful. He sees being a samurai not being about fighting or gaining glory but about protecting the weak which is a quality that's difficult to find. He cares deeply for his friends and comrades, has learnt from his foolish mistakes as a boy which has made him a sensitive, sensible and mature person. His flirtiness and tendency to joke around with people is just a character trait that makes him approachable and playful, it isn't immaturity. As for him calling Chizuru an "idiot" or "stupid", well, one can argue that she was being stupid and idiotic in those instances, she is a very passive character and tends to become very self-deprecating at times which can be frustrating, Harada has the patience of a monk, most people would just get annoyed. And besides, I don't know about you, but I'd prefer to be called out on my idiocy by my partner. Also, the way harada says it, sounds more playful than malicious.

I adore his level-headedness and ability to make decent decisions despite the initial impression of him as a character. I genuinely thought he was gonna be the comic relief of the game and not have a good romance path but I was wrong. He sneaks you out the first night or so you have been at the Shinsengumi headquarters to help you get some air and not be clouded with bad thoughts which is a super sweet gesture given the tight spot you're in. He talks with Sen in the hopes that she might be able to help you feel better. He even looks out for you with Sanan and basically tells him not to bother you further. In his special anime episode, he puts his life on the line for a stranger who just wants to meet his sick mother and, albeit a minor thing: while they're outside he fixes Chizuru's slipper for her, also allowing her to lean on him while he does so. I know this seems a silly thing to mention but it's a little sign of care and compassion which touches my heart more than anything. If these are not signs of love, duty or care towards a person/people then perhaps I have it wrong.

Harada has gotten very high up in my fictional crush list lol and he might stay there forever I think. Truly a wonderful man <3

"if you live each day in spite of yourself, refusing to accept what you truly want, then it's only natural for you to lose touch with who you really are." - Harada Sanosuke

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