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marshmallowgoop · 7 years

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So, yesterday I posted some replies to an old post I’d written about Senketsu’s death that kinda shifted into a discussion of romantic interpretations of Ryuko and Senketsu’s relationship, and in one reply, I provided a bunch of links to rebuttals for common reasons to not like the pair. But I’ve thought since that it was probably Bad Form to just dump a bunch of links without summing up their arguments in any way, so, hey, I can do so here, in a separate post that’s not so all over the place content-wise? Because I’m #passionate?

So:

8 Reasons Folks Can’t Get Down with Pairing a Girl and Her Sailor Uniform Together

1. Senketsu literally is or represents Ryuko’s father.

Much of this argument stems from the supposed shared appearance Senketsu has with Isshin, Ryuko’s dad. However, this so-called “shared appearance” really boils down to just an eyepatch, and that eyepatch has never been stated—by either the characters or the show’s staff—to be there because Senketsu is supposed to be reminiscent or representative of Ryuko’s father. In fact, it’s actually there for quite the opposite reason: it’s meant to say that Senketsu, much like a teenager, still needs to grow, and this is why he gains his eye in the finale. The eyepatch’s canon purpose was, in all actuality, to point to the fact that Senketsu is not a wise, old, mentor figure.

On that line, Senketsu is just a kid! He was only born six months before the events of the show, has absolutely zero life experience, and even admits that he is immature in a preview for episode 13.

Beyond this, Ryuko never seems to consider Senketsu to be like her father (amusingly, she refers to Gamagoori as “Dad” in the English dub), and there’s a huge, thematic idea of the two being equals. If Senketsu is supposed to be Ryuko father’s figure, the thought of them being “two in one,” “true partners,” “soulmates,” etc.—which are all canon, in-show descriptions of their relationship—simply does not gel very well. Fathers and daughters have, after all, by definition, a built-in power imbalance and are not equals in the relationship, and that’s clearly not what Kill la Kill is going for with Ryuko and Senketsu.

Perhaps most significantly, though, interpreting Senketsu as a father is intensely uncomfortable. As I’ve written before:

Ryuko and Senketsu constantly become one with each other’s bodies, Ryuko makes a joke about him not “cheating” on her when Maiko wears him, Mako says Ryuko loves him the most! and clearly means it like that because of the focus on nudity that would be super inappropriate in any other situation, Ryuko says that she’s going to make Senketsu “jealous” as he’s dying by getting together with stuff that’s not him, there’s the hugely flirtatious official song “Suck your blood” clearly from Senketsu’s perspective that includes lines such as, “You’re so hot, good looking,” there’s an official card featuring Ryuko in a bikini called “Senketsu’s Date with Ryuko”… and serious or not, all of this is hugely, hugely squicky if thought of as between a father and a daughter. Add in the fact that Ryuko and Senketsu’s relationship is pretty much always viewed in a positive light, and it seems very unlikely that being creepy is the intended effect here.

Finally, to get heavy (and to quote myself again): “This interpretation [of Senketsu as a father figure to Ryuko] implies to me that only parents can be protective and respectful and loving rather than friends or lovers, and this strikes me as… really distressing.”

Further reading: Is Senketsu Isshin? In-Depth Analysis, Response: Isshin Protecting His Daughter Through Senketsu? Design Similarities Between Isshin and Senketsu, Innuendo in Ryuko and Senketsu’s Relationship, Further, Isn’t Senketsu Like Ryuko’s Dad?, Response: Why is Seeing Senketsu as a Father Figure Such a Popular Interpretation?, Is Senketsu Isshin Reborn?, Senketsu is His Own Person, Sentient Sailor Uniforms are Serious Business: Trope-Twisting in Kill la Kill, Is Ryuko Subconsciously Attracted Towards Senketsu Because He Reminds Her of Her Dad?, Why the Heck Would Anyone Ship a Girl and Her Sailor Uniform, Why Does Senketsu Have an Eyepatch?, Eyepatch as a Counterpoint to Purity

2. Senketsu is alien clothing, so he can’t be interested in a romantic relationship.

Depending on how “canon” you view Senketsu’s episode preview narrations, this point could actually be argued to be canonically debunked. In a preview for episode 11, Senketsu considers the girls at Honnouji Academy and wonders who is “his type.” Additionally, he acknowledges that he’s just “a mere uniform” and nobody wants to hear him talk about favorite girl types, growing flustered and offended at the notion.

While aromatic headcanons are great, having these headcanons simply because a character isn’t humanoid and isn’t traditionally attractive totally stinks. Just because Senketsu isn’t exactly “hot” and is alien clothes doesn’t mean that, by definition, he’s not interested in a romantic relationship, and, judging from this preview, he’d be really hurt by such an assumption.

Further reading: But Senketsu Is Clothing! He Can’t Be Interested in Romance!, Senketsu is Against the Idea that He Can’t be Interested in Romance!

3. The idea of a girl and a piece of clothing being together romantically is too ridiculous because it’s not aesthetically pleasing or hot.

Yes, it’s absolutely ridiculous. But take a moment to consider Senketsu’s situation. To quote myself:

In the world of Kill la Kill, Senketsu is constantly degraded. He’s just a shirt, or, even worse, he’s a monster and a parasite who doesn’t deserve love and should be killed, kept away from Ryuko forever. Later on, even when people stop demonizing him so much, his autonomy is thrown aside. It doesn’t matter that he has free will and his own thoughts and feelings and emotions—he’s just a tool. He’s dangerous and should just be used for as long as necessary, and then forgotten.

Regarding his relationship with Ryuko, the two are repeatedly mocked for their friendship. Ryuko is seen as lonely and delusional for even talking to him. Both Tsumugu and Satsuki (initially) think that their friendship is impossible, since Senketsu is going to be the end of Ryuko eventually. Ryuko’s even embarrassed to be seen with Senketsu at first because of society’s standards, all due to what Senketsu is.

Sound a bit familiar? While fantastical representations of real-life problems of marginalization and prejudice have very valid criticisms—namely, that they’re not exactly examples of real representation—I also feel their significance is misunderstood.

I’ve seen folks complain that, say, fans of X-Men will write lengthy essays about the oppression of mutants but then turn the other cheek at real oppression, but these narratives are really for the oppressed and marginalized, not those who don’t experience it and have the ability to ignore it.

The late children’s author Diana Wynne Jones once powerfully wrote that stories that were a “factual presentation of any social problem” either “passed you by, or [they] upset you because there was nothing you could do about it.” Children, she argued, feel helpless when reminded in Very Real Terms of how dire their situations are, and she had a reason for such an argument: she had a terrible childhood herself, and it was only through fantasy that she was able to find catharsis and better manage the very real problems she faced. Through the fantastical representations of these problems, she was able to look at them in a new light and help herself. (Source: Reflections: On the Magic of Writing, page 183.)

I don’t wholly agree with Jones myself, and I definitely see the value in those “Real Books” with the Real Problems that she dismissed, but she brings up a good point: fantasy matters. Ridiculous as Kill la Kill is, there’s value in Senketsu’s story and value in a story where this oppressed, marginalized character with a criticized, mocked relationship with another finds happiness in a romantic relationship with them.

As for the other part of this argument, love isn’t all about looking hot together or making out.

Further reading: I Don’t Like Ryuko/Senketsu Because Senketsu’s Not Human, A Misinterpreted Platonic Relationship

4. Senketsu was made with Ryuko’s DNA.

In episode 17, Aikuro reveals that Senketsu’s Life Fibers were spliced with Ryuko’s DNA, but gene splicing does not suddenly make two organisms siblings, related in any way, or clones of each other. Ryuko and Senketsu being together is as much incest or selfcest as a glowing rabbit and a jellyfish being together when the rabbit was spliced with the jellyfish’s protein that makes it glow. Just as it would be ridiculous to suggest that those two creatures are suddenly related or clones from gene splicing, it would be ridiculous to suggest that Ryuko and Senketsu are suddenly related or clones from gene splicing.

Further reading: Gene Splicing, Could Senketsu Be Considered Ryuko’s Brother/Child?

5. Senketsu is Ryuko’s abuser and it’s gross to pair them together.

Yes, Senketsu’s first scene is awful. Though it’s completely out-of-character for him, he never behaves similarly again, and I’d argue that he’s out of his mind and starving in it, that doesn’t excuse what he did, and it’s fair to feel that his actions are unforgivable.

But if they are, then that makes the actions of many other characters in this show unforgivable, too. As I’ve written before:

...characters like Mako and Aikuro do similar things to Ryuko [as Senketsu does in his first scene] when they are in their right minds. Mako gropes Ryuko’s breasts in her Hallelujah in episode 3, takes off her bra in the one in episode 5, and constantly invades Ryuko’s personal space and grabs onto her when it clearly makes Ryuko uncomfortable (see the motorcycle scenes in episodes 8 and 17). Yet, this is seen as funny, cute, and romantic. Then there’s Aikuro, who completely disrobes Ryuko in episode 2, immobilizes her with needles while she’s naked, and flirts with her when he’s her teacher and when doing such is completely inappropriate and brings Ryuko a lot of discomfort. And this, again, is seen as funny.

That’s not to say that I want to bash on these characters or pairings. I just ask why it is that these scenes and behaviors are excused as funny and cute when they’re very clearly not, while Senketsu’s first scene is—as it should be!—almost universally agreed to be disgusting and uncomfortable. Ryuko and Senketsu are one of my most favored relationships in all of fiction, but I would never dream of saying that their first meeting is anything adorable or hilarious. I honestly find it frightening that a lot of similar behavior—unwanted touching and removing of clothing—is brushed aside and laughed at because the perpetrator is a sexy teacher or a cute girl.

Of course, Senketsu’s first scene is a lot more intense, and I’m not stupid. I know exactly what they were referencing with it. It deserves to be controversial, and deserves to be spoken up against. But I think the hate against Senketsu for it is pretty… misguided, to say the least.

In my mind, there are bigger issues with the series’ handling of assault than Senketsu’s first scene, but beyond that, Senketsu is honestly probably the most respectful character towards Ryuko in the entire show. He never forces her to wear him when she doesn’t want to—and the fact that Ryuko does take him off multiple times across the series when she doesn’t want to emphasizes that her wearing of him isn’t her being a poor prisoner, but her choosing to be with him—and Senketsu values Ryuko’s thoughts and opinions, openly communicates with her, and constantly considers her wellbeing.

As I once put it, “[Senketsu] is nothing like that first scene in all actuality, and Ryuko and Senketsu’s relationship is built not on nonconsensual behaviors and violence, but on respect and understanding.”

Further reading: Senketsu’s First Scene*, Further Analysis*, Even More*, Final Thoughts*, Ryuko’s Choice to Wear Senketsu, More, Even More*,Implications of Ryuko’s Acceptance*, Senketsu: A Sweet Character

6. It’s offensive because it erases wlw representation.

This is a very valid point, and it’s admittedly caused me some feelings of shame. “Is something wrong with me,” I’ve wondered, “for preferring Ryuko/Senketsu to Ryuko/Mako? Is it offensive?” After all, I don’t especially feel comfortable pairing characters in canon, same-sex relationships in opposite-sex pairings. While the characters could indeed be bi or pan and this is not inherently offensive in itself (and, indeed, could be very, very welcome!), oftentimes it can feel... rather distasteful when there are so few canon, same-sex pairings out there.

But here’s the thing: the idea of canon wlw representation in Kill la Kill is always going to be a subject of debate when the Word of God literally denies it. And here’s the other thing: representation matters, but so does good representation.

If Mako were a man, his relationship with Ryuko would not get the same kind of praise. As I’ve written before:

[Mako as a man] would be hated. So incredibly, horribly hated. People would look at the way he touches Ryuko’s breasts (episode 3), removes her bra (episode 5), and drools over her (episode 9) and find such things disgusting and dehumanizing. He’d be pointed to as one of the worst things in the show, and seen as evidence of how the series is awful for women. Mako’s behavior coming from a man would no longer be seen as cute and endearing, but despicable.

And when the finale came? If that kiss were held up as inarguable proof that Mako and Ryuko are a canon couple, there’d also be a huge backlash. Ryuko, pulling her lips away and uncomfortable as a man kisses her in a comical fantasy sequence—when that man also has a history of disrespecting her boundaries? Ew!

“If they are supposed to be a couple,” I can imagine people saying, “then it’s atrocious and evidence of how straight people and straight romances are awful.” That kiss would not be widely seen as a mutual attraction, but evidence of how Ryuko is victimized, and how this victimization is a joke.

Of course, I think this is all going a bit far, and don’t especially agree with such statements if Mako is a man or a woman. But the fact remains that most of the folks who come to the defense of Ryuko and Mako’s kiss as the encapsulation of a healthy romance that deserves praise would probably not had Mako been a man—and for more reasons than just because Mako would be a man.

And I really do feel this: I’ve seen the argument that it’d be offensive if Ryuko and Mako weren’t canon because of the abuse and that the canon-ness makes it okay. I’ve seen the admittance that the pairing would not be good at all if Mako were a man because of her treatment of Ryuko.

Which—as someone who has had a partner treat me like Mako does to Ryuko in a relationship that ended extremely, horrifically badly (and, heck, as someone who just pushes for healthy relationships!)—this deeply disturbs me.

To quote myself again:

There are many reasons I prefer Ryuko and Senketsu’s relationship to Ryuko and Mako’s, but one of them is that I find it to be a much more positive, healthy relationship. Senketsu doesn’t idolize Ryuko like Mako veers into, Ryuko really talks to him and communicates with him while she often puts on a façade of being okay for Mako, and there is a lot more respect here—I feel Ryuko rather undermines Mako’s abilities (always trying to push her out of fights when she’s more than capable, and even going so far as to promise her snacks to stay out of it in one instance like she’s just a little kid), but most importantly, we don’t have all these nasty instances of Senketsu invading Ryuko’s personal space, grabbing her boobs, etc. all in the name of “cute” humor or fanservice.

Add in the idea that Ryuko and Senketsu’s relationship is arguably rather progressive in itself as noted in Reason #3 above (and especially if you consider that Senketsu’s gender identity is completely up to interpretation), and that it basically has just the same amount of “evidence” going for it as Ryuko and Mako do (most notably with an official card literally titled “Senketsu’s Date with Ryuko” and Ryuko explicitly stating that her feelings for Mako and Senketsu are the same in episode 22 in that they’re both “more than friends” to her), is it really so wrong of me to prefer this pairing, personally, and does it really make me a terrible, awful person, especially when I do find many things about Ryuko and Mako’s relationship very personally hurtful?

Everyone values different things, and I completely understand and respect those who disagree with me here and prefer the idea of a romantic Ryuko and Mako relationship. But at least for me, my preferences for romantic Ryuko/Senketsu is less about how I’d “rather ship a girl with an article of clothing than admit she has romantic feelings for another girl” and more about how I’d rather ship what I see as a healthier, more respectful relationship that does have a good message about overcoming prejudice and is just as canonically feasible as the wlw relationship (and could actually be argued to be that in itself anyway!)

In this way, I don’t think there’s anything inherently offensive or homophobic about preferring romantic Ryuko and Senketsu, and, hey, let’s be real, SenRyuMako is honestly the most canon.

Further reading: “People Would Rather Ship Ryuko with an Article of Clothing Than Admit She Has Romantic Feelings for a Girl,” Returned to Here, Ryumako* (Kinda Here), What if Senketsu Had Been More Female-Coded?* (Kinda Here, Too)

7. They’re better as friends and the idea of platonic soulmates is nice.

Completely valid, solid point.

8. Just don’t care for it.

Same here.

#shut up goop #ramblings #long post #really long post...#meta #i guess #this is kinda for my meta page just to have all this in one spot #but i spent waaayyy too long writing this stuff out lol #i thought it'd just be a quick job #anyway...#i'm in a mood :P #the discourse #serious talk #incest mention #death mention #kill la kill

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