Magadheera was SS Rajamouli's Seventh film, and although it wasn't that known in the USA, the first telugu film that premiered in American shores, all the way back in 2009. So let's check it out, and see how many parallels with RRR and other Rajamouli's films we can find, as well as how Ram Charan has grown as an actor, as this was his second film ever!

❝Aki Kino/Silvia Woods❞

〘Who is she?〙

Aki Kino (Silvia Woods in EU) is one of the most relevant female characters during Endo's saga and has a minor role in Tenma's.

She was Endo's only friend back in highschool when they started their seconds year, and was the only one that helped Endo found the football club.

Later, we meet two of her friends she had back in EEUU, Ichinose (Erik) and Domo (Bobby), whom she used to play with.

Lastly, she's introduced as Tenma's family.

〘Why is she so important?〙

The real question is: was she irrelevant? Short answer: no.

What is more, I think she's one of the most imporat characters in the first saga.

Thanks to her Endo founded the club. Sure, she wasn't a player, but she brought emotional support when was needed and stayed with Endo till the end.

She wasn't a pasive manager, though. As shown in the first episodes and in the movie, Aki was very strict with the players, especially those who lost all their passion and were too lazy to practice with the captain. She also cared about the players’ problems and was willing to prepare them food to boost their energy.

Let’s not forget when she, Haruna and Natsumi stole Zeus’ water (better shown in the game) to help the team, showing her determination to help when needed.

〘Underrated character ruined by romance〙

In the first games we explore her as a individual: she has her motives, her emotions, her feelings. She cares about her friends and teammates, willing to do anything to help them, showcasing her strong but soft personality (a balance between Natsumi and Haruna).

However, in the second game she losses her importance. Well, the three managers lose it due to new characters being introduced. And here comes the main problem: the romance.

It's an open secret that Aki has feelings for Endo, and that's lovely, I actually ship it. In the first games (better done in the anime) she dind't rely too much in them, witch is fine, we need more female leads whose motivation isn't only romance!!

The problem is that in the second game she becomes a jelousy/second option character for Endo with Toko in the scene. Eventhough it's said that she hasn't romantic feelings for him, we can see her (Natsumi too) silently fighting for Endo's attention.

This got worse in the last season with Fuyuka being the new interest for Endo. The only good thing they did was returning her backstory with Ichinose and Domo, sadly, there were just a few chapters.

〘INEGo! dissapointment 〙

When I saw Aki as Tenma's distant familiar I was happy.

Firstly because I thought she was with Endo. Yes, I'm angry that they developed her character around him, but if you had given me a romance between this two I expect them to be together.

But no! He ended marriying the girl that wanted him to close the football and was sure he was going to lose (at least at the beginnig).

At least she has Ichinose, but he's abroad.

She just eneded up losing. First, her individuality, and lastly, her happiness. Aki is only used to care about the main character. The only good thing about this is that Tenma actually sees her as a mentor and searches for her advice when needed.

Also, they could have introduced her to the rebellion. Given her persona it would make so much sense, but not even that!

〘Final thoughts〙

She was introduced as an important female character and was an emotional support during the beginning to the team (mostly Endo).

But the way she was treated as the time passed was sad. (⁠｡⁠•́⁠︿⁠•̀⁠｡⁠)

My family enjoys watching period films and shows ( I know, I don’t really talk about shows or movies, I’m supposed to talk about books- but just hear me out), as well as things based on books (sometimes). We watched the BBC show (miniseries?) starring Gemma Arterton and Eddie Redmayne, which led me to read this book.

After both reading the book and watching the show I can honestly say I don’t have a preference for one or the other. 

The story is a beautiful tale of a young woman who is hurt by pretty much every man in her life ever but mainly, her father (John), her “cousin”(Alec), and her husband(Angel). These three men are respectively, a drunkard, a seducer, and an abandoner (though he was hurt by her too- in a way). She manages to persevere through the many trials she faces through these three men, and still have compassion and love for the people around her, which is astounding to me. This is a wonderful story of an older sister, who does what she can for her family, maintains her pride, and does the best she can with her lot in life. The end, however, I didn’t see coming until it happened. I definitely wasn’t expecting any of what happened.

The reason I say that I have no preference, is because Gemma Arterton and Eddie Redmayne, captured the characters of Tess and Angel perfectly. I understand, that I could be biased for them because I watched the show first, but in spite of that, I can’t imagine that it could have been cast better for any of the characters, so I applaud the casting director who made the decisions for the show as well.

Now that it's 2024, there's a thing I hope that never gets repeated again. See, every time that there's a cast announcement that includes actors who are not white, there is someone that complains that they're forcing diversity on us. But let's be honest here: Diversity is Never forced, it can't be forced, and we're going to talk about how it's the whiteness that has been forced on us forever.