More Than Just Fanservice: In Defense of Mitsuri Kanroji
In the KNY fandom, Mitsuri Kanroji is a character that gets a lot of criticism and is frequently dismissed as "just fanservice". However, that's actually a reduction of her character and that take ignores the majority of her characterization and the historical context surrounding her story.
While I do not deny that she gets fanservice and is sometimes sexualized, that's not all there is to her character. There's a difference between "Mitsuri gets fanservice" and "Mitsuri is fanservice"--and with Mitsuri Kanroji, the former is true, but the latter is not.
The main complaint is about Mitsuri's uniform:
And yeah. This is fanservice, even though there is a lore reason for it:
And Maeda is framed as creepy for doing this, which...he should be. He's a creep. Though this doesn't really make it not fanservice.
However, in KNY, we also get moments like this:
Male characters are also sexualized in KNY--and to be honest, they're sexualized more often than the female characters are.
In fact, male characters get far more fanservice than Mitsuri, or any female character does (or all the female characters put together).
So I do think it's a tad bit weird to act like Misuri getting fanservice is terrible and awful, but male characters getting it is fine (especially when Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke are all kids).
Another thing people bring up is that her uniform isn't practical for combat and leaves her exposed.
And sure--if you apply hardcore realism, yeah, it's not practical. It does leave her exposed.
However, so are these guys:
In fact, both Sanemi and Inosuke are more exposed than Mitsuri is! So if it's 'impractical', then Sanemi and Inosuke's choices of attire are even more impractical.
Except no one ever says a damn thing about either of them. (And several even thirst over Sanemi)
Additionally, this is a series where humans can go toe-to-toe with demons with superstrength by "breathing really good" and children's hair colors have been altered by food or lightning strikes. So I don't think hardcore realism was Gotouge's priority when writing fight scenes in the manga.
This is indicative of the criticism actually stemming from the fact that Mitsuri has showing cleavage, exposed skin, and is large-chested.
I understand that it can be tiring to constantly see female characters used for fanservice in media (especially large-chested women), but the answer is not to demand that female characters always be completely covered up and never be large chested--that just replaces one narrow beauty standard with another. That's just misogyny in the opposite direction.
Another claim people make is that Mitsuri getting fanservice can contribute to girls and women feeling insecure. And while I do agree that other female body types should be present and represented in media, do you know what else makes women (especially large chested women) insecure? Acting like large chested female characters are nothing more than fanservice or sex objects and should never be represented ever because they'll make women with smaller chests or different body types insecure. Large chested women still deserve rep.
Now, getting into her actual character and portrayal--a lot of people argue her backstory is weak, too lighthearted (especially when compared to the other backstories), and doesn't justify her presence in the Corps.
First off, trauma is not a competition. Just because most slayers either had their families slaughtered by demons (Tanjiro, Gyomei, Shinobu, Muichiro, Sanemi & Genya) or came from nothing and experienced severe abuse until a member of the Corps helped them (Obanai, Zenitsu) doesn't mean that Mitsuri's trauma wasn't...you know, traumatic.
Due to the cruel rejection she received, she changed everything about herself that society deemed "undesirable". Her self-esteem plummeted and hit rock bottom. She literally developed an eating disorder.
Similar to Zenitsu, Mitsuri wants to be loved. And she wants someone to love her for her. This is why she's in the Corps--she's seeking acceptance.
This alone means that she is not "just fanservice for men". This is real vulnerability, character depth, and relatability. Even today there are people who struggle with this.
Another thing people complain about is that Mitsuri is "conventionally attractive" and realistically wouldn't have trouble fitting in or finding a husband, which...isn't true.
By Japanese beauty standards--especially by Japanese beauty standards of the Taisho era--Mitsuri is not conventionally attractive.
Her hair color would be an issue and would be seen as off-putting in Japanese society today, it certainly would be in the Taisho era.
Her strength would be seen as unattractive. Women were expected to be delicate, submissive, and domestic. Men were expected to be the providers and protectors (including physically). So Mitsuri's immense strength going beyond that of most men would have been extremely off-putting to most men of that era. It's shitty and misogynistic, but unfortunately it was reality.
Her appetite would also be seen as unattractive--women having large appetites is frowned on today. It would not be any better in the Taisho era. Again, women were expected to be modest, demure, and refined--and her appetite would be seen as an unfeminine trait and unattractive. Additionally, her appetite would be seen as a financial liability, so even if a man were willing to look past it not being a "feminine" trait, he might not be willing to marry her and see her appetite being a potential financial hardship, as terrible as that is.
So no, she is not a conventionally attractive woman who we're supposed to believe cannot find a husband for some reason--she's flat out not conventionally attractive.
Mitsuri's struggles were incredibly realistic--especially as a woman who doesn't find into her society's beauty standards.
She absolutely needed to know someone could love her for her--and that's why this moment is so important:
While I do have some minor criticisms about how Obanai/Mitsuri was written, this is not one of them, and is a very strong moment in their ship. She finally found someone who loved her for who she is--and Obanai doesn't care about how not conventionally attractive some of her traits are, or her hair color. Her relationship with Obanai is important and very impactful.
Another common criticism is that "Mitsuri's goal is to find a husband, so she's a bad and sexist character who only revolves around men".
Now, this is a take that doesn't totally align with canon--as I've established above, her actual desire was to find people who loved and accepted her for who she is.
This take also once again, ignores the historical reality of the time.
A daughter that could not find a husband remained financially dependent on her parents--which, of course, would be an additional financial strain, especially since it'd be expected of Mitsuri to marry and join her husband's household.
However, given that Mitsuri was having marriage prospects at 17, it's reasonable to assume her family was well-off--marrying young in the Taisho era was more of a thing among rich girls. And since her family can be assumed to be well-off, she wouldn't have gone to work like a girl of lower status would have--one of the reasons why reijou (rich girls) tended to marry as young as they did.
But a daughter that failed to find a husband--especially in her family was well off (and thus more visible and susceptible to whispers) would cause gossip. People would think there was something "wrong" with the household, and talk about it. Even though Mitsuri's family themselves are supportive, Mitsuri would still feel immense guilt for "shaming" her family's reputation by failing to find a suitor.
She would have felt that she was failing her family.
And while Mitsuri's relationships with other female characters deserved exploration (such as her bonding with Nezuko, or her friendship with Shinobu), her character does not solely revolve around men.
Nor is she "just fanservice for men". She has characterization, relatability, and character depth--and is a good representation of the struggles a woman who didn't fit the societal standards of the time would face.
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