Yashahime Screenshots

I was a fan of Rion. Being a gentle and peaceful person doesn’t necessarily make you “weak” whatever your gender is. It’s not always easy to feel empathy. Caring about others can be very painful and hard. It takes courage to nurture those “soft” parts of yourself in a “hard” world. Not every child will grow up to be a warrior type even in a fantasy setting like this one. Personally I don’t believe that the way Rion’s story ended was the right resolution for her character. It seemed to shift the blame for her death on to her rather than her Father (who I still blame. Kirinmaru, it was Kirinmaru’s fault what happened!)  But I suppose it was meant to be empowering and show her gaining courage and strength and stepping symbolically into the realm of adulthood. That’s a good message *in general* for a show about teenagers but when applied to Rion’s past it put me a little in mind of victim blaming. All that being said I am not going to let that ruin my enjoyment of character or part in the story, and I’m glad that she was given a form of resolution even if it wasn’t the one I would have chosen.