Why does fandom seem to hate Suzaku?

[epistretes.livejournal.com]

I have been nosing through the fandom for some time and I couldn't help but notice the rampant Suzaku hatred. So, I decided to find out why this seemed to be the case.

'Hypocrite' seemed to be the biggest complaint, but (and yes, I am a Lulu fangirl as well before you kill me) Lelouch is one, too. So I was wondering just what made Suzaku seem to be such a target of ire.



[Poll #929606]



I'm just interested to see what dynamics make people like or dislike certain characters in this series.

Comments

[turtlesolar.livejournal.com]

I'm baffled by the Suzaku hate-mongering as well. Simply put, the main point of my post is: "If you hate Suzaku for reason A, you must hate Lelouch too."

Seems to me a lot of people love Lelouch (with good reason! I love the little megalomaniac too ^^) and therefore think they're obligated to oppose Suzaku. I can't really fault this thought since it seems to be a natural reaction. But stories like CG succeed because their empathetic characters make it virtually impossible to pick a "side", doing so would funnel everything into a black and white perspective. Anything intellectually relevant becomes trivialized the moment you label Suzaku as simply being "wrong".

Thing is, Suzaku and Lelouch do have black and white views of the world (woo chess game symbolism!) But viewers get both sides of things and are therefore able to recognize them as flawed characters. To Suzaku, there is no justification for violence. For Lelouch, Britannia must be punished through any means. They cling to these beliefs for good reason - they need them to survive. It's too painful for them to concede that their opponent has a valid point. Lelouch was devastated when he found out his role in the death of Shirley's father. But he can't dwell on such things or he'd be inept as leader of the Order. Suzaku is so tormented by the guilt of killing his father that he can't abide senseless violence in others - it's what he hates most about himself.

Some find issue with Suzaku simply because he's among Britannia's forces. Suzaku probably didn't have much choice in the matter. Being the son of Japan's Prime Minister, once conquered he was likely faced with two options: join Britannia or die. And this at a very young age, too young to have formulated ideals to fight for. His belief that he can change Britannia from within isn't necessarily a bad idea, given his position. He already has a foothold in the army, why not use that leverage? Since the results of Lelouch's tactics are instant (i.e. they won the battle), Suzaku's approach may appear ineffectual, when really, it's just a longer process. As knight to Euphemia, he's sure to hold some sway over what goes on in his homeland. Maybe he believes Euphemia will allow Japan to secede, or appoint only Japanese to political positions so they can again be self-governed.
What were Lelouch's plans to topple Britannia before he was granted the Geass? Peck away at nobles' pocket change through chess? Not terribly effective resistance.

Suzaku's an invincible character because he pilots the Lancelot? Please. Sure, the Lancelot is powerful and he has yet to "lose" but that doesn't mean it will never happen. Defeat at Kallen's hands has already been foreshadowed. Without the Lancelot, I'm sure fans would harp on him for being useless in battle. Hmm, am I forgetting something? Oh right, the Geass! How much more god-like can you get? And if that fails, Lelouch always has deus ex machina up his sleeve in the form of C.C.

Let's not forget that Lelouch and Suzaku love one another. I'm not talking romantically so don't go writing me off as another fangirl. Surely everyone loves their best friend, right? Lelouch also implicitly trusts Suzaku, even with Nanali's life. So if you're a Lelouch lover who hates Suzaku, at least try to figure out why your favorite character cares so much for the one you hate.
If you don't like Suzaku, that's perfectly fine. It's rather easy to be ambivalent. Heck, I watched 30+ episodes of Kyo Kara Maoh without ever really liking a single character. Doesn't mean I jumped onto forums and harried fans of the show.
If you hate Suzaku, that's fine too. Sometimes unfounded bashing can be unexpectedly funny; on another forum someone posted the pic of Suzaku catching fish and commented, “Yet another reason to hate Suzaku.” Why? Because he’s catching fish?! But most of the time, character bashing is just mean-spirited. Granted, it's a little silly to take character attacks so personally, but it's hard not to take offense when the characters we love are getting reamed. So spread the love for the characters you support! ^_^ *huggles Suzaku*

[empanadas]

*claps hands*

Well said! :D

[turtlesolar.livejournal.com]

Thanks! ^^ I actually wrote more but went over the word limit, oops...

[pumkin-eater.livejournal.com]

Bravo-! You said it way better than I could.

[turtlesolar.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear it, thank you! ^^

[verity-isle.livejournal.com]

I don't know why myself unless it's the "OMG HE OPPOSES MY LOVE" gut reaction. Suzaku and Lelouch are perfect dualities for each other. They're the same at the core, I think, but everything else about them are so subtly different.

The debate can rage on about the effectiveness of each other's plans and the reasoning behind them. I still think Suzaku and Lelouch's charms lie in being incredibly, incredibly flawed.

[turtlesolar.livejournal.com]

They're the same at the core, I think, but everything else about them are so subtly different.

Very true. I'm interested to see where the anime takes this angle; particularly, if the two of them will ever recognize the other's similarities and work together. Probably not, wouldn't be much of a show then ;)

[miyazawa-lulu.livejournal.com]

Why post my opinion if I already have it explained in a perfect and detailed way? XDD

I absolutely agree with everything you said ^^

[turtlesolar.livejournal.com]

"Great minds..." ^_^
Thanks for the kind words and for sharin' the Suzaku love!

[piccu.livejournal.com]

I agree with the others, very well said.
Spread the Suzaku love!!

BTW, you watched Kyou Kara Maou and you didn't really like any of the characters? Not even my Wolfram O.o ?

[turtlesolar.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the comment, and for sharin' the love! ^_^
Okay, maybe I should have said, "without loving a single character." I certainly don't dislike the KKM crew, but none of the characters really jumped out at me. Usually when I watch a show at least one quickly catches my attention/affection.
Your icon is making me reconsider Wolfram however XD

[piccu.livejournal.com]

lol I love him, he's such a tsundere bishie XD

[fantasygirl49.livejournal.com]

i agree, you can communicate so much better than i...i am a bit surprise those who like lelouch would hate suzaku cause lelouch loves him and accept his viewpoint even if he doesn't support it...those who hated suzaku argued something like suzaku is a hipocrite cause he killed his father but he condemn others and acted self righteous...did anyone ever wonder why suzaku is so set against joining zero, i think suzaku is a lot more complicated than lelouch cause it's easier to understand lelouch than suzaku since he's so conflicted, the one time he chose to rebel against his father, it ended in disaster as a result zero action will end up with disastrous result...what people called self righteous i would say it's conscience.

[fantasygirl49.livejournal.com]

i agree, you can communicate so much better than i...i am a bit surprise those who like lelouch would hate suzaku cause lelouch loves him and accept his viewpoint even if he doesn't support it...those who hated suzaku argued something like suzaku is a hipocrite cause he killed his father but he condemn others and acted self righteous...did anyone ever wonder why suzaku is so set against joining zero, i think suzaku is a lot more complicated than lelouch cause it's easier to understand lelouch than suzaku since he's so conflicted, the one time he chose to rebel against his father, it ended in disaster, he believes zero action will end up with disastrous result to the japanese since brittania is so much stronger...what people called self righteous i would say it's conscience.