Was he really that likeable?

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Bakasai
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Re: Was he really that likeable?

Post by Bakasai »

I haven't read this thread all the way through yet, but I made an account just to say:

The opening post summarized, with outstanding accuracy, how I felt about Tendou Souji for most of the show and why.
Tendou is the kind of guy that I can't get along with. If I knew him in real life, I'd probably hate the condescending bastard. Usually, something like that wouldn't bother me, but Tendou constantly picks on the guy that I would get along with!

But by the end of the show, I didn't hate the guy either. What it finally came down to was that the amount I could tolerate Tendou was almost proportional to the amount Tendou acknowledged Kagami as the hard-working, good-intentioned fighter Kagami is. So that means I scoffed every time that jerk Tendou pointed to the sky until about... 30 episodes in?
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Re: Was he really that likeable?

Post by Diaxiann »

My opinion on Tendou is thus: He's a dick, however, likability does not depend on that. People enjoy total incredibly mean people, Dr. Cox and Kelso from Scrubs are a prime example of them. However, like Cox and Kelso, Tendou has redeeming qualities: He genuinely does care for other people, as well as being dedicated and focused in his goals. However, his enigmatic persona and self-importance make it hard for the audience, rather than the characters, to fully put their faith in Tendou as a protagonist. The largest part of this, however, is the fact he's Kabuto: You know he's the hero. There's no question that, at the end of the day, he's going to kick butt and save the world. If you take away Tendou's being Kabuto, however, he becomes a slightly less trustworthy character.
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Re: Was he really that likeable?

Post by yumenotenshi07 »

I had never heard of this red/blue oni thing until now, but I can definitely see how Kagami and Tendou would fall into those classifications. I certainly wouldn't consider Kagami "weak-willed," though. If anything, I think he has more tenacity than anyone else in the show.

I'd hesitate to wonder if their color schemes were intentional or not. It's hard to say whether the writers actually had that concept in mind when they were creating characters. To me it seems more like an association invented by viewers to organize characters. I could be wrong, though.
GraveZero wrote:I can sorta follow this, since I really didn't like Tendou when he first appeared.
In fact, up until Gatack's appearance he always kind of bothered me,. but I actually remember when he managed to earn some cool points with me and that was episode... 26? I think. When he first fought Rena and got his ass-kicked.
It was kind of bizarre to watch as I kept wondering if he had some plan but... he didn't. He genuinely was just losing because he was so obsessed with protecting Hiyori. Also proved he wasn't perfect as when he tried fighting without being transformed he got throw around like a rag-doll.
I dunno about anyone else but that was where I started liking Tendou and saw him as more than a ridiculous Zenith of talents.
That's a really good example. It is really amazing how quickly Tendou unravels when Hiyori is involved. The aloof front dissolves and all that remains is his almost disturbingly wild desperation to keep her safe.

He has so many mental problems. XD
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Re: Was he really that likeable?

Post by savemysoul »

Sorry if it's been said, but anything Tendou does is forgivable in my eyes, because no matter WHAT (and this includes
Spoiler
killing my wonderful Yusuke
), he's still really, REALLY hot.
I know, it sounds like a 13 year old's argument. But honestly. Unbelievably hot.
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Re: Was he really that likeable?

Post by Darthvegeta800 »

The big problem with Kabuto is... he tends to overshadow everything else.
He'd have been far more interesting if he'd gotten beaten up a bit more.

Two of my favourite Chars are Zabee and Sasword. Both of them early on seem on a roughly equal footing. It makes for fun battles. But things always quickly deteriorate into Kabuto regaining supremacy. Gatack was a fun 'challenger' too for a while. But the appearance of the Hyper Zecter and his 'Sword of Ultimate Doom and Flashyness' permanently put the ball on his side.
Which is a shame. A darn shame.
I must admit that I'm a bit ambiguous about Kabuto. He'll never be my favourite but I do like some of the elements of his personality.
Overall I prefer Tendou in the period when Hiyori dissapears and at the end of the series. Moments where he becomes far less 'I do it all alone' and where some 'teamwork' is involved.

Still I must admit one thing... the fact Tendou is a jerk is in itself a good thing. Too many generic main heroes out there in cartoons, anime and series. If anything Kabuto did a radical attempt to step away from that.

Oddly enough... my favourite Tendou is Movie Tendou. But then again I seem to be one of the few large fans of that movie... :?
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Re: Was he really that likeable?

Post by Xander Blaze »

I like Tendou more than any other fictional character in my life. Mainly because he is someone I always wanted to be. Nothing can stir him from his path in anyway. If you tried to understand Tendou more, you'll know that his attitude is is actually was on purpose. He picks on Kagami because he is interested in him and wanted to make him stronger. remember at one point, he totally ignored Kagami because Kagami thinks that he will be saved by Tendou every time he is in trouble and had forgotten his true aim to get his revenge on the worms. It's kind off like a psychological way to make Kagami grow up. In the end, Kagami become a great rider. Do you think he will succeed if Tendou didn't met him? I don't think so.

As for Tendou's growth, he didn't show it but he slowly getting better every time. He become more friendly since he met Kagami. Juka-chan said that Kagami was his first friend. Before that, he is just a man who devoted his life to protect his sisters and defeat worms. I must admit that he has flaws like being naive about the possibility not all worms are evil (or at least, temporarily not evil) but that were Kagami kicks in. He covered Tendou's flaw by protecting them from him even thought thats means fighting him. In the end, he become more and more mature. Abou snatching the zecters, it's natural considering that he is an OVERLY protective brother.

Remember, the worlds revolve around him in the series, it's hard to act normal if you were him.
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Re: Was he really that likeable?

Post by Raitaro »

to me tendou was kind of a ashole but he made the show none the less i like kagami better just because he was a normal guy who always got stuck dealing with him and i liked Gatack better than tendou
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