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An Ode to Kagura (Gintama)

Kagura takes pride in showing her superiority over certain people.

“Sorry I don’t have any BANG-POW-BOOM. You don’t have to say anything. I know. I’m the only one who can handle you jerks. I’ve GOT to be the heroine, uh-huh.”

With Lunar New Year upon us, I wanted to take a look at a notable Chinese-ish anime/manga character. This character is none other than Kagura, from Hideaki Sorachi’s Gintama. She is probably one of the more unique heroines in all of shonen manga. Her personality is absolutely hilarious, but what makes her stand out is the fact that she is arguably the strongest character, physically, in the whole series (even stronger than the main character, Gintoki Sakata, and a majority of the male characters) and that she’s a lead female that is pretty blunt & headstrong.

Kagura is an alien girl who ran away from her home planet to live on Earth. Her first job at Earth was fighting for a group of thugs in the town of Kabukicho. Being displeased with taking out people, Kagura would try to get out & live an honest life. She is eventually helped by Gintoki and his sidekick, Shimura Shinpachi. It is revealed that Kagura is a member of the Yato Clan, a super-strong alien race known for their love of battles. Kagura would manage to persuade the two into letting her work for & live with them as well (albeit with brute force). Since then, the three are noted as the Yorozuya Trio. To quote VIZ Media’s description of Kagura, “her voracious appetite and alien worldwide view lead frequently to laughter….and sometimes contusions.” She speaks like a Chinese immigrant, saying “-aru” (a Japanese impression of a Chinese accent. VIZ has it translated as “Uh-huh”) at the end of most of her sentences.

Kagura with an angry face.

(Kagura is SERIOUS BUSINESS.)

There are a lot of heroines in shonen manga, but how many of them have had a great impact in their respective series? Not a whole lot. They tend to get sexualized to a huge degree, treated as “love interests”, and/or thrown aside during a huge story (i.e. Tite Kubo’s treatment of Rukia Kuchiki these days in BLEACH). Kagura is portrayed as an assertive female who does what she believes is right & can literally scare the crap out of people. The other female characters in Gintama are assertive as well, but Kagura is one-of-a-kind since she is only 14 and has the blood of a beast flowing within her.

Kagura's Yato blood causes her to become the beast she tries not to be.

(Hollow Ichigo has nothing on her.)

Speaking of “blood of a beast”, there was a great moment in the series where Kagura loses control of herself during a battle with a fellow Yato Clan member in the Yoshiwara Arc (Episodes 139-146 of the anime, Volumes 25-26 of the manga). She submits to her Yato blood and goes ballistic. Only when she was being restrained by Shinpachi did she come to her senses. There is a great analysis of this moment by ‘A Feminist Otaku’, which points out that in shonen anime/manga, the female usually restrains the male from going berserk. In this scene, it’s the other way around. Mostly shonen male protagonists have a deep, crazy power inside them, but not in female protagonists.

Are there positives to aggressive women? Yes, there are. They can take pain and make it into something with purpose. Aggressive women can have a good idea of what they want to be & do in life. They are also less likely to be dishonest. It is noted that boys, who are usually aggressive, tend to solve conflicts & quarrels quicker & easier than girls can. Teaching young girls to be a bit more forceful in a direct manner could do some good. Another thing is that not all aggressive women are trying to create conflict. They are looking to stake a claim to space and identity. We’re all trying to make a mark in this world. While aggression does have negative connotations, think of it as a way to bring about needed healthy change to yourself & possibly others. Kagura represents aggression in a positive light. She makes a huge effort to stand out, fight against her Yato blood, and be respected as an peer (hey, she calls herself the “Queen of Kabukicho” to establish an aura around town residents).

Kagura wearing Gintoki's trademark outfit and becomes Yorozuya Gura-san.

(Kagura as Gura-san, putting on Gin’s outfit and taking his place.)

In many ways, Kagura represents the type of woman Japanese society generally doesn’t like to see. Strong, aggressive, and sometimes violent. They don’t want to see male traits in them. Although Kagura does have her moments of femininity in the series, she is still regarded as a original lead female that isn’t meant to be sexually attractive & is known for her great development as a character.

On a final note, I wonder if Hideaki Sorachi is secretly a feminist. Although the manga has a LOT of dirty jokes, Sorachi has little-to-no female fanservice. What do you guys think?

Here’s to you, Kagura! Keep eating pickled seaweed, chugging down lots of food with no remorse, kicking butt, and giving us wise words of wisdom such as “Men should play around while they’re young. If they don’t, they grow up to be perverts. That’s what Mommy told me, uh-huh!”

Kagura still likes being girly.

Happy Lunar New Year, everyone!

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Tagged: manga psychology psychology of women psychology of heroines Gintama Kagura Hideaki Sorachi Shonen Jump