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Beware massive spoilers for the entire show. Much musing on symbolic drownings, symbolic strippings, and symbolic glasses.
I got so attached to Fuu, Mugen, and Jin that I was seriously scared to watch the final disc, because I was so worried that Mugen or Jin or both of them would die. (Other than a few momentary flashes of paranoia, I never thought that Fuu might.)
Whew.
Also, I just didn't want it to end.
Now that I’ve watched the whole thing, the plot didn’t make sense in several places, but the emotional story worked out beautifully.
If the government wanted to leave them alone and let Fuu lead them to the sunflower samurai, why in the world would it hire Sara to kill them before they found him? Also, though it was a bit coincidental, it made sense in terms of the revealed backstory that the person tracking down Fuu's father for the government was also Jin’s nemesis. However, it was awfully coincidental for Mugen’s unrelated nemeses to show up at exactly the same time. I did like that everyone ended up literally confronting their pasts and messy emotional baggage—Fuu’s father and her childhood sadness, Jin’s tragic story for which he bore far less responsibility than I had assumed, and Mugen’s real crimes coming back to haunt him.
One of my favorite parts of the whole final sequence was the conversation around the fire, when Fuu gets them all to tell secrets. Mugen’s story was pretty funny, even if you don’t get the specific joke, which is that not only did he kill a relative of the shogun, it was a character from a popular Japanese TV series. Jin’s felt the most revelatory, though, not because of the content but because he speaks at such length and so intimately, in a way which I am sure he’d never done before. (And Kid!Jin was so cute!)Similarly, Fuu’s most interesting role in this wasn’t her own story, which we more-or-less knew already, but the extraordinary thing she’d done in getting them all to have that talk in the first place.
And then there’s that enigmatic exchange she has with Jin, while Mugen pretendsthat he’s not hugely jealous to sleep. If I remember correctly, Fuu is crying (because, in retrospect, she’d already decided to leave them) and Jin, in a remarkable display of reaching out, asks her what’s wrong, then says, “What if I…” To which Fuu replies, “No, because Mugen…” And then she puts her head on his chest, and he lets her—in fact, I think he even pats her on the back. (I bet he woke up the next morning and thinks, “Did I really say all that stuff? Did I really touch her? Was that really me?”)
I am pretty sure Jin was going to say, “What if I stayed with you?” At least, I think that’s what Fuu thought he was going to say. But I’m not sure what she meant about Mugen. “No, because Mugen won’t stay, and it would be wrong to keep you when I can’t keep him?” “No, because Mugen won’t stay, and we should all stay together or all go our separate ways?” “No, because Mugen would be jealous and try to kill you?” Any theories?
Which leads to the even more heart-wrenching sequence when Fuu leaves them with a note and a cake. I can’t really argue with her reasoning, but… the sorrowful cake-munching!
And then the Hand of God guy, Kariya, appears, as does that freakazoid homunculus character. Which leads to another great scene, when Jin makes Mugen go rescue Fuu, and Mugen, for once, does what someone else tells him to do. Wow, there was a lot of subtext in that scene. I think that Jin sent Mugen off partly because someone had to rescue Fuu and Kariya’s business was properly with Jin (and Kariya had already kicked Mugen’s ass), but mostly because Jin thought that neither of them could survive a duel with Kariya and that Mugen was the one Fuu loved. I am not sure if Mugen knew that was what Jin was thinking, though he too seemed to have doubts that Jin was going to make it. I think he left mostly out of respect for Jin-- which, again, is a huge step for him. At that point I did not think that Jin was going to walk away from that duel either, and I am still not sure how he managed it.
Mugen was awesome in his own duel. I loved him snapping at Fuu that he wasn’t going to die, and that just when it looked like all was lost, that mad dog expression would appear on his face, and he’d launch an attack with renewed energy. And that he took Kariya's advice and used strategy.
Yet again, there was a great deal of falling into water. Now that I’ve seen the final episodes, in which Jin is dunked once and Mugen twice, I think this hearkens back to what Yukimaru said about the mountains, that they are a place where people come to die and be re-born. Though these falls mostly happen at moments of great danger, and it’s repeatedly said that no one should have survived them, few characters fall into the water to die. It’s usually our heroes falling and emerging changed—- most dramatically when Jin emerges half-naked, with his glasses gone and his hair (which seems to have grown a lot longer) rippling loose, determined to try something he’s never done before because he’s acknowledging feelings he’s never admitted before. Being thrown into water seems to be a symbolic baptism, in which the old selves and old ways and past deeds and traumas are slowly washed away, allowing new lives and relationships and ways of thinking to emerge.
It also connects in terms of the three religions or spiritual ways associated with each of the characters: a Christian baptism for Fuu, a trip to the Okinawan underwater world of the ancestors for Mugen, and… actually, there is not that much about Buddhism in this show, but Jin does wear a bracelet of Buddhist prayer beads, and since everything I know about Buddhism I learned from Saiyuki, I can at least say that Sanzo is also associated with water. At least, he gets fished out of the river as a baby, and has an underwater near-death experience in “Against the Stream.” Also, note the relevant part of Wikipedia on the River Sanzu, about demons stripping the dead of their clothes
I have a theory about Jin’s glasses, but I managed not to notice whether or not he was wearing them at the very end at the crossroads because my heart was too busy breaking. I think that Fuu was right, whether literally or metaphorically, that they’re “just for show”—- they’re a symbolic barrier between him and other people, and, in that sense, don’t help him see better. At least, he doesn’t seem to need them when he’s at “Musashi’s” hut, or during the final duel, or when he’s having a heart-to-heart with Mugen, and in all those cases, he’s learning or doing things that are totally new and radical for him. When something is really getting through to him, he’s not wearing them.
I was hoping all the way through the final credits that they would each turn around at the end and start walking back. But I like to think that they’re not parting forever—- they’re all still alive and not only bonded with each other, but actually admitted it—- but only to see how they do on their own for a while, explore their new lives and test out their new weapons and outfits, and then, some day, walk back. After all, there were several points in the series when they all turned their backs on each other and went their separate ways. And every time, sooner or later, and generally beat to hell and dripping wet, they ended up back together again.
I got so attached to Fuu, Mugen, and Jin that I was seriously scared to watch the final disc, because I was so worried that Mugen or Jin or both of them would die. (Other than a few momentary flashes of paranoia, I never thought that Fuu might.)
Whew.
Also, I just didn't want it to end.
Now that I’ve watched the whole thing, the plot didn’t make sense in several places, but the emotional story worked out beautifully.
If the government wanted to leave them alone and let Fuu lead them to the sunflower samurai, why in the world would it hire Sara to kill them before they found him? Also, though it was a bit coincidental, it made sense in terms of the revealed backstory that the person tracking down Fuu's father for the government was also Jin’s nemesis. However, it was awfully coincidental for Mugen’s unrelated nemeses to show up at exactly the same time. I did like that everyone ended up literally confronting their pasts and messy emotional baggage—Fuu’s father and her childhood sadness, Jin’s tragic story for which he bore far less responsibility than I had assumed, and Mugen’s real crimes coming back to haunt him.
One of my favorite parts of the whole final sequence was the conversation around the fire, when Fuu gets them all to tell secrets. Mugen’s story was pretty funny, even if you don’t get the specific joke, which is that not only did he kill a relative of the shogun, it was a character from a popular Japanese TV series. Jin’s felt the most revelatory, though, not because of the content but because he speaks at such length and so intimately, in a way which I am sure he’d never done before. (And Kid!Jin was so cute!)Similarly, Fuu’s most interesting role in this wasn’t her own story, which we more-or-less knew already, but the extraordinary thing she’d done in getting them all to have that talk in the first place.
And then there’s that enigmatic exchange she has with Jin, while Mugen pretends
I am pretty sure Jin was going to say, “What if I stayed with you?” At least, I think that’s what Fuu thought he was going to say. But I’m not sure what she meant about Mugen. “No, because Mugen won’t stay, and it would be wrong to keep you when I can’t keep him?” “No, because Mugen won’t stay, and we should all stay together or all go our separate ways?” “No, because Mugen would be jealous and try to kill you?” Any theories?
Which leads to the even more heart-wrenching sequence when Fuu leaves them with a note and a cake. I can’t really argue with her reasoning, but… the sorrowful cake-munching!
And then the Hand of God guy, Kariya, appears, as does that freakazoid homunculus character. Which leads to another great scene, when Jin makes Mugen go rescue Fuu, and Mugen, for once, does what someone else tells him to do. Wow, there was a lot of subtext in that scene. I think that Jin sent Mugen off partly because someone had to rescue Fuu and Kariya’s business was properly with Jin (and Kariya had already kicked Mugen’s ass), but mostly because Jin thought that neither of them could survive a duel with Kariya and that Mugen was the one Fuu loved. I am not sure if Mugen knew that was what Jin was thinking, though he too seemed to have doubts that Jin was going to make it. I think he left mostly out of respect for Jin-- which, again, is a huge step for him. At that point I did not think that Jin was going to walk away from that duel either, and I am still not sure how he managed it.
Mugen was awesome in his own duel. I loved him snapping at Fuu that he wasn’t going to die, and that just when it looked like all was lost, that mad dog expression would appear on his face, and he’d launch an attack with renewed energy. And that he took Kariya's advice and used strategy.
Yet again, there was a great deal of falling into water. Now that I’ve seen the final episodes, in which Jin is dunked once and Mugen twice, I think this hearkens back to what Yukimaru said about the mountains, that they are a place where people come to die and be re-born. Though these falls mostly happen at moments of great danger, and it’s repeatedly said that no one should have survived them, few characters fall into the water to die. It’s usually our heroes falling and emerging changed—- most dramatically when Jin emerges half-naked, with his glasses gone and his hair (which seems to have grown a lot longer) rippling loose, determined to try something he’s never done before because he’s acknowledging feelings he’s never admitted before. Being thrown into water seems to be a symbolic baptism, in which the old selves and old ways and past deeds and traumas are slowly washed away, allowing new lives and relationships and ways of thinking to emerge.
It also connects in terms of the three religions or spiritual ways associated with each of the characters: a Christian baptism for Fuu, a trip to the Okinawan underwater world of the ancestors for Mugen, and… actually, there is not that much about Buddhism in this show, but Jin does wear a bracelet of Buddhist prayer beads, and since everything I know about Buddhism I learned from Saiyuki, I can at least say that Sanzo is also associated with water. At least, he gets fished out of the river as a baby, and has an underwater near-death experience in “Against the Stream.” Also, note the relevant part of Wikipedia on the River Sanzu, about demons stripping the dead of their clothes
I have a theory about Jin’s glasses, but I managed not to notice whether or not he was wearing them at the very end at the crossroads because my heart was too busy breaking. I think that Fuu was right, whether literally or metaphorically, that they’re “just for show”—- they’re a symbolic barrier between him and other people, and, in that sense, don’t help him see better. At least, he doesn’t seem to need them when he’s at “Musashi’s” hut, or during the final duel, or when he’s having a heart-to-heart with Mugen, and in all those cases, he’s learning or doing things that are totally new and radical for him. When something is really getting through to him, he’s not wearing them.
I was hoping all the way through the final credits that they would each turn around at the end and start walking back. But I like to think that they’re not parting forever—- they’re all still alive and not only bonded with each other, but actually admitted it—- but only to see how they do on their own for a while, explore their new lives and test out their new weapons and outfits, and then, some day, walk back. After all, there were several points in the series when they all turned their backs on each other and went their separate ways. And every time, sooner or later, and generally beat to hell and dripping wet, they ended up back together again.
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Now I want to write post-series fic where Fuu gets in trouble and Mugen and Jin somehow hear about it and come to rescue her, and then decide that if she's going to survive without them, they'll have to teach her how to fight.
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I once read a very hot OT3 (omg, I read het @_@) and it was amazing b/c it was actually in character. I wish I had saved the link now . . .
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Journeys end in in lovers meeting, what's to come is still unsure
Jin is not wearing his glasses in the final scene at the crossroads, or in any of the flashbacks, or in any of the scenes we see in not-present-day. So I do think they were just for show, "his sight was too good" when he fought only for himself, so the glasses were an outward symbol of him binding his strength while he was looking for...he didn't know what he was looking for. And when he found it (friends) he didn't need to be blinded anymore.
Aaargh, I have to run to class now but I will come back and babble more about this and about Jin and about love and fate and chance and everything, because I love this series and I love this finale as one of the most non-cheesy emotionally satisfying happy endings I know.
When the finale first aired I made a handful of icons, if any of them suit you.
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Re: Journeys end in in lovers meeting, what's to come is still unsure
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Re: Journeys end in in lovers meeting, what's to come is still unsure
Thanks for the lovely icons! I have snagged several.
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Re: Journeys end in in lovers meeting, what's to come is still unsure
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Re: Journeys end in in lovers meeting, what's to come is still unsure
I like what you say about Mugen and Fuu. That makes a lot of sense.
I understand a little Japanese, and the riverbank scene is ambiguous no matter how you translate it, because neither of them finish their sentences. It reminds me of the crucial moment in Trigun (no spoilers beyond this, please-- Kate hasn't seen it) "Vash, about Knives..." And also in X/1999, Seishirou saying to Subaru on Rainbow Bridge, "I... you..."
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I called it _SC_ Mad Libs.
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"You know, I don't really want to think about stuff like that right now. If you did, that jerk Mugen would . . . "
It's like Samurai Champloo Mad Libs—find us a place to live, leave, kill you, die, snog you senseless, eat all the food . . .
I like "snog you senseless" and "eat all the food," in both permutations.
I don't think the thing with Sara and the government is a Japanese narrative thing, but rather a culturally universal plot hole.
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Especially because while emotionally things are settled, realistically much is still left unresolved: Mugen's still a wanted felon, Fuu was supposed to have been killed with her father, Jin just killed a government official on duty...
(They could always flee to Europe with their friend the gay Dutch guy.)
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With Kamiya and the sunflower samurai both dead, it could take quite a while before the government figures out what happened, let alone what to do about it. Let alone who they could possibly send against Jin and Mugen now that Jin's lost his glasses and Mugen's learned strategy. I wonder if the two of them learned enough by the finale to be able to take on Sara, had she still been alive.
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And I'm glad it wasn't just me who didn't get the government side of the plot.
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When I saw it for the first time I wondered if they'd turn back too, but now I'm glad they don't because I either want to read or write the story where they meet again. Perhaps they just walk in an vast circle and meet each other again? They don't ever seem to be apart for very long.