People Like Me Ruin Feminism

Underrated overlooked relationships by both fandom and the anime adaption: May and Lan Fan, part 2

Knox: (in flashback): Don’t fight. An old man like me doesn’t want to see you kids killing each other.

Lan Fan: My prince. I have a request to ask of you. When you become Emporer…please do not punish the rival clans.

Ling: Sure thing.

Lan Fan: Wha! You agreed so easily

Ling: I know what you’re trying to say. I get it.

Hey, Chang girl. You sure are an idiot! You got caught up in another country’s fight, so you didn’t even get a philosipher’s stone for your troubles. The throne belongs to the Yao family now. But don’t worry. The Yao family will take full responsibility for the safety of your clan.

So Brotherhood left out this moment of Lan Fan asking Ling not to punish May’s clan, and this is SO IMPORTANT TO HER CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT it’s the only change I’m REALLY ANGRY Brotherhood made.

Because Lan Fan’s grown. Lan Fan GETS IT now. She sees beyond the “my clan is the only thing, everything else can die” thing. Seeing the death of her grandfather…she is just a kid. She knows that now. She doesn’t want to kill anymore. She’s sick of death. And she definitely sees that May is just like her- just another girl trying her best, trying to help out her clan. After al she’s been through, she doesn’t want to leave this girl alone. She doesn’t want to kill May. She wants to help her.

So she goes to Ling. And this is a big thing for her, to request her prince, now certain to be her emporer, rule a certain way. She’s not supposed to order Ling around about how to do his job, it goes against the rules of her position. But she doesn’t care. Not only is she prepared to go against her code to ask Ling to do this, she is prepared to fight for it. Look at the fire in her eyes when she says it. It’s not just a request, she is basically TELLING him to do this. She is shocked when Ling gives in easily, because she was all set to go after him about this. She was set to have to force him to accept May. And she was willing to do that- she was willing to overstep her bounds as a servant, to risk her position in order to help May. Because there are things more important than duty. She knows that now.

And May. Beautiful, selfless May Chang has already discovered she couldn’t be ruthless and only care about her clan. She threw it all away because she didn’t have it in her to NOT save people dying in front of her, Even if it meant compromising her duty, she had to do what she felt was right. And May expects Ling and Lan Fan to just throw her away. But no, because Ling and Lan Fan get it, May is driven by compassion, they are too. So they take May in. They help her off her feet and say, “let’s go back to our country”. Because May is of their country, May is one of them. Clan divides don’t matter anymore.

Look at the softness in Lan Fan’s eyes as she looks at May and Ling. She’s completely accepted this girl. She was happy to help her. This girl is with her and Ling now and they’re all gonna stick together. No more death, because after her grandfather, it’s enough. Nothing’s black-and-white here, but they can all live together in the gray area. They’re going back to Xing.

What amazing development for both these girls and what a subtle yet massively important bond they have. All the excellent ladies understanding each other and coming together. It’s a crime the anime did not get that was essential to leave in.

Underrated overlooked relationships by both fandom and the anime adaption: May and Lan Fan, part 1,

May and Lan Fan. MAY AND LAN FAN.

Both of them completely headstrong, completely loyal to their clans. Both of them willing to go impossible lengths to protect their clan. Both of them self sufficient, driven, confident to the point of arrogance.

Both of them consider themselves ruthless, willing to strike down any opponent, only deidicated to this single goal of saving their clan over anything else. There can be no compromises. 

Arakawa deliberately mirrors them here. They are both equally passionate about the same thing, and try to kill each other on sight because of it. Even their circumstances are the same. Lan Fan lost her arm, May has a concussion. 

“Don’t underestimate me because I’m injured”

“same to you”

These are both women who ignore their own pain to sacrifice for others. They are completely single minded and only one goal matters- SAVE MY CLAN. Even if their bodies break, they will. They will sacrifice anything. May is twelve or thirteen at MOST and she has killed, she has almost been killed more times than she can count. She is completely and utterly alone except for her panda in a foreign country, but determined to win anyway. Lan Fan just cut her own arm off without hesitation to save the head of her clan. There is nothing else but saving the clan. Killing or dying, it doesn’t matter. Purely dogmatic, everything’s black-and-white, or so they think.

The thing May brings up to try to diminish Lan Fan, make her easier to eliminate is class- she’s a princess, this girl is just a dog. There’s nothing wrong with killing someone who’s just an obedient pet who follows orders. All this girl is is an extension of Ling Yao, she’s not really a person at all. But then there’s the insecurity that lies under May’s words- “my weaker clan”- she may be trying to puff herself up and exert her authority over Lan Fan, but Lan Fan belongs to a stronger clan. In some ways, May feels inferior. The need to eliminate Lan Fan is clear- even as a commoner, she does have some power, she is a real threat. Therefore she needs to go. Black and white. Clear.

Lan Fan doesn’t care that May’s a princess. The only authority that matters to her is the head of her own clan. May’s not part of that, so May might as well be a commoner. And the Chang’s are a weaker clan, so Lan Fan doesn’t consider them as much a threat- but May is the head of her clan, and Lan Fan can’t ignore that. So Lan Fan tries to undermine May, calling her small. By doing that, she’s remind herself if she loses to May, she’s losing to someone smaller, a weaker clan- she can’t afford that. Black and white. Clear.

But it’s not black and white. Neither of them are the ruthless, singleminded robots they think they are. Both of them are at their core, driven by compassion. Lan Fan isn’t just bound to duty, she loves the people she’s with, the people she fights for. It’s that love that drives her. May is so compassionate toward everyone she meets, she ends up giving up the philosopher’s stone to help a foreign country and a complete stranger. 

They’re both still kids. They haven’t figured themselves out yet. They don’t see how alike they are, they don’t see there’s another choice besides “eliminate all rivals”. They think they’re adults, they’re trying to mold themselves into adults, but they’re not. They think they’re being adults but trying to kill each other, but really it’s a childish thing of both of them refusing to see how much like them the other girl is, of refusing to see the other’s point of view.

I don’t think either May or Lan Fan are used to thinking of themselves as children, so Dr. Knox’s words touch something in them. They both look at themselves and it’s  Am I kid…? Was that a fight between kids? Is she just a kid like me? What am I doing?”

There’s so much going on here with these two girls who are exactly alike, but simply were born in different clans. They’re pitting themselves against each other, but it doesn’t have to be this way.