Character Discussion/Appreciation: Hououji Fuu

[suzanami]

((The character discussion posts were previously called "Character of the Day".  They're now Discussion/Appreciation posts.  Feel free to revive any of them.  --suzanami))

Thought I'd pep up the board with some relevant MKR discussion!  We're going to be doing a Character of the Day!  The idea is to just discuss anything about the character: role in the series, good vs bad points, love interests, likes and dislikes, voice, image songs... Anything!

(You can still discuss Hikaru here and Umi here!)

HOUOUJI FUU

[Sidherequiem]

Good timing suz! Interestingly enough I just finished watching the episode where Fuu saves ferio and so forth with Pajero. The one thing I always loved about Fuu was her intellect, although she seems a little uncomfortable in more personal situations, I think its all about the charm she brings to the crew. ^.^

[Itena]

Fuu's hilarious. She has a kind of humour that fits her only. Though, I have to say that I don't like her voice actor much, I like Fuu from the manga better.

[suzanami]

I'm deeply embarrassed I never posted my thoughts to Fuu's.  I'm sure I'll post things to this thread often.  But in the meantime, I want to share a really snazzy essay that inkycompass on Tumblr posted about Fuu, called "The truth about Fuu Hououji":

inkycompass:

I don?t understand why people keep insisting that Fuu is a shy, quiet wallflower. It?s very frustrating to me because when people say that about her, I think it?s because they?re just putting her in a box of assumption?they see ?polite geek with glasses? and assume that meekness comes with that the way that green comes with grass. But to hold onto that assumption, you have to pretty much not pay attention to what she does in the whole story. So I?m going to write a Thing, because this is really an unfair box to put her in and I keep seeing it over and over and over again.

Read the rest of the post in its entirety here.  It's top-notch character discussion.

I'm actually guilty of misinterpreting her as being a shy wallflower myself.  Especially when I was younger.  I've slowly realized over the years, hey this is a very outgoing girl, but inkycompass' post really nailed it for me.

[Down]

I saw that when it went up on Tumblr, and YES, Fuu as the polite gregarious one is so true and remarkably easy to miss, because we're not used to thinking of politeness as going with outgoing natures?

(Though thinking about it - that means that Umi is actually probably the LEAST outgoing of the three, which is also a readjustment to make!)

I love Fuu. I can see her as growing into someone very like Tatra - always polite and utterly in control of every situation without anyone realising it (unless she has to cut loose~) but I think Fuu has more of a temper, and a mischeveous side she doesn't let out often? I mean, she starts tickle-attacks in her sleep, and seems to really like coming up with strategies to trick people!

[dinosaurjam]

(Though thinking about it - that means that Umi is actually probably the LEAST outgoing of the three, which is also a readjustment to make!)

Oh gosh, that's true! Haha.

[Milieva]

Just thought I would throw it out there that today is Fuu's birthday.  So... if that manga came out in July 1994, and we agree it takes place in spring of that year, Fuu was 14.... That would make her 33 this year?  My, how time flies.

[suzanami]

LOVE FOR MY GIRL HOUOUJI

[suzanami]

I'M JUST HAVING A LOT OF FEELIGNS ABOUT THIS PRETTY LADY






/sighs wistfully

/chinhands

[suzanami]

hello this thread has been inactive fOR AN ENTIRE YEAR SO HERE ARE SOME FUU FEELINGS


so I love this person's Fuu and also Ferio fanarts (hubba hubba for both of them) and I'm poking through the artist descriptions with Google Translate because my japanese is worse than useless (mostly I just sight-recognize relevant names and a couple kana in context) and omgggg this comment

天然だったり知的だったりツンデレだったりほんと可愛いこの子
Really cute this child or was natural was or was intellectual or Tsundere

the artist goes on to add:

フェリオが羨ましいわっ
Ferio envy Wow

yes... I agree.... ♡

sorry for the rough translation, but you get the idea

I wouldn't quite call Fuu tsundere (at least not in the non-japanese anime culture's use of the trope) but I'm cackling at the idea of "is she a nerd? is she a tsundere?" 


Fuu is just such an odd little bird and I honestly think she breaks the mold when it comes to "smart/nerdy" characters.  I see a lot of people saying Fuu is their favorite because they always like the nerdy girl in anime... but I don't have a general affection for that trope (I cringe when she gets compared to Mizuno Ami because ugh she bores me to tears).  I don't like Fuu because she's a nerdy-girl character. 

her intelligence isn't just nerdy smarty-pants stuff like school or whatever (honestly, the closest thing we see to her being bookish is when Hikaru's classmates mention her school's reputation).  she's clever all-around, she's perceptive, she likes to assess and look before she leaps.  I think those reasons are why she succeeds at a genius school, not the other way around.  there's a lot more to her than being The Smart One, like a lot more.  and even in that, I think she brings her own unique take on that characteristic.  and it's not the thing I like MOST about her at all, you know?  it bums me out when all anyone has to praise her on is the fact that she's smart.  I like her more for being clever and a little tricksy and her kind of morbid sense of humor and plain ol' just being cute.

[Mokonalord]

I'm just gonna repeat this bit I said during Fuu Week.

Hikaru is the one who will take you down with belief in what is good and right. Umi is the one who will fight you with her dying breath, who will give her all even if it means sacrificing herself in the process. And Fuu...

Out of the three magic knights, Fuu is the one you should fear the most.

Because she is the one who can defeat you without you even realizing she was fighting. Behind that innocent smile is an observer, a strategist, one who is constantly mapping your strengths and weaknesses. The longer you've known her, the more likely it is she's got the perfect plan to take you out if necessary.

Don't make it necessary.

Additional thoughts: One thing that I think sets Fuu apart from a lot of the other smart/nerdy tropes is her confidence. Yes, she's geeky, no, she's neither self-conscious or arrogant about it, thank you very much. All in all, I would say she has the healthiest sense of self-esteem out of the three. Agree or disagree?

[suzanami]

Additional thoughts: One thing that I think sets Fuu apart from a lot of the other smart/nerdy tropes is her confidence. Yes, she's geeky, no, she's neither self-conscious or arrogant about it, thank you very much. All in all, I would say she has the healthiest sense of self-esteem out of the three. Agree or disagree?

omggGGG yes absolutely!!  one of the things I love most about Fuu is that she likes herself.  she has a lot of growing to do, she knows she's not perfect.  but she seems to be content with who she is, and she seems to know who she is.  part of that is in that she never makes a point of her geek/nerd/smart aspects, it's just who she is, but she doesn't make it her identity.  I think her rationality contributes to her confident worldview, which shows in her trial in Eterna as well.  she does need pried out of her comfort zone of course, and going from bow to sword really helped that, as did affections from Ferio, but she does it with this sort of acceptance and peace that Umi and Hikaru don't usually show IMHO?  don't hold me to that like gospel, it's been a while since I watched the anime or read the manga straight through.

it's a common interpretation that Fuu has been bullied in school??  and just... dude.  I think this is just assumed because she's geeky, and that's a run-of-the-mill part of the nerd/geek girl trope.  but she goes to a school that's supposed to be full of geniuses -- she might not even be that high in her class ranking for all we know!  and even more to the point, god, think about how Fuu talks to her enemies in Cephiro.  against Caldina in the manga she says "are you sure it's okay that you give up? you're being paid for this!" and in the anime she says "is the money you're being paid worth your own dear life?"  like, Caldina wasn't trying to tell her she was ugly, she was trying to make her kill her friends.  and Fuu lets it roll right off her back once the weapons are put down.  I don't think Fuu would let anyone bully her.  she'd be uncomfortable if they managed to strike a nerve (but we've established that she is okay with who she is overall, so it'd be hard), but they couldn't get under her skin.  besides, like you said...  don't cross Fuu.  she will hog-tie you and you'd never even notice til it was too late because she was smiling at you the whole time.

something I love about Hikaru and Umi is their insecurity or easily-shattered worldview that they have under all that bravado.  and Fuu is sort of the opposite.  she looks breakable but she's steady and strong and she's kind of like the glue that holds the Knights together.  people say that her being the Voice Of Reason is what she brings to the team, but I think that more than that, she's a steady hand, always keeping her eyes on both of them when they're blazing ahead.

[shinomu]

Fuu is so goddamn amazing, man. I don't think I've ever read fic where she's bullied at school, but damn that couldn't be any farther from how I picture her either. She'd give Eagle a run for his money in cunning and sly anyday probably has at some point actually.

[suzanami]

this is only half-baked meta. if that. more like, it's just cake batter instead of a nicely decorated meta cake.

but I always thought this was interesting!  it's from the pic series where Hikaru is swimming with dolphins and Umi is in her ballet gear (IIRC?).  I always liked Hikaru's cause it shows her love of animals and the happy positive playful energy that dolphins have.  Umi's speaks about her poise and grace, both very "water" things, and IMHO kinda shows another side to her, a different kind of energy than her outbursts or her fencing (both the ballet and fencing show that she's very good at maintaining control and being aware of her body, something one wouldn't know from first meeting her in Cephiro...)

Fuu is participating in a run.  it's not uncommon for air-associated characters to be runners, it's something that is kind of part of that whole concept of the element.  but Fuu never struck me as much of a runner so this illustration was always kind of odd to me.  it's such an extroverted and freeing sort of energy to me, whereas she has a quiet countenance and seems to always be attentive and deliberate.  I think going for a run wouldn't help clear her mind like it does for many runners; I think she gets that better from something with more focus, stillness, like archery.  "free" is a pretty common air association but I never really applied it to her.

anyway, all that (christ, I'm almost as bad as Down) just to spew my actual headcanon about this.  I don't think she's much of a runner.  she enjoys jogging now and then for exercise, but not when it's hot/humid in the summer.  but once a year in the spring, she does something like a half-marathon (13mi/21km).  just to challenge herself and get herself out of her comfort zone.  I said in a previous meta on this thread, a lot of her growth in the s1 anime is about her getting out of that comfort zone where she knows what she's capable of.

though I guess in a couple years she should make it a full marathon to keep up that challenge :b

[Ithil]

Just a random thought...

Hikaru's star sign is Leo: a fire sign.
Umi's star sign is Pisces: a water sign.
Fuu's star sign is... Sagittarius: a fire sign!

Why not an air sign?! Did CLAMP choose Sagittarius because of its symbol - the Archer/the Arrow?