Defend Himiko? She constantly gets bashing for "making Yasuhiro look like a genius".
Hey now, that’s not cool. It’s just tasteless to request a defense for a character while dissing another in the same breath. It’s also just plain awkward for me because I like Hagakure more than Himiko.
You’ll still get your defense but keep all that in mind.
Himiko definitely isn’t that smart, for one thing and that’s definitely the point. Every game has a clear “idiot comic relief” survivor and Himiko fulfills that role for v3. It’s kind of the point that she be stupid…what really matters is the execution of this and whether any of her jokes land.
Humor is subjective but plenty of people do find Himiko to be funny so there ya go.
What elevates Himiko, however, is that she’s given a much clearer and more defined character arc, similar to Kuzuryuu in sdr2.
Himiko is someone who, according to Tenko, has a lot of heart and potential but lacks the motivation and confidence to showcase it. She’s very listless and apathetic and clearly seeking just the easy way out in most conflicts and that’s clearly an issue that needs to be realized and overcome.
For what it’s worth, this is explored in an interesting way that isn’t just Himiko kinda sitting around and being useless. Through Angie’s guidance and support, Himiko does relax more but she also uses the religion and Angie as a crutch and drive instead of doing things of her own ambition. It’s a double-edged sword, one with clear benefits but also one with such drawbacks that it’s clear Himiko can’t fully rely on it. Which, credit where credit is due, that’s at least more nuanced.
Because of Himiko’s rebuffing of means of finding her own strength, she relies too heavily on Angie but also clashes too harshly with Tenko. It’s not until both of them are taken down in one fell swoop that she’s forced to try and confront matters on her own feet. And she at least tries to be more active from then on.
She tries to be less pessimistic and passive and there’s a clear change and development in her character which people like and for understandable reason. It’s a song and dance old but well-appreciated.
Yep.
That’s my defense.
