Are Towa and Setsuna Mary Sues?
First off: What is a Mary sue?
Wiki’s definition: A Mary Sue is a type of fictional character, usually a young woman, who is portrayed as unrealistically free of weaknesses.
In my opinion: a Mary Sue is a character who is written so poorly, that everything is either given to them or dismissed because: 1: They are just awesome! 2: The writer just can’t be bothered to explain why they are awesome.
But are the twins Mary Sues?
Their story begins in the forest, dumped at the foot of a tree with a promise from Jaken that they would be raised well. We learn later they do not remember Jaken, they don’t know who their mother is, they don’t know who has been feeding them, clothing them, teaching them how to speak. Nor do they know of the deadbeat father that couldn’t find a door step to leave them on. Yet somehow they live life happily alone in the woods.
Fast forward to them being separated by a forest fire and then reunited in the modern era. You learn that Towa, the modern twin, was taking martial arts and kendo classes while also being asked to keep her powers secret. Meanwhile Setsuna, the feudal twin, is a demon slayer who was also cursed by a butterfly that stole her sleep.
You also see that Towa is so good at her secret demon powers that she can turn her broken ‘magical’ sword into a light saber. Not to mention other powerful demon attacks like the dragon strike. Meanwhile Setsuna is completely unaffected by the fact she can’t sleep. In fact, she doesn’t even seem to want to deal with the butterfly.
The reason why? They are just awesome. No other explanation is given.
Why does this make them Mary Sues?
If Hanyou no Yashahime had been a stand alone show with all original characters set in a completely new world, the twins would not be so out of character.
However this show is a spin-off of a world that clearly set the rules and gave us an example of a Hanyou. So when these new characters bend and break the pre-established rules set in this same world without any real explanation as to why they can do it, then it looks very Mary Sue-ish.
In fact, it’s Inuyasha and Kagome who are the ones that make Towa and Setsuna look like Mary Sues. Just compare their back stories and character development to see for yourself. Remember: In the OG series Inuyasha and Kagome are 15 and 14 respectively.
Meanwhile Kirinmaru should have been far more powerful than Naraku, yet he was nerfed for every fight with Towa and Setsuna. Why? To skip over a huge opportunity to develop Kirinmaru’s character and just claim he’s holding back. Because the twins are just awesome.
So are Towa and Setsuna Mary Sues? Yes. Why?
Because instead of being given a path of discovery or a reluctant hero’s journey the entire show focuses on how special the twins are. Going as far as punishing other characters that could easily outshine them. While never really giving much of any reason or explanation of how or why.
Mary Sues are just awesome and that is all that a poor writer will feel is necessary to say about them.
