Notes about Charioce design
B’cos I love the small details.
1. Charioce’s wearing a ghutra (also keffiyeh) that’s usually worn wrapping it on the head in different ways, to protect that part of the body from the cold and the sun. In desert environments it can also be useful to protect the mouth and eyes from the blizzard and sand, or he’s just wearing an Omani turban.
Maybe it’s obvious, but that makes more sense when we realize that royal capital of Anatae has become a semi-desert region after Bahamut’s attack in Genesis events, and not only that, but the name of this kingdom has an incredible resemblance to ‘Anata (”palestinian town in the Jerusalem Governorate in the central West Bank, located four kilometers northeast of Jerusalem’s Old City.”). Also, the slums of the demons are pretty similar to Petra dwellings in Jordan:
[In addition (b/cos is important mention it but it’s just an extra note), liberal minds consider keffiyeh as a symbol of the Palestinian struggle, the struggle for the liberation of Palestine and the resistance in Gaza.] However, Charioce uses the keffiyeh as a garment... or maybe not... who knows?
2. Charioce haircut and his resemblances with Roman emperors haircuts. Yes, maybe It’s just me but his haircut has a practical reason like many roman emperors had it.
The care of hair of the men of Rome was not only for aesthetic reasons (the appreciation and care of the body inherited by the Hellenic culture); these excesses of personal and collective hygiene that the Romans had was for a military motive, a clearly political purpose. Previously the use of a man’s long hair meant the great deeds that they had done in battle, but with the Roman territorial expansion these customs had to change.
With the advancement of military medicine b/cos the dissection of bodies wasn’t restricted by religious belief, the consecutive bathing to remove dirt and avoid infections, anoint creams,oils and fragrances, shave the beard and hairs of the legs, having short hair to prevent nits and lice plagues and many more health practices served so that the soldiers were healthy, strong and much more vigorous for the war campaigns. These practices designed by the need to maintain a competent army were extended to all citizens. Of course, Charioce as king and warlord (leader of the army) was not exempt from these practices; in fact, the style of the short haircuts was varying according to the influence of Caesar and his haircut.
[The ceaser was the one who popularized the styles of haircut and male fashion in general.]
So, this is the possibly reason of why no more fluffy Charioce u.u (although Caeser Hadrian popularized the long beard again, who also had a lover with the same hair of fluffy Chris).
The difference between a king who lives at the expense of others (the gods) and a king who commands armies and prints a hegemony of power against others (demons and gods) is fully visible.
People keep insisting that Charioce was a badly written character, I can accept that the development of Charioce in the anime was not what I expected, but I appreciate what they left behind, without a doubt a main character who could explore the dark places that many writers do not want play for fear of offending a weak audience.
Anyway, I’m not an expert in these topics so, feel free to correct me or add more notes about Chris! >:’3
