"The Tale of Genji" has been a cornerstone of Japanese literature for a thousand years, but its main man, Hikaru Genji, has also earned himself the title of "history's ultimate scumbag" among readers. Seriously, his antics even spawned the infamous "Genji Plan" – a term for a guy raising a young girl to be his ideal woman, only to marry her later. Yikes.
Recently, one netizen dropped a bombshell. When a junior asked them, "How on earth can a protagonist *that* much of a jerk hold up a thousand years of Japanese literary excellence?" their immediate, gut-level response was: "Ever heard of a guy named Char Aznable?" And just like that, the internet exploded with agreement and debate.
Sunawo Kagehara, the netizen in question, explained that the hype around "Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX" has sent tons of viewers diving into older Gundam series, making Char's infamous personality even more mainstream.
This newfound Char-fame, he realized, made explaining Genji's whole deal a breeze, because, get this, "they're actually pretty similar!" So, when that junior hit him with the "how can a jerk like Genji be a literary icon for a millennium?" question, his instant reply – "You know Char Aznable, right?" – suddenly made perfect sense.
He then dropped a list of uncanny similarities between Genji and Char:
★ High-born, but somehow always sidelined from the real power plays.
★ Lost their mom early, grew up with a serious maternal fixation.
★ A little too fond of younger girls (yikes).
★ Sweet-talkers with the ladies, but their relationships always crash and burn thanks to their utterly irresponsible emotional baggage.
★ Honestly, they're probably happiest just chilling with their guy friends.
★ Flawed as heck, but surprisingly caring towards their inner circle.
★ Canonically handsome, which means they're absolute magnets for the opposite sex.
He even threw in that the latter half of "The Tale of Genji" sees Genji's rep plummet after he hits the big time, which totally reminded him of Char's spiraling descent after becoming Neo Zeon's supreme commander in "Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack." He even quipped, "Dude, you should've just stayed a beloved mid-level officer on the Argama!"
This wild comparison blew up online, with netizens chiming in left and right: "Even folks who've never seen Gundam know Char's name!" "Lady Murasaki and Lalah? Same energy, totally." "Lady Rokujō's obsession just screams Haman to me." Others pointed out, "Honestly, a scumbag protagonist is way more interesting," and "Both Char and Genji are surrounded by women but somehow always end up alone."
And for extra laughs, some netizens even joked that the NHK Taiga drama "Dear Radiance" is basically a "GQuuuuuuuX" prequel, while others seriously debated how "Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam's" plot rhythm feels exactly like "The Ten Chapters of Uji."
Now, obviously, this "Genji = Char" theory is just a fun internet debate. But netizens universally agreed: it's precisely these kinds of incredibly complex characters, like Char and Genji, that become timeless icons we can endlessly dissect and discuss.
So, what's your take, fellow pop culture fanatics? Are these two legendary figures really cut from the same problematic cloth?
via： togetter