Misa Amane (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
determiner) wrote2023-06-28 05:33 pm
determiner) wrote2023-06-28 05:33 pm
(no subject)
BASICS
NAME: Misa Amane
CANON: Death Note
AGE: 19 - 20 (pre-timeskip); 24 - 25 (post-timeskip)
IN A NUTSHELL: A girl loved by multiple gods of death, except for the one that really caught her eye... ! Misa is an up-and-coming model, actress, and general talent with a side gig as her serial killer reluctant boyfriend's partner-in-crime divine justice. (Note the placement of "reluctant" back there.) Despite the tragedy and weirdness of her life -- her parents were murdered; the entity that cares for her the most is a female shinigami -- she has many enviable qualities: An uncanny zeal for her profession(s) and the people she loves; the courage to go after what she wants with real bravado; and a capacity to play nice that can charm just about anybody. Just don't get on her bad side. She will not hesitate.
CANON: Death Note
AGE: 19 - 20 (pre-timeskip); 24 - 25 (post-timeskip)
IN A NUTSHELL: A girl loved by multiple gods of death, except for the one that really caught her eye... ! Misa is an up-and-coming model, actress, and general talent with a side gig as her serial killer reluctant boyfriend's partner-in-
PERSONALITY
Coming...
A NOTE ABOUT HOW I PLAY MISA
Death Note is weird, and one of the weirdest things about it is the stuff it has to say (and what it doesn't say) about love. Since it's written by Ohba, its women are, for the most part, caricatures of some of the worst aspects of traditional femininity.
In Misa's case, she is the goth gf of yore. Her defining contribution to the narrative is her willingness to do anything (anything) to be with and/or help her so-called boyfriend, Light Yagami, who treats her like shit and whom she, too, treats like shit, mostly because she lets her shinigami threaten him with death if he harms her or doesn't give her what she wants (i.e., a relationship). This is, inexplicably, presented by the story as a paradigm case of "unconditional love:" An inherently self-effacing, all-consuming emotion that doesn't care about the personality or feelings of the person on the receiving end. (Rem, Gelus, and to some extent even Light's mother Sachiko are all examples of this.)
While I think there's something to be said for a love that endures everything and tolerates (almost) anything of the beloved, Misa is a perversion of this: She just wants to love and be loved in return, and zeroes in on Light (or, more accurately, Kira) because he killed her parents' murderer -- allegedly. I think the "real" Misa is just as put off by actual intimacy as Light is and that this is (however unconsciously) part of Light's charm for her.
I'm interested in exploring this kind of interpretation and situations/people that challenge her on this point. (Otherwise, I'd find her unplayable.)
In Misa's case, she is the goth gf of yore. Her defining contribution to the narrative is her willingness to do anything (anything) to be with and/or help her so-called boyfriend, Light Yagami, who treats her like shit and whom she, too, treats like shit, mostly because she lets her shinigami threaten him with death if he harms her or doesn't give her what she wants (i.e., a relationship). This is, inexplicably, presented by the story as a paradigm case of "unconditional love:" An inherently self-effacing, all-consuming emotion that doesn't care about the personality or feelings of the person on the receiving end. (Rem, Gelus, and to some extent even Light's mother Sachiko are all examples of this.)
While I think there's something to be said for a love that endures everything and tolerates (almost) anything of the beloved, Misa is a perversion of this: She just wants to love and be loved in return, and zeroes in on Light (or, more accurately, Kira) because he killed her parents' murderer -- allegedly. I think the "real" Misa is just as put off by actual intimacy as Light is and that this is (however unconsciously) part of Light's charm for her.
I'm interested in exploring this kind of interpretation and situations/people that challenge her on this point. (Otherwise, I'd find her unplayable.)
☆ code by kimmiserate ☆