Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-38120486-20190110164319

I wanted to post and share this, because it was something that helped me wrap my mind around the death of Konno Yuuki. Which, frankly, really bothered me. It still does.

While not the stereotypical geezer, I firmly believe Yuuki represents the MENTOR archetype character. The HERO (ASUNA in this case) comes across a legend who keeps the world at a distance and who is stronger in ways that the HERO herself would like to be. Initially, the MENTOR may be (is very much so, in Yuuki's case) reluctant or declines to help the HERO because of the MENTOR'S backstory. After the MENTOR's backstory issues are discussed or reviewed, they and the HERO party up for a time. What follows is often an EPIC TRAINING SEQUENCE, where the HERO is shown finding the strength they sought with the help of the MENTOR. Meanwhile, the HERO helps the MENTOR deal with (sometimes physically but more often emotionally) the backstory issues that are plaguing them. Narratively, the MENTOR can then become problematic after the MENTOR and HERO have each helped the other. The fact that the MENTOR was strong enough to train the HERO means that they have the potential to overshadow them or become a crutch for the HERO and hamper further character and plot growth. Which is why you often see MENTOR characters die, not always due to whatever demons were hiding in their backstory but certainly it happens that way often enough. The MENTOR, if they die, passes on final wisdom or knowledge and/or magic weaponry, while thanking the HERO for helping them with their backstory issues and generally making their world a brighter place. The MENTOR will likely express relief in how things turned out, and the HERO will promise to carry on with the MENTOR in their heart. The HERO then continues their journey with the additional determination to carry the MENTOR'S vision, skills, strength, magic sword, etc. bravely forward. If the HERO can find a way to provide their MENTOR with the sort of tribute, honors, and recognition they believe that person deserves, they will do so at some point.

You can think of plenty of stories that include this type of character, I'm sure. They don't usually have all the elements above, though some do. There are a few things that are noteworthy to me in thinking about Yuuki this way. First off, Yuuki is way younger than the average MENTOR, who tends toward being a geezer. It is WAY harder watching a young person die, especially of a protracted illness; unfortunately for me, I can testify to that IRL. I also think Yuuki shines as a character. For me, she came off as a very unique character, strong in the face of something truly awful while being sad and vulnerable. I found myself drawn in by the character, and wanting to help (fight beside or for) rather than protect her. She is in short a well crafted character. Feel free to disagree, but I struggle to find many characters with a similar level of crafting elsewhere in SAO.

Which is another part of the challenge with Yuuki. I've never been satisfied with the level of development on the protagonists in SAO. Besides feeling like they need more, I feel that too much of the time their development has been the reflected glow from other characters who are experiencing tougher challenges or more growth. Sinon's growth in her arc was great to follow, but she's been largely reduced to choir member since. Suguha's growth and development was more of a muddle, to me, and she is now also reduced to choir status. And characters like Agil, Klein, Argo, Silica, and Lisbeth, well...there's no contest with the usually paltry levels of development there. The excellent development of Yuuki's character combined with the handling of her tragic exit is indelible. I feel like, as a result, her arc and character make what narratively ought to have been a wrap up for the first two seasons and lead in for the third, something so sparkly-special it threatens to absorb attention and interest from other parts of the story. The author has provided much more depth in more recent efforts, like the Progressive stories, so perhaps that will fade. Anyway, this has been cathartic for me to share, and I'm very interested in what everyone else thinks. :-) 