I've been surfing the web for Rurouni Kenshin sites and I've been seeing a lot of rant against my fave anime character (heck! I even like her more than Kenshin!) And a lot of those rants are unfair criticisms with no real basis. They usually come from devoted Tomoe fans who are grinding their teeth in anger because they see Kaoru as a threat to Tomoe's place in Kenshin's heart. Once and for all, I'll have my say on the Tomoe-Kaoru thing before I get on with my defense.

     First of all, even if I am Kaoru's biggest fan, I actually like Tomoe (though not as much as Kaoru). Oh I won't be a hypocrite. At first I was wary of her existence. I actually saw her as a threat to Kaoru. And her extreme coldness really bothered the heck out of me. I mean, after getting used to Kaoru who was bursting with warmth and happiness, I found Tomoe's coldness and lack of emotion really disturbing. She actually reminds me of Ayanami Rei of Evangelion although Rei is waaaaay creepier (Sorry Rei fans! I know you might have found her enigmatic but I didn't. I just consider her as plain cold and mechanical. But that's just my opinion. You're free to form your own.)! But after a while, I understood her reason for acting the way she does and she kinda grew on me. I decided that I really liked her after I read the chapter in the manga wherein she woke Kenshin so that he could rescue Kaoru. That was so sweet and touching. It was totally unselfish of her to do that and it really disproved some of her fans' mistaken notion that she doesn't want Kenshin to be with someone other than her. After reading that chapter, I decided, heck, gotta love this girl!!!! Anyway, Kaoru is not Tomoe's replacement in Kenshin's heart. True, she might be the new love of his life but I doubt she has it in her mind to take Tomoe's place. I mean that special place Tomoe occupies in Kenshin's heart will always be hers and hers only. There was really no rivalry between the two women. I am extremely frustrated with the rivalry some fans created between them. It's extremely stupid because first and foremost, they didn't even exist in the same timeframe in Kenshin's life. Secondly, the two women do not even harbor ill feelings towards each other. And lastly, there wasn't even a question of who Kenshin loved more. As far as I'm concerned Kenshin loved them equally. They deserve to be given the same degree of love because both of them made Kenshin very happy. Each of them served their own purpose. Geez, sorry for ranting. It's just that I have no tolerance whatsoever for Tomoe fans who seem to like putting Kaoru down and constantly comparing her to Tomoe. Both women are cool in their own right, and it's so degrading to compare one person to another person. So please, let's just stop this madness. Tomoe was good for Battousai, and Kaoru was good for the rurouni. And that's that!!!

     Now, on with the defense!

*New* Sorry, but after reading this flame at someone else's gbook, I felt I had to give the flamer a piece of my mind. I swear my blood was boiling after I read it. Mind you, I don't mind that much intelligent criticisms of Kaoru's character. What I do mind is outright bashing. Anyway, here's the flame:

<<Hello, I just wanted to say that Kaoru SUCKS!>>

     Wow, I'm impressed with her intelligence here...(I was sarcastic ok?)

<<Tomoe was a much better person. Tomoe is beautiful, smart, and she can cook.>>

     That's your opinion. If you think she's a better person, so be it. And know what, I actually agree with you that Tomoe is beautiful and smart. But then, I almost don't see these characteristics because of some idiotic flames like this. And of course she can cook---> she was trained to do that. If she didn't learn that, then she would have been very stupid. Don't blame Kaoru for her lack of knowledge in cooking ---> her mother died when she was young so she had no one to teach her that. She grew up with a very strict father. Can you imagine Koshijiro giving his daughter cooking lessons? Thought so.

<<She saw past the hitokiri and discovered the small, scared, 15year old named Kenshin within the Battousai. She loved him unconditionally and was always there for him. >>

     Well, I've got news for you. Kaoru was able to see past the hitokiri too. If she didn't see past the killer, do you think that she would have taken Kenshin in? She knew he was the legendary Hitokiri Battousai--> a person who has killed MANY. Still, it didn't matter to her. What mattered to her is that Kenshin has changed and she intends to keep him that way 'cause she knows it's what Kenshin likes.

<<Kaoru is mean, stupid, and ugly.>>

     Mean? Yeah she's mean 'cause she took in a wanderer who has no money, an orphan who annoyed her half the time, and a gangster who always mooched off her. Yeah she's really mean (Again I'm being sarcastic, ok?) that she worked her butt off to feed three jobless men hanging around her home.

<<She looks like she has hair growing out of her ears!>>

     Stupid flame line! Not worth responding to.

<<She feels the need to beat Kenshin up for NO APPARENT REASON!>>

     Apparently, this person had no intelligence whatsoever to distinguish between SLAPSTICK COMEDY and the real storyline. With the severity of how Kaoru beats up Kenshin, you'd think the guy would end up in a hospital but no, he's okay three seconds later, which just goes to show it's there for the kicks. It's there to make you laugh. Too bad some people insist on taking it literally.

<<Shes weak and retarded.>>

     Right, she's so weak that she broke Jineh's spell with no help from Kenshin. And Jineh said that only a person with a will stronger than him can break that spell. Right, and she was so weak she defeated Kamatari with nothing but a broken bokken in hand. Hah!

<<Most Kaoru fans say that shes tough. If shes so tough, why does Kenshin always have to save her?>>

     Do you have any idea on Japanese culture, girl? I bet if it was up to Kaoru, she'd beat the living daylights out of the enemies but she refrains from doing so because Kenshin's there and as a woman, it's her job to watch him fight and just play the damsel in distress. It's what her culture dictates so don't blame her for doing what she's expected to do.

<<Shes rude to the point of driving someone crazy.>>

     Rude? I think you mistake being spirited for rudeness. Oh well, can't do anything about that.

<<When Kenshin fights Jine early in the 1st season, Kenshin is losing and he falls face-first in pain into his own blood, Kaoru says "Kenshin! You're a monster! Dont you have a shred of HUMANITY!?">>

     Did you watch the series? Kaoru did say that but it wasn't directed at Kenshin. She said that to Jineh, for goodness sake! WTF were you thinking? It just goes to show you have ABSOLUTELY no clue about Kaoru's character. Kaoru would never say anything like that to Kenshin! In the end (when Kenshin was about to kill Jineh to save her. Imagine, Kenshin would break his non-killing vow, a vow he made especially for Tomoe, just so he could save Kaoru! And people say he doesn't love her... are they blind or something?), she said something like 'Kenshin, you don't have to be a hitokiri again for anyone. You don't have to kill again." What is so wrong with that?

<< Shes such a freak it makes me SICK! >>

     Well, I have news for you. YOU'RE THE FREAK! Know why? Imagine, hating an anime character enough to flame her like this. Freaky, don't you think?

<<Sure, Kenshin and Kaoru have the little "thing" goin' on in the sidelines, but, thats just a "thing">>

     Right. It was just a thing that he ended up marrying Kaoru and having a kid with her. It was just a thing that he was willing to throw all that he worked on for 10 years (his atonement) just to save Kaoru.

<< what Tomoe and Kenshin had was pure, undeniable, love. >>

     That I won't argue with you. It was a beautiful love. But not at all pure in my opinion 'cause it was tainted with revenge and deception.

<<Kenshin has always and will always love Tomoe more than anything. And theres nothing that little bitch, Kaoru, can do about it.
~*Kotori*~>>

     Right. Though I won't deny the fact that Tomoe will always have a special place in Kenshin's heart, I doubt Kenshin would be stupid enough not to move on. And anyway, just before the manga ended, Kenshin said goodbye to Tomoe. Remember that scene by the graveyard? His last words to Tomoe was 'Thank you. Sorry. Goodbye...'. Oh well, you probably didn't know that since based on your flame, I can see you haven't read the manga. I think this flamer just watched the oav, a bit of the series and read none of the manga. Or if she did, she just wasn't patient enough to analyze everything that went on. Oh well... To the flamer---> Go read the manga before throwing baseless accusations around ok? It saves people like me from responding to stupid flames like this.



"I never said I wanted Battousai to stay here. I want you the wanderer to stay here..." - Kaoru to Kenshin in the first episode

     A lot of people had misinterpreted the statement above. They said that Kaoru can never accept Kenshin wholly because she cannot accept Battousai. Some also said she hates Battousai. But I think that when Kaoru said that to Kenshin (statement above), she was merely telling Kenshin that it was the person that he is now whom she wants to stay with her. It merely meant that Kaoru didn't care about what Kenshin had done in the past... it was the person he is now that is important. And it's not that she hates Battousai. It's just that she knows that the moment Kenshin turns back into Battousai (you know, the killer with the amber eyes! So hot!!!), he's out the door and the atonement Kenshin has worked so hard for in the past ten years will just go up in the smoke. In the first place, it was Kenshin's decision to stop being Battousai. Kaoru was merely supporting his decision. If Kenshin wanted so much to become Battousai, why did he try so hard to suppress that side of him? It's because he doesn't want to. And remember, it was Tomoe who made Kenshin want to stop being Battousai. She taught him the value of life, and the little happiness all people live for. Most of all, she taught him the meaning of love. And for those reasons, Kenshin vowed never to take another life again for as long as he lived, and thus stopped being Battousai. So it would be worse if Kaoru actually encouraged Kenshin's dark side because it meant disrespecting Tomoe's memory. And if Kenshin were to become Battousai again, then Tomoe's death would be in vain, right? So let's stop this Battousai issue once and for all. For me, it was never an issue in the first place. Did I make any sense?

     Kaoru is short and ugly - Okay so Kaoru is short. But so is Tomoe. I mean, Tomoe is not much taller than Kaoru. But look at it this way. If Watsuki-sensei made the two women any taller, then they wouldn't look good together with Kenshin. Ugly? Geez, do you have eyes man? I couldn't believe someone actually made this comment. Just look at the picture above and tell me that Kaoru is ugly. I think she's a beauty! Who could resist those silky raven hair and big blue eyes? It's a killer combination! The person who made that comment was obviously blind. And even if Kaoru was ugly (which I think she's not), it shouldn't really matter because what's inside a person's heart that really counts, and not merely her appearance.

     Kaoru just waits around for Kenshin to rescue her - Of course because that's his job. I mean, in that era, if Kaoru actually got into a major fight when the "big boys" (read: Kenshin and Sano) are around, it would be a blow to the men's egos. I guess in those times, the men were supposed to do the protecting and it's the girl's part to just watch the fight. Sick but true! Thank God we have equality of the sexes nowadays! You know, it really pisses me off whenever someone calls on Kaoru for playing a damsel in distress. Why is it okay for the other girls like Megumi, Tsubame, Misao and even Tae to need some resuing and not okay if it's Kaoru? They can't really say it's because Kaoru should have some fighting skills, being a budo instructor. I mean, Misao is a fighter too like Kaoru, then why don't people call on her when she needs some rescuing? I guess it's because some people just come up with lame reasons so they can justify their dislike for Kaoru, which is unfair.

Kaoru could have whacked Enishi with the bundle he gave her at the end chapter of Volume 26 - Geez, and what good would that action do Kaoru? As if a whack from a packet of kimono is enough to bring Enishi down! At least Kaoru was smart enough not to provoke a psycho like Enishi. With that type of psycho mind, one can never be sure how he would react.

kaoru-dono is such a self centered brat!!!!! shes not just that but she thinks shes the first love and first SEX!!!!!!!!! maybe she oughta get lost!!! DAMN YOU KAORU-DONO - Gosh, somebody actually made this comment! Can you believe that? She calls Kaoru a brat when she is the one who's acting like a brat. She didn't even bother to make intelligent reasons for her hatred for Kaoru. What a loser!!! First and foremost, when was Kaoru ever self-centered? In both the anime and manga, she thought of others first before herself. And brat? I don't think so. Sure she cries waterfalls of tears (ala Chacha of Akazukin Chacha) but dammit, it's there for the kicks, and it wasn't supposed to be taken seriously. It's there to provide comic relief!!! And when did Kaoru ever think she was Kenshin's first love and first sex? In the anime, there was this engagement ring episode wherein Kaoru thought Kenshin was gonna ask her to marry him but that was a filler episode. And she didn't even know of Tomoe then. In the manga? Never! She never harbored ill feelings towards Tomoe and the subject of sex wasn't even mentioned. By the way, this is an entry in the Quiet Life of Kenshin and Tomoe guestbook. I was really pissed off when I read it 'cause I thought the writer was being unnecessarily mean. She was signing a TxK, guestbook... why the hell did she feel the need to drag Kaoru's name into it? Kaoru wasn't even a part of the shrine. Geez, these type of comments are the ones that really piss me off because it's stupid, senseless, has no basis and is just plain bullshit!

Kaoru doesn't know how to cook - Yes, she doesn't know how to cook but that's not the end of the world. She has a whole lot more of other fantastic characteristics that more than make up for her lack of knowledge in the culinary arts. I hope people would stop comparing her to Tomoe in that aspect because first and foremost, Kaoru's mother died before she had the chance to train Kaoru to be the perfect wife. And it's unlikely that her father trained her in that aspect. He probably treated Kaoru like the son he never had and trained her instead in the martial arts, which explains why Kaoru grew up to be an unconventional woman and the mistress of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu. Unlike Tomoe who had been trained right from the start to be the perfect wife.

     And Kaoru had better things to do than to think about such mundane matters. She had to earn a living to feed herself, and Kenshin, and Yahiko, and Sano so it's understandable for Kenshin to take over the household chores (I really admire Kenshin in this aspect. He wasn't the least bit insecure over his masculinity to have qualms about doing what is perceived to be the woman's job). After all, he doesn't have a job. The least he and Yahiko could do was help around the house.

Kaoru hits people - It's called slapstick comedy, you *%@&~+!!!. It's there for the kicks, you know!!! The only time I think Kaoru actually hit someone (not part of a comedy scene or something) was in the movie. She slapped Yahiko because he didn't come home for one night. After she slapped him, she gave him a hug because I think she wanted Yahiko to feel that she didn't really like to slap him but she had to. But that's about it. The other hitting/beating were just there to make us laugh. It's really stupid to hate Kaoru for them. And anyway, I think that Sano and Yahiko deserve some of the beatings sometimes because they can be such jerks! And anyway, if I was the one surrounded by such obnoxious, clueless guys, I'd probably do much worse. ^_^X

Kaoru is a bitch - Kaoru can never be a bitch, even if she tried to, because she's just too nice. Sure she has a fierce temper, but that's not enough to make her a bitch. I suggest to those people who use that term is to research first what it really means before using it to describe someone.

Kaoru is a two-dimensional character with no personal struggle whatsoever - First and foremost, Kaoru is every bit as real as the other characters in Rurouni Kenshin. Everything about her, from her cheerfulness, to her temper, and down to her insecurities, make sense. That's why I like her so much, because she's not Little Miss Perfect who strived for nothing but to please everyone. She showed whatever emotion she was feeling, even though it's not always pleasant. ^_^X As for the personal struggle, don't you consider loneliness and being alone in the world a struggle? And don't you consider the death of one's parents a struggle as well? Kaoru, behind the sunny smile, was lonely and scared deep inside. She was alone for a long time before the Kenshingumi arrived in her life, that's why she so scared that one of them (especially Kenshin) will leave her behind one day. She was also lonely because she lost her parents, and not to mention that she almost her dojo because of the false Battousai. If you don't call those personal struggles, then I don't know what you call them.

     More to come, I'm just too tired right now! Sorry!!!