Soi, along with many of the other seiryuu seishi, is one of the less-liked characters in fushigi yugi. From a fans perspective, such as mine, this is hard to understand. Although she was mostly portrayed with an icy exterior she also had her moments, very few but existent, where her kind and compassionate nature shined through; Telling miaka that she was in fact not raped and pointing her in the direction of tamahome, begging nakago not to kill ashitare, and in the end her ultimate sacrifice: giving her life in order to save nakago. Many people overlook this aspect of her character mostly due to the fact that she is one of the 'bad guys' these people view the character superficially and refuse to look beyond the surface. Soi, however, is a tragic figure with a very sad story.
Sold to a brothel at an early age she was abandoned by the people who were supposed to protect her, her family. There she found no one to identify with, and a way of living that would dictate a sort of rythym that the rest of her life would follow. It was not until a sympathetic stranger decided to intervene that she had ever been shown any kindness in her life. When nakago helped her out one time she placed all her trust in him. Although it was Eichuu who saved her, it was nakago, the one who saved her first, that gained her trust. Her trust for him eventually developed into something greater that would remain a major factor in her life. What is hard for me to understand is that many fans overlook these facts and cast her off as a cold and unfeeling villain who only wants to cause pain to others. True she did in fact pursue the suzaku warriors and miko with a harmful intent, but only because it was Nakago's wish that she do so. Her love for Nakago was so strong that she would do anything for him, including sacrifice her own life.
Her attachment to Nakago is one of the reasons that many FY fans do not like her, but in her situation nakago was the only man she could possibly hold that kind of affection for. After spending part of her childhood in a brothel, an environment where she was held as inferior and worthless, I'm sure that her self-esteem would be low and she would be fairly untrusting of those around her, especially since she was taken advantage by many unfamiliar men, and abused by Eichuu, nakago was the one man she felt had ever been kind to her, even after 6 years she still remembered what he had done for her. He made her feel that someone cared about her, and after she found out that she was a celestial warrior of the god seiryuu she must have felt she was no longer worthless. Nakago introduced her to a new lifestyle, living in the kutou palace and becoming a general of a powerful country. No wonder she had feelings for him. Nakago's belief in her helped her to grow into a stronger person and to forget her past.
Many fans still argue that they don't like her because she was evil. I do not believe this, soi was a kindhearted person, she didn't want to hurt people, it was really nakago that led her, and the rest of the seiryuu seishi, to do the things that she did. Her life was lived for one reason and that was her love of nakago, how can anyone argue that someone that lives their life for another is evil? It doesn't make sense. In the end she was ultimately a good person, she sacrificed her life for another, which I think is one of the most selfless deeds anyone can perform. She gave up her life for a man who was the most important thing to her in the world. That is noble and courageous if you ask me. Everyone thought it was brave whenever miaka or tamahome did it for the other, but not in soi's case, and she actually did die. Why is it that so many have sympathy for all of the good guys and their many deeds of kindness when a heroic sacrifice likes soi's is overlooked?.. I guess we will never know...
To me Soi was one of the strongest and most brave characters in the series. She never felt sorry for herself despite her tragic past. She never asked anyone for help, even if she was in a tough spot; she didn't call for someone, she got herself out of trouble. She had sympathy for others: ashitare, miaka, nakago, and she didn't judge anyone for the things they had done. We need more strong female characters like this in anime.. :)
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