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The Truth of the Greatest General in China
Ousen Character Analysis - Spoilers Ahead
Ousen Character Analysis - Spoilers Ahead
Quick disclaimer, this is completely MY interpretation of Ousen's character, and I will give my reasons for my statements. This does not mean that you need to agree with me, but I would like to hear everyone's thoughts on this thread either way. Secondly, Ousen's character arc +
has yet to finish so I will only be talking about current Ousen, and at the end will predict how his character arc will evolve in the future.
Throughout the series, Hara has constantly showed us that the way generals act and war on the battlefields, define them as a person. The best example of this would be Kanki, who you can understand the personality of just by seeing how eccentric and maniacal he is while warring.
As Ousen does not have much dialogue, I used this same concept to try to understand him. For this, we first need to analyze how Ousen wars and decides to beat his enemies.
Thus far, we have two major examples of Ousen warring, the Sanyou Campaign, and the Zhao Invasion.
Thus far, we have two major examples of Ousen warring, the Sanyou Campaign, and the Zhao Invasion.
Both of these have two things in common, first that Ousen won in both cases by taking the lead, and second that Ousen exploited the weakness of his enemies to defeat them.
In the case with Renpa, Ousen understood that his army was a Wei army, which meant that an offense - on par with a Zhao army - could not be carried out. So he devised a plan to use that fact to defeat him.
Ousen knew Zhao(particularly the king) was wary of Riboku, thinking he +
Ousen knew Zhao(particularly the king) was wary of Riboku, thinking he +
may betray them. He decided to put more suspicion on him by calling him to the battlefield and asking him to join his army. This, in addition to the fact that Riboku said he wanted to operate under Sei, as well as as asking for Kantan's elite army, and losing Qin at every phase +
of the invasion, put even more doubt on him as the king ordered him to be arrested. His goal was the defeat of Zhao, and if Riboku lost, Zhao would instantly fall, so Ousen took Riboku out of the way.
In short, Ousen exploits his enemies weaknesses. But, he also makes sure he +
In short, Ousen exploits his enemies weaknesses. But, he also makes sure he +
has none. We can see this with how he has an incredible brain and usually just plays chess, but can also fight(with many weapons), and can also hype up his army if need be. Most importantly though, he NEVER leaves himself open on the battlefield. This is the reason he never +
showcases any major emotion or emotional connection to anyone, he simply doesn't want anyone to take advantage of this by - for example - kidnapping someone close to him. He sees close relationships as a weakness, which is part(not the entirety) of the reason he never talks with
Ouhon. Also why(unlike Kanki) he didn't pay tribute to Mougou
On the topic of Ouhon, you guys remember this scene? Ousen(for the first time) really opened up a bit. I find this scene really important because I believe this shows that Ousen isn't fully content with how he does +
On the topic of Ouhon, you guys remember this scene? Ousen(for the first time) really opened up a bit. I find this scene really important because I believe this shows that Ousen isn't fully content with how he does +
things. This shows that he has genuine care for Ouhon(even if he may be illegitimate) and wants to be more open, but because of the way he wars he can't. This is especially true because the way he wars has worked his entire life, canonically he has yet to lose even a single +
war so far. You could say Ousen chose this path because he is simply the single most ambitious general in China, trying to make his own unbeatable state.
Let me end this off by saying, that I believe the mask Ousen wears, is to stop him from going back to a normal life, and to +
Let me end this off by saying, that I believe the mask Ousen wears, is to stop him from going back to a normal life, and to +
remind him of his ambitions. When he takes off that mask, either his ambitions will leave, or it would mean he got close enough to Ouhon and found out a better way to chase his ambition.
If my perception of his character is right, then he's probably the saddest character in Kingdom, but I think his and Ouhon's character dynamics will keep getting better as time goes on. Out of the entire cast of Kingdom, he has one of the highest potential.
I got something to add on
Ain't it ironic how the single best general in China, is confused with his path and could change it in the future even though it works for him now?
Anyways I wanna hear y'alls thoughts on this thread
Ain't it ironic how the single best general in China, is confused with his path and could change it in the future even though it works for him now?
Anyways I wanna hear y'alls thoughts on this thread
