Karen

A Exploration of Karen's Personality

Kasumi Karen is many things—a soapland hostess, a Christian, a fire charmer, and a survivor of childhood abuse—but ultimately she is also a Dragon of Heaven, also called a Seal or Ten no Ryu, who will fight in the final battle to decide the fate of mankind. While all of these things are interesting and certainly make up important parts of Karen’s character, it is her personality that is uniquely her own that makes her a fascinating character.

Karen seems like a bit of an anomaly in the X universe. Despite having one of the most tragic histories in the series, with the definite exceptions of Kamui and Subaru, Karen is one of the least angst-ridden characters. In a series that thrives on angst and indecision, Karen is a breath of fresh air—confident, flirtatious, thoughtful, and kind. Obviously there are a few other cheerful characters—Seiichirou, Yuzuriha, Sorata, and Yuuto, for example—but Karen couples her cheerfulness with a sense of maturity and sexual playfulness. Of course, there is more to Karen than her surface demeanor, so, while she may not spend her time dwelling on her past trauma, there is a sense of loneliness and sadness in her character as well.

Perhaps her most obvious characteristic is her flirtatiousness. Her words, her gestures, and her smiles all possess a playfully seductive quality that gently teases the people she is around. Within her flirtatiousness is a sense of self deprecating humor in that she mocks herself, suggesting that she is too old or not attractive enough. She does this playfully, not because she believes it to be true or because she needs her ego stroked by the person to whom she is speaking, but because she knows it is not true. Her teasing invites the other person to look at her, take in her presence and sexuality, and ultimately disagree with her assessment. With some characters this would appear pathetic and needy, but when Karen does it, it seems more like a game—a little joke she is sharing with the other person. Surprisingly, she reveals her confidence in her appearance when she plays this game, because, while she is mocking herself, she is confident that the other person will not agree with her. For example, in her introductory scene, she is listening in on a conversation between Sorata and Arashi, in which Sorata expresses pleasure that he is a part of the Seals since they are all so pretty. Karen, who they are unaware is behind them, perched on a tree branch, jokes that she cannot be a friend than unless she is pretty enough. Sorata is extremely excited to have such a “hot” woman on their side.

The way she flirts suggests that she feels no particular shame about her sexuality. She is not forceful or aggressive about her sexuality, but she also makes it very obvious that she enjoys her body and her femininity, as well as her sexuality. Her job giving men baths and other sexual favors is simply her job and is neither something for which she apologizes, nor a way of punishing herself. This is obvious in the way she openly discusses her job. Interestingly, she embodies both sensuality and maternity without one overwhelming the other.

Although her flirtatiousness may be her most obvious characteristic, her dominate characteristic is her kindness and empathy. She is a sweet and tender character who cares deeply about the feelings of other people, even those who are unkind to her. Although it is not explicitly stated, her motivation for protecting the world seems to be a general love for life and all of humanity, which is interesting since she works in a profession where she would have to see some of the more unpleasant aspects of it—dishonesty, cruelty, and shame. Perhaps her most obvious instance of compassion and empathy occurs in her two battles with Nataku, an androgynous Dragon of Earth who supposedly has no emotions because it is not human. Despite being locked in battle with it, Karen is able to draw out its feelings and make it realize that it is in fact human and that it cares very deeply about Karen.

Karen is also very intelligent and able to plan ahead. She seems to be a decent at developing strategies, based on her plan to make Seiichirou sleep so that she could face the enemy on her own without risking his life. Still, the nature of the Dragons of Heaven is to react to attacks rather than act on their own. Partially this is due to their reliance on a two-faced Dream Seer and is actually one of their biggest downfalls. This means that whatever strategic abilities they possess, they are generally ignored.

When it comes to the ability to understand other people’s feelings, Karen does have one obvious blind spot—she fails to take into consideration that people also care about her. This is why her plan to keep Seiichirou out battle failed—because she did not plan on him caring enough about her to fight the effects of the poison she gave him. There are many instances, such as when Kamui loses Kotori, that she is able to understand his pain, but she fails to recognize that people, particularly Seiichirou, care about her as well and would be devastated if she were to die. Although she is confident with regards to her appearance, this confidence does not extend to her worth as a human being to other people. While she cares about other people very deeply, she does not expect this love or compassion to be reciprocated.

Karen seems to enjoy life in a general sense and she certainly down plays some of the more unpleasant aspects of her life, but it is very clear that she sees her life as less valuable than those around her. She tells Seiichirou that she should be the one to face the enemies before anyone else. This is not due to bravery or hubris on her part, but rather a deep belief that the other Seals are too young to die because they have not yet been able to enjoy life, and that Seiichirou has a family who love him so he has a lot for which to live. She considers her own life expendable, especially if dying enables her to save the lives of others. Her life style appears almost perfectly crafted so that she will leave nothing behind should she come to an untimely end.

Karen’s life, while not necessarily unhappy, is still rather isolated, and when one looks beneath the surface of her caring, flirtatious demeanor, one finds a great deal of loneliness. She cares so deeply about people, yet expects that they will not care about her in return, which must is a rather painful feeling. It seems so strange that Karen can care deeply about people, yet live a life so detached from meaningful relationships. Perhaps she does not want people to hurt her like her mother did, so she lives a life that allows her to care about people from a distance, which provides her with at least some happiness.

Still, Karen is at heart an optimist. She may not believe that people will care about her specifically, but she does believe that people are worth saving. It is interesting that it is through joining the Dragons of Heaven and entering situations which put her life at risk that she actually finds people who care about her, particularly Seiichirou. In a way, this makes her life both worth living and worth risking if it will protect these special people.

CLEAR