A Mulan appreciation post.

I don't know why, but today I felt like writing a post about fictional characters that I love or have influenced me in one way or another.

Originally I was going to write this post about several fictional characters, but I wrote too much about Mulan so I just turned it into a Mulan appreciation post. :'P

Hopefully this won't be terribly dull. I'll add pictures to make it pretty lol.

Mulan! My current icon here.
Ahh, so many feelings for her.
Growing up, she tied with Jasmine for the spot of my favorite princess.

[ source ]

Even though technically she wasn't a princess. But I like when she's included in the princess lineup anyway. And I get mildly irritated when people say "but she's not a princess what is she doing in the lineup!!"

Hey man, I don't see any of your princesses saving a nation with a huge population. >:I Do you see Aurora or Cinderella* taking down 99% of an army through sheer smarts?

DIDN'T THINK SO. 8D

She deserves that spot okay.

I also think her clothes are really pretty. All of them. I liked her hanfu (top picture) a lot even as a kid, but now I love it more because probably because of my Asian clothes bias, heh. I want one. ; _ ;

As a kid I couldn't really relate to her problem, but as a teenager yeah I can. The person my parents want me to be and the person I am are completely different things, but I'm trucking through it. :'D If Mulan did fine, I'll be fine too.

Also I was really sad when she cut off her pretty hair. Long hair was part of who you were (as a female) in ancient China. To cut it usually meant you had shamed your family in some way (which she did, actually...), but in the movie she mainly cut it because it would get in the way/she had to hide her gender. In modern days there isn't so much of a stress on long hair of course, but I think I would cry if I had to cut that much of mine off. :'( BRAVE GIRL SHE IS.

A large part of why I liked the movies was also the music (WE MUST BE AS SWIFT AS THE COURSING RIVERRR) and the supporting characters. How can you not like Mushu or Shang or Yao or Ling or Chien Po? :')

Cri-kee and Grandma Fa get special mention too. Especially Grandma Fa.

Wow Grandma Fa, how subtle of you.

Though there are a few loopholes in the movie. The real Fa Mulan apparently didn't live during the time of the Huns, and in the beginning of the movie, Mulan is writing Simplified Chinese characters on her arm, when in reality they should be Traditional Chinese characters (since this is, ancient China). Simplified Chinese didn't come into use until the 1950s. :'P /Asian history nerd.

Which means yes, that's right-- any Chinese characters you see, are most likely Simplified, so there is most likely a more difficult version of those characters. :'D But it's nothing to worry about unless you plan to go to Taiwan, Hong Kong, or Macau. They're the only ones who use Traditional Chinese nowadays. Mainland China (like Beijing and Shanghai) use Simplified.

But I digress.

The movie teaches to be yourself, not who others want you to be. Be brave, and be smart. Mushu, Grandma Fa, and the Greatest-Warriors-in-all-of-China-trio (Yao, Ling, Chien Po) make the movie funny.

Mulan 2 teaches to love who you love, and not to love based on what others want. Also that you need to overcome differences. And stuff. That one was cute, but I still love the first one more, but mainly because it was my childhood.

The only negative things about Mulan (gasp) is that:
Shan Yu is really really scary. D:

[source] If I saw him walking around I think I'd die from heart attack.

And...
The movie has given me unrealistic expectations for men. Sorry, future husband, whoever you are. You have great things to accomplish. Good luck, though!