This screenshot demotivational poster is highly, utterly, indubitably, and absolutely Anti-Shippou. Sit back, relax, and enjoy my evisceration of this pathetic excuse of a Kitsune and why I believe he gives fascinating creatures like Kitsune a terrible name.
People who defend Shippou or are lenient towards him can perform the same song and dance with me about how he is just a child, he is just comic relief, and/or both all they want. However, I do not buy any of these excuses at all. I have seen funnier comic reliefs who are not insufferable little ingrates. I have seen more lovable kid characters who have a deeper sense of understanding and compassion. For today's discourse, I have seen cooler, craftier, fiercer, and more formidable Kitsune than the pathetic, ungrateful, horrid, hateful little bastard known as Shippou. I will always argue that Shippou gives Kitsune a horrible name because he is not crafty in the slightest. Yes, he can change into different creatures, but he does it haphazardly to the point where Kirara and Hachiemon were more reliable than this little prick will ever be. He is just a pathetic bigmouth who had the potential to grow, but his powers were inconsequential at best and useless at worst. Therefore, he deserves only my pity for not reaching his full potential as a resourceful warrior and a reliable member of the team he was in.
Coming from somebody who knows a fair amount of Japanese mythology, Kitsune are known to be crafty, cunning, wise, and rely mostly on a quick mind than mighty muscle when it comes to overcoming their foes. Shippou is the unfortunate opposite of what Kitsune is supposed to be because he is an unfunny coward without an inch of craftiness in his mind, body, and soul. Instead of growing in wisdom and cunning for his young age, he would rather be a snide loser whose bark is much worse than his bite as well as be coddled by three other losers in Miroku, Sango, and Kagome. Shippou is only effective with weaker opponents and does not even have the will to challenge himself let alone build up his own strength and skill. It really says something that a flea demon like Myoga, a blacksmith like Totosai, a Kappa like Jaken, and a Tanuki like Hachiemon are far more useful, cunning, and hilarious than Shippou will ever be. I never expect him to be as awesome as Yoko Kurama or as overly powerful as the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon, but his lack of power and cunning make Shippou truly lame and weak against his opponents.
Speaking of not being as great as Yoko Kurama or the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon because he lacks strength, stamina, stealth, and smarts, Shippou's weakness as a fighter and as one of my favorite Japanese mythical beings ever extends to his lack of growth. The little he does learn throughout the course of the series ends up being all for naught. He does not grow more compassionate or more powerful or more conscientious as a warrior and as an individual. He continues to be an unreliable ally who does not acquire new skills to challenge himself, thus not making him helpful in taking down stronger demons including, the worst of them all, Naraku. The excuse of him being a child and a comic relief all fall flat on deaf ears because he should have used his skills to grow as a fighter, but he did not. It says something that even Justin Stewart from Power Rangers Turbo was more reliable to his older teammates/surrogate older brothers and sisters because he had sufficient smarts and moves to help his comrades and friends out of sticky and compromising situations. What remain of Shippou is his weakness and my pity.
When the likes of Jaken, Myoga, Totosai, and Hachiemon are more useful than a hellion like Shippou, you know that something is indubitably wrong with this picture of supposed power from a Kitsune. The excuses of him being a tagalong kid and a comic relief are absolute bollocks because there have been kid characters who were far more reliable let alone stronger and cleverer than this turd will ever be such as Power Rangers Turbo's Justin Stewart the Blue Turbo Power Ranger. Justin has proven himself to be resourceful, reliable, courageous, and understanding despite some mixed fan reception of him being a kid ending up as a Power Ranger, although the likes of Kou and Riki from Dairanger and Ohranger are also young children who take on ranger duties and do them well. I never bought Shippou's minuscule contributions to his group/surrogate family because he lacks resourcefulness and courage. If he did grow into a more resourceful Kitsune, instead of the mouthy little loser that he is, perhaps I would root for him more. However, as he is, he is a pathetic loser worthy of the title of a skinned pelt than a Kitsune.
I hope you all enjoyed this, and I will see you in the next submission. Take care, stay safe, and never be useless like Shippou is, everybody.
The Lousy, Badmouthing, and Horrid Jackass from Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Sunrise.
