I have not interacted with any of the source material, so this is purely based on the film as its own artistic work.

This movie was cute and had some fun ideas, but ultimately felt very hollow. I wish women weren't accessories in the film, and the characters had some sort of nuance. Miyo has no discernable traits and is a clear self-insert for the audience. This movie is a poster child for the Madonna-Whore complex, where women are either virginal, naive, and moral or selfish, vapid, and evil. Miyo's entire characterization is based on things that happen to her instead of any sort of internal journey. At the beginning of the film, she has no confidence and is willing to give all of herself to the point of self-harm. At the end of the film, she is slightly more confident (not because of any intrinsic motivation, but because a man loves her) and is still willing to give all of herself to the point of self-harm.

Kiyoka says that looks and gifts don't mean anything to him, but the audience will never know if that is true because Miyo is both beautiful and gifted. I wonder what would happen if, once she healed from her abuse, she began to act more morally grey. Would he still love her if he couldn't project perfect morality onto her? I have no clue why Kiyoka loves Miyo. Not because she doesn't deserve to be loved, but because we, as the audience, know nothing about who she is or her values.

Miyo is by far the most interesting character in the film, yet her character is not explored at all. All we know about her is that her mother died, as we are reminded every five minutes with a "We Bought A Zoo" - level flashback to her perfect, beautiful mother who is entirely moral and could never do wrong. Does she seriously hold 0 resentments for her family? Does Miyo seriously not care about how her partner treats her? Their love story is cute, but seeing as she is deeply traumatized, the fact that Kiyoka keeps their dynamic so ambiguous feels almost cruel. In addition, the fact that Kiyoka is the one who is interested in her gifts instead of her felt ridiculous. Why was she not asking questions about her past? Why did she get 0 say in where she would be living? Kiyoka gets manipulated by her cousin, but also this 100% would not have happened had he just asked her what she wanted and communicated effectively. Kiyoka has 0 incentive to be toxic towards her after she has made it abundantly clear she has no power and no ulterior motives.

What's really sad is the plot of this film can not happen without the subjugation of women. I was somewhat alarmed at the lack of female soldiers and villains (other than the stepmom and sister, who are otherwise useless to the main plot). However, I realized there could never be large amounts of women fighting with men because that would mean that women were treated as equals with any sense of autonomy. Given that the catalyst for this story is Miyo being sold off to marry a stranger, it is clear that women are pressed in this universe. The narrative never says that this is wrong. In fact, Kiyoka is a hero for caring for her even though she has no autonomy in his household. He hurls abuse towards innocent women who are sent to marry him, likely with similar levels of autonomy to Miyo, but it's treated as some quirk of his. I don't think we ever find out why he is so awful to those women. Kiyoka controls how Miyo is introduced to her gifts, and even after realising something is wrong, he doesn't bother to tell her he thinks she has powers. The whole movie is filled with Kiyoka actively participating in patriarchal behaviours, and he is treated as a hero for it.

Overall, the premise is kind of interesting, but the film shoots itself in the foot for bad character writing, particularly regarding its female characters. I wish Miyo drove the plot, instead of being used as a plot device to move Kiyoka. She's literally the main character.