Tina Foster ~ Teina Fuosuta
Kaoru Hanabishi and Tina FosterTina Foster is a natural-born American who has lived most of her life in Japan thus adapting to its language and culture. She is a third-year college student attending the same college as Kaoru, and she is a member of the college's photography club.
Tina is quite wild and out-of-control most of the time you see her. She's very outgoing and has traveled the world. But, Tina's downsides are that she's often a heavy drinker and she has a nasty habit of fondling women's breasts. Tina is a friend of Kaoru's, but beyond her wild, outgoing personality, she is an unsure young woman who had wished she was born Japanese and is secretly in love with Kaoru. She gets very jealous when she sees anyone else flirting with Kaoru, mainly Mayu.
http://www.absoluteanime.com/ai_yori_aoshi/tina.htm
One of my favorite characters in Anime was not Japanese at all. She was born in America (presumably in Texas) but grew up most of her life in Hakata, a ward in Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. She was caught between two worlds. Having gone back to America for a while, she was an outcast, because her English wasn't sufficient, nor was she used to anything other than Japanese traditions.
Returning to Japan, she felt out of place also, because she was a blonde,blue eyed and was often taken as a "Foreigner". Her heart was set on one of the main characters, Kaoru Hanabishi but knew instinctively that Aoi Sakuraba, another main character, was destine to marry Kaoru.
Perhaps all of this was the cause of her heavy drinking and unsavory behavior that would embarrass her friends.
The story behind Ai Yori Aoshi was a love story. A very sweet one. It also gave into an insight
that made this character stand out so much in this very popular anime. How not everything is always as it seems in Japan. There have been many Americans who have dreamed of living in Japan, but never considered the fact that at times, it can be difficult for those who are not born and raised in Japan. The anime basically says that, yes, you can live in Japan, however if you are different don't expect your differences to be celebrated.
Tina Foster did make some lovely, very sweet friends in this story. They all became very close, watched out for, and protected each other. They all had great respect and love for each other, which you could see, when Tina was called to leave Japan. Her friends openly wept at her departure. Tina did as well..for never had she ever had such a close connection to anyone, including her own family. Even I wept at her departure, as did my friends who were fans of the program.
We all rejoiced when she returned at the ending, but she had changed. She realized just how out of place she was anywhere in the world and this made her a tragic character near the end. Someone who was not really welcomed anywhere except with her friends, many of whom would be leaving soon, themselves for other places. We all wondered what she would do.. but instinctively knew it would not end well.
In most Anime I have seen, you rarely get to see an American character, which seems strange since Anime is distributed to the United States as well as all over Europe, yet the one I know of, Tina Foster turned out to be one of the saddest of all and wonder how many real Tina Fosters who have been caught up in real similar situations.
Tribute to Tina Foster
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edqDkiII1q0 
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
