Abuse and Love in Mirage of Blaze

In my latest reread in Mirage of Blaze, some thoughts have gelled for me about a perennially troubling aspect of the story: it's about an abusive relationship, and I absolutely root for the core couple to be together. This goes against all our common wisdom. Leave abusive relationships; that is rule number one. I've spent years mentally shunting aside this issue, but I think I'm ready to dive deeper now and explain why I do think Kagetora and Naoe belong together and what that says about real life.

Vague Mirage spoilers follow…( Read more... )