Bruh how do you expect people not to be mad? Dude this manga so clearly uses south asian culture, a culture that mind you, demonizes dark skin people as barbaric and uncivilized while praising fair skinned, whiter appearance people. Y’all get more upset when people call out something that has racial undertones than people who are actually being racist and bigoted. The bottom line is that we should NEVER be calling darker skinned people barbaric in any sense, not should we be glamorizing lighter skinned people as fair, pure, or innocent. That reduces peoples autonomy to their skin color.
Exhibit A of people who lack any form of literacy.
That is the point Chise is trying to tell in this manga.
The person they are uplifting and claiming is a goddess is lying to every single one of them to keep his own village safe. He didn't even have a choice in the matter 'cause he was kidnapped as a child to uphold the secret.
The king that the religious cult are shaming as a "barbarian" is a symbol of freedom in this plot. He's gonna be the one to give Mirza his freedom back and teach him about the world outside of the palace. Asura is not an actual barbarian like the people around Mirza are claiming him to be.
It's showcasing xenophobia and how it is BAD. It is NOT glamorizing or romanticizing or normalizing or whatever tf you people keep claiming. The dark skinned character is the hero rescuing the captive "damsel" in distress from a religious cult full of ignorant bigots.
How is this so hard for ya'll to understand? What words should have been used then to please ya'll? Call them outsiders? Monsters? Uncivilized beasts? Heathens??
whattt you are EXACTLY just like the villagers in the story lolllll
the reason the earth king is called barbarian is obviously because he lives in constant warfare, and judging from his wealth and pride he must've come out on top (which HIGHLY explains why he's so young yet was strong enough to resist a mountain tiger's bite)
"we should NEVER be calling darker skinned people barbaric in any sense."
this is soooooooo wrong in so many levels. barbarism does not only apply to darker skin toned humans. have you not seen the clash of clans barbarian???
you have to use your critical thinking here bro. "barbarian" in the story refers to a savage, brutal ruler. for someone entitled "EARTH KING" shouldn't it be obvious that it refers to something like a war dog?
wtf bro... nordics were barbaric, my people (native filipinos) were barbaric, romans were barbaric, russia were barbaric, china were barbaric, point is IF YOU LIVE IN A CULTURE WHERE WARFARE IS NORMAL FOR A LIVING, YOU ARE CALLED BARBARIC.
i dont think you realized but the seme was STRONG ENOUGH to resist a MOUNTAIN TIGER'S BITE on his arms. that is some concrete evidence that the earth king fights for a living. not to mention that he is king when he is 20 years old, do u realize how much kingdoms have your head as a bounty when you were crowned THAT young????
you have to realize that your mind is like the villagers in the story lol. worse is those people actually have reasons to believe that the earth king is barbaric (through epics and rumors i believe) and you're just over here thinking that "dark skin = barbaric, therefore artist is racist" when the story leaves enough context clues to explain itself.
not to mention that the first chapter literally showcases how kind of a person the earth king is. are you not just ironically being racist?
"skin color autonomy" nonsense. whatever the fuck that is, the story focuses on MONOTONY. the villagers want the goddess to remain pure so bad they haven't let him outside for 15 years, how would they feel when a king suddenly demands that the goddess comes with him to his kindom? ill give you a clue, they'll think he is a BARBARIAN. not skin colour or whatever. haven't you heard the saying that the heart matters more than what you see outside?
People bitching about the title and the way the religious fanatics are wearing me tf out.
So, here we go.
The title itself is ironic on both ends. Mirza is not the flower goddess but a poor guy that was kidnapped as a child to protect his village's secret. Asura and his people, albeit a little rough, are free-spirited and much more caring than the bigoted cult members could ever be. Hence why the title is ironic for both Mirza and Asura. Boom. Done. End of discussion.
Moving onto the religious cult; it is OBVIOUS to anyone with a functioning frontal lobe or more than a singular brain cell that THESE PEOPLE ARE BAD. Not in the evil villain way but in the way that they are bigots and religious fanatics. Their care and devotion of Mirza only happens 'cause they believe his in an incarnation of their goddess. We aren't supposed to like them. They exist to be a direct opposite reflection of anyone who comes from outside of their own kingdom. It's almost like they are portrayed to be xenophobic for a reason, yes?
We've seen that Asura and his people are kind and friendly even to the people actively insulting them. It's not like they are pushovers, either. Asura and his people have a goal, and they aren't budging on that, but that doesn't mean they are there to breed hostility. It's obvious that the title "barbaric king" only comes from the fact that the religious fanatics are ignorant bigots.
It's environmental storytelling. Something you should have learned in the first grade.
How is it so hard for people to understand this?