Fei v. Mikhail: Rap Battle and Jello Wrestling Face Off

Meh. I've always thought Fei was the discount Fei, and 90% of his attraction for readers is his hair. With apologies to Anne Gregory, how many could love him for himself alone and not his long glossy hair? Take away that and you have an ineffective lovesick toddler who would not otherwise be countenanced. Although he makes a handy psychological vessel for those who can't suppress their sexual jealousy against Akihito.

And since Mikhail didn't get his own whole volume sob story, it's hard to compare him to Fei since we don't know what's driving him. And rest assured, he has a sad backstory. It's literally written on his back in stripes.

You say it's hair that makes the man?
I say it's heart, because he can
rebuild from nothing but force of will
Take what he needs, move for the kill
Beautiful, yes but also deadly
Mashing up his own Baishe medley
Keeps his rival's son close like a treasure
He's a master of pain as well as pleasure
Keeps his eyes on the prize, doing a three way
Now the Dragon's on the rise--What does the fox say?

So the fox has some scars from uncle Yuri?
Mikhail's still a fail, so he'd better hurry
and make his way, if he could
You got a lot to say, so Mikhail, what's good?

Mikhail covers his deadly side with humor. Fei never jokes when he is serious.I think they like to flirt with each other but neither is serious about it,if they where they would have acted on it by now.Neither would be good for the other. they could not trust the other because of who they represent.I can see Mikhail with Kuroda . , he can take him in the jello wrestling and no competition. they can spend their time debating each other. Fei (if you give up on Yoh can't see those two apart)and Kirishima , he needs that personality type to make take care of him. I know I am in the minority, but that is how I feel.

Oh no, my friend, you went too far
Kuroda is mine, better raise the bar
Let Mikhail have Sodou, Yuri, or Kou
Let him safari with Mitarai
or Sakazaki for now
The fox is tricky, but take a look
Can you imagine Mikhail reading a book?
Kuroda is snarky and cool as snow
But he is also smart and loyal; it's so
Kuroda is a guard dog, trained to defend
The fox is his foe to the bitter end
You can ship it if you want to
How could I stop it?
But if your ship ever sails,
Kuroda better top it.

@ Anoni( Asami's bro) Kuroda Shinji is all yours lock stock and two smoking guns. That was a good and plenty one" Bows".Poetic. hahahahaha. made me laugh.

Thanks. I think it's time we laughed a bit more around here. :)

Really? Mikhail and Feilong, similar?! In my eyes, they couldn't be more different. Where should I even start?

Well, for one, Mikhail is unpredictable and almost impossible to figure out. He does seem to have a dark backstory, but I doubt it's a similar one to Feilong's; it just wouldn't fit, especially with the kind of scars he has. He's cunning. You can never be sure if he's being genuine or just lying to your face with a smile on his own. He will do almost anything for his personal gains. He won't let himself be influenced by emotions like Feilong, but he won't hesitate to abuse it if another person does, as long as it benefits him. Instead he acts on his whims, which can be much more dangerous, because it makes it impossible to foresee what he's going to do; he might pursue one goal one day and competely lose interest the next.

He seems to have both a sadistic and a masochistic side, and he's pretty open about it (as opposed to Feilong, who definitely has a sadistic side but I'm convinced has also some buried masochistic streak that he mostly keeps hidden away, maybe out of pride, maybe out of fear of being backstabbed or hurt, maybe both).

Mikhail is always talking in the same manner, jesting, flirting, so it's easy to miss when there's something else beneath that - it can be a cynical jab or a hidden threat; but I also feel there's something else going on about him. Like the scene when he nonchalantly showed Fei and Asami the scars on his back, clearly hinting at something dark in his past, and yet still keeping his light and casual tone. Something about that moment unsettles me.

One of the biggest differences, though, is one you have already pointed out: if Feilong does love someone, he will throw his all into it. I can't see Mikhail do the same. As you said, he's a trickster, and trusting him to be loyal seems like a bad idea.

Also, Feilong is (melo)dramatic, jealous, and vengeful, which I don't think applies to Mikhail. And Mikhail (unlike Sudou, who Fei was also compared to in the previous thread) has no real personal interest in Asami as far as we know, so I really don't understand why you would compare him to Feilong or even see them as remotely similar. If anything, Mikhail has a thing for Fei, and he doesn't really make a secret of it. The only thing they might have in common is that I think they're both seke material...?

Wow...I feel like I've missed some points, but maybe I should stop now. This is getting a bit lengthy. ^^

A lot of what you say matches my own impression of Mikhail, except that I think he implied the scars on his back came from Yuri.

I have the same ideas. I don't know about Mikhail, but Fei Long is a seke for sure.:)

Oh yeah--in my head Fei is totally a seke.

Ugh I really hope there won't be a Mikhail focused 'flower in the loft' type backstory volume. Even one chapter would be too much for that. I'd rather find out more about Kuroda, since he seems to have some sort of history with Asami. In my opinion, I can't see Mikhail and Fei working out at all. Fei is too emotionally dependent to be able to work out with someone like Mikhail who seems to have some serious issues of his own. I could see Fei with Yoh maybe, since Yoh would be willing to dedicate his life to Fei but their story would be 100% angst and 100% boring.

There is something interesting about Mikhail in Fei Long's light novel. For example: In the past Mik was a soldier and actually he's trading weapons from the Russian Army. :)

@anonymous 2 your look at Mikhail was good,