Forum - View topicYour Favorite Anime/Manga Couple?
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Cam0
 Posts: 4888 |
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(The World God Only Knows 3rd season spoilers) spoiler[That heartbreaking incident in the 3rd season immediately won me over. Chihiro was the only one who had "genuine" feelings towards Keima. But there really wasn't a main love interest for Keima until that point. He only made the girls fall for him because it was a job he had to do. Ayumi may have been the first girl, but she was quickly forgotten for a while after Keima conquered her.]
I don't think that the main heroine and the main character always have to hook up. But when the main heroine is a love interest, she usually tends to get the most development and tends to have the best chemistry with the main character. Of course there are expections. |
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Vaisaga
 Posts: 13230 |
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This has become increasing untrue as time goes on. Like I said, it seems more and more writers have become lazy and are working under the assumption that they don't need to put much effort because the audience will blindly accept the outcome since they're already convinced that's the way it "has to be." Everyone knows that the sun rises in the east so if it rises in the east everyone will go "Yup, that checks out." They won't ask why the sun is rising at 7 in the evening. A particularly frustrating set up I find is the "dedicated childhood friend loses to mysterious beauty who recently entered MC's life" one. I understand it on a psychological level. The guy is drawn to the new girl because she's fresh and exotic and shakes up his predictable life. You want to talk shallow feelings, look no farther. The one he's shared a meaningful life long relationship with is tossed aside in favour of a girl he barely knows. All she needs to do is exist to win his heart. She doesn't need to earn it or anything because she's the main heroine! Another show I like to use as an example of things handled poorly is Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi. spoiler[Ui is the main heroine so she gets Kazuma in the end... Despite the fact that Ui spent the entire show dealing with her brother complex and didn't have that many meaningful scenes with Kazuma. The show instead put much more focus on his relationship with Ibuki and Madoka, both of whom were left heartbroken in the end because they weren't the main girl.] Now a show that did it really well, and one I would recommend if you want a really good modern harem show, is NakaImo. spoiler[While Miyabi and Konoe shared the main heroine slot, Konoe was consistently shown to be the one closer to Shogo, and their mutual attraction was palatable. There were plenty of scenes with just the two of them and the mood was so good they almost kissed several times. Near the end Miyabi suddenly shot up in importance and I thought it was the show's last minute attempt to have her win Shogo but thankfully it was just set up for her turning out to be the sister. While Shogo and Konoe don't officially hook up it's pretty obvious they will. Miyabi even gives her approval.] Another show that defies the trend is Mashiro-iro Symphony and the reception to it is pretty interesting to examine. spoiler[Airi is obviously set up as the main heroine, what with being the first girl (outside his sister) Shingo meets and her being a tsundere and all. And while there were some nice scenes between them from the get go Shingo had a clear attraction to Miu. It was subtle, but you could see it in the way he caught glances of her so it really wasn't surprising when he confessed to her. The story then focused heavily on Sana and her heartbreak over it, and Sana got a lot of love on 4chan, where I was following threads of the show.] But the interesting thing is that spoiler[there were still people insisting that Airi was going to win because she had to. The "main heroine always wins" mentality is so deeply ingrained that some people can't consider any other outcome, even after Shingo and Miu start dating and even after they have sex. Of course Airi didn't pull a last minute victory, but her feelings for Shingo, while unrequited, were still a good experience for her and in the end she goings from being against the school merger to being for it.] Just goes to show the main heroine doesn't have to win the guy to have a complete character arc. I have a bit more to say on that but this post is long enough... |
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Chiibi
 Posts: 4829 |
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[quote="Vaisaga"]
Isn't it like that in real life though? How many people end up marrying someone they knew at age five? Lol if they're lucky, it's a high school sweetheart or a college classmate or something. That's why I normally can't get behind the childhood friend trope. It's too far removed from reality. People grow up and change so their feelings do as well. |
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Vaisaga
Posts: 13230 |
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Actually...
But it's just as unrealistic the other way. At least, in the long run. You might have a shallow infatuation with some one who is fun and exotic but for a long term relationship you pick some one for stability and a more meaningful bond. "Date the bad boy, marry the nice one" or whatever that expression is. Or to put it in a way you'll agree with... You ditch the Minories to get with the Taigas. |
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Chiibi
Posts: 4829 |
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Okay but who says the childhood friend has to be the nice one? Sometimes they're awful people. Yandere suck. One of my favorite manga has one and he's a possessive, selfish, manipulative, co-dependent little asshat. He eventually develops somewhat but good God did I want to murder him 3/4ths of the series. lol The author did a smart thing; let him date the heroine for a while to show the readers it was an unhealthy romantic relationship and the pairing could not work because the two were so incompatible as lovers. |
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Night fox
 Posts: 561 Location: Sweden |
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^ I didn't know you were a "Dawson's Creek" fan, Vaisaga. If only the childhood friend would climb in through the bedroom window, unannounced, and hook up with the protagonist...
 
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Raftina
 Posts: 3282 |
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I am not sure stable and meaningful bond are terms that come to mind when I think of Taiga...
Those types of childhood friends tend to not fit in the mold of the "dedicated childhood friend" who has "shared a meaningful life long relationship" with the protagonist, providing him with "stability and a more meaningful bond" that Vaisaga has described. Certainly I do not get the impression that Vaisaga is including childhood friends like Houki Shinonono, Takaki Tohno, Sohara Mitsuki, etc. |
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Chiibi
Posts: 4829 |
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You're saying "yandere aren't dedicated"? I think they're a little too dedicated.
Also, Minori isn't a dedicated childhood friend either and Ryuuji didn't know her much better than Taiga at any point in the show? Ryuuji and Taiga's bond was the strongest, in fact so it was the opposite situation. |
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Raftina
Posts: 3282 |
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The yandere childhood friends are usually lacking in stability and meaningful life long bond, though not necessarily. Yuka Minase from 11Eyes is a stable presence in Kakeru Satsuki's presence, but she turns out to be a rather bad yandere.
Oh, was Minori supposed to be the childhood friend in Vaisaga's example? My understanding of that sentence was that Vaisaga was advising to ditch Minori (the fun and exotic one) to get with the Taiga (the one to whom Ryuji was closer). |
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Chiibi
Posts: 4829 |
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Ha, she was the EXACT example I was thinking of. Hated her. 
Girls in anime named "Yuka" are normally so unlikable....it's weird. |
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Vaisaga
Posts: 13230 |
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I wasn't saying that the childhood friend absolutely has to win every time. Only a Sith deals in absolutes. I'm talking more the sweet girl who wakes the protagonist up every morning, makes a lunch for him, knows he loves sweets but hates dogs, knows where all his porn is hidden, etc.
Nah, they teach you this stuff in University.
Houki's not that bad.
Yes. |
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Alan45
 Village Elder Posts: 9856 Location: Virginia |
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Childhood friends seldom win because the protagonist sees them as a "friend" not as a potential romantic interest. There is nothing like growing up with someone to kill any romantic interest altogether. It is very possible to know someone too well.
That is why you have to have more than simply romantic affection to establish a long term relationship. |
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Raftina
Posts: 3282 |
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You can certainly write the childhood friend you describe in a way as to signal that she should not be with the protagonist. Shuffle is the best example of this relationship, where Kaede fulfills each of your descriptions, but the series makes it clear that the relationship between Rin and Kaede is unhealthy and needs to change--and not by marriage. You cannot even accuse Rin of ditching Kaede for someone new and exotic, as spoiler[the eventual winner, Asa, has been Rin's friend since middle school. They have gotten along quite well, and the series makes it a point of showing their friendship since episode 1.] |
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Cam0
Posts: 4888 |
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As a concept I find the super nice childhood friend to be boring and bland. The new girl who often has a more eccentric personality just tends to be more interesting. That doesn't mean that the nice childhood friend girl can't be interesting. Like... like.... uh.... hmm.... maybe... Akane from Kurokami? What they simply need to do is make the childhood friend the heroine and put a lot of effort into developing them. Well, just make them more interesting in general. Then I'd jump on that nice girl x main character bandwagon in a heartbeat. But I'm not consistent in my views. The characters I prefer depends on variables I probably can't always explain. So I like Kosaki from Nisekoi, but dislike Yoshida from Shakugan no Shana and Sairenji (probably?) from To Love-ru. It happens. |
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Chiibi
Posts: 4829 |
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This. This is how I feel. If Japanese couples can make it work: KUDOS to them. But has anyone here ever tried it? Do you personally know anyone who has been successful?
Yep.
I dislike all three of them but dislike Onodera the most.
Yoshida is annoying.....but she doesn't have a limp noodle backbone. |
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