That entry from another day
May. 22nd, 2007 09:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
azuriteSo the other day, I mentioned how I was reading Ceres: Celestial Legend, aka Ayashi no Ceres, along with the tail-end of Death Note (oops, turns out I have up to Vol. 11; the last volume, 12, doesn't come out until July), and contemplating love, romance, and relationships in manga.
My very first experience with anime and manga was Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon. Of course, when I watched it, it was the dub version, and as is my bad luck with most shows that I end up getting addicted to, I didn't start watching it from the first episode. In fact, I seem to remember the first episode I was watching being on in the EVENING, with an odd live-action Sailor Moon introducing the out-of-order eps. I think it was some sort of weird Thanksgiving special. I think I may have started watching sometime during the Rainbow Crystal arc, when Tuxedo Mask was being a right jerk.
when I finally got exposed to the manga via my local Japantown (and later, Mixx), there were some very different personalities instilled in the characters I thought I knew so well. But the underlying love story-- Usagi and Mamory/Serena and Darien-- was still there. In the anime (moreso than the manga), I couldn't understand why Usagi [I'll be using the Japanese names from here on out for consistency's sake] "fell" for Mamoru the way she did, when basically, he'd treated her rather rudely-- both as himself AND as Tuxedo Mask. He may have been romantic, heroic and tossing a few lines around in the earlier eps-- but that was before he really knew WHO he was (that is, Mamoru = Tuxedo Mask) or WHAT his job was (protect Serenity, protect Earth).
And while there's a plethora of great fanfics exploring the "in between" times, when an honest relationship could have been developing (or at least Usagi and/or Mamoru's "real" thoughts on the other), there's not a whole lot in canon. I admit, when I was younger, the idea of the "one true love," shining knight, etc. was really romantic. Meeting him when you were 15 was pretty nice, too.
But as an older woman (and perhaps just a tiny bit jaded), I really wonder about that. Beyond the perfectly fine goal of wanting to tell a romantic fantasy/fairy tale, what are the creators trying to say about men, love, and romance when they write these sort of stories?
I realize Japan is an entirely different culture from mine, and any other in the world, and that can certainly play a big part in the role of men and women in certain positions, and the general perspective on relationships in a manga or anime world. But many roles and perspectives seem to be universal, which is why I look at these stories oddly, now.
Why exactly did Usagi fall for Mamoru? I'd like to think Usagi thought of herself as an individual outside of Princess Serenity, and she didn't want to be with Mamoru based SOLELY on their shared past together. Heck, in PGSM, she falls for Mamoru without the slightest shred of knowledge that he's Tuxedo Mask *OR* Prince Endymion. I loved that, because it developed her character so much more than I felt the anime OR manga did. Serenity had her side, too-- she loved Mamoru so much, she destroyed the whole world for him. TWICE. (Romantic overkill, that.) Of course, there was some subtext that Usagi really DID like Mamoru for Mamoru, and perhaps even vice-versa- though this was more clear in the manga. In the anime, Usagi really did seem bubble-headed, liking Mamoru in those rare moments ONLY because of his resemblance to Tuxedo Mask. And when she really DID find out they were one and the same, it was such a shock to her because despite that resemblance, she never associated their personalities with one another. You don't see what you don't want to believe is possible.
Another series-- one of the original ones I mentioned, Ceres: Celestial Legend. Maybe it's because I'm missing Volume 1 (but I have read it before), but it's very hard for me to understand why Aya fell for Touya. Okay, so he's hot. He protected her, he's mysterious, sexy, etc. But what else? He's about as two-dimensional as it gets. To make it worse, he is very instinctual, killing people even when he knows that Aya doesn't want that, and that there's a better solution. As time goes by and we find more about him, yeah, he develops as a character and proves he's got more to him-- but what about Aya? Why did she fall for him SO DAMN HARD in the first place? (Being a Yuuhi x Aya fan does not make these questions stupid, redundant, or null in any way; I recognize the canon of Touya x Aya, and enjoy it, the same as I enjoy Usagi x Mamoru even though I also enjoy Usagi x Seiya.)
An interesting flip to this stereotype is Fushigi Yuugi. The whole "Miaka!" "Tamahome!" thing is overdone as the most cheesy of all romances, but unlike Sailor Moon and Ceres, in my opinion, FY does it RIGHT. Tamahome is initially a total jerk, but he proves that he can be something other than rude and greedy. He proves that he cares a great deal for others, is willing to sacrifice himself for them, and experiences the full glut of emotions. The same goes for Miaka-- at first, she HATES Tamahome. But he quickly becomes her only support system in an unfamiliar world, and love DEVELOPS. You see it from both sides, and neither character seems like they're doing it "just because" (for example, Tamahome knows it would be stupid to love Miaka "just because" she's the Suzaku no Miko; he [should] know(s) that she ends up dying. But he falls for her nonetheless, and his role as guardian becomes two-fold-- protect the country by helping summon Suzaku, keep the girl from dying despite the summoning).
In the new Genbu Kaiden, I'm seeing a developing romance with Takiko and Limdo/Uruki. It's more mature than Miaka and Tamahome were, based on a few things:
* Takiko is 17, not 15 (and two years DO make a hell of a difference)
* Takiko was from the 1920s, not the 1990s (different cultural/societal/familial expectations)
* She's already experienced death and betrayal (in her mind), while Miaka was hopelessly optimistic and naive, unwilling to believe bad stuff could happen even when it was staring her right in the face or smacking her in the head with nunchuks)
* She's a ready and willing fighter, while Miaka was MUCH less so
* She wants to help people-- she does have this in common with Miaka, but while Miaka's initial reason for agreeing to be the priestess was to simply "get a way home," Takiko had no reason to WANT to go home. She just wanted to help those she encountered, even when one of them (Limdo!) was basically working for the enemy.
Of course, anyone that's read/watched FY knows how Genbu Kaiden will end up, which is part of the fun in reading it-- Watase is revealing those details we DIDN'T know, and turning what might otherwise be a "fable" type story (moral, not-so-happy ending, etc.) into a thrilling, gripping read. Even knowing what will happen to Takiko (for the most part), we keep reading. Even knowing what will happen to at least 2 of the Genbu Seishi (they guard at least one of the Shinzaho in that ice cave), we keep reading. What grips us, the readers, is the DEVELOPMENT, which I feel wasn't so important for characters OR relationships back when I first started reading.
Ironically, the oldest (in terms of original publication age) manga I ever read with a romantic fantasy twist to it was Ranma 1/2, which HAD to have more development-- it was longer (36 volumes), involved MANY more characters (including rivals for love for BOTH the hero and heroine), and featured a wider variety (albeit almost all martial-arts-themed) of situations that could allow for development of the main characters. Despite the not-quite-an-ending ending that Rumiko Takahashi "slapped" onto it, Ranma and Akane DID develop and change, and I honestly think it's only those that have not read the whole manga that could possibly think that either of them would end up with anyone else. When you get that feeling in your head, that it can ONLY be them and no one else, that's when I think the author's done a good job at developing the characters and telling the story.
Again, ironically, I felt that way about Usagi and Mamoru at first, and I don't so much now. I may have even felt that way about Aya and Touya when I first read Ceres, but I don't now. Maybe it's because I'm not as afraid of angst? Perhaps when you're older, you're more willing to face it, walk headlong into it, envision it, and learn from it-- but when you're younger, the very idea scares you. If you've been through a difficult situation, you want to get away from that feeling. You want to be happy, optimistic, and hopeful. I know that was me when I was younger.
But I feel Rumiko Takahashi screwed up with her latest pairing-- Inuyasha and Kagome. They had the same HUGE chasms of development necessary between them as Ranma and Akane did, but rather than develop it in bursts, she kept stretching it out. I'm fairly sure the manga's not even over yet. It just goes on and on and on. Even though they've gotten together, the whole POINT of the manga (which inevitably affects them and their "relationship") has yet to reach its conclusion. It drags on, which means development isn't happening.
I'm sure there are plenty of other examples I can think of in fandoms I'm active in, pairings I ship, and so forth. People can even bring up fandoms I'm not [so] familiar with. I'd love to see a discussion started on this. In the meantime, I'm going to go back to reading Genbu Kaiden volume 3.
My very first experience with anime and manga was Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon. Of course, when I watched it, it was the dub version, and as is my bad luck with most shows that I end up getting addicted to, I didn't start watching it from the first episode. In fact, I seem to remember the first episode I was watching being on in the EVENING, with an odd live-action Sailor Moon introducing the out-of-order eps. I think it was some sort of weird Thanksgiving special. I think I may have started watching sometime during the Rainbow Crystal arc, when Tuxedo Mask was being a right jerk.
when I finally got exposed to the manga via my local Japantown (and later, Mixx), there were some very different personalities instilled in the characters I thought I knew so well. But the underlying love story-- Usagi and Mamory/Serena and Darien-- was still there. In the anime (moreso than the manga), I couldn't understand why Usagi [I'll be using the Japanese names from here on out for consistency's sake] "fell" for Mamoru the way she did, when basically, he'd treated her rather rudely-- both as himself AND as Tuxedo Mask. He may have been romantic, heroic and tossing a few lines around in the earlier eps-- but that was before he really knew WHO he was (that is, Mamoru = Tuxedo Mask) or WHAT his job was (protect Serenity, protect Earth).
And while there's a plethora of great fanfics exploring the "in between" times, when an honest relationship could have been developing (or at least Usagi and/or Mamoru's "real" thoughts on the other), there's not a whole lot in canon. I admit, when I was younger, the idea of the "one true love," shining knight, etc. was really romantic. Meeting him when you were 15 was pretty nice, too.
But as an older woman (and perhaps just a tiny bit jaded), I really wonder about that. Beyond the perfectly fine goal of wanting to tell a romantic fantasy/fairy tale, what are the creators trying to say about men, love, and romance when they write these sort of stories?
I realize Japan is an entirely different culture from mine, and any other in the world, and that can certainly play a big part in the role of men and women in certain positions, and the general perspective on relationships in a manga or anime world. But many roles and perspectives seem to be universal, which is why I look at these stories oddly, now.
Why exactly did Usagi fall for Mamoru? I'd like to think Usagi thought of herself as an individual outside of Princess Serenity, and she didn't want to be with Mamoru based SOLELY on their shared past together. Heck, in PGSM, she falls for Mamoru without the slightest shred of knowledge that he's Tuxedo Mask *OR* Prince Endymion. I loved that, because it developed her character so much more than I felt the anime OR manga did. Serenity had her side, too-- she loved Mamoru so much, she destroyed the whole world for him. TWICE. (Romantic overkill, that.) Of course, there was some subtext that Usagi really DID like Mamoru for Mamoru, and perhaps even vice-versa- though this was more clear in the manga. In the anime, Usagi really did seem bubble-headed, liking Mamoru in those rare moments ONLY because of his resemblance to Tuxedo Mask. And when she really DID find out they were one and the same, it was such a shock to her because despite that resemblance, she never associated their personalities with one another. You don't see what you don't want to believe is possible.
Another series-- one of the original ones I mentioned, Ceres: Celestial Legend. Maybe it's because I'm missing Volume 1 (but I have read it before), but it's very hard for me to understand why Aya fell for Touya. Okay, so he's hot. He protected her, he's mysterious, sexy, etc. But what else? He's about as two-dimensional as it gets. To make it worse, he is very instinctual, killing people even when he knows that Aya doesn't want that, and that there's a better solution. As time goes by and we find more about him, yeah, he develops as a character and proves he's got more to him-- but what about Aya? Why did she fall for him SO DAMN HARD in the first place? (Being a Yuuhi x Aya fan does not make these questions stupid, redundant, or null in any way; I recognize the canon of Touya x Aya, and enjoy it, the same as I enjoy Usagi x Mamoru even though I also enjoy Usagi x Seiya.)
An interesting flip to this stereotype is Fushigi Yuugi. The whole "Miaka!" "Tamahome!" thing is overdone as the most cheesy of all romances, but unlike Sailor Moon and Ceres, in my opinion, FY does it RIGHT. Tamahome is initially a total jerk, but he proves that he can be something other than rude and greedy. He proves that he cares a great deal for others, is willing to sacrifice himself for them, and experiences the full glut of emotions. The same goes for Miaka-- at first, she HATES Tamahome. But he quickly becomes her only support system in an unfamiliar world, and love DEVELOPS. You see it from both sides, and neither character seems like they're doing it "just because" (for example, Tamahome knows it would be stupid to love Miaka "just because" she's the Suzaku no Miko; he [should] know(s) that she ends up dying. But he falls for her nonetheless, and his role as guardian becomes two-fold-- protect the country by helping summon Suzaku, keep the girl from dying despite the summoning).
In the new Genbu Kaiden, I'm seeing a developing romance with Takiko and Limdo/Uruki. It's more mature than Miaka and Tamahome were, based on a few things:
* Takiko is 17, not 15 (and two years DO make a hell of a difference)
* Takiko was from the 1920s, not the 1990s (different cultural/societal/familial expectations)
* She's already experienced death and betrayal (in her mind), while Miaka was hopelessly optimistic and naive, unwilling to believe bad stuff could happen even when it was staring her right in the face or smacking her in the head with nunchuks)
* She's a ready and willing fighter, while Miaka was MUCH less so
* She wants to help people-- she does have this in common with Miaka, but while Miaka's initial reason for agreeing to be the priestess was to simply "get a way home," Takiko had no reason to WANT to go home. She just wanted to help those she encountered, even when one of them (Limdo!) was basically working for the enemy.
Of course, anyone that's read/watched FY knows how Genbu Kaiden will end up, which is part of the fun in reading it-- Watase is revealing those details we DIDN'T know, and turning what might otherwise be a "fable" type story (moral, not-so-happy ending, etc.) into a thrilling, gripping read. Even knowing what will happen to Takiko (for the most part), we keep reading. Even knowing what will happen to at least 2 of the Genbu Seishi (they guard at least one of the Shinzaho in that ice cave), we keep reading. What grips us, the readers, is the DEVELOPMENT, which I feel wasn't so important for characters OR relationships back when I first started reading.
Ironically, the oldest (in terms of original publication age) manga I ever read with a romantic fantasy twist to it was Ranma 1/2, which HAD to have more development-- it was longer (36 volumes), involved MANY more characters (including rivals for love for BOTH the hero and heroine), and featured a wider variety (albeit almost all martial-arts-themed) of situations that could allow for development of the main characters. Despite the not-quite-an-ending ending that Rumiko Takahashi "slapped" onto it, Ranma and Akane DID develop and change, and I honestly think it's only those that have not read the whole manga that could possibly think that either of them would end up with anyone else. When you get that feeling in your head, that it can ONLY be them and no one else, that's when I think the author's done a good job at developing the characters and telling the story.
Again, ironically, I felt that way about Usagi and Mamoru at first, and I don't so much now. I may have even felt that way about Aya and Touya when I first read Ceres, but I don't now. Maybe it's because I'm not as afraid of angst? Perhaps when you're older, you're more willing to face it, walk headlong into it, envision it, and learn from it-- but when you're younger, the very idea scares you. If you've been through a difficult situation, you want to get away from that feeling. You want to be happy, optimistic, and hopeful. I know that was me when I was younger.
But I feel Rumiko Takahashi screwed up with her latest pairing-- Inuyasha and Kagome. They had the same HUGE chasms of development necessary between them as Ranma and Akane did, but rather than develop it in bursts, she kept stretching it out. I'm fairly sure the manga's not even over yet. It just goes on and on and on. Even though they've gotten together, the whole POINT of the manga (which inevitably affects them and their "relationship") has yet to reach its conclusion. It drags on, which means development isn't happening.
I'm sure there are plenty of other examples I can think of in fandoms I'm active in, pairings I ship, and so forth. People can even bring up fandoms I'm not [so] familiar with. I'd love to see a discussion started on this. In the meantime, I'm going to go back to reading Genbu Kaiden volume 3.
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