Quote:
Originally Posted by Aphrah
I think it'd reverse quite a bit; humanity can be shallow like that sometimes. SAO is my favourite out of the two, but I still love AW. I don't think that SAO is better, I simply prefer SAO to AW.
Heh, it's fine. Don't worry about it.
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I think part of the problem might be that Kirito and Asuna are true equals- which is quite refreshing since there are so precious few anime couples that are indeed true equals.
On the other hand, Haruyuki is clearly the sub-ordinate one in his relationship with KYH. And even in terms of personality, his maturity seems out of sync with KYH. So, one is left wondering what KYH sees in him, other than quick reflexes? Absolute Loyalty? Perhaps, bit still, that rankles people, especially in a decade with a horde of weak minded male protagonists that gave rise to the derisive moniker Generic Harem Protagonist.
Spoiler for Too... hintish:
It feels though, that Kirito and Asuna's relationship is built on mutual respect and on the footing of completely equal partners. And that's what makes their relationship so interesting - it's so... unusually healthy in LNs and Anime. It's closer to the Clannad spectrum of relationships (functional, Communication's taking place), compared to say the ZnT spectrum of Relationships (dysfunctional). Another way of illustrating what I mean would be to chart Shana and Yuuji's relation in Shakugan no Shana- from Dysfunctional Tsundere-fest to a more functional footing.
Now, both AW and SAO lean towards the functional point of the spectrum. But there's always the sense that Asuna and Kirito are starting much further ahead than Haruyuki and KYH.
Another way to look at it would be to see it through the Pre-confessional Rom Coms (will they or will they not - too many Rom Coms to count), to the Post-confessional Rom Coms (They do, now let's see how their relationship work out - Mysterious Girlfriend X). Both SAO and AW are technically past that point of Confession, but AW leaves it semi-ambiguous (and therefore, we get that much derided Love Triangle and Such, which bears more similarity to Shana SII), while SAO makes it completely definite, pusing Kirito X Asuna to a point only, say Clannad Afterstory, and perhaps a few other older Rom-Coms bother exploring.
Ultimately though, I fear that in the next few episodes, Asuna will be labeled as a typical Tsundere by the hardcore moe haters, as absurd and prejudiced as that charge seems. But that's another conversation. for another thread.