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Originally Posted by IkuzeMinna
No, the saddest part is that it didn't backfire. For some reason, Japanese love Destiny, as evidenced by how well it sold.
I don't know what's wrong with people but it's always crap that is popular whereas the really good stuff only gets appreciated ages later. Just look at literature.
As far as strong female characters go, I don't think they're popular in Japan (and as we all know, only Japan matters  ). I'm basing this assumption on popularity polls. In Sailor Moon, Mercury was the most popular character (wtf). In Naruto, Hinata is arguably more popular than Sakura. And in Gundam, Lacus always ranks higher than Cagalli. Even in GS, when most she did was sing and look pretty, she was more liked than gun-toting, jet fighter piloting rebel Cagalli.
The odd thing though is that I believe that it wasn't necessarily the guys who preferred the pink princess but the girls. At least if forums are to be trusted.
So Nishiio's question if the creators just have trouble writing female characters can be partly answered with yes, they do  but that damsels-in-distress types are also what sells. To women, that is. Proof? The girls mentioned above. And if we go worldwide, Twilight. Women love that crap. From what I know that Bella chick couldn't even walk on her own without kissing the floor and people were all over her.
I don't think guys have that much trouble with strong women, either. There are just too many that have admitted to liking a girl with spunk.  But I think that a lot of girls in general can't identify with them. Otherwise Relena's character wouldn't be so horribly off in fanfics (blushing and stuttering around Heero, yeah right).
And let's not forget that a damsel-in-distress also serves one very important purpose in a story: make the guy look better by rescuing her. |
Oh geez. My blood pressure just skyrocketed at the mention of Twilight. I won't say too much about here since it would be a little too off topic but...yeah. I want to burn every single copy of those books and feed the ashes to the author.
I don't want to get too much into the Japan vs. North America debate either but how much does culture factor in? I remember at some point in the forum (maaaaany pages ago), someone pointed out that GW did not do that well in Japan and GS did great. (I realize GW was probably up against Eva and DBZ etc. etc. at the time.)
But why do Japanese audiences just prefer girls who aren't tough? x___x Is it because of the society they're raised in? Or am I just WAY overthinking this and the reason is because the fangirls just want to be like the damsel-in-distress so they can get rescued by Prince Charming?
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Originally Posted by mirei
As for the discussions, it may be OT, but I am one person who detests/dislikes Gundam Seed franchise and only watched it only because there's 'Gundam' in the title. It was a big disappointment for me because I just couldn't like the characters no matter how hard I try to understand them D: I am not one who watches anime or reads manga for fanservice. That's why I'm always biased with Gundam Wing.
Btw, It's good to read that every scene in the GW anime is being scrutinized in the discussions here xD
I wonder if I will read something sappy soon in the next chapters of FT if Zechs and Relena or Heero and Relena have some physical reunion. I'm afraid the text will be something you see in a fanfic. Won't have qualms if it's Duo who will narrate.
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Dude. Brain twins!
Everything I wanted to say, you said it, haha~
Actually, I didn't mind Cagalli for a bit until her character got super screwed up.
I dunno. >> I just think GW actually had some pretty deep themes about war, human nature, etc. and the pilots' loneliness really made you feel for them.
What did we get in SEED? "I don't want to fiiiigghhht *whine whine*" "Oh, WUT you slept with her? ZOMG" =____=
Haha, I wouldn't mind it either if it's still Duo's POV. ^^