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Originally Posted by Pocari_Sweat
I heard that shippers totally ruined the discussions forum for Chihayafuru Season 2...
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Taking shipping seriously - now there's defeat right there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Archon_Wing
You really need to consider it context. If you pair these two characters together, is it really best for them and the story? Not just because you want to, but because it'll create something meaningful. So there's plenty of times where the "better" girl won but the road to the end didn't really create anything meaningful, like in True Tears, so I was like "okay! Whatever!"
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Short attention span age/we want it now age/style age.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Archon_Wing
But if the only reason they have is because said character is in the way, I would most consider them a fucktard and cease communications.  |
Truer words were never spoken.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Triple_R
Even putting aside specific in-narrative hints, there are some "rules" that are very rarely broken in anime:
1) First girl wins.
2) Tsunderes tend to win. Even if there are no girls that neatly fits under "tsundere", the one closest to a tsundere tends to win.
3) Many love triangles in anime are male lead, "magical girlfriend", and "girl next door". "Magical Girlfriend" will almost always win these. Basically, the girl with something truly different about her (alien, magic-wielder, has superpowers, etc...) will tend to win out over the relatively normal "girl next door". Note that this is one of the things that can trump tsunderes.
4) If a pairing is more or less established by the end of Season 1, it's highly unlikely that there's going to be a lasting shift away from it.
These four rules alone will account for most romance conflicts in anime.
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Solution - more reverse harems!
But seriously speaking, there are ways. There are some decent exceptions.
Kimagure Orange Road - Its love triangle ended in one of very few that left me emotionally blown away. 48 episodes and 8 OVAs wishing like hell for the girl almost everyone wanted to win. Then you finally get it - but feel guilty as hell from what happens as a result. I found that to be darn good writing to turn a character people would spend all that time to lose then in 90 minutes be reminded that she was a person and that what she got was cruel yet ultimately character-defining.
Rumbling Hearts (Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien) - That's probably the best case of first girl not winning you're going to get. Argh, what an utterly excruciating journey that was....but damn, it was insatiable despite how cruel it got.
Hana Yori Dango - You could really argue in some points that in some ways, no guy deserved to be with the girl. Did the 'best' guy won? No effing way. But was it the somewhat befitting one? I'd say so. You could argue the aftermath of that one for forever and a day. But it worked.
Hanasakeru Seishounen - This really is a title that turns romance on its head and how you think about it and relationships. It was refreshing to see an open-minded, more spiritual approach. For being a love pentagon in a reverse harem, it was unusually mature and so politically intriguing. If there was ever a romance title that made those involved better for the journey, regardless of whether they won or lost, this would be it. Such a rarity.
Say I love you (Sukitte Iinayo) - The girl that lost was definitely better off for it in the long run. Rarely was it more compelling to see a girl realise how much of a terrible person she is and want to change, as well as the main guy realise he really is quite a prick for letting it happen amongst other things. Was also heartening to see the type of girl you'd usually never see winning actually win because the process went both ways - not only did it do a world of good for her confidence and how she regarded people in general, it made other people re-evaluate how they regarded people themselves. That was one real trope-breaker of a title.
Garden of Words - Victory came in a different way and both people were so much better for it.
The Tatami Galaxy - Whathisname losing over and over was integral to the whole process. It made Akashi that much more elusive yet alluring and led to a weird mix of wanting Whatshisname to win, yet watching him lose was fine too.
They are few and far between, though. Romance that makes it to anime is very cookie cutter these days. You can find some that break the mold, but they're generally not the popular ones.