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dangermousieOK, this is going to be mildly rantish.
I was googling MeruPuri just to see what people have written about it, and came across an article that was absolutely bashing it, in a bash that I can effectively summarize as “this is cliché and money-grubbing, intended only for idiot teenage girls who like to read about ideal guys because they couldn’t deal with real life guys which involve real life imperfections. And this stupid intended audience is going to lap it up. Just look at the stupidity of all the beautiful guys falling for one annoying, selfish, unlovable woman. This and Fushigi Yuugi fail to make any sense this way. But hey, idiot teenage emo girls shell out for this junk.”
OK. Breathe. This really pissed me off. Yeah, I am a woman. I am not a teenager, but a grown-up woman who has been in a happy relationship with her husband for six years (yeah, he might have flaws, but I love every single one of them). I also loved MeruPuri (and a whole bunch of other girly stuff). Is it the best thing ever? No, of course not. But it’s fun. It’s cute and sweet and funny and pretty and girly. And sometimes I like all of the above. It’s a fact, girls are often into stories with romance and hot men. Guys often like stories with a lot of fighting. I like them both (which is why FY is a favorite). There is nothing wrong with this. Most of these are not realistic, but hey, you don’t see me going ‘how stupid is that this random 17 year old boy gets a giant machine that can stomp on all of Tokyo in 10 seconds flat and he is unnaturally good at it?” The inherent notion that just because it’s romance, it’s stupid, pisses me off.
In non-gender part of the rant, another thing that flabbergasted me about that write-up was the author’s dismissal of the romantic plot(s) of MeruPuri or FY as making no sense. To each his own and all that, but to me, part of the appeal of anime (and manga) is how well they show that the couple(s) are compatible with each other, how much basis there is for them to be together. Even when I don’t like the characters myself, their relationship is always believable, even if not my cup of tea. For example, I think Marmalade Boy makes a good cure for insomnia and Miki (the heroine) makes me want to smack her, while Yuu (the hero) bores me, but there is no doubt that their relationship is developed gradually and believably within the parameters of their characters and I have no doubt they are perfectly suited for each other.
But to get back to the shipping of MeruPuri (FY part comes separately). The author’s contention that ‘all those gorgeous boys falling for this unlovable girl is absurd’ has me scratching my head in puzzlement. MP is a fairy tale in the first place, but even then, it has a hell of a lot more character ship exploration than something like Cinderella. Jeile, well, have I mentioned Airi’s hotness? And he is clearly not seriously in love with her, just flirting, and he flirts with every woman ever. Why does Aram like Airi? Well, she is pretty, busty, takes care of him, and helps him. That has worked for many a boy before him, after all. Not to mention that the whole ‘why would gorgeous guys go for her” seems to imply that the girl isn’t pretty, but if Aram is manga-handsome, Airi is manga-gorgeous. After all, his reason for liking her aren’t any stronger or deeper or more adult than her reasons for liking him: he is hot and she likes spending time with him. And you know what? They are teenagers. Those are perfectly fine reasons to fall for someone at that age (or any other age, as a matter of fact). These aren’t bad foundations to start your relationship on. And they are willing to fight for each other and sacrifice for each other, and honestly, what more can you ask? Works for me.
And the same with Fushigi Yuugi. Miaka is a polarizing heroine, but even if you don’t like her (I admit I like her well enough), the question isn’t whether you’d want to date her but whether it makes sense for the characters in the story to do so, and the answer is a resounding yes. What does Tamahome see in her? Well, he sees a girl around his age, who is pretty (Miaka might not be winning Miss Universe contests but she is pretty), and forward, and brave, and on the side of good. These are all qualities he can (and does) appreciate. Tamahome couldn’t deal with a trembling willow type: he is a rough and tumble guy who, if he were British, would be hanging out in pubs with the lads pretty regularly. Dainty or intellectual would not work, but Miaka does. And she is crazy about him, and it’s hard to underestimate the effect of this on a guy who hasn’t been particularly swamped with dating, of a cute girl he likes otherwise, being nuts about him. She is also not polished and is not a genius. But hey, Tamahome is not polished either: he is a peasant, not a courtier. A polished girl or an experienced one would actually put him off. And much as I love the boy, he is not ready to be a brain surgeon any time soon. He is not a dummy, but he is not the brains of the operation, either. If Chichiri ever got back into the dating, Miaka’s not being the head of her class brainwise would really make her a bad candidate. And if it ever worked out with her and Hotohori, her lack of polish and etiquette would really put a crimp into their life. But with Tamahome? They just work. (As to Hotohori, he was fixated on the idea of the priestess. She could have shown up dressed like a hippo and he would have still had a thing for her because she was his transference of loneliness issues. It’s pretty telling that soon after realizing that MT is OTP, he marries and seems very happy with his wife).
So yeah, this rant got sidetracked, but whatever.
In other news, during lunch I browsed Hot Gimmick that![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
catdecember mentioned. It’s sort of like an odd HYD cousin. Please tell me that the heroine doesn’t end up with Ryo (even though I know she will). Because my feminist bells are sort of ringing, as Ryo makes Doumyouji appear meek and well behaved. Why do girls always end up with jerks in these? The whole “I saw you get a pregnancy test for your younger sister, so I will tell on you unless you become my slave” (though thankfully it’s not a sexual thing) is REALLY not a way to win someone over (also, an interesting societal commentary, because H is afraid they will get kicked out of company housing, not a problem much in the US). I think my key problem with this is that the heroine is afraid of Ryo. With HYD, Doumyouji was really in-your-face, but Tsukushi was not afraid of him. They were equals and both took and dished out a heck of a lot. And of course, by the end, Tsukushi more than repaid him for any misery he caused her. There is a reason I spent the first 15 eps of HYD wanting to smack Doumyouji and the last 20 eps of it wanting to drag Tsukushi into his arms. But this isn’t the case here. The heroine isn’t a spitfire. She is afraid of the guy. Granted, her fear is a silly irrational thing (he pushed her down the stairs when they were both very little), but the fact remains. This relationship seems to have a power imbalance and it makes me uncomfortable. Not to mention the fact that blackmailing someone into slavery is just off. Doumyouji never did anything egregious like this. The closest he ever came was, after he was going to get Tsukushi kicked out of school using his parents’ influence because she kissed someone else during their date, was begging her to tell him she loved him just once and he was going to call the whole thing off. To which she told him to stuff it and he said something gently and left. That’s a whole different order of things.
I do think Ryo is severely socially challenged (he is supposed to be very book smart), and must admit, feminist or not, I found the scene where he ordered her to his apartment hilarious, as it went like this:
He: Now take off your clothes.
She: No!
He: Sort of pushes her on the bed.
She: No!
He: *stops, puzzled* But the book said it should work.
She: ????
He: *pulls out a dating guide and reads from it* “When she says no, she means yes. You should try to remove her clothes. That would lead to wonderful results, with her frequently assisting you.”
She: No. I meant it.
He: But I memorized the book. Oh wait, it mentions that sometimes a really experienced girl might like to play around. Is that what you mean? You did get those pregnancy tests.
She: Argh. When I have sex, I want it to be with someone I love.
He: What’s the big deal. I just want to do it for practice.
etc etc…
OK, I need to find the author of this manual and murder them, but other than that, it’s kinda funny.
So basically, right now, I want Ryo to angst and be locked up in a dungeon where he contemplates the errors of his ways. Because? Not charming. Trouble.
This said, I am definitely reading all of these at the book store. Even as they offend my feminist sensibilities (never been into masterful men) they amuse the rest of me. Trashy fuuuuun. And hey, I might end up liking Ryo. After all, look at my HYD volte-face.
I was googling MeruPuri just to see what people have written about it, and came across an article that was absolutely bashing it, in a bash that I can effectively summarize as “this is cliché and money-grubbing, intended only for idiot teenage girls who like to read about ideal guys because they couldn’t deal with real life guys which involve real life imperfections. And this stupid intended audience is going to lap it up. Just look at the stupidity of all the beautiful guys falling for one annoying, selfish, unlovable woman. This and Fushigi Yuugi fail to make any sense this way. But hey, idiot teenage emo girls shell out for this junk.”
OK. Breathe. This really pissed me off. Yeah, I am a woman. I am not a teenager, but a grown-up woman who has been in a happy relationship with her husband for six years (yeah, he might have flaws, but I love every single one of them). I also loved MeruPuri (and a whole bunch of other girly stuff). Is it the best thing ever? No, of course not. But it’s fun. It’s cute and sweet and funny and pretty and girly. And sometimes I like all of the above. It’s a fact, girls are often into stories with romance and hot men. Guys often like stories with a lot of fighting. I like them both (which is why FY is a favorite). There is nothing wrong with this. Most of these are not realistic, but hey, you don’t see me going ‘how stupid is that this random 17 year old boy gets a giant machine that can stomp on all of Tokyo in 10 seconds flat and he is unnaturally good at it?” The inherent notion that just because it’s romance, it’s stupid, pisses me off.
In non-gender part of the rant, another thing that flabbergasted me about that write-up was the author’s dismissal of the romantic plot(s) of MeruPuri or FY as making no sense. To each his own and all that, but to me, part of the appeal of anime (and manga) is how well they show that the couple(s) are compatible with each other, how much basis there is for them to be together. Even when I don’t like the characters myself, their relationship is always believable, even if not my cup of tea. For example, I think Marmalade Boy makes a good cure for insomnia and Miki (the heroine) makes me want to smack her, while Yuu (the hero) bores me, but there is no doubt that their relationship is developed gradually and believably within the parameters of their characters and I have no doubt they are perfectly suited for each other.
But to get back to the shipping of MeruPuri (FY part comes separately). The author’s contention that ‘all those gorgeous boys falling for this unlovable girl is absurd’ has me scratching my head in puzzlement. MP is a fairy tale in the first place, but even then, it has a hell of a lot more character ship exploration than something like Cinderella. Jeile, well, have I mentioned Airi’s hotness? And he is clearly not seriously in love with her, just flirting, and he flirts with every woman ever. Why does Aram like Airi? Well, she is pretty, busty, takes care of him, and helps him. That has worked for many a boy before him, after all. Not to mention that the whole ‘why would gorgeous guys go for her” seems to imply that the girl isn’t pretty, but if Aram is manga-handsome, Airi is manga-gorgeous. After all, his reason for liking her aren’t any stronger or deeper or more adult than her reasons for liking him: he is hot and she likes spending time with him. And you know what? They are teenagers. Those are perfectly fine reasons to fall for someone at that age (or any other age, as a matter of fact). These aren’t bad foundations to start your relationship on. And they are willing to fight for each other and sacrifice for each other, and honestly, what more can you ask? Works for me.
And the same with Fushigi Yuugi. Miaka is a polarizing heroine, but even if you don’t like her (I admit I like her well enough), the question isn’t whether you’d want to date her but whether it makes sense for the characters in the story to do so, and the answer is a resounding yes. What does Tamahome see in her? Well, he sees a girl around his age, who is pretty (Miaka might not be winning Miss Universe contests but she is pretty), and forward, and brave, and on the side of good. These are all qualities he can (and does) appreciate. Tamahome couldn’t deal with a trembling willow type: he is a rough and tumble guy who, if he were British, would be hanging out in pubs with the lads pretty regularly. Dainty or intellectual would not work, but Miaka does. And she is crazy about him, and it’s hard to underestimate the effect of this on a guy who hasn’t been particularly swamped with dating, of a cute girl he likes otherwise, being nuts about him. She is also not polished and is not a genius. But hey, Tamahome is not polished either: he is a peasant, not a courtier. A polished girl or an experienced one would actually put him off. And much as I love the boy, he is not ready to be a brain surgeon any time soon. He is not a dummy, but he is not the brains of the operation, either. If Chichiri ever got back into the dating, Miaka’s not being the head of her class brainwise would really make her a bad candidate. And if it ever worked out with her and Hotohori, her lack of polish and etiquette would really put a crimp into their life. But with Tamahome? They just work. (As to Hotohori, he was fixated on the idea of the priestess. She could have shown up dressed like a hippo and he would have still had a thing for her because she was his transference of loneliness issues. It’s pretty telling that soon after realizing that MT is OTP, he marries and seems very happy with his wife).
So yeah, this rant got sidetracked, but whatever.
In other news, during lunch I browsed Hot Gimmick that
catdecember mentioned. It’s sort of like an odd HYD cousin. Please tell me that the heroine doesn’t end up with Ryo (even though I know she will). Because my feminist bells are sort of ringing, as Ryo makes Doumyouji appear meek and well behaved. Why do girls always end up with jerks in these? The whole “I saw you get a pregnancy test for your younger sister, so I will tell on you unless you become my slave” (though thankfully it’s not a sexual thing) is REALLY not a way to win someone over (also, an interesting societal commentary, because H is afraid they will get kicked out of company housing, not a problem much in the US). I think my key problem with this is that the heroine is afraid of Ryo. With HYD, Doumyouji was really in-your-face, but Tsukushi was not afraid of him. They were equals and both took and dished out a heck of a lot. And of course, by the end, Tsukushi more than repaid him for any misery he caused her. There is a reason I spent the first 15 eps of HYD wanting to smack Doumyouji and the last 20 eps of it wanting to drag Tsukushi into his arms. But this isn’t the case here. The heroine isn’t a spitfire. She is afraid of the guy. Granted, her fear is a silly irrational thing (he pushed her down the stairs when they were both very little), but the fact remains. This relationship seems to have a power imbalance and it makes me uncomfortable. Not to mention the fact that blackmailing someone into slavery is just off. Doumyouji never did anything egregious like this. The closest he ever came was, after he was going to get Tsukushi kicked out of school using his parents’ influence because she kissed someone else during their date, was begging her to tell him she loved him just once and he was going to call the whole thing off. To which she told him to stuff it and he said something gently and left. That’s a whole different order of things. I do think Ryo is severely socially challenged (he is supposed to be very book smart), and must admit, feminist or not, I found the scene where he ordered her to his apartment hilarious, as it went like this:
He: Now take off your clothes.
She: No!
He: Sort of pushes her on the bed.
She: No!
He: *stops, puzzled* But the book said it should work.
She: ????
He: *pulls out a dating guide and reads from it* “When she says no, she means yes. You should try to remove her clothes. That would lead to wonderful results, with her frequently assisting you.”
She: No. I meant it.
He: But I memorized the book. Oh wait, it mentions that sometimes a really experienced girl might like to play around. Is that what you mean? You did get those pregnancy tests.
She: Argh. When I have sex, I want it to be with someone I love.
He: What’s the big deal. I just want to do it for practice.
etc etc…
OK, I need to find the author of this manual and murder them, but other than that, it’s kinda funny.
So basically, right now, I want Ryo to angst and be locked up in a dungeon where he contemplates the errors of his ways. Because? Not charming. Trouble.
This said, I am definitely reading all of these at the book store. Even as they offend my feminist sensibilities (never been into masterful men) they amuse the rest of me. Trashy fuuuuun. And hey, I might end up liking Ryo. After all, look at my HYD volte-face.
