Another meme

[silverthunder]

I can't resist these... never have, never will. Taken from sailormac


1. A character you'd go to hell and back for
2. A character you'd escort to Hell... and leave them there while you took the first bus back.
3. A character you didn't like in the beginning but as time went on, you learned to like, or at least tolerate.
4. A character you liked in the beginning, but later you didn't like them so much.
5. A pairing that you love
6. A pairing that you despise
7. A pairing you've never seen before but it would be cool if someone wrote it (as long as it's not crapfic)
8. A pairing you've never seen and pray to any listening deity that you never will.


Digimon Adventure and 02
1. Koushiro
2. Piyomon
3. Miyako
4. Um... can't think of one. If I hated them, I hated them immediately.
5. Ken x Daisuke
6. Ken x Miyako
7. *laugh* I have seen EVERYTHING. I'm serious.
8. The deities apparently weren't listening. >_>


Gundam Wing
1. Quatre
2. Dorothy
3. Wufei (but I think he's awesome now!)
4. Relena (I tolerated her at the beginning)
5. Trowa x Quatre
6. Heero x Relena
7. Any pairing I might like, I've seen
8. Treize x Dorothy? I've never seen it, but god, it would be scary >_< And I'll bet it's out there, too...


Hikaru no Go
1. Hikaru
2. Ko Yeong Ha
3. Mitani (I thought he was bratty at first)
4. Um. No one.
5. Akira x Hikaru
6. Ogata x anyone
7. Mitani x Akari (I've seen it, but not done well)
8. Kuwabara x anyone (I've heard of this, but never seen it)


Gundam Seed
1. Nicol ;_;
2. Fllay
3. Yzak. Darn it all... the lovable little psycho.
4. I disliked everyone I dislike right from the start
5. Dearka x Yzak *laugh*
6. Fllay x Kira *shudder*
7. Nothing I can think of...
8. Kruz (or whatever his name is) x Athrun. Glerk.


Kyou Kara Maou
1. Wolfram
2. Adelbert. >_< Jerk.
3. Yuuri. Ehehe...
4. Hm. No one, I think.
5. Yuuri x Wolfram. It's just... interesting
6. Not despise, but... Konrad x Yuuri just strikes me as so boring. The protector!seme and the genki!uke. *yawn* I've so been there, and this anime presents it in such a boring, *boring* way...
7. Nothing for here
8. Hmm... dunno.


Weiss Kreuz
1. Omi
2. Schuldig
3. No one... I think
4. Crawford >_>
5. Ken x Omi
6. Schuldig x anyone
7. Er... nothing
8. Schuldig x Sakura O.O


Sorcerous Stabber Orphen
1. Majic ^^ gayest character in a straight anime EVER
2. Flameheart/soul. Same person, really
3. Cleao
4. Eris. I didn't MIND her when I first saw her... she's annoying, though
5. Orphen x Majic
6. Orphen x Cleao
7. I've seen the ones I like
8. Flameheart x his mother >_<;;;; Ewwww


That's all I'm doing.

Comments

[sailormac.livejournal.com]

Interesting SEED sidenote: It turns out that for the Special Edition DVDs they put out, with extra footage, Paku Romi replaced Nicol's original seiyuu. Which brings up the bizarre mental image of Nicol yelling "ARE YOU CALLING ME SHORT?" at Yzak and Dearka.

[silverthunder]

... You have no idea how much my love for Nicol has just increased. *_* I want those DVDs now...

Oh, hell, I'd love Nicol no matter what. He's just that damn wonderful.

[ice-is-blue.livejournal.com]

Um.... not a rant.... I'm just starving for some dialogue about KKM. *Needs to send out Rae's X-mas box*

5. Yuuri x Wolfram. It's just... interesting
6. Not despise, but... Konrad x Yuuri just strikes me as so boring. The protector!seme and the genki!uke. *yawn* I've so been there, and this anime presents it in such a boring, *boring* way...

Really? You think so? I can't say I've been following your comments on KKM from the very beginning, so this is a bit of a surprise for me. For me I like both pairings for Yuuri, but I prefer Konrad x Yuuri. The Yuuri x Wolfram aspect affects me (although, not nearly as severely) the same way that Konrad x Yuuri does you... It's more of a (pardon the Gravi reference, I just woke from a nap and my brain's slow) Shuichi x Yuki sort where the flow of desire is reversed and Wolfram plays a less emotionally-constipated, painting, grouchy would-be Yuki/lover. *somehow feels that that didn't illustrate her point well* Okay. Um? YxW reminds me of situations where multiple women press their affections on the helpless lad that's been sucked into their world. And one's pushier, more territorial/protective, a bit of an ass (but still can be sweet). YxW is the obvious pairing for KKM and there is great potential for numerous bad fic where Yuuri finally discovers his feelings and Wolfram isn't quite so annoying anymore. *nods* I think I expressed my point better there.

For me Konrad x Yuuri is the fresher choice, since it's more subtle. It's clear that Konrad loves Yuuri, but is it as the Maou's Guardian, as a Father, as a Lover, or (SPOILER for Ep27-ish: ) ? To me that is fresh. Very fresh and interesting. I want to play with it... and I will once I see how that last aspect is played out in canon.

And Yuuri's not just your standard genki!uke. You've got Maou!Yuuri to contend with too, and damn if that guy's not a seme (and a bondage-lover at that *evil grin*). Maou!Yuuri x Wolfram (or Konrad) is a whole different ballgame *smirk* from before. So far, Yuuri's not lasted long in this state, but the potential is there.

[silverthunder]

I honestly disagree. Totally. Thoroughly. I know neither of us is ever going to convince the other, because of the degree to which we disagree. :) It's completely hopeless, I'll tell you that right now.

But I want to give my reasons anyway, because I have this deep-seated need to defend my preference here.

I think I may be the victim of way too many canon yaoi anime in this case, because Konrad x Yuuri seems to me to be the atypical yaoi couple - the experienced, confident, protective seme, and the young, innocent, possibly touchy uke. It's even reflected in their physical appearances - Konrad is muscular, clearly older, and has that kind, knowing expression that seems to be all over the place in yaoi manga particularly. Yuuri is short, slender, cute, and young. I see this *everywhere*. And sometimes I like it, because sometimes they can take an old stereotype and make it interesting.

Not so with Konrad x Yuuri. The more I see of their interaction, the more I get the impression of "okay, so this is another one of *those*". Complete with the "destiny" factor which could lead the whole thing to true and undying love. And it bores me to tears. They're sweet as a mentor and his protege - as a romantic relationship, no. I want to see more spice, less predictability. Less of an obvious "I am CLEARLY the seme, and you are CLEARLY the uke", which is really what's at the heart of my dislike for the pairing no matter how many other reasons I give you.

I don't *like* set "seme" and "uke" roles. Japanese yaoi seems to *adore* this, to the point where doujinshi artists will make one character seem much smaller and/or less aggressive than another to fit them into these roles. Yaoi manga are full of big, tall or muscular (or all three) seme roles, and small, cute, slender uke roles. The reason I got so intested in Kyou Kara Maou in the first place was because of Yuuri/Wolfram, which in this way is so different from your atypical yaoi series pairing.

They look the same age. They act the same age. They seem to have about the same level of experience. You don't know for sure who'd be uke and who'd be seme. Their relationship would be (at least very close to) a relationship of equals. This is more like what I look for in my non-canon OTPs, and it's definitely a welcome change as far as canon yaoi would go.

Those are my reasons. You don't have to agree. :) But I will stick to them.

[ice-is-blue.livejournal.com]

^__^ Totally wasn't dreaming of converting anyone. Thanks for explaining your reasons.

In rebuttal (more to crystallize my own thoughts, rather than to sway you)... I think another key factor of a successful relationship is equal (emotional) maturity. Yuuri may be naive, but I feel he is closer to Konrad's level than he is to Wolfram's (whom I feel he is above). Insecure jealousy is a -major- turn off for me.

The other factor that may be influencing my pairing preference is my tendency to set stories after the timeline rather than during the story's timeline. I think that by the end of the series (or in any future-set stories), Yuuri will have matured and grown to the point that he and Konrad will be equals.

Due to Mazoku aging... when Yuuri is older and more mature, it's possible Wolfram will appear younger. And while Yuuri's maturity will certainly increase greatly over the next few years... Wolfram's... forgive me for saying this, but I highly doubt that Wolfram's maturity will drastically increase at any point in the near future (at least not without a serious wake-up call). He's how many years old already and how mature does he act?

Now... that could just be Wolfram's personality (meaning that he -could- change relatively quickly), or it could just be a slower emotional development for Mazoku. Although... evidence suggests a case for personality (look at the boy's mother o.O;;; ^__^).

I don't like set seme/uke roles either and could go into the disappointing fanfiction trend of feminizing a guy for a pairing, but won't since it's not really germane here. Equals is much more satisfying that someone who's always dominant and someone who's always submissive. *nods*

As for the predictability factor... as much as I like the idea of Konrad x Yuuri, there are a lot of reasons why it might -not- happen. The key issues being: Yuuri's engagement, Wolfram's desire (which isn't so insignificant, since Konrad does seem to truly care for his brother.... LoveTriangle!), the fact that Konrad himself might not know why he's attracted to Yuuri (for the boy himself? because of Julia?), and Yuuri's current age. (I don't see romance happening between them at the age Yuuri is in canon. I agree, that would be too hard-defined seme/uke).

And.... I guess I'm not sure about this, so maybe you could fill me in... it seems the 'official' canon pairing -is- Yuuri/Wolfram. That seems to be the trend in the fanfiction too. Do you think the series is leaning toward canon Yuuri/Konrad? I'm not so sure it is.

And I think in your post you were going for 'typical' rather than 'atypical'. ^_^;;; I got all excited there for a minute.

And I have to admit, Yuuri/Wolfram is cute.

:) So, 'your pairing's okay, my pairing's okay.' ^__^

[silverthunder]

Oh, I have more to say about this. :P Be afraid...

Just to clarify, when I say predictability, I'm not talking in terms of the series. Because in terms of the series, Yuuri/Wolfram is by FAR the most obvious pairing. They're engaged, for crying out loud. How much more blatant can you get?

I'm talking about a trend in Japanese yaoi series, and I think Konrad/Yuuri is a little too cliche and typical for me. Not that some cliches aren't good, but the chemistry between these two does absolutely zip for me as far as romance goes, and then there's the cliche on top of it.

Also, I don't think Yuuri's mature for a boy his age AT ALL - he's pretty average, pretty boy-next-door, a little immature at times, even. He has his moments, but hell, most teenagers who eventually grow into decent-minded adults do. (this is disregarding Maou-Yuuri for now, because he's hardly been in the anime at all and basically just gives us a water show and kicks some ass when he DOES come out - we don't really know enough about him to be useful in discussion)

I'm not crazy about the kind of gaping inequality that I see between Konrad and Yuuri. Konrad is an experienced older man, and Yuuri's still a kid in a lot of respects - it's not so much the age difference between them that gets to me as the experience/attitude difference. Konrad is a mature, worldly adult. Yuuri's still got a lot of growing to do before he can reach that level.

I might see this relationship if they got together some years in the future, when they can meet each other on a more equal footing. Might. That sounds like what you're talking about, so maybe our wavelengths cross somewhere along the line. I still think their chemistry is just so blah, though. ;) Does nothing for me at all.

I also MUST come to Wolfram's defense here, because he's my favorite character (frilly nightgowns aside). Mentally, he's got a lot of growing to do as well, and I can see a lot of this coming from his sheltered and pampered upbringing, especially with two strong older brothers who obviously do some looking out for him. But it's because of his awkward, not-quite-mature state of mind that I think he and Yuuri make a more equal pairing. I think it'd be interesting to watch them grow together as people.

Let's not forget that Yuuri is a Mazoku as well, too. How fast do you think HE is going to mature? I think they'll do better with each other to help, honestly. This may just be coming from my personal preferences, but it helps a LOT if you're inexperienced and the person you're with is fumbling around a bit too. You feel less insecure and more on an equal footing with the person.

That is totally just me, though - I'm not claiming it's gospel. But it could explain my preference on this issue. ;)

And, as to Wolfram's jealousy and overbearing personality... It's endearing, because it comes from an all-too-familiar "teenaged" awkwardness and insecurity. Here is a boy in the throes of his first infatuation, and he doesn't quite know what to do with himself over it. He swings almost wildly back and forth from insulting the source to declaring his love. He is pushy about his affections, and defensive about his claim on the beneficiary. It's... very sweet, actually, and I am enjoying it. Although Yuuri might not be. *laugh*

In any case, yeah. ^^ I see your reasons. And I'm sticking with mine. We do have to talk some time, though, because I'd love to have someone to discuss this series with. And, hell, I can never resist a friendly argument, either. :)

[silverthunder]

By the way, I sent the first four eps of Kyou Kara Maou to Rae. ;) So you need to bug her about watching them.

Also, if you want to talk KKM, I am totally up for that. Love the series muchly.

[ice-is-blue.livejournal.com]

Goody! on both counts. When I get back from my trip, I'll have to look up your IM. I've got two fic ideas I'd like to do eventually. One will have to wait a bit (at least for my own piece of mind) until the direction of the series is more clear. Or I could do the fic now and have it be pairing-less fluff, which while nice, isn't what I really want. The other fic I could do now, I think, if I was sure which Yuuri pairing I'd like to do. I very much want to do a realistic KKM / Yami no Matsuei crossover because I think if Anissina and Watari ever put their evil brains together the ensuing mayhem would be very fic-worthy. (Not to say that I would pair those two, but I think they'd make a wonderful mad-scientist duo.)

Other topics of interest... Yuuri's blond, not-quite-so-dweeby hanger-on in Japan (blanking on his name... think it starts with 'M'?) and the fact he understood Mazoku. The idea of an American Maou? I should probably re-watch the last few eps... I think I may have missed a key concept. It seems (in my memory anyway) that Konrad went to the States while looking for a host for the Maou's soul. But Yuuri grew up in Japan.... I have a feeling I'm forgetting some major fact about Yuuri's parents. (Or perhaps my brain's just looking for an excuse for a KKM marathon, which is possible. Must bring my discs on my trip.)

*looks at time* ^_^;;;; Okay, seriously, I need to start driving. o.O;; Had a long nap this afternoon, so I'll be fine on the road... but I'd like to get there before breakfast on Friday. Ja, ne.

[silverthunder]

Hah! Remember that guy Konrad ran into when he was wondering around in episode 26 with the Maou's soul in its little bottle? He had a soul in a bottle too, 'member? And said it was going to Japan.

Bets that Murata Ken is the second soul-in-a-bottle? I'll bet you that Muraken is an Earth Mazoku, like Yuuri's dad. He might even be Bob's successor as Earth's Maou. ;) That's my theory. I could be wrong.

I usually avoid crossovers like the plague... The idea sounds interesting, though.