Hello Celia! Sorry it took me forever to get back to you. I've been procrastinating on replying which is really terrible of me hehe.
The producers really say that Zuko was designated as a love interest for Katara!?!? OMG. Why didn't they make Zutara happen then? They had SO much canon potential, no wonder Zutara had a "high" moment and then later on the flame felt like it was extinguished...I don't think it being a kid's show should have any effect on the romances that happen. In fact, I though that since it's a kid show, the romance should be...dwindled? BUT....I wouldn't want that happening. With all that being said, there was no one "suitable" to end up with Aang too apart from Katara, so I guess that's why Zutara was cancelled out and Mai was introduced. Even though I'm a Zuko/Mai shipper, I really understand the appeal of Zuko/Katara - they really remind me of another one of my OTP. There's a part of Zuko that Katara brings out, and there's something special and subtle about them coming together, however "cliche" it might seem in the eyes of the haters - the "villian" and the heroine. (Although Kataang was way more cliche IMO) I couldn't bring myself to ship Katara/Aang...they were sweet, but not my cup of tea.
And yes, there really was so much potential with Zuko/Katara, as both a Zuko and Katara lover, I was sad to see it being cancelled off. I re-watched Avatar again after I heard of Legend of Korra and saw Zutara scenes, so naturally my first instinct was to ship Zutara since they really fit into the mould of the pairings that I ship.
Ah, I get you and why you like Kimi ni Todoke. It was mild and fluffy for me, but that's what makes it lovely too :) And I may just be the opposite of you! Haha, I have a tendency to love female characters. A little too much actually. I think it's because of the feminist streak in me, and I've always loved characters I looked up to or admired. Of course, there's the usual eye candies, but I couldn't bring myself to like them as much as the females. Which is why you see my favourite characters list...consists of mainly females. LOL. Gah, and that list is full already. Why can't MAL give us more space? :(
Ah, LOL I'm kind of glad you understand how I feel about Yuuki. So...when you say that you love the romance between Kaname and Yuuki's parents, does that mean that Kaname and Yuuki are siblings? Or it's just that their parents had a beautiful relationship but they didn't get married? It seems to me like the mangaka is trying to draw parallels, but the love triangle does agitate me. I really do like the side characters too and the art is just too pretty. It was what made me pick up the series :) It's a pity though about Yuuki's character. But, I guess Mary-Sues come and go and they are pretty rampant in the shoujo genre.
Oh yes Final Fantasy is a video game! LOL. Clarissa really loved Sasuke/Sakura and Cloud/Tifa as well, it's a pity I can't talk to her anymore. I hope we can get back in contact with her in the future, it seems like she closed herself off. I don't blame her though, we'd just have to see what happens hm? Oh but speaking of Final Fantasy, they actually have a movie. It's called Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. If you're interested in it, you can try watching it! It doesn't delve so much into details so you don't need to play the game to watch it. I watched it without playing the game and without prior knowledge of FFVII's world so you might come to enjoy it. I have a feeling you'd like Cloud's character too. The characters in FF are always looking so pretty too, perfect for ogling ;)
As for Sasuke/Sakura, sigh...my OTP :') Although I haven't been in as many fandoms as some otakus, I would have to say that Sasuke/Sakura have the best fanart and fanfiction I've ever come across. Naruto is such a ridiculously long series and nowadays, my interest in the main story isn't as much anymore, I guess I can stay on because of my own stubornness and because of my devotion towards my favourite characters and my OTP. I admit, Naruto Part 1 was really good though, it got me spamming episodes :) If you ever feel like expanding into the shounen genre, I'd recommend you start with Naruto first and let me know how you feel about it. There's a lot of fighting in shounen but the character development are really well-done. The emotional quality and back stories are leaps and bounds above shoujo genre too, not that I'm dissing shoujo, but I guess when you throw in a bit of tragedy, everything seems a bit more...severe and amplified? And how attached you feel to the characters is just...oh gosh, after entering their world and going through how they feel, they will forever hold a place in your heart :') I can imagine you liking a lot of the guy characters in shounen as well.
LOL yes. When I was reading Fruits Basket, I was really immersed in the relationships happening with the side characters. They were really sweet. I loved Kureno/Arisa too :') And LOL oh gosh all the couples you mentioned - Hatori/Mayuko, Katsuya/Kykoko, Hatsuhara/Rin - they're my favourites too out of the series :D :D I loved Hatori a lot as well, he was so handsome and charming LOL LOL /gets shot Oh god, I really cried reading Katsuya/Kyoko's story, especially towards the end when he died. The tears just fell...I just ugh, everytime I re-read it, my heart would ache for them. Their story was one of the reasons why Kyoko is my favourite out of the whole Furuba series.
AHHHHH I WAS CREEPING ON YOUR HISTORY! How's Honey and Clover!?! LOL sorry if I sound like an obsessed fan girl, but I loved loved loved H&C so much. I started H&C because of the live-action movie. Then when I finished the anime and the spin-off, I HAD to watch the live-action drama because I couldn't bear to part with the characters. Who's your favourite characters? Who do you ship? I saw Shuji on your favourite list, so he's definitely someone you like. I'm not sure if you noticed, but Ayumi's on mine. I loved her so much, a little too much actually :')
And Gokinjo Monogatari is a great manga. I love Ai Yazawa's works, and GM is great as well.
Alright I'd get to reading Eden no Hana very soon :) Gimme some time, these few days have been so hectic for me but I'm really looking forward to next week where I could possibly have some time to unwind with a good anime/manga. Thanks for the rec too, Tokio sounds like a really cool character!
Ah, your OTPs are cute! They are very suitable to your taste. I love ATLA so MUCH. I watched it a long long time ago but only really completed it a few months back. I actually started watching it again because of Zuko/Katara - I saw their scenes and was thinking they'd make such a nice couple! The whole scorned villain and strong female protagonist thing is something I dig ;) But, after watching ATLA, I admit I do ship Zuko/Katara quite some, but I really expected to ship them a lot more for some reason, I expected more moments I would say! Haha, and I grew to really love Zuko/Mai's relationship which I know a lot of Zuko/Katara fans despise...and if you don't like it, it's okay with me too :) We ship whoever we want too and there's no harm in it.
Although, I have to be honest with you, I couldn't manage to finish Kimi ni Todoke because it was a little too slow-paced and light-heated for me, I did like the side characters though, they were interesting! I guess I'm always on the search for something that really resonates and reverberates through me, I don't have the patience for something passive and that I can predict. Not that I'm saying KnT is passive or predictable, sorry...just going into a rant here! The art is really pretty though, I must say!
AND AND another thing I need to be really honest with you is that I can't stand Yuki Cross from Vampire Knight. I have a few volumes of the manga with me actually (like in real life~), the art was SO pretty, but Yuki was just...really lost on me. I won't go much into detail since you do seem to like her. But her relationship with Zero was too predictable and irked me. The whole love triangle didn't bode well with me too. I did liked Ruka a lot though, and I shipped her with one of the guys. But, Yuki and the whole love triangle was the reason I dropped it, it was too cliche for me.
SORRY I don't mean to be hating on your favourites! I just felt like I had to voice it out if not I'd be keeping stuff or lying to you :( I hope you don't feel offended. Vampire Knight and KnT are great mangas, but perhaps not my cup of tea. I do admit the art is spectacular though.
Ah....my OTP. Once you get me started, I won't stop. Heh. So for the sake of not blabbering too much, I'd try and limit myself. My OTPs are Sasuke/Sakura from Naruto - that's my ultimate one, the one that I will go down with and that I've been shipping for over 5 years. This year is probably the 6th :) I love their tragedy and their angst, it's the whole unrequited love thing. I've been with them since the very beginning and I'm starting to think that ALL my OTPs are so angst-fillled and if they aren't angsty, chances are I can't ship them anymore than I support them. My other OTPs are Cloud/Tifa from Final Fantasy VII and Roy/Riza from Full Metal Alchemist. I think, with a shounen or at least not a shoujo series, the romance you get is really little...and in minute amounts, so it makes you crave for more. I know you're not one for shounen-ish animangas, so I'd stop rambling here :')
Ah, okay now about Fruits Basket.. My problem with Fruits Basket is this. I love it. It's one of the first shoujo mangas I loved and I will continue to love it, I have all the volumes with me and I still re-read them time to time again BUT....I dislike Tohru...a lot. Not to the point of intense hatred, but it's a very heavy dislike. I hope you don't mind me saying things like that, and I'm not trying to bash your opinions or anything :( :( I'm so sorry if I had to phrase it this way, I just felt I really had to come out with this! I think Tohru is an embodiment of a Mary-Sue. The sort that attracts guys effortlessly, gets thrown into a love triangle, has everyone come to love her, is good at most hings, clumsy, and her flaws reads out like bad interview answers ("I care too much, I'm selfless, I think too much")...I've never liked her as a main protagonist. I stuck around because of the side characters which I will forever forever love. Furuba has one of the best side characters ever and the BEST side character romances, I can't seem to emphasize this enough.
For me, I leaned towards Kyo at the start. The whole feisty brooding boy appealed more to me than the pretty prince-y boy. I never liked pretty boys anyway. But throughout the course of the manga, I found myself liking Yuki more than Kyo (which is sort of the reverse of you). Kyo and Tohru is sweet, but they're predictable in a saccharine way, so I'd let them be, and I know so many people wanted Yuki and Tohru together but I wasn't one of them. I thought the whole mother concept was interesting...and refreshing even, although I did think that at a certain angle, it looked like an excuse to just push Yuki away. But, Yuki...well, I liked him after he cleared his feelings for Tohru and then when Kyo fell for Tohru, I just...couldn't like him that much anymore. I ship Kyo/Tohru as much as I like Tohru. Not too much but enough to be able to enjoy their scenes (yes you'd get lots of squeal worthy scenes that even got me sighing and gushing!).
I get how you feel about not wanting Yuki to end up with nobody else but Tohru since you sided with him at the start. But...and I hope this doesn't come off as a spoiler to you, I really do like his relationship with the girl he ends up with later. That girl (I'm not sure if you're introduced to her yet) is also one of my favourites (although I'd understand if you'd dislike her), her past and her storyline was interesting to me, and Yuki and her relationship was sweet. I can't see Yuki/Tohru working out the way Kyo/Tohru will work out :)
So, is your favourite character so far Kyo? My favourite character was *surprisingly* Kyoko, Tohru's mother, lol and it's pretty ironic considering I dislike Tohru quite some. I loved Kyoko's backstory and even more her relationship with Katsuya, I'm not sure whether you read it yet, but it made me teared so much. I do love others like Arisa, Saki, Kagura, Rin, Haru, Mayuko (their homeroom teacher) as well :) And Hatori's my favourite male :'D
Ah, if you had to force me to pick my OTP of Fruits Basket it'd be SO SO hard, I ship so many of the side character *creys* Oh remember stamping communities on livejournal? My sister and I used to run a Fruits Basket one. Hehe, I'm a Kagura-Saki mix LOL. Which is pretty strange hehe. Lemme know how you're enjoying the rest of Fruits Basket ;)
Sorry it took me forever to reply. MAL wasn't working for me the past few days, it took forever to load pages. Hope you're doing well Celia!
Yes, Mars really does have its cliches, but they weren't so glaring to the point that it makes me want to cringe and I really enjoyed the characters that she's crafted, they really went beyond the two-dimensional and proved to be deeply layered and interesting, even humane in some instances. Like I said, the mangaka really knew how to write a good love story!
I have always been a sucker for the whole cool bad boy with a compassionate heart kind of stereotypes, but I could never stand it when they're paired up with ingenues...which in this case is kind of like Kira and Rei's relationship which was why I was really surprised to have loved their relationship so. I admit what drew me to the manga at first wasn't the characters, but rather, the whole idea, of Rei kissing the statue, and being Kira's very own Mars "The God of War". And Rei does seem to embody the god of war archetype really well - with his proneness to aggression and his volatile personality.
I would say, I really enjoyed seeing Kira and Rei warm up to each other and bond over the sessions where she drew him and where he opened up to her slowly. It was a very gradual process, nothing rushed and it felt genuine. And yes, cliches aren't always my cup of tea, but sometimes they do work really well for stories. I'd always root for Kira and Rei, they had my heart with them since Day 1.
And yeah, the whole twin concept - if you dwell into the psychology of it, it can really be twisted into something more sinister and ominous. LOL. Although I'm a twin myself and don't feel anything bad about being one, but in dramatic mangas, they seem to always be rather foreboding. I would say twins are always either two sides of a spectrum or at the same spectrum! For some reason, it's always been like that. But, they will always share some similarity to one another...Rei and Sei's relationship was interesting to observe too I think! Although it was a little creepy.
Haha YES YES! I agree with you. If I were a mother, I will never let the guy who has raped my daughter ever step into my house again. I'd probably go mad at the sight of him. I've experienced mothers who have done the same thing that Kira's mother have done before..they probably assumed their daughter was naive and exaggerating...which is sad, really. But, I suppose, things turned out like this for a reason.
I guess, I just felt so sad that Kira's supposedly normal life fell apart and she had to leave home and leave her mother whom she loved dearly. Rei and her relatioship had always been tumultuous but looking back, their struggles were really terrible :( I'm just so glad that they got the happy ending that they deserved.
Kira and Rei are definitely one of my favourite couples too :) Oh god, I should really come up with a list of my favourite couple list...probably seeing all of that will make my heart both ache and soar. Do you have any OTPs of all time? I think Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan can be compared to Mars but at the same time, it can't. I made a recommendation though for both mangas. I believe whoever loved Mars will come to love Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan, and the other way round too. I think perhaps Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan's story was short, fleeting, profound, subtle and beautiful - the mangaka, Mizu Sahara really has a way with capturing the tiniest details or creating mood and ambience or evoking feelings, which is why even with so little chapters, she was able to tell a convincing romance that has all our hearts aching. Whereas for Mars, the beauty is in the details and the length, Kira and Rei's struggles and the opportunity for development and exploration :)
Ah, I can tell that the art for Hadashi de Bara wo Fume is really pretty, I was looking through it on MAL. It really is striking :) But, I sort of get what you mean about some shoujo/romance related series feeling rather "shallow" after you've read such detailed and long stuff like Mars or Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan. For me, I've always preferred to be immersed fully into another world and another character's feelings. I can't stand cliches or love triangles, or typical mary-sue characters...or even easy romances so I've tend to leaned towards darker stories which are more angsty and more complicated. I've always had a taste for romance though, since I'm a romantic at heart. But, the seinen, josei, sci-fi and psychology categories do contain some really marvelous series and I'm starting to sometimes like them over shoujo which is rather repetitive.
I suppose, over time, I just couldn't fully enjoy the usual light-hearted shoujo reads any more, they couldn't contain my interest, and they tend to annoy me after a while. But no no, don't think of yourself as shallow :) There's nothing wrong with enjoying simple reads.
I'm a sucker for angst...and complications. My OTPS are so full of angst that I feel so bad for putting them through all the pain LOL. But sigh, they do say that unrequited love is the most romantic after all. Ah, Eden no Hana sounds interesting! Btw, is it finished? Are all the chapters up already? :) I can't seem to find the heart to read any unfinished mangas anymore after what happened with Nana, it broke my heart so many times and now it's unfinished sob sob.
Oh, I read this other manga about twins, but it's nothing dark at all. It's pretty light-hearted and yet still pretty profound. It's called Futago. You might like it :) The art is really pretty too in my opinion! ;)
I LOVED LOVED Mars as well, so I'm really glad to see that you're enjoying it! I agree with you that it can be overly dramatic at times and not so realistic, but the mangaka does tell a great story and a beautiful romance. I loved reading the whole manga in general and usually, I wouldn't settle down for a manga this long! I loved the psychological elements that were tossed in - it really gave the series a lot more depth and even suspense. And yes, how it delved into human nature was really interesting as well, I've always liked exploring the human nature, so I thought what Mars did was really nice.
LOL. They really should have just shoot Masao or throw him in jail. Sei really suprirsed me too! But, at the same time, I always felt like there was something peculiar about him...a certain tension I suppose. They toyed around with the twin aspect again as well, which is always interesting!
I loved how Kira and Rei's relationship developed...it wasn't something that happened so fast but still, it was good. It did had some shoujo cliches like the whole "other girl who likes Rei and wants Kira dead" but I'm glad it was well handled. My heart really broke when Rei and Kira actually wanted to broke up, lol and then I started grinning when he came back to save her. Two people who have been through this much together will always be bound to one another - that's my belief :)
I really do like the art style as well! At first, I thought it was a little old and traditional, but after reading a couple of chapters, I grew to really like it!
LOL YES! I really hated Kira's mother for having her STUPID FATHER come back, although I suppose she had not much of a choice with money running low...but stilllllll, he was such a creep. His concern for Kira seemed to border on to pevertism. And I think if someone has ever done such a grave thing to you like rape, there is no way to ever forgive that person..because, I mean, who's to say that person won't do it again if he has done it once? I can't see how the mum could go on loving him and placing him on some pedestal like he was their saviour.
I'm so happy they ended up together, after all the detours and the troubles too :) It was so worth it, knowing that they were happy and so very much in love. I love realistic happy endings, it feels like a nice resolve to all the drama and struggles that happened. Is Hadashi de Bara wo Fume still as good? :) I saw it on your favourites list and I remembered you mentioned to me about it.
Thanks - we actually are in the process of trying to make things better. Going to a counselor helps a lot :) I think with the lecturing thing, the problem is, sometimes parents aren't aware of their own children's personalities and strengths. They automatically assume that their children act the same way that THEY acted at that age (sometimes in a bad way) and feel the need to be overprotective or preach at times.
Sometimes parents can hide behind that authoritarian persona because they are actually very worried about you! ;) It helps if you approach it maturely and say, I know you're concerned but you have to be fair and trust me a little, not lecture as often as you do. If you approach the issue like that, it will really impress them, I'm sure!
Haha, I always loved Yuki :'D I really love the characters Haru and Isuzu too. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised about the entire series in general, no need to worry :) I'm looking forward to talking about it!
It's the same for me, actually. I've been dealing with a lot of BS since October. And I haven't been getting along with my mom - it's just something I can't get over, which is making me uncomfortable since it's the holiday season. It's been tough lately for me too. I hope things improve for the both of us!
Yeah, it's a 23 volume series but so excellent that it will go by SO quickly, trust me :'D It's really cool, and ends up being very emotional. I'm glad you'll give it a try! Tell me what you think of it once you get into it a little bit. :)
Hey, nice to see you here! :D Thanks for requesting me. How have you been lately?
I was browsing through you anime/manga lists, and I noticed that you're going to read and watch Fruits Basket soon? :) It's a really interesting series, I urge you to try it. It's one of those series that are so popular (and deserve to be popular, at least for its excellent side characters) that they become a sort of must-read essential.
I love Yuu from Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan too. Although I can't decide whether I like him better than Mutou. You should definitely check out more of Yumeko Sumomo's works. She does such beautiful art. Most of her shoujo/slice of life/romance stuff is under another name though - Mizu Sahara. Oh, I recommend you Voices of a Distant Star - I think you'd like it. it's a touching story!
All Comments (12) Comments
The producers really say that Zuko was designated as a love interest for Katara!?!? OMG. Why didn't they make Zutara happen then? They had SO much canon potential, no wonder Zutara had a "high" moment and then later on the flame felt like it was extinguished...I don't think it being a kid's show should have any effect on the romances that happen. In fact, I though that since it's a kid show, the romance should be...dwindled? BUT....I wouldn't want that happening. With all that being said, there was no one "suitable" to end up with Aang too apart from Katara, so I guess that's why Zutara was cancelled out and Mai was introduced. Even though I'm a Zuko/Mai shipper, I really understand the appeal of Zuko/Katara - they really remind me of another one of my OTP. There's a part of Zuko that Katara brings out, and there's something special and subtle about them coming together, however "cliche" it might seem in the eyes of the haters - the "villian" and the heroine. (Although Kataang was way more cliche IMO) I couldn't bring myself to ship Katara/Aang...they were sweet, but not my cup of tea.
And yes, there really was so much potential with Zuko/Katara, as both a Zuko and Katara lover, I was sad to see it being cancelled off. I re-watched Avatar again after I heard of Legend of Korra and saw Zutara scenes, so naturally my first instinct was to ship Zutara since they really fit into the mould of the pairings that I ship.
Ah, I get you and why you like Kimi ni Todoke. It was mild and fluffy for me, but that's what makes it lovely too :) And I may just be the opposite of you! Haha, I have a tendency to love female characters. A little too much actually. I think it's because of the feminist streak in me, and I've always loved characters I looked up to or admired. Of course, there's the usual eye candies, but I couldn't bring myself to like them as much as the females. Which is why you see my favourite characters list...consists of mainly females. LOL. Gah, and that list is full already. Why can't MAL give us more space? :(
Ah, LOL I'm kind of glad you understand how I feel about Yuuki. So...when you say that you love the romance between Kaname and Yuuki's parents, does that mean that Kaname and Yuuki are siblings? Or it's just that their parents had a beautiful relationship but they didn't get married? It seems to me like the mangaka is trying to draw parallels, but the love triangle does agitate me. I really do like the side characters too and the art is just too pretty. It was what made me pick up the series :) It's a pity though about Yuuki's character. But, I guess Mary-Sues come and go and they are pretty rampant in the shoujo genre.
Oh yes Final Fantasy is a video game! LOL. Clarissa really loved Sasuke/Sakura and Cloud/Tifa as well, it's a pity I can't talk to her anymore. I hope we can get back in contact with her in the future, it seems like she closed herself off. I don't blame her though, we'd just have to see what happens hm? Oh but speaking of Final Fantasy, they actually have a movie. It's called Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. If you're interested in it, you can try watching it! It doesn't delve so much into details so you don't need to play the game to watch it. I watched it without playing the game and without prior knowledge of FFVII's world so you might come to enjoy it. I have a feeling you'd like Cloud's character too. The characters in FF are always looking so pretty too, perfect for ogling ;)
As for Sasuke/Sakura, sigh...my OTP :') Although I haven't been in as many fandoms as some otakus, I would have to say that Sasuke/Sakura have the best fanart and fanfiction I've ever come across. Naruto is such a ridiculously long series and nowadays, my interest in the main story isn't as much anymore, I guess I can stay on because of my own stubornness and because of my devotion towards my favourite characters and my OTP. I admit, Naruto Part 1 was really good though, it got me spamming episodes :) If you ever feel like expanding into the shounen genre, I'd recommend you start with Naruto first and let me know how you feel about it. There's a lot of fighting in shounen but the character development are really well-done. The emotional quality and back stories are leaps and bounds above shoujo genre too, not that I'm dissing shoujo, but I guess when you throw in a bit of tragedy, everything seems a bit more...severe and amplified? And how attached you feel to the characters is just...oh gosh, after entering their world and going through how they feel, they will forever hold a place in your heart :') I can imagine you liking a lot of the guy characters in shounen as well.
LOL yes. When I was reading Fruits Basket, I was really immersed in the relationships happening with the side characters. They were really sweet. I loved Kureno/Arisa too :') And LOL oh gosh all the couples you mentioned - Hatori/Mayuko, Katsuya/Kykoko, Hatsuhara/Rin - they're my favourites too out of the series :D :D I loved Hatori a lot as well, he was so handsome and charming LOL LOL /gets shot Oh god, I really cried reading Katsuya/Kyoko's story, especially towards the end when he died. The tears just fell...I just ugh, everytime I re-read it, my heart would ache for them. Their story was one of the reasons why Kyoko is my favourite out of the whole Furuba series.
AHHHHH I WAS CREEPING ON YOUR HISTORY! How's Honey and Clover!?! LOL sorry if I sound like an obsessed fan girl, but I loved loved loved H&C so much. I started H&C because of the live-action movie. Then when I finished the anime and the spin-off, I HAD to watch the live-action drama because I couldn't bear to part with the characters. Who's your favourite characters? Who do you ship? I saw Shuji on your favourite list, so he's definitely someone you like. I'm not sure if you noticed, but Ayumi's on mine. I loved her so much, a little too much actually :')
And Gokinjo Monogatari is a great manga. I love Ai Yazawa's works, and GM is great as well.
Ah, your OTPs are cute! They are very suitable to your taste. I love ATLA so MUCH. I watched it a long long time ago but only really completed it a few months back. I actually started watching it again because of Zuko/Katara - I saw their scenes and was thinking they'd make such a nice couple! The whole scorned villain and strong female protagonist thing is something I dig ;) But, after watching ATLA, I admit I do ship Zuko/Katara quite some, but I really expected to ship them a lot more for some reason, I expected more moments I would say! Haha, and I grew to really love Zuko/Mai's relationship which I know a lot of Zuko/Katara fans despise...and if you don't like it, it's okay with me too :) We ship whoever we want too and there's no harm in it.
Although, I have to be honest with you, I couldn't manage to finish Kimi ni Todoke because it was a little too slow-paced and light-heated for me, I did like the side characters though, they were interesting! I guess I'm always on the search for something that really resonates and reverberates through me, I don't have the patience for something passive and that I can predict. Not that I'm saying KnT is passive or predictable, sorry...just going into a rant here! The art is really pretty though, I must say!
AND AND another thing I need to be really honest with you is that I can't stand Yuki Cross from Vampire Knight. I have a few volumes of the manga with me actually (like in real life~), the art was SO pretty, but Yuki was just...really lost on me. I won't go much into detail since you do seem to like her. But her relationship with Zero was too predictable and irked me. The whole love triangle didn't bode well with me too. I did liked Ruka a lot though, and I shipped her with one of the guys. But, Yuki and the whole love triangle was the reason I dropped it, it was too cliche for me.
SORRY I don't mean to be hating on your favourites! I just felt like I had to voice it out if not I'd be keeping stuff or lying to you :( I hope you don't feel offended. Vampire Knight and KnT are great mangas, but perhaps not my cup of tea. I do admit the art is spectacular though.
Ah....my OTP. Once you get me started, I won't stop. Heh. So for the sake of not blabbering too much, I'd try and limit myself. My OTPs are Sasuke/Sakura from Naruto - that's my ultimate one, the one that I will go down with and that I've been shipping for over 5 years. This year is probably the 6th :) I love their tragedy and their angst, it's the whole unrequited love thing. I've been with them since the very beginning and I'm starting to think that ALL my OTPs are so angst-fillled and if they aren't angsty, chances are I can't ship them anymore than I support them. My other OTPs are Cloud/Tifa from Final Fantasy VII and Roy/Riza from Full Metal Alchemist. I think, with a shounen or at least not a shoujo series, the romance you get is really little...and in minute amounts, so it makes you crave for more. I know you're not one for shounen-ish animangas, so I'd stop rambling here :')
Ah, okay now about Fruits Basket.. My problem with Fruits Basket is this. I love it. It's one of the first shoujo mangas I loved and I will continue to love it, I have all the volumes with me and I still re-read them time to time again BUT....I dislike Tohru...a lot. Not to the point of intense hatred, but it's a very heavy dislike. I hope you don't mind me saying things like that, and I'm not trying to bash your opinions or anything :( :( I'm so sorry if I had to phrase it this way, I just felt I really had to come out with this! I think Tohru is an embodiment of a Mary-Sue. The sort that attracts guys effortlessly, gets thrown into a love triangle, has everyone come to love her, is good at most hings, clumsy, and her flaws reads out like bad interview answers ("I care too much, I'm selfless, I think too much")...I've never liked her as a main protagonist. I stuck around because of the side characters which I will forever forever love. Furuba has one of the best side characters ever and the BEST side character romances, I can't seem to emphasize this enough.
For me, I leaned towards Kyo at the start. The whole feisty brooding boy appealed more to me than the pretty prince-y boy. I never liked pretty boys anyway. But throughout the course of the manga, I found myself liking Yuki more than Kyo (which is sort of the reverse of you). Kyo and Tohru is sweet, but they're predictable in a saccharine way, so I'd let them be, and I know so many people wanted Yuki and Tohru together but I wasn't one of them. I thought the whole mother concept was interesting...and refreshing even, although I did think that at a certain angle, it looked like an excuse to just push Yuki away. But, Yuki...well, I liked him after he cleared his feelings for Tohru and then when Kyo fell for Tohru, I just...couldn't like him that much anymore. I ship Kyo/Tohru as much as I like Tohru. Not too much but enough to be able to enjoy their scenes (yes you'd get lots of squeal worthy scenes that even got me sighing and gushing!).
I get how you feel about not wanting Yuki to end up with nobody else but Tohru since you sided with him at the start. But...and I hope this doesn't come off as a spoiler to you, I really do like his relationship with the girl he ends up with later. That girl (I'm not sure if you're introduced to her yet) is also one of my favourites (although I'd understand if you'd dislike her), her past and her storyline was interesting to me, and Yuki and her relationship was sweet. I can't see Yuki/Tohru working out the way Kyo/Tohru will work out :)
So, is your favourite character so far Kyo? My favourite character was *surprisingly* Kyoko, Tohru's mother, lol and it's pretty ironic considering I dislike Tohru quite some. I loved Kyoko's backstory and even more her relationship with Katsuya, I'm not sure whether you read it yet, but it made me teared so much. I do love others like Arisa, Saki, Kagura, Rin, Haru, Mayuko (their homeroom teacher) as well :) And Hatori's my favourite male :'D
Ah, if you had to force me to pick my OTP of Fruits Basket it'd be SO SO hard, I ship so many of the side character *creys* Oh remember stamping communities on livejournal? My sister and I used to run a Fruits Basket one. Hehe, I'm a Kagura-Saki mix LOL. Which is pretty strange hehe. Lemme know how you're enjoying the rest of Fruits Basket ;)
Sorry it took me forever to reply. MAL wasn't working for me the past few days, it took forever to load pages. Hope you're doing well Celia!
I have always been a sucker for the whole cool bad boy with a compassionate heart kind of stereotypes, but I could never stand it when they're paired up with ingenues...which in this case is kind of like Kira and Rei's relationship which was why I was really surprised to have loved their relationship so. I admit what drew me to the manga at first wasn't the characters, but rather, the whole idea, of Rei kissing the statue, and being Kira's very own Mars "The God of War". And Rei does seem to embody the god of war archetype really well - with his proneness to aggression and his volatile personality.
I would say, I really enjoyed seeing Kira and Rei warm up to each other and bond over the sessions where she drew him and where he opened up to her slowly. It was a very gradual process, nothing rushed and it felt genuine. And yes, cliches aren't always my cup of tea, but sometimes they do work really well for stories. I'd always root for Kira and Rei, they had my heart with them since Day 1.
And yeah, the whole twin concept - if you dwell into the psychology of it, it can really be twisted into something more sinister and ominous. LOL. Although I'm a twin myself and don't feel anything bad about being one, but in dramatic mangas, they seem to always be rather foreboding. I would say twins are always either two sides of a spectrum or at the same spectrum! For some reason, it's always been like that. But, they will always share some similarity to one another...Rei and Sei's relationship was interesting to observe too I think! Although it was a little creepy.
Haha YES YES! I agree with you. If I were a mother, I will never let the guy who has raped my daughter ever step into my house again. I'd probably go mad at the sight of him. I've experienced mothers who have done the same thing that Kira's mother have done before..they probably assumed their daughter was naive and exaggerating...which is sad, really. But, I suppose, things turned out like this for a reason.
I guess, I just felt so sad that Kira's supposedly normal life fell apart and she had to leave home and leave her mother whom she loved dearly. Rei and her relatioship had always been tumultuous but looking back, their struggles were really terrible :( I'm just so glad that they got the happy ending that they deserved.
Kira and Rei are definitely one of my favourite couples too :) Oh god, I should really come up with a list of my favourite couple list...probably seeing all of that will make my heart both ache and soar. Do you have any OTPs of all time? I think Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan can be compared to Mars but at the same time, it can't. I made a recommendation though for both mangas. I believe whoever loved Mars will come to love Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan, and the other way round too. I think perhaps Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan's story was short, fleeting, profound, subtle and beautiful - the mangaka, Mizu Sahara really has a way with capturing the tiniest details or creating mood and ambience or evoking feelings, which is why even with so little chapters, she was able to tell a convincing romance that has all our hearts aching. Whereas for Mars, the beauty is in the details and the length, Kira and Rei's struggles and the opportunity for development and exploration :)
Ah, I can tell that the art for Hadashi de Bara wo Fume is really pretty, I was looking through it on MAL. It really is striking :) But, I sort of get what you mean about some shoujo/romance related series feeling rather "shallow" after you've read such detailed and long stuff like Mars or Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan. For me, I've always preferred to be immersed fully into another world and another character's feelings. I can't stand cliches or love triangles, or typical mary-sue characters...or even easy romances so I've tend to leaned towards darker stories which are more angsty and more complicated. I've always had a taste for romance though, since I'm a romantic at heart. But, the seinen, josei, sci-fi and psychology categories do contain some really marvelous series and I'm starting to sometimes like them over shoujo which is rather repetitive.
I suppose, over time, I just couldn't fully enjoy the usual light-hearted shoujo reads any more, they couldn't contain my interest, and they tend to annoy me after a while. But no no, don't think of yourself as shallow :) There's nothing wrong with enjoying simple reads.
I'm a sucker for angst...and complications. My OTPS are so full of angst that I feel so bad for putting them through all the pain LOL. But sigh, they do say that unrequited love is the most romantic after all. Ah, Eden no Hana sounds interesting! Btw, is it finished? Are all the chapters up already? :) I can't seem to find the heart to read any unfinished mangas anymore after what happened with Nana, it broke my heart so many times and now it's unfinished sob sob.
Oh, I read this other manga about twins, but it's nothing dark at all. It's pretty light-hearted and yet still pretty profound. It's called Futago. You might like it :) The art is really pretty too in my opinion! ;)
LOL. They really should have just shoot Masao or throw him in jail. Sei really suprirsed me too! But, at the same time, I always felt like there was something peculiar about him...a certain tension I suppose. They toyed around with the twin aspect again as well, which is always interesting!
I loved how Kira and Rei's relationship developed...it wasn't something that happened so fast but still, it was good. It did had some shoujo cliches like the whole "other girl who likes Rei and wants Kira dead" but I'm glad it was well handled. My heart really broke when Rei and Kira actually wanted to broke up, lol and then I started grinning when he came back to save her. Two people who have been through this much together will always be bound to one another - that's my belief :)
I really do like the art style as well! At first, I thought it was a little old and traditional, but after reading a couple of chapters, I grew to really like it!
LOL YES! I really hated Kira's mother for having her STUPID FATHER come back, although I suppose she had not much of a choice with money running low...but stilllllll, he was such a creep. His concern for Kira seemed to border on to pevertism. And I think if someone has ever done such a grave thing to you like rape, there is no way to ever forgive that person..because, I mean, who's to say that person won't do it again if he has done it once? I can't see how the mum could go on loving him and placing him on some pedestal like he was their saviour.
I'm so happy they ended up together, after all the detours and the troubles too :) It was so worth it, knowing that they were happy and so very much in love. I love realistic happy endings, it feels like a nice resolve to all the drama and struggles that happened. Is Hadashi de Bara wo Fume still as good? :) I saw it on your favourites list and I remembered you mentioned to me about it.
Sometimes parents can hide behind that authoritarian persona because they are actually very worried about you! ;) It helps if you approach it maturely and say, I know you're concerned but you have to be fair and trust me a little, not lecture as often as you do. If you approach the issue like that, it will really impress them, I'm sure!
Haha, I always loved Yuki :'D I really love the characters Haru and Isuzu too. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised about the entire series in general, no need to worry :) I'm looking forward to talking about it!
Anyway, have you been up to anything lately?
Yeah, it's a 23 volume series but so excellent that it will go by SO quickly, trust me :'D It's really cool, and ends up being very emotional. I'm glad you'll give it a try! Tell me what you think of it once you get into it a little bit. :)
I was browsing through you anime/manga lists, and I noticed that you're going to read and watch Fruits Basket soon? :) It's a really interesting series, I urge you to try it. It's one of those series that are so popular (and deserve to be popular, at least for its excellent side characters) that they become a sort of must-read essential.
I love Yuu from Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan too. Although I can't decide whether I like him better than Mutou. You should definitely check out more of Yumeko Sumomo's works. She does such beautiful art. Most of her shoujo/slice of life/romance stuff is under another name though - Mizu Sahara. Oh, I recommend you Voices of a Distant Star - I think you'd like it. it's a touching story!