King_Kiashi said: The amount of "just gals being pals" in this thread is a bit irritating but whatever. You can't really blame yuri shippers for wanting yuri when us lesbians hardly ever get any actual representation outside of measly subtexty scraps (which isn't really representation after all) =/. While it's true women are generally more touchy feely with eachother, it's sort of rude and heteronormative to insist that there couldn't ever possibly be a chance of there being anything more to it when you'd scream 'they must be in love!' if a guy and a girl so much as look at eachother. We exist too, y'know. <_< It's rather sad to be constantly erased like there's something wrong with it that needs to be hidden. >_>
But everyone's entitled to ship whatever they like — I'm not trying to insist that they must be in love either since it's kept at a subtext level at the moment and thus is technically a matter of interpretation. I agree that unless a ship is explicitly developed and the characters' romantic feelings are actually elaborated upon as such (or announced by the creators as canon as such in Legend of Korra) then one can't conclusively say it's absolutely canon since canon is what is considered true in-universe. If it falls short of that then it'll just end up being subtextual implications left open to viewer interpretation of the text. But either way, canon or not, ship whatever you like. Everyone's got their own shipping tastes, after all. But I will say that, at the end of the day, it's still not very nice to rag on yuri fans for wanting yuri when it's so rare and constantly cast aside. [sigh]
I do wish they would pursue the Kumiko/Reina route since their dynamic still has this electric aura and they have really great, natural chemistry together to me. Really does remind me of how I felt falling in love with another girl; that sort of electricity. That sort of magical interaction and fascination with another person just reminds me of my own experiences, simply put. So that does influence how I view their scenes personally. Could definitely become another OTP for me. Guess I can always just draw my fanart and write my fanfics if it really doesn't happen after all, haha. And it hardly ever does happen outside of shows specifically geared towards that sort of thing, so I won't get my hopes up (even though I really don't think it's fair to confine anything yuri to its own particular genre and not let there be any sort of lesbian romantic subplot in other media). I just hope they leave things ambiguous at least in the anime so as not to sink anything.
Anyways, this was a fun episode. Really great to see those two bonding. Poor Hazuki, getting rejected. I still don't find Shuuichi to be a remotely interesting character, though. Kind of feel like he's just getting in the way of things =/ Nor is there really anything unique about his character. -shrug- But y'know, if you like him, then have fun with that.
I know I'm late to the party but ayyye, have my two cents anyways. Guess I'll finish catching up on this and seeing where it goes, haha!
I don't really have much to add... I just wanted to say that your post was very well written and I totally agree with you. I personally am a heterosexual male, but I know many lesbian and bi women and, in general, the way that Kuniko and Reina's relationship has been portrayed strikes a chord with the stories they have told me about their early realization of their sexual preference.
Lockensocke said:MelonMilk said:
It's also because of this fact that the trumpets in particular get a lot of the attention in the band. Reina is genuinely passionate about band, and the trumpet is the instrument which best fits her ambitious personality.
Im sorry, but i dont see any passion in her. All i see is a normal girl who is pretty serious most of the time learning her parts like any other member of the band. ofc, that is nothing that contradicts passion, but like i said before, it doesnt show passion.
"I want to be special... etc... " No passion there at all!
Not to mention her reaction to not making nationals back in middle school.
I really wonder if I'm watching the same show as other people sometimes...
Oh, and the character bio mentions that she treasures her trumpet and it was a gift from her parents. Whether or not that detail has been covered in the anime, it is out there on the anime's official web page, so that is a bit of evidence.
awkwardsilences said: I loled so hard when Tsukamoto asked Kumiko the first time to go to the festival together and she just said "Huh? Nande?" like it was the stupidest thing she ever heard XD Love how completely insensitive she can be sometimes.
YES! Kumiko's complete lack of a filter on her mouth is one of the most endearing aspects of her personality, which Reina so aptly pointed out, is really horrible at times. |