Happy V-day to everyone in anime land. I hope you all have fun today whatever your plans are. Also remember those who hate Single Awareness Day with a passion, it only lasts one day. Besides it means that chocolate will be on sale tomorrow as well as flowers and other junk.
This is just a little wrap up for the Shipping Countdown series.
It was fun, but now the shipping countdown is offically over. Writing the posts reminded me that shipping is a huge part of my anime fandom. It’s not the only thing, but it defintely effects how I desire what to read/watch.
The ironic thing is, that orignally I got interested in anime for the comedy and fantasy elements of the series. I didn’t really see anything that would be concerted serious shipping, until I watched Fruits Basket. So in the end it’s really shojo that’s to blame for obcessive shipping. (Although really I was obcessive shipping fan girl before with books. KelxNeal ftw).
For some fans, shipping is the main reason they watch or read a series. If they feel a series doesn’t have enough of it, they’ll drop it like a hot potato. For other fans, shipping is like a poison that destroys fandoms. I think there’s a happy a medium that exists, which most mature fangirls I’ve seen seem to reach. The fans for whom shipping is the main reason the watch or read a series are usually the ones who start pairing wars. The series that’s probably the most famous for that now is Shugo Chara.
The List
Day 1: SakuraxSyaoran
Day 2: HaruaixTamaki
Day 3: UkxUs
Day 4: SanaxAkito
Day 5: RimaxNagihiko
Day 6: YukasuxKyoko
Day 7: HarunaxYoh
Day 8: MitsukixTakuto
Day 9: TakanarixHaine
Day 10: NagisaxTomoya *sniff*
Day 11: MomokoxYosuke
Day 12: KyokoxRen
Day 13: Amuto (oh noes! I just realized that I wrote the Amuto post on Friday the 13th. Bad luck)
Day 14: TohruxKyo.
Thoughts
Wow. Why do I like pairings with shy/cheerful girls winning over stubborn/delinqunt boys (KyoxTohru, NagisaxTomoya, SakuraxSyaoran, SanaxAkito etc.) so much? Also, teasing relationships (KyokoxRen, Amuto, UkxUs). I guess it’s just because I like the idea of love making people act better. *idealist* Teasing relationships are fun to watch, especially when the when, as Amuto proves to us over and over again.Also, couples who have problems that are more interal then external are enjoyable to watch. It’s more realistic and interesting to watch someone overcome their own personal fears and insurctires as they come into a relationship, then to watch unrealistic lovey dovey scenes be torn apart by love triangles or 
enemies. That’s the reason I never really seriously shipped MiakaxTamahome or UsagixMamoru. Both couples got together to fast, so the only thing that could get in the way of their relationship was other people. They didn’t have any kind of personal struggle to overcome in their relationship. Cuteness is also an overall part of the enjoyment factor. The cuter a couple is generally the more loveable they are. That’s probably a big reason why everyone loves Sakura and Syaoran so much, as well as Nagisa and Tomoya.Also, if they actually have conversations. Couples who’s conversations consist of ‘ “I love you____” “I love you too____” “_____” “_____”‘ are cliche and annoying. It’s more interesting if a couple can talk about their dreams, problems, and just random stuff together. It’s more normal and much more endearing.
All and all it was a fun project to do. I could’ve written essays about some of the pairings/shippings, but it would’ve probably consisted of me saying the same thing over and over again. I would like to do it again next year, but maybe focus on side pairings/shipping or aspects of shipping in general. Thanks to a suggestion on my planning post for the shipping countdown, I’ll probably also write a post for white day.
Happy V-day again. ^___^
7 comments
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February 14, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Karen
Yay~ I had fun the last few days
February 14, 2009 at 4:22 pm
kelakagandy
KelxNeal
I was more for Kel/Dom myself. xD But glad to know someone else fangirled Tamora Pierce before anime/manga!!! : D
I’ve very much enjoyed reading your posts every day this month! I think it was a fantastic idea!
February 14, 2009 at 7:54 pm
warriorhope
Karen: Thank you. I loved your comments.
Kelakagandy: I know, a lot of people really like DomxKel. I’m just stubbornly in love with KelxNeal.
Thank you.
February 14, 2009 at 8:56 pm
kelakagandy
I was leaning towards Kel/Neal at first, but then Dom was introduced… Plus I like Yuki/Neal, I think it’s cute. :]
February 15, 2009 at 2:22 pm
beingmeyuki
KyoxTohru are one of my all time fave pairings too! one of the parts i loved was when tohru found out about kyo’s other transformation and still accepted him. i thought it was such a tender moment when kyo hugged her even when he knew he’d transform. *sigh*
February 16, 2009 at 2:40 am
FuyuMaiden
I think I somehow missed your entire countdown. I’m such a busy loser~
But I’ve read it all now and especially this…this is 100% spot-on. Couples need personal struggles, inner-struggle otherwise they’re annoying, boring, and you definitely can’t identify with them.
That’s why bad boys are popular in shoujo manga. We don’t want to watch the polite boy get the girl and then have everyone else try to break them up. That’s boring! For a story it has to be two people with some sort of problems with each other.
Plus that way it’s so much better when they get together. It means more after all of their struggles.
February 16, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Xiao Jie
I’m soooo late on commenting. Sorry! I got caught up in trying to finish so many things at once. Urgh! >.<
But I completely agree on shipping being one of the biggest things of my fandom. I’m a girl, after all. So love is very crucial in my preference of fiction. It doesn’t have to always be the main focus I look for in a manga or anime but I would still like to see some of it.
And you meant infamous for Shugo Chara!, right? xD; Good lord, SC! goes down in animanga history as one of the series with one of the worst fandoms ever. *sighs and shakes head*
And I don’t consider 13 bad luck but quite the opposite so we’re safe! ;DHaha! I’m an idealist in that sense, too! *be idealist together* Again, you pretty much worded my opinion on love, as well. For the couples who have to come over obstacles together as well as the ones that just flopped too early because they just got together too early or something like that. It’s not that I’m against those pairings. It’s just that when I ship, I need good, strong reasons to back them up and that’s what makes shipping so meaningful and fun to do. There are no negative connotations behind not wanting to support main girl with a prince character. It’s just that there isn’t enough, y’know?
And ugh, the constant “I love you” battles between couples are just annoying because they are so constant. Simply knowing that you love each other is enough. Why do you need to keep on saying it so many times? Is it an insecurity he/she feels? Then discuss that with your partner! That’s far more interesting to talk about than repeating the same thing over and over again. *sigh* I mean, yes, it’s sweet and cute that you want them to know but doing it so much doesn’t really further your relationship. -_-;
Well, I’m really glad you did this project. It was so much fun to read all your thoughts (even though I skipped some cuz I wasn’t so familiar with those) and I’ll be looking forward to it next year, too! ^^ Along with your White Day post. Kyaa~! Can’t wait! X3