Thoughts on Naruto's Non-existent Romantic Aspects

First, let me just say that engaging in the speculation of romantic relationships that have yet to materialize is probably as nerdy as it gets for anime fans. So here goes:

I've been watching Naruto for a long time. I stopped after the filler episodes started and just recently picked back up with Shippuuden. I don't read the manga and don't ever plan too so I only know what's been shown in the anime and what Wikipedia has spoiled for me. So far I'm really enjoying the series and while Naruto has always skated the line of perviness, I feel like now there's a level of maturity that was absent before, providing us with an actual possibility of some relationships developing.


Naruto X Hinata (Naruta? lol.)

I found a million cute images of Naruto and Hinata so either they just have a ton of fans or the entire fanart community's talent is completely concentrated in NxH fandom. This is probably my favorite couple, because I feel like Sakura is more suited to Sasuke. Besides, Hinata is so cute and has always been Naruto's biggest supporter. She's really as angsty as it gets, I love her just for that. Adorable, twice she fainted. Twice. lol.

They haven't really done much with Hinata's character in Shippuuden but I imgaine that like all the other characters she's gotten a bit stronger, maybe more confident. Hopefully, they'll do something about the love story since they flashed forward something like 3 years, presumably then, they're planning to address their adolescence which love is invariably a part of. I really hope it won't be like Inuyasha* in this aspect, I'll die. Really.

_____________________________________________

Naruto X Sakura (Nakura :P)

Like I said, not a fan. Sakura is just more suited to Sasuke. Her character was written to be dismissive of Naruto in the first series, now, while she acknowledges his abilities she still doesn't seem to be able to like him in that way. She's still stuck on Sasuke, clearly. I really doubt anything will develop here.











_____________________________________________

Sasuke X Sakura (Saskura)

I can't wait to see grown up Sasuke in the new series. It's annoying that we're 41 episodes in and still nothing *sigh* but such is the nature of shounen anime. I'm guessing that if they ever address the love square that's been forming for 9 trillion episodes now they'll do it when Sasuke finally appears. I really hope they don't dodge the issue, or else it will be the permanent elephant in the room like the love triangle was in Inuyasha.

*Inuyasha - is the perfect example of how *not* to write a romantic storyline. I feel like Rumiko Takahashi is more concerned with prolonging her stories than character development or plot continuity. So fans never got a resolution on the issue of Inuyasha and Kagome's relationship in the anime and the manga has been dragging on for so long that I don't know anyone who reads it anymore. The second movie did have a kiss, and I'm 393842094% sure that was because Takahashi was overridden by the producers. I was keeping up with the manga for a while but the story gets old. I'd like to know what's going on now without having to read the however many chapters I've missed since the last time I read it. At least with Ranma 1/2 we got some iota of closure (even though, not really) but I feel like Inuyasha is just going to drag on FOREVER.



I stole all these images from google search and I couldn't find the artists' names so if you are the artist or know who is please let me know so I can credit them.

Vampire Knight To Be Animated!

Info from CoTRJF and ANN.

I'm pretty excited about this. As I've said before this is the only manga holding my attention right now in Shoujo Beat so I definitely welcome this development. I hope that the eerie darkness and subtle sexual tension translates well into animation, although I fear it might not. I have to admit that generally, when I read a manga first, it's difficult for me to like the animated version. I get annoyed if the characters don't sound like I had expected them to sound, or the colors don't look right, or if the music isn't what I would have imagined. Those problems definitely kept me from enjoying Peach Girl TV as much as I would have otherwise. I'm wondering whether I'll feel the same way about Perfect Girl Evolution when I *finally* see it. (Speaking of which, why didn't they ever animate Mars? Gah.) In any case it will definitely be something to watch out for late next year.

Can.
Hardly.
Contain.
Myself.

: )

Lovely Complex Review

This series was very amusing. I didn't think I would be able to get past the height difference between the main characters. (Not that it would be a problem in real life but I watch anime to live in a little escapist world where every guy is a Tuxedo Mask, and I'm sorry but Tuxedo Mask is tall.) It's definitely a romantic comedy with more comedy than romance, but it's formulaic in the typical romance anime way. You know, they can't get together for *insert reason*, they finally get together, *insert rival*, they get over that one, *insert new rival*, it did lack the obligatory love triangle so it wasn't too awful. The formula-ness started about 2/3rds of the way through and it made it a little boring for me, probably because the comedy died down around those episodes as well. However, the first 2/3rds of the series was laugh-out-loud-bust-your-gut ridiculously hilarious. It was funny on par with Midori No Hibi
and Those Who Hunt Elves. It's definitely worth the watch. I think it would be especially accessible to people who aren't necessarily in it for the cheesy romance - although there was plenty of very sweet cheesiness. Shoujo Beat ran the first chapter of this as a preview a few months back, I might check out the manga but I'm kind of reluctant too because the anime had a pretty good conclusion. I don't really see how the story could expand any further than it did in the anime. I also keep hearing that the live action was just awesome so I definitely plan on getting that soon.

I'm taking a quick break from romance anime to catch up on Naruto Shippuden (lol yes I watch riff raff as well), but I'll keep the blog updated with news and my thoughts on romance manga. I'll probably watch Season II of the Japanese Hana Yori Dango Live Action after that. So many great romantic animes and dramas to look forward too. I'm also eternally waiting for Greencine to send me the first disc of Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge (The Wallflower or Perfect Girl Evolution) and the next disc of Kodocha. I have all the discs for Kaleido Star, which I was planning to watch during this school break but my parents DVD player doesn't read the discs. *sigh* .-.

The WallFlower (Perfect Girl Evolution) Anime to be Released on December 18th!

This is apparently old news but I just found out today. The Wallflower is available on ADV's site for 15 bucks if you pre-order. I totally would buy this I can't justify the expense due to my abject poverty as a student. This is the only manga I kept up with during my hiatus (I even stopped reading Furuba). It's angsty, but substantively lacking in actual romance. I never get tired of Sunako's nose bleeds, seriously hilarious. Check out ANN for the info.

I'm glad I'm coming back just in time to see all these great mangas being animated.

Gakuen Alice

I was watching this anime long ago before law school started, and because I've decided to get back into anime, I'm returning to this one first.



Gakuen Alice has 26 episodes and deals a special academy for children with super powers called "alices". The concepts are pretty standard here: sort of ditzy magical girl has a smart best friends and is mercilessly teased by the mean boy with a dark past. (If he were older would probably be a bishie.) You get all the basic themes of valuing friendship, family, integrity blah blah etc. This is a cute show and great for people who long for Fushigi Yuugi/Sailor Moon type plot lines. There is a considerable amount of angst between Miki and Natsume, although no real romance yet. I'll have to finish the series to decide what I ultimately think about it but so far it is worth the watch. It has yet to be released in the US but you can download it here.