I'll charm the chicks! - Hey, are those things real? Ha!

[essbeejay]

You can always tell when sbj's rl is less crazy because then I'm here, wasting not only my time, but everyone else's.

Hey there was a meme I totally forgot to mention yesterday! But whatevs, I'm doing it now and I totally stole it from somebody awesome (juxtaposie).

Comment with the name of a female character and I'll tell you why I love her.

Since this lj is pretty much exclusively PpG and that isn't fair, here is a list off the very tip top of my head of female characters I love/have loved unfailingly in my fannish lifetime. (Besides the obvious, of course.)

Toph (Avatar - not that shit movie, mind you)
Mizuno Ami/Sailor Mercury (DUH)
Tiffany Aching (from The Wee Free Men series/Pratchett's Discworld universe)
Granny Weatherwax (Discworld universe)
Zoe (FIREFLYYYYY)
Daria Morgendorffer (MTV's Daria)
Hiiragi Kagami (Lucky Star - I fucking LOVE this girl)
Kanzaki Hitomi (Vision of Escaflowne)
Lola Bunny (Space Jam YEAH I'M FUCKING SERIOUS)
Liz Lemon (30 Rock)
Susan (Death's Granddaughter from the Discworld universe)
Midori (Murakami's novel Norwegian Wood)
Sawachika Eri (School Rumble)
Takano Akira (School Rumble)
Nagato Yuki (Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)

What the fuck, why is there so much anime/manga on this list D: I keep going through things I love in my head, but then I'm all Oh wait, my favorite character in that one is male, so damn... which, interestingly enough, most of my favorite characters in western animation are male characters. Maybe there is an interesting reason behind this...

There are probably about 8 bajillion more that I cannot remember for the fucking life of me, so if someone occurs to you that I might like try asking and I'll see what I have to say :B

Comments

[essbeejay.livejournal.com]

DUDE RIGHT. DUDE. DUDE KATARA/AANG, IDEK. (Josie if you happen to read this I am sorry.) I have a lot of issues with female characters being represented as the responsible, motherly nags of the group, especially when the rest of the team is strictly boys, and had a shit-ton of trouble with Katara in S1. Girls are always represented as the responsible ones, which can be true irl to some extent, but it got really annoying to me to keep seeing Katara fall into the Debbie Downer role while Sokka and Aang were the irresponsible, fun-loving chaps that everybody wanted to hang out with. (She also became an expert Waterbender impossibly fast, to the point where I was like OKAY SO KATARA IS BASICALLY A MARY-SUE WATERBENDER IS THAT IT.) She was better in S2, but by then Toph showed up and I stopped bothering with trying to like Katara. I was very, very surprised when they paired Katara and Aang at the end of the series, and based on the end of S2 I totally expected Katara/Zuko to happen. I don't mind that it didn't; I actually really really liked Zuko/Mai, but that they went with Katara/Aang at all was just like a big, giant, WTF??? to me. I could go on and on about this (particularly about the negative effect this pairing had on Aang's arc), really I could, so I better nip it in the bud now and just STOP.

I do agree that Zuko brought out quite a bit of Katara's awesomeness, and it was very evident in the cave scene at the end of S2. Katara is always spending all her time caring about the little guy and helping the little guy, so to see her swayed by Zuko's story and his scar, to the point where she was willing to heal him, I think demonstrated a much greater strength of character for her. You already know she's going to help whoever's struggling or hurting as a result of the war, but to want to help one of the bad guys? For her to overcome her own prejudices and set aside the suffering she'd been dealt at the Fire Nation's hand to want to heal Zuko? That's extremely meaningful character growth, that moment with Zuko, whereas with Aang she was always, always the concerned mother, and her relationship with Aang didn't really... bring about a change in her character. In fact, neither Aang nor Katara really changed with each other. On the other hand, Zuko's relationship with Mai spoke volumes to Zuko's own character growth, as would've Zuko/Katara.

... Okay I'm done ranting about that. The point of my response is: I want to marry Yuki.

I do. I want to marry her. She's amazing. She suffers in silence because she is basically a robot-alien-girl who isn't supposed to rock the boat but when she is permitted to she can ROCK the FUCKING BOAT. There's so many unspoken things I love about her, too - namely, how humanizing her affection for Kyon is. The lengths to which she goes to to save his life, or to make him happy, the quiet little admissions of love like telling him she too wishes she could see him again, or opening the door for him when she wouldn't for Haruhi, or placing her cardigan over him as he's sleeping. There is something so moving about Yuki becoming more human in all these small, little ways.

I also love how innocent she is! (OH GOD, the baseball game episode! When she THROWS THE BALL AND BARELY MOVES HER WRIST.) She is not even thinking of how to make that look remotely normal! She just straight up does what Kyon tells her without considering how fucking CRAZY it looks to anyone who's actually paying attention! She's like this crazy smart ageless entity and yet so adorably naive! Oh, HUGS.

And of course I love the battle scene. Yes, THAT battle scene. Actually, that whole thing after the battle scene, too. (Her hand crawling across her face! Again demonstrating her adorable naiveté!)

Seriously. Want to marry her. Totally.

LOOOOOLA! I love the outpouring of Lola love that has resulted from this post! YAY :DDDD

[wei-chan.livejournal.com]

To be frank, I saw the Kataang thing coming a mile away. It was the Maiko relationship that had me going "WTF??" for awhile. I can tolerate the Kataang relationship, but I really don't like Maiko, which is odd because I usually like the emo couples ^^; I think this is so because of Mai's character. In a cartoon, she's frickin' kickass, but in reality, I know she would piss me off to the core. Her complete lack of personality gets to me after awhile.

I knew that Mai had a thing for Zuko since season two when Ty Lee teased her about her crush on Zuko, but Zuko never really gave me the impression that he liked Mai. My dislike for Maiko was clinched during the season three premire: Zuko was obviously going through something because of his betrayal of uncle, his participation in nearly killing Aang as well as the fact he knows he was going to be on Katara's shit list for awhile and is trying to express that to his girlfriend - the one person he should be able to talk to - and she completely brushes him off going, "I just asked how you were doing, not your life story".

...now, I know that most people would be like: But that's her personality!, but, in my mind, that was a big "no-no" - especially that early on in a relationship. Zuko doesn't need someone who is going to brush him off because he gets enough of that from Ozai and Azula.

*Shrugs* Totally sorry about that Maiko rant right there.

As for Katara, well, she had amazing moments when she broke her motherly role. I think season three was the season she was at her best. It was sad, but in season one I had actually like all the other minor female characters before Katara because she was such a nag. I kept wishing she would tone down the nagging so she could be an awesome representation for the female characters. I mean, I love Blossom, but the chick could be a nag too, but what made up for it was the fact that she was a total badass on the battlefield.

I had already assumed Katara had talent as a waterbender prior to episodes 18 - 20 of season one because she managed to learn a lot of things on her own without a master - very much like how Toph had done. So, it made sense to me that when she got a master, she would pick up on the skill right away.

Katara's annoying side really came out, I noticed, whenever Aang was in the picture, whether it be figuratively or physically. She gets super protective of him, almost Mama-Bear like. The others also always treated her like the "mother-figure" of the group, which is understandable because she had to take up that role after Kya's death. Zuko, however, had her on another level: a rival, an equal (even when he was calling her 'peasant', haha). Whenever Katara was around Zuko, this awesome (more darkish?) side came out that made me see Katara as another awesome female (need I remind everyone of the Southern Raiders episode?).

As for Aang, well, the boy needs a spine and someone to show him he's not always going to get his way nor can he run away from situations - and that someone should be Toph, in my opinion XD

I had been iffy about Yuki until her first amazing fight and my eyes were literally like: O_O

I'm a mixture of a Kyon/Yuki fan and a Kyon/Haruhi fan. When I'm in on my serious side, I think I like Kyon/Yuki, but when I'm feeling like a hilarious couple, I do like Kyon/Harhuhi. But, duuuuuuude! That baseball episode has to be one of my favorites. Yuki kicked some major ass and the opposing team seriously just sat there like "WTF?" the entire time XD

Favorite. Episode.

Anywho, Lola kicks it, as usual and I'm glad she's getting her props, unlike how she did in Looney Tunes. And remember: don't ever call her 'doll' ;)

...Sorry for the long post!

[essbeejay.livejournal.com]

No apologies for rants or long posts! They are interesting! They fire up the brain!

I swore to God and believed up until the last hair-shredding moments of Avatar that Katara was not romantically interested in Aang in the least, and it still rankles me, much in the way Harry/Ginny did (I summarized my thoughts about the way-too-neat-and-tidy-ending much more succinctly here (http://junsui-chikyuu.livejournal.com/174021.html?thread=15813#t15813), ages ago, in case you are curious).

As for Mai, I think I have a habit of liking characters who would very honestly bug the shit out of me irl. Mai to a lesser case here; certainly the Brick in my head (or any of the Rowdyruff Boys, for that matter) would make me want to set his/their face/s on fire, but because they're fictional and I don't have to actually engage with them they are okay! Same thing with Toph - she is awesome, but she is kind of a brat, and I'd probably want to shake her REALLY REALLY HARD if I knew a real life Toph. And then run away before she killed me. Mai herself actually didn't bother me that much, but maybe that's because I tend to like the deadpan Goth!girls, without the cliched Goth!makeup or Goth!wardrobe.

Haha, I actually really dug Mai's response to Zuko! Reason being? There were so many emo!Zuko moments in Avatar (SO MANY), and I really tend to not go for the emo!boys at all. Like, remotely. (Pretty much the only one I ever fangirled HARDCORE was Van from Vision of Escaflowne, and I was younger then anyway.) I much prefer boys who start off all set in their ways and then have humanizing semi-emo!moments later. (Hence why I adore male characters like Syaoran and the Beast from the Disney version!) So more often than not I sit around kinda wanting to... slap the emo!boys around a bit, because I get sick of their whining and bitching. Now, I really actually liked Zuko more than I usually like the emo!boys, but there were still plenty of moments where I was all BITCH SERIOUSLY POP A PROZAC OR SOMETHING. So hearing Mai deliver that line was kind of like !!! 8DDD wish fulfillment for me, in a way (though part of me was also thinking "Okay so they are basically setting Mai up as the bitchy shrew of a girlfriend and priming Zuko to get with Katara, yawn," then imagine my delight when they allowed Maiko to work). I think yeah, Zuko was going through some shit, and Mai could've been a more supportive girlfriend there, but being in a relationship isn't always about coddling your significant other. Sometimes you got to put your foot down and tell the bitch to man up and put on their big boy britches, or just diffuse the McEmo!Serious moments with a playful, snarky remark - which is what I read Mai's response and attitude as, rather than the belittling, emasculating sort of comment that would've come from Zuko's father or sister. Anyway, in its own way, Maiko wound up taking me by total surprise and really worked for me in the end!

Something that probably hurt Katara's development as a Waterbender for me was the fact that I didn't see any Avatar until they had started airing S2, so I basically watched all of S1 in one go. Without the luxury of having to wait weeks for new episodes, Katara's skills seemed to advance unreasonably fast to me; I would've liked to have seen her struggle a little more with Waterbending (particularly when facing a SEASONED VETERAN), considering that for all her natural skill, she never actually had someone to point her in the right direction. Like, if I'm self-teaching myself piano, and then I go up against a professional musician who's been playing for years and come THAT CLOSE to outplaying him/her...? I can read all the books on music theory and listen to all the classical music I want, but frankly, that ain't going to happen. Unless I'm a prodigy, which you could argue Katara is, but I personally would've had an easier time buying it if they'd made her work a little harder for it.

(cont'd, this comment got stupidly long!)

[essbeejay.livejournal.com]

(Fuck me I had to split my long-ass comment into two comments!)

(cont'd)

I'm generally pretty neutral about Aang, and of course I find Toph pretty awesome, but Taang doesn't quite push my buttons. (I do really like Toph having an unrequited schoolgirl crush on Sokka!) Aang himself... I guess I'm just a cruel bitch about certain heroes, because both him and Harry Potter struck me as Celibate Heroes (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CelibateHero), doomed to a life of never getting any. At least within the narrative of their series. (That's what fanfic is for, anyway XD)

As far as Haruhi pairings go, if we were in a world where sbj gets whatever the damn hell sbj wants, sure, I wouldn't mind me some canon!Kyon/Yuki. But I really like one-sided Yuki/Kyon... like, a lot. I also like one-sided Haruhi/Kyon (basically I love the idea of Kyon as the less battered protagonist typical of a harem anime, which TMoHS kind of is), but I am more receptive to that as a... resolved pairing for the sake of the narrative, if you will. Mostly I just love what one-sided Yuki/Kyon says about Yuki as a character. Oh, Yuki. ♥.

Dude it's my turn to apologize for the long-ass post. Oh, nerding!

[wei-chan.livejournal.com]

*Rolls on the floor laughing* You crack me up, seriously. I love the way your mind works!

I guess you're right when it comes the whole Maiko thing. Zuko did have a lot of emo moments and needed a good bitch slap. I can't tell you how many times I was ready to pull out my hair and shake the guy...or punch the crap out of him for it. You are actually the first Maiko fan that has made me sit there and nod my head in agreement. I suppose, coming from that perspective, I can see how Maiko works. Still favor Zutara over it, though, but I can see it now.

I'm a dork because I never saw the Tokka thing until it was too late XD For me, one moment Toph cared less about Sokka and the next moment she's crushing on him. I'm blind like that (and that is why I have glasses!). Tokka actually comes in fourth place in Sokka pairings. I was a big Suki/Sokka fan during the Kyoshi Warriors episode, so that's been a favorite for awhile. Then I (kind-of/sort-of) fell in love with the Yuokka pairing because of its tragic end (the start was too Romeo and Juliet for me, but the ending between them was ten times better than what Shakespeare wrote, haha). Finally, I kind of like Ty Lee/Sokka because of the giggle factor. By the time I already established those couples, the Toph/Sokka came out of nowhere for me XD. Truth be told, I like an unrequited Tokka - with Toph doing the pining.

(Continued because I suffer from dorkitis)

[wei-chan.livejournal.com]

(Continued)

I watched season one in one go too, so I feel you with the whole "she was sucky" one moment and "OMFG! She's a master?!?!" the next. I think I just assumed that she was a prodigy because it seems to be a trend with most of the females in Avatar. I had to self-teach (teach? taught? whaaaaaat?) myself the alto sax and, though I picked it up very fast, I still struggled with keeping with the First alto in my section, so I get the whole analogy. Haha.

DUDE! Harry/Ginny came out of nowhere for me too! I (shyly?) admit that I thought Harry/Hermione was going to happen for awhile. Either that or Harry was: a) going to die, or b) not end up with anyone. I so did not see the Harry/Ginny thing.

As for that response with junsui_chikyuu, I totally get you. I felt that Aang cheated his way out that fight - very much like how JKR attached the crappilogue at the end of Deathly Hallows. Out of all the characters, Aang, to me, seemed to have gotten the least character development. War changed all the other characters, but Aang was definitely a static character stuck in the middle of dynamic characters. The whole Turtle-Lion scene seemed, to me, an attempt for character development, but it didn't get there. I mean, they deal with all these other serious issues (which you named very good ones) and then they completely skip around the biggest issue: Ozai's defeat.

Half of these kids are already watching anime, which has some serious issues on there as it is, so I don't see what the problem is. These kids hear, see and say worse at school or on the street. I had an eight-year-old cousin look at me and ask, "Why did they just skip out on Ozai's defeat?"...seriously, she asked me that. Teen Titans had a better finale than that! I don't mind happy endings, but sometimes it's like...unnecessary? I don't know.

What bugged me the most, though, was the whole Chakra thing with Guru Pahtik. Pahtik totally tells Aang that he has to let Katara go in order to reach the Avatar state and still manages to skip out of that. I get that he died in the Avatar state, but it still irks me to this day that crashing his back into a rock is what awakens him. We spend two seasons watching Aang try to learn how to master it and then "Oops! I bumped my back!" is what gets him there. MAJOR. PLOT. HOLE.

*Grumbles* Aang is a kid, remained a kid, and will always be a kid - at least the way Bryke makes it to be so. Like I said, a static character in a sea of dynamic characters. When dealing with humor, I love the kid, but when dealing with war, I prefer my beloved Zuko (even with all his emo tendencies XD). He was more realistic about this war than any of them.

YESSSS! I love the whole one-sided Yuki/Kyon thing, too! Personally, I can go either way with Kyon - Haruhi or Yuki. I'm not a big, big shipper on that one, though. I just enjoy for its comical aspects. I call it one of my comical relief animes - especially since I dwell in the "heavy" animes a lot like Yu Yu Hakusho, Bleach or Rurouni Kenshin.


...I would love to see a conversation between Brick and Mai. How eventful would that be? *sarcasm, sarcasm, sarcasm*

[essbeejay.livejournal.com]

SO LATE TO REPLYING ON THIS, SORRY. Um, quick points! Ty Lee/Sokka = AWESOME. WANT. I don't mind Suki at all, though; mostly I like Ty Lee/Sokka because it's lol-fucking-tastic awesome.

For the longest time I was dead convinced the only way to end the HP series was for Harry to die. When it was pointed out to me that for all the dark stuff JKR put in the series, it was still ultimately directed at a younger audience, I (grudgingly) changed my tone and hoped Harry wouldn't get with anyone. (Though Luna would've been acceptable, IMO.) Ugh, was I ever wrong. (And irritated.)

As for Aang's Chakra, I felt the same way as you (WTF pointy rock fixed him?!) until my s.o., who knows more about my culture than I do (embarrassing...), brought up that Azula technically blocked his qi, and getting knocked into a rock unblocked its flow, etc., etc.. I had less of a problem with it after that.

HOWEVER, yes, there is a plot hole, and that is that Guru Pahtik and ALL THE OTHER PREVIOUS AVATARS told that motherfucker he needed to man up and lay the smackdown on Ozai! Not only that, but he's a freaking monk! He can't be chasing girls! GP told him he needed to let go of Katara in order to go into the Avatar State at will. Just, ARGH. ARGH. I feel like they favored the "You can do it your way!" message for the kid audience, when IMO, the better message for the sake of the narrative was Dude. Sometimes, when it counts, we gotta make hard decisions, and yeah, they're gonna hurt, and they're gonna suck - hard - but we gotta do what we gotta do. And then we move on, somehow. (Something tells me Aang would be a really, really clingy ex-boyfriend. Man, that would end badly.)

But yeah, essentially: Zuko! > Aang.

Brick and Mai having a "conversation?" LAWL.

[wei-chan.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Ty Lokka is hilarious. I read stories like that when I'm in a bad mood and need a good laugh.

Someone else told me the same thing about Aang's ki being blocked and what-have-you, but, for some reason, it still bothered me. But, whatever. I guess it worked out for Aang in the end. BUT THE FREAKIN' PLOT HOLES BOTHERED ME!!

Poor Blossom - should she be in the middle of that conversation between Brick and Mai - would be driven nuts with all the silence and sarcastic barbs. Haha. Seriously, I think I may want to draw it now.