More seiyuu stuff and Fafner

[insaneneko]

I haven't had the resolve to dive into that mess that is Okiayu madness over at seiyuu yet, but a post that had nothing to do with him caught my eye. The seiyuu list was impressive, so I downloaded the first zip and was really happy to find that the song is good and disgustingly catchy. I mean, the song is sung by some of my favorite female seiyuu--Paku Romi (Ed from FMA, Heimdall from Loki), Minagawa Junko (Ryoma from PoT), Kobayashi Sanae (Touya Akira from Hikago) and Saiga Mitsuki (only recognize Maria Ross from FMA and Wolfram from KKM of her credits, but I can't remember her voice...in any case, she can sing!)--and they kick ass! I love that there's one version with everyone singing, then individual versions so that you can really appreciate their voices. :D

I can't believe I'm fangirling over female seiyuu...finally...been too focused on the guys lately.

On a side note, I burned Unmei no kodou on a CD with a bunch of songs I kept meaning to play in my car (Must Be Dreaming, Eternally, etc.) and am playing it on the mini-stereo...and damn, it sounds so good out loud and not on headphones...*shiawase*....

There are many more productive things I could be doing, but instead I sit here wasting time...I should do something semi-useful like watch PoT, especially since people are claiming the anime is winding down. I'm curious about the MomoRyo episode that people mention, even though MomoRyo isn't my thing. But I'm far, far behind...*sigh*...

Oh yes, anyone who has seen the end of Sokyuu no Fafner...objectively, is it a good show? I've heard that it picks up mid-series, but I'm not sure if that's in terms of the show actually being good or just some kind of fangirl reaction (I try not to read things that might spoil me...I'm not partial to spoilers unless I know I won't watch something). I need to burn off anime files from my hard drive (too full!) and I have the first six...I'm wondering if I should just grab them all and burn them on a DVD or not bother...

Comments

[insaneneko.livejournal.com]

I've seen nice Golden Pair manga doujinshi in anthologies, and I just don't see the romance...and like I have said before, even if they were a real couple I'd be bored of them (same like how WayaSumiWaya in Hikago does absolutely nothing for me...not enough tension...). Same deal with MomoRyo. Case can be made, but it mostly bores me.

As for TezuFujiTezu, the fangirls seem to find their "moments" in canon. Not sure where, but they certainly squeal. ^_^; I agree that their interactions with Ryoma are more dynamic...or rather, how many times do they actually talk to each other? I mean, really? The only time I can count as a potential TezuFujiTezu moment was their conversation after the interrupted game between Fuji and Ryoma...Even now in the Senbatsu arc I don't remember Tezuka and Fuji talking much (if at all beyond a simple greeting), and Tezuka certainly seems almost solely focused on Ryoma. *shrug* Of course, I am firmly of the opinion that there is more evidence for AtoTezuAto than TezuFujiTezu, if you want to go for a non-Ryoma pairing for Tezuka.

I swear I've read some Tezu + Fuji x Ryoma fics, but my mind is drawing a blank...hm, will have to do some research.

As for my comment about TezuFuji not being that popular, I meant as popular in Japanese fandom as it is in English fandom. It really surprised me how much a pairing I don't even see much canon basis on being so...big...

I'm certainly not a Fuji-uke person. He just is so seme in my mind...But you didn't mention Tezuka-uke! *laugh* I can see why that appeals to people, even if I am quite opposed to it. Though...I can understand where RyoTezu comes from...I don't disagree with it...I just don't need to read it. ^_^

I am very much a main-character fangirl. Yes, I'm utterly boring, but that's just the way I am.

I wouldn't like Atobe so much if I never heard Suwabe Junichi's character vocal message tracks...

I enjoyed Inui's match with Yanagi. I can tolerate him in the context of the story (especially if it's the manga, or it's one of those crack episodes)...I just don't want to read about him as a main character in a fic.

[mitethe.livejournal.com]

Hear you on the Golden Pair. They're very comfortable around each other and I'm happy with their portrayal in canon so no interest in reading fanfic about them.

*laughs* I'm scratching my head right alongside you for TezuFuji. What little they say to each other may have some deeper meaning but I can't see what it is. The only really significant conversations were both about Ryouma which makes me see it as a Tezuka->Ryouma<-Fuji affair. Tezuka's fixation on Ryouma, however one chooses to read it, is Very Very Obvious (his eyes keep following the boy!). And Fuji's interest is also clear. The only way I can see anything happening between them is if it's something to do with Ryouma but no Ryouma in the picture means I'm not interested. I do see AtoTezuAto but I think it'd be much more interesting if it was Atobe<-->Ryouma<-->Tezuka. I am such an OT3-er. XD

As for my comment about TezuFuji not being that popular, I meant as popular in Japanese fandom as it is in English fandom.

Ah, right. Usually the biggest pairings are also the ones most easily extrapolated from canon (like AsuKira and AkiHika) so TezuFuji confuzzles me.

But you didn't mention Tezuka-uke!

Uber Seme!Fuji rather out-seme's Tezuka in my mind. XD;;
I prefer Tezuka as seme as well but I do enjoy RyoTezu-ppoi stories where it's Ryouma who holds the emotional upper hand in the relationship so in my mind that makes him seme regardless of physical technicalities. Tezuka physically tops (and I prefer that he does) but Ryouma can be sasoi!uke and that arrangement pleases me. *grin*

FujiRyo on the other hand doesn't have that kind of dynamic because, well, Ryouma has a much harder time twisting Uber Seme!Fuji around his pinky finger. And Fuji is very practiced in the game of manipulation so Ryouma's rather at a disadvantage to start off with...according to a lot of JFanon!FujiRyo anyway. I think Fuji's a harder nut to crack than Tezuka and it's easier to turn him into a caricature than have to tackle his complexity. After all, Fuji is the one whose perception of tennis is at odds with everyone else's and unlike the other two he's not ALL TENNIS ALL THE TIME.

I am very much a main-character fangirl. Yes, I'm utterly boring, but that's just the way I am.

Allow me to be boring with you. XD

(This is stuff I really should stick in my LJ but like I told Manon, I've discovered that I end up nattering in other people's LJs more than I do in my own. Discussions like these are so much fun, thanks for putting up with me. ^_^;)

[insaneneko.livejournal.com]

I realized what can constitute fangirl moments for TezuFuji...things like where in that silly SD episode with the Seigaku family Tezuka nad Fuji are cast as the grandparents (i.e. married to each other)...but following that logic Inui/Ooishi would be a so-canon pairing. ^_^;

I think Fuji-uke is possible when people interpret Fuji's character to be a certain way...I think one example is white Fuji. You know, the eternally giving and kind guy, which I've had the misfortunte to read in FujiRyo fics. Another dynamic I think exists is when Fuji is the sly manipulator and just wraps Tezuka around his little finger...I don't agree with that one either, but...we're all interpreting these charas, after all. :P

I do enjoy stories where Ryoma is in charge mentally (read my little rant from the other day about a manga where the uke is completely in charge...damn amusing stuff...) and Tezuka is just...either hetare or helpless...

I don't mind having discussion whereever, as long as they aren't in community posts. ^_^ It's nice finding someone with the same pairing tastes, though. AND can read Japanese!!!

[mitethe.livejournal.com]

Yeah, those completely crackpot episodes provide support for all sorts of bizarre and random pairings so I can't take them seriously. ^_^;

It's really easy to take one or two aspects of a character and emphasise them to point of distortion. But it's true that in the end characterisation is in the eye of the beholder and when it comes to personal preference no amount of discussion or argument will change anyone's mind. I still wish I could comprehend the whole TezuFuji deal though. :P

Oh, that manga you talked about with the complete role-reversal was hilarious. Sounds like something I'd like to read. XD

*laughs* To think that the whole reason I moved to JFandom in the first place was because it seemed no one liked Ryouma uke pairings. It got kinda lonely so it's great to find like-minded company. ^_^ (Now if only I had time to read everything that's out there...)

[insaneneko.livejournal.com]

Does anyone take those crack pairings seriously? I find it amusing how people seem to specialize in writing for crack pairings...of course, not amusing enough to actually read them...

Talking about distortion, I hate those turn Ryoma into weepy wimpy shoujo heroine fics...I used to come across those often and it'd completely make my eyes roll. I refuse to accept that interpretation unless...unless...um...would there be a situation where I'd accept it? In any case, that's a hard characterization for me to swallow.

As for TezuFuji...you and me both. :P

The manga I spoke of is awesome and everyone should own it. Really. It continues to give me lots of laughs every time I pick it up.

Ryoma-uke fans unite! I'm glad they exist in English fandom, too. Too bad there aren't that many really good writers, though.

[mitethe.livejournal.com]

Heh, the fans don't need to use the Random Slash Generator because the series does it for them. The crazy ideas are funny but, like you, not enough to get me to read.

Gahh, can't stand weepy wimpy infantalised (I prefer it to "feminised") characters. Ryouma's no fun without the snark and constantly challenging to his seniors! To reduce a character to that state believably would require several hundred pages of buildup and justification I doubt I'd want to read.

Might see if the furuhonya has that manga next time I pay the place a visit.

Ryouma-uke fans are so few in WFandom. I can understand the reluctance to slash him since he's the one of the few characters in the series who actually kinda looks his age (though not so much in the manga which is what I go by). Guess we're just incorrigible. XD;

[insaneneko.livejournal.com]

Infantalized, huh. I can't think of it as anything but feminized, unfortunately. The weepy histrionics can only make me think of heroines from bad melodramas...Just thinking of all those bad amnesia and death fics where the forgotten/left behind one just falls apart into torrents of tears and drowns in a sea of angst makes me shudder...

Heh, your furuhonya would be pretty awesome if it had a manga that came out about a month ago already. ^_^

I think a lot of people in English fandom just don't like Ryoma's character, which seems to me a big part of why we just don't see him as a major player. I suppose the age thing might play a part, but to me a lesser part.

[mitethe.livejournal.com]

I use "infantalised" because, frankly, I have a hard time thinking of those weepy spineless shoujo heroines as "women" - they might as well be infants mentally/emotionally if not physically.
I have to be in a masochistic mood to read those. ;>

A month ago? Aww, guess I'm out of luck then.

I've heard some people can't stand him but is it that widespread? It seems I, and a good chunk of JFandom, think he's cute. I find his attitude a lot easier to take because he can back it up and the boy is sharp as a razor blade. When it comes to basic human nature Ryouma is a lot more insightful than a lot of fans give him credit for. I think he's much more capable of seeing people sans tennis than Tezuka. Then again, if he were real I'd probably want to drop an anvil on his head too. ^_^;

[insaneneko.livejournal.com]

For some reason I keep hoping that things will improve and it'll turn out to be a decent fic...and I get to the end of the fic and wonder how I could be so delusional...

I get the impression that it's fairly widespread. Of course, that's only from my bits of contact with the fandom at large. I think the Japanese see him differently as the non-Japanese which makes him more acceptable to them...of course, they create some of the most irritating female characters ever in their anime and love them, so there's probably something wrong with them...^_^;

I personally find Ryoma to be cute as well. Before I read the manga, I figured his personality would rub me the wrong way, but I was pleasantly surprised when I found I liked his snarkiness. I think it helps that I end up thinking of any deficiencies in his character as Nanjiroh's fault for being a jackass father...

[mitethe.livejournal.com]

Hope springs eternal. ^_-

Ah, ok. It's not hard to see how Ryouma would rub a lot of people the wrong way...especially in the anime since he's even more prominent there. The Japanese turned BL into a major commercial industry so of course they're already a tad touched, as it were. XD (I think those irritating female character tropes say a lot about Japanese society's expectations of women which are decidedly unpleasant to the Western eye.)

I was surprised to find myself not hating Ryouma because his character type usually annoys the hell out of me. What did a lot of balance his arrogance was the fact that he could back it up with actual skill. And meeting Nanjirou explained a lot too - the man is entertaining but good god what a loser when it comes to parenting. I'm frankly surprised Ryouma's as well-adjusted as he is, considering. ^_^;

[insaneneko.livejournal.com]

Touched. That's a good word...and don't forget the huge doujinshi publishing and distributing industry they created....^_^;

I thought a bit more about why I don't hate Ryoma (when I should)--it's because his attitude only extends so far. He's snarky and impudent, yes, but he will acknowledge true strength. When he loses to Tezuka? He is not a poor loser. He is kuyashii, but he respects Tezuka's strength and burns with a desire to beat him...they could have made him a sore loser who has a way too big an opinion of himself and convinces himself that he didn't lose or something.

His utter delight in the game itself is also endearing. His joy in the game is not to beat his opponents. His joy is to overcome challenging opponents and become stronger. And that passion is the catalyst for change for so many people in the series...

And I too think he's amazingly well-adjusted with Nanjiroh as a father. I really wonder how he'd have turned out with a Touya Koyo type father...^_^;

[mitethe.livejournal.com]

Oh, absolutely. It's always mindboggling from a traditional Wfandom POV that not only is it permissible to produce fan-works on a large scale and sell them for money, it's even encouraged. English fanzines simply don't compare.

Same here, I really liked that Ryouma isn't a sore loser and while he's happy to beat other players he doesn't spend lots of time gloating over the fact (and when he does rub it in it's to characters who are presented as being nasty). The boy does care about his fellow teammates and friends (even Horio and Sakuno who I'd happily punt into the next universe) even if he expresses it in his backhanded, socially stunted way. Which is just so cute. XD

My brain cannot compute a Ryouma who has someone like Touya senior for a father. Maybe he'd have turned out a bit more like...Tezuka?! O_O;

[insaneneko.livejournal.com]

Bwahahahaha...the second coming of Tezuka! A Tezuka-like Ryoma can't help but break my poor, poor brain. :D

It's true that Ryoma somehow manages to care about the annoying people who need to just go away, or people he really could care nothing about (like Dan from Yamabuki) since he has nothing to do with them.

[mitethe.livejournal.com]

The Second Coming of Jesus Tezuka: Seigaku Will Never Recover (nor will the audience). *snerk*

If you can manage to look beneath the cocky exterior, Ryouma is a very decent boy who stands up for those who can't stand up for themselves (probably because he's suffered much the same growing up). And he does it even when they were the ones who dug their own graves. If I had the legions of stalkers after me that he does I'd be far less charitable and even more anti-social.

[insaneneko.livejournal.com]

Ryoma's too normal to ever end up like Tezuka...no matter what his upbringing. :P

He's way to nice to Sakuno. He could be so mean but he just kind of shrugs her off...

[mitethe.livejournal.com]

Ahahaha, that's quite true. After seeing what Tezuka's family is like in 10.5 I felt terribly sorry for his father. XD

Boy, Sakuno...He really is very nice to her in his Ryouma-esque way. One of the most irritating things about AniPuri is the constant presence of those two girls and the damn reporters. >_

[insaneneko.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I want Ryoma to just poke at Tezuka to see if he's real...

*poke*
"Echizen, what are you doing?"
*poke*
"Just seeing if you're real. You seem too perfect sometimes, like a doll or something."
*sweatdrop*
*poke*
"Will you stop it? I'm obviously 'real'."
*poke*
"It's kind of fun poking you...the wrinkles on your forehead increase each time I do..."
*silence*
*poke*
"10 LAPS!!"

....

Okay, I don't know where that came from...^_^;

What is currently annoying me about Sakuno is that she hasn't learned a thing! She can't just keep starting a sentence and trailing off, because that will get her nowhere with Ryoma! (Not that I want her to get anywhere with Ryoma, but as a fellow female I want to smack her lack of any kind of ability to learn and grow) As for the other females, they are more or less totally silly characters to me, so I just sigh and bear it.

[mitethe.livejournal.com]

ROFL! That's so cute and I can totally see Ryouma doing that.

Ryouma: Buchou, I think you need a sense of humour.
Tezuka: 20 laps!
Ryouma: Geh! (see?)

It's like the TezuRyo fanfics I love that are just about the two of them interacting normally and the hilarity that can ensue. ^_^

I don't mind Sakuno et al at all in the manga simply because they're barely present (they've as good as vanished by this point). But I wish the anime producers would either cut them out or give them actual lives of their own because girls are so obviously shafted in TeniPuri. Given a choice between non-existence and existence that just highlights how low the status of women is in the series I'd rather go with the former. >_

[insaneneko.livejournal.com]

I love that playfulness that comes from the fact that Tezuka has an underdeveloped sense of humor. :D

Sakuno in the manga is very much tolerable. It's the anime version I have a violent reaction to...especially with that voice...*shudder*...

I don't know why they bother with the female characters at all...unless they are there to show how much better off the boys are with each other.

[mitethe.livejournal.com]

I swear, if Tezuka didn't give off such a frightening aura everyone would tease him mercilessly. His type are practically begging for it. Hmm...maybe that's why he cultivated that unapproachable demeanor. XD

The girls in the manga aren't present enough to make any kind of impact at all, really. Sakuno's voice doesn't annoy me as much as her friend's - there are times when I feel like getting earplugs in self-defense against that screech. >_<
Oh, I do like manga!An a lot though and I wish we'd see more of her.

Usually girls in WJ manga are just there to be the protagonist's love interest and provide fanservice but that's not the case in TeniPuri so they're just...useless extras (even poor An).

[insaneneko.livejournal.com]

But Tezuka does get teased in some fanfics even with that stern demeanor. And he furrows his brows and bears with it in his stoic way...

Her friend's is very annoying, but Sakuno annoys me because they attempt to shove her at Ryoma and I feel she is unworthy to be even considered for him (at least the way she is now). An has a great personality, but she's just not around enough. It's amazing how irrelevant the females are in the series.

[mitethe.livejournal.com]

True, but not so much in the series. Only his year mates and Ryouma are unintimidated enough to even consider teasing Teh Buchou. Which makes it that much more tempting to do it in fanfic and fanart, of course. XD

I can't take Sakuno and her role seriously enough to even consider her and Ryouma actually hooking up in anyway. I still find her inability to stand on her own two feet very annoying but she mostly falls into the "too pathetic to hate" category for me.
I do love manga!An (the anime version not so much) and at least she played a role by being the catalyst for Momo's revelation, etc. so it's sad we hardly see much of her. I also think she's cute.

But overall, female characters have so little relevance to this series I'm not surprised Konomi pretty much did away with them after the first few volumes. The anime does them even more disservice by forcing them onto the audience.