Weltall Elite wrote:Does the novel end on that note? I've heard it ends on a cliffhanger. Does that mean there'll be yet another novel after that where Sosuke actually goes after her? And if so, has that novel actually been released yet?
Yes, COMO ends on that particular cliffhanger that you allude to.
The next novel is already several chapters published in the magazine that it's serialized in. The acutal book won't be published until all of it's chapters have run in the mag.
The audience applauded, even though it was not clear what Bush meant.
Alright. So if that's the case, what about this more vague rumor we've been hearing about them becoming a couple after the thing with Leonard? How can anyone possibly know if they're a couple at the end if the novel hasn't even been released yet? Where does that rumor come from and what's it based on?
Alright. So if that's the case, what about this more vague rumor we've been hearing about them becoming a couple after the thing with Leonard? How can anyone possibly know if they're a couple at the end if the novel hasn't even been released yet? Where does that rumor come from and what's it based on?
That would have to be just a rumor since as of this moment in the most current story, Kaname is still missing.
Sans la liberté de blàmer, il n’est point d’éloge flatteur - Figaro, Beaumarchais
Without the freedom to criticise, there is no true praise - Figaro, Beaumarchais
Actually, it'll be interesting how far their relationship does actually progress.
Romances seem to have a tendency to drag on for ever and go nowhere in
manga. Though I've read a saying somewhere along the lines of "the traditional Japanese love story ends unhappily".
Certainly, whenever you hear about some legendary couple that fell in love,
(especially if they were of different social status) they usually ended up commiting suicide, in order to be together in another life.
Okay, I doubt that's something we have to worry about, since Gatoh has put so much effort into Sousuke/Kaname. I wouldn't necessarily get up my hopes for a big carthasis scene where Sousuke and Kaname fall in each other's arms and declare their undying love, and promptly plan to get married. I don't know how expressive the japanese as a people are starting to get, but one of the reasons romance manga dragged on forever was that the Japanese as a whole are quite uncomfortable showing strong emotions of that nature openly. Which is why holding hands, the "second hand kiss", and the like are such iconic occurences in a teenage romance.
I wouldn't be surprised if the whole series ends without Kaname and Sousuke ever coming out and saying to each other's face that they love each other, onscreen. Likely, they'd look each other in the face meaningfully, and then go off on their next adventure as the screen fades to black, so to speak.
As much as I hate to admit it, you're right. Japanese romances like to end on the note of "they're in love and will get together someday... but not on my watch."
Usually they do this by dragging things out. There will be moments of tension and romantic hintings, but it generally won't go anywhere. The really deep moments will usually get broken up by someone interrupting or saying something inappropriate, breaking the moment. In this way, the story creates a cycle where the romance can continue without actually progressing the relationship.
FMP's first season did that. Fumoffu kinda did it. So did the manga. Even when an episode ends on a high note, in the next episode, things are back to normal again and it's as if those touching scenes never really happened.
I don't know if the original novels did that, but don't you get a different feel from ODBD and DVMC? The characters are growing and developing instead of reverting back to how they were. Feelings are starting to come out. My understanding is that things are going to change in Mithril. Sousuke's breaking out of his "duty first" mentality. The school they go to is about to learn Sousuke's secret. And of course, Sousuke and Kaname's relationship is developing. Basically, the story is changing and the author is going in a new direction. I don't know if that means they'll be a couple when it's all over, but the story is not going to end where it began. Things will be very different.
Well, typically these stories are about the 'getting together' part, before the acutal getting together. Stories about people who are already happily together is boring- the before is the most exciting, dramatic part.
This includes stories where the two characters are fully aware and declaring their love, but they let the 'little things' get in the way. (ref, Fushigi Yuugi) There's also the ones with a central character who's unsure or uncertain about their would-be partner, or has mutiple options to choose from (ie, Nadesico, Tenchi Muyo, the dating sim based ones, ect)
I think some fans expect FMP to fit into either (or both!) of those catagories....
In both of these cases, the story is finished when they do a big 'kiss', or resolve whatever the cause of seperation is, leaving us to assume 'happy ever after'. (although some take adventrous dips into the after-not-so-happy )
But, there are still typical scenes that these types of stories will have... the era of bumbling, blushing and mistaken intents- building to the critical crisis that will force a forever or never decision finally resulting in some suggested commitment that is usually shown by a first real kiss. Oh, and the end.
I think that's why some people were upset with the ending of the first series. All of the early signs were there, but some people watched the series being mostly unaware that the story continues well past. And still, there seems to be some expectation for those typical romantic scenes. I like FMP because it's a bit more evolved than that. The intents and undercurrents are clear, even with the absence of the usual ploys.
(interesting in a story that plays with so many stereotypes!)
I think it's comfortable
Don't confuse love for kiss and a dreamy marriage!
The audience applauded, even though it was not clear what Bush meant.
I wonder. Typically, I'd like to see a series end with my favorite couple just getting together. Usually at that point, I think it's time for the story to end because, as you said, it gets boring.
But this story? I don't know. It depends on the direction the story takes. If it takes a dark turn with something like the two of them living on the run, it might have potential (but the story would definitely have a new feel). If they live happily ever after, they might be able to swing it out for a few short stories to close off the saga, but I can't imagine it going much further. Basically, it comes down to how far they break away from cliches. And I think already the story is attempting to do that. But again, I don't know how far the author intends to take it.
Though, after that whole thing with Leonard, I'd hope that Sousuke and Kaname would at least share their first kiss. I'd be pretty disappointed if that issue wasn't addressed.
But I digress. I'm getting far too fanboyish for one post. >_<
Knowing Sousuke however, kaname'd have to to this:
K: Sousuke, do you know mouth-to-mouth?
S: Chidori? Are you alright? Is anything wrong?
K: *sighs* Shut up and kiss me, willya?
S: That is not a problem. Are you drowning? Suffering from respitory distress? Your face is flushed - this could be the signs of a fever. Your pulse is racing. Your pupils are dilat-
I leave the rest to your imaginations. ^_^
Long way to home,
Mou sugu kaeru yo,
Yoake made ni, Kimi no moto e.
It takes me a while to make my point in this post, but it tries to do a short analysis by comparing FMP! to similar stories, and then concluding the most likely outcome of Sousukes and Kanames relationship, since that is a central theme within this novel. If you just want to know what I think and don’t care for reading my way of coming up with it, scroll down to points “ABCD”, and otherwise, you’ve been warned.
Quote Jae:
”
Stories about people who are already happily together is boring- the before is the most exciting, dramatic part.
”
I agree with this notion. When I was younger(16-17ish) I never understood it, but after reading the ‘Love Hina!’ manga, I’ve come to understand why this is done, and fairly well at that. Well, being at the centre of several love affairs that were filled with subtle things but never got to anymore than kisses on the cheek helped me empathize with it, too, but since this is literature and not reality, it didn’t explain anything.
Authors who are good at writing prior-to romance bits aren’t necessarily good at writing relationship-bits. In fact, very few authors practice the later. It seems that authors who try to go there often end up getting in over their head, so the story gets vulgar (refer to Love Hina) – vulgarity is a nono, obviously, since it means that the readers are basically put off by the writing, losing empathy, and then it’s crud.
But I recently came across a very nice contradiction to this way of thinking. The animated series ‘Kare Kano’ begins with the two main’s entering a relationship already around 3rd-4th episode, and it’s a 24 episode series. I’ve only seen the first 6 episodes, but I can reveal that it’s very unique. I deemed it valuable to fanfiction writers and would-be writers alike, because it explores how much an author can actually do with a relationship-type story without turning it into crud. Sadly, the only western alternative I’m aware of is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and that’s as good as no alternative…That is to say…there are heaps of examples in comedy series, but as far as I can recall, Scrubs is the only one that tries to deal with it from a realistic perspective.
This story mimics the bits of Kare Kano in many ways; it’s actually fairly simple. The characters are flawed. Not in a literary way, obviously, but they’ve got personality flaws. Sousuke has his military maniac deal, Kaname has social insecurity in spades. Sousuke has a background as a child soldier, Kaname is a ‘whispered’ and kinda kookoo every once in a while.
The flaws, which drove the early parts of Kare Kano, are quite dull by comparison, but they are still of the same kin. The male lead is in a position where he must lift an unlucky legacy from his family – his parents where no-gooders who beat him when he was a kid, only to later abandon him and scoot off with some cash (as far as I recall). He chooses to deal with this by struggling to prove himself, and getting good grades&whatnot.
The female lead is neurotic, mainly because of social insecurity and anxiety of different sorts, and chooses to hide her true self from her classmates, acting as a ‘miss perfect’ type. It’s as if she’s mildly schizophrenic, because she’ll keep her guard up around herself while her mind is going out some crazy tangent, and she struggles to remain ‘miss perfect’ through being very superficial in all that she does. Among that is being number one at everything at school.
Kare Kano can be translated to ‘his and her circumstances’, and that fits how these two characters get to know each other through a convoluted turn of events. Another parallel to FMP!.
Anyway, it’s these flaws that ended up adding depth to the early relationship. I’m not sure if Kare Kano can be taken as an illustration of what’s normal in Japan, but if it can, then it means that two characters don’t have to proceed into a serious relationship right off the bat just because they acknowledge that they like each other. In fact, in the case with Kare Kano, the two characters went on their first date after they admitted this. There wasn’t even a kiss yet at this point.
The final observation I need to make is the way the FMP! novels are written. The use of monologue and dialogue is plenty, and the characters go through some very real scenes. I’m certain you recall Kaname giving Sousuke a haircut. There are countless places where scenes with real depth happen. Much more depth than was present in Kare Kano. FMP! isn’t subtle. FMP! is illustrating the relationship issues more and more openly. It has to climax.
With all of this in mind: there isn’t anything FMP! has to do that hasn’t been done before with success. Gatou isn’t in a hurry. His writing style is in certain ways remarkably similar to a German author who wrote sci-fi from the late 70’es to the early 90’es; I don’t know his real name since he, for many years, wrote under a pseudonym, “Mark Brandis” (incidentally this was also the name of the main character). Brandis wrote more than 30 novels about a spaceship captain, and even though they aren’t great literary accomplishments by themselves, the series has continuity and is quite entertaining. The point is, Gatou is, like Brandis, capable of coughing up approximately 3 novels worth of writing a year when he wants to. Because his characters are very solid, he is capable of doing this without losing sight of the big picture.
He cannot do this, however, in this day and age, without drawing long threads throughout several novels, and that is what he is doing with FMP! right now. He is taking his characters to a new level, and one of the means he is using is building up some heat between Kaname and Sousuke. That way, he can introduce a climax where they admit their feelings, whereupon he can take it from there. There are many advantages to continuing the story beyond that point. Most importantly would be that he would then be using a changed setting with the same characters. I realize from the rumours that re-setting to the prior setting will be difficult, so that’s also not the way he’ll go.
What is crucial to remember is that Gatou is in love with his own characters; that’s why he’s doing tons of spinoffs. He can’t write enough about Sousuke&Kaname. If we suppose that they started off with some kind of relationship, he would be able to explore a whole new set of spinoffs, set after this incident.
IOW, there are only advantages to trying to get the two of them together and taking it from there, because:
A) it is indeed an option
B) it would mean he can continue writing within a universe he obviously loves
C) it would prove to be a challenge, and something which would make him a better writer
D) it would allow him to be creative and experiment with a lot of new ideas, within this very handy setting.
My only hope is that he has thought a great deal about the novels he’s writing right now, because if he doesn’t keep his act together, he won’t be able to come up with an acceptable ending. Thanks for reading.
Is it just me, or are there way too many talking decapitated heads around these days?
It was a little tough to understand what you were trying to say since your writing is a bit strange, but I think I get the idea. I'll say this, you have a perspective. And I'll say it's a valid perspective. Based on what little I know, it makes perfect sense. And I'll even say that I hope you're right.
Still... the truth of the matter is that it's all speculation. We can only make assuptions about where the story is going or what Gatoh's intentions are or what he thinks of his work.
I agree with you; it would appear that he very much loves this series and its characters. Does that mean he's going to take it to the next stage? Who can say? We can only speculate.
I normally don't like novels, and such, because they tend to drag.
But with FMP, i get the impression that Gatoh wants to keep on going with the story - he's not like GAINAX's Anno, directing the obviously f**ked up End of Evangelion to get back at fans (and doin Eva as his 'mental masturbation' as a fan put it), or Yoshiyuki Tomino, doing Turn A Gundam to basically screw over Bandai as much as possible, and being angry for most of the Gundam. (That's why UC Gundam is dark - Tomino was frequently pissed and depressed when doing that.)
But FMP? Gatoh really cares about his charecters, you can see that in how he's going. He's not killing off people randomly for the sake of advancing plot - rather, he's developing charecters WITHOUT killing off anyone important. That's something.
And I kinda get the impression that he still has a lot more to write.....
Long way to home,
Mou sugu kaeru yo,
Yoake made ni, Kimi no moto e.
"
It was a little tough to understand what you were trying to say since your writing is a bit strange
"
Yeah, and I'm sorry about it, it's partly due to english being my second language...I should've probably tried to rewrite it all the same, but eh, I must've been so tired by the end I'd lost my sense of self-crittism.
"
Still... the truth of the matter is that it's all speculation. We can only make assuptions about where the story is going or what Gatoh's intentions are or what he thinks of his work.
"
I guess you're right... it _is_ speculation. On the other hand, it is a speculative discussion, as is most kinds of literary analysis.
Predicting an outcome isn't easy. In this case, the crucial points were establishing precedence in the field I'm arguing in favor of (Mark Brandis, Kare Kano), arguing the similarities between FMP and the precedence, and then pointing out that "Gatoh really cares about his charecters" as Goose put it - I guess that's my above arguement in a nutshell.
Even if that last bit is 'just speculation', it's speculation that has countless points speaking in favor of it. I recon I may be wrong, but I'll be seriously suprised if I am
Is it just me, or are there way too many talking decapitated heads around these days?
