The first episode of the Darker than Black OVA was released with much fanfare… especially after the trailer showed a tender embrace between Hei and Yin. After that, the fangirls did not shut up until the day the raws were finally online for us to screencap/squeal over.

And rightfully so. Though some consider the pairing to be somewhat squicky due to Yin’s apparent lack of a free will (as a Doll,) the first OVA episode – and the end of Ryuusei no Gemini, for that matter – indicate that Yin is no longer who she seems to be. This changes the dynamics of the couple greatly,and they’ll surely continue to evolve as the new OVA is released.

(Yes, this post is going to be fairly spoilery, OVA-centric and fangirly… happy singles’ awareness day!)

At the beginning of season one, Hei and Yin are fairly straightforward characters: Hei’s a Contractor who inherited his powers from his sister, and Yin’s a quasi-blind, emotionless Doll. They evolve as characters throughout the series, but their statuses don’t really change at all. Their relationship doesn’t have any romantic element to it, partly due to Yin’s lack of free will (or so we think) and partly because of all the other crap going on.

Season two, Ryuusei no Gemini, begins with plenty of Hei hanging out with a certain loli… and no Yin. Hei ends up spending a fair part of RnG pursuing Yin, who has been kidnapped by the government for mysterious reasons. The twelve-episode season ends with Yin’s new powers/persona/something being shown but not really explained, and her and Hei don’t get anything remotely resembling a happy ending.

Which is why it’s a darn good thing Bones quickly announced an OVA set between seasons one and two to explain just what the heck happened. Especially since the quasi-loss and regaining of Hei’s Contractor powers (and therefore his “logical” state of mind) greatly pertains to his relationship with Yin. The canonity of the pairing will fall back upon A) whether or not they’re alive at the end of all of this and B) whether or not they can actually feel emotions.

The OVA has begun to make it clear that Hei is actually a very caring man between seasons one and two – even though he’s clearly still a Contractor. Yin begins disobeying Hei in odd ways, and some of her actions even seem to be done in an attempt to protect him. Take, for example, when she wakes up in the middle of the night to check on “Amber” and claim it isn’t really her. What caused her to do that so suddenly? Did she suddenly have a gut feeling and decide to act on it, despite not being ordered to – or, better yet, was there a feeling of jealousy or annoyance that made her want to find something amiss? All this makes me thing criteria B has been fulfilled, but there’s always criteria A… which season two, needless to say, doesn’t do anything for.

Since the OVA is still in-progress (and the rest of the series is convoluted as heck,) there’s not much else to say about this pairing… yet. Regardless of what path the OVA takes, though, the end of season two kinda leaves things at a standstill canon-wise. Let’s hope for a full season three (or maybe at least a manga? please?) to give all the characters a proper ending – especially these two. Moar hugs, plz.

~CJ

Yep, I’m goin’ there. Despite a relative lack of canonity (aside from them living together) shipping Celty and Shinra seems like a pretty awesome choice to me. Mikado and Anri go okay together, but they’re both far too deredere to actually be in a relationship. (Nut up or shut up, Mikado!) Anyway, Celty/Shinra probably can’t/won’t be canon until she gets her head back, but until then, we can always dream…

Shinra first encountered Celty thanks to his father, who made him dissect her a bit as she lay strapped to a cold metal table. Not only did he get to see her naked (and the viewer really doesn’t, but I left the screencaps out anyway because OTL) but he also learns a heck of a lot about her – and that’s presumably what caused him to want to study her more as he got older.

Though some would argue he’s only living with her for scientific reasons, there’s sincerity in his words and actions that wouldn’t come from a mere love of science. He expresses regret when a mission he sent her on goes awry, tells her to be careful before she leaves on an assignment, and occasionally takes a semi-flirtatious (depending on your interpretation) tone when talking to her. And then there’s his peeking on her in the shower; whether he meant to try to see something or not, Selty’s relatively calm reaction indicates she trusts him.

Celty’s a lot harder to read, partly because of her lack of facial expressions, but she seems like a calm and collected tsundere to me. That would compliment Shinra’s fairly easygoing nature well. I have to wonder what else she does besides butt-kicking, though – there’s got to be down-time for her, right? Does she do anything besides talk (er, IM/visually communicate) with Shinra? Hmmmm.

In the latest episode, I noticed a bit of an odd gender role-reversal for Celty and Shinra – Shinra takes messages and goes grocery shopping, and Celty does the butt-kicking. That really only serves to make me ship them harder, since I love anything that kicks traditional stereotypes to the curb and row row fights the power. Plus, it’s not like Shinra’s a pansy or anything. He just doesn’t mind playing the role of a dutiful housewife in exchange for a little research… and perhaps love. (He’s no Newton; he presumably doesn’t want to die a virgin, amirite?)

Hopefully, these two will continue to get the character development and fandom love they deserve. After all, how often do you find an easygoing, coffee-drinking, quasi-normal scientist in anime? (Last I checked, not since KOMUI~!) And how often do you get a headless fairy who kicks more butt than all of the male characters combined? (Last I checked, NEVER~!) Even if these two don’t end up being a canon couple, I’ll be more than happy if they get a happy ending. Then the fangirls can draw (and write!) their own conclusions.

~CJ

(Anyone unfamiliar with Axis Powers Hetalia probably saw that title and thought “WTF?”)

To be honest, when I got into Hetalia, I didn’t see the point of having an OTP in the series. It’s history. Everyone eventually ends up with everyone else at one point or another. I’d read fic or see comments about historical alliances and think, “Huh. Yeah, I can see that working… damn, I kinda ship it now.” At one point I stopped even referring to it as “shipping” because it seemed far too casual.

Then I was introduced to one of a handful of canon couples, and my perspective shifted yet again.

Meet Roderich Edelstein and Elizaveta Hedevary, aka Austria and Hungary.

At first glance, these two seem to fall into the typical couple mold. One is a gung-ho warrior who bashes people over the head with frying pans and secretly (or not-so-secretly) loves yaoi; the other is a mild-mannered, aristocratic piano aficionado with a tendency to get lost and a slightly prudish manner.

But if you think this shipping is all stereotypes, think again. Hungary is the hot-blooded one, and Austria has the artistic spirit. Hungary was so hardcore even as a child that for quite a while, she and everyone around her thought she was a guy, and she was convinced that the… er, requisite parts would just grow in as she got older. (Poor Prussia was so confused.) On the other hand, Austria was meant to be a warrior state… and failed at that miserably. Now he simply expresses his anger by playing Chopin’s piano sonatas.

Part of this ship’s appeal to me is the reversal of these typical roles. It’s more than a little amusing to see Hungary trying to protect her husband’s virtue and chasing after perverts like France with her ever-present frying pan, rather than the other way around. And of course, there’s something incredibly attractive about a guy that plays piano.

Don’t get me wrong. Hungary has her tender side, particularly towards Chibitalia (young Italy) and the Holy Roman Empire, and Austria has lashed out verbally at various characters on more than one occasion. He also tends to be a bit passive-aggressive; during the Anschluss set of comics and subsequent strips, we can see him being an obnoxious parasite to Germany just to get a rise out of him. But for the most part, Austria’s level-headedness is sharply and hilariously contrasted by Hungary’s rambunctious behavior.

For the longest time, Hungary was Austria’s maid, not his love interest. Their character notes say that she didn’t like being subservient to him, but she “harbor[ed] complicated, yearning-like feelings”. The notes and comics are all but silent on Austria’s perspective, though there is still some evidence he was fond of her. And even though now they’re technically divorced (in real-world canon, Austria-Hungary was split into separate countries in 1918), there’s still a lot of chemistry between them. The Christmas 2007 strips (warning: very much NSFW) show Austria being willing to do just about anything to make Hungary smile. (You may interpret that as you wish.) Even more recently, in the Buon San Valentino strips, he hand-makes a gift for her and is going to deliver it himself… until Germany reminds him that he has absolutely no sense of direction and would get lost. He has someone else deliver it instead, though he refuses to give his name. Hungary still figures out who it was, and is very much d’awwwwww over the whole thing.

While I wouldn’t call this my OTP, not by a long shot, I definitely support this ship. Reasons why:

1) It’s undeniably canon, both in-universe and real-world. This may just be a “me” thing, but I like my Hetalia!pairings to have some historical accuracy. Plus it makes their story more interesting and provides a lot of material for fics and canon strips.

2) It’s cute, dammit.

3) They just work together. You’d think a high-born gentleman like Austria would get fed up with Hungary’s shenanigans and send her packing, or that someone like Hungary would get annoyed having such a pacifist as a husband. But if they’ve been together for this long, I think it’s safe to say they can look forward to enjoying many years in each other’s company.

~Jenni

PS – This fanart piece of Austria is hawt.

For today’s Shameless Shipping, I’m going to take on a more controversial post.  This shipping debate has raged for well over a decade, ever since Squaresoft released Final Fantasy VII in 1997.  I’m sure a lot of you can recite the evidence for either side by heart, from Cloud buying a flower from Aerith at the beginning of the game, to the Gold Saucer date formulas.  Today, I will make my attempt to put this debate to rest, and I suppose you can all judge how well I do and flame the living hell out of me after I have presented my case.

Most of the case I will make rests on Advent Children Complete.  This Director’s Cut edition of the movie has numerous improvements, most notably including actual plot elements.  In particular, the story makes much more sense of Denzel, especially in light of the novella releases in the years between the original and the rerelease.  It also elaborates more on points brought up by the other additions to the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII.  Even a cursory observation of the material will tell you that both Tifa and Aerith like the guy.  I realized in the process of writing this that just about everything in the debate relies in Cloud and his actions, or lack thereof, so much of this post focuses on him.  In that vein, the movie’s main premise is Cloud’s acceptance of reality as it stands, in three distinct facets.

First, Cloud has to accept the past.  He spends much of the movie obsessing over Aerith, but that obsession doesn’t have a romantic context attached to it.  Cloud took on the job of being her bodyguard, and yet when the time came, he let Sephiroth manipulate him into trying to kill her.  When that failed, all he could do was watch as Sephiroth impaled the girl on his sword.  He feels guilt, and even in two years time he never got over his greatest failure.  It even gets to the point that he’s been caring for the church to gain some sort of redemption.  Aerith comes to assure him that she doesn’t blame him for what happened in the City of the Ancients.  She then spends the rest of the movie aiding him as much as a force of nature can to drive that point home.  This culminates at the end of the movie, where she kicks him out of limbo and back into the world of the living.  We’ll put this on hold for a minute to examine the next two points.

Second, Cloud has to accept himself.  Cloud lost his best friend and ally, Zach, to an attack by Shinra.  The mental strain snapped his mind, and he buried most of his memories to take on the persona of Zach.  He even placed himself in Zach’s position in his memories.  Only one person managed to see through his façade, Tifa.  She kept quiet about it for a long time, and when Cloud was disabled, she stayed behind to watch over him.  Then, when the disaster hit Mideel, she managed to pull him back together and drag him out of there by his spiky head.  Despite that, and Tifa’s assurance that he’s a good person, he never got over his failures.  Yet in the final battle with Sephiroth, Zach appears behind Cloud, and gives him the assurance that he has strength of his own.  It didn’t matter that he never got into Soldier, because he always had it in his heart.  A noticeable change comes over him as he finds his resolve to fight.  Bolstered by this, Cloud charges forth and finishes his antagonist.  Yet we need one more point to tie this all together.

Third, Cloud has to accept his family.  Like it or not, Cloud has lived with Tifa over the past two years.  Together, they’ve raised Marlene while Barret has gallivanted about doing whatever rugged, machine gun armed men do.  In addition, Cloud took in the orphan Denzel, with the intention to raise him as some sort of atonement for his sins.  Yet, despite all that, Tifa comments that he’s never around and impossible to contact.  This holds true in both the movie, and the On the Way to a Smile story before the events.  He is too busy running around, doing jobs and brooding over his past (and presumably looking for a cure).  As he tells Marlene, he felt like he couldn’t care for himself, so he didn’t deserve to care for anyone else.  Fortunately, the trip to save the children from Kadaj and his group reminds him of what he already has and that he needs to protect them.  Despite his behavior, Tifa, Denzel, and Marlene were always there for him, and now he realizes he needs to support them.  He assures all three that he’ll come back home to them, and from the ending to the movie, we all know that happens.

All three of these factors unify at the ending.  The last two lines before the credits are as follows:

Aerith: “You see?  Everything’s alright.”

Cloud: “I know.  I’m not alone.  Not anymore.”

Cloud has finally managed to work through his problems.  He doesn’t feel guilt over letting Aerith die.  He’s gotten over losing Zach and the psychological damage it caused him.  Now he’s ready to support his friends and family around him.  After the credits, we see two short scenes.  Cloud planted Aerith’s flowers at Zach’s grave, and he placed Zach’s sword within the cathedral.  He’s left the dead behind, holding on to his memories and pressing on toward the future.

Cloud and Tifa grew up together in Nibelheim as best friends.  The boy pledged to get into SOLDIER to impress his companion.  Yet even when he failed to do so, Tifa didn’t care, she just wanted him.  She followed him to hell and back, even when she knew he was lying about his past.  She cared for him while at his absolute worst, broken physically, mentally, and emotionally.  While he ran around the city and countryside doing who knows what, she worried incessantly, but always provided a place to come home.  With the Geostigma cleared, they can live in relative peace, raising their adopted son Denzel.  Quit making Cloud into some emotionally bankrupt character that pines after a girl who died in his past.  He’s a healthy character that has gone thorough a self-evolution and can now live happily with his family.  That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

If you would like a more comprehensive look of the debate, examining the game, movie, and other source material in full, please read this article.  While the author does occasionally repeat points, he also exhausts all evidence on both sides.

Catching up on Hanamaru Kindergarten proved to be fun for my shipper side. Normally I don’t ship losers with anyone. Tsucchi wormed his way out of that rule because he’s a loser who tries hard and apparently likes Evangelion.

But in all seriousness, giving Hanamaru Kindergarten a Tsucchi/Yamamoto good ending would be a sweet move on Gainax’s part. They’re both kind, sweet, and slightly clumsy (in more ways than one) and their teaching experiences would surely make both of them awesome parents, right? But Denial, that fated river in Egypt, miiiiiight just get in the way of this couple…

It’s the first day of kindergarten, and after pseudo-hitting on a certain kindergartener on the way there, Naozumi Tsuchida lays eyes on the most beautifulest kindergarten teacher ever. Nanako Yamamoto has been working at Hanamaru Kindergarten for a while already, so she does her best to get the hapless Tsucchi adjusted to life there. As his crush on her develops, though, said certain kindergartener launches her attempts to win Tsucchi’s heart.

Oh, Anzu… you future homewrecker, you. orz.

Despite Tsucchi’s epic fail moments resulting from Anzu’s advances, Yamamoto begins to take a platonic liking to him, and the two become friends. They compliment each other a bit, help each other out, smile at each other, and generally show all the signs of luuuuurve…

The only thing in the way of their relationship? Yamamoto-sensei just doesn’t get it. She claims she doesn’t understand why any man would like her, and refuses to believe Tsucchi’s in love with her. (Denial, orz.) Tsucchi even offers to take her to an amusement park, but she turns him down, saying that Anzu-chan would have way more fun and that he should take her.

Maybe my ship goggles are tinted a little funny because HK’s already overloaded with cuteness. Or maybe I just really, really want Yamamoto-sensei to find happiness (although she really seems happy enough without a man…) Though Tsucchi plays far too many video games for his own good, maybe he’ll outgrow those one of these days and REALLY pursue the lovely Nanako-chan. Once she gets a clue, the only thing standing in their way will be Anzu… orz.

~CJ

Today, I am going to spotlight a newer couple to the anime scene.  One is an exceptional imbecile, while the other is a trademark tsundere.  We’re going to talk for a few minutes about Yoshii and Minami from Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu.

Title screen grab get!

On the one side of this relationship sits Yoshii, perhaps the dumbest kid in the school.  His position is so low that he has the title “Punishment Inspector,” which really exists just to raise morale as he performs chores around the school.  He also has an amazingly vapid level of common sense.  He does have a method to his madness, but the logic he uses isn’t evident to the outside world.  He tries, but trying just isn’t enough to pull him out of his slump.

BAKA!

Minami is the other half of the pair, and while she’s no bright bulb, she still has a bit more going for her in school.  She has difficulty reading, but scores far above her class level in mathematics.  Minami occasionally plays the voice of reason for the group, especially when Yoshii makes a foolish remark.  Of course, at times, she takes things a bit too far, and she is not above inflicting bodily pain to make her point.  Voyeur has no problem with taking advantage of her rampages.

Love hurts.

The couple has a standard tsundere relationship.  Yoshii will make a comment about her, whether a remark about her intelligence (pot kettle black) or her looks.  Minami then responds swiftly and with excessive force.  With just this, it might be hard to find the relationship in there, but Minami definitely has feelings for the guy.  She suggests the date that Himeji tags along for, and spends and entire episode building up the courage to just offer Yoshii a boxed lunch.  In the latter case, Yoshii approaches it in a round-about way, showing that he occasionally does know how to read a situation, and we get a little heartwarming moment out of the exchange.

Awww, Minami is adorable!

I suppose I cannot get out of this without making a few remarks on Himeji.  She is a stunningly attractive girl who has incredible intellect.  Watching the two opposites attract each other is cute, especially when they are both so flustered most of the time.  The problem I have with this pairing is that the pair lack any play in their relationship.  It comes off as a stale crush.  Perhaps my personal preferences play a role, but excessive prettiness is not a requirement and it’s simply not enough to be nice.  You also need to be fun, and Minami has that in spades.

Himeji's fatal flaw is her cooking...

Of course, the plot will likely dictate the Yoshii/Himeji pairing as canon, so none of this writing really matters.  But, a man can dream, can’t he?  A man can dream…

It’s that special time of year again… 7 anime couples, 7 days, and over9000 things to squeal over. Just like last year, CJ-chan will start things off with one of her favoritest shounen couples ever~!

Soul/Maka is easily the most popular pairing in Soul Eater, but don’t write it off as fangirl trash. Soul’s not a Mary-Sue bishounen, and Maka’s not a wussy teenage pansy who can’t defend herself. It’s a pairing with chemistry that makes sense and doesn’t piss off male readers of the series – heck, some of them ship it even harder than the girls.

For those of you not-so-blissfully ignorant of Soul Eater’s premise – Maka is a teenage Meister who wields Soul as her weapon. Soul, who can transform into a scythe, is obsessed with being cool and generally acts like your average teenage guy (including during his encounters with Blair’s boobs.) He and Maka don’t always get along, but they work hard together, yadda yadda…

… and in the latest chapter, Maka hints at jealousy over Soul’s popularity with the ladies. If that’s not the manga-ka showing the shippers we are not forgotten, I don’t know what is.

To be honest, part of Soul/Maka’s appeal lies in the series’ relative lack of other pairings for the two of them. There’s Maka/Crona, Kid/Maka, Soul/Black Star, a little Soul/Kid material if you squint… and that’s it. (Unless you count Stein/Maka. *shudder*) There’s certainly other ships, but the lack of a massive cast (a la Naruto) limits one’s ship goggles greatly. And I mean, come on, LOOK AT THIS WHOLE POST. Those screencaps. It’s like Bones was just TOYING with the fangirls. Including Hinano. The 2nd ending theme, “Style,” just pours on the cuteness too.

Even if you don’t give a rip about canonity, there’s tons of incredibly well-done in-character doujinshi and fanart out there. Heck, just Google or Photobucket search “Soul Maka” and see the nosebleed-worthy stuff that comes up.

… But of course, smut all that isn’t the point of this post. The key to appreciating what lies beneath Soul and Maka’s playful banter is the drama that goes on in the series – and their ability to overcome it. Things like betrayals and close encounters with insanity are easily overcome when the two of them are together. Heck, what would Maka do if she were stuck with a loon like Black Star for a partner?! (well, he’s not a Weapon, but that’s not the point…)

I still ship Stein/Marie like a hormonal teenage nutcase who’s into older men, but you just can’t ignore the epic chemistry between Soul and Maka. Heck, poll time – what’s your favorite Soul Eater pairing? (Be honest!)

Regardless of your favorite pairing, let’s hope for a happy ending of some sort for these two, shall we?

~CJ