Why is he even there?
The 3rd Round-Robin topic is this:
The concept of “the other guy” in shoujo plot lines: In a shoujo cliché, the main couple faces many obstacles on their way to TRULUV. One of these obstacles is “the other guy”. And “this other guy” happens to embody all the qualities of the ideal male. And yet in the end, he is rejected for the original guy, even despite the original guy being an asshole, hurting the girl with his antics, and having blatant flaws.
First of all, I’ve never really enjoyed shoujo anime because I hate cliché shit – I prefer watching unpredictable shows because most typical happenings bore me stiff, and I like anime with a large cast so that the plot just doesn’t revolve around a couple of characters I might eventually get fed up with. And that’s why it’s rare for me to pick up a shoujo series, simply because although you get some sweet romance (er, corny much?), everything eventually becomes no fun, the ending pairing becomes obvious and the main female lead grows irritating. I still can’t believe I’ve seen all of Fruits Basket and actually didn’t die of boredom watching it.
So Tohru chooses Kyo in the end over Yuki. Of course, Tohru probably chose him because he needs her more than Yuki does, so would you call this love with a tad of sympathy, or just pure love? I hate guys that act like jerks, like Kyo, but heck, in anime you don’t really give a crap – you think they’re cute since they can be sooo good-looking – but in real life they are in fact, extremely annoying (oh, I know alright). Perhaps Tohru really did choose Kyo because he’s so opposite to her and he holds so many issues, and maybe that’s also what attracted her to him. Somewhat like Tohru, I believe that there’s good in everyone no matter how bad they are, but while trying to unveil Kyo’s “mask”, Tohru may have stumbled across this innocent and lonely side of him that made her realize how much happiness she could give him, be it a lover or a friend or rape. Perhaps, when we offer happiness to others, we feel so much more worthy and accepted in society that the person we can make so happy in life is the person we’d rather live the rest of our lives with.
For sure if a guy pisses me off, I wouldn’t even take another step near him. I’d perhaps try to help him some time if I’m certain that there’s some issues in his life, but will definitely end up giving up, or I’d just let him figure his own problems out. It ticks me to see people acting like shit to others because of what’s happened to them in the past (get over it already), but my life’s not that bad either, so I have no real say I suppose, and I guess if you’ve been so badly treated way back, it’s understandable too. I really don’t understand how long such a thin plot (typical shoujo) can drag out for, and why the two main guys can be so alike in all shoujo series all the time? Why does there have to be a “nice” guy – why can’t one be super intellectual and the other real sporty? Yeah, I don’t think it’d work out nicely either.
I think the purpose of the “other” guy is to show that even hopeless assholes have a chance of getting a love life and that being “nice” doesn’t mean that you’ll get everything you want. The “nice” guy shows more understanding and is prepared to accept the fact that the girl he’s in love with is happier with the asshole guy because she can offer more to him than she could ever do for the “nice” guy. The “other” guy is also there to create competition and increase fangirlism, debate among viewers about who the main chick will end up choosing, and to get people like me angry that the assholish guy gets picked by the girl instead. The “other” guy can also be there to make us pity feel sorry for him, and well, a shoujo wouldn’t be a shoujo if the “other” guy isn’t in it. Eventually, the “other” guy always moves on and it’s a message for those people in similar situations that just because you think she’s the one, the world may not agree with you. I always think after watching a shoujo cliché: Why the asshole? He treats you like shit, so why? Is it because assholes are more risky in life, that they are dangerous, exciting and because they don’t care what others think of them, which makes these girls feel more comfortable around them and not embarrassed?
In Naruto, Sakura is obsessed with Sasuke even though he acts real cold to her. Why is this so? I’ve no bloody idea – like I said, how could you like someone without really knowing them, plus the fact that they couldn’t care less about you? That’s just insane … but I’ll be dead honest that if I watch an anime, see a badass guy, I may go head-over-heels in love with him, but it’s totally different from real life. You know, perhaps it’s because the mangaka likes the badass guy so they let the chick end up with him and ditch the “nice” guy. If you look deeper into a shoujo cliché, then you may get this message that the badass represents the sinful people, the “nice” guy represents the rightful people, and the main chick represents a saviour. Because really, who is it that needs more help? The sinful or the rightful – like Jesus who reached out to those who need healing, like Jesus who ate with a tax collector? We donate to the poor, not the rich. We help the blind, not those who can already see. The “other” “nice” guy is content, and besides, he probably knows that he deserves better than the girl who left him for the asshole guy.
Continued here:
[AGRR] Shoujo Cliché: The OTHER Man - What About Him?
