Otohiko wrote:I personally find the suggestion that love = infatuation with a fictional character with whom there is an impossibility of a) sexual contact; b) a relationship rather silly and to some extent offensive.
I'm sorry for offending you. ^_^
I find the impossibility to be a very good reason to promote that infatuation because it's a) safe; b) perfect.
While we don't talk about masturbation much, because everyone knows females don't do that, I'm convinced infatuation with fictional (or animated) characters is the most popular form of fantasy-based masturbation. It doesn't have to be sexual or even physical. It's stimulation you have complete control over.
I don't begrudge those guys who think Belldandy is the perfect female so long as they don't try to apply that to real life people. That's the distinction - as long as you remember the ideal is just that - an ideal - there's nothing wrong with it. It'll keep you from taking your frustration out on real people for not satisfying your need for an ideal persona. You have that ideal right there - any time you need a fix. Just pop in the dvd and there you go.
/Now for the thread
Why? Lots of reasons.
Because they're not real. I might know the name of the voice actor, but I don't connect his face with the animated character.
Because they're not limited to realistic features. I like white hair on guys under 30. I like blue hair, too. And red - not "real auburn red" but anime firetruck red. I like the big catshaped eyes. I like the gravity-defying hair that's never dirty or limp no matter what the character's been doing. I like the perfect complexion - no freckles, no pimples, very few tanlines, and the only moles allowed are the beauty marks. I like the toothless lipless smiles. Just one little line and you know if they're smiling, smirking, pouting - and even when they gape there's rarely a sign of crooked teeth or overbites, God forbid a cavity or cap. I like the perfect bodies. Not too many muslces (unless it's dbz), not too thin (unless it's Clamp), and yet they can be as strong or weak as the plot says they are. I like the indeterminate age. A bishonen can be anywhere from 10 to 35 and he'll never look older than 19.
Because the stories end. They'll never age, they'll never change, they'll always have exactly the same characteristics that made me like them in the first place. Anything that happens after the end is left entirely to my imagination, fodder for fanfiction and amvs and anything I want to do with them.
Because they have Japanese voice actors. I like the way it sounds. I've spoken to real Japanese people and they don't sound anything like that. There's this "anime inflection" that's mostly noticeable in the "high pitched little girl" characters. But you hear it in the guys, too. It's the random little sounds they make that are particular to anime - the "ch" and "hn" and "wah" and "geh".
Because they're not human. My favorites are demons. Because they can do more, survive more, and live longer. Perfect fodder for the imagination.
Because they're not real. I wouldn't want to write about a real person, let alone fantasize about one. If I suddenly stop loving an anime character I can go love a different one with no fear that he'll call me up threatening to kill himself or stalk me until I go back to him. I can use and discard and pick back up any time I want - because it's an anime character. Aside from getting money for the creators, his only use is to be fodder for the imagination of the viewers who love him.
...
Yeah. Now guess which anime character I'm the most in love with. I cheat on him all the time, but he always waits patiently till I come back to him. Sweet deal.
