There are two sides to every coin. In terms of unlikely relationships, it could go one of two ways: it was unlikely that they got together but is a pleasant surprise or it was unlikely that they got together because they are ill-suited or toxic together. Toxic relationships seem a common trend in Seinen anime.
For some of the iconic relationships, it was obvious that the writers had always intended for them to be together. But more often than not, its predictability was uncomfortable and problematic in itself. On the other hand, some of these couples were a surprise to fans. Regrettably, these surprises were not always pleasant ones.
9 Jojo's Bizarre Adventures: Koichi Hirose And Yukako Yamagishi
The journey Koichi and Yukako went through to become a couple was not a smooth one. When Koichi was apprehensive at their first meeting, Yukako aggressively attacks a girl she saw as a threat to the not-yet-existing relationship.
Not seeing a way out, Yukako decided to kidnap Koichi to brainwash him into liking her back. His negative response to her indoctrination triggered a mental breakdown that encouraged Yukako to torture him, willing to kill the man of her dreams just to keep him to herself. Psychotic tendencies aside, Koichi falling for Yukako after everything she's done is ludicrous.
8 Elfen Lied: Lucy And Kouta
Akin to a myriad of anime out there, Elfen Lied's protagonist is running away from a dark past that keeps catching up to him. As expected with the popular trope, Kouta meets the person responsible for the worst memories of his young life. As a young child, Kouta watched his entire family get brutally murdered. His trauma response to the harrowing incident was to forget everything.
Instead of murder, he believed that his father died in a car accident and Kanae passed from a terminal illness. Even after his true memories return, he forgives Lucy and welcomes her back with open arms. Considering the unspeakable truth, it makes no sense that Kouta would forgive her, let alone confess his undying love for her.
7 Death Note: Light Yagami And Misa Amane
Light Yagami is one of the most irredeemable characters in anime history. From Misa's very first appearance in Death Note, she was completely enamored by Light. This infatuation earned Light her undying love. Misa's blind loyalty was originally fueled by her gratitude towards Light's actions as Kira. Kira assassinated the murderer who killed Misa's parents. Since then, they used her shinigami eyes to create an unstoppable Kira.
Misa's unhealthy attachment to Light drove her into doing whatever he commanded, no matter how life-threatening, degrading, or fatal it was. She threatened to eliminate anyone who came in between her and Light's relationship, despite Light not reciprocating her feelings. He uses her unrequited love to his advantage and enslaves her into doing his dirty work.
6 Akama Ga Kill!: Esdeath And Tatsumi
Akama Ga Kill!'s Esdeath and Tatsumi proved how opposites attract. They fought on different sides of war, which didn't deter Esdeath's initial attraction to Tatsumi. Esdeath fell head over heels for Tatsumi and it was love at first sight.
However, he never fully reciprocated these feelings. While he didn't string Esdeath along, he gave little hints of intrigue despite his heart not being in it. Over time, he admitted that he despised every second spent with her, and their one-sided 'relationship' promptly ended when he met his wife, Mine.
5 Fullmetal Alchemist: Fuhrer King Bradley And Mrs. Bradley
King Bradley and his wife taught Fullmetal Alchemist fans to not judge a book by its cover. The somber truth is that with long-term relationships, things might not be as they seem. On the surface, they seemed like the perfect happy family. Considering the pure unlikeable nature of the Homunculi, this was a somewhat wholesome trait to have. Their perfect-family facade shattered on his deathbed.
"Stop throwing around words like 'love'. We didn't need such meaningless words to understand each other. That is what it means to be the wife of the Fuhrer." Though King Bradley's quote may be interpreted in a positive manner where their relationship transcends society's idea of love, some fans disagree and accused the Fuhrer of never loving her in the first place. Instead, it seemed like King Bradley just chose his wife out of convenience.
4 Cowboy Bebop: Jet Black And Alisa
When analyzed further, Alisa leaving Jet in Cowboy Bebop may not have been as bad as it was perceived. A classic case of one partner falling out of love with the other, Alisa grew increasingly revolted at the idea of Jet as her boyfriend.
Alisa's feelings - or lack thereof - towards Jet is completely valid. What isn't valid is her leaving him a watch and a note that said "Farewell" and calling it a day. Later on, Alisa used Jet's feelings for her to get protection for the fugitive she was pursuing. Everything Alisa did to Jet after their separation showed how much she disrespects her ex-partner and their past relationship.
3 The Flowers Of Evil: Sawa Nakamura And Takao Kasuga
The Flowers Of Evil is notorious for its abundance of unlikeable characters, and Sawa and Takao's relationship contributed to this reputation.
The overplayed 'falling in love with the bully' trope is the star of The Flowers Of Evil. Sawa is an intimidating bully that loves to pick on Takao, manipulating and threatening Takao to do a series of unreasonable things that usually humiliate him. Regardless, Takao bonded with his merciless perpetrator through their mutual hatred for society. Still, nothing about their relationship made sense and the audience found it cringeworthy.
2 Michiko & Hatchin: Michiko Malandro And Hiroshi Morenos
Unlike most, Michiko and Hiroshi started as a truly loving couple. Also unlike others, the person they harmed the most with the aftermath of their messy relationship wasn't each other but their daughter, Hana. Their relationship ended when Michiko was sent to prison.
Busting out of prison, she kidnaps her daughter from her abusive foster home and sets off to find Hiroshi. Unfortunately, the authorities catch up to her and incarcerate her again. Instead of caring for her, Hiroshi sent his daughter across the border to fend for herself. Despite his promises to reunite with Hana one day, he stays with the new woman in his life with another baby on the way.
1 Ayashi No Ceres: Mikagi And Ceres
Just like any power-hungry mundane, the moment Ceres grants her husband Godlike powers, he starts unraveling. In their first life together, he attempted to take over villages, throws away her ceremonial robes, and kills their firstborn. Without her robes, Ceres and Mikagi get stuck in a never-ending loop of reincarnations.
After centuries of emotional and physical abuse - and murder attempts from both parties - they reunite in heaven. Mikagi, back to the powerless being he once was, begged Ceres for forgiveness. The message Ayashi No Ceres sends is problematic. Putting up with all that abuse doesn't leave anyone unscathed, yet she forgives him anyway.
Source: Trendz OH
No comments:
Post a Comment