Oh no, not more anime meta!
May. 30th, 2005 12:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lierdumoaWhat has this fandom done to me? I've never written this much meta in my life. Well, it's been a good long time since I've written meta on porn, so I guess I'm due.
The Goku Syndrome (tentative title)
The main problem I'm seeing in the Naruto fandom -- the one that's forced me to create a guide for the sake of pimping -- is the distinct lack of well written Sasuke/Naruto fic. I think I've finally identified the reason the yaoi fangirls haven't sunk their claws into this pairing. Or rather, none over the age of 13 with any writing ability. The Goku Syndrome.
I ran into a similar case in Saiyuki. Here we had the character Goku, and a ton of subtext for the Sanzo/Goku pairing, but hardly any Sanzo/Goku fic. The easy answer is that Goku is such a kid. He's grossly immature and he's not all that bright. He's overenthusiastic about everything, virtually never gets morose, and only on extremely rare (but very notable) occasions manages to pull off the pissed and smouldering look (insert fangirling here).
Me? I love Goku. At first I didn't know why I loved him because by and large, I cannot abide stupid characters. However, Goku's lack of book smarts is more than made up for in a gross overabundance of street smarts. Goku gets people. Goku doesn't need to sit and ponder an enemy's motivations because he can practically smell them. Challenge him to mah-jong and he's bound to lose, but stick him in a battle situation and he's two steps ahead of the rest of the gang.
No one tries to bullshit Goku and gets away with it. And that is why he is SO AWESOME.
Now, I have an unhealthy fondness for pranksters and trickster figures. Don't get me wrong -- brooding herous are fabulous and sexy characters. They're just not my favorite. This is the reason I loved the movie Daredevil when so many hated it. I wasn't dissappointed by Ben Affleck's portrayal of Daredevil because I wasn't expecting to like the character in the first place -- he's just not my type. Bullseye, on the other hand, blew me away. I adore twitchyneurotic characters, as heroes or as villains (insert yet more fangirling here).
The problem with a character like Goku, a character like Naruto, is that they need to be aged about 5 years before they can really be written properly, and no one knows how to age them, or wants to. Generally people who know how to write adults and write adults well will go ahead and write adults rather than go to the trouble of ageing children.
It's extremely rare to find an adult incarnation of a character like Goku or Naruto. Probably the only example I can come up with offhand is Wally West (The Flash), who chances are you don't know anything about unless you're really into DC comicverse. I'd link you to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
thete1's website if only it weren't down right now. Damnit.
Jack Sparrow and Agent Sheldon Jeffery Sands are some closebutnotquite personality examples. Ray Kowalski from due South. It's really hard to think of comparative adult characters in live action/western comics because manga comes from a whole different culture. It's really hard to find comparative adult characters in manga, even, because manga plotlines tend to revolve around children or very young adults.
But back to my main point. It was, if I recall, why Naruto is AWESOME and NEEDS TO BE SEXED.
First of all, I think most any character I have an unhealthy fondness for needs to be sexed. Naruto is introduced as a prankster. He's brilliant at surprising people. He's a trickster figure right off the bat. I love trickster figures. Moreover, unlike most trickster figures you find, he's actually a good guy. Not an antihero, but a hero's hero. That is a rare and beautiful thing, let me tell you.
Reason #1 why I think he deserves to be sexed -- he transforms frequently into the figure of a voluptuous blond. Did I mention I have a genderbending kink?
But I'm getting off topic again. Reason #2 -- if you'll recall, when I was discussing Goku I mention rare but notable situations in which he manages to pull off the pissed and smoldering look. For Naruto, this look is usually accompanied by flames (which aid in the slash factor, but detract from the sexiness of the situation). Uh, where was I? Smouldering. Intensity. Naruto knows when to take shit seriously, and I have a feeling that regardless of how he may joke about sex, if he were put in the situation of having sex, with Sasuke particularly (who is a master at sucking the humor out of any given situation), well, hotness would ensue.
To that end, Sasuke and Naruto balance each other out. If Sasuke weren't so pretty/talented/whatever the hell, more people would notice how depressing he is. The boy is depressing as fuck. Naruto, meanwhile, appears to perpetually be suffering from an overdose of antidepressants. Hell -- he is an antidepressant. He manages to inspire everyone around him throughout the series to be simultaneously more driven and more optimistic because he is so driven and optimistic himself.
Reason #3 for my wanting Naruto to be sexed. Is the subtext, of course. He loves Sasuke. He loves him so much. He'd do anything for that guy. And wuv...twu wuv...unfortunately I don't know The Princess Bride well enough to actually finish that quote, but you get where I'm going. Love conquers all, etc.
Naruto could take sex seriously, if you set it up right (which, granted, is kind of hard to do, but so worth it if you put forth the effort). He already takes relationships seriously. He could be good at it because for all that he may lack in book smarts, he's an incredibly fast learner when it comes to any physical skill. He's also very emotionally and physically perceptive of other people. Where there's a will there's a way. Any character can be sexy if you write them properly.
To go back to Goku as an example -- most people watch him shoving a loaf of bread into his mouth and see a distinct lack of social skills. I see a distinct lack of gag reflex.
This post probably isn't going to convince anyone to write Naruto/Sasuke sex, but hopefully it will at least convince a few to give reading it a chance. If I can actually get some Naruto/Sasuke fic written, then maybe I can lead by example and get people to write fic for me that way. People should write fic for me.
Because I'm worth it.
:P
The Goku Syndrome (tentative title)
The main problem I'm seeing in the Naruto fandom -- the one that's forced me to create a guide for the sake of pimping -- is the distinct lack of well written Sasuke/Naruto fic. I think I've finally identified the reason the yaoi fangirls haven't sunk their claws into this pairing. Or rather, none over the age of 13 with any writing ability. The Goku Syndrome.
I ran into a similar case in Saiyuki. Here we had the character Goku, and a ton of subtext for the Sanzo/Goku pairing, but hardly any Sanzo/Goku fic. The easy answer is that Goku is such a kid. He's grossly immature and he's not all that bright. He's overenthusiastic about everything, virtually never gets morose, and only on extremely rare (but very notable) occasions manages to pull off the pissed and smouldering look (insert fangirling here).
Me? I love Goku. At first I didn't know why I loved him because by and large, I cannot abide stupid characters. However, Goku's lack of book smarts is more than made up for in a gross overabundance of street smarts. Goku gets people. Goku doesn't need to sit and ponder an enemy's motivations because he can practically smell them. Challenge him to mah-jong and he's bound to lose, but stick him in a battle situation and he's two steps ahead of the rest of the gang.
No one tries to bullshit Goku and gets away with it. And that is why he is SO AWESOME.
Now, I have an unhealthy fondness for pranksters and trickster figures. Don't get me wrong -- brooding herous are fabulous and sexy characters. They're just not my favorite. This is the reason I loved the movie Daredevil when so many hated it. I wasn't dissappointed by Ben Affleck's portrayal of Daredevil because I wasn't expecting to like the character in the first place -- he's just not my type. Bullseye, on the other hand, blew me away. I adore twitchyneurotic characters, as heroes or as villains (insert yet more fangirling here).
The problem with a character like Goku, a character like Naruto, is that they need to be aged about 5 years before they can really be written properly, and no one knows how to age them, or wants to. Generally people who know how to write adults and write adults well will go ahead and write adults rather than go to the trouble of ageing children.
It's extremely rare to find an adult incarnation of a character like Goku or Naruto. Probably the only example I can come up with offhand is Wally West (The Flash), who chances are you don't know anything about unless you're really into DC comicverse. I'd link you to
thete1's website if only it weren't down right now. Damnit.Jack Sparrow and Agent Sheldon Jeffery Sands are some closebutnotquite personality examples. Ray Kowalski from due South. It's really hard to think of comparative adult characters in live action/western comics because manga comes from a whole different culture. It's really hard to find comparative adult characters in manga, even, because manga plotlines tend to revolve around children or very young adults.
But back to my main point. It was, if I recall, why Naruto is AWESOME and NEEDS TO BE SEXED.
First of all, I think most any character I have an unhealthy fondness for needs to be sexed. Naruto is introduced as a prankster. He's brilliant at surprising people. He's a trickster figure right off the bat. I love trickster figures. Moreover, unlike most trickster figures you find, he's actually a good guy. Not an antihero, but a hero's hero. That is a rare and beautiful thing, let me tell you.
Reason #1 why I think he deserves to be sexed -- he transforms frequently into the figure of a voluptuous blond. Did I mention I have a genderbending kink?
But I'm getting off topic again. Reason #2 -- if you'll recall, when I was discussing Goku I mention rare but notable situations in which he manages to pull off the pissed and smoldering look. For Naruto, this look is usually accompanied by flames (which aid in the slash factor, but detract from the sexiness of the situation). Uh, where was I? Smouldering. Intensity. Naruto knows when to take shit seriously, and I have a feeling that regardless of how he may joke about sex, if he were put in the situation of having sex, with Sasuke particularly (who is a master at sucking the humor out of any given situation), well, hotness would ensue.
To that end, Sasuke and Naruto balance each other out. If Sasuke weren't so pretty/talented/whatever the hell, more people would notice how depressing he is. The boy is depressing as fuck. Naruto, meanwhile, appears to perpetually be suffering from an overdose of antidepressants. Hell -- he is an antidepressant. He manages to inspire everyone around him throughout the series to be simultaneously more driven and more optimistic because he is so driven and optimistic himself.
Reason #3 for my wanting Naruto to be sexed. Is the subtext, of course. He loves Sasuke. He loves him so much. He'd do anything for that guy. And wuv...twu wuv...unfortunately I don't know The Princess Bride well enough to actually finish that quote, but you get where I'm going. Love conquers all, etc.
Naruto could take sex seriously, if you set it up right (which, granted, is kind of hard to do, but so worth it if you put forth the effort). He already takes relationships seriously. He could be good at it because for all that he may lack in book smarts, he's an incredibly fast learner when it comes to any physical skill. He's also very emotionally and physically perceptive of other people. Where there's a will there's a way. Any character can be sexy if you write them properly.
To go back to Goku as an example -- most people watch him shoving a loaf of bread into his mouth and see a distinct lack of social skills. I see a distinct lack of gag reflex.
This post probably isn't going to convince anyone to write Naruto/Sasuke sex, but hopefully it will at least convince a few to give reading it a chance. If I can actually get some Naruto/Sasuke fic written, then maybe I can lead by example and get people to write fic for me that way. People should write fic for me.
Because I'm worth it.
:P
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no subject
Date: 2005-05-30 07:33 am (UTC)Ah hah. XD; I know this is about SasuNaru (NaruSasu?) but that line just made me want to go back and read your fic again.
There is so much irony here for me, since I just finished reading my first Naruto/Sasuke fic...
no subject
Date: 2005-05-30 01:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-30 04:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-30 08:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-30 01:40 pm (UTC)As it was, I ended up loving Spiderman, for the completely shallow reason that he was ridiculously limber.
no subject
Date: 2005-05-30 10:55 am (UTC)I always thought it was less the immaturity and more the lack of angst. It's hard to write IC angsty Naruto and this seems like it detracts from his appeal. The immaturity also works as an explanation though, especially if you've seen it in other fandoms. I do agree though: Naruto is awesome and needs to be sexed.
(oh and I friended you BTW, as a fellow Naruto fan)
no subject
Date: 2005-05-30 01:37 pm (UTC)Could you expand on this? I'm not sure I'm getting your meaning.
Lack of angst as in lack of brooding? There are plenty of situations where Naruto could brood but doesn't. He's had a pretty miserable life, only he's learned not to dwell on it. I've read plenty of characters in other fandoms who don't brood either, but are still well liked and well written, most in live action, but a few in anime as well.
Though now that I think of it, neither do these characters approach life with the unrivaled glee that Naruto does. I always thought it was his overenthusiasm that made people percieve him as overly childlike. His approach to life is that of a kid in a candy store.
Friending is fine!
no subject
Date: 2005-05-30 08:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-31 05:39 am (UTC)::looks at long list of unfinished fic::
::cringes::
no subject
Date: 2005-05-31 09:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-30 02:16 pm (UTC)I can clearly see unwavering loyalty and love and so on with Goku and Sanzo (with Goku and all of them, in fact) but I can't handle teh seX0r.
no subject
Date: 2005-05-30 03:39 pm (UTC)Of course, it's a bit easier for me to picture young teenagers doing it because I am one, for another 4 months.
::is so young and nubile::
no subject
Date: 2005-05-30 03:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-30 04:59 pm (UTC)Naruto's got that to an extent, but until recently in the manga, he's been 12, and that sort of overwhelms anything else - he's got his moments of insight, but like most 12-year-old boys his brain is balancing the moments of deep insight with a bunch of fart jokes. I haven't been able to find much fic (er, genfic - 12-year-old Naruto isn't my thing) that really hits that balance which is, to me, an essential part of his character.
no subject
Date: 2005-05-31 05:35 am (UTC)<3
no subject
Date: 2005-05-31 05:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-31 05:54 am (UTC)Man, I love Naruto. Just the way he is. I'm hoping amidst all the meta I'll actually get something creative done for him. I wrote a short Sasuke/Naruto fic a week back that I'm pretty sure was all kinds of ass. I'm currently working on ideas for a second, hopefully less crappy fic for the pairing. I have ideas for a music video.
I don't have time for any of this. This fandom is going to kill me. Kill me dead.
no subject
Date: 2005-05-31 06:24 pm (UTC)To add to that, what always cinched it to me is how much they *need* each other. They, as you say, balance each other. Most days I think the only thing keeping Sasuke sane (as sane as he gets, anyway...) is Naruto - the living proof that there's someone else out there who's life has sucked beyond imagining and still manages to stay happy. And Naruto needs him right back - The drive to prove Sasuke wrong strikes me as a higher motivating factor then his desire to become the next Hokage. So much love.
As for the age bit, you might be right on that being the obstacle for many authors, but I also feel that it shouldn't be (make sense, much?). Even if, yeah, 12 is a little young for sex, it's not to young for romance and UST. I've worked with kids that age and trust me, they're more then ready for it. And you can always age 'em a couple of years.
Cheers!
no subject
Date: 2005-05-31 10:35 pm (UTC)Of course there's room for young romance and UST, but most slash fans, me included, aren't all that interested in UST unless it leads up to something more. Often the whole point of slash is writing what you don't get to see in canon. You get to see plenty of Naruto/Sasuke UST in canon.
Writing realistic character growth is actually really hard to do. Your basically trying to change someone's personality without losing sight of their core character. It's especially hard with someone like Naruto, where you don't have too many examples of what this kind of character is like as an adult, and he's not easy to understand/relate to.
I think that was one of my main reasons for starting these meta posts. To help others, but mostly to help myself understand and get to know Naruto better.
Thanks for reading! I'll be going more into Naruto's need to prove himself to Sasuke and the two balancing each other out in my next guide post.