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Oh no, not more anime meta!
May. 30th, 2005 12:24 amWhat 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
