Akamatsuverse What's with all the Naru hate?

[Shiakou]

Characterization is important to me. Doesn't matter if you like or hate that character, if the characterization is just 'wrong', how am I supposed to relate this back to the original source material?

Especially if you want others to see where you're getting at. I mean, what would be more effective? Showing why Keitaro and Naru are not meant to be together... while keeping both in character? Or... making Naru into some uber bitch with tenticles? I rest my case.

But the fact is that, without something drastic to change their characters, Keitaro and Naru will inevitably end up together. Her indecisiveness and violence would scare off, or worse, kill off anyone else. His pure stubborness and tunnel vision would keep him after her.

As a character, neither of them really ever developed. Naru was violent towards Keitaro from beginning to end. Even if you say "it's only slapstick" and changed the punches to simple slaps. . . that's still how many slaps per volume? Keitaro, on the other hand, was just pathetic. He's nice, stubborn, and has the endurance/stamina of the Energizer Bunny, but that's it. <s>And he became a lawyer? The only way I see him winning a case would be if he drowned his opponent in documents because he stayed up for a month without sleeping to type them up, then agreed to settle because he was too nice to actually inflict serious punishment.</s> My bad, he became an archeologist. In which case, he's stamina would be an advantage since those guys don't keep regular hours.

So, if I was depending on canon characterization, how would I make Keitaro and Naru's marriage work and at the same time preserve the athmosphere of Love Hina as a harem manga?

"I wonder why Sempai wanted us to all come at once." Motoko mused as she climbed the stairs to Hinata Sou.

"Maybe she wants to share Kei-kun with us?" Mutsumi answered before promptly tripping over a step. Motoko caught her easily, long used to the other girl's clumsiness.

"I seriously doubt that. Sempai isn't the type to share." she said as she placed the girl back on her feet.

"Yeah." Mitsune laughed. "Naru's possessive as hell. There's no way that's gonna be true."

"Maybe she just wants to play." Su put in. Unlike the others, she wasn't walking but sitting on a floating Mecha Tama which carried her upstairs.

"Then it wouldn't have been an emergency." Motoko objected.

"Well, why not ask her in person?" Mitsune quipped and waved as she spotted her friend at the teashop. "Hey Naru, how ya do- whoah! What happened to you? You look like. . . like. . ."

"Like you haven't been eating enough watermelon." Mutsumi said and pressed the younger girl's forehead to her own. "Do you feel alright?"

"No, I don't feel alright." Naru replied. "That's why I called you all here."

"Where's Keitaro?" Mitsune asked. "Does he know about your problem?"

"Keitaro is the problem." her friend answered through clenched teeth. "He did this to me."

Su took a look at Naru. She had become thinner since the last time they had seen her, had bags under her eyes, and her clothes were rumpled. "What, he hasn't been giving you enough food? That doesn't sound like Keitaro."

Naru ignored the question and asked, "Can we go inside? I don't want him to know about this and my back is killing me."

They went inside and found Shinobu peeking out a window towards Hinata Sou.

"Welcome home, everyone." she said warmly but her face was taut in concern. "Naru-san, is this really neccessary? It doesn't feel right hiding this from him."

"We wouldn't be doing this if it weren't for him, so who cares what he thinks?" Naru snapped, then cursed herself. "Sorry Shinobu-chan. I'm just a bundle of nerves right now."

"Just what did he do to you?" Motoko asked. Her old fears about Keitaro threatened to return but she banished them to the farthest corners of her mind. "I can't believe he would ever intentionally hurt you."

"Keitaro hurting anyone? Especially Naru? Yeah, when pigs fly." Mitsune frowned, then looked at Su. "You haven't started making flying pigs, have you?"

"Nah. They're on next month's schedule."

"I know it's hard to believe, but Keitaro is the problem." Naru insisted.

Shinobu put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her and calm her somewhat. "Perhaps you should tell them the wholse story before they misunderstand."

Mitsune wondered why the girl was blushing as she said it, but told herself that that was nothing new for Shinobu.

"All right." Naru took a deep breath. "I. . . the problem is Keitaro."

She paused, took a look around as if someone else could be listening, then continued.

"Specifically, Keitaro and sex."

". . ."

The other girls weren't quite sure how to respond to that statement. Naru was a bit surprised herself; she didn't expect Su and Mutsumi to take it seriously, but they were actually thinking on it.

"So." Mitsune continued. "He makes you do weird things during it?"

"Does he hit you?" Motoko asked. She blushed. "I've heard some men like that sort of stuff. . . but I never thought of him as the type."

'Wonder where she heard that.' ran through Mitsune's head, but again she didn't pay it any mind.

"I wish." Naru said and slumped down. "It might have been easier if it was anything like that, but it's worse."

"Worse?" Su asked.

"Kei-kun wouldn't . . ." Mutsumi trailed off. She looked like a child about to be told that Santa wasn't real.

"He just doesn't stop."

"Eh?"

Naru looked up with tears in her eyes and grabbed onto Mitsune, willing her to understand.

"He just doesn't stop! On our honeymoon we went at it for twelve hours straight. "Fine!", I say. After all it was enjoyable and it's not like every night was going to be like that. But the next night, we went for another ten. And the night after that too. Even when we came home, we do it for at least six hours until I fall asleep from exhaustion. And it's always me! He never falls asleep while doing it and when I wake up, he's already up and chipper as if he got a week's sleep! And you know, I've never actually seen his. . . his thing go down! I mean once it goes up, it stays up!"

"Aren't you . . . exagerrating a little?" Motoko asked, though her face was crimson. "I mean, I've never heard on anyone so-"

"You know how stubborn he was about getting into Tokyo U, right? How he would never give up no matter what?" Naru glared. "Replace Tokyo U with sex, and what have you got?"

"Oh my." said Mutsumi.

"I knew you wouldn't believe me right away." Naru said. "So I asked Shinobu to tape us one night."

Mitsune whistled. "Didn't know you had it in you, Shinobu-chan."

Shinobu blushed. "Actually, I set up the recorder in the closet, then fainted while they were taking off their clothes. But when I woke up at around four in the morning, they were still going at it. And I fainted again."

Mitsune shook her head. "Well, it sounds like you're one lucky lady, Naru-chan, so what's wrong?"

"Lucky?" Naru shrieked. "I'm always late to work! I don't get enough sleep! I'm constantly dehydrated and I get cramps every hour! And finally, it's just humiliating! Women are supposed to last longer than men!"

Motoko was taken aback by Naru's vehemence, but felt the question had to be asked. "But, what do you want us to do about it?"

Naru whirled around and grasped Mutsumi by the shoulders. "Mutsumi-san, you've always liked Keitaro, haven't you?"

At Mutsumi's nod, Naru continued. "How would you like to help me prove to him that I'm better at sex than he is?"

. . . Forgive me, I wanted it to be canon, but somehow it turned into crack. . .

 

[SimmyC]

You can always argue that fanfiction by its nature, forces someone to be 'OOC' in order for something different to happen. After all, you're right. Keitaro's stubbornness (exemplified by the fact that he refuses to give up on a childhood promise. Even as everyone around him was basically saying... quit it) is one of the reasons why the 'canon' pairing was Naru/Keitaro. As 'wrong' as a lot of readers (like myself) may look at it, a very strong argument could be made saying "It's simply just the way they are". So if we want something that goes against it, even making him 'less' stubborn can be argued as OOC.

Even a 'life changing' situation fic will still make a character OOC. I mean, Naru dies of a heart attack. I doubt we'll see Keitaro being the same now will we?

That being said, knowing this, IMO, even 'close' enough is good enough for me. If the only thing you changed was Keitaro being 'a little less stubborn', but you keep everything else the same about him, that's fine in my book.

And even in Love Hina, slight changes (Keitaro fell asleep and failed the test he was supposed to succeed) is one of the ways fanfic writers like to 'change' things around with Love Hina. It certainly what the most popular fics we all come to know and love have done. Going by the idea that fanfiction itself causes OOCness, obviously these fics are not immune. But given the changes, you can argue that any OOCness, would have been 'IC' given that the circumstances change. I'm not talking crackfic "Keitaro is John Cena' changes. But, stubborn and determined faced with the reality of failing Toudai while Naru got in changes.

 

[David Alan Abramczyk]

Naru whirled around and grasped Mutsumi by the shoulders. "Mutsumi-san, you've always liked Keitaro, haven't you?"

At Mutsumi's nod, Naru continued. "How would you like to help me prove to him that I'm better at sex than he is?

And imagine Naru's suprise when she discovers that Mutsumi is the only girl capable of stemming Keitaro's unbelievable sexual appetites?

A fic of that should be written.

 

[Shiakou]

Naru whirled around and grasped Mutsumi by the shoulders. "Mutsumi-san, you've always liked Keitaro, haven't you?"

At Mutsumi's nod, Naru continued. "How would you like to help me prove to him that I'm better at sex than he is?

And imagine Naru's suprise when she discovers that Mutsumi is the only girl capable of stemming Keitaro's unbelievable sexual appetites?

A fic of that should be written.

The way I was thinking it, Mutsumi was just the start. And the second one (after Naru) to fall victim to Keitaro's ability. Hell, the girl has anemia. I don't think she'll last an hour, let alone the six or so Keitaro regularly maintains.

So Naru starts nagging the other girls to "help out". And one by one they fall. . . :snigger:

 

[OniGanon]

But the fact is that, without something drastic to change their characters, Keitaro and Naru will inevitably end up together.

It's not necessarily the characters that must be changed to affect the outcome. You can just change the events. One of the things I've noticed about Love Hina is that whenever there looks to be a serious chance of one of the other girls getting close to Keitaro, the Heavy Hand of God is there to intervene and make sure it stays Kei/Naru. If you take away that divine intervention, it's not that hard to have an alternate pairing.

A real simple one, for instance, would be to allow Keitaro's date with Mutsumi to go uninterrupted by explosives.

Another one, which has been used before, would be to take away those damn clothespegs. You know the ones.

 

[PCHeintz72]

At Mutsumi's nod, Naru continued. "How would you like to help me prove to him that I'm better at sex than he is?"

I actually thought the whole scenario funny, but this line bugged me. I fail to see any way that inviting other women to help sate a husband is going to prove the woman is better at sex than he is...

Also... I'm certain, were they *really* having sex that constantly, she would be having other issues besides that shown. It is actually dangerous for the woman for medical reasons. Reasons I shant go into, as this is not the lemon forum section.

 

[GenocideHeart]

Also... I'm certain, were they *really* having sex that constantly, she would be having other issues besides that shown. It is actually dangerous for the woman for medical reasons. Reasons I shant go into, as this is not the lemon forum section.

Chafing sums up the biggest issue that going at it 10+ hours would cause. And yes, it happens. To men, too, but for women it's worse cuz it's internal.

See, you don't have to delve into smutty descriptions to explain the problems. You can be vague enough that those who know what you are talking about will get it, and others won't. :snigger:

 

[Luthorne]

Unless, of course, Keitaro's legendary toughness prevents him from suffering from chafing. Even there. So...only Naru suffers.

Personally, I don't hate Naru, but I don't really like her that much as a character. She is indecisive, and seems a little too quick to go after Keitaro as a first response.

I'd honestly rather see Keitaro wind up with someone else...like Koalla Su, Shinobu, Kanako, Amalla, Mei, Nyamo, Tsukuro...hmm, wonder if there's one where, after, say, seven or so years, he hooks up with Sarah? Might be interesting...hell, even a realistic threesome might prove to be interesting, if approached correctly...

Most of that, though, is just because I like things to wind up a little different. Alternate universes, crossovers, and continuations that go down strange routes are some of my favorite types of fanfics, in general.

Oh, and crack can be fun too. Lord Raa, I am looking at you with my digital eyes! :snigger:

 

[Lord Raa]

Oh, and crack can be fun too. Lord Raa, I am looking at you with my digital eyes! :snigger:

What ever could you mean?

You're not suggesting that I get around to writing some more of Ass Chamber or Can't Believe are you?

 

[SimmyC]

As noted before, it doesn't always have to be the 'character themselves' changing to affect the outcome. But the events surrounded them could. Love Hina, as mentioned before again, is full of that 'Hand of God' ensuring they will be together.

That being said, even changing these doesn't necessarily mean that the characters will not be "OOC" if you take the idea that everyone must be PERFECTLY IC. You can argue, even without the 'Hand of God' affecting events, the pairing would still be Naru/Keitaro if they remain the way they were.

I don't agree but hey. It's possible to write a good fic showing how even with those major changes, Keitaro still gets with Naru. I'm not the one to write that of course. But it's possible.

As for that crack fic, well, it is a crack fic. Crack fics don't follow standard rules most of the time. Problem is, how much reality are you going to put into said fic to make it believable? The more reality you put into it, then you HAVE to consider GH and PCHeintz72's concerns. Too much Sex is not always a good thing.

And if you have Keitaro not having the problem, but Naru... again, how much reality are you putting in said fic? After all, we've concluded that the humor of Love Hina, the violence at least, is cartoony violence. His immortality was only a factor in the "Looney Toons" sense. Unless you made Keitaro really immortal like my fic, than it would simply be unfair for him not to be uneffected by this.

 

[Luthorne]

Oh, and crack can be fun too. Lord Raa, I am looking at you with my digital eyes! :snigger:

What ever could you mean?

You're not suggesting that I get around to writing some more of Ass Chamber or Can't Believe are you?

Nah, just citing you as a source of delectable crack. Of course, if you want to work on those, well, I'm certainly not going to object... :sisi:

 

[Shiakou]

I actually thought the whole scenario funny, but this line bugged me. I fail to see any way that inviting other women to help sate a husband is going to prove the woman is better at sex than he is...

In that snippet, Naru's not exactly thinking straight. She's stressed, demolarized, feeling humiliated and desperate. She's got it in her head that as long as she's the one still standing by the end, she "wins". That she's voiding the argument by cheating escapes her for now, and by the time she realizes it, it's far too late to go back.

Also... I'm certain, were they *really* having sex that constantly, she would be having other issues besides that shown. It is actually dangerous for the woman for medical reasons. Reasons I shant go into, as this is not the lemon forum section.

Chafing sums up the biggest issue that going at it 10+ hours would cause. And yes, it happens. To men, too, but for women it's worse cuz it's internal.

See, you don't have to delve into smutty descriptions to explain the problems. You can be vague enough that those who know what you are talking about will get it, and others won't.?

I vaguely knew about those problems, but lack of time and proper research made me decide to keep them unmentioned except for the backache. If this was a serious fic, I'd say to feel free that the issues existed. As a crackfic, I'm not sure if I should keep it in; they might be serious issues, but they can also be usable as a plot device.

Unless, of course, Keitaro's legendary toughness prevents him from suffering from chafing. Even there. So...only Naru suffers.

Exactly. :snigger:

As for that crack fic, well, it is a crack fic. Crack fics don't follow standard rules most of the time. Problem is, how much reality are you going to put into said fic to make it believable? The more reality you put into it, then you HAVE to consider GH and PCHeintz72's concerns. Too much Sex is not always a good thing.

And if you have Keitaro not having the problem, but Naru... again, how much reality are you putting in said fic? After all, we've concluded that the humor of Love Hina, the violence at least, is cartoony violence. His immortality was only a factor in the "Looney Toons" sense. Unless you made Keitaro really immortal like my fic, than it would simply be unfair for him not to be uneffected by this.

I personally believe Keitaro, if not technically immortal, is at least very, very tough. Yes, most of the violence would probably be simply slapstick. However, his immortality is also present at more serious times, like the fight with Tsuruko. Unless of course, you also consider their swordskills to be purely cartoony violence as well.

So assuming that this was a serious fic, here's how I would react to the following;

a. Keitaro getting hit by one of Motoko's chi attacks and not suffering anything more than a scratch=Entirely believable.

b. Keitaro getting hit by a truck going eighty miles per hour and not suffering a scratch=Strains believability. If he's injured but fine again by the next day with only one or two broken bones, it rebounds back to the realm of the believable.

c. Keitaro getting hit directly by a full power Kamehame-ha from SSJ4 Goku and surviving=unbelievable.

But then we have this.

d. Keitaro getting hit by Gurren-Lagann and emerging unscathed=Completely believable. Because in TTGL's universe, willpower is everything.

 

[PCHeintz72]

Also...á I'm certain, were they *really* having sex that constantly, she would be having other issues besides that shown.á It is actually dangerous for the woman for medical reasons.á Reasons I shant go into, as this is not the lemon forum section.

Chafing sums up the biggest issue that going at it 10+ hours would cause. And yes, it happens. To men, too, but for women it's worse cuz it's internal.

See, you don't have to delve into smutty descriptions to explain the problems. You can be vague enough that those who know what you are talking about will get it, and others won't. :snigger:

Well... You have a point. It can be discussed.

On the other hand... beside chaffing, I was also thinking of tearing and other tissue damage. It would not be going to far to believe it as a valid concern considering just how much and how often we are talking.

I don't read as many lemon stories as some, but not many actually bother to cover that.

Strange, considering all the other obscene things that get covered often enough.

In any case, considering it is a simple crack story, and has been pointed out by others, I suppose it does not need to be covered for such. Any longer story I read had best do so though.

The simple phrase from Star Trek TOS, and repeated 10 billion other places for quoting: 'To much of anything, even love, is not necessarily a good thing.

 

[SimmyC]

I personally believe Keitaro, if not technically immortal, is at least very, very tough. Yes, most of the violence would probably be simply slapstick. However, his immortality is also present at more serious times, like the fight with Tsuruko. Unless of course, you also consider their swordskills to be purely cartoony violence as well.

To an extent it is. After all, we're having Ki attacks up the wazoo. Real life doesn't have Ki attacks.

Also, even when it got to those 'serious' moments between Tsuruko and Motoko, it still added to the 'light fluffiness' of the series.

And sword play is one thing. But if you notice, Keitaro was NEVER cut. So no true slicing and dicing. Yes, he survives attacks that would have killed any man. But then, that's true when Naru attacked him. Never mind the fact that Naru's punches themselves are impossible.

Oh, and when it truly got serious (like when Naru refused to answer whether she loved Keitaro back right before the Toudai Ceremony), what happened when the roof fell on him? Keitaro... broke his leg. Immortality? Not quite. Durable yeah. Immortal no.

But a crack fic is a crack fic. It doesn't always have to follow rules normal fics have to. But then, like I said before, it all depends on how far you want to take it.

 

[Shiakou]

To an extent it is. After all, we're having Ki attacks up the wazoo. Real life doesn't have Ki attacks.

Also, even when it got to those 'serious' moments between Tsuruko and Motoko, it still added to the 'light fluffiness' of the series.

And sword play is one thing. But if you notice, Keitaro was NEVER cut. So no true slicing and dicing. Yes, he survives attacks that would have killed any man. But then, that's true when Naru attacked him. Never mind the fact that Naru's punches themselves are impossible.

Oh, and when it truly got serious (like when Naru refused to answer whether she loved Keitaro back right before the Toudai Ceremony), what happened when the roof fell on him? Keitaro... broke his leg. Immortality? Not quite. Durable yeah. Immortal no.

But a crack fic is a crack fic. It doesn't always have to follow rules normal fics have to. But then, like I said before, it all depends on how far you want to take it.

Yes, real life doesn't have that stuff. But the Akamatsuverse does. Hence, Negima. Also, flying turtles. Molmol. The Red Moon stuff. The reality of the Akamatsuverse is different from our (scientifically accepted) reality, and while it can be convenient to suggest things from our reality, that can only extend so far because the Akamatsuverse is not reality. It is fantasy; the story of a guy who spends half-a-decade trying for the same college again and again, becoming the manager for a girl's dorm, and having adventures with a large helping of romance (or vice-versa). And when we talk about realism about such fantasy, we generally mean that that universe should follow it's own set of rules, not that it would follow our rules.

Otherwise you massacre catgirls.

Take it like this. If I were to write a serious, "realistic" Love Hina fic, should I take out the flying turtles, the magical girls, and all those other elements that basically characterize Akamatsu's work just because they don't exist in real life?

So, do I take the Ki attacks seriously? Yes.

Do I take Keitaro's faux immortality seriously? Yes.

Do I take Su's transformation, royalty, and ability to produce WMDs on the fly seriously? Yes.

And that doesn't make the fic automatically crack. That just makes it fantasy.

 

[SimmyC]

I'm sorry if I failed to covey this. I'm well aware that the story is fantasy. After all, when I was mentioning the Ki attacks, real life doesn't have Ki attacks right? It was the point I was trying to make when trying to pass Keitaro's immortality as well, more than that. It is fantasy. Hell, I had fun using it as a basis of one of my stories. <_<

But then, Keitaro's faux immortality was not enough to save him from breaking a leg. The point I was trying to make was that certain things Akamatsu did still relate to reality. Yes, flying turtles, red moon, Hell, Keitaro surviving a punch by Naru which is in of itself impossible, are not. Emotions on the other hand are. At least, Akamatsu tries in this case. And when he broke his leg... Keitaro wasn't truly immortal then. And really, besides being launched into LEO, you don't see him jumping off a cliff anytime soon do ya? h43r:

 

[Shiakou]

Then perhaps "cartoony violence" isn't quite the term either of us want. . . what I meant was that, should we consider Keitaro's toughness as "true" as far as the Akamatsuverse is concerned and not simply an illusion to produce comedy? And to what extent? (Him not jumping off cliffs is just as likely cause it still hurts even if there's no permanent damage. . . most of the time anyway. The broken leg seems to be an anomaly compared to the rest of the series.)

Same with Motoko's Ki attacks and swordstyles. Should we consider them "true"? And to what extent? Do we accept that someone like Tsuruko would be able to truly fight on the same level as Setsuna did in Negima?

 

[JiigarGhen]

I'm inclined to say that Keitaro's toughness is a superpower of sorts. That is, it protects him from other people, but can't shield him from his own actions. Hence the broken leg. ^_^

 

[SimmyC]

Nah. I still see it as just that. Cartoony (as I see a big part of Love Hina as I look back on it). Just that, Akamatsu integrates it into a weird mix with a 'semi-serious' aspect of a wannabe romance series. And the Ki attacks? Well Ki attacks are stuff even 'serious' series have. From the looks of it Akamatsu, given the semi-fanciful nature of the series, added them just for the Hell of it, and yes, seemed natural given the nature of the series.

The true supernatural parts, besides the Ki attacks, include the Red Moon and the flying turtle. Flying turtles though could be excused as a 'new' species not seen before. Red Moon? No way around it. People just don't 'grow up' when there is a Red Moon. Proving that Love Hina is, what it always was, Fantasy.

That being said, Keitaro's immortality is for the most part, not mentioned in the series besides a few 'inside jokes' (like one scene where he and Naru were standing above a cliff. Keitaro mentioned that Naru wouldn't survive, but he would). Does this mean that Keitaro has super powers and really is immortal? Doubt it. If we go there, than we will say that Naru has super powers too (she launches him into LEO. Superman would be impressed. Japanese JSDF should be knocking at her door).

I still say that the reason why he broke his leg, besides showing he really isn't immortal, was due to the 'playful' Love Hina wasn't really there. I mean, the whole plot device of Naru not admitting her feelings, Keitaro trying but failing, suddenly changed during the time he broke his leg. Before, after he chased after her (or vice versa), things would go back to normal. They refused to admit what everyone else say, etc. and he does something that looks perverted. And he goes into LEO. But then Keitaro not only succeeded in getting into Toudai, but he admitted his feelings to Naru. But Naru... didn't change (besides getting into Toudai with him). She was still the same and, ran away. Leaving Keitaro with a big ??? over what her feelings were for him. If that isn't a mood changer, I don't know what is.

Don't get me wrong. Using or even saying he's immortal is perfectly fine for fanfic purposes. Hell *points to own fics*. ^_^ Just that, IMO, and from what I've seen of the manga, can't say it canon wise.

[edit]And no, saying he is immortal doesn't mean said fic is crack. Other aspects would make it crack mind you (Naru, asking the other girls to have sex with Keitaro? THAT is crack). My fic even, what's crack about it isn't that Keitaro is immortal. It's the fact his cousin is really his grandmother.

 

[Uldihaa]

Don't get me wrong. Using or even saying he's immortal is perfectly fine for fanfic purposes. Hell *points to own fics*.? ^_^ Just that, IMO, and from what I've seen of the manga, can't say it canon wise.

Actually there is quite a bit of Lampshade hanging about Keitaro's 'immortality' (just about every character comments on it at one point or another). The fact that he only breaks his leg when he get an onion-dome dropped on him actually supports the idea of his immortality; anyone else would probably have been killed (I believe at least one character comments on it when visiting him). I think you might be confusing 'invulnerable' with 'immortal'. The first is immunity to damage, the other is immunity to death. And while Keitaro is highly resistant to damage, he does get hurt; he doesn't, however, get killed. Though I do agree that it's more for comedy's sake than any particular super-power...he's immortal because he's the main character .

Now to the reason I'm necroing this thread was mainly because I've gotten back to re-reading Love Hina (out of boredom mostly) and decided to at least make my opinion of Naru known.

My dislike of Naru is based on her wishy-washiness when it comes to Keitaro. Her violence never really bothered me except the times when she doesn't have any excuse for it at all (which comes, for the most part, in the later half of the manga). If you look at many of the situations from her POV, at least some of it is justified (but by no means all of it). There are times in the beginning when she could have belted Kei, and been justified in doing so, but did not. For example: when she first helps him study and they get interrupted by Kitsune. Kei hides under the kontatsu... and while trying to find the switch to turn it off puts his thumb and forefinger in a highly inappropriate spot (it could be said he found a switch, just not quite the right one ). Instead of hitting him, Naru laughs about it. Of course, this just brings to light those times when she should have just laughed it off and didn't.

Another reason I dislike her (though I can't say I hate her) is due to the way that she only seems to 'want' Keitaro when some other girl seems to be getting close to him (and there are way too many examples to list). It's her jealousy and possessiveness, despite never admitting how she feels until pretty much the end, that irritated me. While I can somewhat understand her indecisive nature (she did spend all of high-school studying and thus has only slightly more experience with romance than Motoko) it still pissed me off with the way she played the 'push 'im away, pull 'im close' game.

There was something brought up in a much older thread about Naru's tutoring of Keitaro probably screwed up her own chances to pass the exam. I missed this discussion, but found myself agreeing that it did cause her to fail; or at least played a large part in it. I'm bringing this up because one of the arguments was that she agreed to tutor, and thus it was her fault for not studying as much as she should. What seemed, to me, to be overlooked was that Keitaro badgered her into it. He made it abundantly clear that he would keep interrupting her studying until she helped him (he first asks her straight out, she says no; then he comes back with hot-choco 'to help her study'). From her POV she had two choices: Keep telling him no, and keep suffering massive interruptions or agree to help him and (hopefully) only suffer fairly minor interruptions. At that point, she chooses what she probably thought would cause her the least amount of trouble, only to find out that Kei was so far behind her that helping him was at least as disruptive as not doing so. In the end she spends way more time helping him than she really had to spare (from what I understand, when she says that those studying for exams have no spare time, she's not joking at all).

As an aside, I was actually really annoyed with Akamatsu with the way Kei actually passes the exam. For all the studying he does, it's his freakish luck that actually allows him to pass (I think he would have passed if he'd not fallen asleep but this still annoyed me).

When I actually sit down and think about her character, I find that my feelings for her 'see-saw' back and forth; sometimes I like her, but most of the time I don't .

EDT: Is this really Akamatsu's wife? Cause if it is, I feel a strong urge to beat the crap out of him (it's pure envy, but still...).

 

[jaredstar]

as i understand it yes that is his wife (lucky s.o.B)

 

[Terdwilicker]

There's been a video about Akamatu's wife. She's young, likes cosplay, and is very pretty for a japanese. So yes, what you're complaining about is probably true. Consider that LH and Akamatsu's work has been around at least 10 years and you won't mind him having a cosplay babe for a wife. Never feel jealous. There's 6.5 billion people on earth. 51% of them women, half of them hot babes. Never feel jealous. They're hungry for you.

 

[Vexarian]

Personally, I like Naru as a character. Because it's painfully, painfully obvious that the violence is all incredibly exaggerated, or invented on the spot for comedic effect, regardless of the sense, or rather nonsense behind it.

Personally I'm not a great fan of that style of Slapstick, and if/when I write a Love Hina Fic, I'd probably represent it in a more acceptable manner, at least concerning western audiences.

For example, the number of violent "Offenses" Would be drastically reduced, all of the no-reason attacks would be nixed, and the remainder would include actual reasoning behind it, for example, switching to Naru's perspective, or thought processes.

Of course, that's for another day, if I ever actually get to writing that fic...

Also, much like SimmyC, characterization is very, very important for me, OoC characters will hurl me out of a fic so fast I'll yank a few hundred hits out of it with me.

Bashing is bad, regardless of who does it, what character receives it, or how it's written.

And by the way, I'm going to bite the next person to HAET! any character in my presence.

*Inhales deeply, and raises fist in fury*

DAMN YOU AKAMAAAAAAAAATSUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!

Freaking mangaka, getting all the luck...

 

[Mr. Lee]

Heh, unfortunately I was the victim of said bite, even though the reason was a de-motivator joke I made on said character (I'm still using oitment for that bite Vex. Sheesh man, it was just a joke :sweat2: .).

Since this my first time reading such a thread on the brunette, I'll toss in my 2 cents.

Now I'll be the first one to say that Narusegawa is a smart and beautiful girl. But in all the years I've read mangas, and seen characters that are similar in premise to her personality wise (Sakura, Akane, Asuka, Kagome), Naru is undeniably the worse. In my opinion, her personality practically screams 'bitch', and that's what makes me angry with her most of all (I'm not a basher, but that's how I feel.). As much as I love a woman with a beautiful outside, I also look at their inner personality as well, even when I enter the fantasy that is anime/manga. And despite her few good moments, the negative ones stick out to most fans. And that's something that will forever make her one of the biggest love/hate characters in anime/manga.

Now as far as the anime goes, which I watch solely for research for my fic A change of pace, I will agree that's where most of the haters get their fuel. Her short temper and jealousy streak knew no bounds (She was actually jealous of Moe, the doll from Keitaro's childhood, which was truly sad... :no: .). And then at the end, everybody gets on Keitaro's case when he chooses Mutsumi over Naru and pretty much pressures him to go to her to the point that he leaves her in the dust (Another thing that pissed me off about the anime.).

Now as far as the manga goes, as exaggerated as Naru's infamous Naru punches are, it does get kind of tiresome and downright pisses you off eventually since it comes off as plain malicious instead of comical. Two perfect examples, 1) When she asked Keitaro to close his eyes to punch him at Tokyo U after the the diary incident (And had the gall to smile afterwards, which made her more wrong than Keitaro as far as his actions go.), and 2) When she knocked him into orbit when she (Along with everyone else.) assumed without evidence that Keitaro slept with Mutsumi and got her pregnant (Which she considered a PETTY ISSUE afterwards, which is funny when she told him he should drop dead.) which made a gentleman like myself want to smack her, as shameful as it sounds.

And of course, we can't forget her indecisiveness. I think that, despite the fact that she became #1 in the character poll in the manga, really annoyed the fans overall.

I have to stop for a moment. But I'm not done.

 

[Mr. Lee]

In my eyes, it wasn't simply the fact that she despite all the names she called Keitaro, she couldn't say three simple words to him (It took Kitsune's intervention for her to even start talking to him again after said confession.). But the overall consequences of doing so that caused her own friends to turn against her (In Vol 11, her deception to Kanako nearly caused Hinata-sou to nearly be blown up (Even Motoko herself pointed this fact out.).). Hell, even when she finally said those words (After nearly killing Keitaro.) and got into a relationship with him, she still was indecisive that it became plain stupid, especially in the last volume (Her cutting off Hina and Keitaro's phone call, getting jealous of Nyamo, getting drunk and nearly 'raping' Keitaro in his sleep.). But her overall reasons for her indecisiveness was revealed ironically by Naru herself, when she told Kanako, and I quote to the best of my memory:

'I'm selfish. All I care about is myself. How Keitaro fell in love with someone like me, I'll never know...'

That seriously made me lose serious respect with her, even after she said those three words and despite her honesty. Because simply put, she said them because she was afraid of being alone (Which is strange since Mutsumi AND Kitsune put their own feelings and happiness aside just so she could be happy.). All in all, I just can't help but dislike her. And despite our different opinions, we'll always look at a person's negatives instead of their positives, especially if their plenty of them.