I have opinions!

[slayerofgod]

Akise Aru of Future Diary is your stereotypical yaoi fanservice character. He very clearly says he loves the main character (it's unrequited, naturally), and even says that Yukiteru is the only thing that really matters to him. As a result, the entire female side of the fandom loves him, and the subsequent pairing is easily the most popular.

On the other hand, Yuno is the same way. She puts every other yandere that ever existed to shame, for reasons too numerous to mention here. And what is the reaction of the same fans who love Akise? To bash her, naturally.

Now granted, Yuno is psychotic. Anybody who shows the remote possibility of getting in-between her and Yukiteru she is very willing to physically harm, even his mother. But this belies the larger problem. This problem is the inherent hypocrisy of these fans, as Yuno is not the only character they do this to.

Any female character who is in love with a male character and considers his well-being one of her top priorities is ruthlessly hammered. From Tifa from Final Fantasy, to Relena from Gundam Wing, to Cheria from Tales of, and so on. Yet when the shoe is on the other foot, not only is it ignored, but encouraged.

I am not saying you have to like any of these female characters who do this. What I am saying is not to love the male characters who do it at the same time. It's horribly hypocritical and frankly, misogynist.

Comments

[sincere]

...I don't know what series you're talking about, and heaven knows I'm not defending misogynist slash fangirls, of which there are a truly depressing number, and whom I find truly to the depths of my heart repulsive.

But you asserted in this post that there is some sort of hypocrisy, and not just hypocrisy but HORRIBLE hypocrisy, MISOGYNISTIC hypocrisy, involved in liking a "guy who says he loves Character X more than anything", but not liking a "girl who says she loves Character X more than anything and was going to torture and/or murder his mother if she got in their way."

That is the most incredibly, obviously false equivalence I have ever heard, unless you left out the part where this Akise dude has threatened to murder anyone who doesn't want to see him with the main character. And, frankly, it sounds horribly judgmental and homophobic.

You have a point in there that is valid, but you cannot make that point by comparing a devoted gay male character to a batshit crazy female character who, in your own words, "puts every other yandere that ever existed to shame". Because you are not comparing Akise to Relena here. I can think of plenty of reasons why I wouldn't like Yuno. Either Yuno needs to get out of this argument because she is not relevant to the point you want to make, or you are asserting that being a mother-murdering yandere is equally as likable or unlikable as being a gay man who cares about someone a lot. Which is kind of problematic.

[slayerofgod]

I used Yuno as an example mainly because she's from the same series, and in my experience with these kinds of people, I very much doubt her more psychotic tendencies have any kind of bearing on their opinion of her.

Personal bias aside, I note that one of the other most popular characters in the series is Uryuu Minene, a psychotic female bomber who is also incredibly ruthless in getting her way, which is to win the Survival Game and become God. Pretty much everybody loves Minene, including these fans, so I really don't think Yuno being psychotic has much to do with it.

I also think that complaining about a character in Future Diary being crazy is kinda like complaining about loose women being in a brothel. This is a manga with a blind guy who dresses up in a whacked out superhero costume and blows himself up, a five year old who tries to kill Yukiteru and Yuno with a cyanide injected tomato, and a priestess who's largely lost it because the guy who killed her parents locked her in a cage and had her repeatedly raped.

All of that being said, I do note your point about Yuno and those other characters not being entirely even, and shall take it to heart.

[sincere]

I'm not saying I think that being psychotic is a disqualifier for being liked. On the contrary, lots of psychotic characters become fan favorites, even if I personally tend to dislike them. All I wanted to say is that she and Akise both considering the main character their most important person does not make them the same, when one of them is a deranged psychopath and the other one is an apparently genuine admirer.

I suspect that if Yuno were a male character, she would have a lot more forgiveness from the slash fans, and there would be a lot of fans of their twisted nonconsensual relationship. I also suspect that Yuno lost any points she may have had for killing the gay fan favorite. (Never mind the gross "Bury Your Gays" trope, or the queer-baiting that Japan loves.) But I can't quite blame anyone for not being into this particular female character, either. I think in an ideal world, very few people would be into this kind of character, instead of entire fandoms fetishizing them.

[slayerofgod]

I do note that Yuno is pretty popular herself, but it's with the male half of the fandom, and they hate on Yukiteru for being a "wuss," so I want nothing to do with them either.

In any case, your point is well taken, and I appreciate the feedback.

[slayerofgod]

What have you been up to, by the way? Haven't seen much from you lately. Everything okay?

[sincere]

Jobless and depressed, so I tend to just zone out my days! Things have been going wrong all over, but, eh. As long as I focus on Sif all the time all day I need nothing else!! /healthy statements

[slayerofgod]

Sorry to hear that, and I hope it gets better.

In the meantime, have a picture of one of my kitties.