Tomoyo/Sakura OTP
This is an edited conversation I had with an awesome dude about Cardcaptor Sakura. Shit is so cash.
Syaoran was raised without any real masculine influence in his life, with the only adult male he knew being Wei, the butler, who is much more a grandpa figure. As what seems to be a direct contradiction to this, he was raised to be a strong, stereotyped male, as his mother saw fit to eventually lead the prestigious Li clan. And as 'balance' to the absence of a father figure, he had very heavy feminine influence from three older sisters, and this combined with all the training he recieved as clan heir has no doubt permenently affected his psyche.
Taking the phrase, 'when in Rome...' to it's logical conclusion, the young Li would have liked nothing more than to be like his sisters, and grow up with a feminine tilt. He would of, too, but his mother's infuence forced him to suppress this, becoming an arrogant, bossy, hot-headed boy, who does not cry, saying that doing so accompishes nothing.
Meiling Li seems a foil to this inner, feminine, Syaoran, being quite masculine and overbearing. It is hypothesised that long term seperation from Sakura, whose femininity and relationship to Syaoran further inforce his internal beliefs about a man's role in a proper relationship, along with removal of his mother's influence, combined with presistence on Meiling's side could help him eliminate his overly masculine barrier, but therapy is reccomended regardless.
Syaoran's hidden side does show itself rarely, it's biggest occurance being his temporary crush on Tsukishiro Yukito.
Any further analysis threatens to cross the line into conjecture.
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What do ya know? Clamp has a screwy sense of irony! Syaoran, a bigheaded guy is influenced by one awsome powerful mother and four wimpy sisters, while Sakura, the girlest character ever, is influenced by one super dad and one hotheaded bother. Syaoran-five women. Sakura-two guys (three if you count Yuki). Anyone else see the connection?
"Further analysis"? Come on, bring it on, what else do you think about Syaoran? I'm interested!
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Well, on your comment, it could simply be a rejection of her surroundings in Sakura's case, but that seems unlikely, as her father is quite feminine, and she had an average school and social life to encourage normal development. It is more likely that Sakura, being as simple as she is, is a normal, well adjusted girl. As normal as the most powerful magician in the world can be, at any rate.
Upon further inspection, Sakura could be classified as somewhat more masculine than what we consider to be average. Her skill in physical things, combined with Syaoran's influence, could easily encourage a more gender role ambiguous Sakura, or a monstro-butch, but I must say that the latter seems rather unlikely, barring severe trauma in the future.
It must be taken into account that the ages of the characters, being ten or eleven at th beginning, and fifteen or sixteen by the end, in the scene in which Sakura and Syaoran are reunited. While these are estimates, and open to correction, I do not believe I am very far off. At this age, moreso at the start of the manga, a psyche is still very much forming, and quite open to outside infuence. With minor changes to canon, it is more than feasible to end up with very different characters than what the series actually end with.
Back to Syaoran, I refrained from this earlier, but why the hell not? I can see Meiling as a much more stable, long term mate for Syaoran, assuming his inner-outer problem is dealt with by a trained psychiatrist. Should this occur, Syaoran might easily end up quite the different man, almost eerily resembling Fujitaka, who I could easily sight as a very high quality human being, should anyone reqiure an ideal sample. Fujitaka is adept at both physical contest, as shown by his remarkable running speed, has much in the way of domestic talents, shown by his ability to sew, cook, clean, and garden, and is also very confident in himself and his masculinity, as shown by his frequent wearing of an apron, obvious lone of his children, and ever-present smile. Also of mention is the magic pwer gained at the end of the series, though irrelevant to this particular disscusion. While hoping for such things from Syaoran might be mildly excessive, it is still well within the range of possiblity, depending on the precisities of his situation.
And back to Meiling, her masculine nature might rise from similar roots as Syaoran's, but it is equally likely to simply be in her nature. My best guess regarding her possesive and overbaring nature, especially in regards to Syaoran, come from the very tentative grounds on which their 'engagement' was made, and her obvious love for the boy. This, combined with his ever more present distaste for her, most likely caused by the outer, masculine shell, have no doubt negatively affected her confidence towards his feeling in return, and forced her to become overly possessive of him, trying desperately to keep him with her, and inadvertently pushing him away. If she could be helped to discover her own inner insecurities, and hopefully do something about them, I have no doubt that she could try to woo Syaoran, and possibly succede.
Naturally, this is mostly conjecture, so, a grain of salt, if you would.
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I like you. You just love writing and anaylsing things. I'm glad you took up my rather boastful remark.
However, there's one or two things I see differently (and, please, counter my arguments if I'm wrong.)
Sakura as a masculine figure is really questionable. There is no way that I, personally (and I might be wrong, considering the sillyness of my other statements), can see Sakura being classified as even somewhat more masculine because her character was made to contradict and oppose the other protagonist in the story, Syaoran. We view Syaoran as incredibly masculine because of the fact that Sakura is so dang girlish. Her skill in physical things merely add to her character, making her more believable for later in the story when we see she doesn't break a leg each time she falls down. Be it 10 years old, or 15, there is a sim chance that Sakura will ever have the brutality (heck, or testosterone!) to really become masculine.
On your next point, I have nothing to say (expect, dang, you're good). Here's a question; have you considering the maturing rates of the characters? You say,
Quote:
..It must be taken into account that the ages of the characters..., a psyche is still very much forming, and quite open to outside infuence..
It is known that girls mature faster than boys, and I know that Clamp really screws up with this in CCS (making Syaoran grow up so fast in order to claim the cards), but still, it is something to look into.
I agree with your next point, and can certainly see why Meiling would be a much more stable mate, though the romantic S+S fan inside me is screaming no (shut up, romantic side). Meiling's character seemed, to me, the one who matured the most throughout the series, for her own battle of love is much more dramatic and saddening then Syaoran and Sakura's. She went from the typical character that was Mary-Sueish in her hate, the character that the audience loves to hate, to one of understanding, who had to conform her own ideas and values, and, eventually, came out on top. Her and Tomoyo are the two characters that I think are much more mature than Sakura by the end, though I'm also sure that Sakura's growth will come soon enough.
I agree with most of what you said about Syaoran, though I can't really see Syaoran as the Fujitaka type. Fujitaka has come to terms with all the bad in his life and came out better. Than again, he's childhood did not seem to have as many life-changing events in it (this part I am completly taking out of the blue. I have no idea what Fujitaka's childhood was like, so correct me if I'm mistaken). While Fujitaka can be seen as an extrovert, like Sakura, Syaoran is more of an introvert, and therefore I don't think that he could achieve that. I guess I agree with what you said, it being "mildly excessive".
How's that for a reply?
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It is worth noting that I have no idea what I am talking about.
I do agree on Sakura and her masculinity, or rather lack thereof, and really said that for no reason. It does seem that Sakura is a stable, well developed, oblivious girl, and that a glimpse of her at twenty would reveal a character mostly unchanged, though hopefully somewhat more wise.
In regards to Fujitaka, my comparison comes from the fact that both are adept in maintaining a home, as well as being physically potent. The difference, of course, is in root personalities, as Syaoran seems a deal more passionate and has the inner-outer issue previously mentioned. I had hopes that, should his troubles be solved, the side effects, such as (some of) his hot-headedness, as well as his troubles with dealing with emotions, would fade. From what (very) little we see of post-timeskip Syaoran, during his fateful reuniting with Sakura, it could be drawn that he received the help he needs, and is still with Sakura, obviously.
It is indeed worth investigation the rate at which Syaoran matures, not only offscreen, for his clan, but onscreen, as he goes from angry, possessive, loud child, to a much more calm, collected, quiet teen. Such a change could be a result of the 'magic-attraction' mentioned, as I could easily say that, while Yukito and Kaho both had attractive moon magic, Eriol and Sakura had stablizing, dark and star magic. Or, an alternate theory is that, due to his dual-self issues, both of which had yet further issues, a third, 'adult' self formed, in hopes of ridding himself of the troubles that plague 'child' and 'man.'
And as a final, mostly aesthetic note, Meiling would no doubt be much more useful in leading the clan!
Syaoran was raised without any real masculine influence in his life, with the only adult male he knew being Wei, the butler, who is much more a grandpa figure. As what seems to be a direct contradiction to this, he was raised to be a strong, stereotyped male, as his mother saw fit to eventually lead the prestigious Li clan. And as 'balance' to the absence of a father figure, he had very heavy feminine influence from three older sisters, and this combined with all the training he recieved as clan heir has no doubt permenently affected his psyche.
Taking the phrase, 'when in Rome...' to it's logical conclusion, the young Li would have liked nothing more than to be like his sisters, and grow up with a feminine tilt. He would of, too, but his mother's infuence forced him to suppress this, becoming an arrogant, bossy, hot-headed boy, who does not cry, saying that doing so accompishes nothing.
Meiling Li seems a foil to this inner, feminine, Syaoran, being quite masculine and overbearing. It is hypothesised that long term seperation from Sakura, whose femininity and relationship to Syaoran further inforce his internal beliefs about a man's role in a proper relationship, along with removal of his mother's influence, combined with presistence on Meiling's side could help him eliminate his overly masculine barrier, but therapy is reccomended regardless.
Syaoran's hidden side does show itself rarely, it's biggest occurance being his temporary crush on Tsukishiro Yukito.
Any further analysis threatens to cross the line into conjecture.
++++++++++++++++++++
What do ya know? Clamp has a screwy sense of irony! Syaoran, a bigheaded guy is influenced by one awsome powerful mother and four wimpy sisters, while Sakura, the girlest character ever, is influenced by one super dad and one hotheaded bother. Syaoran-five women. Sakura-two guys (three if you count Yuki). Anyone else see the connection?
"Further analysis"? Come on, bring it on, what else do you think about Syaoran? I'm interested!
++++++++++++++++++++
Well, on your comment, it could simply be a rejection of her surroundings in Sakura's case, but that seems unlikely, as her father is quite feminine, and she had an average school and social life to encourage normal development. It is more likely that Sakura, being as simple as she is, is a normal, well adjusted girl. As normal as the most powerful magician in the world can be, at any rate.
Upon further inspection, Sakura could be classified as somewhat more masculine than what we consider to be average. Her skill in physical things, combined with Syaoran's influence, could easily encourage a more gender role ambiguous Sakura, or a monstro-butch, but I must say that the latter seems rather unlikely, barring severe trauma in the future.
It must be taken into account that the ages of the characters, being ten or eleven at th beginning, and fifteen or sixteen by the end, in the scene in which Sakura and Syaoran are reunited. While these are estimates, and open to correction, I do not believe I am very far off. At this age, moreso at the start of the manga, a psyche is still very much forming, and quite open to outside infuence. With minor changes to canon, it is more than feasible to end up with very different characters than what the series actually end with.
Back to Syaoran, I refrained from this earlier, but why the hell not? I can see Meiling as a much more stable, long term mate for Syaoran, assuming his inner-outer problem is dealt with by a trained psychiatrist. Should this occur, Syaoran might easily end up quite the different man, almost eerily resembling Fujitaka, who I could easily sight as a very high quality human being, should anyone reqiure an ideal sample. Fujitaka is adept at both physical contest, as shown by his remarkable running speed, has much in the way of domestic talents, shown by his ability to sew, cook, clean, and garden, and is also very confident in himself and his masculinity, as shown by his frequent wearing of an apron, obvious lone of his children, and ever-present smile. Also of mention is the magic pwer gained at the end of the series, though irrelevant to this particular disscusion. While hoping for such things from Syaoran might be mildly excessive, it is still well within the range of possiblity, depending on the precisities of his situation.
And back to Meiling, her masculine nature might rise from similar roots as Syaoran's, but it is equally likely to simply be in her nature. My best guess regarding her possesive and overbaring nature, especially in regards to Syaoran, come from the very tentative grounds on which their 'engagement' was made, and her obvious love for the boy. This, combined with his ever more present distaste for her, most likely caused by the outer, masculine shell, have no doubt negatively affected her confidence towards his feeling in return, and forced her to become overly possessive of him, trying desperately to keep him with her, and inadvertently pushing him away. If she could be helped to discover her own inner insecurities, and hopefully do something about them, I have no doubt that she could try to woo Syaoran, and possibly succede.
Naturally, this is mostly conjecture, so, a grain of salt, if you would.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
I like you. You just love writing and anaylsing things. I'm glad you took up my rather boastful remark.
However, there's one or two things I see differently (and, please, counter my arguments if I'm wrong.)
Sakura as a masculine figure is really questionable. There is no way that I, personally (and I might be wrong, considering the sillyness of my other statements), can see Sakura being classified as even somewhat more masculine because her character was made to contradict and oppose the other protagonist in the story, Syaoran. We view Syaoran as incredibly masculine because of the fact that Sakura is so dang girlish. Her skill in physical things merely add to her character, making her more believable for later in the story when we see she doesn't break a leg each time she falls down. Be it 10 years old, or 15, there is a sim chance that Sakura will ever have the brutality (heck, or testosterone!) to really become masculine.
On your next point, I have nothing to say (expect, dang, you're good). Here's a question; have you considering the maturing rates of the characters? You say,
Quote:
..It must be taken into account that the ages of the characters..., a psyche is still very much forming, and quite open to outside infuence..
It is known that girls mature faster than boys, and I know that Clamp really screws up with this in CCS (making Syaoran grow up so fast in order to claim the cards), but still, it is something to look into.
I agree with your next point, and can certainly see why Meiling would be a much more stable mate, though the romantic S+S fan inside me is screaming no (shut up, romantic side). Meiling's character seemed, to me, the one who matured the most throughout the series, for her own battle of love is much more dramatic and saddening then Syaoran and Sakura's. She went from the typical character that was Mary-Sueish in her hate, the character that the audience loves to hate, to one of understanding, who had to conform her own ideas and values, and, eventually, came out on top. Her and Tomoyo are the two characters that I think are much more mature than Sakura by the end, though I'm also sure that Sakura's growth will come soon enough.
I agree with most of what you said about Syaoran, though I can't really see Syaoran as the Fujitaka type. Fujitaka has come to terms with all the bad in his life and came out better. Than again, he's childhood did not seem to have as many life-changing events in it (this part I am completly taking out of the blue. I have no idea what Fujitaka's childhood was like, so correct me if I'm mistaken). While Fujitaka can be seen as an extrovert, like Sakura, Syaoran is more of an introvert, and therefore I don't think that he could achieve that. I guess I agree with what you said, it being "mildly excessive".
How's that for a reply?
++++++++++++++++++++
It is worth noting that I have no idea what I am talking about.
I do agree on Sakura and her masculinity, or rather lack thereof, and really said that for no reason. It does seem that Sakura is a stable, well developed, oblivious girl, and that a glimpse of her at twenty would reveal a character mostly unchanged, though hopefully somewhat more wise.
In regards to Fujitaka, my comparison comes from the fact that both are adept in maintaining a home, as well as being physically potent. The difference, of course, is in root personalities, as Syaoran seems a deal more passionate and has the inner-outer issue previously mentioned. I had hopes that, should his troubles be solved, the side effects, such as (some of) his hot-headedness, as well as his troubles with dealing with emotions, would fade. From what (very) little we see of post-timeskip Syaoran, during his fateful reuniting with Sakura, it could be drawn that he received the help he needs, and is still with Sakura, obviously.
It is indeed worth investigation the rate at which Syaoran matures, not only offscreen, for his clan, but onscreen, as he goes from angry, possessive, loud child, to a much more calm, collected, quiet teen. Such a change could be a result of the 'magic-attraction' mentioned, as I could easily say that, while Yukito and Kaho both had attractive moon magic, Eriol and Sakura had stablizing, dark and star magic. Or, an alternate theory is that, due to his dual-self issues, both of which had yet further issues, a third, 'adult' self formed, in hopes of ridding himself of the troubles that plague 'child' and 'man.'
And as a final, mostly aesthetic note, Meiling would no doubt be much more useful in leading the clan!