Who gets Makoto?

[Lord God Jinnai]

All right, you get to decide. Who, out of all the dumb girls in his harem, deserves Makoto the most?

Will it be that mechanical wind-up wench Ifurita I from the OAVs?

How about fanservice Rune Venus from the TV series?

Or maybe that violent fire hag, Shayla Shayla?

Might my poor, deluded little sister Nanami get Mizuhara?

Or maybe someone else all together?

Frankly, if it were up to me, I'd pair the doofus up with a rabid pitbull. Oooh... what fun imagery I take to my dreams tonight, heh heh heh.

[Captain Southbird (EHOL Creator)]

Oooh... what fun imagery I take to my dreams tonight, heh heh heh.

And if I'm seeing it right, what fun imagery Fatora takes to her dreams in the new doujinshi I just got; Nanami decides Fatora's not good enough and goes to big brother.  Oh my.  *decked*




Anywho... personally, I'd make a version for Makoto to end up with Ifurita, Shayla, OR Nanami.  Not Quawool, who you didn't mention, because frankly I believe in something else going on there, not outright attraction, even if that's how Nanami and Shayla see it.  TV Rune... well, in Wanderers 'verse, I don't get the same vibe ride from those characters, so I'll just let the Makoto+Rune thing be.    (Plus, for messing in the Wanderers 'verse relationship, you sort of can do that with EHPC.)

[Spanner]

Who "deserves" him... I've never really liked that turn of phrase. I don't think that love is supposed to be something that can be "earned", so to speak. If a guy's been wooing a girl for twenty years, and she turns around and falls for a guy that she's just met, is the new guy somehow less "deserving" of her love than the old guy, simply because the old guy has put more effort into it? Who's to say that the girl and the old guy was a romance that just wasn't going to click, no matter how determined he was?

Similarly, does hardship make someone more "deserving" of love? If two girls pursue one guy, the first having been raised her whole life in the lap of luxury, and the second having to scrape for every scrap of food and dignity from the day she was born, should the guy go to the poor girl just because she's had a rough life? Doesn't the rich girl deserve love, too?

And how about character? Are there personality traits that are somehow make an individual less deserving of love? If someone is timid and insecure about his feelings, does his "underdog" status make him any more deserving of the girl than his bold, self-confident rival?

I don't believe so. And, in the end, I think that Ifurita and Makoto deserve each other because, of all the ladies vying for his attention, SHE'S the one he decided to love back. Nothing else really matters.

But if we want to put up a scorechart, let's do so:


Ifurita

Determination: 3 out of 10
Ifurita was never really fervently pursued Makoto. In fact, she tried to kill him on several occasions. It was mostly Makoto's attempts to win her over that finally got through to her.

Angst: 10 out of 10
Ifurita's life really, really sucked. She's been a murder machine and a slave presumably since the day she was created, and apparently possessed enough free will to abhor her lot in life enough to wish for death. None of Makoto's other hunnies come close to Ifurita's angst factor.

Character: 6 out of 10
Ifurita's character is pretty hard to read, since it's tied up pretty thoroughly with her angst. She's a fatalist, at least at first, but has good reason to be. It becomes clear that she has a good heart, at least, since she does not want to do the evil things that she's made to do, and tries to resist in the end. Once real hope is introduced to the equasion, she becomes a very happy and fulfilled individual.

Overall: 6 out of 10
If you ignore the fact that Makoto eventually fell for her, Ifurita's high angst factor makes her a strong contender in the Makoto sweepstakes. However, her low determination indicates that just about anyone nice would do; there's no reason it has to be Makoto.


TV Rune Venus

Determination: 7 out of 10
Rune fell for Makoto pretty gradually, but the more she fell, the harder she fought for him, in her own way. Being very polite and well-mannered, she tended to keep her raging hormones in check most of the time, but on occasion she would lose control, such as the instance when she declared Ifurita to be public enemy number one for fear that Makoto was falling for her, and the instance when she broke down in tears because Nanami knew Makoto so much better than she did. A passive person, Rune was at her least passive when it came to Makoto.

Angst: 8 out of 10
Poor Rune - the epitome of the "poor little rich girl" stereotype. An orphaned princess, she was raised in the lap of luxury, but friendless and alone, with nothing but her hand puppet to keep her company. The patheticness of that alone gives her a pretty high angst rating. The fact that she IS rich, and has plenty of palace adults who care about her knocks a couple points off the scale.

Character: 9 out of 10
Let's face it: Rune's pretty much as nice a person as it's possible to be. If anyone's deserving of happiness for being nice, it's her. She's kinda wishy-washy, which stops her from rating a perfect 10, but all-in-all she's got very good character.

Overall: 8 out of 10
Rune's a shoe-in for the coveted position of Makoto's love bunny. With high scores in both angst and character, and a moderate score in determination, she's a tough one to beat.


Shayla-Shayla

Determination: 8 out of 10
Shayla's insecure about her feelings for Makoto, but that doesn't stop her from doing just about everything she can to stop some OTHER hussy from moving in on him before she has the chance to sort out her feelings. Her main rival is Nanami, and Nanami bears the brunt of Shayla's offense. Fortunately, Nanami is a tough girl herself, and can deal with it.

Angst: 3 out of 10
OAV Shayla doesn't have any visible angst to speak of, but if we take her past as explained in the Wanderers as canon, we know that she was a poor, underprivileged child who had to scrape for every penny. She sure didn't seem to let it get her down, though...

Character: 4 out of 10
Shayla has as many good points to her character as bad. She ultimately wants to do the right thing, but has a very short fuse, and is very prone to jumping to the wrong conclusions. She's quick to judge, and slow to forgive. While not stupid, persay, she's a lot more likely to think with her heart than with her head, and that can get her into trouble. About the only thing she's not forceful with is her feelings for Makoto. When THAT comes up, she becomes a stuttering, blushing heap of mush - which is cute and endearing, but not a very strong indication of character.

Overall: 5 out of 10
Shayla's scores are pretty low, other than her determination. It's obvious that she wants Makoto, but she's not particularly deserving of him.


Nanami

Determination: 8 out of 10
Nanami is just as determined to win Makoto as Shayla is, and just as quick to hide her feelings about it. The feeling I get while watching her is that she pretty much has expected her whole life to just end up with Makoto, and that there was no hurry in claiming him. Now that there's all this competition, though, she's having to take a more active role. While not usually as physically aggressive as Shayla, she's not afraid to put up her dukes. She's much more likely to use her long friendship with Makoto to try to prove her worthiness against the competition.

Angst: 3 out of 10
Nanami is pretty much angst free, except when it comes to losing Makoto (which doesn't count for this rating). She did have a bit of trouble on first coming to El-Hazard. And I gave her an extra point just for being Jinnai's sister. That has to count for SOMETHING angst-wise.

Character: 6 out of 10
Nanami is a nice, friendly person, but she has a deep selfish and acquisitive streak. Her desire for Makoto probably stems more from a desire to make herself happy than to make them both happy. That said, she's strong-willed, friendly, and always willing to help out.

Overall: 6 out of 10
Nanami's scores weren't bad, but her utter lack of angst makes it difficult to recommend her.


Qawool

Determination: 5 out of 10
At first glance, it might appear that Qawool deserves a very low score here. She never actually DOES anything to win Makoto, right? Actually, while she doesn't catfight with the other contenders, she does (seemingly unintentionally) try to win Makoto in a much more passive way. She hangs around with him, and takes interest in the things that interest him. She touches him on many occasions - a subtle way of inidcating affection, and one that seems to actually make an impact on him. In fact, only the fact that her love is completely and utterly selfless prevents her from achieving a very high score.

Angst: 2 out of 10
Happy and oblivious, there doesn't seem to be much bothering Qawool. Her bug phobia and her shadowy, mysterious past give her something to worry about from time to time, but that's about it.

Character: 8 out of 10
If anyone can beat TV Rune in terms of niceness, it's Qawool. She lives COMPLETELY for everyone other than herself. If Qawool has any personal wants or desires, they're hard to see. Everything she does, she does to make other people happy. Even when it comes to Makoto, it's clear that she'll be as happy as a clam no matter who he ends up with, so long as he's happy. Heck, if she won him herself, she'd proably be happy to share him around, just to make everyone else happy, too. So, a perfect 10, right? No, Qawool's got a darker side to her personality, too. She has little to no self-confidence, and is generally wishy-washy and helpless in any crisis. These are not particularly desireable personality traits.

Overall: 5 out of 10
Qawool's low angst and moderate determination make her a poor contender. Particularly since she'd probably be just as happy as a loser as she would as a winner.


TV Ifurita

Determination: 2 out of 10
Other than a sort of wistful desire for her "almost Master", Ifurita doesn't seem to be putting up much of an effort to be with Makoto. She gives no real indication that she's interested in him romantically at all (at least, outside of TV Rune's jealous imagination).

Angst: 7 out of 10
While Ifurita is a cheerful and optimistic individual, the truth is that her lot in life is pretty sucky. As much as she might like to deny it, she's a weapon of fearsome destructive power, and she's the slave of a megalomaniac who verbally abuses her at length for every failure. Her naivety and generally confused attitude might not bother her, but to the viewer the poor girl deserves a lot better.

Character: 7 out of 10
Ifurita is innocent and naive, and not very clever at all. She wins a lot of points for her wholehearted devotion to her master, and for generally wanting to be friends with everyone she meets. She's the nicest doomsday weapon you'll ever meet!

Overall: 5 out of 10
Frankly, Ifurita just needs someone who cares about her. Makoto isn't necessary at all. Even Jinnai would fit the bill, if he wasn't such a Crazy Wierdo Freak.


Afura Mann

Determination: 2 out of 10
Afura has given no indication that she's interested in Makoto romantically. She gets a point because the TV version of her is clearly impressed by him.

Angst: 2 out of 10
Again using the Wanderers to view her past, it seems that she was a teacher's pet in her early life, and one who used her natural talents to great advantage in securing a position for herself. Such individuals usually don't have a lot of friends, and tend to lead isolated, lonely lives which is the only reason her angst rating isn't lower than it is.

Character: 4 out of 10
Afura's primary visable trait is her arrogance, mostly in the Wanderers, but to a degree also in the OAV timeline. That said, she has a lot of self-confidence - though possibly a little too much, given how headstrong she is at times. That said, she's a good person at heart, and wishes to do the right thing.

Overall: 3 out of 10
Afura is a very poor contender in the rankings, mostly because of her lack of interest in Makoto, and her general lack of development as a character in general. She's only ranked her at all because she's my favorite priestess and deserves someone to make her happy. It probably won't be Makoto, though...


Queen Diva

Determination: 1 out of 10
Queen Diva has never shown even the slightest inkling of interest in Makoto. On the contrary, she probably wants him dead almost as much as Jinnai does.

Angst: 3 out of 10
Queen Diva has been trying to conquer that pesky Alliance for ages now. Before Jinnai showed up to lend a hand, she was the brightest bulb in the whole Bugrom hive, and that's not saying much. What's a poor, disadvantaged monarch to do?

Character: 3 out of 10
Queen Diva has very little will of her own. Once Jinnai shows up, she pretty much defers to him in everything. About the only thing she's ever done in defiance of Jinnai's wishes was to impliment Jinnai's suggestion for replenishing the Bugrom race.

Overall: 2 out of 10
She doesn't deserve Makoto. For that matter, she doesn't even WANT Makoto. She's only rated here as a gag.


Alielle

Determination: 2 out of 10
Given her sexual preferences, Alielle isn't REALLY interested in Makoto. However, he DOES look an awful lot like her beloved Fatora, and so he seems to be one male that she doen't mind glomping every now and then, even after she learns of his true identity. Still, her tastes definitely run in other directions.

Angst: 2 out of 10
Most of Alielle's angst stems from the guilt she felt over not having been there for Fatora when she was abducted by the Phantom Tribe. Now that Fatora is back, though, Alielle's about as happy and bubbly as it's possible to be.

Character: 7 out of 10
When apart from Fatora, Alielle is a very intelligent, clever, happy, and all around nice girl. She ranks right up there with TV Rune and Qawool in terms of the goodness of her heart. She loses a few points, though, for the decidedly lecherous streak she possesses, particularly when around Fatora. She's definitely not a faithful lover.

Overall: 4 out of 10
C'mon. This is Alielle. The LESBIAN Alielle. Overall score notwithstanding, there's only one woman less likely to hook up with Makoto, and she's next.


Fatora

Determination: 1 out of 10
Fatora has no interest in Makoto. Or any man, for that matter. And she's more than willing to say so. Loudly, and often. Though, if Fatora HAD to pick a man, she'd probably pick Makoto, given that she'd probably consider him the most attractive man she's ever met.

Angst: 3 out of 10
Fatora really got a raw deal with the Phantom Tribe, but that may well have just been her karma giving her a swift kick in the patootie. And even when THAT little incident was done with, she was back to her sly, cunning self as though nothing had ever happened. Fatora lives almost entirely for the moment, and that doesn't leave a lot of room for angst.

Character: 1 out of 10
Fatora is not a nice person by any stretch of the term. Sneaky and cunning, but without a great deal of talent for forethought, Fatora does whatever she can to satisfy her own cravings, without regard to how she may be hurting others (or for how her plans may backfire on her later). This is not a lady you wanna bring home to meet your parents. Even if you're a girl.

Overall: 2 out of 10
No, Fatora won't be jumping Makoto's bones anytime soon. He probably thanks whatever deities are listening for this daily.


Miz Mishtal

Determination: 1 out of 10
Miz has eyes only for Mr. Fujisawa. While she bears no actual animosity for Makoto, she'd probably prefer that he was around less often, so that she could spend more time alone with Mr. Fujisawa.

Angst: 5 out of 10
Miz actually has quite a bit of angst, all of it having to do with her biological clock telling her to get her butt in gear and get herself a man already. To an outside observer, this might seem silly and a little shallow, but it's certainly very important to her.

Character: 6 out of 10
Miz is a very nice person and wishes to do the right thing, but she's practically ruled by her raging hormones. While she can still function effectively as an individual, a whole lot of her time and energy is spent trying to catch a husband, whether or not he particularly wants to be caught.

Overall: 4 out of 10
Miz is ripe for romance, but not with Makoto. Who knows - maybe if it'd been Makoto who'd "rescued" her from the bathing attendant she would have seen the charm in dating a handsome fellow only slightly more than half her age, but we'll never know now.


OAV Rune Venus

Determination: 1 out of 10
Rune Venus never shows any kind of romantic interest in Makoto. It's likely that she considers him a friend of sorts, and she is certainly grateful to him for his services toward her country, but she's not chasing him around the palace trying to get into his pants. (Which would probably be pretty amusing, actually. )

Angst: 9 out of 10
Man, Rune is nearly BUILT out of angst. All she ever DOES is worry, it seems. She worries about her nation being invaded, she worries about being entrusted with the power of the Eye of God, she worries about Demon Gods being awakened, she worries about the political marriage she has to endure... All very good things to worry about, actually. On top of that, her first "love interest" turned out to be the one who had kidnapped and tortured her sister, and her second disappeared without a trace in one of the worst dangling plot threads in all of El-Hazard canon.

Character: 4 out of 10
Rune means well, but all she ever does is worry. She's ready and willing to make the tough decisions necessary for running a country, but it looks pretty clear that she's on the verge of breaking down and crying every time she does so. Yeah, her life isn't the best, but she really does need to lighten up a bit.

Overall: 5 out of 10
OAV Rune needs a hug. She really does. Makoto's probably not the best one to give it to her, though, but Rune could certainly do a whole lot worse. And has. Twice. Poor girl.


Gilda

Determination: 1 out of 10
Gilda was perfectly willing to use Makoto to her own ends. If she thought that seducing him was the best way to do this, she might well have tried it. Of course, she'd probably be just as willing to break out the toenail tongs and thumbscrews. Neither approach is particularly indicative of romantic desire. Unless you're into that kinda thing.

Angst: 8 out of 10
Gilda is a bitter, jilted woman, and it shows. Her heart was badly betrayed, and she became a very suspicious, untrusting individual as a result. In fact, that betrayal pretty much shaped her entire life after that point. On top of that, she has to worry about her country crumbling to ashes around her while it's emperor, her former beloved, devotes himself to wine and women - and it isn't even the country of her birth.

Character: 3 out of 10
Bitter, ruthless, and hostile, Gilda is not a very pleasant woman. While she does want to save her country, even her motivation for that stems from selfish reasons - she wants to impress the man she once loved (at least at first; later on, it seems that she's actually working to save the country to SPITE him). Needless to say, she has issues.

Overall: 4 out of 10
Gilda could probably use a little love in her life, but it's very unlikely that she would ever have considered Makoto to be a valid prospect. Anyway, like Miz, we know how she ends up, so it doesn't matter anyway.


So, there you have it! TV Rune Venus is the gal who most deserves Makoto.

And she's probably my last choice, too.

Hey, Xel, you should add an entry for Jinnai! I would have, but I just don't have the qualifications that you do.

[Captain Southbird (EHOL Creator)]

*gags Spanner* Don't get her started! ;p

Actually, seriously, Spanner -- I think I want to add this as some type of literature to the site.  That was too excellent for basic analysis of the situation.  Although you might as well note Afura as being TV-specific, because you really referenced nothing of OAV-Afura, who's so much a nicer gal, though so much lesser a character.  

[Andrusi]

Ura

Determination: 10 out of 10
Come on, Makoto WEARS Ura.

Angst: 10 out of 10
Ura used to live with Fatora.  That's enough for me.

Character: 10 out of 10
All right, I admit it.  I don't have a justification for this one.  Just bear with me, okay?

Overall: 10 out of 10
Ura is a perfect match for Makoto.  You know it's true.

[Lord God Jinnai]

Who "deserves" him... I've never really liked that turn of phrase. I don't think that love is supposed to be something that can be "earned", so to speak. If a guy's been wooing a girl for twenty years, and she turns around and falls for a guy that she's just met, is the new guy somehow less "deserving" of her love than the old guy, simply because the old guy has put more effort into it? Who's to say that the girl and the old guy was a romance that just wasn't going to click, no matter how determined he was?

Actually, when I said who "deserves" Makoto the most, I meant it in the way you would say, "Which of these girls deserve to get run over by a truck, or fellen by a mysterious back disease, or terminal blindness?"

It's a karma thing, man.

Frankly, Ifurita just needs someone who cares about her. Makoto isn't necessary at all. Even Jinnai would fit the bill, if he wasn't such a Crazy Wierdo Freak.

You bastard! You take that back!

Hey, Xel, you should add an entry for Jinnai! I would have, but I just don't have the qualifications that you do.

*kills Spanner*

[washuchan]

in the end, I think that Ifurita and Makoto deserve each other because, of all the ladies vying for his attention, SHE'S the one he decided to love back.

So, there you have it! TV Rune Venus is the gal who most deserves Makoto.

inconsistency?
on initial reading, I thought you'd go for tv Ifreeta
On an interesting account, if we have this board German, OAV Ifurita would still have 10 for angst (Angst = fear)....for the fear factor

Character: 6 out of 10
Ifurita is innocent and naive, and not very clever at all. She wins a lot of points for her wholehearted devotion to her master, and for generally wanting to be friends with everyone she meets. She's the nicest doomsday weapon you'll ever meet!  

Is having a good heart not the most important? um....I do hope u don't judge females based on intelligence , cause females have the tendency to judge back in that category ...I'd go 10/10, but at least in the score board that should be 8/10, just like Quawool:

Everything she does, she does to make other people happy

Ifreeta in comparison:

...generally wanting to be friends with everyone she meets. She's the nicest...

I'd go for tv Rune as being nice, unfortunately, that possessive ambition would cut a lot of points in my score board (yeah, l-o-v-e is selfish, which is why I'm against it)

Frankly, Ifurita just needs someone who cares about her. Makoto isn't necessary at all. Even Jinnai would fit the bill, if he wasn't such a Crazy Wierdo Freak.

true, true, I'd prefer the Saturn video game ending or my fics, but Jinnai isn't bad at all  ...remember the "father expression" near the end, and I do recall LGJ's showing some of that virtue in some thread.

In all fairness to the ladies in EH, I'd choose Jinn....*go silent and look the other way after noticing LGJ dragging something that resemble a human carcass*
....I mean Jinnai's sister: Nanami... yes, yes, Nanami....Jinnai's sister....Nanami and Makoto...the conventional, school-mate pairing  

[MrWhat]

Might my poor, deluded little sister Nanami get Mizuhara?

It's pretty clear that Makoto and Nanami had feelings for each other before any of the other girls came into the picture, i.e., She Was There First.

Has anyone ever written a What If fanfic where the El-Hazard jump never happened?  Or where it happened a few months, or a year or two, later?  Assuming Makoto survived his encounters with Jinnai (in both the OVA and the TV series).  What if Makoto and Nanami remained in Japan as a couple?  What if they went to El-Hazard as a couple?

Ifurita
Determination: 2 out of 10
Angst: 10 out of 10
Character: 6 out of 10

OVA-Ifurita actually tried to resist Jinnai's last command, to kill Makoto, before Makoto destroyed her control circuit.  I'd give her an extra point or two for that, either in determination or character, depending on how you look at it.

And you need to give OVA-Ifurita a "Spinal Tap" angst value of 11  

TV Rune Venus
Determination: 6 out of 10
Angst: 8 out of 10
Character: 9 out of 10

Slightly more determination, slightly less angst.

Shayla-Shayla
Determination: 8 out of 10
Angst: 3 out of 10
Character: 4 out of 10

Slightly less determination, slightly more character.

Nanami
Determination: 8 out of 10
Angst: 2 out of 10
Character: 6 out of 10

I'd give Nanami a higher angst score, for "Why is my life hard on every world," and (briefly) crying when she finds Makoto at Arliman, and so on.  She has her moments.  But she does bounce back quickly.  She has a lot of inner strength, or driving greed, or both.

Nanami had a really bad time in Alt World.  But, from memory, almost all of it was over Makoto+Kauru.  If Alt World had been better written, she might have had more profound angst, especially after her Creteria restaurant was damaged.  Everyone has a breaking point, and I've wondered if she might have given in to despair, if her time in Creteria had lasted much longer.

Qawool
Determination: 5 out of 10
Angst: 2 out of 10
Character: 8 out of 10

Can't split any hairs there.

TV Ifurita
Determination: 2 out of 10
Angst: 7 out of 10
Character: 6 out of 10

Determination varies.  Might have been fairly high early on, but after she saw Makoto and Rune together, it fell to virtually zero.  I would agree that she has a lot more angst than you might first think.

Afura Mann
Determination: 2 out of 10
Angst: 2 out of 10
Character: 4 out of 10

Romantic determination is zero, I think.  And slightly more angst for the whirlwind episode.

Queen Diva
Determination: 1 out of 10
Angst: 3 out of 10
Character: 3 out of 10

Uh, sure  

So, there you have it! TV Rune Venus is the gal who most deserves Makoto.

And she's probably my last choice, too.

Huh.  Besides a few drabbles, and a silent cameo in "Fujisawa's Wild Kingdom," I've never even written any fan fiction for her.  Never realized that before.

[Xel]

Hey, Xel, you should add an entry for Jinnai! I would have, but I just don't have the qualifications that you do.

*giggles like a small, strange thing*

Ohohoho! Well, I'll try. And I'll do my best to be as unbiased as I can. But seriously, this is as much a gag rating as Diva is. (Though looking back, I can sense that I'm at least partly serious. ) Please keep that in mind, sir. Please please please.


There's a fine, fine line between love and hate...


Jinnai

Determination: 9 out of 10
While not outrightly determined to win Makoto's heart by any means, Jinnai is nonetheless nothing if not determined to get to him in a big way. The only thing separating him from a 10 out of 10 is the fact that Jinnai does have a genuine interest and desire to conquer which seems independent to anything he feels towards his "arch-nemesis".

Angst: 2 out of 10
Very, very little angst for Jinnai. When he acts, he seems almost always aware of what he's doing. Generally speaking, the only things he has to angst over are failed operations and his constant nagging hatred of Makoto (and possibly matters regarding Diva, but that seems like quite a minor thing, if he's even receptive to it at all). However, the final episodes of Wanderers demonstrate that Jinnai is both capable of feeling genuine concern for another person's well-being and probably unafraid to show it, too. Needless to say, on the surface at least, Jinnai is not a man with a lot of fear. (Read on...)

Character: 4 out of 10
Personality-wise, Jinnai and Shayla are pretty similar, as has been pointed out in the past. Objectively speaking, he really has a bit of a balance of good and bad points about him: a flare of temper for each stroke of genius, as well as the occasional (very) rare show of kindness and/or compassion to offset his usual arrogance and shrewd decisiveness. Perhaps the deciding factor of Jinnai's character that remains to (and probably never will) be seen is just what Jinnai would do if he was actually given the absolute upper-hand over Makoto. There have been hints that he would gladly kill him without a second thought, but there's still some debatable questions surrounding it: in spite of all the shining attributes that render him the ideal dictator, is there still an eighteen year old kid to be found somewhere in there? Is it possible for a young man who was raised in normal, everyday Japanese society to suddenly step up in a virtual explosion of discovered potential from scandal-steeped class president to ruler of an empire without carrying something of his former life with him? The core of many, if not most of Jinnai's motivations practically revolve around the one boy whom he considers his eternal rival and enemy-- what would he do if his raison d'etre suddenly ceased to be? Does Jinnai truly have it in him to kill Makoto?

Overall: 5 out of 10
Overall was given a 5 only because I saw it as a sort of middle ground. It can be argued that the way Jinnai feels about Makoto is nothing short of completely malicious, or that there is a sort of warped sense of love intertwined with it. Personally speaking, I'm beginning to see Jinnai's relationship with Makoto as something largely undefinable. There's ultimately something to be said for that, at least.


EDIT: ... Did I hear you say Jinnai/Nanami doujinshi, Rob? *ph33rz, but is morbidly curious*

[Captain Southbird (EHOL Creator)]

EDIT: ... Did I hear you say Jinnai/Nanami doujinshi, Rob? *ph33rz, but is morbidly curious*

Not entirely based on it, just a segment of.  I'll try to get it scanned later... at the earliest, after work tonight.  At the latest, on Sunday.  Depends how I feel after work tonight or tommorow.  

[Spanner]

Heh. There! I've added entries for Alielle, Fatora, Miz, OAV Rune, and Gilda to my post above, just for the heckuvit. Enjoy.

*gags Spanner* Don't get her started! ;p

Actually, seriously, Spanner -- I think I want to add this as some type of literature to the site.  That was too excellent for basic analysis of the situation.  Although you might as well note Afura as being TV-specific, because you really referenced nothing of OAV-Afura, who's so much a nicer gal, though so much lesser a character.  

If you'd like to add it somewhere on the site, feel free. Please add a blurb or something to make certain that people realize how very tongue-in-cheek it is supposed to be, however.

I don't feel any need to make Afura's entry specifically "TV Afura". In spite of the fact that OAV Afura is nicer than TV Afura, I still don't consider them different enough to warrant specific entries.

inconsistency?

Naw - remember, early in the post, I mentioned that the "scorecharts" for the characters are meaningless to me. I was trying to point out that, if you added up the "points" that each character possessed, you'd get a different answer than you might expect (or desire). Ifurita is the gal that I think SHOULD hook up with Makoto (and did). TV Rune is the most "qualified".

on initial reading, I thought you'd go for tv Ifreeta

No, while I DO consider the idea of a TV Ifurita/Makoto pairing to be incredibly cute (I still grin like an idiot every time I see that scene from Rune's imagination, of Ifurita and Makoto gazing lovingly into each other's eyes against a bubbly shoujo background), I still consider OAV Ifurita/Makoto to be one of the best romances I've ever seen in any anime.

Is having a good heart not the most important? um....I do hope u don't judge females based on intelligence , cause females have the tendency to judge back in that category ...

Actually, no - in my personal opinion, a nice girl is a lot more attractive than an intelligent girl. But a nice, intelligent girl is more attractive than both. Intelligence may not be the most important character trait for me, but it IS a character trait that contributes to the score. And keep in mind, none of this is meant to be taken seriously, anyway.

Romantic determination is zero, I think.  And slightly more angst for the whirlwind episode.

Actually, I should have mentioned, but there IS no zero value. The scores are from one to ten. So, one indicates absolutely no romantic interest in Makoto. I'll look into a few of the value modifications that you suggested. Unless I disagree with 'em.

Not entirely based on it, just a segment of.  I'll try to get it scanned later... at the earliest, after work tonight.  At the latest, on Sunday.  Depends how I feel after work tonight or tommorow.  

*Shudders* Can't sleep... Doujin will eat me... Can't sleep... Doujin will eat me...  :-/

Actually, when I said who "deserves" Makoto the most, I meant it in the way you would say, "Which of these girls deserve to get run over by a truck, or fellen by a mysterious back disease, or terminal blindness?"

It's a karma thing, man.

*Innocently* Oh! Is THAT what you meant? Who could have guessed!

You bastard! You take that back!

HAhaHAhAHahAHAhaHAhAHahaHAHahAHahAhA!!!

*kills Spanner*

HahAHahAhahAhaHAHahAHaHa- URK! *Dies*

*As a ghost*Well, I guess it beats being put on The List...

[Captain Southbird (EHOL Creator)]

I don't feel any need to make Afura's entry specifically "TV Afura". In spite of the fact that OAV Afura is nicer than TV Afura, I still don't consider them different enough to warrant specific entries.

Afura Mann ... Afura has given no indication that she's interested in Makoto romantically. She gets a point because the TV version of her is clearly impressed by him. ... Again using the Wanderers to view her past, it seems that she was a teacher's pet in her early life, and one who used her natural talents to great advantage in securing a position for herself. Such individuals usually don't have a lot of friends, and tend to lead isolated, lonely lives which is the only reason her angst rating isn't lower than it is. ... Afura's primary visable trait is her arrogance, mostly in the Wanderers, but to a degree also in the OAV timeline. That said, she has a lot of self-confidence - though possibly a little too much, given how headstrong she is at times.



OAV Afura is just NOT the bitch, TV Afura is.    But seriously, I don't take any of Wanderers characterizations as canon for anything outside of Wanderers.  OAV Afura is NOT in that totally lame competition thing with Shayla.  She's her best friend if anything.  She's kind with a good mind, not a bitch with overly high standards who'd sooner spit on anyone than help them... unless it involves her goddamned "wind".    I'm sorry, I could never make OAV Afura and TV Afura interchangable.  In all fairness, your insights here are very TV based because OAV Afura didn't HAVE a lot of character information.  Actually one reason my sister liked Afura was because she wasn't like many of the other females just pouring over Makoto.


OAV - Awesome fighters together as friends! (and look at the little smile on Afura)


TV - Bitchy contenders.  Oh wheeee.

*Shudders* Can't sleep... Doujin will eat me... Can't sleep... Doujin will eat me...  :-/

The ones I got for free were at least, for the most part, "normal" enough.  Why is it the ones I buy are the ones that are more weird than anything? ;p

[Spanner]

Okay, I made a few modifications:

OVA-Ifurita actually tried to resist Jinnai's last command, to kill Makoto, before Makoto destroyed her control circuit.  I'd give her an extra point or two for that, either in determination or character, depending on how you look at it.

Yeah, I suppose you're right - probably into determination, rather than character, though, since it had directly to do with just WHO Jinnai had ordered her to kill. She probably would have been less reluctant, if it was just a random guard. (DM grants +1 to DET)

Slightly more determination, slightly less angst.

I'll agree with you on Rune's determination (+1 to DET), but not on her angst. I still think she ranks pretty high...

Slightly less determination, slightly more character.

Naw, I stand by my Shayla stats.

I'd give Nanami a higher angst score, for "Why is my life hard on every world," and (briefly) crying when she finds Makoto at Arliman, and so on.  She has her moments.  But she does bounce back quickly.  She has a lot of inner strength, or driving greed, or both.

Nanami had a really bad time in Alt World.  But, from memory, almost all of it was over Makoto+Kauru.  If Alt World had been better written, she might have had more profound angst, especially after her Creteria restaurant was damaged.  Everyone has a breaking point, and I've wondered if she might have given in to despair, if her time in Creteria had lasted much longer.

Some good points here. (+1 to ANG) However, I can't use the grief she experienced in Creteria, since it had to do with losing out on Makoto. The angst I'm dealing with here needs to be considered independant of the whole romance thing - i.e., which character has had the sorriest lot in life and deserves some sweet, sweet, Makoto lovin' to make it all better.

Determination varies.  Might have been fairly high early on, but after she saw Makoto and Rune together, it fell to virtually zero.  I would agree that she has a lot more angst than you might first think.

*Nods* A lot of these values fluctuate over time. And I won't even pretend that I tried to do the best I could to find the best value for each character. This was all pretty off-the-cuff.

Huh.  Besides a few drabbles, and a silent cameo in "Fujisawa's Wild Kingdom," I've never even written any fan fiction for her.  Never realized that before.

At the risk of offending TV Rune fans, that's because she's just not a very interesting character. She's almost the epitome of the generic anime love interest. Which isn't to say that she's not cute as the dickens, but her personality is a little too bland, her romance with Makoto is a little too formulaic and pat... and so on and so forth.

I'd go 10/10, but at least in the score board that should be 8/10, just like Quawool:

I decided to give TV Iffy +1 to CHR. You're right; she DID deserve a higher Character score. I was probably being overly critical, out of fear that I might end up being too biased in her favor.

[Spanner]

OAV Afura is just NOT the bitch, TV Afura is.    But seriously, I don't take any of Wanderers characterizations as canon for anything outside of Wanderers.  OAV Afura is NOT in that totally lame competition thing with Shayla.  She's her best friend if anything.  She's kind with a good mind, not a bitch with overly high standards who'd sooner spit on anyone than help them... unless it involves her goddamned "wind".    I'm sorry, I could never make OAV Afura and TV Afura interchangable.  In all fairness, your insights here are very TV based because OAV Afura didn't HAVE a lot of character information.  Actually one reason my sister liked Afura was because she wasn't like many of the other females just pouring over Makoto.

I think you're being WAY too overcritical of TV Afura, and definitely taking her and Shayla's rivalry too much at face value. Their competition seems very much of the sort of "Yeah, we fight all the time and pretend to hate each other, but underneath it all we're inseperable friends and will always back each other up" relationship that's common throughout anime. I personally consider Tenchi Muyo's Ryoko and Ayeka to have something similar (at least in the OAVs) - and again, that's another relationship that a lot of fans take too much at face value.

I will grant, though, that given how underdeveloped Afura was in the original OAV, I was geared up to enjoy TV Afura no matter WHAT kind of personality they gave her, so long as they actually GAVE her one. This may have colored my opinion. Suffice it to say, I find TV Afura's arrogance and "bitchiness" intriguing, rather than irritating. And I greatly enjoyed her rivalry with Shayla, which I firmly believe was at least hinted at in the OAVs. ("It's my attack - I get to name it!")

As for being more willing to spit on you than help you... Well, she acts that way, but she still came though in the end. Every single time.

[Captain Southbird (EHOL Creator)]

It just proves she isn't worthless.

Personally, I'm going to very much prefer either leaving OAV Afura undeveloped or freshly developed.  I can't stand the rivalry thing.  And I'll tell you it'd actually be a bigger problem in OAV than in TV, simply because in OAV we can assume they all live in close quarters all the time (Mt. Muldoon), as opposed to being seperated by individual shrines miles apart.

You have to understand, the rivalry is EVERYTHING to some of us.  You can't just discount it.  The silly thing about "it's my move, I get to name it" is probably just playfulness at best, maybe an in-joke we're outside of.  Nonetheless, in the OAV and OAV2, it's clearly depicted that Afura and Shayla are good friends who get along well.  (I can't remember if anything major happened in AW, since they're apart most of the time anyway.)  

I suppose it's arbitrary, since something from Wanderers is often conflicting with something from OAV and it's best left alone, but I can't help saying that I can't stand the way the TV writers depicted Afura.  What it PROBABLY is, is that I've subconciously developed a crush on Afura's OAV typing (friendly, intelligent, and that gorgeous slightly curled not totally straight hair !)

Yeah.  A lot of fans liked the fact she got a personality because they were so mystified by the sheer lacking of character in the OAV.  But just because she got one, that doesn't mean you have to like it.  And I don't.  There were reasons I exagerrated it to the point of masochistic hints in EHPC/GBA.  Because a weird facet of me is, if I really hate something, I'll take it to an opposite polar point so that it just becomes rediculous.    Call it "clever handling" or something more demeaning, but it's what I do.

Now I'm totally off-topic.  But I have to go to work so I don't care.  Yeehaw.