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Anime about syncing partners for power from Utena to Freezing.




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Madzack



Joined: 30 Oct 2013
Posts: 36
PostPosted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 6:44 am Reply with quote
There seems to be a lot of anime lately that almost have the same plot: Boy meets girl, girl won't power up unless he "links/syncs" with her through whatever means (take your pick: a simple kiss, groping, pull a sword out of her chest, some complicated ritual involving ley lines and quantum physics, or just plain old sexing), epic battles & tragedies ensues...

This goes on from Utena then to the Fate series to Guilty Crown and so on. Dall-Young Lim is particularly guilty of repeating these stories from Black God to Freezing.

But I'm not here to accuse this genre of being unoriginal. Just wanna ask: What's so significant about these stories of two people syncing with each other to unleash superpowers?
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Yttrbio



Joined: 09 Jun 2011
Posts: 3714
PostPosted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 7:26 am Reply with quote
I think it goes something like this: "Hmm... we need some kind of romance stuff... also, superpowers are cool..."
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dlm



Joined: 23 Nov 2013
Posts: 151
PostPosted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 7:10 pm Reply with quote
"We need a plot contrivance for why this hot, capable girl will hang around with this loser."
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FenixFiesta



Joined: 22 Apr 2013
Posts: 2581
PostPosted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 7:36 pm Reply with quote
There is an Eastern line in thinking in various works that imply there is a kind of "exchange of spiritual energies" based around intercourse.

There are also myths in Western culture about soul eating demons that specifically use human intercourse as there method of attack (ie Succubus/Incubus), so some modern stories are circumstantially "watered down" for modern sensitive's and just say "when you are in a relationship it becomes magical" to create an overtly romanticized view of having a boyfriend/girlfriend.
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Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
Posts: 13246
PostPosted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 8:05 pm Reply with quote
Such a set up lets both your hero and your heroine be on the front lines. The average school boy has a reason to be fighting side by side with the super powered girl, or the girl gets to do more than just wait at home for their champion to return.
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Madzack



Joined: 30 Oct 2013
Posts: 36
PostPosted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 8:06 pm Reply with quote
FenixFiesta wrote:
There is an Eastern line in thinking in various works that imply there is a kind of "exchange of spiritual energies" based around intercourse.



That makes sense.

There's also an apparent master/servant dynamic between the two, with usually the "loser" being the master and the super-powered girl being the servant, like in Guilty Crown or most of Dall-Young Lim's work. Sometimes that's flipped, like Dance in the Vampire Bund.

Was this a holdover from the samurai culture?
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Yttrbio



Joined: 09 Jun 2011
Posts: 3714
PostPosted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 9:30 pm Reply with quote
Nope, that's a holdover from teenagers' pants.
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Sohma_Curse



Joined: 07 Dec 2012
Posts: 512
Location: New York
PostPosted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 9:40 pm Reply with quote
Yttrbio wrote:
Nope, that's a holdover from teenagers' pants.


Yup. Don't over-analyze it. There may be some underlying theme dots to connect, but most of the time, it's just a device they use to mix action and perversion (aka two of adolescent males' favorite things).
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