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Chicks On Anime - The Perfect Man(?)

Ah, but that's just emotional porn for women. The men in Shinkai's films are also loyal and trusting, and their love never wanes.
...
They want to be with a woman forever, but they can't. Physically can't. And that's what makes it heart-wrenching-- but maybe the men aren't so different after all.

In the end [of 5cm] though, spoiler[the girl marries another guy, and the main man is living miserably. How could someone so rooted in his young love that he can't move on and create a life that he's even content with be considered in any way perfect?
He's tragically (and I mean that in the truest sense) flawed.]

Well, from a biochemical standpoint, they say that men actually fall in love faster than women do. So maybe men are the real romantics, and they just hide it better.

Maybe some girls fantasize that they will be the one to finally sweep him off his feet, I don't know.

He was the Edward Cullen of his time

I've been ragging on Twilight quite a bit for the same reason, for the ridiculous, unrealistic pipe dream that is Edward

Oh yeah. Sting's “Every Breath You Take”…? In the real world, that's not romantic; that's a stalker. Possibly a criminal.

I still don't understand the "Guy I hate yet love" trend, though.

The archetypal shoujo heroine is so painfully ordinary so that 1) the readers can empathize with her and see themselves in her—be as generic as possible and she'll be like the maximum number of readers

Well, I still think NANA is most interesting with regards to its female/female relationship.

Syaoran from Card Captors Sakura. I do like him in Tsubasa though.

LOL. HYD is my favorite shoujo anime/manga but I don't know if I'll ever be able to properly explain the fascination I have with that series, let alone the paradoxical nature of the featured relationship. Having seen the anime first, I originally despised Domyouji specifically for his actions/behaviors. But really, what drove me to watch the series in the first place (besides the intriguing character designs) was that, from my original impression, he portrayed the "idiot bad ass who is really just a sad and lonely guy" archetype that I eventually found to be very attractive. I can't explain it, especially since deep down I've always rooted for Hanazawa... I could go on and on and give other examples, but I'll quit for now.

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Syaoran from Card Captors Sakura. I do like him in Tsubasa though.

Ditto. I really, really like him in Tsubasa. xD One of the few men I really enjoy. He seems totally dependable, strong, and dedicated without being a total fop or pushover.

Mysticmidnightmaiden wrote:

and anything that breathes with glasses (Playing Persona 4. Dying from megane overdose).

LOL, also in real life?
For me, i absolutely like meganekko very much both in anime/manga/games/etc. and in real life.
Meganedanshi not really.

As far as perfect men are considered, i as a man myself have some particular views.
A perfect man should be emotionally stable, but able to express himself freely.
He should behave himself, but should be able to take necessary measures when needed, even if it cost him his grace and he be ridiculed.
He should be generally kind, but hard when it comes to injustice.
A man of authentic authority, not some macho caricature.
A decent guy, not a slick bastard.
A man of integrity, not image.
Someone who will treat others with respect, but no doormat.
A good guy, not a nice guy.
Independent, not solitudal.

I've seldom seen this kind of guy in anime.
The gar types are just solitudal macho loners.
The types presented in Ouran Highschool Host Club each have flaws so large that they're in principle all clinically in(s)ane, even though all them are lovable and i loved the series, it's because of their in(s)anity flaws that the series was such a hit and success.
Still it'd be quite boring if all anime men were "perfect", but i wish a bigger percentage were, as a measure for men to reflect on and for women to like.

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A decent guy, not a slick bastard. A good guy, not a nice guy.

Call me crazy, but I always sort of lumped, "decent", "good", and "nice" into the same general category of behavior. What am I missing here, and why are "good" and "nice" mutually exclusive??

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A decent guy, not a slick bastard. A good guy, not a nice guy.

Call me crazy, but I always sort of lumped, "decent", "good", and "nice" into the same general category of behavior. What am I missing here, and why are "good" and "nice" mutually exclusive??

Your view of a "perfect man" has the word "dynamic" written all over it. And I for one, like that quality in a man. Because that's the kind of man with unlimited growth and potential. Who's confident enough in what he does, but also with enough sense of self-esteem, to be constantly aware of how he feels about what he does that defines him. And I can say this is the kind of man I'm inspired to be, am challenging myself to become, that hopefully one day, I can look myself with my mind's eye and say "yeah, I'm that guy."

However, I have to disagree on your opinion about the gar type male character being purposely solitary macho loners, otherwise I won't be inspired to become someone like Captain Harlock, Roy Forker, Ryo Saeba, Coach Oda, Ozma Lee, Ramba Ral, Dozle Zabi, Noris Packard, and last but not least Kamina. I respect these fictional characters because they knew what it take to fight for what they believe in, and what they believed in are themselves, their comrades, and that which holds true to their hearts. They don't purposely distance themselves by becoming anti-social, it only seems to be that way because they held a much higher moral standings than the rest of the society do. And they do have people who agree and support them for being who they are and what they stand for, and they in terms form this dynamic relationship with those that they care about. They are capable of forming true relationship with those that they held dear, because they know the true wisdom of the word "quality over quantity" and thus, they're incapable of anti-social behaviors.