The Race For Romance

In my honest opinion, Rumiko Takahashi is defenetly one of the winners in the race for romance.

More and more now, an 'important' part in the equation for a good book or movie is romance. Personally, I don't find romance to be important at all unless you're making a romance movie or book. Or you're disney. Some of the best, most powerfull movies and books like Shindlers List, Grave of the FireFlies, and Lord of the Flies do not include romance in the equation. Romance, in most cases, just gets in the way of the story.

But why should romance get in the way of the plot? Romance is a beautiful thing, right? Then why, when I watch a movie, do I see the two main characters kiss and I roll my eyes disgruntledly? I think it must be the over-doneness.

Recently I became very worried when I started gushing over Molder and Scully's relationship on the X-files. (I've recently begun to hate it though because it's become too dramatic and stupid) I thought that I was going to become a pink, glittery, romance-loving schoolgirl when I've long been proud of my detest for romance. My relationship-love list went up to two couples, it was like the world ended for me. But then ont he Inu-Yasha mailing list someone brought up the very good point that in order to have a good, romantic relationship going the couple has to under-do it. You see, the bigger the display of emotion goes, not the bigger the reaction as some would think, but the bigger the next display must be in order to evoke a similar reaction. For example, If Inu-Yasha kissed Kagome it would be cute, but then if he kissed her again it wouldn't be that cute anymore, and Rumiko would have to try for something bigger. And after a while the things just get so big it suffocates the plot. Now, however, if Inu-Yasha holds kagome's hand and tells her to have faith in him, the reaction is still 'awww!' but next time the display doesn't have to be sadistically big and thus won't smother the plot.

It's like a race. If you start off big, then you have to keep going bigger and bigger to keep your lead. But soon you'll tire out and you just won't be able to keep the lead anymore. But if you start of small and slowly and gradually grow bigger and bigger you'll be in the lead in no time.

Take this chart of Iy and Kagome's progress for example, and notice how things gradually evolve, not starting abruptly large, but starting small and growing tention as it goes along:

Inu-Yasha Calls Kagome by her name
Inu-Yasha protects Kagome in a fight.
Inu-Yasha shows releif when he finds out Kagome isn't dead.
Inu-Yasha spazzes out when Kagome 'dies'
Inu-Yasha hugs kagome 'happy to see her' (even if it was a ploy ^^;)
Inu-Yasha tells kagome he cares about her (and she falls asleep)
Inu-Yasha holds kagome's hand and tells her she can trust him.

So you see, the displays are few and far between, just a little bit bigger each time, and thus gets a maximum reaction. s for the Molder Scully relationship, the shows don't gradually get bigger, they stay at a medium level, but are good because they are so scattered, and they've gone through so many seasons with no shows of affection so by now we're all starved and we'll take anything even if it isn't gradual. and the gradualness is maken up for because the displays are taken casually. No romantic music, to big amazing thing. Just casual and usually sarcastic: 'I'd kiss you if you weren't so ugly', or "'Scully, I love you *delirious delirious*' 'Oh brother'".
And this is why I also think that the best ENDING for the series would be Kagome kisses Inu-Yasha. Because you can't really top a kiss without smotheringthe plot, it would be a great ending. also ironic because so far ALL of the moves have been made by Inu-Yasha, and the final move would be more effective if made by Kagome, who seems a little more in denial about her and Inu-Yasha then Inu-Yasha, who seems to be struggling with his feelings but still realizes them pretty much.
And that, my friends is the real recepie for good romance. This also ties into my gripes about bad Fanfictins. people who throw big displays of affection in their fanfics kind of invoke a bad reaction from most because it's too big a step for us. We're used to baby steps! I think conflict helps to. arguments just make them seem more compatible for some reason. So the four steps are: Gradual, start small, starve us first, be casual, make it funny, and argue argue argue. Okay six steps then. heh heh heh.