[ SECRET POST #538 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #538 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 67 secrets from Secret Submission Post #077.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 - not!secrets ], [ 1 - not!fandom ], [ 1 2 - too big ], [ 1 - repeat ], [ 1 - posted twice ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[iolites.livejournal.com]

122 and N!S5 - I really don't get the hype behind Nia. She's an okay character, but I don't she has much chemistry with Simon at all. They're good friends, but the romance totally falls flat.

[(Anonymous)]

And can you explain me how it falls flat? Because just saying "the romance totally falls flat" is a pretty shitty argument. Gurren-Lagann portrayed their relationship as very respectful and important to the development of the overall plot. Simon was only Simon because he met Nia and Nia was only Nia because she met Simon. Even when he was fighting against Nia, he was still fighting for her sake. Trying to protect the city she made, the world she built.

[(Anonymous)]

Because everyone knows that the only type of love between a man and a woman who are not blood related is romantic.

OH WAIT.

In other words, anon, saying that the 'romance falls flat' does not mean that a person is trying to undermine the importance of the relationship; it means that a person is saying that the portrayal of the relationship as romantic, as opposed to platonic, FELL FLAT.

[(Anonymous)]

But the person is not saying how the relationship fell flat, the person is just saying it fell flat. That's not an argument, that's almost trolling. :/

[(Anonymous)]

And you have yet to show how the romance didn't fall flat (note: the romantic element of the relationship, not the relationship itself). Honestly, this is such a subjective thing that it's basically impossible to argue for OR against it, because the definition of what constitutes romantic chemistry varies between individuals.

I was merely pointing out how your argument didn't actually address what the OPs point, because while you established quite thoroughly that Nia and Simon are very important to one another, you didn't actually illustrate how this dynamic necessitates feelings of sexual or romantic attraction.

[iolites.livejournal.com]

The other anon is right - I'm not dismissing Nia's significance in Simon's life. He was completely destroyed by Kamina's death and his own role in it, and without Nia he would have never come out of that darkness. His love for Nia is undisputed, but it's not nearly as easy to see her love for him. She rejects Simon's marriage proposal on semantics - Kiyoh and Kiyal have to point out to her that the strength of his feelings for her outweigh the literal meaning of what he actually said. After that, the series shows very little in the way of romantic or sexual tension between the two of them. They struggle in their own relationship because of the Anti-Spirals, but the romantic aspect of their relationship isn't nearly as interesting as fans claim it to be, IMO.

[(Anonymous)]

iawtc. They love each other and it's cute and I don't hate Nia or anything, she's cute too. But... their relationship was... boring, post-timeskip.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't know. Gainax nailed the body language so awesomely you barely needed anything to understand their relationship. Hell, the design itself of them both is extremely telling.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm not saying it's hard to understand! It's very obvious. I just personally don't find myself very interested in their relationship, even if it's supremely canon, because... I don't know, I just don't find it that interesting. It's just there and I take it for granted.

[(Anonymous)]

That’s actually what I liked about their relationship. It was obvious, the basically characters grew together and realized their feelings for each other.

[(Anonymous)]

I think you're heavily underrating Nia's character, specially her development, and by proxy the romance results "uninteresting". Nia wasn't just a device "significant" in Simon's life but a personality on her own right, it's not about what she did for Simon but about what they did for each other. Their relationship was reciprocal. Nia learned from Simon to believe in herself, the only reason she never submerged into a dark personality of depression and cynicism is her encounter with Simon. Thanks to the little Kamina statues and Simon's own strength, she decided to forge a life different from her "the thing" her father conceived her as.


She rejecting Simon's proposal wasn't on "semantics" but rather on Simon's wording. Nia's speech pattern is the Japanese equivalent of our archaic Victorian English and Simon's actual dialog was a very modern form of Japanese speech. It was a detail lost in translation, but it was honestly a great bit of quirky characterization for them both. Besides, the dialog between Nia and the sisters was a question of her own feelings rather than Simon's.

[iolites.livejournal.com]

I still don't think that constitutes a romantic relationship, though. They're great friends and important influences in each other's lives, but that doesn't constitute romance. The love is there, but Simon and Nia seem to be lacking in physical attraction until the wedding itself.

That's what I meant. Nia rejects him because she takes his words literally. They cannot "become one" or do any of the things Simon talks about, since she doesn't realize he's being figurative. As far as canon shows us, the first time she considers it any differently is when the sisters get on her case about it. It doesn't occur to her to try and consider that he feels strongly enough to marry her, or to even marry him despite what he asks until someone else intervenes. That's why I find her side of the relationship lacking as well as the way the romance is played out.

[(Anonymous)]

They're great friends and important influences in each other's lives, but that doesn't constitute romance.

They wouldn’t be only “great friends”, they basically shaped each other! Nia was as important as Kamina to Simon. Yoko or Leeron are great friends; Nia is, like Kamina, a soul mate.

The love is there, but Simon and Nia seem to be lacking in physical attraction until the wedding itself.

Well, you see, Simon himself was lacking in physical attraction towards any female after the incident that resulted in Kamina's death. Early Simon was actually quite, for the lack of a better word, horny and very driven by his hormones but after said incident... it looked like if he completely lost interest in breasts, asses or similar sexual assets. That's why the fact that his relationship with Nia lacking said physical contact comes across as pretty telling of his character. Despite their love being created by psychological short comings it is played out like out of a fairy tale; they're soul lovers rather than body lovers.

Nia rejects him because she takes his words literally. They cannot "become one" or do any of the things Simon talks about, since she doesn't realize he's being figurative.

But this is a piece of very important characterization. Nia and Simon are metaphorically from a world apart, that’s what their relationship is all about! She was so immersed in her own little self-shaped logic that she became oblivious to her true feelings.

[poisontea.livejournal.com]

They wouldn’t be only “great friends”, they basically shaped each other! Nia was as important as Kamina to Simon. Yoko or Leeron are great friends; Nia is, like Kamina, a soul mate.

... I hate to jump in, but. Um. This from the person saying that anyone who ships Simon with ANYONE other than Nia, including Kamina, is missing the point? I'M SORRY BUT I AM RANDOMLY AMUSED HERE- *SHOT*

I do love Simon and Nia romantically. I just think that you... randomly made a pretty great argument about why people DO ship Kamina/Simon. XD

[(Anonymous)]

... I hate to jump in, but. Um. This from the person saying that anyone who ships Simon with ANYONE other than Nia, including Kamina, is missing the point?

What? I have nothing against Kamina/Simon.

[(Anonymous)]

To expand on this, I believe the only two characters Simon felt truly comfortable with were Kamina and Nia. That’s part of why he left Kamina City in the end, everyone he truly loved was dead. Everything he wanted was gone. He honestly cared about Rossiu, Yoko, Leeron, Viral and the rest of the gang… but he saw no point in keeping in touch with them.

[poisontea.livejournal.com]

He honestly cared about Rossiu, Yoko, Leeron, Viral and the rest of the gang… but he saw no point in keeping in touch with them.

Hahaaa, I'm not even gonna address that one much 'cos it's an entirely new rant... but on that subject, I do haveta say I find that response to Nia's death just as unhealthy as when he broke after Kamina's death. BUT I RLY DON'T FEEL LIKE TEAL DEERING.

Also, sorry, I thought you were the OP of not!secret #5 for some reason. ;; Sorry, it's just that secret pretty clearly states that Simon/Nia is the only intellectually valid pairing in the entire show, so you can imagine my "wtf" when you compared Nia and Simon's relationship to Kamina and Simon's. XD