I had Kaze Hikaru on my list of to-read... I think. Wait, I'm thinking of the one in which they realize pretty quickly she's a girl, but then have her remain as a boy for her own protection. Is that the same one? Hmm, I wonder how that fits the pattern of "who discovers first", though it is a twist (if we're talking about the same manga) on the "hero protects her secret for the rest of the story" in that it's more like "the entire set of heroes protect her and her secret".
I think your final paragraph is very interesting - is it intended that way round? Or is knowing the "true identity" a consolation prize for losing out on the romantic relationship?
I'm not really sure -- I mean, it's just possible meanings of the way the stories tend to be constructed. (Most of these things do tend to work on a rather unconscious level, in that the author doesn't give it much thought, but just follows the conventions of the genre.) I suppose it's possible that knowing is a sort of consolation prize, except that I've noticed the number of times "the one who knows" uses this as leverage against the girl (and almost always, too, with a certain uncaring attitude towards being seen as gay for the apparent two-boys-together). That's less like a consolation prize in & of itself... but more like "here's something you can use against the girl (to force her to date you or at least tolerate you or spend time with you) and that's all the story's going to let you have". I think it's also a writerly thing, because it gives a chance to tease the readers (who probably know full well the 'true' hero, anyway) with the notion that the secondary love interest might 'get ahead' of the main love interest, in terms of catching the girl's attention.
Then you have situations like the bizarre complete turn-around in Love in the Mask when the secondary hero determines Hyun-bin's status as girl, promises to keep it a secret (while utterly baffled as to why it must be a secret), and makes no bones to the rest of the school about the fact that he's mad for Hyun-bin... to the point that he comes out as gay to his classmates. He's even gay-bashed for it. (Now there's something I've yet to see in a Japanese manga.) It's a very surreal set of chapters. I mean, it's logical within the story but talk about taking the genre conventions to the absolute extreme.
Ah, and if you can't track down BotWG, PM me and I'll send you a source for it. *wink*
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Date: 26 Oct 2010 03:31 am (UTC)I think your final paragraph is very interesting - is it intended that way round? Or is knowing the "true identity" a consolation prize for losing out on the romantic relationship?
I'm not really sure -- I mean, it's just possible meanings of the way the stories tend to be constructed. (Most of these things do tend to work on a rather unconscious level, in that the author doesn't give it much thought, but just follows the conventions of the genre.) I suppose it's possible that knowing is a sort of consolation prize, except that I've noticed the number of times "the one who knows" uses this as leverage against the girl (and almost always, too, with a certain uncaring attitude towards being seen as gay for the apparent two-boys-together). That's less like a consolation prize in & of itself... but more like "here's something you can use against the girl (to force her to date you or at least tolerate you or spend time with you) and that's all the story's going to let you have". I think it's also a writerly thing, because it gives a chance to tease the readers (who probably know full well the 'true' hero, anyway) with the notion that the secondary love interest might 'get ahead' of the main love interest, in terms of catching the girl's attention.
Then you have situations like the bizarre complete turn-around in Love in the Mask when the secondary hero determines Hyun-bin's status as girl, promises to keep it a secret (while utterly baffled as to why it must be a secret), and makes no bones to the rest of the school about the fact that he's mad for Hyun-bin... to the point that he comes out as gay to his classmates. He's even gay-bashed for it. (Now there's something I've yet to see in a Japanese manga.) It's a very surreal set of chapters. I mean, it's logical within the story but talk about taking the genre conventions to the absolute extreme.
Ah, and if you can't track down BotWG, PM me and I'll send you a source for it. *wink*