Cielo718
Sai X Kaitou
According to this, Kotetsu x Barnaby is pretty much canon, but for the most part implied.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/HoYay/TigerAndBunny
At the end of the day though, what sexuality the characters are shouldn't stop anyone from watching.
It's strange how people will avoid certain anime based on that alone.
Isn't this 2013, not 1950? confused
This is very true!! But another thing to consider is this quote from Ozaki:
"Ozaki has stated that Kotetsu and Barnaby's relationship is left open to the viewers' interpretations, and that the ambiguity has been intentional since the very beginning. Basically; if you think of it as being romantic, that's correct. If, on the other hand, you think of it as Bromance, that's also correct."
Kotetsu x Barnaby is a HUGE draw for fangirls, and that brings in money to continue the anime. People who are against the pairing should just view it as a marketing ploy (maybe Agnes setting them up or something). Ozaki has stated this at every panel I've seen him in, which is like 3-4, so he wants it to be very clear that their relationship is up to the viewers. (The fangirls usually start raving at that point while the guys all groan though
smile )
This. I came here to quote this. I think it sells it a little short to say that what T&B is
REALLY about is "the development of a professional relationship." Because in addition to all the beautiful, wonderful superhero-y bits and all the delicious moral conflict, it's very much about the way that Kotetsu and Barnaby grow together. Their relationship develops in one of the most natural ways I've ever seen depicted in an anime (including 90% of those romantic relationships between men and women), and whether you see that as them falling in love or as them becoming inseparable bros is totally up to the viewer. I don't really believe in word of god, myself. I think that all media is what the consumer makes of it.
So no, it's not technically classified as a shounen-ai. It's unfortunate that this would dictate whether or not someone watches this amazing piece of art, but what'll you do. I'm not sure I understand why this would be a drawback when a heterosexual relationship would just be par for the course.
It's interesting that you'd call it a "marketing ploy" when actual, straight up shounen-ai and yaoi is a very underutilized niche market. It is in their best interests to retain ambiguity, because as we've seen here, a lot of people won't watch just because there's a possibility of m/m relations. True, the internet is saturated with it, but the same is true for every fandom I've ever been involved in. I think that it means we have expectations for what a yaoi is, i.e. something fairly shallow and female-pandering. People hear "yaoi" and assume "garbage." It's sad that there aren't more well-plotted shows out there that showcase shounen-ai.
100
100
100
