Why do forced romantic subplots have to ruin literally everything?

Why do forced romantic subplots have to ruin literally everything?

Who's even asking for this shit?

I swear the only cartoon in recent history that handles relationships decently is Steven Universe

The thing is SU is supposed to be about relationships. The space lore and adventure was more of an afterthought.

im saying this as a woman that doesnt get shipping at all but, its literally to draw in the female shipper crowd. they are real, they exist, and their reason for consuming media is to project themselves into shitty fictional romances so they dont have to think about their own love lives or their pathetic lack of one (because they are living vicariously through the characters romance)

all of my female friends are into shows soley for this reason and i dont fucking understand it at all.

Love triangles are the problem. I have no problem with two characters getting together Wakfu did it pretty well. Aside form the ova.

I agree but it's cancerous to SU too, the entire fandom is shipwars and moralwars.
I hope to get my stories out there one day but I'm afraid of people flaming me for not pandering to their ships tbdesu

The romantic subplot in Star Vs is handled really well though.

>Who's even asking for this shit?

It draws in the shipping crowd.

Ironically, shippers in general give zero fucks about a pairing as soon as it becomes canon. Greg has been confirmed to be in love with Rose and vice versa, Pearl loves Rose one sidedly, and yet the current angry discussion you find on shipping goes to GregxPearl, which despite angering a whole lot of groups has managed to survive. Same with Asami and Korra; I mean SUUUUURE they could put in scenes where they have chemistry together in a sailor moon style, but why do that when you could make it as unbelievable as possible and thus all the more juicy?

It's like in real life; if you just want to chill and have fun with life, people will try and set you up. However, the moment you show any mutual interest with a mutual friend, cockblocking occurs. Which means all romantic interests must be kept secret, lest one of your friends meddle for their own bullshit agenda/fun.

R-r-right? I don't just have shitty friends do I?

SVTFOE has the opposite problem, though: the romantic "subplot" is practically the entire show, or at least the only interesting part. The rest is cliche quasi-deep lore crap we've seen many, many times

I find the romantic subplot in Star Vs. too strong to be considered a subplot.

Basically this


I'm a girl In a relationship for a few years that likes to ship characters though only canon ships to my torment and frustration. And while I can't speak for everyone I feel that shipping is so enjoyable to a lot of girls/people is because it's somewhat like an addictive shot of a feel good drug.

Every time you see media related to or read a ship you're into, it's like a warm and fuzzy high. Every piece of ship-related media is like another needle to inject into your system. Soon you get addicted to it and start searching for more to the point where you get attached to and…in some dire cases I've seen…feel a personal attachment and a desire to defend the ship to the death. It eventually warps your perceptions of what is and isn't canon because you've spent so much time within the fandom and not the actual media/franchise of origin. If you're not careful it can turn you into a monster with no hope and no chance of escaping from the fantasy you've contracted within your own mind.

Oh my friend, the bas romance was just the beginning of Korra's flaws, but after the finale, it's about to somehow get worse. Bryke has realized that Korrasami is that only thing anyone that liked the show ever really liked about it and the comic is likely to just be Korrasami power hour instead of actually cool shit, like a fire nation arc or something.

>Why do forced romantic subplots have to ruin literally everything?

Romcoms/romance movies devote the entirety of their runtime to making you like the characters and like the relationship they're in, and want them to get together even if when you take a step back it's patently unhealthy/creepy, so long as the character situation is entertaining and the characters themselves make audiences want to come back, their lasting appeal can trump anything regardless of how 'good' or bad they are. The focus is on the characters finding a happy situation.

Action shows devote a lot of time to showing struggle against an adversary that focuses mainly on how a singular protagonist will overcome an obstacle, in the event of teams they usually have them overcome this in singular segments that showcase their unique nature/abilities and honing them at that time until finding their synergy as one come the ending for a teamwork power thing. The focus is on overcoming a bad situation.

Thing is, we've grown accustomed to both of these being done spectacularly well on their own, in no small part because as a result of their genres they can do it exclusively and apply proper pacing. When including one or the other, a major timesink is needed for either side of this coin. Korra's problem wasn't the love triangle, it was devoting time to it while ignoring the struggle of the main conflict in the center, and so on.

SU is not an action show, regardless of what two clips will make someone think, it's barely got any action at all in it, especially in the first season, so time was devoted to the romance genre's strength, characters. Korra is an action show, and had at least one fight in every single episode, so less time was devoted to the characters.

TLDR it fucks up time management.

Things that were going on at the same time as Korra that didn't have a problem with having romantic subplots: GLTAS, Tron Uprising, Motorcity.
Things that did have this problem: Young Justice.
It's no wonder YJ was looked down upon as a weaker show and Korra was seen as worse than that.
Ultimately it's just a symptom of bad writing or plotting within a show.

I miss good cartoons.

>GLTAS is the only one who successfully managed to turn the romance section for their MC into a decent character building moment and never made either side look bad

Feels bad man.

makes sense.

not a girl but i love waifus, and i cant believe i didnt made the connection before.

explains why i fall in love so easily with girls but i never make my move, im just used to the idea of dreaming rather than acting.

hmmm thanks girl.

Aside from Betacai's autistic spaghetti spilling endeavors, Regular Show handles romance well. Particularly with Rigby and Eileen.

that wasnt a real subplot, more like an outscreen sidestory that we all knew was happening.

mordo ships were cancer and retarded.

Star is an overpowered protagonist so its not weird her show barely has any plot.

At the most, I go "aw that's cute" when it's done well. Most of the time it just feels like both the fandom and the media go "they're in the same area so they need to fug"

The idea of wanting to ship everything and somehow also defend makes my brain short circuit.

I challenge you to name 5 cartoons without an "overpowered" protagonist.

Romance subplots can work, but I feel this one was rushed, simply do to the limited time given.

Romance is for fucking grills, and as everyone knows grills have shit taste and ruin everything, so most romance is utter shit.

I enjoy a bit of cuddleporn now and then, but it's gotta be done well. Virtually without exception nothing is done well with women at the helm or as the target audience.

Girls never go on Sup Forums, nor can girls have a "pathetic lack of a love life". Why do anons like keep falling for this shitty bait?

>their pathetic lack of one
uhm....

That's not even the main thing holding the show back, but is a character really overpowered if they're too incompetent to do anything right?

What cartoon has the best romance subplot?

lol this post is funny because everything is the opposite of true, females are the masters of romance

Star Wars The Clone Wars

Wasn't the romantic subplot everyone hated of tlok only extant for three seconds? It didn't have time to ruin everything

>M-muh female boogeyman
>M-muh nogurls meme
There's a lot more of 'em than you think, most just know not to be attention whores

heh and then there is this faggot

Romances can be done well, they just almost never are. I feel like novels and video games are better suited to romances due to the longform nature of their narratives. Cartoons can do it well when the whole series is drafted as a single cohesive narrative, but shit like Korra is written season-by-season so they just make it up as they go with no thought to an overall arc. I'd say Over the Garden Wall is an example of a well-told love story in a cartoon series

as told by ginger, doug, catdog, invader zim, angry beavers.
literally every nick cartoon you can think of.

LOL there user goes again, just like conservative puritans assuming something is "romantic" when free love can include respect and comradery

What's the worst is when a very young protag is forced into a romance despite his age because the writers don't know how else to make a compelling yarn.

Because they do not add anything to the story, and a lot of times even take away from it.

I think a good example of romance in action done right is Star Vs. or The Venture Bros., where the romance has direct correlation with the drama and consequences of the story, rather then being a purely sideline bit of detail that adds nothing of value.

Ain't that the fucking truth.

Adventure Time and Regular Show were so good when they started. Then they decided we gave a shit about who the main character gets to boink. And it all went tumbling down.

Romance. Fuck it.

If you're implying that the romance in SJ was forced or ruined anything then you need to get the fuck off of this board and back to tumblr. Fucking tranny freaks need to die.

That's interesting. So, these shows are maybe looking for the same consumer base as Harlequin Romance book buyers?

It's not a fucking meme, girls have way better things to do than visit literal loser sites like this.
Would YOU choose Sup Forums over sex, anons?

>It didn't have time to ruin everything
Even AtLA threads can't escape the Korrasami drama

Honestly, I thought OP was implying Korra and Mako, which they at least listened to the complaints and broke up the very next season. I completely forgot about Korrassami.

You know, KorraAssami may have been totally stupid, but at the very least the show ended before before that romance could continue onward being stupid.

I can't believe I'm saying this but LoK managed to do one thing right that many action cartoons continue to not understand at.

Considering how many of them flock to gay bars to dance and get away from men, an anonymous image board sounds like the perfect place to hang out.

That's another meme. Fucking shit, how gullible can you guys be?

I was about to say that Steven Universe does the romance subplot thing right but you beat me to it.

It doesn't distract with ambiguity or self-contained drama, it just adds with growth.

Shit i want to hear about your shitty friends cockblocking you. Got any stories?

This. I get this as a guy too. Samurai Jack went like this for me;
>Samurai Jack? Heard of it, seems cool, and looks like they're bringing it back. I'll watch it.
>There's an attractive girl? Ugh wonder where this is going to go. Like the story though.
>Hey they sort of have a chemistry, that's nice. I wonder what'll happen between them next?
>Man they're so good for eachother I hope they get together!
>FUCK YEAH CANON SHIP SUCK A DICK DAUGHTER FAGS
If episode 8 didn't exist:
>WHAT THE FUCK GENNEDY WHAT ARE YOU DOING THEY WERE SO PERFECT FOR EACHOTHER (pic related)

Notice the complete lack of caring for the plot.

Agreed.

Cont. But yes, shipping can ruin a show for someone as well as others who don't even care about them (see Jarco from Star vs, the tumblr outrage over Samurai Jack, and previous pic related) and it's easy to become overly attached. I have this problem with Homestuck, others have it with SU or Adventure Time or any new shows, which is kind of funny because I've never heard of this phenomenon before. Probably due to the Internet.

TOP

Pinky and the Brain, Inspector Gadget, Rugrats, Garfield and Friends, Courage the Cowardly Dog

>Garfield and Friends
The only one I can give you.

A good bunch of Nickelodeon cartoons, Hey Arnold!, Rocko's Modern Life, Angry Beavers.

The same reason why Korra isn't canonically a Futa

Because we can't have nice things

what did he mean by this

The reason it doesn't suck in SU is because it's actually shown why Steven and Connie enjoy each others' company. They make dumb little jokes, share interests, try to get each other interested in their respective hobbies... That's the problem with most romances, there's usually no indication of how the couple spend time together.

Also, we could do with more stories where the primary couple is already long established and going steady. That way we can avoid a tedious subplot and just have them do cute stuff together from the start.

gets stranger and stranger the more you think about it.
it was about john meeting his internet friends,
but then he only personally interacted with them for like 3 panels, and then they were separated fro 3 fucking years while each one was fucking another character. It only seems normal at the and because john is such a bro and you could always count on him even if he disappears 50 years of your life and still would feel like time didnt flew away, but in real life 3 years with no word would probably destroy every relation.... damn i missed the point of what i was typing completelly doesnt it? fuck hussie.

op to the comment you responded to: for me, i don't get it. i mean, im not a stranger TO shipping at all but its not my sole point of enjoyment from media so i dont understand why so many of my girl friends get tied up in this nonsense. what is it about shipping especially that is so "feel good" that it becomes a point of obsession? is it because theyre like, imagining sex between the characters? is there pornographic subtext to shipping that is just lost on me?

im stupendously pragmatic and figure id rather be in a relationship and jill it to IRL porn versus smooshing two fictional nobodies together in my brain for that hit of dopamine, know what i mean? i just cant wrap my head around watching or reading something just for the relationship aspect... but at the same time, i understand why so much media puts romances in their stuff. it obviously has a market.

most things can sort of just come down to fuck Hussie in regards to Homestuck.

But it did ruin things, just see discussion of the show and the comics they're all about Korrasami and nothing else. Not only that they've been trying ever since to revise the contents of the show to support the ship, it's not just a 5 second clip, it's the impact it had on the rest of the show and fandom.

Not that user, but for me personally, I just think it's exciting and fun to watch two characters grow feelings for one another and eventually get together.

I usually only "ship" pairings that at least have SOME basis in canon. Which is why I don't understand the Voltron fandom and how everyone gets so up in arms over the relationships of characters that have had zero romantic interactions thus far. They're fucking nuts.

10/10 troll will probably get 500 replies.

SJ best cartoon of the decade, tumblrfags and nu-males will disagree

redpilled Sup Forumsacks will disagree too

t. /sug/

>nor can girls have a "pathetic lack of a love life"

Who do you think uses Tumblr?

What the fuck is that? I looked it up, there's no such board.

Guys pretending to be girls, like much of the rest of the Internet?

What a shocker, people like different things

Well, those hambeasts are technically girls...

>Steven Universe
0/10 try again

>he fell for the "not all girls have sex on demand" meme

I think people either are living through them or a jealous and want to see them in pain. Think about how long tabloids and gossip about the rich and powerful have been around.

Shipping is the female equivalent of "who would win in a fight".

No it's reality trust me. When there's only like one or two gay bars in your city that you actually like, it sucks to get a bunch of obnoxious women who feel like they can "let their hair down" crowding in to them. And the straight guys figure this out and follow them there. Ain't no meme, son.

Why do people say Steven Universe does romance stuff good? The way Ruby and Sapphire are all over each other and how Pearl has cried over Rose like 6 times seems equal to most other shows people criticize the romance for.

I appreciate that Steven and Connie are so low key and actually pleasant (it's really what Finn and Flame Princess should have been, RIP) but the show doesn't push it enough, they're still technically just close friends and not even boyfriend/girlfriend. I wouldn't call that a good romantic subplot, more like they just have a fear of commitment.

>The way Ruby and Sapphire are all over each other and how Pearl has cried over Rose like 6 times seems equal to most other shows people criticize the romance for.
Not at all. Ruby and Sapphire are just a cute couple where the lovey dovey way they act is treated as a joke half the time. Pearl is dealing with legitimate loss and grief that ties into the whole point of the show.

Pearl's stuff can be annoying and it feels like it's retreading the same ground over and over again, I get that it's grieving and all that but I just want her to stop being so whiny.

And my problem is that Ruby and Sapphire are pretty much nothing BUT a cute couple. Though I guess since that's kind of the whole shtick with fusion they can't be much more than that. Still I don't know, I'm not feeling it either.

It feels weird to me that people give SU a free pass at times when they complain about the romance of other shows. All seems the same to me.

>assuming that females cant be losers
Kek

Really? A whopping 7 episodes out of 65 have significantly focused on the romantic subplot. It gets played up more than that because romance stuff was a major element of 3 eps in a row at the end of S3 and because fans seem to just naturally obsess over shipping.

the romantic subplots are the least of lok's problems
the entire show is just hacky plotline after hacky plotline with obvious "twists" and terrible characters

there are so many borderline random xd moments and times where the characters are just acting so insanely stupid that it breaks the whole world's continuity

>Pearl's stuff can be annoying and it feels like it's retreading the same ground over and over again, I get that it's grieving and all that but I just want her to stop being so whiny.
It pretty much stopped at Mr Greg a whole season ago. There were lots of different aspects to the grief that deserved their own spaces. Pearl not accepting that she wasn't totally trusted in Rose's Scabbard isn't the same angle as Pearl revealing how often she sacrificed herself in Sworn to the Sword which isn't the same as addressing her resentment towards Greg over Rose in Mr Greg.

>And my problem is that Ruby and Sapphire are pretty much nothing BUT a cute couple.
Some people find that refreshing. And yes the fact that they're also gay plays into that, because let's face it, having a gay couple on TV usually comes with gay emotional drama slapped on it. Plus yeah the whole point is that they're more or less resolved together because Garnet is already her own independent main character, Ruby+Sapphire are essentially just backstory to Garnet.

Society is asking for this shit because we define success as a male by sexual prowess, and since males are the default protagonist that narrative arc leaks into everything and you get stories where it doesn't matter if you united the warring clans, saved the galaxy, or what have you; if you die a virgin you're still lame as fuck.

>literally
Read a book.

>I think a good example of romance in action done right is Star Vs. or The Venture Bros., where the romance has direct correlation with the drama and consequences of the story, rather then being a purely sideline bit of detail that adds nothing of value.

That's a good point. Most shows either have romance completely take over the story and push everything else out, or have it be a pointless waste of time. Seems rare for cartoons (or any other media for that matter) to just seemlessly integrate romance in with every other part of the story.

It doesn't matter if they are losers or not. Betas will still put them on a pedestal.

>The romantic subplot in Star Vs is handled really well though.

>Years of telling girls not to draw attention to themselves
>Now people don't believe they exist because they listened
The absolute madwomen.

I just wish it would take a back seat in some of these new shows. Media romance has been played straight, upside-down, inside-out, backwards, subverted, inverted, what have you. There is no perceivable way to add it to a storyline without it being cliche as fuck. Why make it an important, plot-driving device? Does love have that much of an impact in real life?

Get better friends, most of mine hate pointless shipping.
That's part of a reason but in reality it's a combination and I'd say that attempting to be more "mature" without doing anything to lower the rating is the main part of it, another part is that it seems to become more common so all writers want to be the cool kids who are doing the "popular" thing now, regardless of the actual quality or popularity. It's the most common in shows aimed at teenagers so they probably think that's what teenagers want to watch, and it's easy to write and adds a cheap drama. And in some cases the writers are shippers themselves and can't tell that just because they want something to happen it doesn't mean it's going to be good.
Every fandom is that, even for shows that have no relationships.

Don't make me choose, man

People have sex, get over it. Its unrealistic to have a show where everyone runs around being asexual.

>this is a thinly veiled Jashi thread

Of course.

if this thread is about samurai jack then you're a retard if you didn't see the blatant foreshadowing from episode 4 onwards

The romance in Korra was fine up to and including episode 7. Then they backpedaled and flipflopped and ended with lesbians out of nowhere.

This

>its another "I'm a girl which makes what I have to say more valid" episode.

and then you faggots defend that shit! its exactly what this dude said

Which is why women still win even when they're losers.

>Why do forced romantic subplots have to ruin literally everything
I blame this on a lack of guidelines on how to make a proper romance. There are plenty of places that cover how and how not to do action, comedy, horror...etc but when it comes to romance there's zero.

...