KKM Thoughts (Rant) #1 Arrogance?
I've always been just a lurker in every fandom I've ever taken in interest in, but for some reason, Kyo Kara Maoh has inspired me to actually write something, namely, the first in a series of rants. It may not make sense or even be organized but it is all because I'm a fangirl. ^_^
Conyuu fans bashing Wolfram and Yuuram fans bashing Conrad and just shipping wars in general kind of piss me off. What the hell? Just because you like one pairing doesn't mean that other pairing is wrong or evil or whatever. What's with all the bashing? I however am not going to rant about that. No, my beef is with Wolfram bashing, and the notion that Yuuri could not be in love with Wolfram.
Now the following is just opinion. I'm not claiming to be absolutely right or superior to anyone in anyway. But some interpretations of Wolfram by people who dislike/bash him are annoying to me. I'm going to say right now that I LIKE Conrad, so please don't think that I'm writing this in an attempt to bash him or anything. -_-
Misconception about Wolfram #1: OMG!!!!!!He's so arrogant!!!!!! Why can't he be humble like Conrad!?!?!
Wolfram is not arrogant. There is a difference between confidence and arrogance. If Wolfram was arrogant, would he be so open in his admiration and praise of others, especially his brothers? If you haven't noticed, Wolfram idolizes both his brothers and he strives to be like them. Does that sound like arrogance? Now here's an example of how I view arrogance. In the manga, there's a short chapter with Wolfram painting Yuuri's portrait where we find out that Wolfram is actually quite artistically inclined, but Yuuri at first isn't impressed with Wolfram's art and says something to that effect. And Wolfram's response is that Yuuri doesn't know much about art. He says it very matter of factly and it's probably true. I'm sure other people have thrown endless praise his way because of his art skills, but he doesn't get offended when Yuuri makes faces at his art, and he doesn't counter with how great he is. That's being NOT arrogant.
Also, when does he claim to be the best at anything? He gives other people their due credit, doesn't pretend to be better than he is, and is aware of his current skill level. And since when it is a bad thing to be proud of yourself? Wolfram doesn't say anything in agreement when Yuuri comments on Wolfram's good looks, which he does several times in the novels. In the anime, there was that scene when they're both hiding in the closet, and Yuuri tells Wolfram that he's a million times cuter than Yuuri. Wolfram doesn't even appear flattered.
Another thing that anti-Wolf fans say is that Wolfram is overly critical of others, especially Yuuri. I'm sorry, but maybe to you that's how it appears. To me, Wolfram is someone who has HIGH EXPECTATIONS of others. Since when is that wrong? That proves his love if anything. And that certainly is not arrogance. And he DOES praise Yuuri, rather generously even, so he isn't being mean to him out of spite or to make himself feel better about his own shortcomings. Also, Wolfram is especially critical of himself, so I have a really hard time understanding why fans say he's arrogant.
Let's not forget the accusation of arrogance that Wolfram is constantly reminding Yuuri about how great a fiance he is. Specifically, when Wolfram thinks Yuuri is expressing a desire to cheat on him, he says something like, "How can you cheat when you have me for a fiance?" Now that could mean a lot of things. A fiance like him who is completely devoted to Yuuri which is a fair enough statement to make. HOW COULD a person cheat on someone so devoted to them anyway? Or it could mean having a person who is your good friend as a fiance. How can you do that to a friend? Once again, I'll say that Wolfram is not being arrogant by saying that. And really, if you haven't noticed, Wolfram is trying his hardest to be the perfect fiance because he feels it's his duty to be. The results might not be what he desires, but you can see his intentions at least. ^_^
A person who believes in Wolfram's arrogance will say, "But wait! You can't say his haughty and superior attitude isn't arrogance! What else could it be?" I'll admit that Wolfram acts haughty, but that's part of his stoic facade. Gwendel has his frowning, Conrad has his smiling, and Wolfram who fails at being stoic tries to make up for it by acting haughty. He doesn't want to show his softer side, so he covers it up in this way. It's also rather tsundere. AND SO MOE DAMMIT!
Now I haven't read the novels except for a few parts here and there that have been translated by fans, but I have seen the anime in its entirety. I remember in an episode with young!rebellious!Conrad where Conrad is not even close to acting humble. When he's attending the military academy under Gunter, he says doesn't want to practice with any of the other students because he's way above them in sword fighting prowess. (Yes, I know the real reason is because he thinks nobody likes him because he's half human. But I'm talking about appearances here.) And when Gunter is winning his duel with Conrad, Conrad still believes he's going to win. I don't know. I'm pretty sure that wasn't humility we saw there. And if you say, "Well, Conrad is different now," in case you haven't noticed, Wolfram is the poster boy for character development in the show and he has been steadily changing as well. So please, stop saying Wolfram is arrogant. Tsundere, yes, arrogant, no.
Edit: I completely forgot to talk about Wolfram's attitude toward humans. >: I'll say that his feelings about humans come from both his uncle teaching him to think that way and because of the war that the demons fought against human countries 20 years ago. He's been led to believe that humans and demons can never trust each other because they are too fundamentally different. Also, his prejudiced view of humans makes him see only the bad in them, which he is always quick to point out. But it isn't the weakness/inferiority in strength of humans that he speaks out against, it's their perceived moral inferiority. Also, his feelings are more bordering on hatred than arrogance.
When Yuuri first makes an appearance, Wolfram is concerned that Yuuri won't make a good Maoh, and after living through Cheri's disastrous reign, he wants Shin Makoku to have a good leader. Even though he is quick to cut Yuuri down when he sees him, he never says that he himself wants to be Maoh, he just doesn't want an immature kid from another world who doesn't even know anything about them or their values to lead them. He has valid concerns and I don't see it as arrogance. It was less to do with Yuuri being human and more to do with what is best for the country. Frankly speaking, most of mazoku would have felt the same way if they found out the new king was some stranger to their world and not even a full blooded demon. Anything rude Wolfram said was mostly due to the scent coming from Yuuri, otherwise, he might not have acted so angrily. But after seeing that Yuuri genuinely wants to be a good king and do what's best for the country, Wolfram truly accepts Yuuri as his king.
Conyuu fans bashing Wolfram and Yuuram fans bashing Conrad and just shipping wars in general kind of piss me off. What the hell? Just because you like one pairing doesn't mean that other pairing is wrong or evil or whatever. What's with all the bashing? I however am not going to rant about that. No, my beef is with Wolfram bashing, and the notion that Yuuri could not be in love with Wolfram.
Now the following is just opinion. I'm not claiming to be absolutely right or superior to anyone in anyway. But some interpretations of Wolfram by people who dislike/bash him are annoying to me. I'm going to say right now that I LIKE Conrad, so please don't think that I'm writing this in an attempt to bash him or anything. -_-
Misconception about Wolfram #1: OMG!!!!!!He's so arrogant!!!!!! Why can't he be humble like Conrad!?!?!
Wolfram is not arrogant. There is a difference between confidence and arrogance. If Wolfram was arrogant, would he be so open in his admiration and praise of others, especially his brothers? If you haven't noticed, Wolfram idolizes both his brothers and he strives to be like them. Does that sound like arrogance? Now here's an example of how I view arrogance. In the manga, there's a short chapter with Wolfram painting Yuuri's portrait where we find out that Wolfram is actually quite artistically inclined, but Yuuri at first isn't impressed with Wolfram's art and says something to that effect. And Wolfram's response is that Yuuri doesn't know much about art. He says it very matter of factly and it's probably true. I'm sure other people have thrown endless praise his way because of his art skills, but he doesn't get offended when Yuuri makes faces at his art, and he doesn't counter with how great he is. That's being NOT arrogant.
Also, when does he claim to be the best at anything? He gives other people their due credit, doesn't pretend to be better than he is, and is aware of his current skill level. And since when it is a bad thing to be proud of yourself? Wolfram doesn't say anything in agreement when Yuuri comments on Wolfram's good looks, which he does several times in the novels. In the anime, there was that scene when they're both hiding in the closet, and Yuuri tells Wolfram that he's a million times cuter than Yuuri. Wolfram doesn't even appear flattered.
Another thing that anti-Wolf fans say is that Wolfram is overly critical of others, especially Yuuri. I'm sorry, but maybe to you that's how it appears. To me, Wolfram is someone who has HIGH EXPECTATIONS of others. Since when is that wrong? That proves his love if anything. And that certainly is not arrogance. And he DOES praise Yuuri, rather generously even, so he isn't being mean to him out of spite or to make himself feel better about his own shortcomings. Also, Wolfram is especially critical of himself, so I have a really hard time understanding why fans say he's arrogant.
Let's not forget the accusation of arrogance that Wolfram is constantly reminding Yuuri about how great a fiance he is. Specifically, when Wolfram thinks Yuuri is expressing a desire to cheat on him, he says something like, "How can you cheat when you have me for a fiance?" Now that could mean a lot of things. A fiance like him who is completely devoted to Yuuri which is a fair enough statement to make. HOW COULD a person cheat on someone so devoted to them anyway? Or it could mean having a person who is your good friend as a fiance. How can you do that to a friend? Once again, I'll say that Wolfram is not being arrogant by saying that. And really, if you haven't noticed, Wolfram is trying his hardest to be the perfect fiance because he feels it's his duty to be. The results might not be what he desires, but you can see his intentions at least. ^_^
A person who believes in Wolfram's arrogance will say, "But wait! You can't say his haughty and superior attitude isn't arrogance! What else could it be?" I'll admit that Wolfram acts haughty, but that's part of his stoic facade. Gwendel has his frowning, Conrad has his smiling, and Wolfram who fails at being stoic tries to make up for it by acting haughty. He doesn't want to show his softer side, so he covers it up in this way. It's also rather tsundere. AND SO MOE DAMMIT!
Now I haven't read the novels except for a few parts here and there that have been translated by fans, but I have seen the anime in its entirety. I remember in an episode with young!rebellious!Conrad where Conrad is not even close to acting humble. When he's attending the military academy under Gunter, he says doesn't want to practice with any of the other students because he's way above them in sword fighting prowess. (Yes, I know the real reason is because he thinks nobody likes him because he's half human. But I'm talking about appearances here.) And when Gunter is winning his duel with Conrad, Conrad still believes he's going to win. I don't know. I'm pretty sure that wasn't humility we saw there. And if you say, "Well, Conrad is different now," in case you haven't noticed, Wolfram is the poster boy for character development in the show and he has been steadily changing as well. So please, stop saying Wolfram is arrogant. Tsundere, yes, arrogant, no.
Edit: I completely forgot to talk about Wolfram's attitude toward humans. >: I'll say that his feelings about humans come from both his uncle teaching him to think that way and because of the war that the demons fought against human countries 20 years ago. He's been led to believe that humans and demons can never trust each other because they are too fundamentally different. Also, his prejudiced view of humans makes him see only the bad in them, which he is always quick to point out. But it isn't the weakness/inferiority in strength of humans that he speaks out against, it's their perceived moral inferiority. Also, his feelings are more bordering on hatred than arrogance.
When Yuuri first makes an appearance, Wolfram is concerned that Yuuri won't make a good Maoh, and after living through Cheri's disastrous reign, he wants Shin Makoku to have a good leader. Even though he is quick to cut Yuuri down when he sees him, he never says that he himself wants to be Maoh, he just doesn't want an immature kid from another world who doesn't even know anything about them or their values to lead them. He has valid concerns and I don't see it as arrogance. It was less to do with Yuuri being human and more to do with what is best for the country. Frankly speaking, most of mazoku would have felt the same way if they found out the new king was some stranger to their world and not even a full blooded demon. Anything rude Wolfram said was mostly due to the scent coming from Yuuri, otherwise, he might not have acted so angrily. But after seeing that Yuuri genuinely wants to be a good king and do what's best for the country, Wolfram truly accepts Yuuri as his king.