This is my own Kyonko fanart from Tegaki E!
*fap* *fap* Oh, pardon me, could that be a Kyou picture I am looking at? No, it is Kyonko, the new queen of anime fandom. I am truly amazed at the huge of amount of Kyonko fanart that is being produced. But even more amazing, if you stop to think about it, are the stupendous implications for gender-role expectations and fan interactions. Put simply: I find Kyonko more alluring than a hundred Haruhis!
In the fanboy’s beloved Suzumiya Haruhi no franchise, the whole thing revolves around an obsession with Haruhi as an ultimate tsundere. Then there is the fact that it all comes through the filter of the facepalming Kyon. Kyon is the voice of reason; he represents propriety. He is the ultimate “square,” but is saved from oblivion because his reactions are often ours, as we are both repelled and attracted to Haruhi’s madness. As with other tsundere-fodder, he inevitably becomes the girl’s foil and tool. But unlike the usual weak lumps of 2D manflesh, Kyon is no fool, and eventually he knows he must give in to save the world (or something like that). But he’s still a guy. He’s embarrassed by boobs yet is drawn to the voluptuous Mikuru (when he really likes Haruhi, right?). But enough about the same old boring Kyon. What happens when “something falls off” and Kyonko is born?
Oh, so sekushi!
Well, now Kyonko becomes a female hanging on to a tsundere man. This is not an uncommon thing in shoujo manga. Like Tsukasa in Hana Yori Dango (ummm….I just wrote dango), or countless others, male Haruhi (Haruki? Haruhiko?) would probably be even more difficult (and more insensitive and abusive?) than female Haruhi. Instead of this being cute, he would be an ass, but the type these shoujo heroines are usually obsessed with. I don’t know if Kyon would fit that mold though. She would need to be rescued a lot and experience a lack of confidence and inability to communicate that are not typical of male Kyon. And what would take the place of Haruhi’s bunny suit? I mean, she makes Mikuru wear one, but at least she has one on herself (it’s quite “fetching” too, lol). Male Haruhi would not wear one, so forcing Kyonko (or a male Mikuru, yuck!) to wear it or a maid outfit would just be like a pushy guy abusing women (and weaker men) to please his own fetishes. I wonder if this would really work?
Put that poor girl down, Haru–whatever your name is!
Our poor abused (but wise) Kyonko — how can we not feel for her. Kyon is funny, but his situation pales compared to our interest in Haruhi; but long-suffering Kyonko elicits our sympathy and male desire. I’m trying to think of other female anime characters who would be like her: wisecracking, facepalming, quick to throw cold water on the crazy characters’ wild schemes. I know there are some, but at this late hour, I can’t bring any right to mind. But that kind of attitude, when transfered from male to female becomes, um, well, moe. So gender-swapping doesn’t make Haruhi suddenly some kind of shoujo thing. It just appeals to fanboys desires in a different way. And in this case, its a sub-genre made by the fanboys themselves. And those really wanting shoujo romance can have that version too. As for me, I’ll go back to obsessing over all the Kyonko art!
Oh, so sekushi!!!
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Humana humana humana humana humana humana humana humana humana..
*drool*
I… cannot betray my Haruhi-sama…
But I might sin a few times a day with Kyonko.
Dear god. S(he?)’s moe.
What appeals to me in the genderbended Haruhi world is that:
1. Kyonko is hawt;
2. Itsuko groping Kyonko is hawt;
3. Haruki is actually more believable as an abusive male lead.
The fanartists really did a fantastic job with Kyonko. *drool*
I think that she would have an attitude similar to Ouran’s Haruhi Fujioka. (Maaya Sakamoto would be the perfect seiyuu for her.)
As for the bunny suit incident, I’ve actually seen some fanart of Haruki and Mitsuru dressed as butlers (Hayate-style).
KyoAni should definitely make a genderbending episode in Season 2. The fans would go crazy!
I think, aside from the (finally) unified character design given to Kyon-ko, her personality as a snarky, sarcastic, and wise-cracking but ‘ordinary’ school girl is very compelling, especially when paired with the nutjob that is the transgendered Haruki. A lot of us loved Kyon, as he broke an anime mold with regards to spineless male leads (here was one that, at least inwardly, fought back with enough vitriol in his narration to strip paint at times). Take THAT attitude and place it a girl, and it suddenly takes a whole different dimension — something some folks find very attractive.
I just thought of something else… perhaps Kyonko would be like Juno (in that pregnant girl movie)?
@Konosora. She. No need to worry about any sudden surprises. Completely female. =D
My Nagato-loving best friend is in tears that she has to be turned into a guy for this project; else it’s a great idea.
Kyonko is moe, indeed. And I go with the Haruki spelling so far. Mitsuuru for Mikuru is a little weird to me, but whatever.
(Although Haruhiko makes sense, too, with the -hiko suffix. But some might get confused and see only -ko, which is a girl suffix.)
“I
Me thinks Kyonko > Kyon.
Kyonko just feels more right than Kyon right now.
Can we somehow convince KyoAni to have Haruhi wipe out the current world and recreate it with all the genders swapped? :D
Come to think of it, gender swapped SHnY is almost like Ouran Host Club, taking in account of the personalities of all the chars. Only, more bizzare.
Oooh, this looks interesting. “They fell off”…reminds me of Clannad (early episodes)
I think I’ll add you to my blogroll, if you don’t mind~