Fruits Basket, of course! ^_^

♥ OTP: Tohru/Kyo
♥ Runner-up: Shigure/Akito
♥ Honorable mention(s): Haru/Rin, Yuki/Machi, Kazuma/Saki
♥ Crack pairing(s): Momiji/Kagura, Kunimitsu/Kagura
♥ Ship everyone else seems to like, but I don't: Um...I think I like most of the popular ships! Non-Kyoru ships for Tohru (Yukiru, Toriru, etc.) are probably my least favorite.

I've been meaning to reply. Sorry to be so late.

I knew that Tohru/Kyo was your OTP, but had no idea that you liked Shigure/Akito. My answers would have probably been just the opposite. :D

I was surprised to see that you like Kazuma/Saki, as you're the only one I know that does. I'm sure that you have a good reason for it. :)

And I totally love the idea of Kunimitsu/Kagura.

I'll throw out HP. ;)

♥ OTP: OBHWF. I can't like one without the other.
♥ Runner-up: Remus/Tonks
♥ Honorable mention(s): Bill/Fleur, Teddy/Victoire
♥ Crack pairing(s): Neville/Luna
♥ Ship everyone else seems to like, but I don't: Remus/Sirius

Love the icon! ;)

Haha! I didn't even notice you'd used that icon. We could keep this going all day. :D

Since you mentioned in your post -

Naruto. :)

♥ OTP: ShikaTema
♥ Runner-up: OBH NaruHina + SasuSaku (see my HP comment above)
♥ Honorable mention(s): Jiraiya/Tsunade
♥ Crack pairing(s): Kakashi/Shizune
♥ Ship everyone else seems to like, but I don't: I'm going to break this into two:
1) Very popular ship that I mildly dislike: SasuNaru
2) Somewhat popular ship that I detest: NaruSaku

Edited at 2009-09-30 11:26 pm (UTC)

Hee.

I like your analogy of NaruHina + SasuSaku being the OBHWF counterpart in the Naruto fandom!

You know, I think there's a lot of potential to tell a good Kakashi/Shizune story - it's one of those pairings where there's no evidence for or against, so you have a lot of freedom to play around, which is probably why it's such a fun idea.

Also, to be *totally* honest, I have a problem shipping pairing Sasuke with anyone (except in the very long run) since it doesn't seem like he's all that into the idea of romantic relationships at the moment.

Yeah, I actually have kind of mixed feelings about SasuSaku for that reason and because...well, let's just say it wouldn't be so great for Sakura unless quite a few things change. BUT that "in the long run" part of it is important to me--I do see them getting together eventually, and I think it's important for Sasuke to come to a point where he can see that possibility for his life--to learn the value of wholesome things like friendship and love and having some kind of hope for the future instead of being stuck in the past. In terms of actual manga canon, I think it depends on how much of a flash forward we get, but I do expect something like that to at least be hinted at.

The one fanfic motif that I've seen a few times (I don't really know anything about Naruto fanficdom, I just occasionally get really masochistic and check out FF.net for two hours every three months) that kind of works is the "15 years in the future" fic, where Naruto is Hokage (yay!) and Sasuke has long since been reformed and is now a senior ANBU captain or whatever, and then Sasuke gets with Sakura, which is a little more reasonable, IMO.

There's also the "Team 7 will be how the Sannin should have been" argument, which depends on the observation that Jiraiya and Tsunade should have been an item (I'm a Jir/Tsu pairer as well, to be honest). But I think the crux of the Sannin - Team 7 correlation is that Naruto will not let Sasuke go irrevocably evil and won't let romantic tensions mess things up.

15 years? Well, I think waiting until you're 30 for your childhood crush to pan out is a bit much. I'm thinking more like 5 years or so. But definitely after the dust has thoroughly settled on all of their current problems.

Re: Sannin

You know, I'm a big fan of the Sannin-Team 7 parallel and what it does for the story thematically, and I'm a moderate fan of Jiraiya/Tsu, BUT I really draw the line at carrying that over into some kind of NaruSaku=destiny argument. It's not just that Naruto won't let Sasuke go; it's also the fact that the Sannin were never in a love triangle in the first place. Add to that the lack of a Hinata analog in the Sannin's generation, and the argument completely falls apart, IMO.

I suppose it depends on just how long Konoha would put Sasuke in jail, or on double secret probation, or whatever after he comes to his senses. And I'd think they'd probably put him through some hoops before allowing him to become a full-fledged Konoha nin, so I think 5 years is a bit soon for Sakura to come around (because I don't see her as just saying, "Oh, Sasuke's back, yay!" at this point, and I think if she did, it would not seem appropriate for how her character has developed and evolved since Pt I), so let's say no sooner than 5 years, but I think up to 10 years is reasonable (so mid-twenties or thereabouts).

I don't find Naruto/Sakura quite as crazy as H/Hr, as at least there's clear romantic interest of at least *one* of the parties in the other in the past, but I think Hinata's recent actions in the manga speak louder than words uttered in Part I. I won't say anything else, as I'm not sure where you are in Part II.

Regarding Sasuke: While that expectation would make sense in real life (or in a more realistic story than Naruto), I think it far more likely that Sasuke's actions leading up to the end will be considered enough penance for his crimes. That is, he'll do some heroic stuff and everyone (yes, even the Raikage) will forgive him. I'm not sure about him going back to Konoha, though. I have this notion he might want to found his own hidden village; it's kind of a pet theory of mine. One way or another, though, I do expect him to be 1) alive, 2) redeemed, and 3) free at the end of the series.

I don't find Naruto/Sakura quite as crazy as H/Hr, as at least there's clear romantic interest of at least *one* of the parties in the other in the past, but I think Hinata's recent actions in the manga speak louder than words uttered in Part I. I won't say anything else, as I'm not sure where you are in Part II.

Yeah, to be fair it has at least 2 things over H/Hr: One, Naruto does (or possibly did) like Sakura, and two, Kishimoto has never said anything against it--or much of anything about pairings at all (AFAIK). Other than that, though, a lot of the arguments and attitudes are very similar.

Oh, and don't be concerned about spoiling me. I've been reading the current chapters as they come out. Technically, I still need to read some chapters between about 340 and 450 or so, but I still know most of what happens, and I'm not avoiding spoilers.

Edited at 2009-10-02 11:15 pm (UTC)

Re: I need Naruto icons : /
I need Naruto icons too, lol. I'll probably make some.

Ha, ha. In a way, Naruto and Sakura is like Harry and Hermione (a close friendship w/o romance), with the exception Naruto had (probably still have) a crush on Sakura.

Looking at Sasuke's current situation, I don't think he is interested in anyone, but himself and his revenge. Sakura would be lucky if he even sees her as a friend again. (T_T)

Ha, ha. In a way, Naruto and Sakura is like Harry and Hermione (a close friendship w/o romance), with the exception Naruto had (probably still have) a crush on Sakura.

Oh, you don't know the half of it. The arguments fans give to support it, too, are creepily similar to the H/Hr arguments I used to hear all the time in HP fandom.

Bleach!

♥ OTP: RenRuki
♥ Runner-up: HitsuHina
♥ Honorable mention(s): IchiHime
♥ Crack pairing(s): Ikaku/Keigo's sister, Urahara/Yoruichi/SoiFon (I don't really ship them as a threesome, but the love triangle dynamic cracks me up.)
♥ Ship everyone else seems to like, but I don't: IchiRuki

I agree with your choices. I have a small silver of hope that the main pairings will be resolved before the series ends,lol. (^_^*)