MrProphet wrote:Not Maya. But both of the guys thought that, in my opinion. Being the "baddest mofo around" for them translated into being a better person, hence, being better suited fr Maya.
Since she was such a prize for both of them (or at least, that's how they seemed to view her at times), winning the fight was symbolically connected with winning Maya's heart.
they did not view maya as something shallow like a trophy or prize. certainly not shin, at least. when shin killed his parents, he did not kill them because they were threatening to take away his "prize" or "trophy". shin murdered them simply because he is insanely in love with maya. exactly the same reason as to why shin "killed" mitsuomi, killed katana members, and beat up mahjong guy and countless other people.
mitsuomi's feelings are a bit more ambiguous. but before the presidency fight, i think mitsu definitely did love her (i give my evidence later on).
MrProphet wrote:
If that was the case, then why didn't Maya jump into Mitsuomi's pants earlier? Shin wasn't threatening him with death untill that very last moment.
maya's been holding back because shin
already tried to kill mitsu long before that "sword to the head" scene. shin blasted mitsu in the heart on the 1st day of the election battle, which in fact did "kill" mitsu. and maya knew shin had done it solely because maya loved mitsuomi.
and even before then, maya didn't jump into mitsu's pants, because...
a) she and mitsu were still relatively new acquaintances back then. when she finally realized that she was in love with mitsu during that fortune telling scene, they hadn't even known each other for that long beforehand.
b) she also happens to be a violent arrogant bitch. she doesn't usually let people get close to her, mitsu even commented on how she was the one who was "alone". she's not some easy boychasing girl like aya, who chases and worships a boy just because he accidentally stuffed his face between her thighs (btw, aya fans, i'm j/k).
really, maya's romance with mitsuomi evolved about as normally as they get (as far as anime romances go). maya butts heads with mitsu. then she becomes friends with mitsu. then they hang out and go bowling and stuff. then she realizes that she is in love with mitsu.
of course, when shin realizes that maya is in love with mitsu (which happens to be the very next day), shin promptly responds by "killing" mitsu.
shin is the ultimate cock blocker, imo.
MrProphet wrote:She was clearly uncertain about her feelings for her brother. I wouldn't call it love, or even lust, but she wasn't too sure about what to make of her relationship with Shin.
Shin clearly wanted her to be at his side. Whether that was romantic on his side, or whether he was just obsessive-compulsive about his own sister is left out to debate.
ok, i didn't really mean to stress the sexual part of the relationship in my previous post. i was just emphasizing the fact that shin really really really loved maya in a disturbing way. so disturbing, in fact, that it was destined to be his downfall.
MrProphet wrote:As for Mitsuomi, I never really thought that he honestly loved Maya. Remember that scene with Mana, when she tells him that Maya and Shin are like lovers? I think those words sort of turned Mitsuomi to think of Maya as a sort of prize to win. From the start, he clearly wanted to be better than Shin. Taking Maya, taking the presidency, taking the position of the strongest fighter was all tied into his obsession of being better thatn Shin. Just remember that he never really cared about Maya before Mana's remark about lovers...
i disagree. mitsu already had a crush on maya before he met mana. remember, after his first clash with maya, mitsu said that he was already falling for her, even though the only thing maya had done so far to ingratiate herself with him was:
a) insult him and call him names
b) attempt to beat the crap out of him
also, mitsu really wanted to jump in and save maya while maya was getting trashed by mahjong guy. that alone makes it fairly obvious that mitsu already cared for maya, even before he met mana.
MrProphet wrote:In my opinion, chasing Maya was a bit like sport for Mitsuomi: just like when he made her join Jyuukenbu by beating her at all those competitions. There COULD have been a spark of something else, just borne out all the fun they had together, but he went chasing after her with not very much romance on his mind.
So, to sum it up: Mitsuomi X Maya was never really romantic, it was more like, "Wow, we have some much fun, lets go out and be like girlfriend/boyfriend", while with Shin X Maya there was quite a bit more feeling. Neither Shin, nor Maya knew, what feeling was that exactly, but it was somewhat more romantic than what transpired between Maya and Mitsuomi.
well, i'm not sure if mitsu still loves her in the present time. but i'm absolutely sure that he did once love her. that scene where mitsu literally cries and begs for maya to be weak sometimes, and where he tells her that she is not alone? that sure sounded to me like the words of a man in love. also, it's worth noting a quote during that scene where mitsu says, "and now, you (shin) are trying to steal the only one i love away from me!"
as for whether mitsuomi's relationship with maya was romantic or not... isn't it romantic to have fun and good times with each other? romance doesn't (and shouldn't) have to always be dreary melancholic dark stuff like the shin/maya relationship.
plus, back then, mitsu and maya only knew each other for maybe half a year or one year, tops. meanwhile, maya and shin had lived together for their entire lives. it's only natural that shin/maya's relationship had more traumatic and emotional moments. even though that scene with the crying and begging mitsuomi and shin ready to kill him from behind, that seemed awful emotional and traumatic to me.