Fangasm

Ryu Have I Loved: What Our Cartoon Crushes Reveal About Ourselves

by Amanda LaPergola | 2:04 pm, May 27th, 2011

We have all had our share of crushes. They are one of those frustrating rites of passage that teach us about life and love and all that crap. Crushes are so many things: blissful, depressing, exhilarating, anxiety-inducing, and almost always universally embarrassing. Especially when the object of your affection exists in only two dimensions.

Crushes on fictional characters are common, especially in animation. Cartoons are one of the first things to inform our cultural perception, and to a young mind the characters that populate those cartoons are as real as family and friends. It is also not unusual for a favorite character to produce feelings of admiration, affinity, and sometimes infatuation. After all, if animated figures could not inspire attraction, how do you explain the existence of hentai? (I will leave the thesis on hentai to someone with more knowledge on the subject and a much stronger stomach.)

Surprisingly, there is very little literature on the subject of fictional crushes. A Google search of “crushes on cartoon characters” reveals mostly topics in entertainment forums, nearly half of which are dedicated to Naruto. Let us explore, then, for a moment, the psychology of crushes in general and their scientific purpose. You may want to take notes.

Psychodynamic theorists hold the belief that crushes are formed on individuals that remind a person of their parents or another influential adult. Others believe that the purpose of crushes is more Darwinian in nature. According to psychology instructor Cathy Schoonover, “[evolutionary theorists] believe that people are looking for someone to further our species,” when they crush. Thus, people form attachments based on genetic traits they find favorable.

That makes sense, but how does that explain the feelings one develops for a being that has no genetic make-up? Are those feelings therefore frivolous and unworthy of exploration? Not necessarily so. There is a third school of thought on the nature of crushes, and that has its roots in Jungian theory. According to Carl Jung, the unconscious mind projects qualities of an individual – qualities that might be repressed or unrealized- into the outside world. Crushes are formed when the individual is presented with a personification of those hidden qualities. For example, if someone has a secret desire to write humor, they may develop feelings for someone they consider funny or a character that makes them laugh. A crush does not have to be an actual person to have validation. Healthy crushes, fictional and non-fictional, are all beneficial to our personal growth.

To illustrate this point further, I have dredged up a selection of animated crushes from my own past to illustrate (no pun intended) how they helped inform my personality.

Donatello, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 series)

Aw, Donny! He was so adorkable with his techno-babble and his crazy inventions. Sure, Raphael had his jokes, Leonardo had his two swords and Michelangelo had his…interesting culinary proclivities, but for me, Donatello was the brainy soul of the group. Without him, the Turtles would not have been able to pull off some of their more complicated plans, and they would never have had anyone to design and build that kick-ass blimp.

What He Taught Me: Intelligence is a virtue

Ryu, Street Fighter II

Street Fighter is my all-time favorite video game series in the history of ever, and my fervor manifested itself in my infatuation with its main hero, Ryu. My cousin Erin would tell you that Vega was hotter, but I preferred the guy who was less likely to kill you for suggesting he looked “a bit tired”. Ryu was not a social person. He lived a solitary existence, traveling the world in search of worthy competitors while continually honing his karate. In spite of this, Ryu maintains some close friendships, particularly with his rival, Ken. There was something romantic to me about the integrity in which Ryu dedicated himself to his craft, and I have to admit that even today a well-drawn picture of him can give me butterflies.

What He Taught Me About Myself: The importance of pursuing one’s passion; Being alone does not have to mean being lonely; An interest in martial arts that continues to this day.

Ryo, Ronin Warriors

Why I liked him: Oh God, this guy. Ronin Warriors was a rather silly shonen series in which young men ran around in traditional crazy samurai armor, shouted for five minutes and occasionally defeated someone. It was the early nineties, and in America the anime pickings were slim. I credit the show with igniting my interest in Japanese animation, but still…Ryo? Really? Sure, he was the hero of the series, but he was so whiny! There were four other Ronin Warriors who were less angsty, and one of them was even British. What were you thinking, younger self? Were you captivated by that unironic mullet? Were you thrown by the fact that his name was one letter away from “Ryu”? Was it because he had a pet tiger? It was the tiger, wasn’t it? I’m going go with the tiger.

What He Taught About Myself: I like tigers.

Gambit, X-Men

Oh, Monsieur LeBeau. I discovered the wonderful X-Men animated series just as my puberty began, and I would never be the same. If Ryu taught me how to love, Gambit taught me how to lust. No other heterosexual man could have looked that manly in fuchsia, and no one else could have made a Cajun accent sound so seductive. But Gambit was not just flashy sex appeal. He deeply cared for Rogue, his teammate and love interest, despite the fact that her bare skin could literally kill him. At a time when raging hormones and after-school Catholic classes were confusing the hell out of me, it was nice to know that sex was not the be-all end-all to a loving relationship.

What He Taught Me About Myself: How important it was for a guy to accept me with all my flaws.

Sparks, Sealab 2021

After I graduated college I spent two years living in suburban New Jersey, exhausted, broke and utterly terrified to make the next move. I found solace in Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block, which was then at its artistic apex, and an existential kindred spirit in Sparks. There was something darkly admirable about Sparks: his refusal to ever leave his chair even when moving about, his schemes to make money and escape his watery prison…I may have found some parallels to my circumstances at the time. Sparks seemed keenly aware of the futility of his life, but rather than accepting fate he rebelled in ways both minor (sarcastic insults) and major (killing his fellow crew members to make millions in life insurance). Odd as it may seem, that was kind of comforting to me. My life seemed aimless at the time, but at least, as Sparks reminded me, I could see daylight.

What He Taught Me About Myself: I never want to be 23 again.

Now that you there’s more to cartoon crushes than meets the eye (shout-out to you Optimus Prime lovers), take a trip down memory lane and see what your infatuations taught you about yourself. It’s fun!

Amanda LaPergola tweets @LaPergs.

TAGS: cartoons | Street Fighter | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | X-Men

http://www.facebook.com/duffy.elmer Duffy Elmer

Lola Bunny.

I suppose she’s a flirt? I do like to flirt…
http://twitter.com/hayleyelavik Hayley E. Lavik

All right. I have to do this now. This will be my next blog topic, I guess!
http://amidstdancers.blogspot.com/ Shard Aerliss

“According to psychology instructor Cathy Schoonover, “[evolutionary theorists] believe that people are looking for someone to further our species,” when they crush. Thus, people form attachments based on genetic traits they find favorable.

That makes sense, but how does that explain the feelings one develops for a being that has no genetic make-up?”

But your subconscious (one day I’ll spell that correctly without a spell checker) doesn’t know they have no genetic make-up. To your subconscious and your hormones, fictional characters whose lives you’ve followed are just as real as everyone else in your life. It’s why we cry at sad movies.

Crushes aren’t just about physical appearance, but personality as well and fictional characters have bags of personality… or they should do, if their writers are any good.

Right there with you for Donny; you know as a human he’d have worn big round glasses and have had floppy hair… TV geeks always do. Although I also had crushes on Mikey, Raph and Splinter. Leo was lame though.
http://amidstdancers.blogspot.com/ Shard Aerliss

“According to psychology instructor Cathy Schoonover, “[evolutionary theorists] believe that people are looking for someone to further our species,” when they crush. Thus, people form attachments based on genetic traits they find favorable.

That makes sense, but how does that explain the feelings one develops for a being that has no genetic make-up?”

But your subconscious (one day I’ll spell that correctly without a spell checker) doesn’t know they have no genetic make-up. To your subconscious and your hormones, fictional characters whose lives you’ve followed are just as real as everyone else in your life. It’s why we cry at sad movies.

Crushes aren’t just about physical appearance, but personality as well and fictional characters have bags of personality… or they should do, if their writers are any good.

Right there with you for Donny; you know as a human he’d have worn big round glasses and have had floppy hair… TV geeks always do. Although I also had crushes on Mikey, Raph and Splinter. Leo was lame though.
http://handfulofhealth.com elaine!

I always liked Locke from Final Fantasy 6. He was funny and caring (he took Terra under his wing like a little sister). Though the whole Zombie Rachel thing was kind of creepy in retrospect.
http://twitter.com/hornheat Eva M. Heater

I’M SO GLAD SOMEONE WROTE ABOUT THIS!!! Since I’m a bit older than most of the geeks on this site, I have to go back a bit further. My first cartoon crush, when I was really little, was Mogli from Jungle Book. I can’t really explain why; he just seemed so carefree, which I envied, I guess. Long after, when I finally got into gaming, my first video game crush was on Auron from Final Fantasy X. Ah, the mysterious, strong, silent type!!! (SPOILER ALERT) I totally didn’t care that he was dead and an unsent! He was my type of guy!
http://profiles.google.com/deceleration.waltz Deceleration Waltz

My longest-running animated crush was Future Trunks from Dragon Ball Z. I admired his seriousness, strength, and intelligence. And I could relate to his slightly shy, geeky demeanor.
Anonymous

I’ve dated a guy like Fry.

It’s not as funny in real life.
Anonymous

Geez, I don’t even remember his name now, but… the guy who wore green from the Ronin Warriors. Something about his approach to things just made me <3, and now I can't even remember what it was.
Is Mighty Morphin Power Rangers similar enough to a cartoon to count? I found different things to sigh over on almost all the boys who wore tights. Billy was smart, Zack made me laugh, and Tommy. Just… just Tommy, okay?
The cartoon crush that hit me first though had to be, without a doubt, Prince Lotar from Voltron. I wasn't even in elementary school yet, but he had white hair that looked like it was fun to play with, blue skin, pointy ears, and would do anything in his power to win the girl he had his sights set on, even defy his father the king and ultimate big bad of the series. Okay, so Lotar was a bad guy too and trying to take over the heroine's planet, but nobody's perfect.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1587564547 Jen Spence

Springer, from the original Transformers series. My Uncle had all the episodes taped, and that’s what I watched until middle school-ish.
http://twitter.com/AbelUndercity Abel Undercity

I’m not sure I want to know what the Harley Quinn thing says about me…
http://twitter.com/katytron katytron

Aladdin. Only Disney prince I ever saw the appeal of.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=525535616 Bridget Marie Blodgett

Right there with the Donatello and Gambit. I also have a long standing crush on most of the Naruto character and Prince Yuki from Fruits Basket.
Anonymous

Oh, I know this is dating me terribly, but Barnabas from Dark Shadows! And a little later from the same series, the time-travelling Quentin. *sigh* Both of them, with their dark broody seriousness, made my pre-pubescent bosom heave. What did they teach me? That I could have someone to think about when rubbing one off, I suppose. ;D I’ve had lots of fantasy/anime crushes since then, but they were the originals.
Anonymous

Um. Gambit. Yes indeed.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=563223409 Vic Horsham

I am now really quite worried about what my fictional childhood crushes say about me.

In approximate order of when they happened.

Timmy Mallet, Jared from Labyrinth, Wolverine, Baron Munchausen, Richard O’Brien playing Riff Raff in Rocky Horror, Johnny Depp in Scissorhands, Data, Picard, Garak.

Oh dear.

I think Timmy Mallet may be the worst.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Esther-Rosenfeld/1839696971 Esther Rosenfeld

When “Anastasia” came out even the non-geek girls confessed to having a crush on Dmitri. I wanted to be a sidekick to Tintin and travel with him and Snowy around the world on adventures too.

First offical crush was Tuxedo Mask: dashing, elegant, helpful to the ladies, and looking smokin’ hot in a tuxedo and top hat. Ben Barnes as Prince Caspian was pretty hot too!
Jean Willows

Hmm, I think my first might have been Gem, truly outrageous…but it’s possible that it was only because I wasn’t allowed to watch the show and had to sneak her in after the Smurfs by turning the tv volume really low.
Ranma, Xena, Mr. Spock and Capain Kirk (preferably together), oh sorry… straying from cartoons….and Hefty smurf:)
Kath

You know, I think Sparks was actually unable to leave his chair, rather than not wanting to.

Going back to Adult Swim, one of my cartoon crushes is Birdgirl from Harvey Birdman. The combination of pencil skirt, yellow tights and impulsiveness has me cooing and giggling like nothing else.
Anonymous

tinyurl.com/297sxrk
Anonymous

tinyurl.com/297sxrk
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_R2FMHKH5PXMKNIJ5PDG37N4SVQ Erin

Oh geez. Let’s see… Tuxedo Mask was probably the first back in like 6th grade, then probably Toya from Ceres and Tamahome from Fushigi Yugi… O.o Man, middle school was embarrassing!!!! Then a bit later was Inuyasha and Wolverine, though those last two were more of a desire to be them as opposed to be with them. What can I say, high school was a tumultuous time, and a more prickly exterior would have been useful. But really, I’m not sure I want to look into the “whys” beyond that…
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_Z4CJFSWSF6NJQ2QO56FEBHKHJM K

Nice list, but quoting evolutionary psychologists is a sure-fire path to racism and/or sexism. FYI.
Anonymous

tinyurl.com/297sxrk
Anonymous

SAGE!!!! I loved his hair lol. And Rowen – a smart geek that can kick ass? Unf. He should have been the leader. He was a genius. *sigh* It’s sad that I still remember that from 6th grade. I also had a ridiculous (RIDICULOUS) crush on both Ryo and Ryu. Future Trunks and all the Gundam Wing pilots came later <3
Anonymous

tinyurl.com/297sxrk
http://www.facebook.com/people/Dan-Brunkhart/1480352605 Dan Brunkhart

I know I’m older than most people who are probably reading this, so my first cartoon crush goes back to the 1980′s. My first early adolescent cartoon crush was Brittany Miller of the Chippettes. Not to be confused with the one from the recent movies. I’m talking about the one from the 1980′s and early 1990′s cartoons.

It definently wasn’t a physical attraction. It was that an attraction to her personality and especially her voice whenever she sang. The other 2 chippettes and the 3 chipmunks all sounded like chipmunks when they sang. But Brittany’s voice in those cartoons always stood out so far above the others. I also liked her cutsey and bubbley personality, and the fact that she was an attention getter. And even though she could be self-centered at times, she always showed that she had a good heart inside.

As for what it taught me, I learned that I’m more attracted to girls with a “girly” personality who like to wear pink and paint their nails more than I am of tomboyish like girls who like to go play ball with the guys.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=50908060 Brittany Klopfstein

I feel like I’m going into the archives here, but I gotta say I was surprised when Ronin Warriors came up, haha. As my first anime, I’m totally on the same level with you there – However, I was more of a Sage girl myself.

I’ve recently told my fiance that if I were ever to go on Jerry Springer’s new show “Baggage”, my biggest ‘baggage’ would be that I have unnatural attachments to fictional characters: The Doctor, Tony Stark, Picard, Snape, Stein from Soul Eater, Kisuke from Bleach (is it obvious I have a thing for older men yet?).
http://twitter.com/ElanaVital Elana Vital

Doug Funnie: His devotion to Patti Mayonnaise. I dreamed one day a sweet little dork would idolize ME. Plus he was just SUCH a sweetheart to everyone!

Kirby: Here’s a fetish for you. I learned I adore a healthy appetite on men! Not gluttons, but a guy who has a good appetite! Round faces, rosy cheeks, curves curves curves! I learned I was not attracted to muscles or bones, but a nice, healthful meaty guy (not fatness, but nicely juicy) who can appreciate a good meal….Plush and cuddly, like a teddy bear…mmmm

Casper the Friendly Ghost: Oh he was just SO sweet. How could anyone not adore him? Plus, see above: Roundish face, pinchable cheeks!

These crushes helped me find out what kind of guy I wanted…and I found him! My man’s sweeter than molasses, treats me like a queen, and always knows good restaurants to go to!
http://profile.yahoo.com/VNCZLLB2TFH6Q5PONRGVC5FYRI Word Girl

I have a crush on Prince Charming from Shrek :P
http://shrek.wikia.com/wiki/Prince_Charming
Matt Wells

Oh boy… my first ever serious crush on a girl (as a teenager, when you’re finally getting past the concept of cooties) was Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Book 1 Katara with the tight trouser leggings and before she went crazy with the hair.

And when I say crush, I mean the real deal, with the butterflies in my stomach, and the blushing and the GWARRGH. Over a cartoon drawing! It was embarrasing alright, but I stand by it to this day. Strong, independent, mature for her age, kind, caring, something of a control freak, THAT GLORIOUS HUSKY VOICE, and those cute hair loopies.

She was my waifu before I even heard of the concept.

What she taught me about myself: I have a thing for domineering women. Also, a possible/probable mother complex.