How and why do I get crushes on fictional characters?
For as long as I can remember, I've loved and related to characters I see on TV and movies. Or read about in books. Or even played as in video games. Ever since I was young, I would get really really emotionally invested in things. So it makes sense that when I engage in any form of fiction, I get attached to the characters and their stories. When I love something, that love runs deep and I get invested in that love. I never really gave a second thought to it until recently while chatting with a friend who mentioned that they never really got that. So of course that got me thinking as to where my affinity for these made up characters came from. As I mentioned before, this goes back to when I was a kid...
It all began with Sailor Moon
My very first cartoon crush was Tuxedo Mask. Sailor Moon was and still is one of my favourite animes. Something that I always loved about this show was that it was one of the only shows I watched as a child that showed a big cast of female characters that were all unique with dynamic personalities and also the focus of the show. I of course loved Darien/Tuxedo Mask, but I also felt a deep connection to Rei's character. I always had a bit of a temper, but when I cared about something, I cared for it a lot. She showed her emotions in a very direct manner that I always loved. I have no doubt that my love for her, Mamoru and all of the other characters in this series are what sparked my love for fictional characters. There was also Dragon Ball Z and Gohan was my babe.
And then video games changed my life
I played video games for years before I considered myself a "gamer". But my biggest surge into gaming began with Kingdom Hearts. Now in 2002 there were already plenty of amazing games on the market, but the truth is, I never played any of them. The first console that I owned myself was the Playstation 2 and the reason I got that system is because while watching TV one day, I saw a commercial for a game. The game had Disney characters and some other cool looking stuff, but the focus of the game was a kid wearing a red jumpsuit, big yellow shoes and had spiky brown hair. The Christmas of 2002 I was gifted a Playstation 2 and the game Kingdom Hearts. I boot the game up and am immediately drawn to the characters. The cute and positive Sora, the sweet and cheerful Kairi, and the sassy and mysterious Riku (aka my bae). These characters have grown with me and I've grown with them and I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the Kingdom Hearts series no matter how convoluted the plot gets. But the important thing was that Kingdom Hearts opened my eyes to other games and is a big reason as to why I am such a strong advocate for games as an adult. Games can teach you things, about life and love and friendship and Kingdom Hearts helped to see that.
It's really not that weird
I would bet that most people, at some point, have liked a fictional character. I know few people who have. And the truth about it is that it's really not all that weird to do so. Chances are, these characters are created and written with the intent to be likeable or attractive. I suppose an exception would be when people crush on villains, but that's whole other bag of tricks. At the end of the day, it's nothing to be weirded out over or ashamed of. Liking or relating to a fictional character shows that you're able to emotionally connect with something. Being able to emotionally connect to something is an important part of being a person. If it's not your thing, that's okay too, not everyone experiences their emotions in the same way. What matters is to understand and embrace your emotions. Whether they're connected to cute cartoon characters or not.
Go with love,
Koopa
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