I admit it; I'm a shounen-ai/yaoi fan. What can I say? I love guys who love guys...
You've gotta love the subtext; you can find it in nearly every series you watch, no matter what it is. And the "
That does it...This relationship is practically
canon!" moments? Always priceless.
And I've noticed that people are becoming more and more accepting of it. Cartoon Network is showing Naruto now; don't get me wrong, we all know that Naruto isn't a particularly scandalous series, but it still has its moments. And the network actually
left them in. Naruto and Sasuke share an, albeit accidental, kiss in one of the early episodes, and they let it stand. They didn't even move it to Adult Swim; it was right there in the middle of late afternoon, pre-teen primetime. They didn't even edit out all the Haku subtext, and try to pretend that he actually
was a girl. (I wouldn't have put it past them.) I have to say, I was shocked. It's official; Cartoon Network has grown a pair.
Because seriously, a couple years ago they wouldn't have even dared. Because America is filled with lawyers who need to make a buck, and all it would take is for someone to get offended. "Oh, my poor innocent son Billy! He saw two boys kiss on the television, and now he can't sleep at night! I demand a bazillion dollars in compensation for the suffering and trauma that your network's five seconds of man-love has caused him!" And that would have been that. But now things have changed, and I'm glad. (By the way, do any of you older folks remember when Duo Maxwell couldn't even say that he was "the God of Death" unless the episode was played after midnight? Man, have times changed...)
In terms of Hagaren, Ed and Al love each other so much, it still stuns me sometimes, even now. Their bond goes so much deeper than what most brothers share, or even most couples. Of course, to say that they love each other
that much isn't the same as saying they're
in love. But it certainly builds the foundation for some subtext, and fan fiction doesn't have to do much "get-together build up" between them because it practically
is canon. I'm not saying that they're my Hagaren OTP, but they sure are adorable.