KonoSetsu – one of the great all time yuri couples
Posted on | June 1, 2009 | 7 Comments |
| What Setsuna does on her days off…the dirty girl.
In case you’ve had your head in the sand the last few days, Enigma just released the scanlation for Negima chapter 252, and this happened:
I know – SQUEEfest, right?
It’s pretty fair to say that Konoka x Setsuna (or KonoSetsu) is one of the most popular Negima pairings, and fans have been waiting for this moment for pretty much since the Kyoto arc (was that volume 4 or something? it was so long ago I can’t remember) and apart from a brief clinch being caught mid-pactio in chapter 169, things have been all quiet on the Eastern front, so to speak.
So lets overanalyse the situation as usual:
The couple
- Konoka Konoe
Major – Strong Willed/Ojou
Minor – Relationship driven./clingy, Ditzy, Sensible/Voice of reason
Accessory – Mahou shoujo, Osananajimi, Regional accent
Konoka is the daughter of the head mage of the Kansai region, Eishun, and as such has great magical potential. However, since she was not cultivated from a young age, she isn’t aware of her powers at the beginning of Negima. For a long time in childhood, the only friend she had was Setsuna, her bodyguard and as such she cares for her deeply – though it is difficult to see where the sisterly love ends and the romantic love begins.
Konoka is not a character that Akamatsu has played with prior to Negima, and is difficult to summarise based on his previous work. On the surface, she’s vapid and perhaps a little too easygoing. However, this exterior hides a girl who is fiercely caring about her friends (especially Setsuna) and not afraid to express her feelings. She takes a bit from Mutsumi (Love Hina), but without the motherly airs. In other words, she’s the emotional strength to Setsuna’s physical. Interestingly, she is rarely shown using her powers, which emphasises that these are not her real strength. Her real powers are keeping spirits up and not getting tied up in knots about feelings the way Setsuna does – instead acting decisively and without regret.
- Setsuna Sakurazaki
Major – Quiet (taciturn)
Minor – Fighter (kendo), Yuri, Unexpectedly embarrassable, Submissive
Accessory – Uncanny ability (swordsmanship), Mythical creature
Setsuna is a lot easier to summarise, as she is almost exactly the same as Motoko (Love Hina) in that she is a Kendo girl with great strength who is unexpectedly embarassable in the right situations and holds a quiet devotion to the woman she loves. She guarded Konoka with her life from a young age, but began to distance herself from her so that Konoka could live what she considered a normal life. Konoka thought this was rubbish, of course.
Setsuna has held a torch for Konoka since day 1, and though it must have been painful for her to distance herself the way she did, she had been lying to herself that her love was unnatural (since she was a mere servant, and a half-demon at that, never mind of the same gender) and the best place that she could be would be watching her beloved from the shadows and protecting her without her knowledge. The sudden reconciliation during the Kyoto arc sent her reeling in many ways, since she realised that her previous values were far off what Konoka herself wanted. Suddenly, she found herself thrust right back into close proximity to her beloved again with the prospect of romantic love very much back on the cards.
The fact that Konoka often holds hands with Setsuna, compliments her unnecessarily or pecks her on the cheek were intentionally difficult to take in a romantic context. Since Konoka was portrayed as the kind of girl who would do that to a dear friend in the first place (combined with the fact that she loves teasing Setsuna), its not surprising that the fanfiction community took things back into their own hands.
The Kiss
So what of the actual kiss scene? The one we have been waiting 200+ chapters to see?
Well, it was a whole lot more squee than I expected (this month has been filled with squee it seems, though Girlfriends seems to be backpedalling fast O_o). The chapter itself was pretty pedestrian (apart from TEH BIG REVELASHUN) – with Setsuna internally musing about whether her new found closeness with her beloved Konoka was affecting her fighting ability and more importantly, her ability to protect her ojousama. In fact, she’s probably been musing about this since Eva laid the beat down on her probably about 10 volumes ago.
And then, completely out of left field, PACTIO!
Not to mention the lingering lips and the little moan of parting (and Setsuna not realising that when French kissing you can breathe through your nose). This really put this apart from the other pactio scenes that we’d already seen with Negi (which were purely functional.
I think what Akamatsu sensei was trying to convey with the little details on this scene is that Konoka does have feelings for Setsuna in a romantic sense. With just a little bit of suggestion in those few panels, he has turned the relationship from borderline subtext into overt yuri. With a deep kiss like that there cannot be any doubt in any readers hearts that Konoka wishes for nothing more than to see her beloved Setsuna ballgagged and strapped naked to a cross with her in a day-glo purple catsuit and matching whip. Cause we all know who wears the trousers in their relationship…
So yay! Let’s hope that Konoka and Setsuna isn’t going to drift into obscurity again after this key event and that Akamatsu sensei can write some more fun and suggestive storylines for them in the future.
Oh and commiserations to the Negi/Asunas fans. Sucks to be you, eh?
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June 4th, 2009 @ 2:44 am
lol, i remember reading that chapter a few days ago. It sort of surprised me, but pleased me that Secchan wasn’t as hesitant :3
June 4th, 2009 @ 4:30 am
FINALLY!
god that took forever, now to wait another 200 chapters to see them do it lol
June 4th, 2009 @ 5:29 am
Well. It’s about time.
I was starting to think this would take as long as Duke Nukem Forever’s release.
June 5th, 2009 @ 2:31 am
Took a long time for this!
I do hope Ken will make more for this pair.
I kinda “Huh”ed when Setsuna closed her eyes, wow, it surely shows that she wants the kiss badly.
Can’t be helped, she loves her. :) Way to go Sec-chan!
June 5th, 2009 @ 12:32 pm
I’m really glad the yuri was handled well in this series – it was handled in a “it’s natural and part of the storyline” rather than “Yay! Token yuri!”
??????????
July 16th, 2010 @ 5:50 am
Great! I love Konosetsu, they’re the bes couple ever xD But Setsuna is to shy!!! Konoka weird the pents, you’re right xD
August 29th, 2010 @ 7:25 pm
They still the best couple ever! i reapet it every time i able to xD
Setsuna is to shi :( if she were open the two will 100% become a couple xD because konoka waits for her xD