Thread: Flag - then what ?

Yes, I admit - I stole that idea from never ending threads from Naruto-section, but I thought one in SR wouldn't harm anyone.

Let's get to the point. Let's assume that Flag will happen and Harima and Eri will become pair (and I bet lot's of people find it as undeniable truth that it will happen)...
.. Then what ?

It's not like they have similar interests, moreover Eri is quite a rich girl so her parents might not approve of her decision (they were making omai's for her with strict regulations). After they end school, it seems they will try for different colleges/universities/academies/whatever they have in Japan, so they won't be able to meet so often. They also go completely different paths in life (it's not like it destroys relationships, but doesn't help too). Furthermore, let's face it, both of them are quite selfish - they are bound to quarrel a lot.

In summary, I never were a flag fan because this relationship has no future (I know, love can overcome everything bla bla bla) and I still think it won't work.

Please, prove me wrong

It's a manga. It doesn't have to make sense. I do agree that Harima and Eri don't seem to be compatible beyond their personal chemistry together, but the manga can just end with, "And they lived happily ever after." Also, if Harima succeeds as a mangaka, he won't be completely below Eri in social class.

Well, NeoSapien pointed out what was most important; School Rumble is not real. Thinking deeply about potential relationship problems will do you no good.

Originally Posted by Kolox

It's not like they have similar interests, moreover Eri is quite a rich girl so her parents might not approve of her decision (they were making omai's for her with strict regulations).

Right after Eri thinks there's no way the have anything in common in Chapter 204, she discovers both don't like shrimp. Both easily get absorbed in acting (Eri in 214, Harima in 19, and both seem to like animals (animals gather around Harima, Eri likes going to the zoo), both have track skills, and so on. The similarities are there, they just need to talk with each other and find out what they are (and Eri seems keen on this, while Harima realizes that being around Eri isn't so bad in Chapter 19. And this is a manga, so similar interests can be created on the spot.

Eri's parents trying to mess up the marriage is no big deal; Eri's mother cancelled he omiai pretty quickly after Eri told her she didn't want to get married. The only reason I could think this would become a problem would be to force Harima into proving he loves Eri.

Originally Posted by Kolox

After they end school, it seems they will try for different colleges/ universities/ academies/ whatever they have in Japan, so they won't be able to meet so often.

Harima is a mangaka so he won't even be going to university (and can likely work most anywhere), and Eri seems to want to become a hairdresser, which doesn't exactly require a lot of schooling (especially when you're already good at it).

Originally Posted by Kolox

They also go completely different paths in life (it's not like it destroys relationships, but doesn't help too).

I think the only that matters is that they go down one path together./cheesy mode

Originally Posted by Kolox

Furthermore, let's face it, both of them are quite selfish - they are bound to quarrel a lot.

Doesn't matter, so long as they can resolve those issues. Being able to resolve conflicts is much more important than being able to avoid problems.

I know this is just a manga, but I'm just such a nerd I wanted to add some serious reasoning

True about the fact that Eri's mother cancelled the omai, but that time it wasn't that big deal and well - we don't know what Eri's father would say about it

I would never employ a hairdresser who doesn't have any real experience or certificate, I think Eri is quite aware of that and try some serious training. Also, what she wants isn't necessarily what she would do - parents can be really annoying sometimes about continuing their work..sometimes you just can't refuse to your parents. Moreover, I think it wouldn't be a stupid move for Harima to go to some art uni, he can still write manga and have art lessons at the same time, like he do right now.

We don't want a cheesy path, I don't believe in what I wrote myself either but I just needed an argument

Actually, this is one reason I don't like Flag, either. As much as Eri may like Harima, or he may like her in the future, that means nothing for their future if they can't get along well enough to have a lasting relationship. They do have their moments, but parts of the manga have emphasized their differences: their personalities, their positions in life, and their romantic interests. I'm also concerned about the lack of communication that they have. Now, this doesn't mean that Flag can't realistically work, only that Harima and Eri would really need to seriously think and discuss things if they ever wanted a future together. Unfortunately, considering their past interactions, this could be difficult... but that's up to the manga-ka to show.

To be honest, Eri and Harima's relationship rarely happen in REAL LIFE. Guys and girls who hate it other to begin with and fight all the time (at the beginning) usually don't even talk to each other or hang out together. It is however, a huge cliche in mangas for two characters who are constantly at each other's throats to be paired up, very cliche but very unrealistic. Usually the bickering doesn't come until after people are married for a long time.

Yakumo and Harima has a more real feel to them, because they both just started as friends and colleagues. And normally, that's how deep relationships form. (Or the other type of relationship, you meet a girl you just like and ask them out and start going out).

Whoever KJ pairs Harima with eventually will make it work somehow but as far as your question goes, I see Eri and Harima have a sort of Keitaro and Naru aftermath (in the event that KJ pairs them) without the pervert part on Keitaro's end. Still bickering, yet somehow spouse-like.

..you know, Flag is a little personal for me - because my best friend was something like Harima and my close friend was Eri - and they were together for 2 years.. always quarrelling over little things,everyday saying sorry to themselves, to the moment all of this piled up and they broke up, never ever talking to themselves again..

You can't predict how compatible a couple will be based on similarities and common interests. While common interests can act as a starting point to build a relationship, they really have little to do with the success of a relationship in the long term. As time passes, people inevitably change, as do their interests. So what's to prevent a couple from breaking up, once the common link that originally brought them together is gone? Do they stop accepting each other?

The number of arguments that a couple has is not an indication of how successful a relationship is, either. Two people, no matter how similar, will always have differences in opinion. Failing to voice those differences in opinion is just as bad as refusing to compromise on them. Unresolved issues always find their way back to the surface, either conciously or not.

As far as Eri and Harima are concerned, none of those objections that you raised are really relevant. Eri doesn't pay attention to class distinctions, and when she considers possible careers for herself, she implies that she wants to make it on her own, without depending on her family's wealth for support. That in itself gives her the freedom to make up her own mind on who she decides to marry.

While Harima has often been stubborn and Eri has often been proud, the two have shown countless times that they're willing to adjust to each other and resolve their differences. That's the hallmark of any successful relationship.

The Sports Festival is a classic example of how naturally they work together - even while arguing, they coordinate their actions effortlessly to take out their opponents. When faced with a common crisis, they quickly set aside their differences and work as a team to overcome an opponent that neither can defeat on their own. Where other relationships often require one to take the lead and the other to follow, Harima and Eri's relationship, at its heart, is a match between two equals.

There's nothing cheesy about seeing two people resolving their differences in a mature manner and gradually building a solid relationship with each other. It makes for a surprisingly realistic scenario, actually.

Originally Posted by Kolox

..you know, Flag is a little personal for me - because my best friend was something like Harima and my close friend was Eri - and they were together for 2 years.. always quarrelling over little things,everyday saying sorry to themselves, to the moment all of this piled up and they broke up, never ever talking to themselves again.

There are thousands of unidentified factors that could have influenced the particular situation that you experienced.

Harima isn't your best friend, and Eri isn't your other friend. Perhaps they might end up like them, but nobody here would be able to predict something like that. It can happen to anyone - life rarely works out the way that we expect it.

Originally Posted by aulzon

Yakumo and Harima has a more real feel to them, because they both just started as friends and colleagues. And normally, that's how deep relationships form. (Or the other type of relationship, you meet a girl you just like and ask them out and start going out).

Yakumo and Harima also remained as friends and colleagues.

Doesn't every relationship involve either asking "now" or "later"? That's all-inclusive.

Originally Posted by DE

Actually, this is one reason I don't like Flag, either. As much as Eri may like Harima, or he may like her in the future, that means nothing for their future if they can't get along well enough to have a lasting relationship. They do have their moments, but parts of the manga have emphasized their differences: their personalities, their positions in life, and their romantic interests. I'm also concerned about the lack of communication that they have. Now, this doesn't mean that Flag can't realistically work, only that Harima and Eri would really need to seriously think and discuss things if they ever wanted a future together. Unfortunately, considering their past interactions, this could be difficult... but that's up to the manga-ka to show.

Wasn't there a good chunk of the manga showing how their lives were parallel? Or times where they had long conversations on their philosophies and attitudes towards life?

Communication errors are natural in a comedy of errors. Everyone has them.

Originally Posted by Swampstorm

Harima isn't your best friend, and Eri isn't your other friend. Perhaps they might end up like them, but nobody here would be able to predict something like that. It can happen to anyone - life rarely works out the way that we expect it.


Wait. Weren't you an Oudou supporter?

I feel they would fail, based on my experience of such experience - so I want to discuss it, that's why I made a thread about it

I do support Oodou, but the likelihood of it happening was ~0.01% even when I was still up-to-date on the manga (about chapter 220-something). I've always preferred Flag to Onigiri, anyway...

A cheesy ending would totally kill this manga after the serious nature of the relationships that it's shown. If there will be a Flag ending, lots of things still need to happen after admitting any love and desire to be together. While I have seen that happen in manga, and it usually works pretty well, it's not something I recall being popular in shounen series. I fear that any development in School Rumble will end after the final love confessions and the manga will end (even because the magazine thinks that's the time for it to go, not necessarily because Kobayashi thinks so).