OKAY, so I did say that I would come back and do this thing, so I can only apologise in advance that this is probably more deeply rooted in personal feelings than it truly is in the events of YOI. But yes, yes, my favourite is JJ. And when I talk about why it's going to sound like I'm mostly talking about someone else, but hopefully you will understand...!
So.
I watched YOI with my partner who moved to the UK in 2012. She is... Canadian! So you might already be able to get at least a sense of where this is going. When JJ had his debut she was just so thrilled to actually have any sort of Canadian representation in this show about ice sports. As long as I've known her she's been passionate about winter sports—it makes her very angry that British people generally say the Olympics happen every four years and only sometimes remember that the Winter Games even exist. BUT I DIGRESS.
Her actual first first reaction to JJ was "oh no he's Quebecois" but she really quickly got over that in favour of the fact that he was a confident, happy, unapologetic Canadian delight. And he really is. Even from the beginning we both loved his vivaciousness, his charisma, his showmanship, but also just how ridiculous he is. There is definitely that patriotic aspect that's important for her and therefore subsequently me, but it goes a lot further than that as well.
Since you watched the show after it had finished airing, you wouldn't have seen much of the prevailing mood of the fandom as each episode was released. Prior to episode eleven, JJ was not popular. He did have some fans, of course, but the general mood around him wasn't a very positive one. WHICH IS CRAZY, BECAUSE HAVE YOU SEEN HIM? But I suppose the general consensus was that he was an unpleasant sort of arrogant, and the fact he clashed with Yurio didn't help his case.
I don't want to go quite so far as to say something like "THE ANTI-JJ CLIMATE" because that sounds so ridiculously extreme, but I think the general atmosphere surrounding him in fan space did cause me to double down on how much I liked him. I was just so flabbergasted that such a ridiculously positive self-affirming character could attract such dislike...! Comfortably in advance of episode eleven our house had proudly declared for King JJ.
Embarrassingly enough, I absolutely bawled at JJ's performance in episode eleven. And I do objectively understand that it's mostly because of the things I'd personally put into the show/his character rather than anything else. But there was something so affirming in that scene, and so much that spoke so well to his character—the way his fans rallied behind him absolutely tore me up, but in the best possible way, and it was such a brilliant reminder that he's only nineteen and really just... he just wasn't the antagonist some people seemed to want to take him for. He was just another skater, and another young person, doing the best he could and fighting his own personal fight.
.... and i love him ;_; so much ;_; help ;_;
Theme of King JJ has become a bit of an anthem in our house. My partner now has it on a tank top to wear when she needs it. I guess it probably best reflects what I always most liked about him—it's arrogant and ridiculous if you want to read it that way, but it's also immensely self-affirming and inspiring if you want to take that from it. It's a song for picking yourself up and being the best person you can be. It's a song for knowing that person is someone worth being. That's what JJ is for me.
THIS IS LITERALLY THE MOST EMBARRASSING MESS I'VE EVER WRITTEN, HAHAHA, but I've written far too much too delete it now. I think this emotional drivel is probably the best representation of my convoluted feelings, so. I'm afraid this is what you get. I'm so sorry. ty for listening
i'm sorry this is really long and awkward
So.
I watched YOI with my partner who moved to the UK in 2012. She is... Canadian! So you might already be able to get at least a sense of where this is going. When JJ had his debut she was just so thrilled to actually have any sort of Canadian representation in this show about ice sports. As long as I've known her she's been passionate about winter sports—it makes her very angry that British people generally say the Olympics happen every four years and only sometimes remember that the Winter Games even exist. BUT I DIGRESS.
Her actual first first reaction to JJ was "oh no he's Quebecois" but she really quickly got over that in favour of the fact that he was a confident, happy, unapologetic Canadian delight. And he really is. Even from the beginning we both loved his vivaciousness, his charisma, his showmanship, but also just how ridiculous he is. There is definitely that patriotic aspect that's important for her and therefore subsequently me, but it goes a lot further than that as well.
Since you watched the show after it had finished airing, you wouldn't have seen much of the prevailing mood of the fandom as each episode was released. Prior to episode eleven, JJ was not popular. He did have some fans, of course, but the general mood around him wasn't a very positive one. WHICH IS CRAZY, BECAUSE HAVE YOU SEEN HIM? But I suppose the general consensus was that he was an unpleasant sort of arrogant, and the fact he clashed with Yurio didn't help his case.
I don't want to go quite so far as to say something like "THE ANTI-JJ CLIMATE" because that sounds so ridiculously extreme, but I think the general atmosphere surrounding him in fan space did cause me to double down on how much I liked him. I was just so flabbergasted that such a ridiculously positive self-affirming character could attract such dislike...! Comfortably in advance of episode eleven our house had proudly declared for King JJ.
Embarrassingly enough, I absolutely bawled at JJ's performance in episode eleven. And I do objectively understand that it's mostly because of the things I'd personally put into the show/his character rather than anything else. But there was something so affirming in that scene, and so much that spoke so well to his character—the way his fans rallied behind him absolutely tore me up, but in the best possible way, and it was such a brilliant reminder that he's only nineteen and really just... he just wasn't the antagonist some people seemed to want to take him for. He was just another skater, and another young person, doing the best he could and fighting his own personal fight.
.... and i love him ;_; so much ;_; help ;_;
Theme of King JJ has become a bit of an anthem in our house. My partner now has it on a tank top to wear when she needs it. I guess it probably best reflects what I always most liked about him—it's arrogant and ridiculous if you want to read it that way, but it's also immensely self-affirming and inspiring if you want to take that from it. It's a song for picking yourself up and being the best person you can be. It's a song for knowing that person is someone worth being. That's what JJ is for me.
THIS IS LITERALLY THE MOST EMBARRASSING MESS I'VE EVER WRITTEN, HAHAHA, but I've written far too much too delete it now. I think this emotional drivel is probably the best representation of my convoluted feelings, so. I'm afraid this is what you get. I'm so sorry. ty for listening