Seiryu:
It would require a lot of time. I guess a movie could suffice. I'm personally satisfied with the ending, though I do wonder what you envision would be an appropriate post-Final Chapter/Boy Meets Girl storyline.
Oldfan:
Warning - Long Post
Given that Always My Darling technically comes after The Final Chapter (Inaba makes an appearance in the crowds watching the battle of Mendou's forces vs Lupica's ship), this would have to come after that. But both manga and anime versions of Final Chapter/Boy Meets Girl began with Lum having a nightmare.
My idea is a more serious toned one, this is marriage we're dealing with after all, but there would be enough humor thrown in to make it work I hope.
I had an idea of Ataru having a nightmare, that Lum never let him win (technically speaking she did) and she was gone. This causes him to wake up and start frantically looking for her, and when she's not in her sometimes usual spot of the closet, he really panics and climbs up to the roof of the house and sees Lum sitting looking at the stars.
They've been together long enough that he can tell when she's sad and she is in fact very sad that despite the proof of his feeling with him holding onto her horns, she wonders if he really loves her. She's pretty much talking to herself and thinks maybe going home back to her parents will help clear her mind. Ataru being him, and having grown up a lot in that last movie (and manga) wonders to himself if his being stubborn is worth it anymore. He knows he loves her, and he knows he's miserable without her.
In the manga, he berated himself for not being able to say it, in the anime, he basically says do I have to tell you in words for you to understand.
The usual Ataru monologue would begin but when he hears her say she'll tell him in the morning she's going home, that last wall of resistance crumbles. He sets his hand on her shoulders, which would startle her but when she turns around and sees him, instead of saying something immediately, I figured the best way for him to tell her would be for him to initiate a kiss, and then when she's confused by his actions, he'll tell her he loves her and thus starts their real relationship.
Since the idea of the show and manga was forever 17 in highschool, we can jump forward, past their graduation and go all the way to their final year of college. They have an apartment together, they attend the same college and they both work jobs and have their relationship which has grown like them.
It's not a far stretch, in both manga and anime, Ataru and Lum both looked a little older during the last story, so we age them just a touch further, but nothing drastic, 4-5 years tops. To make sure we have the old times sake style of the feel of the show, they can get together with their old friends and have one last silly adventure before the crunch of college finals start.
After the college finals, Ataru has a job (amusingly enough, given his love of food and hatred of Lum's cooking, I thought him learning to be a chef would be funny), and Lum has a job too (still trying to think of what she would do, but since she's always dreamed of being with Ataru their whole lives, maybe something to do with children).
Ataru, in the midst of working hard and putting his all into being with Lum, decides that it's time for the next step and starts shopping for a ring and actually finds one that's appropriate and decides to surprise Lum with a proposal. He muses to himself that he finds it funny that the woman he spent so long trying to ditch is now the only one he could imagine spending the rest of his days with. In a throwback to the Inaba story, he'll blame Inaba for seeing how happy Lum was when they were getting married and that's what made him decide to do this.
When he gets home though, Lum has company, Oyuki, Benten and Ran and while he decides not to disturb them, Lum has had her one bane, a pickled plum and so she's tipsy. The other girls are joking with her, mainly Benten of course and they're asking her how things have been. Since Benten can be considered to not have class to a point, she'll ask him if he's asked her to marry him and reminds her that if he's boring like Rei was she can always dump him. Lum says something stupid, even as Ran gets angry with Benten while Oyuki, always the soul of courtesy and manners sees Ataru run off as he assumes the worst (this is Ataru after all) but she can't do anything because Ran and Benten are escalating their argument and she's keeping them in check.
I've only gotten to this point so far, but I considered that Ataru goes to the only people he can possibly talk to about Lum then, her parents (I figure he stays out all night and basically begs and pleads Ran or someone to take him to them in the morning). Lum's parents don't know of anything wrong and that's when he tells them he wants to ask her to marry him for real, but now he's afraid he's too boring for her. Of course they're happy and that's when Lum calls (Ran or whoever spilled it that they brought Ataru to her parents and she's almost there) and she wants to talk to him because she's been frantic with worry.
From there, they have a big misunderstanding and basically Ataru tells her he wants to spend his life with her, but now he's worried she's bored of him and the fact he's a simple Earthling. This is where I ended up with regarding story boarding, a third and final tag match would be cliche, but it is what the Oni do in times of trouble.
I did consider the idea that if I went that route that this time Ataru is the challenger, so he gets to make the rules. So the contest would be on his terms, Lum has to run, she can't fly and she has to tag him. But to make it fair for her, it's on a course on Lum's planet, because in reversed roles, on the ground Ataru is matchless (100 meters in 7 seconds flat when he chased Asuka). Unlike the prior matches though, every night they talk until they go to sleep and each night they each pour their hearts out to each other. And this is where my word doc with all the notes I had been considering is at right now.
As an aside I decided to start learning Japanese so I can understand the literal sense of the digital Tankobans of the manga I got, so I've been busier. But I imagine if it was hinging on a final tag match, something would happen and Ataru would realize Lum does love him and doesn't want anyone else (he's not the brightest guy by any means and they're both still so stubborn) and so he changes the terms of the match and surprises her with a proposal and they have their wedding.
One thing I did decide was that the ending sequence would take place after the wedding. They would be in a hospital and all you see is a delivery room and repeated flashes of light. Lum is in labor and practically roasting Ataru alive until you hear a baby cry and we see father, mother and child all together with everyone around them and we fade to black after they say one last time they love each other.
But in a bit of a full farewell, I had an idea that we have the voices of Ataru and Lum say who they are and that this was their final story and they thank everyone for all the love and devotion over the years as the baby cries and they then playfully argue over whose turn it is to get up.
Roll credits.
It's more serious I know, way more serious, but given the tones of their last stories (despite the manga being more lighthearted than the movie for the last story, they were both actually serious). Ataru threw himself off a massive building after Lum, even HIS durability would have been hard pressed to survive that fall and Lum has no such ability. Also, Lum was talking about wiping out everyone's memories of everything, that's not just a goodbye, that's an I'm leaving and taking all the toys with me scenario and everyone has to suffer.
(My theory on that is that Lum wouldn't have been able to live comfortably knowing that he was out there without her so it was better that the period of time was gone than live with the pain - there is nothing funny about that in any respect even if the device itself was an ugly looking Oni thing.)
I'm still working on this so it's very rough, but not all love and marriage stories are lighthearted. Look at the second manga story with Inaba, For Love and Valor - that was really serious for Shinobu and she did get her happy ending.
Seiryu:
--- Quote from: Oldfan on July 18, 2017, 08:19:57 AM ---Warning - Long Post
Given that Always My Darling technically comes after The Final Chapter (Inaba makes an appearance in the crowds watching the battle of Mendou's forces vs Lupica's ship), this would have to come after that. But both manga and anime versions of Final Chapter/Boy Meets Girl began with Lum having a nightmare.
My idea is a more serious toned one, this is marriage we're dealing with after all, but there would be enough humor thrown in to make it work I hope.
I had an idea of Ataru having a nightmare, that Lum never let him win (technically speaking she did) and she was gone. This causes him to wake up and start frantically looking for her, and when she's not in her sometimes usual spot of the closet, he really panics and climbs up to the roof of the house and sees Lum sitting looking at the stars.
They've been together long enough that he can tell when she's sad and she is in fact very sad that despite the proof of his feeling with him holding onto her horns, she wonders if he really loves her. She's pretty much talking to herself and thinks maybe going home back to her parents will help clear her mind. Ataru being him, and having grown up a lot in that last movie (and manga) wonders to himself if his being stubborn is worth it anymore. He knows he loves her, and he knows he's miserable without her.
In the manga, he berated himself for not being able to say it, in the anime, he basically says do I have to tell you in words for you to understand.
The usual Ataru monologue would begin but when he hears her say she'll tell him in the morning she's going home, that last wall of resistance crumbles. He sets his hand on her shoulders, which would startle her but when she turns around and sees him, instead of saying something immediately, I figured the best way for him to tell her would be for him to initiate a kiss, and then when she's confused by his actions, he'll tell her he loves her and thus starts their real relationship.
Since the idea of the show and manga was forever 17 in highschool, we can jump forward, past their graduation and go all the way to their final year of college. They have an apartment together, they attend the same college and they both work jobs and have their relationship which has grown like them.
It's not a far stretch, in both manga and anime, Ataru and Lum both looked a little older during the last story, so we age them just a touch further, but nothing drastic, 4-5 years tops. To make sure we have the old times sake style of the feel of the show, they can get together with their old friends and have one last silly adventure before the crunch of college finals start.
After the college finals, Ataru has a job (amusingly enough, given his love of food and hatred of Lum's cooking, I thought him learning to be a chef would be funny), and Lum has a job too (still trying to think of what she would do, but since she's always dreamed of being with Ataru their whole lives, maybe something to do with children).
Ataru, in the midst of working hard and putting his all into being with Lum, decides that it's time for the next step and starts shopping for a ring and actually finds one that's appropriate and decides to surprise Lum with a proposal. He muses to himself that he finds it funny that the woman he spent so long trying to ditch is now the only one he could imagine spending the rest of his days with. In a throwback to the Inaba story, he'll blame Inaba for seeing how happy Lum was when they were getting married and that's what made him decide to do this.
When he gets home though, Lum has company, Oyuki, Benten and Ran and while he decides not to disturb them, Lum has had her one bane, a pickled plum and so she's tipsy. The other girls are joking with her, mainly Benten of course and they're asking her how things have been. Since Benten can be considered to not have class to a point, she'll ask him if he's asked her to marry him and reminds her that if he's boring like Rei was she can always dump him. Lum says something stupid, even as Ran gets angry with Benten while Oyuki, always the soul of courtesy and manners sees Ataru run off as he assumes the worst (this is Ataru after all) but she can't do anything because Ran and Benten are escalating their argument and she's keeping them in check.
I've only gotten to this point so far, but I considered that Ataru goes to the only people he can possibly talk to about Lum then, her parents (I figure he stays out all night and basically begs and pleads Ran or someone to take him to them in the morning). Lum's parents don't know of anything wrong and that's when he tells them he wants to ask her to marry him for real, but now he's afraid he's too boring for her. Of course they're happy and that's when Lum calls (Ran or whoever spilled it that they brought Ataru to her parents and she's almost there) and she wants to talk to him because she's been frantic with worry.
From there, they have a big misunderstanding and basically Ataru tells her he wants to spend his life with her, but now he's worried she's bored of him and the fact he's a simple Earthling. This is where I ended up with regarding story boarding, a third and final tag match would be cliche, but it is what the Oni do in times of trouble.
I did consider the idea that if I went that route that this time Ataru is the challenger, so he gets to make the rules. So the contest would be on his terms, Lum has to run, she can't fly and she has to tag him. But to make it fair for her, it's on a course on Lum's planet, because in reversed roles, on the ground Ataru is matchless (100 meters in 7 seconds flat when he chased Asuka). Unlike the prior matches though, every night they talk until they go to sleep and each night they each pour their hearts out to each other. And this is where my word doc with all the notes I had been considering is at right now.
As an aside I decided to start learning Japanese so I can understand the literal sense of the digital Tankobans of the manga I got, so I've been busier. But I imagine if it was hinging on a final tag match, something would happen and Ataru would realize Lum does love him and doesn't want anyone else (he's not the brightest guy by any means and they're both still so stubborn) and so he changes the terms of the match and surprises her with a proposal and they have their wedding.
One thing I did decide was that the ending sequence would take place after the wedding. They would be in a hospital and all you see is a delivery room and repeated flashes of light. Lum is in labor and practically roasting Ataru alive until you hear a baby cry and we see father, mother and child all together with everyone around them and we fade to black after they say one last time they love each other.
But in a bit of a full farewell, I had an idea that we have the voices of Ataru and Lum say who they are and that this was their final story and they thank everyone for all the love and devotion over the years as the baby cries and they then playfully argue over whose turn it is to get up.
Roll credits.
It's more serious I know, way more serious, but given the tones of their last stories (despite the manga being more lighthearted than the movie for the last story, they were both actually serious). Ataru threw himself off a massive building after Lum, even HIS durability would have been hard pressed to survive that fall and Lum has no such ability. Also, Lum was talking about wiping out everyone's memories of everything, that's not just a goodbye, that's an I'm leaving and taking all the toys with me scenario and everyone has to suffer.
(My theory on that is that Lum wouldn't have been able to live comfortably knowing that he was out there without her so it was better that the period of time was gone than live with the pain - there is nothing funny about that in any respect even if the device itself was an ugly looking Oni thing.)
I'm still working on this so it's very rough, but not all love and marriage stories are lighthearted. Look at the second manga story with Inaba, For Love and Valor - that was really serious for Shinobu and she did get her happy ending.
--- End quote ---
I feel like the premise is good and shows a lot of promise. Curious about something though: You mentioned that Lum would question if he really loves her despite the whole horns incident. I feel like that would be a little unnecessary as the question of whether he loved her or not was answered with the horns. She had truly questioned if he even hated her, but knew then and there he loved her completely. I think a serious story could work though, granted may be a little too serious for Takahashi but as you mentioned the anime had no problem adding a more serious tone.
Tag would be kind of cliche yeah, but I guess given the right context it could be pulled off well. I do like that you would have this taking place on Lum's planet, felt that location wasn't utilized often enough in the series.
As far as Ataru's durability goes, it ranges. Remember the Electric Jungle story? Lum tried helping him out against Shingo by electrocuted a fruit that drops on Ataru's head which knocks him out (a terrible showing for his durability), when later on in that same story he endures electrocution just long enough to set him and Lum free from the coils. Then there's of course other stories where Ataru straight up falls out the window of his school and is fine in the next page.
Oldfan:
--- Quote from: Seiryu on July 18, 2017, 10:49:54 PM ---I feel like the premise is good and shows a lot of promise. Curious about something though: You mentioned that Lum would question if he really loves her despite the whole horns incident. I feel like that would be a little unnecessary as the question of whether he loved her or not was answered with the horns. She had truly questioned if he even hated her, but knew then and there he loved her completely. I think a serious story could work though, granted may be a little too serious for Takahashi but as you mentioned the anime had no problem adding a more serious tone.
Tag would be kind of cliche yeah, but I guess given the right context it could be pulled off well. I do like that you would have this taking place on Lum's planet, felt that location wasn't utilized often enough in the series.
As far as Ataru's durability goes, it ranges. Remember the Electric Jungle story? Lum tried helping him out against Shingo by electrocuted a fruit that drops on Ataru's head which knocks him out (a terrible showing for his durability), when later on in that same story he endures electrocution just long enough to set him and Lum free from the coils. Then there's of course other stories where Ataru straight up falls out the window of his school and is fine in the next page.
--- End quote ---
If not a question of if he really loves her, then maybe more how much does he love her. You can love someone but not be in love with them. Since Always My Darling does come afterwards, we can see he was more or less back to his old self, especially when freed from Lupica's control. He was jumping from woman to woman and while at first Lum was happy he was free, she then saw what he was doing and lynched him. To me, if you go through all that hell why backtrack? Hence her confusion - Lum is emotion at extremes many times, look at the last episode. It may have been based off an older manga, but that relationship stuff they added in, Lum was brutal in lynching him, he was glowing blue from it and she had him in a wrestling move too.
Lum's love for him, despite her crazy breaks and attempts to make him jealous has always pretty much been an 11 on a 1-10 scale. She loves him, and she's madly in love with him. So even if she questions things, we can say neither one of them is exactly what you call a rational thinker. If they were rational, once the misunderstandings were cleared up that would have been the end of the story I think. And Love and Valor was likely even more serious than The Final Chapter was, I felt really bad for Inaba after the beating he took and the fact that Shinobu took the worst emotional beating too was something. Which makes me wonder why that didn't get to be an OVA, that would have been good as a bookend to the original Inaba OVA.
But I'm digressing. :)
My thought with the third tag game would be that it would come as a suggestion from her parents, her parents both really like him and I would go on the premise that this would be the one way to test her dedication. Lum made it clear in the second game that he had two ways of winning, catch her or tell her that he loves her. And as was obvious in both versions, she meant business. For all we've seen from Ataru until that point, he was practically 'invincible' but by that last day, he was for all intents and purposes completely defeated. I can't recall any story where he was completely exhausted like that. So a challenge on his terms, but he at least gives her a chance, showing that he at least won't press too much of an advantage. Plus, twice now the Earth was at stake, this time it has nothing to do with the Earth at all, just the two of them. They don't need a crowd, it's up close and personal with just the two of them at stake. No better place than Lum's planet - which if memory serves me is not Uru but Oniboshi.
A show of maturity if you want to call it that, he takes away her biggest advantage, but at the same time gives himself a handicap to make it fair.
And yeah, his durability is not very consistent, nor is I guess for a lack of a better way to say it but his powerset overall isn't either. The first story where Ten's mother appeared, he used his legs to uproot a tree, and the earliest appearance of Ran, he walked through the ground itself to get to her after Lum basically knocked him up to his waist into the Earth. My rational mind just considers the sheer height of that building, and him jumping right off after her - he knew she couldn't fly, what was he going to do, catch her and flap his arms? Clearly from the start of that sequence they knew the fall would be lethal to Lum so I imagine it would be to him too.
So my thought is I agree it might too serious for Takahashi, she did however love the movie enough that she herself was in tears when it was done, I recall reading that. But considering Lum and Ataru, nothing is ever easy for them, and so they have to have the drama in the midst of their comedy before the very end.
Also, I have a title for this, since every movie title is evocative of the significance of the theme/story - Yes My Darling.
The reason for this is as follows:
Only You - Lum loves only Ataru and there was the sequence where she said to him to think only of her, to look only at her, that's all she does regarding him. Beautiful Dreamer - Mujaki thought she was uniquely beautiful and wanted to fulfill her dreams. Remember My Love - Ruu took her out of everyone's memories, until Ataru broke that by cutting his finger and remembering her. Lum the Forever - As odd as that movie was, I enjoyed it, but that weird fetus thing inferred that the memories of Lum would it had would live on forever in it. The Final Chapter - speaks for itself. However, the manga version Boy meets Girl - refers to Rupa / Carla, and Ataru / Lum. Always My Darling - more or less just a play on the possessiveness that Lum has for Ataru - he is her Darling and no one else can have him, which she also stated in the space jet rescue sequence in Only You.
So, Yes My Darling - when he finally proposes at the end, I imagine she would say those exact words (in the midst of everything else she would be scrambling to say too).
Seiryu:
--- Quote from: Oldfan on July 19, 2017, 03:40:57 AM --- --- Quote from: Seiryu on July 18, 2017, 10:49:54 PM ---I feel like the premise is good and shows a lot of promise. Curious about something though: You mentioned that Lum would question if he really loves her despite the whole horns incident. I feel like that would be a little unnecessary as the question of whether he loved her or not was answered with the horns. She had truly questioned if he even hated her, but knew then and there he loved her completely. I think a serious story could work though, granted may be a little too serious for Takahashi but as you mentioned the anime had no problem adding a more serious tone.
Tag would be kind of cliche yeah, but I guess given the right context it could be pulled off well. I do like that you would have this taking place on Lum's planet, felt that location wasn't utilized often enough in the series.
As far as Ataru's durability goes, it ranges. Remember the Electric Jungle story? Lum tried helping him out against Shingo by electrocuted a fruit that drops on Ataru's head which knocks him out (a terrible showing for his durability), when later on in that same story he endures electrocution just long enough to set him and Lum free from the coils. Then there's of course other stories where Ataru straight up falls out the window of his school and is fine in the next page.
--- End quote ---
If not a question of if he really loves her, then maybe more how much does he love her. You can love someone but not be in love with them. Since Always My Darling does come afterwards, we can see he was more or less back to his old self, especially when freed from Lupica's control. He was jumping from woman to woman and while at first Lum was happy he was free, she then saw what he was doing and lynched him. To me, if you go through all that hell why backtrack? Hence her confusion - Lum is emotion at extremes many times, look at the last episode. It may have been based off an older manga, but that relationship stuff they added in, Lum was brutal in lynching him, he was glowing blue from it and she had him in a wrestling move too.
Lum's love for him, despite her crazy breaks and attempts to make him jealous has always pretty much been an 11 on a 1-10 scale. She loves him, and she's madly in love with him. So even if she questions things, we can say neither one of them is exactly what you call a rational thinker. If they were rational, once the misunderstandings were cleared up that would have been the end of the story I think. And Love and Valor was likely even more serious than The Final Chapter was, I felt really bad for Inaba after the beating he took and the fact that Shinobu took the worst emotional beating too was something. Which makes me wonder why that didn't get to be an OVA, that would have been good as a bookend to the original Inaba OVA.
But I'm digressing. :)
My thought with the third tag game would be that it would come as a suggestion from her parents, her parents both really like him and I would go on the premise that this would be the one way to test her dedication. Lum made it clear in the second game that he had two ways of winning, catch her or tell her that he loves her. And as was obvious in both versions, she meant business. For all we've seen from Ataru until that point, he was practically 'invincible' but by that last day, he was for all intents and purposes completely defeated. I can't recall any story where he was completely exhausted like that. So a challenge on his terms, but he at least gives her a chance, showing that he at least won't press too much of an advantage. Plus, twice now the Earth was at stake, this time it has nothing to do with the Earth at all, just the two of them. They don't need a crowd, it's up close and personal with just the two of them at stake. No better place than Lum's planet - which if memory serves me is not Uru but Oniboshi.
A show of maturity if you want to call it that, he takes away her biggest advantage, but at the same time gives himself a handicap to make it fair.
And yeah, his durability is not very consistent, nor is I guess for a lack of a better way to say it but his powerset overall isn't either. The first story where Ten's mother appeared, he used his legs to uproot a tree, and the earliest appearance of Ran, he walked through the ground itself to get to her after Lum basically knocked him up to his waist into the Earth. My rational mind just considers the sheer height of that building, and him jumping right off after her - he knew she couldn't fly, what was he going to do, catch her and flap his arms? Clearly from the start of that sequence they knew the fall would be lethal to Lum so I imagine it would be to him too.
So my thought is I agree it might too serious for Takahashi, she did however love the movie enough that she herself was in tears when it was done, I recall reading that. But considering Lum and Ataru, nothing is ever easy for them, and so they have to have the drama in the midst of their comedy before the very end.
Also, I have a title for this, since every movie title is evocative of the significance of the theme/story - Yes My Darling.
The reason for this is as follows:
Only You - Lum loves only Ataru and there was the sequence where she said to him to think only of her, to look only at her, that's all she does regarding him. Beautiful Dreamer - Mujaki thought she was uniquely beautiful and wanted to fulfill her dreams. Remember My Love - Ruu took her out of everyone's memories, until Ataru broke that by cutting his finger and remembering her. Lum the Forever - As odd as that movie was, I enjoyed it, but that weird fetus thing inferred that the memories of Lum would it had would live on forever in it. The Final Chapter - speaks for itself. However, the manga version Boy meets Girl - refers to Rupa / Carla, and Ataru / Lum. Always My Darling - more or less just a play on the possessiveness that Lum has for Ataru - he is her Darling and no one else can have him, which she also stated in the space jet rescue sequence in Only You.
So, Yes My Darling - when he finally proposes at the end, I imagine she would say those exact words (in the midst of everything else she would be scrambling to say too).
--- End quote --- I love the idea of it being very little stakes behind this surrounding most people and it's mostly a private affair focused solely around Ataru and Lum.