Discussion on the level of romance between May and Drew seen in the anime

[Cybersai]

This started off as a discussion in another thread, but since its off topic there and people seem to want to say more about it, I'll quote all the posts from the other thread and bring them here.

Blushing when her mother says, "You two on the beach, how romantic" is still blushing.

Someone here doesn't watch enough shoujo anime. Whether anyone will date or not, a girl may blush to a reference to anything regarding romance with a boy... even if she really doesn't have any feelings for the boy, or if her feelings are merely friendship. Blushing is not always a sign of anything happening between a boy and a girl, and I seriously don't forsee any dating in the pokemon anime. Any shipping here will probably exist in fanfics as most other methods of shipping have in the past. Long live fanfiction.

Pokemon isn't a shoujo anime, though.

So are you saying you don't think the writers were writing a romance between May and Drew?

I didn't even accept Contestshipping fully until we got post-Brianna and towards the Kanto GF, but now that I know where it went, I rewatched the earlier episodes and there is build-up.

Yeah, I'll believe that the day that I believe that they wrote in a romance between Ash and Melody (movie 2), a relationship between Ash and Sammy (movie 4), and a relationship between Ash and Latias (movie 5).

And also, while Pokemon isn't a shoujo anime, DP has elements of one that have been there from the start.

May and Drew were around before DP.

I don't think any season of Pokemon is shoujo. But what does a discussion of whether or not Contestshipping's canon have to do with Pokeshippers' opinion of Pearlshipping?

Well, keep in mind, in Japan, Pokémon isn't just intended for kids (and no, I don't mean that in a Pokemopolis way). It's intended for people of all ages to enjoy, so the writers often throw in subtle romance for older viewers.

I agree with you on this one. Pokémon started off as a very shonen-style anime, but as it progressed through Hoenn, it slowly became more shojo-like. Just look at how different the female characters are, in shonen, females are typically fiery-tempered and hot-headed (and basically just sidekicks to the main male character), while in shojo they're more mild-tempered and generally level-headed. Comparing Misty with May and Dawn, Misty fits into the typical shonen female character, while May and Dawn fit into the category of shojo female characters (although Dawn does have her moments of hotheadedness :3).

...

Well, now that this doesn't hijack one of my own threads, was there any level of romance between May and Drew or wasn't there? It seems some people think there wasn't as shown by the discussion above.

Continue. Was there a romance angle between May and Drew or wasn't there? And do you think that the writers intended it to continue off-screen in the Johto region?

 

[Chiru]

Yeah!! I love this thread.... Probaly but this is a typical answer from a contestshipper. When I first saw May I thought (no offense but I thought she was way better of a charactor than Misty but When I first saw Drew I was think what freakin jerk!!!) she might get a romance but it wasn't happening cause pokemon is kiddie kiddie in america.

This changed as for some reason I started to like the idea of May x Drew. Maybe other people just started supporting it for some weird unknow reason too. I definatly started supporting this ship at Brianna episode when may finally blushed directly at Drew yay.
And Drew started to give more advice and go quite instead of teasing may alot like before YAY shippyness...not the most romantic but pretty romantic compared this to pokemon~

 

[Cybersai]

Yeah, I liked their interaction more when Drew stopped acting like a jackass.

It's funny to watch his first episode, he really did act mean, even if he helped with TR at the end.

Did May soften him up?

 

[xRubyx]

I love Contestshipping. I also didn't really like Drew back then, but the guy was too hot to stay evil forever

 

[mandoiVAGiona]

I'm thinking Drew just thought May was kinda hot when he first met her, which is why he actually spent time watching her and then pissing her off. And at the end when May has to end the battle to go fight Team Rocket, Drew looks pissed. Maybe because she has to go? Or maybe cause he doesn't get to show off his awesome style to her anymore? Who knows. But he does that little growl thing that he does in the first GF the whole time. xD haha.

Then I'm thinking as time went on, Drew started growing feelings for May. Which is maybe why each time he kept getting more soft and nice. And then we kinda see May's first little hint thing at the end of the Hoenn GF when she blushes.

Ah. Then in BF. We had the Wakana episode, the Kanto GF and Rivals Forever. All filled with Contestshipping goodness! I think the Wakana episode pretty much made it clear that May had some feelings for Drew too. Seeing how she got all embarrassed when Wakana accused her of liking Drew. And then the end....that blush....ONLY because Drew said "Two more ribbons." Such a sweet moment. xD

I kinda hated the Kanto GF Drew. He was such an emo jerk. Someone needed to smack him. But anyways. I wasn't really feeling the shipping excitement till the end. The two didn't really talk much. Drew was all pissy. May was usually with Saori. But Saori did give us some juicy stuff. "Drew talks about you all the time." Doesn't state what he talks about...but we can imagine. ;D The part I really liked the most was when Drew was too embarrassed to give May the rose in person, so he left it with Saori to give to May. That kinda shows that the roses are meant to be romantic. Cause if they weren't, I don't think Drew would be embarrassed to give it to her.

And Rivals Forever. A whole different Drew. Sweet. Caring. Friendly. That episode just showed how friendly the two got with each other throughout AG. Drew was the only one who knew what was bothering May. Not even her traveling people knew. Not even her brother. And their with her all the time. And from this episode, we all can know how friendly their gonna be with each other in Johto.

But yeah. I think Contestshipping is the only main ship that has actually had anything in the end. And is pretty much likely to happen. I think the writers wanted us to know that May and Drew would eventually get together off screen. Since its extremely obvious the two like each other a lot. And its kinda sad to see people still denying everything. Haha. But yes. A very romantic storyline May has had with this.

 

[freedom-123]

first of all i must state i am an advanceshipper so even though it might sound like i am just in denial but please allow me to justify why i thought advanceshipping was more appropriate than contestshipping.

first of all i must say i can not deny that there has been a lot of hints BUT the reason why i chose advanceshipping over contestshipping was because of drew's personality and his personality ONLY.

i think even if he got may...he didnt deserve one bit of it

wen he first saw may first thing he did was barraging her with comments that are very harsh to a beginner, if you look closely enough...you will be able to see that he is already doing something wrong...even if he wanted to start a conversation it would be much better to give advice rather than comments, at least with advice you are off with a good start.

of course he was more nice to may as time passes on...this only make him seem like that may needed to do certain things to make him notice her and acknowledge her...again this is the wrong way to go, girls arnt just put there and you pick whichever you want...you need interaction.

thirdly...throwing roses, this is even more stupid... you cant win a girl over just by giving her roses everytime you see her. this is just like you can not buy love or happiness with money, no matter how much money you have you can never buy real love or enjoy real happiness, so drew was basically saying oh look how much roses i have i am so romantic so you should be my girlfriend.

last but certainly not least...for god sakes...he shouted at may and tried to make up for it the next day by being all nice again and giving her a rose. this really disgusted me. this is just like a husband who hits his wife and the next minute he tells her he still loves him, which we all know is wrong and the marriage is a failed one.

in conclusion i can not deny that there are a very large number of hints about contestshipping but the personality of drew throughout the series has drenched the ship with filth not only to me but to many who dislikes this ship because of drew. therefore i will approve that contestshipping is a very strong ship but even if it becomes canon i still will not bow down to contestshipping solely because of drew.

p.s. about him and may leaving at the same time...i think i could be just a coincidence and renew of characters...because if you think of it like a hint...and a possible hint that makes the ship canon...wouldnt orangeshipping also be close to canon since tracey and misty also no longer belongs to the main crew, yet make around the same number of appearance and cerulean is just down the road from pallet...like may and drew travelling in the same region?

correct me all you like on my arguments and ill argu back =P practice for my debates against other skools

 

[Jo-Jo]

This thread is to discuss how strong the Contestshipping evidence is. Your personal opinion of Drew is off-topic, I'm afraid. You can dislike him if you want, but it's not going to make any difference to whether the ship happens or not.

thirdly...throwing roses, this is even more stupid... you cant win a girl over just by giving her roses everytime you see her.

Tell that to May, 'cause she looked pretty won over at the end of the Grand Festival.

I'm not even touching the domestic violence metaphor.

 

[freedom-123]

alright, first of all i did state that there is a very high level of romance, and since this is a discussion, you can not just say yes there are a lot of romance and back it up with a load of evidence...thats writting and essay not a discussion. in a discussion you debate on both side of the argument which i did, i clearly stated that i do think that there are a lot of hint and romance going on but because this is a discussion i also stated what made the level of romance look like as if drew is abusing may.

also the domestic violence thing was just an example that i used to relate to my argument i didnt say that drew will do it, dont take it too seriously xD

 

[Geoffrey]

Evidence can be used in discussions/debates. Ever heard of politics?

 

[freedom-123]

^ action speak louder than words

ever seen what happens after a bad decision is made in politics?

 

[Geoffrey]

That's why we use evidence, to make sure we don't make a bad decision.

 

[freedom-123]

^ thats y i used evidence on drew's personality to make sure i dont make bad decisions.

also evidence doesnt say anything sometimes and since u related this to politics i have no choice but to say some bad decisions are made AFTER evidence is applied to a case.

 

[Geoffrey]

So you're saying that only you can use evidence and no one else? Nice logic.

 

[freedom-123]

im not saying that, because thats not what i meant, i stated in my first post that i do think that the evidence that there are lots of romance are valid, but i am only using evidence on drew's personality to show how he screws up the romance.

so here my comment back to you, nice low level understanding ^-^

 

[Geoffrey]

You should probably use proper punctuation. It makes it easier to read your sentences, as well as make you look less like a noob.

 

[freedom-123]

well...everyone knows that only noobs describe other people as noobs, and since it is bothering you i will try using proper punctuation, but...to put it in your language, "pros" would still be able to understand what i am saying rather than go along with the grammatical or punctuational mistakes rather than be confused by it.

 

[Geoffrey]

Well, I didn't call you a noob, I just said that you might look like one. People who can spell and use proper grammar are usually more respected. And even "pros" would have trouble with figuring out what you meant without the punctuation. And it's not like every single person here at Bulbagarden is a "pro."

 

[Luna Tiger]

well...everyone knows that only noobs describe other people as noobs, and since it is bothering you i will try using proper punctuation, but...to put it in your language, "pros" would still be able to understand what i am saying rather than go along with the grammatical or punctuational mistakes rather than be confused by it.

You overestimate those "pros". They appreciate full out spellings, grammar, and punctiation, even if they can read what you're already saying. It's polite, and makes you appear and "sound" better. We'd rather not have to go along with that lack of skill, if they're capable of it.

Allowances are made, but if you know grammar, it's always best to use it, no matter what.

Bcuz talkin like dis doznt help u B taken srsly. or talking like this where i dont even capitalize properly or apostrophize my contractions. =\ It /helps/.

 

[freedom-123]

ok, my appologies to you then(geoffrey), but whats all these got to do with my arguments towards this thread...

and i wasnt excatly talking like that...luna and blues xD

 

[Geoffrey]

Nothing, but it's nice to correct people if it will be for the benefit of everyone.