Princess Tutu Exposed Part 2 Analysing Ahiru and Fakir's relationship

In this analysis we will discuss  Ahiru and Fakir's relationship. 

CONTEXT for their relationship dynamic and why I drew my conclusion for the points that will follow:

Keep this in mind for the part of the analysis.

    Fakir and Ahiru's dynamic (1st point)

Ahiru/ Tutu and Fakirs relationship (her POV)

Here are the characters and their ages:

Fakir: 16 

Ahiru/ Duck: 14 (physically but she is a duck in reality)

NOTE: Similar age gap to Usagi and Mamoru from Sailor Moon Manga & Crystal.

Fakir and Duck 

Fakir and Ahiru 

Fakir and Tutu 

The Slap Slap kiss trope  is when two characters of the opposite sex, argue but make up at the end by apologising/ kissing. 

The crux of the begining of this couple as well as the infamous Brooding Boy and Gentle Girl, a man that has a traumatic past is paired up with a gentler, nurturing woman that will "bring him out of the darkness" or the Good girl Bad Boy trope. This are the building blocks to the start of their relationship but unlike other instances of this trope in anime, this couple ends up becoming healthy, the duo support each other and accept one another for who they realy are. Other than the squick aspect (the MC is a duck so their relationship is beastiality), this is a relationship defined by protecting each other and caring for each other in a healthy way and unlike the other shows the dynamic does not promote the erasure of the girls  hapiness to benefit her love interest nor does it glamouruze trauma bonding.

Background Synopsis: 

At the START of the series  Fakir thinks Ahiru is annoying due to her wanting to get close to Mytho, her crush, he does not want her to get close to him, They did  not get along at first until  things change when Duck! Ahiru is swimming on the lake and she sees Fakir crying as he is close to the lake she is occupying. He sees the duck, scoops her up and embraces her and Ahiru starts to think "He isnt so bad" and maybe deep down he has a softer side. Sometimes she would meet with Fakir as a duck to provide him solace for his troubles.

 Fakir has lots of issues that he hides. A past trauma where using his powers went wrong and he disliked crows and focused on  his duty to protect Mytho and his role as a knight, fated to relive the purpose from the fairytale 

He does not trust mwny but slowly learns to trust and care for Ahiru and eventually they become a couple.

Some Images of the time  Ahiru realizes her feelings for Fakir and started questioning WHY she liked Mytho:

(It was infactuation and not liking him for himself just the 'princely' image she had of him in her head)

He starts putting two and two together Duck = Ahiru

Later in the story  he realizes Ahiru = Tutu

During Season 2 when Corrupted! Mytho is causing

chaos, the duo form a truce and Fakir figures out Ahiru=Princess Tutu After she reveals her identity to him. On their quest to not only stop Corrupted! Mytho but prevent the End of the World, Ahiru her feelings when Fakir is stabbed to protect Mytho, fufilling his prophecyof playing the Knight, he gets better and goes with her to

find out more about his aurthor warping abilities.

Things take a turn for the grim when the End of the Word and Fakir uses his powers (after Princess Tutu's  essence is given up) to inspire the crow turned people by Ahirus dancing in her true form as a duck.

At the end, they go their own ways but Fakir visits Ahiru at the lake where she lives, writting stories.

My Thoughts: 

The only issues with the pairing include:

She is an ANIMAL and he is a human

Context: She is getting water on her body so that she can turn into a duck

There  is a running gag that lasts too long with when Ahiru goes from duck to human she is naked.

(also in her transformation for a few seconds) and this was not funny to me.

When this occoured in Fakir's presence  this embarassed Fakir at first (see above) but he got used to it as time went on.

 Considering how young Ahiru looks and her physical age (14), this is weird to put in a show because naked minors are not funny. 

 I  wished there were anime censors for those scenes, for her privacy or not show it at all. The show dropped this gag  when the plot got more serious thankfully.

 (When I was a child and watched this I wanted her to put on a towel quickly and focus on the plot that this gag and I was weirded out)

This type of humor is prevalent in anime (and other media) with the thought "naked people are funny” but it is an outdated comedic trope in my opinion. (Eva also did this comedy but it was an excuse to depict named minors in an already sexually charged work considering the nature of Evangellion's themes, that anime will get an article)

I was disapointed that at the start of the series,  the writters  not have Fakir  acting annoyed by Ahiru  at the begining of the show because it reenforces the belief that:

 'if a guy is mean to you he actually likes you' / "if a guy is annoyed with you keep pursuing him until you get what you want’

 That is not the case in reality. If a guy is mean to a person that is how he feels and a person has a right to  avoid him or pursue romantically/ friendship wise.

Thankfully as we see in the show Fakir mellows out and he was able to end up trusting her and they work together, so this probably is a case of Fakir being emotionally guarded due to his trauma and her kindnessshows him that not all people are bad in the world.

This  is a risky message to put in a show because really few relationships end up like this in reality. It is up for the person with trust issues to seek therapy to overcome their trauma and take time to open up with others over time. You should not wait on the what ifs or potential in a person because it is not your job whether man or woman to heal someone from their trauma.

 There are more mental health outlets that people can use to help themselves to heal first prior to being in a relationship. It is not your responsibility to help someone to heal, they have to put in the work themselves.