Nothing "star-crossed" about them.: Starcrossed Lovers

Agree. It works quite well as a metaphor. We need a caption to enforce that, though. Just in case someone don't get.

The second Romeo and Juliet poster is also quite good, however. Voted for it as well.

Tanabata is the Japanese name for a Chinese legend about two literally star-crossed lovers. I quite good example of this trope that doesn't follow the traditional Romeo and Juliet dynamic (which could be a (sub)trope by itself, given the popularity). You shouldn't need to know the legend, however, if you get the two lovers are being separated by the sea of stars.

edited 21st Apr '11 10:27:21 PM by Heatth

Not sure if you can really call that version a "classic" since it's just a modern retelling.

And I didn't see the people on the side at all until you mentioned them; all the focus is on the two of them.

Tanabata

While not a big thing in the Western world, it is huge in China and Japan. It's an actual public holiday celebrating the love of Vega and Altair who only get to see each other once a year on that date. Supposedly if it rains then they don't get to meet that year.

So, objectively it both older and more prominent then Romeo And Juliet. It's just that it's not a western holiday. Not sure how that should play out on the wiki. I mean, we are a Western based wiki, so maybe that means we should be biased towards western images and examples.

The legend has actually been retold a fair bit in Western culture lately. It was even in Dragon Age Origins. It's one of the stories Leliana tells.

I've also schools making minor celebratings, for children over here.

Then again, knowing the legend shouldn't matter. Personally, I think the metaphor is clear enough by itself.

Yes it is a modern retelling, but that isn't the point. If anything that further proves that Romeo and Juliet are timeless because they still have an impact on the modern cultures, because it continues to be a timeless classic.

I still am not a fan of that Tatabana image. One I'm not very familiar with it, two-I never personally connected to it like other stories about tragic lovers (the one most famously being Romeo and Juliet), and two...it doesn't look that much like their being separated-if that's what people are going for-I know others see it, but maybe because the fact I'm not familiar with this old famous myth of the eastern world-that I don't see it in this image, they just look like a couple flying through the sky-about to grab each other's hands. I didn't get the "separated metaphor" until other tropers stated that it was just that.

I do think it's too close to call. One person voting right now could tie things up.

It was very different just a while ago. +5 against 0. But, yeah, we can't call it yet.

I actually liked the R+J idea, but the composition just doesn't look pretty. That and the Tanabata picture just looks like a page image somehow.

Perhaps a wrong approach.

I'm still not a fan of the Tatabana one, now even more when I look at it, it looks like she'll fall into his arms and he'll catch her....much more romantic and less seperating tragic.

And seeing a couple blissfully kissing with the feuding families barely visible in the corners isn't romantic and is tragic?

Not saying it is.

I'm saying people keep saying the Tatabana one metaphorically reflects separation, and I'm saying I don't see that.

If what everyone else (not me) is going for THAT...then the tatabana one, from what my perspective on everyone's arguments for why it works....doesn't.

The lack of good Tanabata pics bugs me... Its one of those standard japanese holidaies that are in every Slice of Life animes and not one I have has a decent shot of the story. Keitaro tells the story in Love Hina but he screws it up and the page is cluttered so it wouldnt make a good image.

There is this devantart pic.◊ This painting◊

I like the deviant art one, added it.

Ok, the deviantart one is much better than ANY of the Tatabana pictures I've seen.

Not a big a fan of the Deviant Art one. It looks like "even the stars support their love" as opposed to "even the stars conspire against their love". This is a very bad thing, since, as the description says, the former is what people commonly mistake the trope name for.

edited 23rd Apr '11 6:36:30 PM by Servbot

It's been a week and we've got a clear winner, so I'm calling this. The new pic is up, tagged, and potholed. Calling for a lock.