Yeah. I can see why Unrequited Love may not be a trope (unless it is a main plot point) but using it as a redirect here is weird.
Unrequited love causes plots. Oddly enough the first example I think of is the Rosa in David Copperfield having an unrequited love for Steerforth which made her all bitter and hateful.
As i said "unless it is a main plot point"(though I suppose it doesn't need to be 'main'). A Unrequited Love that is not explored is not a trope. Just a small character feature.
Before I make assumptions about what you mean, let's take an example we're both familiar with. We'll say Negima. Do you mean you would not want to list all 15 or so character's unrequited love for Negi except the ones who make a point of it? Or do you mean you wouldn't list it at all except for when the story is about it? I think both views are wrong, personally, but the first is more understandable.
Not that I would list it under every character, but yeah.
edited 25th Mar '11 10:01:46 PM by Arha
I would list all because I would have to one anyway (the focus should go on the relevant ones, though). And 'love' is an important aspect on this series, anyway, so the trope is noteworthy for the story.
However, I wouldn't in a series where the romance is not focus, but we have Character A who just happen to have a unrequited crush on Character B that is no explored or further mentioned. It is just not a trope there.
Anyway, I don't think this matter for the main discussion. I agree the split should be made.
PS:Btw, Negima is a bad example, since All Love Is Unrequited there, anyway. You, of all people, should know that. How mutial love arrows you used in that chart◊?
edited 25th Mar '11 10:15:42 PM by Heatth
Maybe it could redirect to Unrequited Love Tropes instead.
I think the real question is "why isn't there a troper tales page for this?". Dammit I need to know that I'm not the only sad sack who's on this site!
Nutty as a gingerbread man with his undies on fire after a lobotomy and a passionate cavity search.^ There used to be one, not sure what happened to it...
"Can you breakaway?"Were you not following this at all?
On-topic, I agree with the OP that there is a difference between Unrequited Love as a plot point between a single pair of characters, and having all love be unrequited as the title suggests.
Fourthing the motion to separate. I could totally see Unrequited Love as a separate, exampleless trope, or an index.
Avatar art by Lorna-Ka.
Honest question here because I may have missed something, but why is a situation in which no romance goes anywhere using as a redirect the term Unrequited Love? You can have Unrequited Love in series the have active romance going on, so I don't get why it's merely a redirect instead of its own trope.
If there's no good reason for this shouldn't the trope be split?