Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-66.96.68.102-20160516201045/@comment-5691615-20171226230730

Tortoiseshel wrote: "if you think a 14-year-old being in a perfectly healthy, non sexual relationship-"

It's arguable as to whether or not a 14-year-old is even capable of being in a "perfectly healthy" romantic relationship, even with someone their own age. They're just not emotionally mature enough, and they won't be until around 25, according to our current understanding of the human mind. Teens might try and pursue romantic relationships with their peers, and there's nothing wrong with that, but teen romances are comparatively shallow and immature. They're more like practice for relationships later on in adulthood. (This may have something to do with why you say your parents don't want you to date until after college.)

As for Kaito's age, I realize it can be tough to tell a character's age when they're drawn in a cutesy "moe" anime artstyle, as most Vocaloids are. Otaku culture's infantilization of women and rampant sexualization of minors (regardless of gender) can make it really hard to tell sometimes how old a character is supposed to be. For instance, while I headcanon Galaco as an adult- partly because she has a mature sounding voice, partly because I'm an adult and I just find adults more interesting to write about- I could understand if someone interpreted her to be younger, especially if they're looking at her super-"moe" neo artwork.

But I find it really difficult to believe that anyone could look at- or listen to, since this is Vocaloid we're talking about- Kaito and think he's not an adult. Sometimes you don't need a canon age. Like you don't need a canon age listed to know that Piko and Rana are supposed to be kids, or Bruno and Clara are supposed to be adults.

i really respect where you're coming from, i just think the whole thhing is subjective since everyone thinks differently. i honestly thought of piko as an older teen, which is why i think that headcanoned ages (even if popular) shouldn't be taken that seriously when nothing is official and everyone's minds are different. i personally think of kaito and meiko as adults as well but some people might think of them as 16-year-olds.

also i agree with you that teenagers arent really that capable of carrying out serious, committed relationships! but i dont think that it's morally wrong for them to pursue relationships. i think it can build chracter and prepare them for real relationships when they're older, because it sort of gives them an idea of what they might live with in the future up ahead (in terms of marriage), so while i dont think it's GOOD per se for young teens to be in relationships i don't think it's morally wrong either