Let me preface it with this: Your weeks of talking about this shrine paid off so much, and this is one of your best shrines to me, and this is so going on my wall of favourite shrines so I can reread it again and again.
There are a lot of things to be said about it, but in its identity as a relationship shrine, it's really inspiring. There aren't that many relationship shrines around, and they tend to be summary-heavy, but that's not what you're doing. Your shrine doesn't read as a shrine to two separate characters who have a strong bond either - their bond shines through on every page, and that's what makes it an amazing relationship shrine to me. There are so many great ideas in Counterbalance, I just know that I will be looking to this shrine as inspiration when I make a relationship shrine one day!
I'm glad you went and hunted down all the pictures for this shrine even though it seemed like a pain to you at first, they really give the shrine its colour and charm - I especially liked the wanted poster in the introduction, and the doll episode pic under "commitment" (actually, that last one made me tear up lol, I remember how much I loved that episode, and it's just... such beautiful placement under commitment).
Jessie and James give the series its humour, but you strike a great balance in the things you address and how you address them - your endearing tone is there throughout the shrine, and you point out both the light-hearted, humourous sides as well as the serious ones, not letting either of them keep you from addressing the other. That's so great, considering the source material!
I like that you're not afraid of pointing out contradicting information in a long episodic series, but allow those parallel truths/realities to exist and just examine things anyway, rather than dismissing them just because they're contradicting. Speaking of episodes: When you said you were marathoning Pokémon for this shrine, I thought that the shrine would end up being very anecdotal, which IS a way to go about shrining, but can end up being distracting. But Counterbalance hardly ever does that: It looks at the big picture and who the characters are as a whole at all times, and uses certain moments to illustrate what it's saying, rather than listing all kinds of moments. (And maybe that just stands out to me due to the Pokémon anime being so long and episodic on top of that, and because I... tend to go on and on about details, even if I know it's not ideal.)
Your "The Team Rocket Duo" and "What They Mean to Each Other" pages brought me to tears, and to me, they're some of my favourite pages I've read from you, I love those two pages so so so much. The entire "Romance and Other Issues" section is just really great, including what you wrote about prejudices and the image of masculinity and what you pointed out about accepted perceptions of femininity broadening and of masculinity narrowing. I also think it was important to point out the reversal of traditional gender roles because... Many people, including myself, probably got into the Pokémon anime as children, and they didn't even consciously think that far. But it's something that dawned on me the moment I read the first page of the shrine (since it's been a long time since I thought about Jessie and James, my Pokémon anime childhood being so far back), and it explains why Jessie meant so much to me.
That whole section is also great because you talk about the entire relationship as a whole, and while you say you used to strongly ship them, and still ship them somewhat, you don't make your arguments all about romantic love - because whether or not people look at them that way, their relationship as is is what is to be appreciated.
Your shrine stays engaging and interesting until the very end. Those two character analysis pages are amazing. You'd usually expect these to come at the beginning of a shrine, especially a relationship shrine, but you placing them at the bottom (which I know is at least in part due to your navigation motto) just emphasizes what I said above: It's a shrine about a relationship first and foremost. The way you wrote those character profiles also adapts to the placement of the pages, and they're a great conclusion to the shrine.
As Jae pointed out, reading those two character pages and seeing you contrast them not in structure, but also in content, really shows how they need each other. I also like what you pointed out about the things that make these two relatable, and the "true hero?" part of it is... so touching. It echoes what you wrote in so many different parts of the shrine, of the two of them escaping the confines of their childhood and trying so hard to succeed somewhere, anywhere. And you're thinking beyond just the series and just Pokémon. I LOVE IT SO MUCH.
A few other disjointed points I really like:
- The navigation, but you already know that.
- The motto comparison.
- The "Demonstrated Characteristics" bullet points in "First Adventure Together" are such a neat way to summarize not just an episode, but key points for the subject of the shrine!
- Your own image songs throughout the shrines - it's great, it adds "media", and it's that tells others "ah, that's Robin!" right away. I know music means a lot to you, and I love its constant presence in your shrines.
- There were several parts where you pointed out parallels between Jessie and Meowth, and then contrast that to James, and while Jessie and Meowth's relationship is not the focus of this shrine, these observations are one of my favourite things about the shrine. I wouldn't have noticed or remembered without you pointing it out.
OKAY LETHE OUT