Poor, poor character
There’s this plot device that one often seen in anime, movies, and television that’s meant to make the viewer sympathetic to a character.
Here’s the situation. The heroine, or sometimes even hero, is in love with someone who just isn’t very thoughtful, but they can’t help the way they feel. The two agree to meet at a certain time and place just to hang out, or have lunch, and our heroine is very excited. She shows up, early, even, and the minutes tick by. But the other doesn’t show. Time passes, minutes flow into hours, and still she is alone, until finally, late at night, half a day later, she finally gives up.
At this point, the viewer is supposed to feel awful for her. I tend to hate her.
Let’s look at what might have happened, and its consequences.
| They… | After an hour or so, you… | |
| Have not shown up because they either forgot, or don’t care. | SHOULD GO HOME | They’re obviously not worth your heartache and your time. |
| Have been kept from you through no fault of their own and are trying to get to you. | SHOULD GO HOME | If it’s been two hours and they show up and you’re not there, they will be GLAD that you were not waiting all that time and they will understand. If they show up after two hours and you ARE there, they’re going to feel bad, and you shouldn’t want to make them feel bad. After all, it wasn’t their fault. |
Anyone who stays after a reasonable amount of time is just looking for sympathy, either from the person in question, or from their friends when they tell them what happened. Have some self-respect. Go home.
(I don’t know if anyone actually does this, but it seems to show up in plots everywhere. I do however know people who wouldn’t surprise me if they did this.)