Enemies or Haters? To Lovers or Friends? Trope

Enemies-to-lovers is a classic romance trope that is ferociously beloved by fans, even though the convention can often result in toxic and transgressive stories. But both fans and critics have overlooked the nuances in the trope. And a conflation between this and other story conventions have resulted.

A few weeks ago, the author of a webcomic, a contemporary reimagining of Greek mythology, Lore Olympus’ Rachel Smythe, put out a tweet asking what everyone’s favorite enemies-to-lovers or -friends stories are. My thought was 10 Things I Hate About You and Guts and Casca from the manga Berserk.

However, after thinking about it Kat and Patrick (10 Things I Hate About You) were never enemies; they just hated each other at different points in the story.

Of course, Joey Donner is the enemy in the story, and Kat had previously dated him before the film’s events. It was evident that it did not work out between the two because the enemy is a misogynist, sexist, toxic-masculine d-bag. And the heroine is a fierce feminist with morals, principles, and integrity. Whereas Patrick is her match because he encourages her to be more of who she is and likewise she for him, resulting in positive outcomes. I would highly recommend checking out The Take’s video on the movie; it enlightens how well that rom-com has aged.

After I mulled on this difference, I also realized that Guts and Casca were also never enemies. They hated each other, and just so happened to have a common motivation. They were still both members of the Band of the Hawk (I know its meant to be Falcon because of Star Wars, but for me, it will always be Hawk) serving their leader Griffith who favored both of them and hence a rivalry between the two.

To be enemies, one of them would have to be fighting on behalf of the Tudor Empire and the other for the Kingdom of Midland.

Unlike Kat and Patrick, though, which jumps right into romantic hi-jinx, Guts and Casca instead spend years as haters exacerbated with some sexual tension, and then eventually develop a genuine friendship with one another with some flirtation…