Have you ever been super invested in a cartoon romance? Whether it's a sub-plot or part of the main plot, many cartoons aimed at the typical Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network audience often contained a romance between the two leads of the opposite sex but at the same time were allergic to having this main romance in the show happen before the end. Just off the top of your head, you can probably think of a few shows that end with the main couple finally getting together as if kissing your long-time high school crush or best friend (in many cases) is the definitive ending to all stories whether the show is about romance or not.
Now this ending in itself isn't inherently bad it works for most fairy tales that aren't really designed to go any further than "and they all lived happily ever after". It also works for movies and tv shows where the main drive of the show is the will they/ won't they of the two protagonists (Nickelodeon series Zoey 101 benefits from this as otherwise the show has no real plot without the Zoey/ Chase romance drama) but the early 2000s into the 2010s was plagued with animated shows that did this will they/ won't they trope to keep tension when romance wasn't even the shows focus.
Starting with a rather large offender, Nickelodeon's 2004 series Danny Phantom sets this problem up right out of the gate the show's main focus is Danny having ghost powers and his attempts to defeat villains such as the main antagonist Vlad with romance only acting really as a supporting plot. It's clear from episode 3 that Danny and Sam will end up together even if it's not clear to them that they like each other as more than friends till a few more episodes down the line, leaving the audience just wondering when it will happen, season 2 of course, throws some spanners in the works such as Valerie but ultimately you're left wondering why, when it is obvious Danny and Sam like each other, it's taking so long. The series even goes so far as to dedicate whole episodes to them getting jealous when the other is dating someone else or have the two "fake out make out" kiss where it's obvious they enjoy it. The pair do finally kiss and decide to be together in the rather sloppily written series finale that leaves many fans actually wishing Danny ended up with Valerie instead. (Not me I'm a Danny and Sam truther just wish they were written better, screw you Butch Fartman).
Similar things can be said about Disney, series Star Vs The Force of Evil which premiered a decade later, its final seasons falling into romance drama and the will they/ won't they of Star and her best friend Marco despite it being the least interesting aspect of this multi-dimensional, magical series. 2002s Kim Possible also nearly fell victim to this when Kim and Ron finally got together in a movie set to act as the series finale only for the show's popularity and fan support to bring it back for a fourth season.
Cartoon Network's Teen Titans (2003) also decided to place their main couple together in a movie set to end the series, Trouble in Tokyo sees Robin and Starfire finally kiss after 5 seasons worth of blatant pining for one another as well with episodes early on showing their obvious infatuation with each other and raging jealousy when the other is potentially paired off with someone else such as Robin's prom date with Kitten and Starfire's almost marriage to a big green blob arranged by her evil sister.
So why does this happen? There's no clear answer and it likely varies between shows and creative teams. Whether it is down to the team not knowing how to write the two characters in a romantic relationship, pressure from the network, or just the general fact of it being an easy way to work in extra drama and tension. Circling back to Kim Possible the fourth season does prove you are able to still write the character's dynamic well even when they are in a relationship and it can create some great tension that differs from the standard will they/ won't they, that let's face it usually ends in a "they will."
It's a shame more shows didn't take the plunge into writing actual couples but in more recent years we have seen them getting together earlier in their respective shows take Jim and Claire from Trollhunters for example (well if you ignore the movie we don't speak of). Heck, even Miraculous Ladybug has finally got Marinette and Adrien together as of season 5, though they're likely to be breaking up soon based on the way the story is playing out in season 6.
Another thing I find interesting to note is the live-action series that are aimed at the same age demographics don't seem to have this issue. Kendall and Jo from Big Time Rush are together for almost the whole run of the series, Alex and Mason from Wizards of Waverly Place are also together for much of the series after his introduction, and Austin and Ally even managed to date for a good chunk of their series before it ended.
Whilst it does seem a lot of the "getting together but only at the end" has passed as new creators manage to write well-rounded stories that incorporate more aspects of a romantic partnership, rather than just the build-up, it is interesting to look back to this trend. Personally, these relationships had teenage me in a chokehold and these shows definitely left me wanting more.
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