Winx Magazine #189: Aisha and Nex’s “Dance”
When I saw the cover of Winx Magazine #189, I hoped the Specialists would finally show up again, and we’d get some Aisha/Nex scenes. This comic mostly met my expectations.
First, a couple facts about this comic: “La Gara di Ballo” (The Dance Contest).
AISHA: We’ll leave them speechless, Nex!
- As YouTuber Winx Club Believix pointed out, this is the last comic of the decade! (It’s almost 2020, guys. Crazy…)
- This is the first comic Nex has been in since #139: “Festa a Sorpresa!” (Surprise Party!). That’s 50 issues or more than four years ago. (Remember when the Specialists appeared in every comic? I miss those days.) It’s also the first time he and Aisha have interacted in a comic since “La Prova di Nex” (Nex’s Test).
“La Gara di Ballo” is about Bloom and Sky, but Aisha and Nex at least get a couple panels together. Maybe they’ll get more in the February 2020 comic. (I expect it to be about Musa and Riven, though.)
As for these scenes, I don’t know how to feel about them.
Is That a Dance?
During the contest, each Winx couple dances in a style that suits their personalities and/or relationship.
- Stella and Brandon boogie on top of the judges’ table.
- Musa and Riven do…an interpretive dance?
- Tecna and Timmy do the robot (because of course).
- Flora and Helia tango.
- Bloom and Sky waltz. (And of course, they win the competition because they’re the most beautiful couple ever. ?)
Here’s Aisha and Nex’s dance. One of the background characters says it looks more like a martial art. It could be inspired by capoeira, a Brazilian martial art that incorporates dance and acrobatics.
Is it just me, or is Rainbow highlighting Aisha and Nex’s battle couple dynamic a lot? I don’t mind that type of relationship, especially since it’s unique to them. No other couple has it.
But I feel like Rainbow is overdoing it. A couple that kicks butt together is awesome, but that’s not what people picture when they think of love. Couples are supposed to act cute and sappy, right? Even Winx Club reinforces this because it promotes the mushy couples more (especially Bloom and Sky).
For that reason, Aisha and Nex need more sweetness in their relationship. They can still be the tough-as-nails battle couple, but let them have plenty of softer moments, too.
Rainbow did this better in the cartoon in season eight. The first Sirenix arc was full of romantic moments between Aisha and Nex. I just wish we could see more of them in the Winx comics, too.
What do you think? Do you prefer Aisha and Nex’s battle couple dynamic, or should they be more romantic?
Credits:
That panel of Aisha kicking the air aggressively is MY NEW FAVORITE THING. KICK THAT AIR HARD, GURL. Also, I love how Nex is dodging in a way that’s somehow both graceful and awkward.
I like that the battle couple dynamic separates Aisha and Nex from the other couples, but it’s not their entire personalities. I think they have to always be a balance between Power Couple Team Up and Cute Stuff. If you rely too much on one of those two archetypes, then the characters lose a lot of depth.
“Kick that air!” ?
You’re right. I guess Aisha and Nex are more balanced than the other couples. I mean, they always have been. It feels like they’re one of the few couples that have an actual friendship in their relationship and don’t have unreasonable expectations of each other. (The other couple I’d say that about is Tecna and Timmy.)
The mushy couples seem more one-note. Bloom/Sky and Flora/Helia do the same darn things every season and don’t really progress as couples. Yet we’re supposed to believe they’re perfect for each other because…they’re cute. (Never mind Bloom and Sky’s complete lack of trust in each other.)
Stella and Brandon aren’t bad. I’d say they’re more balanced that Bloom/Sky and Flora/Helia, but sometimes they seem off, too. Not as often, though.
Musa and Riven? Sigh. Not gonna talk about it. ?
Nex lastly appeared 50 issues ago…WOW, the comics have dropped a lot in continuity and quality. Remember when they were good, even better than the cartoon? I wish it stayed that way, but around issue 104 or so it all changed. It’s not Winx Club anymore, at least not the Winx Club I have grown to love.
But I guess that’s what happens when your plan was to end the franchise after 4 seasons and 2 movies (am I right, Iginio?). The “45-pages-comic-story-per-magazine-era” was the best. Once they got down to 37 pages, it slowly started to drop in quality as well. And it continued to drop with 28 pages, followed by 22 pages and now it’s 14 pages.
At least Nex appeared again. The Hallowinx outfits recently made a return too, so it’s not all that bad. However, I do wish Rainbow would go back the quality of the earlier comics. Maybe a new spin-off with the couture style would help with that (World of Winx was too complicated to understand for the audience). I don’t know the solution.
Maybe it’s all a phase and it’ll be better again one day. It certainly can’t be worse, that’s for sure. Sorry, I’m trying to be hopeful but first I have to learn how to do that again.
It’s not just Nex. Sky and Brandon have appeared more recently, but I think Helia and Timmy have been M.I.A. for a while, too. (And of course, Riven has been gone the longest, but that’s for a logical reason.)
Yeah, I miss the old comics, too. 14 pages is way too short. It’s not worth it anymore. But I don’t think the only problem is how Winx Club changed. I think part of it is that magazines in general aren’t that popular anymore.
[…] I’m not as happy as I usually am. Recognize this dance scene? You should because it’s from the December 2019 comic “La Gara di Ballo” (The Dance Competition), which Rainbow reprinted in this […]