I know this isn't exactly a popular take, but I don't think Katy x Lammy is cannon.
I constantly see people saying they are, and when I first got into PTR-- I thought so too. Mind you, this was before I got into any of the games, so my knowledge of the series was sparce.
As I watched longplays of all the games, watched the anime, read the comics, and got around to actually playing the trilogy-- I wondered when I'd actually see the ship in question.
Safe to say, there wasn't any evidence of it in the games or comics, not to mention Lammy wasn't even in the anime. It baffled me until I actually found out why people considered the pairing cannon.
The biggest pieces of evidence come from Rodney A. Greenblatt, who, I'll get to in a minute.
I believe the hugest spark for this ship being called cannon is an email from Rodney, which states:
"Thanks for the groovy note. I really appreciate it. I think it would be so cool if Katy and Lammy got together. If I ever get a chance to design a new Lammy game, I'll put that in the story! it would be so
On top of this, Rodney has drawn some art for Valentines depicting Lammy and Katy being together, which were posted on his Twitter account.
Beyond this, there isn't much more evidence to go over.
There were interviews made for Milkcan that come from Um Jammer Lammy NOW (The Arcade port of UJL), in which Katy is asked if she has a boyfriend and replies with:
I would like to take this time to go over the evidence I just covered. Now, I am aware that it might not be everything-- but the pieces I provided are the most brought up.
First of all, let's cover the email, as well as the Valentines art, which comes from Rodney A. Greenblatt.
A few years back, there were attempts to debunk this email. I'll cut to the chase and say that, yes, the email IS real and did actually come from Rodney.
Though, I think it's worth going over the email one more time and examining the phrasing.
Rodney states that he "thinks" it would be cool if Katy and Lammy got together. He goes on to say that "If" he got the "chance" to design a new UJL game, he would put them in the story.
I'd argue that Rodney never outright confirms them as cannon, rather-- I believe this email is him showing support for the ship.
As for the Valentines art, it isn't official Parappa media. Rodney has never been credited as anything more than the visual designer of the series-- not even as a writer, with that credit going to Gabin Ito, who has been credited as the sole writer for both Parappa games and Um Jammer Lammy.
"I'd just go in there cranking out art; they'd make a list of stuff, and I'd just blast it over to them." Is what Rodney said in an interview with Game Developer.
This is not to discredit the amount of work Rodney put into designing the characters and world of Parappa, but it's clear to me that he doesn't have the same power over the series that some people think he has.
Rodney was told to design a character, and he did as he was told. Gabin Ito was the one to actually write and give traits to these characters, not to mention Masya Matsuura is the one who's actually credited as being the father of Parappa.
Beyond that, though, there's still the "boyfriend schmoyfriend" line from Um Jammer Lammy NOW. I'd say this could be interpreted in many ways.
Evidently, these games were made in a different time before the 2010s and subsequent 2020s. The culture around that era and now would be drastically different, and as such, I think it's important to view it with that in mind.
I think it's undeniable that LGBTQ+ acceptance has improved a lot since the 90s and 2000s. Modern media has paved the way for more shows, movies, and games to tackle queer characters and themes.
While it would've been cool if Um Jammer Lammy had such representation-- at the time these games were made, it might've been too taboo of a subject and especially since these games were marketed mostly towards kids.
(To clarify my point above: I'm not opposed to LGBTQ+ characters being in games that might be marketed more towards kids, but rather, I think it would make some parents hesitant to buy their kids such a game)
To give my own input, I'm very accepting of the modern LGBTQ+ representation in media, and I am happy to see how far we've come. I think if we got a new Parappa or Lammy game now, there's a fair chance that Katy and Lammy would be a couple.
As of right now, however, that's just not the case. I made this whole ramble because I did think at some point that the ship was cannon. It was a common opinion that, if you disagreed with, you'd have some rando after you crying "lesbian erasure."
I don't agree with throwing around that kind of thing when other pieces of media have had queer media that was either censored out or removed entirely.
(A very recent example would be the Pixar series, Win or Lose, which had a storyline featuring a trans character pulled)
Yes, I do think some people are malicious with their views, and that has a hand on their view of the ship, but I don't think absolutely everyone is trying to be.
Parappa hasn't had a new entry in 20 years, so seeing something like this come out of nowhere would be a shock for a decent number of people.
To conclude, I don't hate the ship. If you like it, then keep liking it. To me, it's never mattered if it's cannon or not, because as long as a ship isn't gross or problematic, you can like it.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm very sleepy.
(Side note: I didn't add pictures because I didn't write with them in mind as I wrote all of this in a note pad app)
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