My Favorite Valentine’s Day Special!

Ed Edd n Eddy’s Hanky Panky Hullabaloo

Ahh, Valentine’s Day. The day of love and romance, of Cupid and Eros and candied hearts and couples! As a kid growing up, though, I was never really that into Valentine’s Day.

Perhaps it’s because for the longest time, longer than most boys, I held on to the notion that girls were “bleah”. Maybe it’s because I never had the time to form a meaningful, romantic relationship with someone. It could be a lot of reasons, but I’m still not that into it. Once I find that special someone, though, that might change.

Until then, though, I can always cheer myself up by watching some Valentine’s Day Specials. And next to the Spongebob Squarepants Valentine’s Day Special, the one I remember the most is (drumroll)… Ed Edd n Eddy’s Hanky Panky Hullabaloo!

If you saw my post on it, then you know that Ed Edd n Eddy was one of my favorite shows as a kid; and that my folks banned me from watching it. But when I saw that they were doing a Valentine’s Day Special, I decided to watch it anyway. I still got in trouble, but I’m not sorry and I don’t regret it.

Basic Plot

It’s Valentine’s Day at the Ed’s school, and they’re celebrating it in their own ways. Eddy tries to use the holiday to get attention from girls; Double Dee’s handing out science-themed Valentine’s Day Cards to his classmates. As for Ed, he’s doing his best to avoid “yucky, squishy, mushy girls”. Which is bad for him, since May Kanker asks him to be her Valentine. Here is Ed’s response:

Normally, I wouldn’t blame Ed for running away from a Kanker Sister, but I can’t help but feel bad for May this time. You can tell that she was making a heartfelt effort to reach out to Ed, and he trampled over her. Both metaphorically and very literally.

Feeling sorry for her despite the trouble the Kankers give them, Double Dee gives May one of his Valentine’s Day Cards, leaving her confused. Then, things get weird.

Unknown to most of the cast, these two little cupids that resemble Jimmy and Sarah are flying around to spread love for Valentine’s Day. They hit May with an arrow, and bam! She’s in love with Double Dee. Soon after, Double Dee gets hit, too, causing him to fall for May. Hilarity ensues as the unlikely couple enjoys the holiday while the remaining Eds and Kankers almost go to war over what’s happening!

Review

Two things made this special so memorable to me: the comedy and the way it portrays Valentine’s Day.

As a kid, I loved the comedy in Ed Edd n’ Eddy. The over-the-top slapstick that can range from faces burning up from hot sauce to Ed dropping a house on Eddy, it always made me laugh. This special is no exception. Aside from Ed trampling May, another great slapstick moment is the confrontation between the Eds and Kankers. I’ve rarely seen food fights that epic.

The other half of the comedy comes from the characters dealing with Valentine’s Day. Rather, it comes from two character’s refusal to have anything to do with Valentine’s Day: Ed and Rolf.

Ed pulls out all the stops to keep girls away from him: Eating raw onions, bags on his head, spiders, the works. He wants nothing to with the holiday, and he avoids it in a manner that a kid would, with comedic results. He represents the people in life who will avoid this day like the plague, with humorous results.

While Ed’s reactions to Valentine’s Day are hilarious, Rolf just looks at the holiday with disgust. He can’t stand how overly mushy and affectionate everyone gets on February 14th and it grosses him out to no end. Sad to say it, but at times, I am in Rolf’s boat. I appreciate the value of love, both to friends and family and to a romantic partner, but there’s a limit to how much I can take. Especially when it’s coming from a couple that, by all accounts, shouldn’t even be possible!

Just looking at how lovey-dovey they makes me wanna puke.

Which brings me to the other thing I liked about this special. Rather, what I liked to hate: the cupids, or as I call them, the Stupid Cupids.

As a kid, I hated these two because they represented romance. I still hate them, but for entirely different reasons. Despite my disdain for them, I think that they were a really great touch. Having two supernatural creatures to explain how Double Dee and May suddenly fall for each other is a creative way of getting the plot to make sense. It’s made even funnier, though, when you think of how they used Sarah and Jimmy to play the Cupids. Jimmy is sweet enough, but Sarah? Ed’s rude, obnoxious, spoiled little sister?!? The irony is hilarious.

As for why I hate them now, though, it’s simple: they are the worst cupids I have ever seen! They choose to pair up Double Dee and May in the hopes of spreading love, but it brings about chaos!

Their solution is even worse, though. They decide to simply hit everyone with love arrows, resulting in everyone pairing up in couples straight out of fanfiction. I just looked it up on TV Tropes, and they call it a “crack pairing”-

Shipping beyond all bounds of sanity. There are official couples, there are couples drawn from more-or-less subjective subtext, and there are clearly non-canon pairings that still kind of make sense… and then there are pairings that make you go “What?”

Crack pairings range from the making-you-scratch-your-head-in-puzzlement weird, to the gouging-your-own-eyes-out-with-a-fork weird. But they always leave you asking “WHY WOULD ANYBODY THINK THESE TWO BELONGED TOGETHER?!”

Thankfully, the day is saved thanks to the efforts of one brave boy, the savior of Peach Creek Jr. High, the one guy who was smart enough to stand up and say enough is enough: Rolf. I’m not going to even write anything. I’m just gonna play the clip and show his heroism in action:

And thus, the stupid cupids were defeated and sanity was restored. That was one of my favorite moments from the show, hands down.

In the end, the spell is broken thanks to Rolf, and life returns to normal, but with a few happy memories for Double Dee. As the Eds deal with the aftermath while cleaning the hallway, Ed manages to make a surprisingly insightful comment about love. Well, I thought it was insightful:

Love is like an onion, Double D. The more you peel away its layers, the more it stinks.

Yeah, love does stink at times, there’s no denying that. It may not always last, or even lead to any positive outcomes in the end. But if you keep trying, then maybe someday you’ll find that person you care about the most. I know I am: there’s a girl out there that loves anime and pop culture as much as I do! Even if you don’t have a lover to share the holiday with, though, you can always share it with family. I liked this special and I think it’s worth re-watching! Now then, let’s close this out with a message from Ed himself:

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