I have always stated I am a sucker for the romantic stories. I thought it would be an interesting exercise to going over as many as possible that I have watched to touch upon the basic premise of each and what stood out with each for me. It came about from me contemplating ranking all of the anime I have ever watched, which is an incredibly daunting task, so I decided to scale it down a bit, bring it more into reality and do something similar with my favorite genre. Also this is a nice little snap shot of a large amount of series for people to peruse over in an effort to find similar titles, which is always a problem.
This 2007
theatrical movie by the same person who did Voices of a Distant Star is the most depressing movie I have ever
seen. It is the story about one losing
the only love he ever had and struggling to try and reclaim it even after it is
futile. The movie is split up into 3 vignettes
each showing different phases in the main characters life. The first is him in middle school after
having the only person he ever connected with move away. Their absence makes their bond stronger and
before he has to move even further away they plan to meet at her new town. The journey to meet her becomes epic and
lonely as a severe snow storm turns a 3 hour train trip into 7 or 8 hour
journey of agony and sorrow. The second
story finds him near the end of his high school career and his final
disconnection with the girl he loves.
The final story finds him a broken man, living in Tokyo; after he has come to terms with his
lose.
In terms of
reality, this is one of the most realistic movies I have ever seen, anime or
not. Every single element in this
production go to making it what it is, a moving and heart wrenching story of
lost love. I force people who don’t even
like romance stories to watch this one, because it is so powerful of a
story. It is one of my favorite anime
ever made. As a side note, the American
distribution of this movie has been stopped so what DVD’s are currently
available will probably be the last until someone re-releases it.
Aa Megami Sama OAV
This classic story deals with a
lonely boy falling in love with an angel sent to earth and the limitations of
her ability to return that love out of her duty. She must decide between her job and angelic
status or the love of the man she knew as a boy.
While I
tried to not select any harem anime (let’s admit it, there for the boys and
aren’t about the romance anyways) I don’t consider this title to fall under
that genre. I don’t think there is ever
really any choice to be made in any ones head of who will end up with whom at
the end of this story. While I have only
watched a few episodes of the series I did watch all of the original OAV back
in the mid 90’s. One of the most
striking scenes that I remember vividly to this day is of the main character
working 22 hours a day in order to buy his love a ring, to symbolize his
feelings for her and devotion to her as she makes her final decision.
The OAV is
dated but still conveys a strong sense of mystery and romantic ups and
downs. The TV series’ further flesh out
the story and up-dates it a bit, both are worth watching.
The ghost
of a dead girl returns to ‘haunt’ the boy who loved her the most. She needs him to gather their old friends to
grant a wish for her so she can move on.
The years that have passed since her death have caused large gaps in the
friends’ relationships with each other.
This is a
pretty depressing and tear jerking story of loss and pain. There are some comedic parts but really, the
last episode and a half all of the characters are balling their heads off. The concept is done rather well. A good chunk of the story deals with the
protagonist trying to convince himself he’s not hallucinating and then convince
his old friends the ghost is real…as he’s the only one who can see her. Even at 13 episodes the series seemed a bit
stretched out but they remade it into a theatrical movie that I have yet to
see.
This supernaturally bent drama
has both a romantic story and a coming of age story. The story is about a young girl and young
woman, who switch ages, but not bodies, and have to come to terms with how dramatically
their lives have changed while coming to terms with their hang ups involving
the same man. The girl yearns to be
older so her brother no longer has to be responsible for her, so he can live
his life for himself. The woman has to
come to terms with the same man who left her suddenly and without reason to
return home after his parents passed away to take care of his sister.
The
supernatural aspect of this show is only the catalyst, the underlying set up,
for the story. The real story is about
the small cast of characters overcoming their inhibitions and perceived
limitations to grow. I really enjoyed
this airy story; it definitely brought me into a different place while I
watched it. While not totally a romance
it is one of the best stories I have seen in the realism category, realism
aside from the supernatural body switching thing. Don’t worry about any hokey switched body
gags; there is pretty much no humor in this series, it is straight drama.
This is a
rare series in the idea that it’s like the normal romance series but is more
from the male perspective and not in a harem series sense. This story follows the trials and
tribulations between a small group of high school friends as they explore the
finer points of relationships. Through
the ups and downs we see them all grow, learn and experience the life of a high
school romance.
This is a
typical high school romance series, all be it more realistic than many. My biggest hang up with this show was the art;
some of the characters were drawn a bit oddly.
It was good though, not earth shaking, but worth the time. You actually care for some of the characters
and feel pain when they have to suffer and cheer for them to come out ahead.
This short
series deals with a shy and uncertain girl, in the near future, who has a problem
with shorting out electronics when under emotional duress. She moves to her Nth new school, in an
attempt to hide her problem, and immediately draws the attention of the lone
member of the science club, who is interested in studying her ability. The girl is smitten with his boyish good
looks and charm and soon yearns for a relationship with him instead of his
project. The boy, while wholly immersed
in his research, does not understand her feelings right away, but when he does
he has to protect her from the world around her.
This is a
quick, stereotypical high school romantic comedy. Sure, it has a different bend to it with her
weird power, but when you move that aside it is a generic romance. This was a good series, just not for the
romance. The series was really good for
the way it looked at our society in the next decade or so. There seemed to be something missing as well,
as there were characters that were introduced that really had nothing to do with
the series…I wonder if there will be more?
This is the story of a boy who
thinks he’s smarter than everyone else because he reads obscure European
existential literature. When a classmate
catches him being a pervert she begins to manipulate him for her own entertainment. When the girl manipulating him convinces him
to go out with the girl he has a crush on his world starts to crumble under
paranoia of his perversions being exposed.
This is a
series that deals with insanity more than romance; romance is the catalyst for
the insanity. Manipulation, insanity,
adolescent confusion…this series is a train wreck in slow motion when it comes
to all 3 characters losing their grasp of reality. Dark, sadistic and fun, this is not a feel
good series by any stretch of the mean.
I’m waiting for a continuation of the story…which may be around the
corner. The manga may need to be read
soon though.
It is first off a science
fiction film that explores ethical ideals and karma, but there is a strong
secondary story dealing with the main character and one of her 2 best
friends. Half way through the series he
confesses his love to her and she does everything in her power, she can travel
through time, to stop him from confessing to her. Her attempts are not so much out of not
wanting to be with him, but more out of being afraid of ruining what they have
together. By the time she makes up her
mind it might be too late to make things right.
This is my
number one favorite anime movie (even sits near the top of all movies for me)
of all time, due to all of the aspects of the story, including the romance
portion. To me this is almost the
perfect package and I have made many people from all walks of life view it. If there is any movie anyone must see, it is
this one, regardless.
Following a
traumatic accident that has left him an amnesiac, the main character moves away
from home to attend college in Tokyo.
While there he begins to build new memories with the friends he has made
and the girl he begins dating. But
always the specter of his past self continues to haunt him and strain the
relationships his new self has created.
This is a
nice and mature story of adults in love.
The aspects presented with the main characters amnesia and his paranoia
about what the rest of his life will bring adds a nice flare to this story of
love that may not be forever. This is
the newest one on this list and as of its writing still has 3 episodes to go
before its conclusion.
This artistic and creative look
at a high school romance is one of the most interesting series I have ever
seen. It follows the top girl in school
as she meets the only rival she has ever know, a transfer student who beats her
to be best in school, and through the rivalry they end up falling in love. After they have fallen in love they must deal
with all of the ups and downs in a normal relation ship, both internal and
external problems, in order to either remain together and become stronger or
part ways. This series focuses almost
exclusively around the two main characters, so much so that you may even forget
about anything else unless it is thrust in your face.
This is not
only a well done romance it is also a meticulous exercise in the psychology and
inner thoughts of teenage love, or just love in general. The characters are more than human and have
to deal with their short comings and how the things they do reflect upon
themselves and their relationships with everyone around them. This is one of my top 5 favorite romantic
series’ even though the art is not the greatest, the story telling is superb
and even after 26 episodes and the story wrapping up nicely I was very sad to
say good bye to the characters.
Fortunately the story in the anime is only half of the story in the
manga!
This
classic styled high school romance, the manga is from the early 90’s. It follows a remedial high school student, in
her senior year, as she finally confesses to the top student in the school but
is rejected by him. That night as her
friends consol her, in the new house her father built, an earthquake destroys
the house, due to shoddy construction.
Her father, a widower, and she are forced to move in with her father’s
best friend from childhood, who ends up being her unrequited loves father. Now she has to live under the same roof as
the man she was ultimately rejected by.
She has to fight her own short comings to try and win his heart or
convince herself that his heart is cold and his personality too conceited to
bother with him anymore.
First
thought is, gee this sounds a little like Ranma
½, you’re only partially right. This
is more of a romantic odd couple as the two main characters are forced to live
with each other through the remainder of high school and on into college. Everyone, with the exception of the guy’s
younger brother and the girl’s semi boyfriend, is pushing for the two to get
together. It’s a funny, sweet and
nakedly honest one sided relationship series.
Will this lovable goofball be able to crack the iron clad exterior of
the man she can not keep from her mind?
There’s a little bit of Lucille Ball in her too.
Side note; the manga creator died before she
was able to finish the series, which ran for the majority of the 90’s. Her husband has pledged to have the anime end
the way his wife was intending to end the manga.
This light hearted high school
romance has a supernatural bend to it.
It deals with the son of god, who lives like a normal human, in order to
become a better God replacement, and the angel that was created to look after
him, sorting through their feelings for each other. Whew. While
the angel is madly in love with God’s son, he, on the other hand, considers her
more like a sister and when a rival shows up that completely takes his
attention from her, deep rooted issues well up to the surface.
This short
high school love story takes advantage of its super natural angle, by
introducing some paranormal issues into the already strained relationship,
including selective memory loss and the temptation of evil. I enjoyed this quirky little series, more for
the comedy than for the main characters.
In all actuality I didn’t care that much for the main characters, but
the dramatic moments were quite moving.
I really enjoyed God and the rest of the Kamisama family, as they were a
collection of odd balls, especially the youngest daughter who was almost
gothic. It is a nice series all in all,
dragged a bit in the middle but was filled with many tender and tear jerking
moments…the supernatural elements were done tastefully too.
Kimagure Orange Road
KOR is one of the preeminent
high school romance series. It is the
story of 3 friends, 1 boy and 2 girls, and the choices they have to make in
regards to their relationship with each other as they develop. I would not consider this series any where
near a harem series, it is really about a complicated love triangle, with some
external influences thrown in to make the pot stickier.
I actually
watched this series backwards...in a way.
My first introduction to the series is the last movie, which puts a nice
tidy bow on the story when the characters are adults. After that I watched the series. This is an old, and dated (animation wise)
story, but it is well done and there is a bit of supernatural humor and drama
added in due to the boy of the trio having mystical genetic abilities. This is a good series that show cases the
trials and tribulations of misbegotten love while growing up and can interest
the Ranma ½ fans as well.
Known as Rumbling Hearts in America, this
short TV series starts off as a high school romance but quickly turns into a
mature adult drama about people having to cope with moving on. The series deals with a core group of 4
friends, 2 male and 2 female, who have become close in their high school
years. One of the girls, shy and self
conscious, has a crush on one of the boys.
They end up dating while the other girl, who also has a crush on him,
casually interferes in their relationship.
During one such incident the girlfriend is gravely injured in a car
accident and ends up in a coma. Three
years after the fact the boyfriend and the other girl are living together,
while the other guy is in college and the girlfriend is still in a coma. Lives are lived and everyone progresses until
the girl comes out of her coma and still thinks it is 3 years ago. In an effort to maintain her mental health
the doctor orders everyone to pretend, for a while, that it is still 3 years
ago. Now everyone involved has to try
and hide the fact that they have all changed, for the sake of one, while trying
to maintain their real lives. This
causes much tension between everyone, especially the boyfriend and the other
girl, as old feelings, and memories, come center stage.
This is
probably one of the most mature romance anime I have ever seen. Not only is there the short TV series, but
there is also an OAV set that is currently being released that continues the
story. The drama and tension is very
thick in this series and is prone to make you cry (I came close a few
times). This series is very moody with a
few breaks in the drama provided by 2 minor characters who work with the
boyfriend. They are also the main
characters in a 1-shot OAV that is incredibly funny. This is a great romance series that will
definitely get to you and at the time of this writing I am eagerly awaiting the
4th OAV to drop too many months away.
This is a series based on a
manga by the creator of Suzuka. The
story in the anime deals with a boy who transfers from Hiroshima to Tokyo to
chase after a girl he has fallen for who was living with his family in
Hiroshima. When he finds out the girl
has a boyfriend he ends up dating another girl but still can’t get the one he
chased all the way to Tokyo out of his mind.
The anime
is actually just a chunk of the manga, from actually the middle of the
series. While that is a bit odd they
fill in the back story decently. This
series is still pretty banal and boring.
It’s a male geared high school romance.
The characters are all kind of idiots, especially the main lead. The best part of this series happens near the
end when the relationship with the replacement girlfriend crumbles and
implodes!! Actually, I rather loathe
this anime and despise the manga…especially since I read the entire damn
thing!! Suzuka was much better.
This short TV series deals with
very touchy and taboo subjects; incest and school girl love. It is the story of a man who goes through
life uncaringly, so much so that he drives all of his girlfriends away due to
his attitude. One day he see’s a girl on
her way to school on the train and instantly develops a deep rooted love for
her, whether it is initially physical or just plutonic is never
understood. A chance encounter brings
them together again and in a moment of weakness he breaks down in front of her
and opens up his heart. As they are
about to part ways he finds out that this is his baby sister, who is moving in
with him and his father in order to be closer to her school. When the main character was younger, and his
sister was just born, their parents separated and have not seen each other
since. Now with his baby sister, whom he
has fallen in love with, living under the same roof as him, his internal
conflict rages full bore. He must wage a
moralistic conflict with himself, resulting in him becoming increasingly cold
to his sibling, until the point where it all explodes.
Aside from
the fact that this is a story about a mid to late 20’s man falling in lust/love
with his pubescent sister, it is an incredibly good drama. This series will keep you on the edge of the
seat with tension as thick as a building and an ambiance to match. This is a drama for the mature audience,
mainly due to the context, but if you can put aside your inhibitions it will be
well worth the watch.
While this is not actually a
romantic series it does have a very powerful central romance to it that involves
the 3 main characters and the conflicted love triangle between them. They spent all of their time together growing
up until one of the two boys assaults the girl, which causes all three of them
to fall away, harboring many things and not see each other for many years. As adults they again come together and have
to deal with lingering emotions and the unspeakable event that separated them.
The romance
is actually the main driver for this movie/OAV set and is quite riveting. This is a series made for shonen crowd so
there really aren’t any tear jerking moments and not a lot of in depth
drama. All the same the story is very
well done and the twist is superb and the ending theme is quite powerful, it
still gives me shivers to this day when I listen to it.
This second TV series from,
Rumiko Takahashi, is the only series of hers that ever had a closed ending to
it. The story revolves around a college
student living in a rundown apartment complex who is struggling to not only get
into college but once he’s in to stay there.
The rest of the apartments' residents take it upon themselves to harass
him to no end. He resigns himself to his
fate and decides to leave the complex one day when they are stopped at the
entrance by the arrival of their new manager, a beautiful young woman. He is instantly smitten and rescinds his
departure in order to remain in this young beauties presence as long as
possible. Now he must become the man he
was never able to be, responsible, reliable and successful, in order to win the
managers heart, yet another man stands in his way as her heart is already
taken.
This is my
favorite romantic series, it is mature and well done, I was very sad to say
good bye to these characters. At times
the issues between the main characters gets tedious and the same scenarios are
done a number of times, but I think this is done more to express the idea that
people will repeat the same mistakes over and over again. There were many times I was either slightly
in tears or almost there during this series, especially an episode dealing with
a forgotten Christmas present. The fact
that this story is not open ended is also a major selling point, you don’t have
to wonder what ever happened to the characters.
This is the story of a helpless
woman who has moved to Tokyo to be with her boyfriend. On the way there she meets the polar opposite
of her, but they share the same name.
When she decides to not live with her boyfriend the two women’s paths
cross again and they end up roommates. The
helpless Nana must now become an adult and experiences realities she was never
aware of with the mature Nana and her friends.
When Nana is dumped by her boyfriend she goes through a revolving list
of guys she wants to be with. When she
has the chance to be with a famous musician her life changes in ways she
doesn’t anticipate or expect.
This is an
interesting series that deals exclusively with the woman’s point of view. The story has a slow burn to it and once the
major drama sets in so does the tension.
There is a fair amount of comedy as well, but ultimately this is a drama
dealing with growing up and losing your innocence. The ending is actually kind of sad and
lonely.
This is probably the most
non-romantic romance series I have seen; in fact the romance doesn’t even
become the main focus until the very end of the series. The rest of the time you fall in love with
the main characters as they try to define their purposes in life and grow as
adults. That and there is a lot of
really good classical music in this series as all of the characters attend a
music college.
These
characters are incredibly loveable and the title character is probably one of
the most enjoyable personalities I have ever seen. All but the last 3 or so episodes barely
touch upon the romantic aspect of the story, it just sits casually in the
background, which is fine because it is such a fun ride to the end. The last few episodes are when the drama
steps up and the romance between the two main characters takes center
stage. The anime ends but the story does
not, it was concluded in 2 other series’ where the romance mostly takes a back
seat again. There was also a live action
drama released that covers what the anime does and continues the story as it does
in the manga. The live action is just as
fun too. The motley crew, of side
characters, are also entertaining in this oddball story about growing and
coming to terms with adulthood.
This short series, which totals
around 2 and a half hours of actual footage, is based off of raunchy
manga. The series itself is actually
very sweet and endearing, if a bit out of the norm in delivery. This is the story of a lonely marketing
executive who ends up going on a date with a young aspiring voice actress. Later that night, the voice actress loses her
apartment to a fire and happens to live in the execs neighborhood. Out of kindness he takes her in and in a
moment of weakness they sleep together.
She leaves him a dear John letter and that is that, until she is cast as
the voice of the new ad campaign he came up with. They have to keep their past encounter a
secret from each others boss to maintain the project, but as time goes on she
ends up moving in with him due to having no where else to go. He wants to have a relationship but to her it
was a one-time thing.
This is a
very sweet and likable anime; I was a bit surprised when I read the manga,
which is pretty blatant hentai. The
animation is top quality, but each episode is under 15 minutes in length and
there are only 9 episodes. There has to
be something said about the quality of this series in that I was pretty sad to
say goodbye to these characters after only such a short time together. I continue to hope for more but that seems
unlikely. If you can find this anime,
which has not left Japan,
I suggest it you will not be wasting your time.
The quiet and unassuming girl in
school gets the attention of one of the most sought after boys. When they start dating baggage from his past
starts to interfere with his feelings for her and her uncertainty of her own
qualities makes her question his love.
This is a
short sweet and simple story that deals with reality and realistic problems
pretty well. My biggest complaint is the
artwork. Otherwise it’s worth the time
if you enjoy real life dramas.
This anime based on a dating sim
game is actually a bit mature and disturbing.
It starts off innocently enough about a shy high school romance between
a girl and a guy. It soon mutates into a
spiraling mess of betrayals, jealousy and debauchery, ending more like an
episode of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni.
At first
this is a very nice, quaint story about a shy girl and the lonely boy who falls
in love with her, that then turns into something a little more stuck in
reality. Many anime tend to create sugar
coated worlds were high school students are not sexually active, they are in
this anime, but not graphically so. The
main focal point of this series is the main characters physical urges and his
willingness to fulfill them in any way possible, regardless of the feelings of
those involved. I did enjoy this series,
especially when it began to spiral out of control, the animation is top quality
for a TV series even if the characters are stereotypical, and it is based off
of dating sim games which all follow stereotypes. It is also worth noting that the final
episode of this series was preempted for a while due to the TV stations not
wanting to upset anyone after a girl murdered her father with an ax in Kyoto, just a hint.
This anime deals with a boy who,
in the process of running away form his past, becomes completely enthralled
with a coed and neighbor. The girl is
too busy with trying to be the best she can that she has no time for his
uncertainty. They become friends but he
is not satisfied with that and numerous times confesses his love to her and is
rejected numerous times. There
relationship fluctuates as they battle their own hang ups and misconceptions
while also trying to adjust to life away from home.
The manga
continues the story even further and I continue to hope for a second season of
the anime, but it looks futile. It was
hardest to say goodbye to these characters, which I had to do twice, once after
I watched the anime then again when the manga ended. The manga does end though which is very good
since so many have open endings. At
first this series seems caught in the anime fantasy of innocent high school
students. Near the end it does start to
pick up tones of realism, but as the story continues in the manga it becomes
100% realistic in the characters development and challenges. The series improves over time in its story
telling and situations, the creator definitely grew as time went on.
Tenchi Muyo In Love 2
While the
Tenchi Muyo series is arguably the grandfather of harem anime, and I have
staunchly kept harem anime, to the best of my opinions, out of this list, I
felt this movie should be listed. Tenchi
world aside, this movie stands out from everything else for 2 reasons. The first is the very different art style and
the second is the maturity of the story.
We once again have a different story involving Tenchi’s grandfather’s
arrival to earth. This time he comes
with his lover, a sickly, bedridden woman.
She dies upon arrival and he buries her tree in honor of her. Years later that tree suddenly awakens and
using the last amount of its energy drags Tenchi into an alternate reality. The two main contenders for his attention
head off to search for him. In the
search they stumble upon a Tenchi who has aged a number of years and is a soft
spoken introverted art student. In all
of their attempts to get his attention they are never successful but through
their own willpower they track him down and figure out what is going on and
confront the perpetrator.
Until I
watched The Girl Who Lept Through Time
this was the top anime movie on my list.
The art is very calm and relaxing, the dialog and situations are very
mature with only a small amount of humor.
The other thing about this bitter sweet movie is that it, in my opinion,
answers the question as to who Tenchi will ultimately choose. Even if you are unfamiliar with the franchise,
this movie can stand on it’s own for the most part. There isn’t any explanation to the background
relationships between the 3 main characters for the unknowing viewer but this
is inoculated enough from the rest of the Tenchi universe that it can work as a
first experience.
This short, glossy, high school
romance TV series is about a girl and the neighbor boy whom she has been in
love with since he left town many years before and how he comes back only to be
different from her memories. Now she has
to deal with this image of her knight in shinning armor being the king of
perverts while coming to grips with her own sugar coated memories.
This was a
decent romantic comedy, even though it was rote, predictable and
stereotypical. The drama was well done
and some of the scenes were quite moving but all in all I didn’t gain much by
watching this series aside from a few chuckles.
If you have some time to spare, the series is only 13 episodes, give it
a whirl but don’t expect too much out of it.
Touch
This 80’s
anime is one of the most powerful romance anime made yet did not garner much
attention outside of Japan. This classic series follows the trials and
tribulations of sexual awareness between 2 twin brothers and their
neighbor/childhood friend. The three
have lived a blissful existence until emotions and feelings become more
complicated with puberty. They find
themselves locked in a dangerous triangle which is even more compounded after a
tragic event. Now the remaining two must
cope not only with their loss and guilt but with their future together.
This is an
old anime and is quite dated, but it is very powerful none the less. It deals with very realistic problems and
situations in the lives of these 3 friends.
There is a reason this was one of the most loved and watched anime in
the 80’s. The story telling is superb
and the characters are well developed.
This series is hard to find, but it is out there and should be watched
if you are a fan of the classic 80’s romantic stories, hell a fan of romances
to begin with.
This short
OAV is by the same director as 5cm per
Second and, while not as depressing, is a very sad story none the less. It deals with two high school students on a
future earth who have fallen in love with each other. The girl joins the space corps and is soon
whisked off planet to begin training as a pilot while the boy stays on
earth. While apart they keep in constant
communication with each other by way of cell phone text messages. Near the end of her training humanity has
begun a war with an alien race in a distant part of the galaxy and she is
rushed off to join the front lines.
While in transit she remains in contact with her love, but due to the
distances between each other the time between the messages increases. Not only does the distance increase but so
does the age. The girl may send a
message a week after the last one, but due to the distance she has traveled the
boy does not receive it for much longer.
When she reaches her destination and heads off to other distant parts,
the boy is now a man, while she is not much older and the messages of love come
further and further apart and have less impact on him as he has chosen to live
a life separate from her, his old high school romance while she is out in the
far reaches of space, still a love sick young adult.
This is a
very beautiful and haunting OAV and was my first experience with this director. While it is not as depressing as 5cm per Second it is still an
incredible downer. On the other hand
this one also has some pretty nice mecha combat sequences. The artwork is high quality and the mood is
very somber. The physics aspect in the
plot device is pretty unique, especially among romances, which almost never
deal with science. This is a sad story
that can appeal to non-romance fans as well.
Conclusion
In
retrospect I would say my favorite romantic stories are the ones most attached
to reality, the most realistic ones in terms of how the characters interact
with each other and their circumstances.
Too much anime seems to shine this innocent light on adolescence in
particular, which is pretty naïve and mostly filled with wishful thinking. I think the majority of people who would
normally be interested in a romantic story want it to be relatable and
realistic, possibly even voyeuristic, not necessarily perverted though. The tendency seems to be that many romances
are geared towards the hardcore otaku that live in fantasy realms filled with
nothing but plutonic love and wholesome intentions, where sexual relationships
develop out of love instead of lust and everyone is as innocent and pure as a
baby.
Aside from
realism I also, of course, yearn for excellent story telling and characters
that are easily likeable. Many times I
have been sad to finish a series due to not seeing said characters again. Sure it’s just a story, but Whinny the Pooh
still exists and continues his adventures so no child has yet to have to say
good bye to him. Many of the plot devices
and character flaws in romance stories share common themes through out the
genre, which is not a bad thing, because they are taken from real life. The subjects covered are usually relatable to
everyone; insecurity, misunderstanding, regret, doubt or jealousy, to name a
few.
If a series
can bring me to the brink of tears it is also well done, in my opinion. In a lot of ways it is hard to make me
emotional and if a movie of TV show can bring me to that level it has to be due
to, in the least, a great delivery.
Anyone can put together a romance story, here’s the premise; guy likes
girl, guy has to muster up courage to talk/confess to girl, guy has to win
girls heart, guy fumbles, guy wins girl, the end. Or, some even show the story after the
relationship starts and the ups and downs the new couple has to go
through. I really like the ones that
continue and show the relationship, too many stop when the boy and girl begin
dating, I think the real story, and the best drama, is in maintaining that
relationship after it has begun.
There are
some stories that sit outside of this convention, ones that deal with failure
and misery. In a fiction world where
people always get the person they dream of the most it is very refreshing to
see the opposite happen, especially if done well.
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