After a long time, the third installment of the romance retrospective is here! Many of the titles are newer entries to this incredibly diverse field, but in the end they're all about characters wanting to grow closer to someone else, sometimes that closeness is from a less than stable point of view. Here is a link to the first retrospective and a link to the second retrospective.
Koume struggles to fit in at school. When she confesses her feelings to an upper class man, he takes advantage of her desperation for his own sexual pleasure. After the incident her conflicting emotions leads her to exploit a loner transfer student in a similar manner. The boy takes advantage of the situation and the two descend into increasingly extreme sexual interactions, chasing maturity and their own emotional turmoil
This is a limited manga of Inio Asano that details an abusive and exploitative relationship between two teenagers in an incredibly graphic fashion. So much so that it was earmarked in efforts by the Japanese government to address nudity of underage characters in manga and anime. Detailed sexuality notwithstanding, this is an amazingly realistic dive into psychological turmoil of adolescence. There is an amount of romance in it, but its really about dealing with emotional maturity and relationships.
Akira feels lost after quitting the track club after she suffered an injury. Instead she focuses on her studies and her job at a local family restaurant. She has developed an overwhelming crush on her manager, the middle age divorcee Kondo. She confesses to the older man, who isn't sure how to react, both of them have issues beyond their own relationship that they need to overcome and it just may be the fleeting desires of a young girl.
This is a really comforting and low key slice of life drama that doesn't go out of its way to creature a fictional setting. Both of the main characters are realistic in the depiction and motivations. Don't go into this one expecting an idealized ending. Just enjoy the slow burning progress, like a lazy rainy day.
High schooler, Nishimura, spends much of his free time playing a popular MMO. Being a jaded member of the internet he suspects that his clan members who play female characters are really guys. When they agree to meet in real life he is shocked to find out they are in fact all girls. One of them, who has fallen for Nishimura's online character, in unable to distinguish the game from reality and transfers her intense affection to him in person. The other clan members work to convince her of the differences between the game and reality, in hopes of saving Nishimura from apparently unwanted attention.
This is a pretty subpar harem-lite series that has way more 'plot' than actual substance. The characters are one dimensional and their motivations are pretty flimsy. The overall story telling is little more than self service for readers who obsess about 2d girls, eschewing 3d ones. Pass in all manner as this was not worth the time.
Unsure if she can ever feel love for someone else, first year student Yuu attracts the attention of an upperclassman named Touko. Unsure if she has any feelings for the older girl, Yuu is drawn into her presence and struggles with how to handle the increasingly aggressive advances. At the same time Touko is trying to be the idealized version of a person that isn't, because she fears her own existence isn't worth anything on its own.
This is a series that was created through suggestions to the manga author and the editorial staff, so it as born out of ambitions spawned from a financial perspective. It hits a number of the standards present in many yuri, some of them troubling standards. Touko's relationship with Yuu is nothing short of aggressive and over bearing. It borders on the actions of a groomer and doesn't feel like it is help in a way that express the dangers involved. It also presents newer less standard representations in the yuri genre, but just skirting the edges of tradition. In the end the stories blase attitude to the darkness overshadows any progress it tried to bring to this genre.
Yuzu is forced to enroll in an elite all-girls school after her mother remarries. She doesn't fit in with her prim and proper peers, drawing the ire of the student council president, Mai. Her situation becomes complicated when Mai, who is also her new step-sister, moves in with her. Perhaps the strain of everything new causes her to break under stress, but Yuzu begins to develop strong feelings for Mai. Mai doesn't exactly reject Yuzu's advances but both of them are aware of the problems such a relationship would pose for everyone in their new family. What is it that Mai really feels and has Yuzu really tapped into her true self?
Step-sister love comes and goes, mostly is ways that are less than artistic. Citrus though struggles under the lack of realism in its characters behavior and motivations. They only thing that separates this from a standard shonen sis-con series is that the protagonist is female. Other than that her character flaws are much the same as male protagonists in similar plot lines. At the end of the story nothing really makes it worth spending much time on and it offers nothing new to this rather exploitative story archetype.
Based on a dating sim game of the same name, Clannad is broken into two distinct sections. The first part is a par for the course high school harem anime. The protagonist, Okazaki, has a beavy of archetypal girls from his school to choose from. They all experience their best anime high school lives together until he finally chooses one. After Story extends the plot line to show Okazaki and his selected girl as they begin to date and age together. As it winds to its close the story shifts into a pretty dramatic story line, a storyline that is actually really well done. But was the pathway the 'player' took the right one and will they get the best ending?
At this point Clannad has been deeply enshrined in the halls of otaku greatness. The majority of the story is boring and passive. In the last arc, the writing shifts into overdrive and the feelings are through the roof. It was incredibly satisfying, until the final episode does an about face and disrespects the realism that had been building. Over all though, with the great final arc, its probably not worth dredging through everything that came before and the disrespectful and weak completion.
Suekichi is a down and out college student who winds up having a one night stand after his grandfathers funeral. When he learns he is set to inherit a lot of money from his grandfather, the mysterious woman injects herself into his life. The requirements to get the money are to finish college, find employment and get married. The woman, Aya, presents herself as the ideal candidate for the last stipulation. The few people around Suekichi, who know of the stipulations, strongly dissuade him from being with Aya, fearing her intentions are less than honorable. Yet something about her draws him closer, more than just the frequent sex, something about her vulnerability leads him to trust her among all of the warnings. But, in the end will he even be able to meet any of the requirements, let along determine if Aya is truly in love with him.
This would be one of the earliest slice of live romance manga I ever read, from when Viz had it in their Pulp magazine in the mid-90's. Something, above and beyond the sex scenes, drew me to this story. The mystery was intriguing and the characterization was well fleshed out. This has always been one of my favorites and its a shame it's never gotten an anime treatment. While it may be a little hard to find these days, it was released in English by Viz years ago.
Natsuo ends up having a one night stand with a girl his age named Rui. Rui has no interest in knowing him and did it just to 'gain experience'. Natsuo however has strong feelings for his youthful teacher Hina, but understands shes well beyond his reach. That all changes when his father remarries and his step-moms daughters move it. Surprise! Its Rui and Hina. One thing leads to another and over the course of time Natsuo ends up secretly being involved with both sisters at different times, causing all sorts of problems between them, while working incredibly hard to hide their 'sin' from everyone else. Through out its span the series covers many years and a lot fo back and forth between the love triangle, until Natsuo finally makes the decision of which of his step sisters he chooses to spend his life with.
The anime only covers a relatively small section of the story, really the majority of the timeline Natsuo and Rui are in high school. The manga spins the story for years and years later and for the most part its a decent shonen romance, even though the crutch is the gimmick of hiding everyones incest-lite actions. But...as with some romances where the MC has to choose one girl...this one let me down with who Natsuo gave the final rose too. Over all the series wasn't bad, but it did struggle with some pointless back and forth. It is a far cry from the almost perfect shonen romance by the same author, GE: Good Ending.
Akizuki tends to feel like a lost soul among the mass of humanity that is Tokyo. He frequently skips school on rainy days to zone out in a park. One day while doing this he meets a beautiful office worker named Yukino. She too feels an overwhelming sense of loneliness and finds her self shirking adult responsibilities in the same way. The kindred souls are drawn to each others shared isolation and desire to peace among the chaos, yet their age difference will not let them become any closer, so they try to make the best of their quite shared times watching the rain in the desolate garden.
This is one of Makoto Shinkai's lesser known works but is no less impressive than his other efforts. Perhaps one of the most visually striking movies, the story slowly drifts from its beginning to its ambiguous ending. Loneliness and the desire to connection with others is what drives this deeply realistic drama. I can't think of anyone else who captures the overwhelming oppression of isolation like Shinkai and he does with with such grace and beauty.
Yoshida, in a drunken haze, allows an endangered high school runaway named Sayu stay at his small apartment. When she reveals that she has been sleeping with different men just to have a roof over her head for months he can't ignore her plight. While he knows he can't solve her problems he at least wants to give her some safety until she is able to establish a plan to better her situation. Sayu is unable to understand the generosity and struggles with his reactions to her and the home life that drove her to such desperation.
With a bait and switch name like Higehiro, one would be excused in expecting a lecherous rom-com, instead the series is a raw tale of abuse, loss and abandonment. Well worth the time for those looking for mature and more grounded stories of human connection.
Honey and Clover is an ensemble slice of live romance that follows a small group of college students as they grow into adulthood. The main cast is a mostly assortment of art students who live in or associate with a run down apartment building. The course of the story follows some of the characters college lives from start to finish and their growing personal attachment to others with in the group, some yearning to have lasting emotional relationships. Everyone is new to the world of adulthood so the desires and intentions don't always come through.
Honey and Clover is a a great example of a benign and mature romance/slice of life story. The characters are all well developed and the revolving story doesn't get bogged down with unnecessary plot lines. Much like life there is no real conclusion to anything and everyone either comes closer or further apart of the course of the story. This will remain a solid example of excellent story telling, even if it could have been a bit longer.
Life becomes incredibly complicated for dead end hikkikomori Komori when he finds himself inside of the body of a high school girl he has been stalking. Unsure of what is going on, he needs to come to terms with being in a female body, pretending to be someone hes only observed from a distance while looking for a solution for the problem. How can he resolve his own issues while addressing his new bodies problems.
This was an interesting take on the body switch story by the author of Flowers of Evil. Given the narrative concepts of that title, I was anticipating some heavy material and was not let down. The author themselves expressed the primary motivation behind the story as their own exploration with what it would be like to suddenly have a gender switch. While not the best body switching story out there it does handle it with an air of gravity and realism.
The return of a fellow student in the final semester of high school adds unforeseen complications to some of the students last efforts at romance before adult hood. After being away for 4 years Eita resumes his friendship with Haruto, whom he was on the baseball team with in middle school. Haruto has his heart set on a girl from the band club but a girl who also went to middle school with them has feelings for Haruto. When Eita returns her feelings begin to waver and she wonders if it was him that she was fond of all along. Things simmer under the surface as everyone sets unrealistic goals for themselves before they can confess their feelings, further complicated by apprehension and indecisiveness, a real mess.
This low key dramatic slice of life romance is a divergence from the authors better known work, Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Sempai instead the story is low energy and introspective. Eita, the primary character is quite reserved and severe in his seriousness. The series offers a more natural approach to the crowded high school romance genre, devoid of many of the tropes and repetition. The biggest thing linking it to its peers is the characters severe apprehension driving the drama of the story. It might be a shorter affair if people could just muster up the courage for honest communication. Either way, a well written story that has some decent if somewhat flawed animation.
Mitsuha, the eldest daughter of a small shrine family in a remote village find her self from time to time in the body of a teenage boy who lives in Tokyo. She soon discovers that she is switching places with the boy and they both establish ground rules to protect themselves both physically and socially. They both take the unique opportunity to experience lives they wouldn't normally be able to experience. Mitsuha, disliking her rural live, takes full advantage of the glamour life her partner lives in Tokyo. As they grow closer in their shared experiences they begin to realize they are further apart than ever.
This is essentially Makoto Shinkai's magnum opus, a film for a time help the best box office record of any anime film. The artwork is top notch and the characterization is well established. While this story delves into his typical reliance on isolation and lost connections, this one pushes further and begins to open up to chance and success in life. This movie does seem to show the beginning of a shift in his story telling from purely realistic and depressing portrayals to more feelings of hope and success, sprinkled with the super natural. A modern classic, a film that will stand the test of time.
Kae is an overweight loner who obsess over boys love manga. In a miraculous transformation she sheds off all of her excess weight in a short amount of time, surprising everyone in her school. The new her draws the attention of all of the most desirable guys in school. Even though her outward appearance has changed her inner self has not. Suddenly all of the boys she fantasized about doing dirty things with each other are fighting each other for her hand. What is a girl to do with all of the attention...that may or may not be wanted?
The joke is rather shallow and the message of outward appearances being everything is startlingly dangerous. But the series does have its enjoyable moments. In the end though it can;t overcome its dangerous message of vanity and self sacrifice for popularity. The romance, like everything else, is only surface level to deliver a few jokes that never pan out to anything memorable.
After getting cheated on by her boyfriend, college student Akane decides to make the best of it and dive head first into the MMO he convinced her to play with him. Her desire to make him regret his choice leads her to meeting her MMO guildmates in real life. She begins to develop feelings for one of the guilds creators, stoic and disembodied high school-er/semi pro gamer Yamada.
This series adds a few new twists to the standard slice of life romance, combining adult characters with high school characters as well as wrapping in gamer culture. It gets somewhat bogged down with a few tired tropes and struggles to stand out with well developed characters and plot lines. Instead we deal with a main cast of mostly one dimensional archetypes, especially Yamada himself. Akane is really the only one with multiple aspects but its not enough to make this one special. Good for a time waster but can be easily forgotten.
Hitoshi is a pathetic otaku outcast who suddenly gains the power to experience his future life. Through these time slips he discovers he is married with his grades most desired woman, Wagatsuma. His friends chide his revelation to him, forcing him to join in on their secret campaigns to punish the popular kids in school. As he tries to pilot his ideal future he begins to altar it to less than desirable outcomes. Will he be able to ever have the future happiness he was destined to, or will he and his friends meddling ruin everything?
This was a terrible manga that suffered from inconsistency and distraction. To the point where its author abruptly retired from being a manga-ka to pursue a different career path. When the story focused on the primary plot of Hitoshi working to achieve the future he desires, it was pulled to other less important plot lines that did nothing to advance the main point of the manga. The series did officially conclude but it was done so quickly and haphazardly that it wasn't even worth the time. This was a waste but at least it was allowed to die before it completely suffered. Hard pass.
Night is Short, Walk on Girl!
An upperclassman in college takes a junior out for a night on the town, with plans to confess his feelings for her, the raven haired girl. The girl on the other hand has other plans and is largely oblivious to the older mans intentions. Instead she charges head long into a night of drinking and revelry. As the evening progresses and the raven haired girl continues to slip away from the senior strange occurrences begins to manifest. The girl ravenously consumes alcohol with reckless abandon while cheerfully interacting with the strangers she encounters along the way. As the night marches on the senior struggles to present himself in a manner that will give him confidence to express his feelings, its as if the world its self is fighting against him, closing all of his paths before him. The girl, blissfully enjoying her time marches forward facing all challenges.
This is an incredibly surreal and amusing story based on a novel of the same name by Morimo Tomihiko, author of Tatami Galaxy. The movie is directed by Yuasa Masaaki, same as who helmed the anime adaptation of the other series. Both stories take place in a shared universe in which the supernatural apply generous influence on the world. The story is winding and complex with surreal art to match, well worth the time for something different and enriching. Go watch Tatami Galaxy as well!
The friendship of two high school boys is put to the test when an alluring girl transfers to high school. The girl grows closer to one of the boys but the relationship seems to be one of convenience and exploitation. Too much strain ends up causing all three to become distant with no possibility of reconciliation. The strain of jealousy and dishonesty being to great to heal wounds even after many years.
Ocean Waves is an interesting movie from Studio Ghibli that falls under a lot of peoples radar. It was a chance to allow the younger staff in the studio to make their own film, as an experiment in freedom. It was designed for TV broadcast and restricted in its budget so it does not meet the expectations by other films from the studio. It is a pretty straightforward story about betrayal and loss that can be worth its time. But it is quite different than many anime romances, dramatic or otherwise.
Tsukimi moves to Tokyo after high school to work as an illustrator but her meek personality does little to help her adjust. Her life and the lives of her otaku room mates turn upside down when she crosses paths with a cross dressing rich kid. The guy, Kuranoske, who has grown up in wealth and splendor, takes an intense and overpowering interest in the demure Tsukimi. He begins to inject himself as much as possible into her life, causing her stress and unease. Kuranosuke see's Tsukimi as his muse and wants to uplift her to a life of success, which he can be a part of.
This is a fantastically cute and enjoyable story about misfits of various styles. Unfortunately the anime doesn't do justice to the manga, ending way to soon into the story. That said, the manga its self ends in a rather in-conclusive way, but satisfyingly expands the readers time with these lovable characters. This is a well done ugly duckling type story that handles the characters personalities with care. In the end Tsukimi remains true to herself.
Sakuta tends to attract people to him with a mysterious affliction
called 'adolescent syndrome'. The syndrome is a supernatural
manifestation of the stresses of adolescence, from peer pressure, social
rejection and self-esteem issues. Sakuta, who overcame his own ordeal
years earlier is driven to help others in similar situations, just as he
had been helped overcome his.
If you were given a chance to relive a portion of your younger life while retaining all of your current experiences would you? This is just the situation presented to social failure Kaizaki is presented by a strange pharmaceutical company. If he succeeds in pretending to be a high school student for a year he will be restored to his adult self and given the chance at a career. The test is partially being done as a way to help Kaizaki understand his importance and use in life, instead of wasting away as a loner with dead end jobs. What he wasn't prepared for was his feelings for a classmate, who reminds him of past issues he had to deal with. Neither he or the girl realize that they are both test subjects for ReLife, so their life afterwards may actually be able to happen.
The concept of reliving the past with your current knowledge is always an alluring prospect. ReLife twists it a little with some fantastical science instead of magic while also keeping the subject in the same time. Beyond the baseline premise, ReLife is a well done slice of life story in which a small band of characters, both real and adult student, that addresses many modern problems. The mystery layer between Kaizaki struggling to hide whats going on and he growing feelings for his classmate are handled quite well. Overall, great story that had a respectable anime adaptation.
Hanabi is in love with her homeroom teacher, who is also an older childhood friend. Mugi is in love with the music teacher, who was also his tutor in middle school. They both know their love is unrequited. Instead they choose to use each other as replacements for their loves, pretending the other is them. But they don't want to fall in love with each other, as that would be lying to themselves. When others challenge the hidden and toxic relationship they begin to have doubts about the future they really want, hoping that if they finally confront the assumed rejection they can move forward.
This is a mature and somewhat dire story about people who are unwilling to be true to themselves but desperate for contact and comfort, even if its a lie. This story delves headlong into the more explicit mindset of adolescence and the readiness to embrace maturity before they are ready to. This is also a rare 'romance' story that truly has an antagonist, a malicious player that pushes the characters to greater misery and depredation, all in the search for their place in life.
Mitsumi moves in with her aunt to attend high school in Tokyo. She is driven by ambition for power and greatness, wasting nothing in that pursuit. She was able to gain access to a prestigious high school, with an eye on entering Tokyo U. Even though shes an outsider with a rural accent she quickly gains a small group of friends from her class, one of them being a hottie named Sousuke. Mitsumi has to overcome her own insecurities and naivety among the sophisticated city kids but her honesty brings out their best. Her friendship with Mitsumi grows stronger but she is uncertain if it can move to something more serious. At the same time, even though he is warm and welcoming there is a darkness in his past that keeps him closed off from anyone.
This is a really fun and calming series that hits the standard high school romance strides but doesn't get bogged down with forced drama. It feels like a good representation of a new, younger generation of romance authors with subjects it presents and plot lines if negotiates. At the same time it still seems to be chained down with expectations of past generations benchmarks. Do all high school romances really need to have beach and cultural festival episodes? Is this a sign that we might be starting to see a move to new narrations in this genre?
Meiko struggles with being satisfying with her life after graduating college. She lives with her boyfriend and has a steady job in an office, but she feels mediocrity of existence is not what life has in store for her. She abruptly quits her job and convinces her boyfriend and his college friends to do something with their music hobby and try to life a life of expression and freedom. Will they be able to achieve the impossible or are they just distracting themselves, struggling to grasp onto their long gone childish ambitions?
Solanin is the most accessible story by Asano Inion, being driven by stark realism instead of amplified darkness and depredation. As with everything he has done, the artwork and characterizations are unique in the wide world of manga. There is nothing but reality here. The story revolves around these young adults and their lingering reluctance to move on to a life of stress and irrelevance. They fight against the reality that most people are not lucky enough to achieve their dreams and wishes.
You find yourself a failure of a man as your college years near their end. Your well laid plans failed at every turn...if only you could try again, what would you try differently to gain your desires? Well, its very easy to keep trying those years again and again until you get it right when your best friend and worst enemy is a god of mischief. How hard can it be to craft the perfect outward personality to finally gain the love of the idealized raven haired girl? Pretty hard when you don't even retain the lessons learned from each failed attempt...oh and the constant distractions from your god/friend/foe.
This art house style romantic comedy come reality warping psychedelic trip is a fantastic departure from the norms of anime romance and anime in general. The uniqueness come from a combination of the source material novel and the vision of the director and animation team. The entire package is an amusing farcical mind bender that is well worth the time for anyone feeling a little adventurous in their viewing pleasure.
This Art Club Has A Problem
Nasa Yuzaki is driven by the sole goal of being more famous than his name sake, but all of the ambition and drive is derailed when he is saved from death by a beautiful and mysterious girl. In a moment of emotion he tells her he will marry her. Much to his shock she returns to his life 3 years later to seal the deal. Now, as if out of nowhere, Nasa is married to the woman he threw away all his ambition for. But who is she and how well is his newlywed life going to be?
Mizuki has a few problems in her young life. Her favorite place in school, the fine art club, is in danger of dissolving. The boy she likes, a fellow club member, only has eyes for his perfect 2d creations. Will Mizuki be able to conquer both her love and the loss of the thing she enjoys the most in school? Only time will tell, but pretty much everything is stacked against her being successful.
This is an interesting if unfortunately average at best take on that standard school age romantic comedy. Its a blend of that format and classic yonkoma gyagu manga. Absurdity abound, heavy handed otaku comedy and just plain slice of life oddity. It struggles to make either of its directions really push into quality territory, failing to do much of interest. It could of had potential but it floundered around too much to really achieve any advancement.
Nasa Yuzaki is driven by the sole goal of being more famous than his name sake, but all of the ambition and drive is derailed when he is saved from death by a beautiful and mysterious girl. In a moment of emotion he tells her he will marry her. Much to his shock she returns to his life 3 years later to seal the deal. Now, as if out of nowhere, Nasa is married to the woman he threw away all his ambition for. But who is she and how well is his newlywed life going to be?
Tonikawa is a cute and innocent slice of life comedy about unlikely love and the drastic willingness to abandon all reason for emotion. The story has no real direction that it takes, just showing the young couple as they figure out how to life with each other. At times its innocence can be sickening but it is a fantastically fun series that doesn't need to do anything other than meander as it does.
Azumi Kotaro wants to be a novelist, idolizing Dazai Osamu. In the third year of middle school he falls in love with Mizuno Akira, a talented member of the track team who gets along with everyone. The pairs shyness makes interacting in person difficult but find a more relaxing environment in the Live app. After a school trip they decide to try being a couple, working to overcome their insecurities while they also look towards their future in high school and beyond.
This is a very low key, dreamy slice of live romance. The characters are portrayed in realistic ways, with insecurities and personalities that change with the people they interact with. Its an idealized and clean story about young love and growing into adulthood from early adolescents. The artwork takes on a watercolor palette and the music is suited for a quiet cafe or lounge. This is really a tender and innocent love story that wants to wrap you up in a warm blanket and put you to sleep.
For your continued enjoyement, here is the next, fourth retrospective.
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