Junjou Romantica

[VivisQueen]

Junjou Romantica

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I've done a million searches of this and not found it anywhere in the 'Currently Airing', 'Specific Anime Discussion' or 'Anime Reviews' (although I swear I saw a thread for it somewhere at some point). If it needs merging, please do so.

Anyway, confusion aside, what did you guys think?

I'm currently on episode 11, and the Shinobu-Miyagi story is the best and funniest one. Miyagi's background actually seems very well considered. The rest is total trash - cheesy, contrived nigh-rape combined with totally cardboard stereotypes. Weirdly, it's still enjoyable.

[cassiesheepgirl]

I loved this series, yeah, it's cheesy but I think that's part of why I enjoyed it so much. The fact that it made me laugh was a nice added bonus. I'd only read one volume of the manga when I saw the anime and I'd enjoyed that.

I really can't wait for the second series. October will be a good month for me anime wise with Junjou 2 and Vampire Knight Guilty :D

[vonpost]

I don't watch shounen-ai very often, for the same reason I don't watch bishounen or supersweet shojo shows; their target audience is not me, and thus it doesn not appeal to me.

I did, however, watch a few episodes of this, to give it a chance, and what I like about it is that it doesn't take itself too seriously. It's like the first episode of Druaga when they make a parody of the whole genre it's representing. It's kind of like Haruhi, where they put all the sterotypes in harem in one anime. That's how I feel about Junjou Romantica.

Now, I don't judge by the same standards as one who watches plenty of shounen-ai, and enjoys it, so my reasoning might be a little weird. But I do find value in this. Different value than a shounen-ai fan, yes, but I still like it.

All that being said, I don't think I can watch many of these episodes in a row, I need a long break between, but I think this is a show that people like me, who can't stand shounen-ai, can watch, if even just for a laugh.

EDIT: Sorry about that, what I meant was shounen-ai, I just messed up the namings.

[VivisQueen]

This isn't yaoi. It's shounen-ai. Yaoi means porn. Shounen-ai means gay romance.

Just be sure about your terminology, because otherwise people might get the wrong idea. There is a lot of sex, but it's not porn sex. It's a lot of suggestiveness, off-screen, and soft focus nonsense. And yeah, the reason it's enjoyable is because it doesn't take itself seriously.

EDIT: I am also pleasantly surprised by this past season's offerings of shounen-ai. There I am, thinking I will never find the breakthrough shounen-ai, and two come along at once! Antique Bakery is definitely better, though; not only does it have great comedy, but it has a solid cast of both original and satyrical characters, and a unique setting.

[cassiesheepgirl]

Originally Posted by VivisQueen

I am also pleasantly surprised by this past season's offerings of shounen-ai. There I am, thinking I will never find the breakthrough shounen-ai, and two come along at once! Antique Bakery is definitely better, though; not only does it have great comedy, but it has a solid cast of both original and satyrical characters, and a unique setting.

God yes! Hurrah for the double whammy of shounen-ai anime. I always enjoy the relationship aspect more than the actual sex, so it's nice to actually see a couple of decent shounen-ai series.

I have to say that for me, at the moment Junjou ranks slightly higher than antique for me (literally just one place above) because of the humour. If something makes me laugh it automatically scores some points with me. If I enjoy the plot it gets even more points. I'm waiting to see what Antique continues to offer plot wise, since it has that darker side of Tachibana, which I can't wait to find out about, I think it will most likely end up going higher than Junjou. But I do love the light heartedness of Junjou.

Though Misaki's wibbling over "Do I love Usami? Noooo I can't 'cause he's a guy" general waaaaah-ness does end up with me yelling, oh come on, just get on with it and GO FOR IT!!!

At vonpost: Definately not yaoi, nothing hardcore in it, as Vivi says, it's all suggestion and off-screen. If it were true Yaoi it wouldn't be on the site. (Hell if Yaoi entries were alowed on the site I could add a fair amount! - though that possibly makes me sound like a bit of a perv >.<)

[VivisQueen]

I will give you one thing - Junjou Romantica gets more and more funny as time goes (it looks like utter trash at first, but actually is a grower).

Antique Bakery's humour is less tinged with cheese and gets less and less funny as time goes (although it doesn't get unfunny - I'm just not laughing as much as I did at the beginning). It definitely is beat by JJ in that department. I think it's just cause I prefer the original characters that I can take seriously as opposed to the shallow but hilarious ones.

[divinegrace92]

i want to watch it!!
i ahem... into shounen -ai sometimes....

sorry if this is a nonsense of a post... but i'll contribute more once i watch it i promise

[divinegrace92]

i want to watch it!!
i ahem... into shounen -ai sometimes....

sorry if this is a nonsense of a post... but i'll contribute more once i watch it i promise

[Lucida]

I think it's a lovely anime. Sometimes shounen-ai gets a bit too tragic or angsty and I think this was a great balance of humour and romance. I really can't choose which couple I like best but well....Usagi-san's voice makes me swoon. I've watched the entire season twice (blush) and read the manga up to where the first season ends. Both are great in my opinion. There are moments where I laugh so loud I worry if the neighbors are going to come knocking.

[pojken]

This series kind of turned me on to the whole shounen-ai aspect of anime. This one, despite the whole gay guilt bit, was actually really interesting.

What I think I like most is the ability of the characters to express themselves firmly. I had gotten tired of the whole "confession" waiting periods of many other anime and was glad to see someone (male or female) just go for it. That forwardness, I'm guessing, is reserved only for male anime characters and thus, getting two men together, you finally get a love story that has some actual romance and not unspoken, unrequited love.

I wonder if this is why it's popular with Japanese women. It basically has some androgynous cast (at least one of them) that is swooped up by a handsome male character. The more "feminine" or younger character is often unaware of the love and grows to be fond of that person, unlike most anime where the female characters are pining away, not knowing what to do. The hansome male character is pined after by others. I'm wondering if Japanese women (or whoever reads this that is not gay) simply ignore the fact that one of the characters is a male - substituting a female in their mindseye.

Any how, I started watching Antique Bakery because of this one and did a search on aarinfantasy to see what else he had. Good stuff.