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The List - 7 Anime for Grown-Up Romantics


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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
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Joined: 14 Aug 2006
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 22, 2015 10:15 pm Reply with quote
Touma wrote:


For the list the only shows that I have seen are Ah! My Goddess and Maison Ikkoku
I agree with them being on the list and with their relative ranking.
I would have added Ai Yori Aoshi between those two. I do not remember how old Aoi is but she is not in school, and Kaoru is in college.

I agree 100%. Ai Yori Aoishi is actually my 2nd favorite romance show/manga to this day. While the show does sometimes favor the comedy over the drama when it does get serious it gets SERIOUS. Their romance is not an easy one and they grow as individuals and a couple over the course of the show. Forget the 2nd season btw. The later chapters of the manga (which were never animated) really get more serious, like the beginning was more serious than comedic, in terms of their relationship and how it progresses. The manga is also one of the few with a legitimate ending to a series. A bittersweet one but a true ending none the less.

Though since my favorite Oh My Goddess made it onto the list all is forgiven.
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ANN_Lynzee
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 22, 2015 10:22 pm Reply with quote
mandisaw wrote:
Gina Szanboti wrote:
mandisaw wrote:
And I guess non-het romances were just off the table...

But now that you mention it, does anyone know of a series or movie that deals with adult lesbian relationships? There's a bit of high-school age yuri out there, but I can't think of a single one that's about adult women. The only adult lesbians (or women showing sexual or romantic feelings toward another female) I can recall seeing were villains, like Ragyo Kiryuuin, and I wouldn't even call her a lesbian, since she strikes me as an equal opportunity predator. Surely this genre hasn't been entirely overlooked?

I know some folks who are both very into manga and very into yuri, both of the josei variety and what little exists of the for-lesbians variety (mostly doujin, last I heard). I can ask around - it's an interesting question, I think.

Personally, I think the problem with the yuri material is a lack of anime. Sure, there are plenty of hentai-lesbian anime, but actual romances? The two I've seen & that came to mind were Utena and (aspects of) Maria-sama ga Miteru, and both are set in high school. Shounen-ai, and to some degree, yaoi, get some limited representation in anime, and het josei gets made into dramas, but yuri? Not so much.


The only serious yuri anime I would recommend off the top of my head are also high school age. Sweet Blue Flowers and Wandering Son.

This article wasn't intentionally het-focused, but romance anime featuring older protagonists (or anime featuring older protagonists at all) are slim and even more so if they aren't male-female relationships. I honestly can't think of any, although there's definitely manga.
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Gina Szanboti



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PostPosted: Sat Aug 22, 2015 11:06 pm Reply with quote
I can think of quite a few BL and yaoi that have adult men in the relationships (not judging the quality of those relationships Smile). I already mentioned Junjou Romantica, where almost everyone is college age or older, many in the working world. Antique Bakery has some nice adult relationships, though toned down from the manga, and nowhere near the author's doujinshi. Smile Not specifically a romance though. The Fake anime doesn't really get very explicit, so I guess it's kind of a romance?
Despite everything, Ai no Kusabi is a romance at its heart, and both are adults, at least for the main part of the story. I can think of some others, but the point is that there are at least some same-sex anime that have adult male relationships, while I can't think of one that has an adult female relationship. I guess it's safer if they're in high school so squeamish viewers can pretend it's just a phase?
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jr240483



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PostPosted: Sat Aug 22, 2015 11:41 pm Reply with quote
Snakebit1995 wrote:
A couple things about the new poll

Zeref's Name spoiler[ His last name being Dragneel is a huge spoiler, that only recently happened in the managa and anime only watchers would have no clue about this development. We also don't know if Dragnell is the name Igneel Gave Natsu or it was his and Zeref's family name]


while it would be interesting if he got his redemption like jelall and urtear,however and unfortunately all the speculations about him and natsu's connections will be in overdrive until those two face off.

though i'm surprised scar, itachi and accelerator is even on this list considering they got their redemptions .especially in accelerator & itachi's case.

personally if there is one that should get one it's annie.

Also though i wasnt surprised that Oh My Goddess and Emma made the list,i was for the fact that neither Onegai Teacher nor Koi Kaze were there or got a mention. if there's any series that should be on the list its those two. especially koi kaze.
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ANN_Lynzee
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 22, 2015 11:50 pm Reply with quote
Onegai Teacher is a high school setting. The protagonist is technically not high school age because of illness, but it's a high school romance show.

Koi Kaze has an adult male and high school age girl.

Gina Szanboti wrote:
I can think of quite a few BL and yaoi that have adult men in the relationships (not judging the quality of those relationships Smile).


You're right, I have a total blindspot for yaoi since I haven't watched nearly any of it. Love Stage! was actually the first I watched but I haven't gone back through and caught up on older stuff.
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Lili-Hime



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PostPosted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 1:39 am Reply with quote
mandisaw wrote:

But now that you mention it, does anyone know of a series or movie that deals with adult lesbian relationships?


We actually have a yuri reccomendation thread here!

Sadly a lot of yuri deals with high school infatuations. And then there's the whole cliche of the older woman with the younger girl. I'll just name a few that have adult romances.

Burst Angel - Is more a fanservice show but both characters are adults.
Candy Boy - They're both in college; warning though it is incest but it is a more serious romance /drama.
Devil Lady - VERY mature. Lead character is an adult lesbian and a fashion model. She's in the middle of essentially a love triangle, with one of the girls being a high school age model. Main focus is on horror though.
Re: Cutie Honey - Romance isn't the focal point but it's pretty damn canon. Honey is in her late teens but her cop girlfriend is clearly an adult.

You may want to also check out Noir. Mirielle & Kirika's relationship can be kind of construed as big sister / little sister or mother / daughter, but the shoujo ai elements are there. That said I echo that Aoi Hana is probably the best yuri I've seen when dealing with lesbians respectfully and realistically, even if the characters are still in high school. It really is frustrating that we queer ladies don't get enough representation and so many anime treat female/female relationships as a 'romantic friendship' situation.
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SaiyamanMS



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PostPosted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 2:41 am Reply with quote
I added Vegeta's moustache from Dragon Ball GT to last week's poll as a joke and he ended up as high as 20th on the list! Which isn't particularly high at all, but still pretty good for a joke answer.
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invalidname
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 6:38 am Reply with quote
octopodpie wrote:
You're right, I have a total blindspot for yaoi since I haven't watched nearly any of it. Love Stage! was actually the first I watched but I haven't gone back through and caught up on older stuff.

Ditto. Yaoi and horror are the two genres where I've literally watched nothing, and feel like I should find a good example of each just to educate myself. I guess I should try one of Gina's yaoi recommendations?
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yuna49



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PostPosted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 6:52 am Reply with quote
mandisaw wrote:
I know some folks who are both very into manga and very into yuri, both of the josei variety and what little exists of the for-lesbians variety (mostly doujin, last I heard). I can ask around - it's an interesting question, I think.

I've read a couple of yuri hentai manga that focus as much on the relationship between the women as the sex. Maka-Maka is a particularly good example. I can't think of any anime, whether hentai or not, that covers the same ground. There is the occasional pairing like Shion and Yayoi in Psycho-Pass, but the relationship is never explored. Perhaps Urobuchi included them for diversity sake, or it's just fanservice.
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Ali07



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PostPosted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 7:40 am Reply with quote
Maidenoftheredhand wrote:
Not on this list but I would also add Planetes.

I've not heard of this before...but I think I will try to check it out. Dark Horse looks to be releasing a couple of omnibus editions for this series, first one out this December:
http://www.bookdepository.com/Planetes-Omnibus-1-Makoto-Yukimura/9781616559212
http://www.bookdepository.com/Planetes-Omnibus-2-Makoto-Yukimura/9781616559229

I think I shall pre-order these...
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Desa



Joined: 07 Mar 2015
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 9:13 am Reply with quote
Most of this list lacks impact.
I'd keep Emma, but my choices for the other 6 would be:

1. Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal
(I know Kenshin is like 15 in this but this is definitely nothing like your typical highschool romance.)

2. Spice and Wolf

3. Gosick

4. White Album 2
(Simply because it's better than White Album)

5. Chouyaku Hyakunin Isshu: Uta Koi

6. I Can't Understand What My Husband Is Saying
(Danna ga Nani wo Itteiru ka Wakaranai Ken)


Note: The order is not necessarily a ranking
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Kadmos1



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PostPosted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 9:38 am Reply with quote
Planetes is also somewhat notable for having a Muslim prayer scene but I think it is a positive light.
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jr240483



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PostPosted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 11:01 am Reply with quote
octopodpie wrote:
Onegai Teacher is a high school setting. The protagonist is technically not high school age because of illness, but it's a high school romance show.

Koi Kaze has an adult male and high school age girl.


true,but it did have romances that are definitely grown up material & that could have made the list,and if not there was also Cress Celestial Legend and Angel Sanctuary which are also grown up romances too.

octopodpie wrote:
Gina Szanboti wrote:
I can think of quite a few BL and yaoi that have adult men in the relationships (not judging the quality of those relationships Smile).


You're right, I have a total blindspot for yaoi since I haven't watched nearly any of it. Love Stage! was actually the first I watched but I haven't gone back through and caught up on older stuff.


well if your talking about the yaoi/yuri aspect, there is gakuen heaven and mirage of blaze for yaoi lovers. and then there's Utena and Strawberry Panic for the yuri and in a sense could get a mention,but thought they wouldnt have made the list anyways.
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ryboom



Joined: 01 Jul 2011
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 1:26 pm Reply with quote
Shaterri wrote:
I hate to be That Person, but once one reaches a certain age there's not all that much difference between 'high-school romance' and 'college romance'. I'm not saying the list had to be all 50-year-olds or any such, but it would have been nice to at least mandate protagonists who feel like they're of legal (US) drinking age... Razz


No, you're correct: there's no meaningful thematic distinction between the virginal college students on this list and your typical semi-orphaned anime high-schooler.

I'm seeing a lot of Ai Yori Aoshi, and while I love the show and the central romance, it's not "grown-up." They have to keep their forbidden unconsummated relationship secret from the other gorgeous girls they live with in a mansion. It's completely detached from adult reality.

Also, another vote for Spice and Wolf.
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Mikeski



Joined: 24 Sep 2009
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 1:39 pm Reply with quote
Hyperdrve wrote:
I'm afraid that this week's poll about which anime villain is most deserving of a redemption will just turn into a popularity contest.

That's the secret, Captain. They're always popularity contests.

Because...
(a) people love being part of the "in crowd", so they vote for things that other people vote for,

(b) there's no age limit on the poll, so you get kids voting for Inuyasha for "best dog in anime" because they don't care what the poll is about and Inuyasha is cool, and

(c) most importantly, it's hard to have an opinion on a show you haven't seen, or don't remember well, so popular shows win, and recent shows win. Always.

It was worse when anime was on Adult Swim every night. You could pick the landslide winner before the first vote was cast if there was only one [as] show represented. Even if it wasn't really a good choice. Kinda like the eyebrows thing this week, or Attack on Titan being 1/6th of the vote for "best zombie show" a few weeks back, or the recent "idol" shows having to be thrown out of the voting on "anime bands." (Yes, some of the problem is "add your own choice" polls vs. pre-set polls... a committee is only as smart as its dumbest member. Mr. Green )

I've done the math on this before.
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