Romance in the Manga/Anime/Asian Drama World

[Zeltrax]

"If a man ever tells you he fell for you at first sight , punch him…its just another way of saying he wants to get you to bed and stop wasting time" - Kim Joo-won

Nice quote but it can't be all true...right
I mean, there are really man..ok maybe some, that really fall in love at first sight and its not about lust. I can't really explain it

That phrase made me think about various things, one of them being love at first sight of course. Which leads me to this question, when regarding romance in manga/anime/Asian drama, do you like for love between two characters to happen as a result of their interactions? or are you a fan of love at first sight between two characters?

Nope, I like relationships formed from friends to couple more. Might not be realistic but that is what I like seeing, how two people with no feelings for each other develop over time Interactions is a must, moments when the character discover their feelings, moments like when they are together that is nerve-wrecking and heart pounding I love watching them and love for them to experience those feelings.

As for me, I’m not very fond of two characters falling in love at first sight or because the story says so, I like it better when two characters gradually fall in love with each other as a result of their interactions, as a result of each one of them finding things about the other that they like, I like it better when pairings/couples are formed in that way.

Pretty much..usually two characters falling in love at first sight don't last, because most of the time you will only pay attention to the good points of your crush(or maybe the good points is all you can see) but for characters that gradually fall in love, they will accept both the good points and the bad points as they've already seen them already.
Its all about accepting

[BakaHaze]

For me, romance in manga/anime, especially harems, seems like total bull to me.

For one, it's really, really rare for there to be such a screwed up male to female ratio in the first place, I'm quite sure there's actually less girls than guys.

Then add the really weak and no-good male lead...ugh.

Why would there be a whole bunch of girls (anything from 3-9) throwing themselves at him?

Also, there is no painless rejection.(From Yankee-kun, I believe) So any reason the main chara has to not choose one girl is just cowardice.

Once he's chosen a girl, most people with common sense would not try and split them up, I doubt anyone would really be that evil. Also, if you got a girlfriend, there's nothing stopping you from having female friends, it's just that you'd spend a LOT less time with them; meaning the other girls then fall to the side.

None of which happens in manga like To love ru~, Iru Machi, etc. The guy just wavers between countless chicks. So bad.

Whoops, rant out.

[Zeltrax]

For me, romance in manga/anime, especially harems, seems like total bull to me.

For one, it's really, really rare for there to be such a screwed up male to female ratio in the first place, I'm quite sure there's actually less girls than guys.

Then add the really weak and no-good male lead...ugh.

Why would there be a whole bunch of girls (anything from 3-9) throwing themselves at him?

LOL Japan

Also, there is no painless rejection.(From Yankee-kun, I believe) So any reason the main chara has to not choose one girl is just cowardice.

I agree, which is why I really like the anime Shuffle! It has the harem and the ecchi in it BUT the characters in it is not as bland and the main character is not a coward, he made a choice towards the end and tie up the loose ends with other girls.

Once he's chosen a girl, most people with common sense would not try and split them up, I doubt anyone would really be that evil. Also, if you got a girlfriend, there's nothing stopping you from having female friends, it's just that you'd spend a LOT less time with them; meaning the other girls then fall to the side.

None of which happens in manga like To love ru~, Iru Machi, etc. The guy just wavers between countless chicks. So bad.

Whoops, rant out.

As much as a rant this is, I agree with the wavering between girls.
I hate guys who does that. That girl is your girlfriend, not this one you're flirting with..
Never fails to get on my nerve, how can such a character be the protagonist defies me.

[Asarii]

BakaHaze, did you really expect the harem genre to be realistic? The whole point of harem is fantasy. I mean wouldn't it be great if you were surrounded by the sex you're attracted to? Wouldn't it be even better if they all had a thing for you?

I don't read harem manga to comment on your other points, but you shouldn't expect it to follow the same rules as real-life. A great deal of suspension of disbelief is needed.

Then add the really weak and no-good male lead...ugh.

Having a meek protagonist also allows the readers to put themselves in the character's shoes since very few people would identify with a guy who is macho and good-looking. This is actually one realistic trait of a (male-centric) harem series. The average Joe is more relatable than a brilliant Joseph.

[BakaHaze]

BakaHaze, did you really expect the harem genre to be realistic? The whole point of harem is fantasy. I mean wouldn't it be great if you were surrounded by the sex you're attracted to? Wouldn't it be even better if they all had a thing for you?

I don't read harem manga to comment on your other points, but you shouldn't expect it to follow the same rules as real-life. A great deal of suspension of disbelief is needed.


Having a meek protagonist also allows the readers to put themselves in the character's shoes since very few people would identify with a guy who is macho and good-looking. This is actually one realistic trait of a (male-centric) harem series. The average Joe is more relatable than a brilliant Joseph.

Heh, no, I don't suppose I expected it to be realistic. It just that rather than being surrounded by a bunch of people of the sex I'm attracted to I'd much rather have just one soul mate...It's kinda like quality and quantity. But then that's not harem, so I guess harem's just not for me.

But I will not concede the point that the protagonist has to be stronger. I'm quite sure a "normal" character, say, perhaps like Touma, from Index, is actually quite relatable. He's meek, not that strong, not that smart, as you said, but DOES NOT possess the personality defects of typical harem lead, who is not an average Joe as you mentioned, but actually below average. Rather than having a spineless bug as the the lead, the protagonist needs to have some sort of personal characteristics rather than feeliing like a cardboard cut out. It also makes the lead actually likeable, as the lead actually does credible things.

[Asarii]

Heh, no, I don't suppose I expected it to be realistic. It just that rather than being surrounded by a bunch of people of the sex I'm attracted to I'd much rather have just one soul mate...It's kinda like quality and quantity. But then that's not harem, so I guess harem's just not for me.

I'd rather have one soul mate too, but I was speaking for those who would like to be in that situation. It's probably because it's manga or anime that I give harem a pass. The characters are 2D to begin with, and their world operates differently from ours. (Think of how many times a manga/anime series defied the rules of physics. LOL) However, I would feel the same way you do if it was live-action.

But I will not concede the point that the protagonist has to be stronger. I'm quite sure a "normal" character, say, perhaps like Touma, from Index, is actually quite relatable. He's meek, not that strong, not that smart, as you said, but DOES NOT possess the personality defects of typical harem lead, who is not an average Joe as you mentioned, but actually below average. Rather than having a spineless bug as the the lead, the protagonist needs to have some sort of personal characteristics rather than feeliing like a cardboard cut out. It also makes the lead actually likeable, as the lead actually does credible things.

To be fair I don't read harem manga to know that the characters are actually below average. I could see why the mangaka would try to make the protagonist as flat as possible: the harem is simply more important. The characters surrounding the lead dominate tankobon covers and colour pages, have unique character designs with distinguishable personalities and if a series is popular, they are featured in merchandises. All the things you don't like in a harem protagonist is done on purpose. It's so that he won't stand out amidst the other characters.

[BakaHaze]

I don't wish for this to devolve into an argument, but, I enjoyed Ouran quite a bit (for the comedy, in case you were wondering ) as a reverse harem and Haruhi had no annoying defects many of the male chara's have...

If the protagonist doesn't stand out then why is s/he the protagonist?

heh, but romance in densha otoko sure is heartening...

[Roark]

I think romance makes an Anime/Manga better, everyone likes a good heartwarmer..or am I being a fangirl?

[Zeltrax]

Yeah, romance in anime make things a lot...sweeter.
But almost every anime have some form of romance

[destiny4ever]

Nice quote but it can't be all true...right
I mean, there are really man..ok maybe some, that really fall in love at first sight and its not about lust. I can't really explain it

I can understand liking someone at first sight, but I don’t know about actually falling in love at first sight. Of course it can happen in manga/anime and Asian dramas, but I don’t know if it can happen in RL. Either way, that quote was very though-provoking.

Nope, I like relationships formed from friends to couple more. Might not be realistic but that is what I like seeing, how two people with no feelings for each other develop over time

Actually, I think that is a very realistic way of portraying two people falling in love with each other. Friends can become more than friends, and romantic feelings can develop where there were none before.

Interactions is a must, moments when the character discover their feelings, moments like when they are together that is nerve-wrecking and heart pounding I love watching them and love for them to experience those feelings.

I like that as well. ^_^ Like for instance in Kimi ni Todoke, Shota and Sawako’s relationship is like that.

Pretty much..usually two characters falling in love at first sight don't last, because most of the time you will only pay attention to the good points of your crush(or maybe the good points is all you can see) but for characters that gradually fall in love, they will accept both the good points and the bad points as they've already seen them already.
Its all about accepting

That was great, Zeltrax! What you said was very interesting. And I must say that I’m not very fond of a character falling in love with another character only focusing on their good points without acknowledging their faults as well. I guess that is why I’m not very fond a certain girl’s love in Bleach.

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For me, romance in manga/anime, especially harems, seems like total bull to me.

While I respect your opinion, I actually don’t think that all harems in manga and anime are terribly bad. For instance, the harem motif in Clannad was actually used very well.

For me harems or romance in manga/anime are not bad themselves, it is how they are used in a series that really matters. There are some good romantic manga/anime series out there, just like there are some pretty good manga/anime that follow the harem format and do it well, and therefore the series are awesome (For instance: Ouran High School Host Club).

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I think romance makes an Anime/Manga better, everyone likes a good heartwarmer..or am I being a fangirl?

I’m a romantic person ^_^, so of course I don’t mind a bit (or a lot) of romance in the series I read or watch; however, I think it depends on the person, since there are people that don’t like too much romance in a series and would rather for the characters to remain friends forever than for them to get into romantic relationships. Whether romance makes and anime/manga better, I think it really depends on each person’s point of view.

[M3J]

Reviving this thread with a new topic of conversation :

I’m currently watching a new K-drama called “Secret Garden”, and one of the things that the male lead said caught my attention, he said:

"If a man ever tells you he fell for you at first sight , punch him…its just another way of saying he wants to get you to bed and stop wasting time" - Kim Joo-won

That phrase made me think about various things, one of them being love at first sight of course. Which leads me to this question, when regarding romance in manga/anime/Asian drama, do you like for love between two characters to happen as a result of their interactions? or are you a fan of love at first sight between two characters?

As for me, I’m not very fond of two characters falling in love at first sight or because the story says so, I like it better when two characters gradually fall in love with each other as a result of their interactions, as a result of each one of them finding things about the other that they like, I like it better when pairings/couples are formed in that way.

Love at first sight isn't so bad, but how the relationship is developed is important. I don't mind either way, though I prefer love to happen as result of interactions, as long as the relationship is developed. I prefer Utsumi-Yuki kind of development, you can see how great they are for each other; or Bridget-Kazuya, though that's for the cuteness, mostly. It's so much better that they're together while knowing each other well enough, and when they have great chemistry. It's one of the reason why I'd like Luffy x Nami, especially since Nami seriously trusts Luffy despite her hatred for pirates.

Although I prefer Naruto x Hinata or Naruto x Karin, it wouldn't be that good unless they interacted with each other and we saw how compatible they were. Chemistry is more important than getting together just for plot reasons.

[destiny4ever]

how the relationship is developed is important.

QFT.

I prefer Utsumi-Yuki kind of development, you can see how great they are for each other; or Bridget-Kazuya, though that's for the cuteness, mostly.

What series are those pairings from? I have never heard of them.

It's so much better that they're together while knowing each other well enough, and when they have great chemistry. It's one of the reason why I'd like Luffy x Nami, especially since Nami seriously trusts Luffy despite her hatred for pirates.

I haven’t read or watched OP, but I thought romance wasn’t really part of the series and that Luffy and Nami were just friends…or is Luffy x Nami a pairing you would like to see?

Although I prefer Naruto x Hinata or Naruto x Karin,

You have mentioned one OP pairing, two Naruto pairings, do you have a Bleach pairing?

Chemistry is more important than getting together just for plot reasons.

QFT once again. I do remember a couple of series where the lead didn’t end up with the girl with whom he had an amazing chemistry but with the other girl that…the story dictated he should end up with, those kind of pairings can feel somewhat forced and can leave the reader/viewer kind of unsatisfied with the result…

[M3J]

What series are those pairings from? I have never heard of them.

I haven’t read or watched OP, but I thought romance wasn’t really part of the series and that Luffy and Nami were just friends…or is Luffy x Nami a pairing you would like to see?

You have mentioned one OP pairing, two Naruto pairings, do you have a Bleach pairing?

QFT once again. I do remember a couple of series where the lead didn’t end up with the girl with whom he had an amazing chemistry but with the other girl that…the story dictated he should end up with, those kind of pairings can feel somewhat forced and can leave the reader/viewer kind of unsatisfied with the result…

GE - Good Ending and Freezing, respectively. Definitely good manga/manwha.

No, romance unfortunately isn't part of One Piece, but it's a pairing I'd like to see and think could happen. I mean, Luffy did make Nami rethink her stance a bit on pirates and even put her life in his hands many times. Definitely great chemistry and good pairing!

Nah, I don't like Bleach nor have I read it. I may when I'm done with Liar Game just to see the hype.

Wow, that's bad. Was there any explanation why?

[BakaHaze]

While I respect your opinion, I actually don’t think that all harems in manga and anime are terribly bad. For instance, the harem motif in Clannad was actually used very well.

Clannad is different. It came from a VN, which is naturally a harem with really good plot. (Other examples: Chaos; Head, F/SN, Tsukihime etc)I had Kimi no Iru Machi in mind when I said that.

Nah, I don't like Bleach nor have I read it. I may when I'm done with Liar Game just to see the hype.

Wow, that's bad. Was there any explanation why?

There is no hype.

Also, if I had to have a pairing for Bleach it would Be Hitsugaya with Matsumoto.

[destiny4ever]

GE - Good Ending and Freezing, respectively. Definitely good manga/manwha.

Ahh..okay. Thank you for answering my question!

No, romance unfortunately isn't part of One Piece, but it's a pairing I'd like to see and think could happen. I mean, Luffy did make Nami rethink her stance a bit on pirates and even put her life in his hands many times. Definitely great chemistry and good pairing!

From what you have said it seems Luffy is a very special boy to Nami. But what about Luffy? Have there been any sings of Nami being a special girl to Luffy?

Nah, I don't like Bleach nor have I read it. I may when I'm done with Liar Game just to see the hype.

OT: I’m glad you’re reading Liar Game. Awesome manga.

Wow, that's bad. Was there any explanation why?

Because he was supposed to end up with that girl, they were childhood friends and he had liked her since they were kids and she had liked him as well…it is kind of hard to explain, but I must say that the series despite the ending and another "little" detail is a good romance series.

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Clannad is different. It came from a VN, which is naturally a harem with really good plot. (Other examples: Chaos; Head, F/SN, Tsukihime etc)I had Kimi no Iru Machi in mind when I said that.

Well…not all VN when turned into an anime handle the harem motif very well *coughamagamisscough*, so even if it came from a VN, I think the harem motif was handled successfully in Clannad the anime. And I have heard of Kimi no Iru Machi but I didn’t know the romance in that series was so frustrating.

Also, if I had to have a pairing for Bleach it would Be Hitsugaya with Matsumoto.

My Bleach paring is Ichigo x Rukia. Although, I do like Renji’s one-sided (because in my opinion is one-sided) for Rukia.