Okay okay okay, new pinned comment. There are so many (what I have to assume are) men in the comments picking fights, so let me say something in some small attempt at quelling your rage. Did I say that the shift in romcoms to the male perspective was bad? No I did not. I noted this shift in the anime I was watching and wanted to talk about their shift in writing techniques. Theres a decent chance given my 2000s shojo upbringing that I have an implicit bias here, which I'm sorry for. But I did not intend to frame this shift as negative. It just is a thing that happened. I dont even really have any negative feelings about kaguya or Komi, so saying I "hate this" is just wrong. Did I say that fanservice was bad? Not exactly. Fan service is fine, and I even said if you like it, I have nothing against you. It just ain't to my taste, and alsoooo I think its gross when fanservice is directed at minors, and I would like if that WASNT the case. There are plenty of fanservicey anime and even straight up ecchi that are great, EVEN WITHIN my more critical lens of it, such as Kill la Kill. I am not attacking you? And I am not even trying to say this thing is bad. Calm down. EDIT: To those saying I'm being negative because I referred to it as a gentrification... oops. That is my bad, fr. I thought the term was more neutral, whereas pretty much everyone in the comments tells me it's very negative. That's why the title was changed as well, sooooo oops. You're valid on that point.

"Remember kids there's nothing romantic about sexual coercion" *stares awkwardly at "50 Shades" still being the most sold book in the US.*

Whatever you do do not watch Rent-a-girlfriend

"Guys and girls are made of the same shit. Just be normal dammit!" Describes exactly how I feel like 99% of the time as an autistic guy.

Regarding Marin "flip-flopping" between being overtly sexual/flirty and then getting embarrassed, I think it's pretty realistic. When I was a teenager and hadn't experienced any kind of love or sex, I was very flirty and sexual around everyone but when someone actually flirted back or a partner made an actual move, everything would shut off and I'd be flustered as all hell. Not sure what the psychology behind it is, but at the very least, I can relate to that

The explanation I heard that made the most sense for why so much anime is focused on high schoolers is timing. In Japan, high school is the one period in life where you are both old enough to be making autonomous life choices (like going to the beach or fighting giant robots) and young enough to do activities outside of working in an office 18 hours a day 7 days a week. Thus high school becomes the most nostalgic period in a person's life, the last time they were free to be themselves.

It’s interesting that you find Kaguya-Sama: Love is War to have a POV that’s tilted towards Kaguya, because I’ve always read it as being the opposite: Miyuki and Kaguya are on ALMOST equal footing, but the narrative places slightly more emphasis on Miyuki’s POV. Yes, her name is in the title, but it has the honorific “sama” attached. That means we’re seeing her name as Miyuki sees it, and, therefore, we see HER as Miyuki does too: as above him/us, as (to be slightly regressive/reductive) the goal to be obtained. We follow Miyuki on “side quests” (his various lessons with Fujiwara to get better at volleyball/singing/rap) that Kaguya is not privy to. And, yes, the audience will occasionally see things that Miyuki doesn’t see involving Kaguya, but it always seemed to me like his was the arch that the narrative gave slightly more weight to.

your point about rom-coms either being afraid of the romance aspect or embracing it and possibly losing part of their audience is a really good point

I mean, in the measuring scene of Dress Up Darling, the reason Marin suddenly gets shy is because Gojo accidentally touches her in a sensitive spot and she's suddenly reminded that she's nearly naked and there's a cute boy closely looking at her body and she's not as ready for that as she thought. As for other scenes that happen later, such as the love hotel photoshoot, I tend to read it as less "lets undercut this with a joke" and more "these are too teenagers who haven't quite gotten comfortable enough for the level of intimacy they're pretending to have, suddenly being reminded of how intimate the situations they are in are, which causes them to panic and retreat back into shy awkwardness.

One of the reasons, IMO, why so many non-fantasy anime stories are set in school is bcause it is the easiest storytelling way to bring a group of random/different people together. In school, you get to interact with the same people every day, while still having enough free time to pursue hobbies or socialize outside school. It doesn't matter what hobbies or ambitions characters have, they would still be in the same class. Sure, college romance exist, but college is when you're passions and interest start separating you from other people. It's easier to make an art kid, a cheerleader and a class president part of the same social group because they're in the same class, it's much harder to justify why a professional athlete, an aspiring mangaka and a business degree student would go to the same college, have similar timetable or hang out in the same social circle. Not impossible, but much harder. Besides, not everyone goes to college. Everybody goes to school at som point. And it gets even harder when you take full-grown, working adults. Office romance exists, and adult romance can be done really well, but most of the time you're much more limited in your roster of characters, as people who work in the same field are likely to have similar interests and ambitions. And romance itself becomes more pragmatic - there's no time to just enjoy being in love anymore, this is the time people start thinking more seriously about the future and starting a family. TLDR: While it's not impossible to set the romance in more adult environments, school setting makes it easiest to justify why characters with diffrent passions, backgrounds and dreams would be in the same group, and help keep the romance more light-hearted.

Another thing to why is rom-com more boy-oriented is that girls are more okay with watching "boy stuff" than boys are okay with watching "girl stuff" (at least I do beleive through my expirience and observation). And not just with epical entertainment. It is said that it is easier for girls to get a stereotypicaly boy profession than the other way around. Even when I hear guys talking about "girl stuff" they enjoy, I hear them talking about it either like: "It's fire man!" or if not this hyped then in a more grounded way like: "It is truly a great show." Where as for girls, they are action hyped when talking about action shonen and talking all cute hyped when talking about cute romance shoujo. And so I beleive that this is also a reason why there are more boy-oriented rom-coms. Because it catches more viewers than a girl-oriented one.

My Dress-Up Darling was written by a woman who wrote Gojou as basically her ideal man (or at least, the way he would likely have been in high school) and Marin as the girl she wishes she could have been at that age. I think maybe the editors of the magazine it's published in probably added more cheesecake than she initially intended, but at the end of the day, Gojou isn't an empty character, he's an artisan who's struggling with his craft because of past trauma that caused him to shy away from society, but when pushed enough, he rises to the challenge and grows from it. He's morally upright, doesn't have ulterior motives, and just wants to celebrate the things that others love just like how he wishes others celebrated the things he love. Marin's interests overlap with the author's interests a lot not because she wanted to write a girl that would really scratch the itch for people who specifically like girls who secretly play h-games for the plot, but because the author likes all that stuff, and wanted basically a character based on her ideal man to celebrate what she loves, even if his initial reaction is to be utterly befuddled. And Marin is open and unabashed about her interests, while also rushing to defend anyone whose own interests are being shit on, because that's how the author wishes she could be in real life. The cosplay theme is because the author always wanted to do cosplay, but lacked the courage to pursue it in earnest. I think one of the volume notes mentions something about her trying it out for the first time for real, but I can't remember. Basically, there's a lot of wish fulfillment in there, but... it's actually the author wishing she could be more outgoing, more kind, more friendly, more skilled, more attractive, more of a go-getter, etc. When you read it through that lens, suddenly the work takes on a different tone that I enjoyed a lot more, at least, when the editors weren't getting in the way by making her overdo a sexually charged scene. I think the anime makes this aspect worse, losing focus even more on the author's original vision so that it can appeal to a wider, predominantly male, audience (though it's not like the manga doesn't start off with all that extra baggage. It takes a while, basically until around the point where the anime adaptation ended, before that all calmed down. Still, it was not played up as much, since the medium of manga just didn't allow for as many gratuitous excesses or that annoying "jiggle" sound effect.) It's fine that you didn't like how the anime presented itself, but I do hope you will at least forgive the author a little in your head. I think she made something quite nice. Also, this is just my read of it and is not confirmed at all by any media I can find, but, I'm certain Gojou is slightly autistic and Marin has ADHD, and that's part of why they can hit it off easily, since IME as someone with ADHD, I get along with autistic people more easily than others do... probably because as far as neurodivergence goes, the two are cousins, sharing many traits.

A lot of people in the West(?) don't realize that the genres (shounen, shoujo, seinen, josei, GL, BL) are often split into two categories in Japan: "Dansei-muke" (For Males) and "Josei-muke" (For Females), and bookstores likewise shelve books into genres near each other based on these two categories. You will then see women comfortably shopping in all sections, but men rarely feeling comfortable shopping in the Josei-muke sections. This is likely just social pressure rather than problems with interest in each genre, as great stories from Josei-muke genres do occasionally get broader audiences outside their target women despite not targeting men (happy accidents). Light novels and manga that do happen to draw in a broader audience (usually due to anime adaptions) are often placed where anyone can reach them without seeming creepy or effeminate, like end caps toward the middle of the store, or displays on the ground floors, etc. The result of this is that Josei-muke series more often do not get easy word-of-mouth among broader demographics, and thus, they are considered riskier ventures to adapt into anime. Fruits Basket and Kimi ni Todoke are both notable in that they actually have a track record of rating very high on the rare "shoujo manga that guys like" rankings some magazines and websites post by their audiences. Despite both having been out of the market loop for a while, they still hold those spots today, meaning they are safer bets for remakes and sequels than most other shoujo manga. For those who have lost hope about Ouran Host Club getting a sequel, it just so happens to be pretty high on the list (usually right behind FuruBa and KimiTodo) as well, so if Kimi ni Todoke is successful, you can keep hoping! Regardless, this might be shifting a bit. I'm not sure if it's changing dramatically yet, but young people in Japan are slowly growing weary of gender stereotypes, gender roles forced on both genders, and even gendered clothing. One of my friends is also married to a guy who has zero problem talking openly at work about the shoujo manga his wife has introduced him to, and recommending them to his guy friends. I'm a weird case. Shoujo and josei are still my favorite genre by far, but I'm a lesbian who writes and draws pretty Dansei-muke kink erotic art. I'm a vanilla person irl, but I don't like drawing vanilla stuff. Thus, I watch a lot of otaku-centered romance anime, play otaku-targeted mobage, and read male-centered isekai novels, sticking mostly to reading shoujo/josei manga (including a lot of female-targeted ero manga), all the while talking about my waifus and husbandos with my guy and gal friends. Tentacles are fun! Give me monstrous orcs! It's not too serious, but it does feel lonely until you find out a good chunk of the best artists in the ero-manga and ero-illust industries are women, and a lot of women silently enjoy these works (or indulge in them by cosplaying for fun). I imagine it will be a while before I see a significant increase in men who like more "girly" stories, but I eagerly await the day when no one in Japan feels like they have to hide what they like and can enjoy everything without gendered categories or the shame that comes with them.

Fan service exhausts me. It alienates me from so much of the anime fandom that insists there's little to nothing inherently wrong with it. Thanks for being open and straightforward about your take, it's encouraging to feel seen.

It's been exhausting not really seeing any high quality anime target at women for so many years. As you said those stories can't rely on flashy animation so they make it on great character writing which I love. This season there's a few good ones but up until now it's been cheep reverse harems or the occasional teenager pines after immortal older man. Finally a solid one this season with "7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy!" Here's hoping it stays good. :)

I find it very odd that, when asking how Marin could possibly have a crush on Gojo, you focus on his looks rather than the fact that he listens and engages with her hobbies sincerely, pushing himself to the point of exhaustion just to make her happy. Her regular friends aren't interested in anime, but Gojo is. He'll listen to Marin gush about some niche hentai game for hours and even play it himself, not just for references, but because he wants to know how important it is to her. He even gains an interest in photography because of the cosplay shoots he participates in! Gojo is not an empty character at all. I don't want to be mean, but it feels like you just didn't like it because of the fanservice. Which is fine! It can certainly make or break a lot of shows for people. But I don't like how you willfully ignored everyone's personalities and downplayed the actual romance in favor of criticizing the fanservice. There are PLENTY of garbage "romcoms" out there that would serve your point better than Dress Up Darling.

I'm sure someone else probably said this already, but just to clarify: that scene were Gojo measures Marin's leg and she suddenly gets super flustered out of nowhere, it's not just some not-so-subtle swapping of the dynamic, it happens because Gojo (unknowingly) bumped a certain part of her body while pulling the measuring tape up.

Sdude: "Kaguya and Miyuki are both very dense characters" Me: "Oh yeah, that's I relate to them so much" Friend: "Not that kind of dense, he means actually high density as in complex" My dense ass: 👁👄👁

love is war sounds like it's literally just the prisoner's dilemma as a romcom LMAO

*I normally don't like ecchi animes, but something about "My Dress Up Darling" was different.* I don't know if I'm explaining it well but I'll try, it felt honest. What an honest teenager would feel like being near a hot person you have a crush on, especially if said hot person is unaware about that aspect of themselves and unintentionally crosses some boundaries. In most ecchi anime, one person or the other knows how attractive they are and sort of plays into this teasing nature. While I believe Marin is aware of her innate beauty, I don't think she believes Gojo is attracted to her the way most people are physically attracted to her. She genuinely believes her crush on him is one-sided, and there's something very relatable about that. While Gojo is offered a lot of fan service from Marin, he's very respectful when approaching it, and I really liked this aspect of his character. You don't often see men in ecchi shows genuinely trying not to fall into inappropriate circumstances with their crush, or a lot of them will pretend to be innocent until they can get away with it, while he was genuinely just very innocent. And I liked this sort of push-and-pull relationship they had going on, when one person got confident the other got flustered and vice versa. Of course, a lot of the ecchi is played for comedy, which is nothing new, but it never felt out of place for Marin as she was very self-assured, and never cared about how she be preserved by others. (and as a bisexual.......I get it Gojo......) Also, I liked how she really liked him, even if he was very simple and plain. Most of the time in the romance anime I watched this is flipped, and the girl is plain one and the boy is the hot overachiever, and whilst I love those this was very refreshing for me. It made me like both Gojo and Marin more. How she simped for the most white toast of people but it was endearing because she cared about him, and Gojo how introverted he is (like me) he uses his lack of charisma or social performativity to observe and actually listen to people, and care about people on a fundamental basis, and not just a socially accepted basis. If you personally don't like the ecchi element in this anime, I understand, most of the time that's me also. But I just wanted to point out how this felt different for me than most stereotypical ecchi anime. ^^

There was never a "shift", it's just that male centric RomComs have moved away from the classical harem slapstick model ala Love Hina, which allowed the "Rom" part of RomCom to take a bigger focus due to people realizing "Oh men do enjoy romance even if it is not drowned in comedy" The most recent "shift" is not recent at all and spans over a decade especially due to the time most of these RomComs have been conceptualized and written long before the anime industry started to pick them up.

I think its impossible to talk about this as gentrification steering away from "romance's roots" when urusei yatsura (written by a woman) practically invented all the shonen romance tropes back in the 1980s. It's a pretty direct parallel to Dress Up Darling since that one is also written by a woman. Trends just come and go but it is a shame that more shoujo romances aren't getting picked up to be adapted.

Are you watching Sign of Affection? It's been healing my heart this season

I think this video makes so many good points, but it's worth pointing out since it causes a lot of confusion - shonen/seinen/josei/shojo are not genres, they're demographics. The genres featured in these shows would be rom coms, but their target demographics vary.

In 5 minutes, you've already summarized my frustration with romantic comedies, I wish they were 100% sincere.

Oh also, kind of shocked you didn't mention Girl's Montly Nozaki-kun, even in passing! Definitely more comedy than romance, but firmly rooted in the shoujo genre with plenty of jokes and reference to tropes and staples of said genre. There's an anime and a longer 4koma manga. HUGELY recommend for literal lough out loud jokes.

A really good shojo Anime thats airing rn is A Sign of Affection! Its about a deaf fmc, and the art and animation is just stunning!

isn't male and female oriented romance just the difference between shounen and shoujo romance? They've always been different with different audiences.

I know I'm late to this, but I'm so glad this is being talked about. I always had that *feeling*, but you put it perfectly into words to describe it! Thank you

One thing I can't support about the romance between Komi and Tadano is that it feels like the classic Wish-fulfillment "Average or nerdy protagonist gets the prettiest girl in school", to the point that women who has more chemistry with Tadano are ignored, because at the plot level, Tadano is forced to stay with "the prettiest girl" in school.

oh man... I love Ouran so much, I'm glad you spoke of it so highly. Haruhi's attitude toward gender was really my first big identification with a character who felt the way that I did about my gender. and I also think Ouran does something kinda special with the boys, by making them so completely down with being seen through this campy lens of male beauty. it kind of felt like it was evening the playing field between girls and boys to me... like, these boys are relating to beauty standards in a way that you mostly see applied to girls, while one of the central traits of our main "girl" is how ambivalent she is toward how people perceive her. the guys literally have to step in and apply their own techniques for beautification, in order for her to more eloquently pass... as a guy. as someone who has literally been in Haruhi's shoes when it comes to cluelessness over how to be anything other than a scruffy nerd, it's actually kind of comforting to see someone like Tamaki get passionate about his own styling, but also think that Haruhi is genuinely cute no matter how she's styled. the standards are different for Haruhi in his mind because, well... he just really likes her. also, I really really agree with that little paragraph about FMA Brotherhood... tbh, I'm grateful that my first exposure to the story was through the manga. I feel like I can appreciate what all the various components of the two adaptations are doing (and not begrudge their flaws too heavily) a lot easier, because I know how the story was originally intended to go. as for the split between male vs. female target audience in romance... I love the way you defined it a lot. like, the idea of the girl being the POV character vs. the guy being the POV character, is such a great way to qualify it. because like... if, say, the woman was the POV character, and the series had a ton of stupid sexy fanservice that still serviced her POV, then it'd still feel like a romance with a female target audience. not that a ton of those exist... but there's an argument to be made for the idea that they should. because for as much of a problem as it can be, that fanservice targeting straight men has oversaturated anime as a medium... the inverse lack of fanservice that targets a female audience becomes conspicuous once you notice it. and my stance on fanservice is that like... it's fine, with a couple of asterisks. as much as I liked certain parts of Dressup Darling, that part where Gojo walked in on Juju was super uncomfortable. Gojo himself didn't intend for this to happen, so I'm not feeling too icky about him as a character, but the writing is conspiring to create a fanservice scene that Juju isn't consenting to. in fact... neither character is into it. so like... ick! who is that even for?? and as a side note, just in general... it's not always one character textually displaying disrespect to another character that qualifies as fanservice being disrespectful. the writing can be disrespectful by conspiring like this, even if zero characters are behaving disrespectfully at all. and in general, it's impossible to be respectful to an underdeveloped or poorly written character, who was clearly only dropped into the plot to be a fanservice sock puppet. so a lot of harem shows that underdevelop the waifus are still in hot water with me, because these girls are just bodies at this point. their personalities only barely exist to further the primary function of their creation, which is to get looked at by a male audience. and then there's the age thing... which I completely agree about. a lot of these characters didn't need to be in high school. and in cases like Dressup Darling... if you do the narrative situational equivalent of blurring your eyes just a bit, you can almost forget that the show said that, and pretend they're in college. it clears up a ton of stuff immediately! like, why is Marin, as a teenager, so into erotic visual novels? ostensibly, she has no experience with sex, so her laissez-faire attitude toward it as a concept is kind of weird if we actually think she's that young. this attitude in and of itself would fit more into the characterization of a 20-something. and I feel like this is why anime has to be taken on a case by case basis with this sort of thing. in cases like Dressup Darling, it feels reasonable to just mentally age the characters up in your head, because the high school premise feels like such a check on a marketing list, rather than an integral part of the characters' lives. in stuff like Kaguya-sama, the sexuality actually does feel kinda teenagery... as in, this is how teens kind of are, whether we like it or not. and the horny parts mostly stay conceptual, rather than explicit. the one time in Kaguya-sama that we get confirmation that two characters have actually done it, it's Kashiwagi talking about something that she and her boyfriend did, long after the fact. it's not gratuitously showing us what they did on screen... it's Kashiwagi, as a friend, talking to Kaguya about an experience she's had. it's awkward, and embarrassing, but in a way where you really believe that it's a facet of the characters' lives that they're trying to deal with. it's just part of the uneven road that different people take in different ways on the way to adulthood. but then, most anime just exist in this sort of la la land, where teens being portrayed as hyper sexual is just kinda... hand waved? the elements of sexuality are as unrealistic as the pink hair and the magic system. at that point, it's as weird as the show wants to make it. some shows just divorce themselves so heavily from reality that you're just like "questioning this is the least of my worries tbh" while others will stake their whole premise on like, an age gap romance with a teacher or something, and you're like "hang on, I'm not having fun, I think I need to leave" and that's where I typically draw the line. but yeah, I would love for anime with sexual overtones to just, please, be about adults! the adults in the audience would feel immense relief, and actually really enjoy themselves, if that condition could just be met. and then, within that, please... for the love of god. please, please, please _also_ sexualize men. because there's nothing wrong with being an adult who is horny on main for other happily consenting adults, but it feels uneven when women are the only subjects that see this sort of treatment. this is why I love Golden Kamuy tbh... it's one of the few shows that, in a very good natured way, can take a bunch of buff adult men with cute personalities, and give the audience a bunch of casual fanservice of them. and still maintain a strong plot with cohesive themes... the fanservice doesn't detract in the slightest. it never misses a beat. chad type way to handle fanservice. more shows should aspire to the level of comfortable sexuality that Golden Kamuy achieves. my main qualm is, why is this unique? and also, why can't women be the subject of fanservice that still respects their character? so often, fanservice scenes will be applied like a template to female characters, with no regard to her characterization. like, she's strongly written right up until it's time for her to get walked in on while she's bathing, and then we skyrocket to unprecedented levels of "she would not fucking say that" and like... why?? it'd be so easy to just make her a normal person with her own unique relationship to her sexuality. give us fanservice that's in character! use it as a tool for characterization even! idk, I just think that there are fine ways to do fanservice in shows that have decided that that's part of what they're about. but the poor execution, and improper application of fanservice in ill-fitting places, is what's really spitting in my cereal.

Well this helped me realize why a very small number of romances I like and why I dislike the rest. I’m not the intended audience. Like duh, but that makes more sense now. Ty!

I haven't seen such a well put together video that analyzes and reviews anime like this in a while

The social cues and the thought of "what others might think/say" is a cultural thing in most parts of the world. You not understanding is not *just* because you are on the spectrum, but also the difference in culture.

I just have to fangirl about Dress Up Darling for a bit here, please forgive me. I love the way the show frames love. I love how Marin wholeheartedly enjoys love and being in love instead of denying her feelings for no reason. I always frustrated me when they make a character hate having a crush. As someone who has had many crushes i can confidently say that love is fun, its a beautiful feeling and i am happy that is being shown in a healthy way through her.

The last thing I would say is that dress up darling is afraid of romance. Just because their relationship isn't as serious doesn't mean they're afraid of it. Marin sticking her tounge out for the firework scene just shows how their relationship dynamic works for their relationship. Not every romance has to have super serious scenes showing that the two characters are in love. Personally, I love both love is war and dress up darling because they both show some pretty realistic kinds of relationships. I'm not so much a fan of Komi because, as you said, it's a slow burner. I still found enough enjoyment out of it, to start reading it before it got an anime regardless. The show turns from a poasible romance between the two main characters to showing off how weird and wacky the next new character may be. That's the main joke of the show, and it wears off quite quickly.

Cruft was such a good choice of word for fanservice in anime. Like you I love romance in anime and will always look out for another good love story, but you really gotta dig through quite a lot of fan service before I can find something I enjoy. And even after that, like you said, there still may be some amount of coming to terms with the existing fan service if you still enjoy the story. And once you check out a community subreddit for a particular series or look up merchandise, it's pretty obvious to see why so much of it exists, regardless if it is even remotely in service to the story.

Love this breakdown! Something I think a lot of western anime fans don't realize is that "shounen" and "shoujo" don't just mean "action" and "romance" respectively, there's a lot more nuance to it than that and a lot of current popular romance anime are in fact shounen. I do think this isn't as much of a new thing as you're portraying it - male-oriented romcoms have been around forever in anime and manga. Ranma 1/2, Oh My Goddess, Chobits, Toradora, to name a few off the top of my head. Something DOES feel different about the current zeitgeist of shounen romance, though - I've never read or watched much of the genre myself, so I could be totally off base here, but it feels like recently there are more series that take the heroine's perspective at least partially, as well as more male protagonists who have a presence of their own and aren't intended to simply be a blank-slate viewer insert. It's a great development imo, I have no issue with the wish-fulfillment type anime existing but especially as a queer woman I love to see more character-driven stories with broader appeal beyond the heterosexual self-insert (male OR female!) I DO also think we're seeing fewer shoujo romance adaptations go mainstream these days. I'm not sure why that is either, or if it's even an accurate perception - maybe there's some hidden gems out there flying under my radar? But I would love to see more of both - good character writing can be enjoyed by anyone regardless of gender or orientation, and I'd love to see some modern Ourans or Fruits Baskets getting made. (Well, okay, they did literally make a modern Fruits Basket, but aside from remakes lol)

You, sir, have just earned yourself a subscriber. Fantastic work with this video, I’m so glad someone else sees this perspective 😊

One of my favourite rom-coms, alongside Kaguya-Sama, is Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku. This is at least in part because it addresses one of your concerns. The two leads, while childhood friends, are office workers. The series explicitly frames adult romances. As an observation, and possibly why so many of these things take place in high school, the adult chargers are somewhat less awkward - at least about getting together - so the series focuses far more on their ongoing romantic relationship.

as someone who likes shojo, personally, the gentrification of romance has pushed me out of anime. It feels like young girls are losing 'their' genres to boys, girls are being pushed out of spaces that used to be designed for them, and that makes me sad. It's the same with how the magical girl genre has been getting darker and darker - the occasional dark magical girl anime is GREAT but also a little girl deserves more space to watch girls be awesome and fight and be the powerful, strong ones who save the day without having to sacrifice their femininity or being reduced to a sex object. It just makes me _sad_ yk? and i'm all for young boys and men enjoying traditionally female orientated genres but I wish that that didn't come at the expense of them being FOR girls.

Komi is not autistic, she has selective mutism. I've had a student like that, it's an anxiety disorder that they usually grow out of. Komi has an extreme version given that she doesn't speak to absolutely anyone, and still has it in highschool.

You missed some really obvious stuff when watching My DUD. In the fireworks scene, you were so distracted by the romantic moment being cut off by a cute gag that you just missed that the romantic moment happened in the first place. It happened, then the plot moved on. They couldn't just stand there forever. And in the measuring scene, Marin didn't crack at some random moment, she did it because Gojo touched her somewhere he shouldn't have. Because he's so used to working with dolls! He was tired, so he started going through the motions, and he accidentally did something that you want to avoid with an actual human.

i really enjoyed watching/listening to your analysis on the differences in these animes! your insights are catagotized really well and made it super easy to connect all your points across all the different anime’s you’d showed. i hope you decide to make a video centered around animation/anime and its tropes again ❤

As a guy who avoided romcoms like the plague growing up, but in the last few years ended up watching at least a bit of every show you talked about here, you touched on so many things I agree with! This was a great retrospective on this content. Your editing was also clean and crisp! Keep it up!

I'd be fascinated to see you talk about romance web-manhwa. No one really talks about it critically, and I think that's a damn shame. Plenty of the stories share a lot of similarities (isekai/transmigration and marriages of convenience are hugely popular in the space right now), but that doesn't mean they're IDENTICAL, and I think it's a shame how many pass over the genre entirely with an air of 'that's just chit lit, for DUMB GIRLS'. And as a bonus, I find it's WAY easier to find manhwa focused on adults than it is to find manga with the same focus. There's still... trope Choices in many, but the greater prominence of adults is always appreciated, lmao.

Haruhi isn't "gender queer," she's a girl who's just comfortable with herself and presents a good point that your gender doesn't matter, who you are as a person is (because her mother was a strong person). Also, I watched it fansubbed as it was coming out and Haruhi has a pretty feminine voice in Japanese, it wasn't as deep as Funimation made it (and I'll never watch it dubbed, Vic isn't good as Tamaki, I don't hate him, thay's just my opinion).

Very refreshing and nuanced views I never expected to hear from an anime video essay. I lean toward your values on taste and the role of sex in media but I can feel how much effort went into you presenting your ideas in the most non-antagonistic way possible and I respect that and think you did it well

I'm personally a fan of MDD, but can totally respect your take on this. I will however make the point that there is a reason for Marin's "switch" from outgoing and oblivious to being shy. For her, what happens before that point does not cause feelings, it's just casual. But then something happens, either physical or emotional, that makes her feel excited. And that excitement is what makes her shy. In the first instance it's him bumping into her nethers that causes it. Later on it's the way he grabs on to her waist. In other moments it's just being confronted with her own affection. It's funny, cause I know this depiction of her might be more aimed at men, but I (a woman that uses her partner's youtube from time to time) really related to her. Either way, lovely video regardless. Really enjoyed hearing you gush over some of the other titles.

how did i not realize you’re the same guy who made “how games portray work”. your stuff is so good my dude!! and this topic is super interesting, i’m excited to see the rest of the essay c:

i love how you tease us with "the dangers in my heart"

I've become a fan. You're great at articulating your thoughts and you understand you have own biases which very few people on the internet fail to communicate.

I really liked the video for the analysis of a genre that i see a lot in anime. As a person who just accepts stuff in media and just recently started analyzing things, it was such an eye-opener to see it from your perspective. Being exposed to sexual things in media at a young age actually led to desensitization to these things. So i would like to thank you for your perspective and would actively try to search for mindless Fanservice.

Dangers in my heart is the one saving romance genre nowadays, it's so beautifully portrayed love story between two teenager.

your pacing is very good, i didnt even realized the video was so long!

It's kind of funny because I genuinely love dress up darling, as someone who's non-binary/bi I can see myself in both of the characters. Being the dorky guy who enjoys making dolls but also loves pretty women, and then the pretty woman who is secretly a nerd and doesn't want people to think that she's off-putting or unapproachable, I just really enjoy it

I spent a lot of time before this video came out belaboring what to call it, because I knew it would be an easy thing to get wrong, and it turns out I still did! The original title was "The Gentrification of Anime Romance," which I felt was a solid choice, because gentrification refers to an original group being pushed out by a changing economic landscape making it no longer feasible for their presence. The 2000s era shoujo romance is very rare nowadays, and instead we have more romances that cater to men, which take up oxygen that used to go to the shoujo romances. That seems like a gentrification to me. Issue is, gentrification is a negative term, which caused people to assume I think this is a bad thing, and I super don't. I love Kaguya-sama, I like Komi Can't Communicate, and I like The Dangers in My Heart, though I also make space for the more feminine romances like Skip and Loafer, and Sign of Affection. I love all of them (just not really the pandery ones). So yeah, the title needs to change to be more neutral towards this shift, as the video is meant to be received. Though I do knock Dress-Up's representation here, it's certainly not special in its problems, and there are a lot of shows that are FAR worse. 4/7 ain't a bad score. So hopefully this goes some way towards explaining the reasoning for the original title. Hope you understand my meaning. EDIT: I changed it back, lol. Hopefully this pinned comment is enough of an explanation. EDIT 2: Also hijacking my own comment to say: SOOO many people are leaving huge comments, and I think that's great. I can see that compared to the video game sphere, anime people are way more likely to discuss the topic, and that's great to see! LOADS of people disagree with my assessment, and leaving such detailed, thoughtful, and importantly not rude comments is a delight. Love reading them, even if they're full of perspectives that run counter to mine. I genuinely never met a single woman who liked Dress Up Darling before this, and the DD fans are REPRESENTING in the comments! Love to see it. The world's a big place.

Genuinely happy that you made this video these things have been on my mind for a long time

You showed these anime well. Now I think I'll spend my night doing just that

Thanks for the recommending ouran high. I needed this after watching ano hi mita and crying for 2 days.

I really liked this video. It felt like quite the sincere analysis on your view on the genre. The sincerity cut with comedy actually reminds me of a presentation on metamodernism at GDC and I do think regardless of whether its Rick and Morty or romantic comedy anime, both employ a form of ironic detachment from shifting between genres. It's a great point of comparison to draw. To share my own preferences, in terms of romantic comedy, on that has stood out to me in the past is Mousou Telepathy. It's a manga only, but it uses its format very well, particularly its use of color. The story centers around a girl with telepathic powers and a stoic guy, who is often unable to express himself. Like Komi, but genderswapped in a way, the guy is often fawned over for being stoic and good-looking, but since she can read his mind, she knows his more immature aspects too in a way others don't too. A more recent addition is You and I Are Polar Opposites. This one is again a quiet guy but with a girl that is very forward and outgoing. I have difficulty expressing why I like this one so much other than it just has very naturalistic dialogue. It also builds its cast very evenly, like a whole ensemble of friends. It's still an ongoing series.

Another video talking about the shoujo romance vs shounen romance, yay!!! I'm so glad this topic is getting more and more traction as it's so near to my heart. It's interesting hearing thoughts about this from a male perspective as I'm a woman myself. I've found myself struggling a lot with romance anime since like you said.... it's shifted to a male perspective. In itself that doesn't bother me at all as I'm a shounen girlie however, I feel like most shounen romance doesn't hit the same way. You put it exactly into words with the romance vs comedy balance and the romantic payoff. I used the be one of those people who watched ecchi for the plot and because I wanted a couple to form. Shounen romance often feels the same to me and lacks the sincerity I need as I'm also a hopeless romantic. For this reason I haven't tried any of the new romance anime of the past years, including all of those you mentioned here. This video convinced me on watching kaguya sama though! I know shounen romance has its own merits and right to exist, I just wish it didn’t mean it pushes shoujo romance away, as romance was pretty much the last thing shoujo had and now its fully vanished from the anime world (not manga, though). Gentrification words it perfectly.

I love romantic/sexual drama in anime. Season 2 of Girlfriend, Girlfriend is totally my jam, and Domestic Girlfriend (uncensored) is literally what I live for. I need a season 2 or I will die...

Great insight and interesting video! I agree with many aspects. I had written off Komi initially, but your explanation on its partially subversive takes might be a fun watch

Even though I have not watched the whole video yet I just have to say, your content is great superdude! I look forward to every upload and you never fail to disappoint!

Awesome video! Ever since I was a kid shojo romcoms were my bread and butter in the anime fandom and romance in general is still my favorite part of a show. I think you hit the nail on the head with the more masculine shows and their audiences feeling embarrassed to show heartfelt emotions too much. So many of the guys(and girls) Ive known through life who vehemently opposed to liking or watching romance anime seemed more like the shows embarrassed them rather than them thinking the show was bad or unentertaining. I can see how anime fans like this, over time dictated how many jokes are put in romance shows geared towards guys.

When you were like. "I want you to experience what I talk about for yourself" and I saw Outer Wilds gameplay I knew you were a great channel! Plus you have a pretty nuanced take on the fan servicey nature of a lot of anime. Can't wait to watch more!

I really liked this video, it was your own personal review and commentary, it showed a different prospective, the reason for it, and you weren’t condescending. You have a new subscriber!

I think you misinterpret the switching in Darling. I've always read the measuring scene as Gojo getting a little too close or even brushing her bits because he's tired and a moron not just a pointless switch up. Similar to the hotel scene. She's open to contact but still learning comfort in those scenarios. But I'm heavily bias by partner and I watched it as it came out and we started dating and we both loved it.

Great video! I'm a 29-year-old man who probably more consistently enjoys a good anime romance (Kaguya and Toradora are two of my favorite anime of all time), and what I will say about the part of the manga that hasn't been animated yet (the whole second half of the story) is that throughout all of it Kaguya remains the central character and focal point of the whole story even as other characters have their own well-developed arcs. One of my favorite things about the shows depiction of male-female relationships is Aka's use of male-female friendships. He jokes about the possibility of Kaguya x Ishigami, but never actually hints at that so the story is developing their friendship and Kaguya becoming more of a mentor to him. Ditto for Miyuki's relationships with Chika and Miko. They always stay as just friends so the story focuses on developing their important friendship relationships and becoming a support system as just that. There's also another friendship Miyuki develops with another female character (it's been hinted at in the anime but gets expanded later) that leads to some great moments of self-development for both characters. There's also a passage written by Aka in one of the later volumes addressed to people who might be disappointed that the story progressed in a more serious and less comedic direction. His response is to basically apologize and say that there are comedic moments coming up, but taking the story in an overall more serious/sentimental direction felt like the right direction for the story to go. Also if you dislike fanservice in anime there is a part involving a school trip a few volumes after the Christmas arc that basically takes an anime fanservice trope, doesn't give it to you (so you don't actually see anything), makes fun of/deconstructs the trope, throws it in the garbage and then moves on with the main plot. It's actually brilliant. Good stuff, man.

I’m a little surprised Toradora didn’t make it into this video. If you haven’t watched it I think you’d enjoy it. Part of the show is actually exploring the teenage emotional landscape around love. So it’s not just “oh let’s have a romcom, how old should we make our characters?”. There is a bit of titillation in a couple of episodes, but there’s reason for it beyond “hey look, boobs”. Just wanted to add, great video. I’m definitely going to check out your other content. Keep up the awesome work.

I disagree with the almost entire video.. I think we're greatly incompatible + you're too much into actual social fightings to enjoy sincerely something

The way you talk in this video essay is how I wish I sounded in my written essays 😊

Thanks for the video! I enjoyed the thoughtful analysis and perspective on romance anime :)

As a female reader and watcher, I'm really enjoying seeing rom coms from the male point of view. Variety is the spice of life right?

You know what's funny to me? That specific example you brought up for Dress-Up Darling's undercutting of the romance made me go "oh yeah i guess that happened???" I watched all of Dress-Up, but haven't yet watched Kaguya (I know, I know, listen i've kinda fallen off of watching anime and TV in general and only ever watch it with friends, and Dress-Up was more recent when I got together with them that time) and when you were describing the finale with the fireworks and how Kaguya just stared at Shirogane instead, I went "Ah wow I remember Dress Up did the exact same thing, it was such a beautiful and heartfelt moment I wonder what it is that Superdude feels is an 'unfair comparison'???", and then you described the Dress Up ending, and played the images and I felt the emotions coming back and how sweet and sincere it was - and then you showed how they cut the music to show Marin's blue tongue and I was fucking stunlocked. I genuinely didn't remember that. But when you showed it, it came back to me, but the emotion associated with that memory was *still* that same sincerity from the preceding moments. I think in my mind, that joke didn't undercut the romance, it... climaxed it. It felt like a genuine moment to me, just as sincere as all the preceding drama. It didn't even register in my mind as a separate thing, so much that I forgot it happened. Does that make any sense? As I think about it some more now, I think it's like a capstone on the moment. Usually with "traditional" romance, those moments linger for a while, and some kinda just leave you to stew in them. But the way Dress-Up pulled it off, to me, was like sealing that emotion in that moment. Not in a bad way, like repressing it or hiding it, but just giving it finality. Those anime-like moments of romance I've experienced irl felt similar. There was that sincerity, that vulnerability, that complete encompassing love, but a moment always ends, and they're more special for it. And usually they end in laughter - one of us makes a joke out of pocket, or a friend shows up and interrupts, and me and her laugh together and I look into her eyes while she laughs and just... Idk. It's beautiful. I think it works the same in Dress-Up, because that silly joke feels so genuine from Marin's character, as well as Gojo's reaction. Also, kind of unrelated, that thing you pointed out when they were measuring each other, and it turned out that Marin "swapped roles" with Gojo at the end for no particular reason - two notes. First, I'm pretty sure there was a reason, and I think it's pretty clear - Gojo's hand suddenly went very close to, *ahem* and extremely intimate area... You could argue that in that case she should've had the same reaction for any number of other spots she made him measure without a care, and I wouldn't necessarily disagree, but I also don't have difficulty believing that it took until that moment, with Gojo's shift in attitude coupled with the specific area, for her to "break", seemingly at random. It doesn't have to be some specific character/backstory related thing that makes her embarrassed about that in specific, she just randomly (or as I suggested, not so randomly) realized what situation she's in, and felt the weight of it hit her at once, making her "role swap" perfectly believable to me. Which brings me to my second note; Second, and again this relates to my own experience, it's quite realistic I think? As in, I remember when we were watching that scene, I literally shot a look at my gf, who was already wearing the "omg i'm getting called out..." face, and she just flipped me off lol. Which is to say, it seems very normal, realistic, and sincere to me, to have this girl suddenly realize the position she's in despite feeling completely shameless up until that point, seemingly at random. That moment of vulnerability and understanding between the two of them felt real to me. It was a fanservice joke when it was just Marin being so excited and casual that she made Gojo suffer in sexual frustration hell without realising it, until she too felt embarassed, and it turned into a tender moment of vulnerability between them. You can see it in the framing of the scene, it's all tiddies in your face, and bright colours and fanservice while she's being careless and Gojo is stressing out for laughs, but the moment she feels embarrassed too, the moment in which that mutual understanding forms, it becomes softer, it hides the intimate parts of her body, it has a different feel Lastly, you mention that to you, fanservice is fine when it's plot relevant, and i totally agree - i hate tasteless intrusive fanservice that undermines the story and characters, dropped some shows mid-scene because of it. But I feel like, in many cases (leaving a huuuuge asterisk there because anime is famously known for not handling certain things well, such as sexual assault, and i'm sure i could think of many other examples if i really thoguht about it..) fanservice in romance is kinda... inherently justified? I mean, there's a real danger of objectification when there's more fanservice than actual character development, but at the end of the day, sexual attraction is an inherent part of romantic attraction to most people (shoutout to our ace brethren who don't give a shit lol) and I usually don't find it particularly intrusive when a character is the object of fanservice in the context of a romance. Like, yeah, of course Gojo would fixate on that tiny little flicker of butt poking out of Marin's skirt when she's walking away, he's totally smitten and, as far as we know, not asexual. And of course the show would draw attention to her figure, and her smitten lovey-dovey internal dialogue, when it's trying to get the audience just as invested in her as Gojo is. And I don't mean to sound like one of those "BuT wHaT ABoUt FanSerViCE fOR GirLs?" people, because that usually gets brought up to deflect from that awful intrusive fanservice that I also hate, but... really, shows like Ouran and other traditional Shoujo female-prespective romance are absolutely FILLED with fanservice - it's just not obvious and sexual in nature like it is for male gaze fanservice because, as media audiences, there are fundamentally different things that appeal to men and women. I mean, honestly, coming from a bi dude who's watched a fair bit of shoujo, and whose gf and a good number of female friends are not shy about discussing their favourite romances... I might even venture to say shoujo has far more egregious fanservice than most shounen, it's just more subtle to men lmao. Hell, i recently saw a video on how a scene from JUJUTSU KAISEN when the dude in a suit and glasses is interrogating some evil guy (i dont watch jjk sorry) and pulls him off the ground by his hair and gets all up in his face was getting a lot of women going lol. This to say that, Komi and Dress-up's fanservice is nothing new to the "malefied" romances, just its form. Ultimately, I do agree with the overall point, that romance anime is seemingly getting male-gentrified so to speak, and that the shows that appeal to men are far heavier on the humour and fanservice and a little less on the sincere emotion, and as someone who also loves a good old straight up romance (Horimiya, my beloved) I share your feelings of "I like this new stuff too, but there's stuff the old ones did better". But i also think that a lot of that humour and fanservice can feel inherently sincere and emotional depending on individual taste and execution. Like, there's no doubt in my mind Marin was scientifically crafted to be the perfect anime waifu, and that Gojo is very much an audience surrogate, but to me that never detracted from the actual romance and even non-romantic emotional beats of the show. And Komi-san's MUUUUCH heavier reliance on humour, to me, just makes the emotional beats hit like an absolute truck. I mean, when i was reading the manga, that moment at the very end of the play (no spoilers but IYKYK) had me absolutely shaking. Hell, to go beyond the scope of romance, I feel like most "comedy" series end up feeling the most sincere out of all of them. I have never cried harder than at the end of the Assassination Classroom mange. Just typing that sentence made me tear up. I'm serious, i literally got tears in my eyes just saying "the ending of Assassination Classroom". Fuck. They're my babies, man, all of them. I hope they all turned out okay. Edit: ayo got a heart from superdude, thanks my man. Hijacking my own comment to capitalize on the last point about comedy in general having the best heartfelt moments, to tell everyone to go watch Space Dandy if you haven't already. It presents itself as low brow tiddies-in-your-face dumbass humour, but ive ended most episodes staring at my ceiling feeling some kind of emotion. Short series too. Go check it out.

Great video! Love the points you brought up. I feel like an anime like Rent-a-Girlfriend is also emblematic of the male-oriented male gazey romance anime. The characters just run in circles with little development, there's no emotional payoff, the romance never progresses, and there's random fanservice thrown in for the male audience.

very nuanced take on things, idk if I could speak this well and informative about this topic like you have! great video! ALSO SGT FROG AND PRINCESS JELLYFISH MENTION LETS GOOOOOO

Thank you for talking about this!!! I'm a highly s3ggsual woman and I love nsfw, but ecchi has has always bothered me, specially when talking about minors that look like minors, reason why I never watched Kaguya-sama but would after your review (also why I don't watch anime nowadays, I want to see more adults!! like on the 80's for ex. ). A good ex on how Ecchi is treated well from the perspective of a girl, it's the manga Tedama ni Toritai Kurokiya-san, wich is one of my fav recent manga. But I agree with the people that say that there's not good enough Anime for a femenine audience rn, there are such amazing gems on Manga and nothing gets picked up, which it's not by coincidence, I saw somewhere that A LOT of Manga gets sold as Shonen/Seinen because they are "pushing feminity out of the media", to say it blantly, even Precure it's being sold as anything but a Magical Girl genre 🥲 But to quote master Miyazaki: "Anime was a mistake"

Ouran is hilariously funny, I love it. Edit; Also, the fact that you call fan service a "me problem" rather then a technical one or some such, respect bro. I like it depending on the context. And yeah, I prefer the smexy to be linked to progressing the story, then a damn bath scene out of nowhere. On the reverse, I hate it being completely shunned too when it would make complete sense for it to exist in a given scene. But I don't like being told it's wrong for me to like it. And I can totally respect others not liking it at all, as long as them not liking doesn't cause them to attack me for liking it.

This was a great video, whether or not you've even some of the shows! One of my favorite things about Komi-san is that I find it places a lot of significance on friendship. Komi and Tadano are love interests, but first and foremost are friends! This is something I've always wished to see more of and strengthens my interest in the relationships between characters. Personally, I'm okay with the long wait, even happy with it (and yes, I've read the 400+ chapters of the manga). (Also Aro mention???!)

yaaay, very fun video. would like more. But thank you for sharing your thoughts any way. as I grew older I really got sick of the pure fanservice moments and often found myself just skipping those parts. Glad to hear Im not the only one who is confused and sometimes bothered by how much fanservice some (romance) anime can have.

I though this video was going to go through the historical way romance had evolve in anime, but no. The earliest work you can see here is Ouran High School Host Club a show that even the author of the video categorize it as a "parody" and "Reverse Harem", what do you think its satirizing? Most of the girls I know grew up with Inuyasha/Ranma 1/2 which are older than OHSHC and are shounen romances, would that mean for them anime hasn't change? Also, there is a really weird assumption of assigning everything "Sexual" to boys but that part is a more complicated subject.

A major point that enticed me to watch this episode, despite the fact that I would've watched it anyway, was seeing Host Club in the thumbnail. It was a really great watch and was one of the shows that first led me down the anime rabbit hole, so im glad to see it getting the love it deserves. Great video, and I hope to continue seeing more of such amazing quality!

I was intrigued with this in my feed, but as soon as 4:20 (HA) hit and you talked about the nuances of Rick and Morty Im now insanely invested in what you have to say. For years I had tried to talk with people about how genius I feel the writing of humanity and relationships work in that show and how more complex it is than on its surface level....and usually just get "hA Ha PiCkLe RiCk!!" Kinda responses. But yes, I feel the humor in the show is a big representation of how callous and jaded Rick had become and that for all the stuff he says, hes more emotional deep down than he lets on and the sum of the shows parts can be much more than its humor.

I really appreciate this i love romance anime and think its best when the perspectives are balanced.

You would probably enjoy a sign of affection coming out this season (winter 2024). Personally I really enjoy it as an autistic person, as it really puts a focus on intentional communication between the romantic pair. And a big plus the main cast is all college students rather than highschoolers.

I loved this video, it put the finger on so many things that I felt but didn't know how to express! Especially the recent developpement of the male gaze (using the term as a neutraliser descriptor here) in romance anime. Althrough as a woman I quite enjoyed DD (mostly because Marin is (mostly) in control of her fanservice, unlike other animes where it usually happens to the female character) I definitely felt how you did about other animes before! Fanservice is indeed a very complicated and nuanced topic I have a lot of thoughts about that are definitely not helped by me being on the ace spectrum... Seeing ecchi scenes in the majority of anime gets pretty tiring and like you, if it doesn't bring anything to the table, I get alienated and fed up pretty fast. Anyway, thank you for the video, I thought it was great insight and made me want to look at your other videos :)

The reason why so many characters in anime are worried about the appearance of things in social situations is because a lot of how their society is structured differently from ours. Things we might do as westerners or in the US at least that are normal might not land the same over there, even if they could be understood within that culture. So it makes sense so many anime focus on that aspect of things. As for the end of My Dress Up Darling with the tongue out thing, I read that less as a joke and more as Marin distancing herself or breaking the tension. For some reason she doesn't realize why he is looking at her, she doesn't really get what's going on between the two of them or how to get things to where she wants them to be and the moment doesn't come off as funny, it comes off as her reaction to being looked at almost like she is guarded, maybe in a way she doesn't even understand. When Shounen anime got really big after the explosion that was DBZ and companies here learned that they could get boys into all of these shows and make a killing, it feels like in some ways it almost killed female centric anime in a way and it is kind of sad because you don't really get it anymore like you used to and it feels kind of like a problem that arose from westerners getting into anime an companies here refusing to do anything girl centric.

Thanks for this analysis, I feel alienated as a woman who likes anime sometimes. So much of the community and culture revolves around the normalization of fan service, particularly of minors, and it’s really uncomfortable. I also hate when people who haven’t seen anime think it’s all sexual - there is so much good anime out there. Sexy is fun when it’s consenting adults anyways! I truly believe there’s an anime for everyone, it just sucks when you feel alone in the community. (Before someone tells me “they’re not real!” you’re not a criminal or anything for liking it. But you’re still a creep. With the variety of porn that exists, why do you want to get off to high school girls in particular?)

If you want to talk about romcoms, start with these: "Class President is a Maid!" "His and Hers Circumstances" "Golden Time" I'm surprised he didn't mention these classics!

First! I think longer comments help out videos right? Uh I havent watched it yet but I'm glad youtube pushed this video to my feed :D

finally found a fellow high class brother that loves shojo manga and anime...I am such a hopeless romantic but ive never found a person who related to me..especially being a guy, so finding this video was both extremely comforting and exciting for me, awesome analysis as well!!!

Your Rick and morty rom com comparison is brilliant it explains why I like Rick and morty despite my dislike of the adult shock content I love seeing characters deal with sincerity

wotakoi is a phenomenal series I will highly recommend.

I love this video, I can understand the points you've brought up well. I would love for you to make a video on Frieren, or talk about any topic that counts Frieren as one of the prime examples.

One step from eden is so good, and this video is a banger :D

This is a really good video! Your critical view of anime is something sorely absent in many other places. Your use of "sincerity" as a key word cuts directly to the heart of the rom-com. Without moments of lightness, moments of emotional weight aren't as appetizing because they inherently ask of us a particular state of mind. It's the same reason most people appreciate salad before a steak, but make them eat the salad on its own, and they'll cringe at it. (Though in this case, the preference is swapped-people want a heavy steak over a light salad, as opposed to light jokes over heavy heart-to-hearts.)

An unexpected, yet greatly appreciated video from you. I absolutely understand the problem you have with My Dress-Up Darling especially, but everything you pointed out that causes you discomfort feels totally in place for these characters at these points in their lives. Not that the situations and how they're handled aren't a matter for conversation, just that it doesn't feel weird specifically because that's exactly what being a teenager is like. You perform your adulthood and sexuality based on what you think you wanna be until the situation actually arises and you realize you're not ready for that yet. Whilst also being totally swept up in the moment and going past a boundary you would have previously expected you had and it doesn't click until you've blown right past it and are about to cross another line. Excellent analysis despite our different opinions and for sure looking forward to more from you on whatever you feel the drive to talk about.

This really resonates with me, Love is War was one of the first non-typical shonen animes I watched and man it's so good. I love the way it can shift the perspective between the different characters so you come to really understand each of their histories and how they think. I think that a story which only emphasises a single side of the relationship would be a lot more difficult to get me interested in both of the romantic pair but maybe I ought to give shows like Ouran a go. I love the way you talk about comedy acting almost as a palette cleanser to more emotionally charged and authentic moments. Love is War really hits the perfect balance for me. Still sucks that so much anime relies on the ecchi fanservice. Fantastic video!