Junjou Romantica

Title:Junjou Romantica
Junjō Romantica
純情ロマンチカ (Japanese)
Overall:Rent
Keywords: , , , , , ,
Notables: Animation - Studio DEEN
CANNA Nobutoshi
HANADA Hikaru
INOUE Kazuhiko
KISHIO Daisuke
R1 License - Kodokawa USA
SAKURAI Takahiro
Misaki is suddenly having some unexpected and odd problems. What started as a need for some college entrance exam tutoring has somehow led him to being romanced by a suave older man who also happens to be his big brother’s best friend. Confused by all of his brand new emotions, Misaki struggles to deal with his suddenly very odd life. And if that wasn’t enough, his suitor, Usami, has plenty of issues of his own. A man-child who decorates his room in giant teddy bears and toys, Usami is a famous novelist who also writes steamy boys’ love novels on the side. When Misaki cracks open one of these books and reads sentences like “Misaki licks every inch of Usami’s hot body”…well, let’s just say that all hell breaks loose.
(Synopsis courtesy of ANN)

A Spring 2008 series.

12 episodes

See also the sequel: Junjou Romantica 2.
Another OVA episode, Junjou Romantica (2012), is to be released December 20, 2012.
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Rent 8 8 8 5 KimBah [series:1823#3100]
To start off this is my first time seeing a BL series and the first impression this gives me is.......GAY! I don´t feel really comfortable with man on man action but they have made it with a real glimpse in the eye kind of thing. The comedy is good love the expressions of Misaki when he´s troubled ^^ Have only watched the two first episodes, I almost turned it off because of the yaoi parts but this series is kinda gripping. Seems like a decent story, will be back when I´ve completed the series. Bye bye! :D

Last updated Tuesday, March 24 2009. Created Tuesday, March 24 2009.
Buy 9 8 9 7 10 10 Anonymous #3026 [series:1823#3026]
well, what can i say!

it's a love story! if you are into deep of having your heart filled with emotions of love, jealousy, confusion (well just a little bit) then this is the anime for you.

it's very romantic.. and yeah it's obvious about the title of the anime hehe. i've watched 7 episodes so and i haven't been bored.. you think you'd be bored but it quickly changes. never a dull moment in this anime, full of emotions.

I recommend it to anyone! especially those who love BL. (boys love) well, this is not really Yaoi but more of a shounen-ai.

Last updated Monday, January 12 2009. Created Monday, January 12 2009.
Rent Stretch [series:1823#628]
(All episodes watched):

When I saw the title of this mysterious new series available for download, I assumed that anything with the word "Romantica" in the title would almost certainly be another (male-female) romantic drama/comedy, which might be fun. Then, when in the very first scene Misaki walks into his apartment, and finds Usami and his brother passionately embracing, I was startled, to say the least. I was tempted to watch something else, since I don't swing that way, but the tone of silliness which I detected made me wonder if this might be a fun show after all. Usami seems fairly aggressive, which creeps me out a little. He is a famous and wealthy author, so he's a bit stuck-up. Misaki goes from "I don't like men!" to having strange feelings for Usami all in one episode, which seems to be rushing things to me. If the two took their time and became good friends then... went beyond that, I wouldn't mind. Still, this seemed an entertaining show which might be well worth watching.

As I watched episode two I quickly got the impression that yes, I had been lucky to stumble upon this show. The dialogue is clever with lots of memorable lines. The story seems to move at a good pace which holds my interest well. One problem is that character designs are hard to tell apart; everyone has similar faces and realistic hair colors. Another is the inexplicable attraction (love at first sight?) which the characters sometimes feel for each other. Even if these were heterosexual relationships, I think I'd have a hard time understanding them, and the fact that they're not makes it all the more mystifying. Towards the end things got somewhat explicit and I had some second thoughts about whether it was wise to watch this show, but in the end I was confident that the answer was yes.

It's clear that Junjou Romantica is based on an incomplete manga. Before long a second parallel plot is introduced, involving two men named Hiro and (I forget). But it becomes clear that members of each subplot have met members of the other in the past, and surely the two casts will come together at the end. For example, episode nine makes it clear that Hiro and Usami were friends (sort of) as children. Then, at episode ten, no less, a third plot is begun, this one involving a seemingly straight middle aged man and his younger brother-in-law who confesses to him (somehow this reminds me of the old TV show "Love American Style"). None of the three subplots are complete at the end of episode twelve, but there is a hint that Misaki's "trials will be continued" at the very end.

The dialogue is well written and interesting, and nothing particularly implausible happened. Junjou Romantica was one of the most reliably humorous shows of the Spring '08 season. The show held my interest well, and I'm glad I stumbled across it. At the very end I could only sigh with a smile on my face and mutter "Oh, Man"...

My favorite line: "I'm not trying to flatter myself, not at all, but if I asked Usagi-san 'what do you want?', I have a feeling there's a 99% probability he'd say..." --Misaki

Last updated Tuesday, July 15 2008. Created Tuesday, April 29 2008.

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