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The Rom and/or Com challenge is on


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I love romantic comedy. Or plain romance. Or plain comedy. Or action mecha demon magic intrigue political historical futuristic ecchi anything that has either romance or comedy in it. However it must have a happy ending. But I'm in a bind. I want to watch more old stuff but I've watched too much anime, and all that's left does a bad job at combining any of the above. I'm not much of a fan of really dark themes. So I'm looking for recommendations that will meet the above criteria that are good and above - by that I mean would rate a minimum of 7/10. I'm even open to the idea of restarting something I've dropped if it ended up being better than I originally anticipated. I'm not a fan of anime older than about 2000 unless they're exceptional.

My watched list is unfortunately incomplete but the size of it should give you an idea of what I have watched. Notably, a lot of dropped shows never made it on the list. So here it is:

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/MyAnime/?user=Ittaku&categ=3

Thanks in advance. よろしくお願いします

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42 minutes ago, Novel21 said:

I have few recommend anime for you to watch:D

1. Yoake Mae Yori Ruri Iro Na -Crescent Love-

2. Fruits Basket

3. Ouran High School host Club

4. Love Hina

5. Shuffle

Thanks, some are on my list already. Love Hina was the first romcom I ever watched and have seen it dozens of times so not new :P Fruits basket I got bored of I'm afraid, it was too old school and slow and I stalled on it. Maybe I should resume it.

Isn't Ouran a pretty boy series and not romance? I'm not sure. I'll investigate the rest thanks!

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31 minutes ago, ittaku said:

Thanks, some are on my list already. Love Hina was the first romcom I ever watched and have seen it dozens of times so not new :P Fruits basket I got bored of I'm afraid, it was too old school and slow and I stalled on it. Maybe I should resume it.

Isn't Ouran a pretty boy series and not romance? I'm not sure. I'll investigate the rest thanks!

Ouran is hilarious; the comedy, not the romance, is the draw. You should totally watch it. It has a fair bit of romance, actually, although nothing that's going to get settled in the space of the anime (it's a reverse harem to the hilt), but the point of it is the situational comedy, which is absolutely top-notch.

Shuffle!, on the other hand, made me want to go find the guy who made it and check whether he was human or in fact a robot, given that he clearly didn't understand human emotion.

I would try to offer recommendations, but I can't seem to get your ANN profile link to work... it seems like I can get other ANN profiles with similar links to work if they have their ANN handle where you have that "#844923" in your link, though.

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54 minutes ago, Fred the Barber said:

Ouran is hilarious; the comedy, not the romance, is the draw. You should totally watch it. It has a fair bit of romance, actually, although nothing that's going to get settled in the space of the anime (it's a reverse harem to the hilt), but the point of it is the situational comedy, which is absolutely top-notch.

Shuffle!, on the other hand, made me want to go find the guy who made it and check whether he was human or in fact a robot, given that he clearly didn't understand human emotion.

I would try to offer recommendations, but I can't seem to get your ANN profile link to work... it seems like I can get other ANN profiles with similar links to work if they have their ANN handle where you have that "#844923" in your link, though.

I've updated the link in the top post with an actual username and it should work now. Thanks, I'll put shuffle low on the priority list then.

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Ok, after checking the list, here's a few:

  • Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun (comedy)
  • Kimi ni Todoke (romance)
  • Princess Jellyfish (comedy + romance)

Nozaki is quite possibly the funniest thing ever. I was roaring with laughter the whole time I was watching it. The romance in it isn't going anywhere, but that's not the point. If you haven't seen it, you should put it right at the top of the comedy backlog.

Kimi ni Todoke has pacing issues and is often frustrating, but it's also very heartwarming, and it has a lovely, complete ending. It's a very sweet show.

The romance in Princess Jellyfish doesn't reach much of a conclusion, but it's a short one, and the execution and premise are excellent. Very funny, and also very sweet.

Just extrapolating from all the suggestions I'm making, although they certainly say more about me than about you, but it looks like you may have a tendency to avoid shoujo and josei adaptations? Those often end up being among my favorite shows, especially in the romance department. There's usually fewer cute girls around, which I won't deny is a downside to me, but the characters tend to be deeper and the romance usually feels less forced.

Tentative recommendation (another josei manga adaptation):

  • Chihayafuru

It's one of my all-time favorites, but although it does have romance elements, they aren't the focus, and comedy doesn't enter the picture at all. So, it's hard to claim it really meets the criteria... But it's fantastic!

I also notice you haven't seen Honey and Clover (running theme: josei manga adaptation). It wasn't my cup of tea, but it might be yours. It's got more real romance than pretty much anything else I recall ever seeing, and it's great at always keeping you guessing about the direction of the plot. The final resolution is also very complete.

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I'll take you on! This doesn't mean that all I'm going to recommend are great titles. I'll be recommending anything from masterpieces to decent stuff. After all, all that bollocks is subjective anyway.
*ahem* Let us start with...

Itazura na Kiss - Comedy and Romance, this has them both. I've never seen a romance that goes so far with its plot, and I must therefore recommend it. It's flaws? A cold as ice male romantic interest who will constantly suffer from what I can only call some sort of bipolar disorder, his tsundere levels are off the charts, and not in a good way. The female is the sweetest thing ever, though. Expect the supporting cast to change with the times, which is great. Compare to Nodame Cantabile.
 

Reiterating Fred's Kimi ni Todoke. If you can somehow last through the first season (not that hard, diabetes inducing in many ways besides the romance), it'll only get better.
 

D.C.: Da Capo - Very tentative recommendation, because I dropped it. Not because it was bad, but because I watched it at a bad time. It felt very fun, very classic. I enjoyed it greatly, but I have no idea how it ends. It's also a VN adaptation so...

 

Kimikiss: Pure Rouge - Can't exactly recommend it in good conscience because I ragequit when my preferred love interest lost, meaning I don't know how it ends, but I got a pretty good sense of where it was going, so I wouldn't worry too much on that front. I would compare this to Amagami SS, so if you liked that, you'll like this - with one key difference. As I implied earlier, Kimikiss follows one continuous storyline. Only one female will triumph and the rest will be left to eat dust and tears.


Kaichou Wa Maid-sama! - Will give you the typical "confession during the final episode" sort of thing. Also, spoiler alert. For the most part, it's a comedy with an average plot and whatnot. Want something decent to pass the time? This will do. Romantic comedy at its most stereotypical. Although the premise is somewhat unique.
 

Special A - See Kaichou wa Maid-sama!
 

Emma: A Victorian Romance - Literally just found out this existed. Will recommend in virtue of the great manga and decent MyAnimeList score, but be aware it's a wildcard.
 

Fortune Arterial - I've been told many a time I have terrible taste. That I absolutely adored this terrible VN adaptation is evidence of that. If you have any intention of playing the VN (like I did, and liked the partial patch), steer clear of this one. Otherwise, I really liked it, for some reason. Love interest is clearly defined in the end. I liked the conclusion.

 

Comedy Department

Working!! - Give it a try. See if you like the comedy. If you do, keep at it. You may even get romance as a bonus.
 

You liked Azumanga Daioh? Then- oh, wait. It says 'decent'... Doesn't matter! Give Lucky☆Star a try anyway! Watch a couple of episodes. If you don't like it that's that.
 

Keroro Gunsou - I never watch long running series. I watched this one. Sgt. Frog is hilarious. If you don't want a big commitment, just try the English dub, since it only covers about 40-something episodes. It's like an abridged version of the first season, but equally good if not better. Do you prefer English or Japanese pop culture references? Like any comedy anime, I'd recommend you try it first and make a judgement later. There's really no review that could possibly make a comedy anime justice.

 

If I dig deeper, I can probably come up with more stuff. Still, I'm sorry I don't have any hidden romance masterpieces you've somehow never heard of before (except Itazura na Kiss). I was expecting to pull something out of my hat... I didn't.

 

@Fred the Barber

2 hours ago, Fred the Barber said:

Tentative recommendation (another josei manga adaptation):

  • Chihayafuru

It's one of my all-time favorites, but although it does have romance elements, they aren't the focus, and comedy doesn't enter the picture at all. So, it's hard to claim it really meets the criteria... But it's fantastic!

Would you recommend it to me? It's been on my list for a while, and I've been slowly expanding to 'good anime' beyond pointless comedy and romance.

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3 hours ago, Tiagofvarela said:

Would you recommend it to me? It's been on my list for a while, and I've been slowly expanding to 'good anime' beyond pointless comedy and romance.

I absolutely would recommend Chihayafuru to you.

3 hours ago, Tiagofvarela said:

Working!! - Give it a try. See if you like the comedy. If you do, keep at it. You may even get romance as a bonus.

I would've recommended this as well, but it's actually already on his watched list (as Wagnaria!!). This is one of those shows where I don't know why they localized a really fairly reasonable wasei eigo title that could have gone more or less as-is into an incomprehensible proper name.

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Thank you all very much for your recommendations. There are some there that I hadn't considered and that's a great thing. There are some that I've read reviews that say the romance is never resolved; unfortunately the one thing I can't stand is a romance that never evolves but should. If no one ever confesses or proposes or whatever after 24000 episodes, I want to rip my eyeballs out. I've already bad things about some of those but I should know better than to trust one review.

Regarding your specific recommendations:

Nozaki kun - I watched one episode and read that the romance never resolves and put it down ages ago

Kimi ni todoke - have put this on and off the backburner numerous times due to reviews and possible story issues

Princess Jellyfish - have considered this in the past, will look into

Chihayafuru - will investigate

Honey and Clover - on my dropped will never finish list. Hated it

Itazura - not a fan of nasty protagonists so have avoided but will investigate. Cold is okay, nasty is not

Da Capo - will investigate

Kimikiss - will investigate

Kaichou wa maid sama - will watch

Special A - will watch

Emma - will investigate

Fortune Aerial - will investigate

Working!! - my reference comedy romance show ever, have watched 5 times with my wife already. Went looking for what else the same mangaka has done and she wrote servant x service which is pretty good but incomplete and is writing my monster girl which may get animated, so w00t to more from her.

Lucky Star - hrm

Keroro Gunsou - will try watching. I never watch dubs, ever

Ookami Shoujo to Kuro Ouji - hate nasty protagonists so was put off this one numerous times in the past

 

Thanks again! Given my updated information if you find you want to retract any of these recommendations, please do. Especially the part about a show that's primarily a romance that never actually succeeds.

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Finished Yoake Mae Yori Ruri Iro Na -Crescent Love-. It was predictable, silly, unrealistic and unchallenging with a ridiculous conclusion leading to a super happy romantic ending. Which is just what the doctor ordered. Enjoyed it, 7/10

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I can watch almost anything provided it's romcom, but wow shuffle is bad.

EDIT: After 10 episodes I finally gave up and started fast forwarding through the rest of the season. Now I'm annoyed that I didn't watch the rest since it actually resolved the harem which was the one thing I was most afraid of.

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7 hours ago, ittaku said:

I can watch almost anything provided it's romcom, but wow shuffle is bad.

EDIT: After 10 episodes I finally gave up and started fast forwarding through the rest of the season. Now I'm annoyed that I didn't watch the rest since it actually resolved the harem which was the one thing I was most afraid of.

It resolves the harem, and even pairs up protag with best girl, but it does it in such an unforgivably unrealistically melodramatic way that I wanted to find the guy who made it and punch him in the face in part just to see if he actually is a robot rather than a human.

So, yes, at least the harem gets resolved, but the baggage that comes along for the ride made it really not worth it, for me.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Ooh, nice. A lot of good suggestions in this thread. If you don't mind adding a couple more, I'll throw some recommendations in as well.

Gosick - As far as the romance goes, I think Kazuya and Victorique make for an awful cute and well-developed pairing. Not much to love from the MC initially, but he grows on you over time. The mysteries are surprisingly interesting, and showcase a degree of intelligence to the characters (on top of the already good characterization).

Welcome to the NHK - Most of the value to this anime is the comedy and psychological aspects. The romance is there, and it can be very pleasant too. Misaki is one of those girls that just melts you heart away, while at the same time makes you nervous a little. Both her and Satou are very peculiar characters, but they have great chemistry.

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2 hours ago, Kenshin_sama said:

Ooh, nice. A lot of good suggestions in this thread. If you don't mind adding a couple more, I'll throw some recommendations in as well.

Gosick - As far as the romance goes, I think Kazuya and Victorique make for an awful cute and well-developed pairing. Not much to love from the MC initially, but he grows on you over time. The mysteries are surprisingly interesting, and showcase a degree of intelligence to the characters (on top of the already good characterization).

Welcome to the NHK - Most of the value to this anime is the comedy and psychological aspects. The romance is there, and it can be very pleasant too. Misaki is one of those girls that just melts you heart away, while at the same time makes you nervous a little. Both her and Satou are very peculiar characters, but they have great chemistry.

Thanks for those. Gosick is on my "seen some" list and I do like it. Animelab only had a low resolution version of it for some reason and I pinged them about it. They promised to provide a higher resolution version but it hasn't happened yet.

I've seen welcome to the nhk recommended before, but not as a romance. Will look into it, thanks.

So I've started watching kaichou maid and it's quite enjoyable so far so I'll finish this next.

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19 minutes ago, Fred the Barber said:

Welcome to the NHK has its ups and downs from a romance perspective, but in the end I think it does very well with it. The ending, especially, is quite satisfying. I appreciate it more as a dark comedy, though, and the target of the humour hits a little close to home at times.

Thanks for that. I'll keep it on the backburner once I get through the rest of these then and tread cautiously. I'm not a fan of things being too dark.

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Finished Kaichou Maid. It was okay and it ended very well so I moved it to my satisfying endings list. It looked rather old school considering it wasn't that old. I never found it particularly funny but the characters were a little bit intriguing, though frustrating at times; but that's normal for romances. It went on a bit too long and had too many diversions for my liking but despite all the complaints I didn't mind watching it, 6/10.

I'm off travelling soon so I won't be picking up any of these shows again for another few weeks, but then I'm mostly talking to myself here anyway. I just feel obliged to respond with comments about shows others have recommended.

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Chihayafuru was very good but it wasn't strong in either the rom or the com side - the rom side appears to be waiting for further seasons to really come to the fore. Nonetheless I enjoyed the two seasons of it that exist to date, thanks. 8/10

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