Troperville
Editing Help
Tools
Toys
|
alt title(s): Junjo Romantica
3 couples for a classic Yaoi series. Junjou Romantica is a Boys Love manga by Shungiku Nakamura. It follows the interrelated stories of three different couples as they navigate the ups and downs of romantic relationships. The series has an anime adaptation, the first season of which ran for twelve episodes, and a second season running another 12 episodes. There has been talk of a third season, but the last episode of the second season seems quite final.
The most prominent pair are university student Takahashi Misaki and Usami "Usagi-san" Akihiko, an eccentric, award-winning author. The two get off to a rocky start: Misaki has been raised by his older brother Takahiro ever since the two lost their parents years ago. Takahiro is oblivious to his good friend Usagi's unrequited love for him, but Usagi's feelings are obvious to Misaki. Misaki dislikes Usagi at first, but comes to sympathize with him and the two grow closer. When Takahiro and his new wife move away, Misaki moves in with Usagi to remain close to his college of choice. Despite often being at odds with each other, they fall in love.
Temperamental Kamijou Hiroki is a childhood friend of Usami Akihiko (yes, that kind of friend). Hiroki is heart-broken over his own unrequited love when Kusama Nowaki unexpectedly enters his life. Nowaki is an orphan who started working straight out of junior high. Aiming for college, Nowaki asks Hiroki to be his tutor and won't take no for an answer. This being a BL series, the situation leads up to a love confession from Nowaki. Hiroki is initially reluctant, but Nowaki's kindness and persistence win him over. Their story picks up again six years later, a year after Nowaki suddenly left to study medicine abroad. When he returns just as suddenly, Hiroki is forced to think about what Nowaki means to him and the two must reevaluate their relationship.
Miyagi You is a college professor and a colleague of Hiroki's. First seen playfully teasing the easily-ruffled Hiroki, Miyagi shows a more serious side of his character as we learn that he has never quite let go of a tragedy from his past. Now Miyagi has an unlikely suitor: Takatsuki Shinobu, a high school student and his ex-wife's younger brother. Miyagi continually rejects him, but Shinobu stubbornly refuses to give up his pursuit. Miyagi begins to realize that he needs to move on and that Shinobu's affection may not be so unwanted after all.
This series provides examples of:
- Aw Look They Really Do Love Each Other: For all that Misaki brushes off, derides, and criticizes Usagi's professions of love (and ownership), he sure is quick on the draw when his senpai seizes the chance to make a move on Usagi.
- Similarly, Hiroki may be embarrassed by the slightest display of affection from Nowaki, but the second he thinks Nowaki might be feeling hurt or, worse, drifting away from him, out come the dramatic confessions.
- Bedsheet Ladder: Misaki uses one in the second season after Haruhiko locks him in a room. It breaks.
- Better On DVD: No more black shadows!
- Big Fancy House: The Usami family's home.
- Big Lipped Alligator Moment: Miyagi, straight up until that point, suddenly grabbing a heartbroken Hiroki and kissing him. Never showed any interest in him before, and it's never mentioned again afterwards.
- Blue Bishonen Ghetto: Aikawa is the only recurring female character (it is a BL series, after all).
- Can Not Spit It Out: Misaki can't seem to get up the nerve to say "I love you" to Usagi, even when he, uh, really really tries.
- However, Misaki does manage to say "I love you" in volume 8. Not that he ever says it again.
- Coitus Uninterruptus: Even when Isaka and Aikawa barge into the bedroom to drag Akihiko to his commemoration party, Akihiko refuses to let Misaki get away. Isaka even says he'll give them ten minutes — and then continues to sit on the bedside.
- Fertile Feet: In the first opening theme song, flowers spring up under the feet of Misaki and Usagi as they walk.
- Gratuitous English: When Shinobu's friend from Australia comes to visit, Shinobu delivers the infamous "YEH! I WAH RORRING ON ZA FROOR RAFFING!" line. It only gets worse when Miyagi joins in with "he'r be wiz me fo'a whire".
- Note that Shinobu is supposed to be quite skilled in English.
- Hey Its That Voice: Nearly all of the actors are well-known seiyuu, especially if you've watched other BL anime.
- Holding Hands: In episode nine, Akihiko holds Hiroki's hand as he walks him home, because they only have one pair of gloves between them.
- It's also as close as Hiroki gets to expressing affection for Nowaki in public during their early dates.
- Usagi and Misaki on their trip to Hokkaido. Misaki is embarassed, but Usagi notes that it's not like anyone they know is watching.
- Idiosyncratic Ship Naming
- All named by the original author no less.
- If Its You Its Okay: Shinobu seems to be the only guy Miyagi's ever been interested in.
- I Have This Friend: Miyagi and Hiroki occasionally try to talk to each other about their relationship problems using this and "hypothetically speaking..."
- Indirect Kiss: "How's that for erotic?!"
- Insufferable Genius: Shinobu.
- Lethal Chef: Both Usagi ("I tried boiling an egg in the microwave and it exploded") and Shinobu ("Oil, meat, veggies! Oil, meat, veggies!"), probably because of growing up in rich families.
- Lonely Rich Kid: As seen in a flashback, Usami Akihiko used to be one of these until Hiro befriended him.
- Love At First Sight: Nowaki fell in love with Hiroki at first sight.
- Magic Floppy Disk: What Usagi saves his writing on.
- Manly Tears: Shinobu has the propensity to cry when Miyagi says something that proves that, contrary to what he thinks, their relationship is not at a dead end. Miyagi usually then comments on Shinobu's "manly way of crying."
- May December Romance: If Usagi and Misaki don't qualify for this with their ten year age gap, Miyagi (in his thirties) and Shinobu (eighteen) surely do.
- Not What It Looks Like: Miyagi, being the type of person to playfully glomp Hiroki just to annoy him, gets into a few misunderstandings when Shinobu walks in on them once or twice, even though Miyagi's just joking around - well, except maybe that scene in the Egoist arc. No one knows what that's about.
- Turns up again when Hiroki comes home to discover Nowaki asleep and half-naked with another man on the floor. Nowaki, of course, has an explanation, but Hiroki doesn't hear it until the end of the episode/chapter.
- That one's arguably a subversion, as Nowaki says several times, very emphatically, that nothing was going on and it wasn't what it looked like — but Hiroki never really thought it was, because he knows Nowaki doesn't lie to him. He does think something is going on, but he doesn't suspect Nowaki of cheating on him.
- Perpetual Frowner: Shinobu. Even in the opening theme.
- Please Dont Leave Me: Hiroki to Nowaki. A non-verbal approach.
- O Ring Orifice
- Notably averted, after spending the night with Miyagi Shinobu can't sit, and has to travel face down on the backseat.
- Official Couple: The series focuses on three different official couples.
- One Head Taller
- The Power Of Love
- Throw The Book At Them: Hiroki.
- Race For Your Love: Miyagi rushes to the airport when he hears that Shinobu is going back to Australia.
- Rape Is Love: After Usagi molests Misaki for the first time, Misaki somehow gets over it very quickly.
- Unusually, this is actually addressed later, with Usagi feeling guilty and wondering if Misaki really loves him.
- Second Love: Usagi was in love with Misaki's brother first, Hiroki was in love with Usagi before he met Nowaki, and Miyagi was in love with his teacher before she died.
- Secret Test Of Character: Haruhiko makes a move on Misaki at Usagi's publisher's office but it was set up by Isaka to test if Misaki can stand up to himself.
- Sick Episode: In a short Egoist chapter, Nowaki is ill and Hiroki runs down the list of nursing cliches while worriedly taking care of him. Of course, in the end it's revealed that Nowaki wasn't sick at all, just tired.
- Unlucky Childhood Friend: As a flashback shows, Hiroki was in love with Usagi for a long, long time. It didn't work out.
- Theme Naming: The Usami family: Akihiko, Haruhiko, and their father Fuyuhiko ("aki," "haru," and "fuyu" being the Japanese words for "autumn," "spring," and "winter" respectively).
- Toy Ship: Junjo Minimum.
- Tsundere: Hiroki.
- Whole Episode Flashback
- Write Who You Know: An in-story example, where one of the characters uses the names of people he knows for his stories. Misaki is quite annoyed when he finds he's been written into Usagi's BL novels...
- Yaoi Fangirl: Aikawa, Usagi's editor. Her input greatly influences the content of the BL novels Usagi pens on the side.
|
|
