JUNJO ROMANTICA ANIME REVIEW

Creator: Shungiku Nakamura Release: Kadokawa (Japan) Producers: ANIK, A.C.G.T. Studio: Studio DEEN Director: Chiaki Kon ~~ Type: TV series Duration: 2 seasons, 12 episodes each Rating: R Genre: Comedy, Romance, Drama, Yaoi/Shounen-ai ~~ SCORE: A The anime adaption of Junjo Romantica became a big hit and justifiably so, because they really put a lot of effort into the production. But in the end it all paid off and even turned out to be better and more popular than the original manga. Let's elaborate all aspects of this anime starting with the visual impression. Compared to many other series and OVAs it can show off with its great character design, which is very important if not primary in the world of boys love. The art style in general is very clean/definite and not too aggressive or extreme, meaning that they mainly used soft colors and the proportions are acceptable. And another thing that I noticed is, that they occasionally change their clothes which is a rare occurrence when it comes to anime (usually a character sticks to itsunique outfit during a whole season or longer). All featuring backgrounds and items are very detailed. And they always seem to make the atmosphere more intense, without distracting the viewer from the main happening. As for the story, or rather stories... I like to look at them individually, even though they are connected in some ways. The mangaka gave different names for these three story lines for a reason: Junjo Romantica, Egoist and Terrorist. Junjo Romantica is pretty much cliche and well known as a shounen-ai plot. A student (Misaki) with bad grades getting tutored by a famous guy (Usami), witha bit struggling, hesitance and romance mixed in... there's nothing too exciting about that and everyone knows the eventual outcome. At least that's what many people would think of it. But it is the way it's all settled up. This couple moves a lot more dynamic and aggressive than one would anticipate and it is not as predictable as it seems on first glance (due to a few surprising plot twists, not the final outcome). Then we have Junjo Egoist where we get to know a rather chaotic couple that suffers many ups and downs, some more unnerving than others. Basically it starts off with a rejected and broken Hiroki and Nowaki who wants nothing more than to give him all the love he never experienced. This story contains a lot more suspense and is rather emotional, which makes it a bit less foreseeable. Junjo Terrorist holds our third and last couple (which is my personal favorite). Our two main characters appear to be very stubborn and relatively cold towards each other (apart from one or two attempts of convincement), or at least it felt that way, because even though Shinobu confesses his love to the much older literature professor, You Miyagi, it was nothing like the sparking emotions between the other two couples even though their first meeting is supposedly fateful. Despite the few similar streaks or outward resemblances all six characters have very different personalities and background stories which you come to know better with each episode. But it's funny how all three ukes seem to pout and panic a lot as opposite to the Semes who are mostly in a good mood or smirking. Another thing I enjoyed was the voice acting. They chose the perfect actors for the individual roles and breathed life into the whole series. Both opening and ending captured the essence of Junjo Romantica in an appealing way. The songs don't sound irritating nor sappy at all. I wasn't completely satisfied with the animation though... it seemed somewhat stiff and some motions were not really fluent. The anime itself doesn't contain lots of action as it is and and many movements happened off screen. But all in all it is a great series and I believe that not only shounen-ai fans can enjoy it. In fact it has the potential to turn you into a fan or make your hate towards boys love go away, because there are many situations where you can see yourself in place of the characters, which intensifies the sensations and feelings.