I HEART romantic animes!

I have been watching animes since long ago and I have watched a lot! Through my observation, I noticed that there are many genres and sub-genres of animes. Ever since, my preferences of types or genres of animes have been expanded. Currently, my preference is on romantic animes and this type of animes covers other major genres as well, such as, shoujo, josei, shounen, seinen and the whole nine yards! The type of romantic animes that I like normally is shoujo and josei with a dash of comedy and slice of life. In addition, I love romantic animes that involve gender-bender and tsundere character as well. The list that I am going to share is the mixture of josei and shoujo animes.

Below are the list of 10 romantic animes that I really adore:

1. Kaichou Wa Maid-sama!

If you are trying shoujo for the first time, try this series for size….

2. Ouran High School Host Club
A hilarious gender-bender shoujou themed anime. Simply love it!

3. Lovely*Complex a.k.a Lovecon
A heart-warming and totally romantic anime.

4. Toradora!
A tsundere and a domestic god. Hilarious!

5. Itazura Na Kiss
Love the ending! So heart-tending.

6. Nodame Cantabile + Paris Arc + Finale
Music and romance intertwined. One of the best josei anime, to date!

7. Emma: A Victorian Love Story (season 1 & 2)
The title speaks for itself! Not you average josei themed anime, though...

8. Fruits Basket
Bishies heaven!

9. Paradise Kiss
If you are in to fashion and glam this is a must-watch romantic josei!

10. Honey & Clover (season 1 & 2)
Another romantic josei , though, I don’t really heart the ending.

In actual fact, shoujo animes are intended for demographic which is young teenage girls. However, as time passes by, the genre is accepted by people regardless their age or background. Whereas, josei anime is targeting the young women viewers. Even though, shoujo is for teenagers, I watch the animes because I love the theme and the sentiment they are conveying. And, shoujo animes always make me feel light-hearted and giddy... just like a teenage girl suppose to be....

More moé!

Moé (pron: mo-eh) is one of the character-classifications in animes. There isn't any specific definition for it. In a literal point of view, in Japanese language the word can be best defined as 'budding' 'sprouting' or 'growing' . However, based on my extensive reading, it is actually derived from a Japanese slang which conveys the 'liking' or 'strong interest' in something. In some cases it can also be equated with the concept of geek or otaku.

Within the realm of anime fandom, moé is actually an archetypal character (by and large, young female character a.k.a bishojou) that triggers the feeling of protectiveness ,more often than not, among the male viewers. Typically, this type of character brings out the sense of purity, innocence as well as extreme cuteness or popularly coined as kawaii. However, in my humble opinion, there are also moé cases where bishie or bishounen is involved, though, I consider this under isolated ones (click HERE and HERE). Furthermore, moé can also be pigeonholed as various types such as nekomimi-moé, megane-moé, meido-moé and the list goes on.

Below are some eminent moé characters. Notice that, all of them are wearing school uniform (read HERE).

Name : Hirasawa Yui

Anime : K-On! and K-On!!

Name : Asahina Mikuru

Anime: Suzumiya Haruhi No Yuutsu 1 & 2 and Suzumiya Haruhi No Shoushitsu

Name : Furukawa Nagisa

Anime : Clannad and Clannad After Story

Name : Sakura Mikan

Anime : Gakuen Alice

Name : Honda Tohru

Anime : Fruits Basket

Name : Mitsukuni Haninozuka a.k.a Honey-senpai
Anime : Ouran High Host Club

Initially, I associated moé with 'fetish'.Nevertheless, after doing some readings I believe the word 'fetish' is to strong. Evidently, it should not be associated with any sexual conduct. In addition, based on what I have read so far, moé should not be confused with ecchi or - even worse - hentai. For the reason that, moé characters usually initiate the sense of protectiveness as well as maternal / paternal love to protect. In actual fact, the characters are normally created to soothe the viewers (mostly male) rather than to incite sexual conduct. And for the same reason also, some critics claim that moé is a type of child-like character with erotic undertone also associated with lolicon. There are also some opinions that explain, moé characters only exist in seinen anime or manga since it targets the demographic - men. Thus, if the supossed moé characters ever exist in other genre, therefore they are not moé in actual fact.

For your information, there are many endless discussions and debates on this issue and it seems that they will not cease in any time sooner. Obviously, since there are many opinions on this matter, there are no exact black and white on how a moé character should be or act.

[Notes]

Bishoujos = beautiful young girls
Bishounens = pretty boys

Nekomimi = cat's ears

Megane = glases / spectacles

Meido = maid

Lolicon a.k.a Lolita Complex = sexual attraction to little girls

Of fruits and rice ball...

Well, I have to admit it.... when a friend recommended me to watch FRUITS BASKET, I was rather sceptical. By the sound of the title alone tells me this is another bishies comedy anime and nothing more. Well, I was right about the bishies and comedy part, but I was dead wrong when I assumed that this anime offers nothing. Furuba has more than meets the eye! The plot is well-developed, the characterisation is outstanding and the themes are well-discussed throughout the series.

Fruits Basket integrates the famous legend - the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac, plus the cat. And to my surprised, it is dealt with utmost precision with the original legend. The main characters take after their respective zodiac animals characters according to the legend: Sohma Yuki, the mouse, is quiet and devious - at times. Sohma Kyo, the cat, is naturally at war with Yuki, while Sohma Shigure, the dog, is fun and rather light-hearted.

The most outstanding element of this anime is the way the characters are portrayed. Honda Tohru is a little like the typical anime schoolgirl - sweet, not so brainy, but always bright and breezy. In fact, she is a big help around the house. In this anime, we can see how she gradually changes the lives of those around her, especially the Sohma family. Obviously, the Sohmas are unable to have proper relationships with "outsiders" because of their "dark secret" and as a result become reserved and introvert. Yet, each of them finds solace in Tohru, who is ready to accept them and helps them to change themselves for the better.

One plus point of this anime is the character interactions and personality mixes. Yuki and Kyo are always fighting, however that actually provides 'colour' to this anime and you'd probably end up enjoying it instead. Shigure is like a frivolous kid stuck in a submissive adult body. He is a novelist and also a pervert writer of a 'smut' manga, Summer-Colored Sky. And the other Sohmas - Hatori, Hatsuharu, Momiji, Ayame, Kisa, Kagura - introduced later are far from stereotypical and are equally fun to watch. There are even strong bonds, sometime conflicts, between certain characters and it gets chaotic when they are together.

So, if you are looking for animes with lots of bishies, well, this anime is definitely for you! From the beginning until the end of this anime, there will be so many bishies that you thought you died and gone to heaven! Bishies heaven, that is... It's an explosion of bishies!

Anyway, this anime is one good clean fun. No profanity and definitely no nudity. Hence, making it suitable for all ages. It is highly recommended by me...

[Note]
To those who are probably new to animes, bishies is a short form of bishounen. It means beautiful men or boys.