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My Two-Sided Relationship with Junjou Romantica

April 16th, 2008 usagijen

Junjou Romantica at its finest.

Much has been said about dissing-or-dismissing a show for what it’s really worth, simply because of the genre it falls under, a point of contention in the blogosphere for who knows how long, and a topic tackled by Stripey-nii and Owen a few months back. As much as I hate to admit it, I found myself guilty of doing this act of vitriolic judging for the yaoi manga/anime Junjou Romantica, when I advised people to stay away from this show. Despite how justifiable my disgust for the manga (and all things yaoi, in general) seemed like, the fact remains that I found myself stereotyping it simply for being yaoi, failing to see things from an objective and non-homophobic standpoint. So this time around, I’m going to rid myself of that tsuntsun-poser self, and give this show the objective review it so deserves.

*breathe in breathe out* Ok, time for the moment of truth. I actually found Junjou Romantica an enjoyable watch (sans the explicit yaoi scenes, which the anime could do without, IMHO). Adding the semi-rape scene during the first few minutes of the show reminded me of those smut mangas which starts off with a similar scene, or worse, only for the romance to bloom and have more depth later on. Ugh! But anyways, when I compared JR with Gravitation last time, and came to the conclusion that the former is a worse BL show, I was referring to the gratuitous amount of buttsecks and BL fanservice it had. As I calmed down, and used the power of Fanservice Filter^TM, I was able to see how it’s actually better than Gravitation, especially in terms of justifying the love between the characters.

In Junjou Romantica, specifically for pair#1, we have Misaki, a bratty kid who was able to see through the depths of Usami-sensei’s loneliness, saving him from the despair of a long-endured one-sided love for Misaki’s brother. Usami, on the other hand, eventually realizes the sweet and admirable side of Misaki, whose tsundere qualities serve as nothing else but an open invitation to tease him and show him more *ahem* love, much to Misaki’s poser-protests.

Despite the fast-paced, physical & steamy relationship of Usami and Misaki, Junjou Romantica manages to portray their relationship as cute, sweet, and hilarious. As Briar has pointed out, the scene in the snow was really dramatic and touching, enough to make me forget the gratuitous yaoi fanservice in the earlier parts of the episode.

An Afterword, On A Two-Sided Relationship with BL

While some of us might fear that being exposed to BL or yuri stuff (among other stories of taboo love) might blur our set of beliefs and principles, and ultimately, our sexuality, I believe that won’t happen if we’re wise enough to discern fiction from reality, and know well what we want to make of our identity.

Unlike fictional works where things happen because they were made out to be what way, by the ever omniscient author, the real world is vast, and our identity is shaped by the the choices we make, the principles we choose to adhere to, and all that. As much as I can empathize with the feelings of the characters in their respective taboo loves, I would never want to find myself in the same situation. I remain passive as I watch these shows, openly embracing a different genre, a different kind of love from what I’d want to have in real life, and that’s all there is to it.

Then of course there’s also that undeniable aesthetics value of BL stuff, with two hawt gorgeous men involved in the relationship. But in the same way as I don’t delight in pure fanservice (why I’m enjoying ToLoveRu is still a mystery to me), I’d rather see some good story (drama or fun character interactions) in my BL. Just for the record, I’m not an FYG, thank you. GxB relationships FTW \o/

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Entry Filed under: Junjou Romantica, Episodic Review

14 Comments Add your own

1. Owen S | April 16th, 2008 at 2:14 am

There really is a caveat for this type of thing, though.

As much as I’d like to practise what I preach and extol the virtues of an anime like this (if there’s any virtues to begin with!), there’s the underlying fact that gender plays a very strong part in it — as a card-carrying heterosexual male, I’m pretty sure that no matter JR’s virtues, I’d still be terrified at the overtly inappropriate… virtus being displayed by the characters to each other.

That aside, I wouldn’t expect girls to like stuff like Blue Drop either, considering I don’t think it all that great to begin with. But yuri and yaoi have an Achilles Heel in the sense that they’ll always have to toe a fine line between story and pandering; it’s too bad that the latter is almost always the choice.
2. DD | April 16th, 2008 at 3:36 am

Funny how everyone was all “ewww, I’m not gonna touch that show with a ten-foot pole” at the beginning. And after seeing the first episode the more open-minded ones are admitting that the show was not that bad (if you try to ignore the gay bits).
In my opinion JR has one of the best first episodes this season, at least comedy-wise.
And I’m deeply convinced that everyone would be all over the show if Misaki was a girl.
3. totali | April 16th, 2008 at 4:30 am

Ew gheys! You’re gross!
4. becks | April 16th, 2008 at 8:36 am

junjou romantica : slice of life? we’ll see.

OWEN: JR has a nice balance of both storytelling and pandering.
5. issa-sa | April 16th, 2008 at 2:31 pm

Junjou Romantica is hilarious for all the attention it’s been receiving from not only the usual (F)YG market. The humour’s okay and the guy on guy relationship is somewhat believable - if you can totally ignore how it all started *shakes head* It doesn’t matter what their genders are, raep b4 romance just doesn’t work *swt*
6. chibitim | April 16th, 2008 at 2:34 pm

Fanservice Filter TM!!

Where did you get one?! I need this one first before trying to watch Junjou Romantica. XD
7. usagijen | April 16th, 2008 at 5:04 pm

@Owen: I think guys have to (or feel that they have to) sacrifice quite a lot when it comes to viewing BL… from what I can see, the percentage of straight women who can tolerate yuri exceeds the percentage of straight guys who can tolerate BL xD

I would’ve watched Blue Drop till the end if I wasn’t so concentrated on blogging, I think.

@totali: rofl. just laugh at it! XD

@DD: I actually enjoyed this in its manga form, but I got carried away with my anger, after seeing the nonsensical fanservice X__X

and of course, gender changes everything~

@becks: slice of life? lol. I also think JR has a good mix of both, but it’s just different when you think of the bias of guys when it comes to BL xD

@issa-sa: ugh, yeah *facepalm at rape before love ‘plots’* in any case, it is hilarious, and not really something that’s meant to be taken seriously xD

@chibitim: lol, for starters, I suggest skipping timelines ~6:20 - 7:40 or something xD
8. Lika | April 18th, 2008 at 9:29 am

What always amuses me is how guys usually go on a huge rant about how disgusting it is, how vile, how if they watch it, UGH, they feel like throwing up (while some of them hastily add in that they’re not homophobic at all!), and most girls who don’t like yuri just go “Yeah, ’s not my thing.”
9. usagijen | April 18th, 2008 at 10:15 am

@Lika: I don’t find that surprising though, considering the nature of guys hehe xD

I can empathize with the guys though… I mean, consider looking at these BL couples, and you’ll see that the guy(s) involved completely loses their [original] sense of masculinity (may it be in the case of seme or uke). The transition is not as insulting or degrading, in the case of girls who see yuri stuff, I mean it’s just… a girl falling for another girl~ the additional masculinity traits that one of the girls would have might even be considered a plus point, so to speak.

Ok, I’m thinking about this too much rofl.
10. Briar | April 20th, 2008 at 12:04 am

*raise hand*

I have yet to overcome my natural reluctance to pick up a yuri show, so I can understand why guys don’t want to watch BL. But I do think that it is double standard-ish that a man would “lose” his masculinity if he watches BL/yaoi, but a woman who watches yuri is more often than not lauded for being open minded.

Poor guys.

Although, on the other hand, it could have a lot to do with the attitude.

But back to Junjou Romantica. Maybe it’s because I read a lot of romance fiction, and steamy romance at that. Sex is very much a part of (steamy) romance, so I’ve long since learned to look for the gems hiding among all the steam. Some people like it hot, some people don’t. But the gems are there all the same.

I was impressed with Junjou Romantica, the manga, actually. Yes, there is explicit and often overblown sex (but like I say, I’m used to frequent sex scenes in fiction), but under it all it is a very realistic portrayal of relationships. Ignore the fact that they are men, and then I get a very KareKano feeling, especially in terms of relationship portrayal. (except KareKano is vastly more innocent) Like KareKano, the couples go through stages of relationship, and they learn and deepen their relationship with each problem they overcome. And personally, the story is a lot less emo that I thought, because all the characters were beautifully established right from the start.

And I do so love the 2nd couple. It’s a relationship that has a lot more depth that the Usami/Misaki part.

And I also do so love the faces they make. It’s decently animated, and the chibi faces are quite simply wonderful.
11. usagijen | April 21st, 2008 at 3:47 pm

@Briar: haha, poor guys indeed XD if I were to recommend something BL for guys to watch though, I’d rather go for the more dramatic ones, like Mirage of Blaze, or Ai no Kusabi and whatnot. Junjou Romantica is just too fanservicey for normal men to handle XD

and I love the 2nd couple far more than Usami/Misaki too~ *__* And wow, I haven’t thought about the KareKano comparison till you mentioned it… I’m not quite seeing the similarities just yet, probably because I haven’t gone as deep as you in terms of understanding Junjou Romantica.

I’m just glad that the production values for JR is good~ unlike Monochrome Factor x_x;;
12. briar | April 21st, 2008 at 9:09 pm

Mirage of Blaze is has one of the most wonderful stories of its genre that I’ve watched… but the animation was a… teeny weeny little bit boring. Some parts, anyway. Nonetheless, I was amazed enough to go hurt down the novels. Those guys are seriously complex and very emo, and one of them isn’t very nice. But the story. And the characters. The only word to describe it is WOW.

Ai no Kusabi is a bit too… ahem… for guys, don’t you think?
13. usagijen | April 22nd, 2008 at 6:04 pm

@briar: I’m ashamed to say that I haven’t finished watching Mirage of Blaze~ anyways XD

as for Ai no Kusabi, I actually haven’t watched it yet, and recommended it based on the reviews I heard / read about it, which I don’t remember mentioning about the explicitness O_O silly me lol.
14. Blue | April 29th, 2008 at 12:50 am

I’m always a little amused to see that BL (and yuri shows too) are always surrounded with a lot of contention. I don’t really like shows (BL, yuri or het) that does nothing but pander to the audience’s wants but I think that, though Junjou does do that sometimes, there’s also a decent story behind the fanservice.

I totally agree that watching a show doesn’t change anything at all about you. It’s just a show after all. Besides, it’’s good to be open-minded. I’m totally straight but hey I wouldn’t say no to a bit of lesbian lovin’ It might even be fun. Like Oscar Wilde says; try everything once; except incest and morris dancing. XD