Comments on: Because I Heard People are Hating on Junjou Romantica

By: A Day Without Me

A Day Without Me — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:05:10 +0000

Damn, you’re making me want to take this show seriously… but, seriously, good post, and you have some pretty solid points here. Guess I’ll have to look at JR in a new light…

By: A Tale of Revenge, Romance and Lulz (With a Butler to Boot!) » Incredible Nothing!

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 04:13:19 +0000

[...] just going to disappoint me again once I see Miyagi in non-teasing mode). Yet perhaps reading this post has put me on a less cynical position in viewing this show – though the crazy level of strawberries [...]

By: didinskee

didinskee — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 15:25:38 +0000

@eipu: I agree! though I have to concede, I am a yaoi-lover so there must be a bias there, somewhere

But definitely, JR is a lot better(read: respectable) than most of the smut I’ve been mucking through for quite a while now. This is definitely not your ordinary fan-service, teens-and-their-hormones oriented kind of comic. I hope people learn to see beyond the gender issues of this show and realize that.

@jayers: LOL, I still think I still have much to write though, ’til I earn your compliments, but thank you all the same! But I see your point. You’ve gotta love how uncomplicated yet effective this show plays the plots out.

I regret that I’ve only read about Hybrid Child. I hope to someday have that pleasure(read: point me to the torrent, quick!)

@Ryan A: Yup, Hana-Kimi used the guy-on-guy theme to comedic effect expertly. Here though, the intentions are different. And the lessons of love, if they are true, should be as likely to be found here, as well as in any other medium.

@Sakura: I think it’s exactly because it isn’t the usual pairing that JR owes its heady flavor. I do hope the novelty doesn’t fade, though.

@usagijen: Thanks for the invite, jenny ^_^ And I truly believe you’re not as biased as you think you are. Self-awareness kinda contradicts the whole blindness symptom of most prejudices

@An: I do appreciate the Terrorist and Egoist plots, too. But, I think the main relationship in Romantica hasn’t matured enough either–seeing as Misaki still has yet to admit his feelings. I believe there’s still much delectable drama to be enjoyed in the main plot–if we wait a little longer.

@Kairu: If you’re right, the world is still a very much full of metathesiophobic –and borrowing from usagijen’s vocabs– curmudgeons.

By: Kairu Ishimaru

Kairu Ishimaru — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 02:00:52 +0000

..because it is yaoi. I guess.

By: An

An — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:32:12 +0000

I’m up in the air about Junjou Romantica. I’ve always avoided Yaoi in the past, but when I read a blog describing JR as one of the best Shojo of all time I had to watch it. Of course, after scanning it, I discovered it was something else entirely . . . Nevertheless, I continued to watch because I hoped the main couple would develop out of the typical knowing man (loving victimizer)/unknowing boy (willing victim) relationship. Surprisingly, it was the subsidiary relationships that did it for me. Both the relationships in Egoist and Terrorist seem a bit more equal and allow the leads time to develop their connection. Even though Terrorist includes a 17-year-old-boy, I find myself less squemish about his interaction with his 35-year-old senpai, than with the main story. I won’t lie, I think the sex is hot, but I feel that JR is a straight up pro-NAMBLA rape narrative (evidenced by the opening scene), which tries to undo the sexual violence with amorous rhetoric. However, JT and JE do a better job of combining taboo topics of sex & young boy love.

By: usagijen

usagijen — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 02:55:01 +0000

Go Dean, you tell ‘em (including me, the cynical fool =P)! I never understood why I was drawn to BL series before, and I guess you’ve explained it quite well. Cynicism, and the fear of embracing BL due to ’silly’ reasons made me close-minded about it, but I guess I’ll finally be reconciled with the BL fangirl in me after this… oh noes!

By: Sakura

Sakura — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 11:12:53 +0000

Really I think the people who are hating on JR are missing out on a sweet show.

Maybe for some they just can’t look past the fact that is boy X boy which is a shame.

I’m not a huge fan of the genre myself, but I do like romance and if its done well with a same sex pairing then its done well and I’ll watch it. I don’t care if its not your usual girl x boy and

I agree that perhaps that is why this show can be a bit more dramatic, because it isn’t that usual pairing.

Don’t hate people, LOVE!

By: Ryan A

Ryan A — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 02:58:02 +0000

People who hate on something usually don’t have reasonable explanations. I like the push, sadly I probably won’t find time for this.

cute guys on cute guys doing things cute guys don�t normally do on prime time TV

I guess the nearest spectacle I’ve sat down and watched was HanaKimi live-action, which was very light on the boy-boy undertones. I think it’s often cute and humorous, because I know it’s not my thing, but respect individuality, and its hard to deny something that is truly humorous (so I enjoy it). The reason I bring this up is because it is likely that serious and emotive moments would likely be the same in my eyes; so no matter the context, its hard to deny something if it’s true.

Keep up the good work Hope your perspective changes some minds.

By: jayers

jayers — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 01:44:15 +0000

I love your writing. It’s so fluid, and you know how to spell.
I like JR’s idealism in that it doesn’t go toward extremities. Some Korean dramas are so dramatic they become sour and unpleasant to watch. Other romance shows are so cheese and sugary they make people diabetic. While I don’t like JR as much as I like Shungiku Nakamura’s other works like Hybrid Child, I think it gives the same sweet-essence that can provide the intended audience what they are looking for.
I hope you keep writing about this.

By: eipu

eipu — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 01:37:33 +0000

You’ve captured a lot of things I’ve been meaning to throw back at junjou haters. I have to say, this is one of those rare series, may it be shoujo, shounen-ai or yaoi, that is just so honest and simple that you can’t help but relate to. You don’t have to be a yaoi-lover to appreciate this.

I do understand though why people view this series with cynicism, after all, the standard shoujo formula a lot of us is familiar with includes a lot of hardships (and frustrations on the part of the viewers) before we get to the so-called happy ending.

Junjou romantica may lack the exaggerated complexities of a lot of overrated shoujo couples, but the charm of this series essentially lies on that. It’s sweet, it’s simple and it’s all fluffy ^^