


While the show doesn’t fully adapt the source material, the manga has a perfect conclusion and is a must-read if you enjoy what’s here.ĭefined by its witty repartees, nuanced characterizations, and well-conveyed relationships, My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU is a whip-smart coming-of-age tale that communicates the interior lives of its cast. Additionally, its representation of multiple LGBTQ+ pairings, including one between adult women, provides a greater range of perspectives while also pushing back on longstanding harmful stereotypes in anime that portray being gay as an “adolescent phase.” There are a few blunders, but this story captures the authenticity of Yuu and Touko’s love, its strong aesthetic identity making their feelings hit home. These two working through the dissonance between external expectations and how they truly feel ties in with the series’ broader exploration of the social stigmas faced by those in queer relationships. One of the series’ greatest strengths is how its direction extrapolates the mental state of its characters, using visual metaphors to capture Yuu’s alienation regarding her perceptions of romantic feelings and Touko’s unresolved grief that pushes her away from others. As the two begin falling for each other, things become complicated by Yuu’s confusion over what it means to be in love and Touko’s survivor guilt over a personal tragedy. The story begins after Yuu, a freshman in high school, runs into Touko, a popular girl in line to become the next student council president. While many anime and manga fall into negative tropes in their depictions of queer romance, Bloom Into You avoids many of these stumbling blocks, largely portraying the burgeoning relationship between its leading heroines with care. While its maelstrom of aesthetically expressive gags hasn’t let up, this series’ ambitions have grown with its protagonists, transforming a humorous romp into a genuinely affecting romance story. It turns out that there are more interesting reasons for why Kaguya and Shirogane engage in psychological skirmishes than just being prideful, boneheaded teens. Most pointedly, these trials and flashbacks clarify the deeper reasons why many of its characters are in love in the first place, with past moments of kindness and inspiration bubbling to the forefront. However, although it’s carried by the strength of its animation and comedy up front, later seasons give its cast depth by establishing their previous hardships and current struggles. Their heavily calculated ploys are brought to life with frenetic, art-style-switching creative fervor that accomplishes the difficult task of keeping a single gag fresh through dozens of episodes. Here Kaguya and Shirogane, the heads of the student council at an elite high school, come up with increasingly intricate schemes to make the other slip.
BEST HIGH SCHOOL ROMANCE ANIMES SERIES
Out of the countless meet-cutes, doomed love triangles, and cathartic confessions, here are five of the best romance anime series to keep you cheering and sobbing this Valentine’s Day and beyond.įrom the start, Kaguya-sama Love Is War quickly proved to be one of the most visually inventive and gut-busting anime around, its non-stop gags conveying the lengths that its two protagonists were willing to go to avoid confessing their true feelings. However, this tendency is particularly potent when combined with romance, a genre that even outside the form is traditionally associated with these types of poignant swings. Many of the best anime series harness the power of animation to capture soaring emotions, something seen in the medium’s standout dramas, high-octane sports shows, and pulse-pounding battle shounens.
