For February’s Anime Primer, stories of relationships and fantasy collide.
- Romeo x Juliet
- Perfect for binge-watching over February.
- Science Fantasy update of the Shakespearian classic.
- A treat for English majors and Theatre lovers who are just discovering anime
- Kamisama Kiss
- A young schoolgirl finds a world of responsibility suddenly on her shoulders when she is given godhood by a runaway Kami. Hijinks ensue.
- Suitable for compare/contrast with InuYasha
- Additional genre: Shojou anime
- Tenchi Muyo
- Tenchi, a young man tending to his family’s shrine, finds his life turned upside down by the appearance of alien space travelers.
- Start with the movies, in order.
- Additional genres: “Harem” anime, Science Fiction
- Think “The Bachelor” without anyone ever getting kicked out, with younger characters
- Additional challenge: Find a drinking game for harem anime.
- Fruits Basket
- Follows the adventures of a high schooler who takes up residence with a family of young men who all symbolize characters of the Chinese Zodiac when they are hugged by a woman.
- Rare “Reverse Harem” anime – One girl, lots of guys!
Done with fantasy and just want a pure feelgood, heart-thumping, saccharine romance?
- The romance:
- Whisper of the Heart
- A good, old-fashioned, “This is how we met” love story
- Violins and libraries. Watch with “Nice to Sweet You” chocolates.
- Whisper of the Heart
- The fantasy:
- The Cat Returns
- The sudden return of The Baron from “Whisper of the Heart”. (In case you are charmed by his presence in the above movie.)
- Compare/contrast with The Velveteen Rabbit.
- The Cat Returns
(Most of the above are fairly Hetero-Normative romances, but I’ll try to cover Yaoi and Yuri romances in a later update. If you’re highly interested in those genres, I would recommend Revolutionary Girl Utena, after checking out Sailor Moon.)
Happy Valentine’s Day for those who celebrate, and Happy Nirvana day for those who don’t!
Fruits Basket is amazing! I love it so much, I’m planning on rewatching the whole thing over Valentine’s Day weekend!
And Romeo X Juliet was so sweet. Kind of sad, too. 😦
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I did the exact same thing with The Cat Returns! I read it to my little one and he’s psyched to see the movie.
I stumbled across Romeo X Juliet after coming off of a marathon watch of Glass Fleet. Talk about a smooth transition! They could’ve practically been in the same universe! That’s the thing with Shakespeare, unless it was a comedy, he couldn’t pull off sweet without hitting sad.
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