Junjou Romantica

Junjou Romantica is an anime that has been recently released (as of 2008) and is a longer series. Unlike many of the other released anime series in anime, it was not released as an OVA, but casts the same voices used in the Drama CD before.

Junjou Romantica is probably one of the cutest yaoi series I've come across. It has the cuteness that kept people into Gravitation's anime, and yet still has the slight bit of angst and plot that is expected of the greater anime out there. It isn't hardcore sex or anything too bad, but it is a definite must watch. Of course, aarinfantasy is currently fansubbing this series (as of May 2008) and it is airing in Japan on Thursdays.

But onto the review.

The art isn't the greatest I've seen and is more along the style of Gravitation than let's say Fake or Ai no Kusabi. The opening theme song is cute and the music fits the piece nicely.

The story is focused originally around Takahashi Masaki, a graduating high school student who is trying to get into Mitsuhashi College in economics following his older brother, Takahiro, who was unable to attend the school when their parents died. Takahiro has been taking care of Misaki ever since. Tutoring him to pass the enterance exam is the next character: Usami Akihiko. Usami is a BL writer and childhood friend of Takahiro. Usami has been in love with Takahiro forever, but refused to take their relationship further because he didn't want to ruin their friendship.

So those two characters carry us through the first two episodes when we meet two new characters. Kamijou Hiroki is a graduating college student who wants to go into graduate school. He's heartbroken when he realizes that his love for Usami Akihiko (from the previous story) would never love him because he was in love with Takahiro. Hiroki had hoped that his feelings would come across if they had sex, but realizes that it's fruitless and is mourning when a toy rocket falls from the sky nearly hitting him. He meets a young man, Kusama Nowaki, a charismatic and direct man who works six jobs and wishes to study and get into college even though he was a middle school drop out. (He's also an orphan.) Nowaki follows Hiroki home and steals his keys before stalking him in order to have Hiroki become his tutor.

Episode 4 goes back to Misaki and Usami (Akihiko), and then episode 5 (which I haven't seen) returns to Nowaki and Hiroki. Although they haven't been introduced yet, two other forcasted characters include Takatsuki Shinobu and You Miyagi from the manga by Shungiku Nakamura. (They're in the opening sequence if I'm not mistaken.)

Overall this anime is amazing and cute beyond all else. I reccomend it to anyone who were okay with Kire Papa but wanted more plot than a single OVA could offer, and those who loved Gravitation minus the fact that there were near no sex scenes. Okay, the sex scenes in this one aren't explicit, but hey, it's cute anyway.

You're not complete without seeing this anime. Have fun watching!