Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
vanilla__
An easy 2/10.
From the stereotypical strong masculine-seme and weak feminine-uke trope, all the way to huge, unsettling age gaps in EVERY pairing and creepy romantic encounters, this anime has everything to give you the worst second-hand embarrassment of your life.
I am aware that many of the prominent tropes in this anime are meant to be hot. If you're into that, go figure. If you're not, this is your sign to find another anime.
Let's discuss two relationships in this anime that may potentially be triggering or uncomfortable to some.
Main pair: Misaki Takahashi and Akhiko Usami Let's go over the power imbalances between the two.
-> Misaki is eighteen. Akhiko is twenty-eight.
-> Akhiko is Misaki's tutor.
-> Misaki lives in Akhiko's house.
-> Akhiko is strong enough to pin Misaki d…
Read at the sourcecocolita22
Hands-down, my favorite romance anime. My favorite yaoi. One of my favorite anime of all time.
I don't know many people who haven't heard of this show, and they either love it or hate it. But I think all yaoi lovers can agree this is a staple anime and a must-watch.
I miss these characters so much just by writing this. This is genuinely such an entertaining and exciting show, and I had so much fun watching it. I think you will enjoy it, too. There is seriously not a single dull moment.
I can only imagine how much fun the VA had with this; they were seriously so hilarious and every character had comedic moments. The music was sooo good, and the story itself had a genuine plot. Can you believe it? A yaoi with a plot?
I hope I've convinced you to try this!!
Read at the sourceEzekiel_01
Shounen Ai which is a literal meaning in Japenese “Boys Love” is been around in the anime industry dating back in the late ’80s. Beginning its roots on Natsu e no Tobira for being the first movie and Patalliro! Both made by Toei animation. Only a handful of them exists mostly on OVAs and Movies but not much on TV series. Shounen Ai TV series for the most part doesn’t give much of an impact in both popularity and financial gain so the studios stopped making them. They are more like the shadows in the corner that only a selected few can notice their existent. But one anime pretty much rise from the darkness and have reached the light of day and that was Junjou Romantica. Becoming a critical success in financial sales. With a devoted fanbase to back it up, it becomes a significant title in 20…
Read at the sourcepomegranit
This anime has me conflicted. As a fanfiction writer and a girl who lives on tumblr and thrives off of shipping, this is first class 100% yaoi with probably some of the best not straight up smut that the BL market has to offer. Looking at it through those eyes, this is somewhat of a BL classic if I'm being honest. But looking at it through the eyes of a literature and anime enthusiast who loves well-written shows, this is kinda a steaming pile of shit that perpetuates some very dangerous stereotypes and promotes rape culture and heteronormative fetishizations of gay men. Thus, I'm really conflicted about this.
To begin with, the story is not that good. There are three very loosely connected storylines-- while I call it a 'storyline', there is hardly any real plot. It's just loose events…
Read at the sourcektulu007
This year for our Valentine's week romance review, we're looking at Junjou Romantica. This one is based off of the best known work of Nakamura Shungiku. The manga has been going since late 2003. The anime, at least the first series of it, aired in 2008. And that was brought to us by Studio Deen. Yes, the same studio that brought us Gravitation, Twilight Q, & Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinju. I have a feeling one of those is going to bear far more similarities to this than the others. But maybe I'm just making assumptions based on the genre overlap. Is this one as good as Gravitation was? Let's take a look at the first series and see.
Story:
We start out with Misaki, our protagonist, trying to get into a good university. There's just one problem. His test scores are pretty bad. In order to…
Read at the sourcemelodyvonshewk
This anime sucked balls.
There is, for some reason, an abundance of female characters throughout the story. Everything is repetitive. I now wonder after watching this series, how I managed to cope with this. Every fucking gay man has a triangular face, the love interests i.e Misaki or whatever, looks like a five year old idiot who kept whining and complaining. Like, dude. If someone is assaulting or raping you, you need to kick them in the balls, punch their face and go home to tell your brother to break his friendship with him and report against him for sexual assault.
But, instead, he stayed with the douche bag and eventually fell in love with him. After two major headaches and ten episodes later, they're still not an item. Like what the f dude?
THIS ANIME MADE NO SENSE, WHATSOEVER.
Read at the sourcepleochroic
This is a totally guilty pleasure for any Western fan with the slightest concept of "consensual sex", because it is a prime example of what sort of stuff passes for successful relationships in BL land. I have to constantly remind myself that as a gay man I am not the target audience here, but that this functions as self-insert fantasy for Japanese women, and actually fulfills a useful role in having them play with gender and sexuality. The characters are not gay men, and they are not meant to be. This isn't a part of the "rape culture" (which is indeed a real thing and a serious thing), but rather it's an example of nonconsensual fantasy. We don't get to see that in the West in mainstream entertainment, except badly done in porn, but it exists here too in niche genre markets because it fil…
Read at the sourcePastabeanchuu
So bad it's good!
If you are looking for a terribly written shounen ai anime with the most cliché characters and a ridiculous story, Junjou Romantica is the anime you need to watch! (it has dub-con, be warned)
This is a must-see if you are a fan of the genre and want a good laugh. If you really want to watch something good (and I assure you, good yaoi does actually exists), I suggest you run far away from this.
The characters and situations are as stereotypical as they can get in a romance anime. So stereotypical and cliché in fact, that it actually becomes funny.
Story: 3
Extremely poor. It doesn't really have a plot and the setting is perfectly common (it is not set in a high school so it could have done worse, really). The side stories are the ones that should get your attention t…
Read at the sourceihateeveryone
You want to know what really helps shape a relationship for me? An abundance of rape, sexual assault, and non-consensual acts being performed to your partner. God, what a literal pure romance that is. Thankfully, Junjou Romantica was sure to base one of its relationship entirely off of non-con and definitely wasn't afraid to add in some of that to the other relationships as well! Definitely the type of romance any gay man would dream of.
There are three different "love" stories in this anime, and all three manage to be equally as terrible as the other. For one thing, let's talk about the fact that literal sexual assault by a man 10 years older than you leading into love is not only extremely disturbing, but also completely out there. There is no moral groundpoint for the character Misaki,…
Read at the sourceHachiko75
So this is my fourth yaoi, but first one where it is an actual story with more than two episodes. I would have rated it a ten, but I did not care for the third couple in the terrorist arc. It, to me, was no different than a little girl having a crush on her teacher. This boy, I'm sure he had feelings for him for a long time, but to just up and chase him the way he did. Ugh! He just came off as confused and desperate to me. I didn't like that couple.
But the other two I love! I like that Misaki and Usagi got as many episode as they did because that couple was my number one favorite. It had more elements and more of a plot than than Hiroki and Nowaki.
I do kind of wish Misaki's brother was used more in the story, but I'm pretty sure in one episode they said he was dense so I guess he was u…
Read at the sourceKlabautermann
Dear yaoi fandom,
there is such an impressive quantity of yaoi out there that are actually really good. Been there, seen it. So why in the world do you love Junjou Romantica so much?
Starting out as a hardcore fan of the series, I gave myself a few years of growing up before I realized this anime deserves to be proverbially spat on with passion. Shamed and enlightened, I saw the Truth and it set me Free. Dramatic as it sounds, fellow reader, the Truth IS: this anime (especially manga) is an utter fuckup.
Probably the biggest problem with today's yaoi that is present here; the 'uke' side of the couple has little to no back spine and, despite the fact they dedicated an episode trying to convince us he WASN'T forced into the 'loving relationship' he is in right now by the 'seme', it is ver…
Read at the sourceOtakuTrey
For anyone that is unsure about giving this series a chance, then you should read this to see if its right for you or not. (look for *)
IF! you switched half the guys for girls people would say this is one of the best romance anime's to date. That is how good this story, and anime are!
Okay here is a little background on me, I am a Straight male with no interest in men or for even watching a BL series, However there might be a few people out there who's Girlfriends really want to watch this so..... they FORCE you to watch this (which is what happened to me.) Before i watched this i knew what it was and i had a feeling i knew where it was going to go. well at first try i almost couldnt stand what was going on, i thought to myself OMG RAPE! and turned it off. then about two weeks later i t…
Read at the sourceKuraKaze
Story 9/10
Junjou Romantica is one of my favourite BL stories of all times. It is not a "yaoi" story that is filled with pointless sex scenes. In fact, there is no explicit sex shown in the anime at all. Any sex is mostly short and glossed over, and used to add to the mood of the story.
The story deals with 3 couples that are semi- interconnected (while living their own lives). These 3 couples have very similar romances and faces similar problems, but each one deals with them differently. The focus of the story is mostly dealing with the character's personal feelings and thoughts, and how they deal with the problems they face in their romance. It's filled with inner thoughts, so there's quite a lot of monologue.
I find that this story deals relatively well with the implications of wha…
Read at the sourceluzverdecradily
Since you already have the summary above I'll just jump into my review :)
Story:
While I was watching this, I began to wonder how long had it been since I'd gotten so enchanted by a particular story in an anime. So much that watching it put me on the edge of my seat and had me deeply concerned over the fate of the characters. Well Junjou Romantica did all that and more, it left me breathless, and my heart over flowing with joy. The story is absolutely class A work, it doesn't focus on just the sexual relationship the characters have, it actually gives us a beautiful window of how love works in a gay relationship. The uncertainties, the worries, and shows us that their not so different from the relationships of heterosexuals. It goes day to day and gives us a brief yet powerful glimpse at…
Read at the sourceWinterwolkje
Junjo Romantica is a great yaoi anime, I say yaoi anime on purpose. As an anime, it's so-so I guess, but I'm a huge yaoi-fan and I loves this anime. It's one of the cutest shows I've ever seen.
let's discuss it:
Story: 7/10
Well, the story isn't that great, I admit. It's pretty obvious what will happen and it's not really progressing. You're just following three couples and how they are changing in the relationship, overcoming obstacles and sometimes becoming the obstacles themselves.
The main couple is Misaki/Usami, "side couples" are Hiroki/Nowaki and Miyagi/Shinobu. I liked that they all sort of know each other (except Shinobu).
The reason why I rated the story 7 is because it's slooooow, especially how Misaki is unable to say "I love you" which goes on like 5 episodes. But, if you're…
Read at the sourceBrynjaBloodmire
Let's start this off with overall Junjou Romantica was a very good anime. The story was intresting enough to keep you watching, with a few slower parts. Though it did leave me with a feeling of just watching a chick flick. It was diffinitaly full of drama.
Some of the characters were deep, others not so much. The animimation of them were done well, and the voices matched the characters. But there were times when the words didn't match the mouths moving. And the timing was off by a noticeable amount.
I'd suggest this anime if your in the mood for drama an romance. Junjou Romantica is filled with that, but it also has some comedy and fluff. Even if some of the plot seems like it has been done in quite a lot of movies, this is still a good watch.
Read at the sourceEllenore_shade
Well this is my first review and I hope someone finds it helpful.
The Story:
Junjou Romantica was an incredible yaoi themed anime. It created a story of not just high school romance but adults after school. However the storyline from there is at the best basic. Out of the three storylines written into the overall story only the main story develops. The two basic characters Misaki and Akihiko are two lovers who conquer all expectations of both of them and continue to be together. The end of the plot. Yes there are hardships for the two but the ideas are unrealistic and could cause confusion to people who are straight looking into a gay themed romance. Basically it does not show the hard ships that are often confronted in the everyday life. The other two stories are about the same way. Onl…
Read at the sourceiamjoe
Oh, an anime that certainly puts the fab back in fabulous and the gay back in yaoi.
Junjou Romantica is a yaoi anime, as anyone with eyes would know. What it is, is a well loved yaoi anime and a pretty crappy normal anime.
The storyline is plain old unbelievable. You expect me to believe that there are so many gay guys who are all inter-related, yet most don't know the rest are gay unless they had boinked them in the past or something?? Where are the women in this anime? Fine, I can chalk up with the no women thing since gay men can't see oestrogen anyway unless it's from themselves, but the one woman in the entire anime is a yaoi fangirl. I mean come on. Wtf.
Each story is basically a mirror of the other one. Check this out.
Teacher --> younger man --> butt secks.
That's all that…
Read at the sourceMxOffline
This is one of the best anime I've ever seen in the BL/yaoicategory. It made me burst of with laughing from the hilarious moments, almost crying from the sad moments and smiling from the sweetness.
The story is not good, but that doesn't matter to me since I enjoyed this series so much anyway.
I think the voices could be better, some of the voices just don't fit the characters. I had to be used to the opening to like it but I don't really like the ending, so that could be better to me (although this part depends on ones taste).
Otherwise this is a masterpriece to me, and the art is amazing! It's very well done like the manga it's based on.
The characters are great! Some of them are ordinary characters but developed in a way that makes them unique.
I really recommend this to BL/yaoifans! Ha…
Read at the sourceJanks1415
A bloody brillant show. It was incredibly cute, with so many adorable moments I could've choked on the fluff. It was also very humorous, with some really random, hilarious moments, leaving me laughing out loud. All the characters personalities were incredible, and I loved all of them. It's rare for me to find a show where there's maybe only one person hate, so this show was really good in that sense. Each character is so different and unique, so everytime a new character was introduced it was refreshing. The plot itself wasn't one of the best, although it always managed to make me either crack a smile, or feel like crying. I recomend it any yaoi fans out there.
Read at the source