Junjo Romantica, the anime TV series, was adapted from Shungiku Nakamura's very popular manga series of the same title. It's quite obvious that, unlike many such series, it was intended to run for two seasons, since the various story lines continue past episode 12, the end of Season 1. That being the case, I'm going to treat the whole thing as a unit (insofar as that is possible, given that there are three story lines, with connections through the characters).

The main thread is Junjo Romantica, the romance, such as it is, between Misaki Takahashi, eighteen when the story opens, and the noted author Akihiko Usami, nicknamed "Usagi" (rabbit), Misaki's brother Takahiro's best friend and scion of a very important family. Misaki wants to enter Mitsuhashi University, a rather prestigious school, even though his grades are somewhere south of acceptable. Usagi offers to tutor Misaki, and then, when his brother gets 1) married, and 2) transferred to Osaka, Usagi offers to let Misaki share his apartment. (I should note that Misaki's parents were killed in an auto accident when he was eight; Takahiro, eighteen at the time, gave up his university career to raise his little brother.) The wrinkle here is that Usagi has been in love with Takahiro forever, but when Takahiro brings his fiancée to meet Misaki and Usagi, Usagi, heartbroken, realizes that Misaki is "the one" – Misaki is in tears at the hurt suffered by Usagi. The wrinkle that actually drives the story is that Misaki is in denial about his feelings for Usagi.

The second story line, Junjo Egoist, focuses on Hiroki Kamijou, age twenty-two, Usagi's childhood friend and a student in the literature department at Mitsuhashi who, when we first meet him, is sitting on a park bench feeling sorry for himself over a failed attempt to win Usagi's love. (This episode takes place six years in the past.) At the same time, he makes the acquaintance of Nowaki Kusama, an eighteen-year-old orphan, through the agency of a hobbyist's rocket that crashes at Hiroki's feet. Nowaki is in the park with some friends, all corporate CEOs, as it happens, including one who always wanted to be an astronaut. Nowaki follows Hiroki home, begging him to tutor him so he can take the entrance exams for university: he wants to go into social work, but only graduated from middle school. There's a reason he wants Hiroki in particular to tutor him, of course, but Hiroki, being fairly dense, doesn't get it.

Junjo Terrorist is my favorite of the three story lines, to be honest. Yoh Miyagi, age thirty-five, is a professor of Japanese literature at Mitsuhashi, and happens to be Hiroki's office-mate. (By this time, Hiroki has become an assistant professor of literature.) The opening scene takes place in a restaurant, where Miyagi is meeting with his former brother-in-law, Shinobu Takatsuki, eighteen years old. It seems that Shinobu has been in love with Miyagi for a long time, and he's a very determined young man.

Junjo Romantica is, to put it bluntly, romantic comedy, with the emphasis on the comedy, although there is enough romance to keep anyone happy. The Misaki/Usagi story line is the broadest, although the Hiroki/Nowaki episodes are not far behind. It's not all slapstick, though – there are some deadpan moments that are very funny indeed, and the running gag of the bear carvings leads up to a final image that is simply hysterical.

And it is all character-driven, although I have to admit, we're presented with some bizarre characters here. Usagi is arrogant, forceful, and pretty much completely incapable of taking care of himself. Misaki pays "rent" by doing the housework and making sure Usagi gets fed. I have to confess that it took me a while to get used to Misaki – he can be really irritating until you get a handle on his character. Hiroki has a remarkably short fuse, which, given Nowaki's unpredictability, leads to any number of explosions. Miyagi treats everything as a joke, at least until Shinobu manages to worm his way into Miyagi's life. And yet, as the series progresses, the characters reveal themselves as much more than caricatures. It was Misaki's empathy that first attracted Usagi, and Misaki eventually begins to understand, clueless though he is, that Usagi is as tremendously vulnerable as he is generous. Hiroki is just really bad at expressing his feelings, while Nowaki is obsessed by "catching up" to Hiroki, to make himself worthy of Hiroki's love. Shinobu, likewise, faced with the age difference between himself and Miyagi, is desperate to show how grown-up he is, while Miyagi's flip attitude hides an old and deep sorrow. We're given these insights in the small details, the realizations that occur to the characters, leavened by a couple of really intense emotional scenes. (Word of warning: yes, it's comedy, but there are plenty of "Aww!" moments scattered throughout.)

Age differences play a role here, as well. One of the ongoing issues in the Hiroki/Nowaki thread is the age difference (which, of course, is the smallest of the three, at a mere four years). Miyagi tries to use the seventeen-year difference in their ages to discourage Shinobu, but, like everything else he tries, it doesn't work. It's only with Misaki and Usagi that the age difference isn't an issue, but the two of them have enough issues anyway. (Misaki's reaction to appearing as a character in one of Usagi's BL novels, which he writes under a pseudonym, is more or less typical of his reactions to everything Usagi does. "Volatile" sort of describes their relationship pretty well.)

The graphic style, as tends to be the case in anime adaptations from manga, follows Nakamura's original drawings pretty closely. Character designs are firmly in the bishounen (beautiful boy) mode, long limbs, big hands, somewhat androgynous features, particularly among the uke, and great hair. The animation itself is somewhat better than average. The music is perfectly suited to the action, which is not always the case, and even the title songs are appropriate. The actors, as seems to be the case with Japanese voice actors in general, are superb. (The DVD sets do not offer English-language soundtracks.)

This is a series that has become one of my mainstays, for those times when I want to relax and laugh a little. "BL fluff" with some pretty engaging people.

Shungiku Nakamura and Chiaki Kon: Junjo Romantica, Seasons 1 and 2:

    Junjo Romantica, Season 1: Right Stuf/Nozomi Entertainment, 2010; ISBN-10: 1-57032-650-9; US $49.99

    Junjo Romantica, Season 2: Right Stuf/Nozomi Entertainment, 2011; ISBN-10: 1-57032-654-1; US $49.99

 

 

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This is a series that has become one of my mainstays, for those times when I want to relax and laugh a little. "BL fluff" with some pretty engaging people.