a real romance anime (not shoujo) ?

Shiveron said:
real romance that isn't a shoujo?

Impossibru.

Pirating_Ninja said:
someone who can't stand both shoujo's art style and Clannad's artstyle ... there is something you don't see every day... Anyways try:

- Chobits (an ok seinen romance, the art might be a little older however not too old, this series has sort of a sci-fi twist to it but other than that a rather straightforward romance)
- Eureka Seven (The romance is a subplot but has a rather nice romantic subplot, good series with a nice fantasy feel to it although it is actually a mecha, which btw I hate mecha however enjoyed this series)
- Kaze no Stigma (another series with a conclusive romantic subplot, is a little bit less developed than in Eureka Seven however doesn't have an open ending in terms of the romance, an interesting supernatural action series)
- Lamune (my third favorite shounen romance anime after Toradora! and Clannad, was a pretty nice and straightforward romance series, where romance is the main focus and definitely not a romantic comedy type of romance where nothing happens)
- Myself ; Yourself (honestly didn't even remember watching this series until earlier this year when I decided to watch it and went "wait a second... I've seen this before", so that can't be too good, however it is a simple romance with drama, again not the romantic comedy type)
- Nodame Cantabile (a Josei so might wanna look at the art and judge for yourself, however as a rule of thumb you should never stereotype a Josei/Seinen type of art style since these two genres usually have very unique art styles from piece to piece, isn't as predictable as Shoujo/Shounen, the series itself is more of a romantic comedy and isn't really much of a romance until the last third of the first season, having said that their are 2 other season afterwards, should note that the female MC in this series is one of my favorite characters, loved her personality)
- Onegai Teacher (Made by the same person that made Ano Natsu de Matteru, produced by the same anime production company and the plot is pretty much the same with an alien girl from outer space ... So, if you liked one you will most likely like the other, imo Onegai Teacher is better, their is more development, better character interaction and just more in depth over all)
- Seto no Hanayome (personally didn't like however since everyone's tastes differ thought I should toss it in, a romantic comedy, I believe their is some development in terms of the romance, some people love this series which prompted me to consider recommending it since you may or may not love it)
- Suzuka (dramatic romance anime, heard the manga is alot better however the anime was pretty good, definitely a romance with alot of drama mixed in, if you like that then this might be a good series for you)
- True Tears (True Tears is another very dramatic romance series (for a shounen atleast) similar to Suzuka, I didn't like it too much because of the girl he ends up w/ (sorry if this is a spoiler) however since it is a love triangle think that shouldn't give too much away, but yeah another dramatic romance series without an open ending)

Shounen and Seinen romance (for the most part) is usually about the chase or in the case of shounen also often just a harem with an open ending... If you want "a real romance" you really do need to look at shoujo (depending on what you mean by a real romance), if what you want is a faster developing relationship as well as things like hugging, kissing or even sexual references you are better off looking at shoujo or Josei... It's kind of like if I were to ask "I want a good mainstream battle manga that is a shoujo" ... Obviously each demographic is known for certain genre's and Shounen are definitely not known for their romance. Though anime in general is a semi-lousy medium for romance stories, my top 10 romance are probably all manga.

I would just like to say if your ideal romance is one where the male is not a shy mofo who is indecisive or can never speak his mind, as well as a faster moving relationship (they start going out in the first half of the series), a more physical relationship (holding hands isn't the end of the world, kissing is a common occurrence or even references to sex) then you should really look at shoujo manga... If you don't like the style I have a few I could rec that are more similar to shounen (both in art and atmosphere), as well as some Josei that have (atleast in my opinion) a more appealing art style. The primary difference between the two is that in shounen everything is "rounder" and more "smooth" while in Shoujo everything is more stretched vertically and sharper... So yeah I have a few with a more shounen art style as well as a more shounen atmosphere, and also are good reads... Just lemme know if you are interested.

Scottorocker said:
School days, don't look it up just watch it.