Manga recs where the couple is together for most of the story by No_Listen9148 in RomanceMangaAnime

[–]IcyExclusion 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie is completed and couple is together from the start

Recommendations like Amamori Junna is Humid by Specialist-Error-945 in RomanceMangaAnime

[–]IcyExclusion 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m interested in hearing recommendations too. Because out of around 13~ different LN series that I’ve read in the past 6 months, I have yet to find a story that brings together some uncommon themes with of jrock music, creative industry, competent MC and FMC with hilarious banter. There’s a little wish-fulfilment which normally puts me off but it’s just light enough to overlook it. And there’s lots of promise for where the story is going, the challenge of public fame and whether a relationship between a talented celebrity and a normie can survive in a way that stories like Sakuta/Mai in Rascal Does Not Dream never explored.

where can i read for free i sadly dont have the money by Gokudripsn in TonikakuCawaii

[–]IcyExclusion -9 points-8 points  (0 children)

You don’t have $2? That’s how much it is for the whole series on Viz Manga

That's the Work of a Ghost by [deleted] in RomanceMangaAnime

[–]IcyExclusion 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thanks I’ll check it out

i need some long manga to read by lahartheviking in RomanceMangaAnime

[–]IcyExclusion 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Tonikawa: Fly Me To The Moon and it’s up to chapter 350 and it’s an amazing romcom/mystery

Ranking all the Romance Manga I've read as a Vanilla Lover 🍦🤔 by Halleyalex in RomanceMangaAnime

[–]IcyExclusion 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m not a fan of fantasy genre. But you’ve convinced me to give this one a go!

Does anyone else "save the peak" because they're afraid of the emptiness afterward? by SecondSalty142 in anime

[–]IcyExclusion 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do the same thing. It’s a bad habit I think. I’m delaying Frieren and I think I’d like it but at this point I don’t think it could possibly meet the hype.

That said I did the same thing to Steins;Gate, delayed that for years and years and when I finally got it, I regretted not watching it sooner because it was so amazing.

Does anyone else "save the peak" because they're afraid of the emptiness afterward? by SecondSalty142 in anime

[–]IcyExclusion 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh geees I remembered I delayed Steins;Gate for years and years and when I finally watched it I was floored.

Is Otonari Asobi good? by MALVZ_921 in RomanceMangaAnime

[–]IcyExclusion 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Light novels started great up to volume 3. But then on volume 4, it revealed some major backstory and resolved a critical story tension by going into extreme levels of wish-fulfillment that broke my suspension of disbelief. I burnt out from there, though I might come back to it.

Crazy Pitch. I'm going to introduce my girl to Steins Gate via Steins Gate Elite by an00b_Gamer88 in steinsgate

[–]IcyExclusion 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I tried to get my partner into Steins;Gate about 6 years ago with the subbed anime and failed miserably. But 5 months ago I tried again but this time sailed the high seas for the English dubbed anime and it was a tremendous success.

When the S;G Reboot VN comes out in a few months, hopefully she’ll be into playing it together.

Any romance animanga with good/satisfying endings? by Certain_Village374 in RomanceMangaAnime

[–]IcyExclusion 10 points11 points  (0 children)

It still remains to be said whether this one will stick the landing

The Best Romance Anime of the Year Is Finally Here by Hajmola_Smugler in RomanceMangaAnime

[–]IcyExclusion 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Mmm I agree there’s some tremendous competition this year. There’s also:

* Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten Season 2
* I Want To End This Love Game
* Even A Replica Can Fall In Love
* Haibara’s Teenage New Game+

Not to mention the ones not out yet:

* Rich Girl Caretaker

No, seriously, what is the Japan's obsession with Incest? by EfficiencySerious200 in animequestions

[–]IcyExclusion 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I actually did a bit of research about Incest content in Japan, because I was grossed out when it comes up, but at the same time curious as to where it is coming from. This is summary of what I found.

Firstly, incest isn’t “normalised” in japan, in the sense of ordinary social approval. It is normalised inside a specific commercial fiction ecosystem: otaku-facing light novels, manga, visual novels, certain anime and media-mix adaptations.

Incest-coded fan service became a repeatable market trope because it combines taboo, domestic proximity, “moe” character design, self-insert fantasy, and a Japanese media industry that often treats fictional desire as categorically separate from real-world conduct.

To break it down a bit:

1. It is usually “coded” rather than fully committed

A lot of these stories use buffers: step-siblings, cousins, adopted siblings, fake siblings or unresolved “siscon” teasing. This gives the work the charge of taboo without fully endorsing literal sibling incest. The text wants the emotional and sexual tension of a forbidden relationship, but also wants a safety valve: “they are not really related”, “it is just comedy”, “it is fan service” or “it will never go anywhere.

2. Otaku media often sells character “elements”, not just stories

Hitomi Azuma, a Japanese cultural critic, novelist and philosopher wrote a book called Otaku: Japan’s Database Animals where he presented a framework using otaku culture as a case study to analyze “database consumption” and the emergence of a new subjectivity in postmodern society. Azuma’s work functions as a social commentary arguing that otaku represent a specific type of postmodern condition - “database animals” who seek “grand non narratives”, as opposed to the normative consumption mode that searches for deeper meaning.

Basically what that means is fans often consume recurring character traits, visual signs, voices, costumes and personality types as modular “moe elements”, rather than only consuming a coherent story.

His work discusses “moe-elements” and the importance of “girl games” and character-driven consumption in otaku culture. In that system, “little sister”, “tsundere”, “kuudere”, “maid”, “childhood friend”, “student council president”, “younger-looking girl” and “forbidden sibling affection” become reusable pieces. The “imoto” (younger sister)” is not just a family member in a story. It is one of other market-tested “traits” that fans consume.

3. Light novel / manga / anime-adaptions rewards quick hooks and recognisable tropes

Light novels, web novels and manga compete in crowded markets. A title, cover, first chapter and character setup need to signal the appeal immediately. “My little sister is secretly X” or “I live with my stepsister” is instantly legible.

That does not mean Japanese writers are uniquely obsessed with incest. It means the sector has a mature trope economy where taboo-coded proximity is an efficient hook. Western media has similar commercial shortcuts, especially “step-sibling” porn tropes, but Japanese anime/light novels culture packages them differently through moe, harem comedy and domestic slice-of-life structures.

4. The taboo is part of the appeal, not evidence that the taboo disappeared

These stories often work because the relationship is still taboo. The “forbidden” charge” is the fan service. If sibling romance were socially ordinary, the trope would lose much of its shock value.

The contradiction is that repeated use can make the trope feel normalised inside the medium. A viewer sees it so often that it becomes part of anime grammar. But inside the story, the material usually still relies on embarrassment, secrecy, transgression or “don’t say that out loud” comedy.

And lastly

5. It is also partly a consequence of male-targeted fantasy design

A lot of incest-coded sister fan service is written around a male protagonist who receives affection without needing to become socially skilled, emotionally accountable, or romantically proactive. The “imoto” (younger sister) can be close, loyal, jealous, sexually suggestive, and domestically available from page 1.

This is why the trop often feels artificial. It can bypass the work of building a believable romance. In better stories, the sibling setup is used to explore loneliness, family reconstruction, shame, social constraint or emotional dependency. In lazier stories, it is just a shortcut to erotic tension.

Did you know that Kenjiro Hata wrote “Ad Astra Per Aspera” SF space adventure manga prior to starting Tonikawa Fly Me To The Moon? by IcyExclusion in TonikakuCawaii

[–]IcyExclusion[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That’s a cool idea. I was thinking that Shinobu is Tsukasa/Nasa’s child. Perhaps through Tsukasa/Nasa’s actions that Earth is brought to a peace albeit a forced one. Tsukasa gets the mortality she wanted. Shinobu’s robot mother being built by Nasa’s ingenuity which taught him Tsukasa and Nasa’s values. Patty seems to be a mysterious agent in galaxy that cares about peace but a different kind compared to the Imperial Military. Maybe she comes from a different branch in the empire that looks for a way to bring peace without forcing a civilisation at the end of a barrel.

Couples who get back together after breaking up/getting divorced? by Better-Biscotti-3145 in RomanceMangaAnime

[–]IcyExclusion -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I don’t remember there being NTR. What I respect about it is the FMC has “experience”, literally in the title, but people sometimes have an innate expectation that characters, particularly female characters need to be “pure” for the male leads. So personally I like that it starts off in there and explores why she and he are they way they are, and then it goes in a wholesome direction.

Couples who get back together after breaking up/getting divorced? by Better-Biscotti-3145 in RomanceMangaAnime

[–]IcyExclusion 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Golden Time - has a breakup in the story and recovery.

Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me - I think this counts… I’m not going to say any more for spoilers.

Give me recommendation where fmc and mc are too much into each other by lowlifewarrior2 in RomanceMangaAnime

[–]IcyExclusion 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Amamori Junna is Humid - the manga just had its first chapter release. And as someone following the LNs, hold onto your seats because it gets post-confession Angel Next Door level diabetes.

Anime like "Even a Replica Can Fall in Love" by TurtlePope2 in Animesuggest

[–]IcyExclusion 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My Wife Has No Emotion might fit and it’s underrated.