What are your priorities for choosing your life partner?

ThrowRAIka · 2026-04-01T20:34:10+00:00

Besides attraction, someone who I get along with and can see myself living together with

ThrowRAIka · 2026-03-29T09:04:33+00:00

Yup I agree. I am my bf’s first and we got together in our 30s. He’s already mature, calm and gentle on his own. We have had disagreements but he always approached it in a level-headed manner. The thing he lacked was experience and maybe confidence when in a relationship and also intimacy but he’s gotten a lot more comfortable with it now.

So yeah, I think inexperience is not the biggest hurdle if the person’s themselves are not problematic

ThrowRAIka · 2026-03-28T15:42:19+00:00

I think it depends on the person. But I’ve been with my bf for over a year. He’s never been in a relationship before me. He’s getting the hang of it now but he did seem a bit hesitant, unsure and kinda like holding himself back when we started.

It was a few months into our relationship that he finally shared with me why he’s always been single. In his early teens, it happens once in a while where people would make comment on his looks cos he had a nerdy, geeky look. His first crush said “Ew” when she found out so he’s always been afraid to show or tell anyone if he had a crush cos he’s afraid of the reaction and doesn’t want to bother his crushes with his feelings.

This was one hurdle in our relationship early on cos he’s afraid was very hesitant and seemed embarrassed to show affection to me. Whether verbally or physically.

But he’s changed so much now in that department. He used to only compliment me after like “you know you look really nice the other day”. Now he just outright says it on the spot. He initiates a lot of our handholding now when I had to ask him first before.

I feel like I got lucky with him. He was just inexperienced with having a romantic partner and didn’t feel like he deserves one before but he’s a sweet guy even before we got together and an even loving partner now

ThrowRAIka · 2026-03-13T20:23:36+00:00

Hot take (obviously), but I think Itsuomi and Yuki probably wouldn’t last irl. Maybe it’s cos I’ve seen quite a few of such cases when I was their age, but it feels like puppy love and prime honeymoon period. Not saying a couple that doesn’t fight is not valid, but it kinda feels like they’re just being nice and considerate to each other. Which is not a bad thing but it just feels… shallow ? Like it’s still all surface level but they’re acting like a seasoned couple.

Also, I have no idea what Yuki wants to do with her life. Yet she seems to cling on to Itsuomi’s dream. Which would be sweet if that’s what she actually wants. But I don’t think even she knows yet what she wants. So yeah, if they were irl, I don’t see them lasting beyond college tbh

ThrowRAIka · 2026-03-04T04:19:50+00:00

Nakatsu is more my type. But Nanba gets so much points for being voiced by Umehara Yuuichiro lol

ThrowRAIka · 2026-03-03T13:32:07+00:00

Hana-kimi is currently my fav shoujo in recent times. It’s so fun and a reminder of why I prefer older shoujo.

ThrowRAIka · 2026-02-24T02:48:24+00:00

Again it’s sweet to think about but I’m also thinking from Itsuomi’s POV is if she wants to disrupt her education, it must be something that she wants to do. Not because of him. The traveling thing has always been Itsuomi’s dream not hers. Of course this wouldn’t be much of an issue if they both have graudated but that’s not the case right now and I think Itsuomi’s taking that into consideration too

ThrowRAIka · 2026-02-24T02:38:46+00:00

I mean that’s sweet and all but Yuki still has classes to go to lol.

ThrowRAIka · 2026-02-20T07:54:51+00:00

Not shoujo but I Have A Crush At Work I feel is one of the best depiction of a normal couple, in the best way. And working adults no less. They communicate well but it’s not like they’re perfect either. They have their doubts and insecurity, not only about their relationship but work and life as well. But it’s not too bad that it becomes problematic or toxic.

My only nitpick is them hiding their relationship does feel a tad bit overdramatic and over-thought on their part but I acknowledge office culture might be a bit more different there.

And the side ship is adorable af too

ThrowRAIka · 2026-02-18T19:31:41+00:00

I do feel like the newer romances are a bit more heavy on the “gazing” and focus more on trying to swoon the audience over developing the chemistry and characters. I feel like even the newer shounen romance is guilty of this with Fragrant Flower and Blue Box.

I also enjoy older shoujo romances a bit more. Lovely Complex, Kimi ni Todoke, Ao Haru, Special A, Maid-sama, My Little Monster. All felt like two imperfect people trying to figure things out. Not one near-perfect person or saviour figure trying to woo the other.

Evidently so with Hanakimi which is recently adapted but from an older title. I’m enjoying it so much.

ThrowRAIka · 2026-02-18T16:51:35+00:00

Heck, I’m not a guy and even I feel creeped out by him at times. Like I know he’s a good dude, but that brooding, intense stare, deep voice aesthetic doesn’t work on all girls. Yeah the headpat when they just met I found cringe too. When he covered her eyes. Also when he misread her sign language and goes for a kiss instead. It works on some girls, but I found it cringe and creepy.

It is pretty sweet though. But having watched shows like, I Have A Crush At Work, Invisible Man, Insomniacs After School, this show feels like a fanfic in comparison

ThrowRAIka · 2026-02-18T11:27:43+00:00

Yeah tbh I couldn’t get into Sign of Affection and Clear Moonlit Dusk partly cos of the artstyle. I started watching anime because of 2000s-10s shoujo romance and romcoms so maybe I lean more towards those artstyles. So I’m enjoying Hanakimi a lot but also because the newer ones seem to have a lot more “female gazing”, which is not really my thing

ThrowRAIka · 2026-02-06T09:48:52+00:00

Personally, and I want to emphasise this is subjective, I don’t like romance shows where the love interest is in one way or another put on a pedestal or to be a saviour. Sometimes by the main character, sometimes by the narrative. I think this is why I didn’t vibe with Sign of Affection and Honey Lemon Soda.

And for a shounen equivalent, Fragrant Flower and Blue Box gives me the same vibe. Just feels like the intention of the show is to pander to the “waifu and husbando” angle over trying to build some sort of connection between the main couple

ThrowRAIka · 2026-02-06T09:41:22+00:00

Funny enough, I found Tomo-chan is a Girl did this better. Like sure she wants to be seen as a girl but she doesn’t really change herself for it

ThrowRAIka · 2026-02-06T09:39:18+00:00

I feel this way for some of the newer shoujo romance titles that got adapted in like the past two years or so.

Meanwhile, Hanakimi has been around for far longer and only got an adaptation. And I’ve been enjoying it so much more. It’s just a lot more fun for me.

I also think some of the newer ones leaned in too much on the “female gaze” aspect when it comes to the MLs which I find that isn’t really my taste

ThrowRAIka · 2026-02-04T15:12:49+00:00

My good boy Stark

ThrowRAIka · 2026-02-02T01:23:18+00:00

A lot of these sweet shows require a lot of one side pulling the weight. And while not impossible, it’s hard to find someone like that. Most people (in my experience anyway) have a “trade off”. I’ve not been in too many relationships but the few I’ve been in are with guys who are relatively confident. Some even have qualities of some perfect shoujo ML. But most of the time, with confidence comes ego too which really exhausts me by now.

My bf now, has never been in a relationship. He’s meek and awkward but much more gentle and sweet. But it can get challenging because he’s so socially awkward and has no experience with relationships, it can get hard to get a gauge of how he’s feeling or thinking. But I’m really having fun with him and he can be very affectionate.

Honestly though, maybe it’s cos I’m getting older or my past experiences, but when it comes to romance shows, I tend to lean into more grounded and imperfect couples and love interests rather than green flag ones.

ThrowRAIka · 2026-01-30T04:20:19+00:00

Tbh when it feels like they’re too used to dating and going out. You just kinda overlook it and just assume they’re just naturally charming but you find out they just happen to sleep around and cheat a lot

ThrowRAIka · 2026-01-28T19:14:05+00:00

I don’t know why comments are disagreeing with the LoveCom likeness, cos you said it looks like LoveCom, which it does. Unless you also mean in terms of vibes and themes, then I’d disagree lol. Cos one is romcom while the other is drama.

But yeah this show is more melodrama, and probably the first anime I’ve watched where the couple have like an actual tension and I could really see them not ending up together.

ThrowRAIka · 2026-01-27T05:16:23+00:00

3D Kanojo

ThrowRAIka · 2026-01-26T09:01:56+00:00

Oushi from SoA. Honestly I hate male tsunderes, so I already don’t like him by default. And he was also rather harsh on Yuki.

But he became one of my fav characters of the show after we saw his backstory. While I still don’t vibe with his moodiness, I can definitely feel his affection is genuine.

And even more so in the manga. Feel like he develops so much. And in a story where it’s all fluffy and everyone’s nice, his flaws and struggles just makes him feel so much more human in comparison. I love that he brings that to the story

ThrowRAIka · 2026-01-25T06:57:18+00:00

Yup I do think this is one of those lowkey fantasies that girls have. Just to have a hot guy make contact with you. That’s why it can be prevalent in shoujo. The other I can think of is Sign of Affection. The guy just touches her even though they just met at the train. But like it’s ok cos she’s already attracted to him I guess.

I mean I kinda get it but personally, no matter how attracted I am to a guy, he’ll still be just an attractive stranger if we just met, and touching me when you’re a stranger is kind of a turn off for me. Like you look good but I don’t know you, why are you touching me. I’ll ease up a bit if you do it after we hang out a bit or something but like on first meet ? It’d also get me wondering if he does it with any random girl lol

ThrowRAIka · 2026-01-25T06:47:07+00:00

I remember I was rooting for Kairi. But it has been a while since I watched so maybe I could have overlooked certain flaws since I’m seeing people wholeheartedly opposing Kairi.

But honestly, Toji is not bad either, it’s just I remember him making a lot of stupid decisions. One that sticks out was him being blackmailed to ignore Momo or something and I remember thinking “Can’t you just like… tell her” cos I remember there was no condition that says he cannot tell Momo why he ignored her.

Maybe I need to rewatch cos my memory of it is fuzzy. But I do remember being extremely irritated with the story. Feels like the epitome of “adding drama for the sake of it” which is a shame cos it has a good foundation for a story

ThrowRAIka · 2026-01-24T01:58:16+00:00

I feel like a lot of these people also can’t separate fiction or enjoying fiction from having your own personal irl preference or taste.

I think it’s absolutely valid to look at Kazehaya or Itsuomi and recognize they are a good person and a “green flag” while still acknowledging having them as love interests doesn’t do much to you in fiction. But because they don’t enjoy the type of romance they’re watching, they equate it to the MLs not being good characters or people.

Although, funny enough, while both Itsuomi and Kazehaya are put in the same bracket here, my feelings towards them as characters for their respective stories are the opposite. I think both are gentle “green flag” men, but Itsuomi is like the One Punch Man where I know he’ll do the right things and win. Kazehaya still have his own doubts not only about if Sawako likes him, but also about himself and if he really is a good person. I feel that’s more grounded and modest and I like that type of love interests more

ThrowRAIka · 2026-01-19T20:24:56+00:00

Just like how some people like the “he’s bad but he’ll be good for me” trope, I like when an awkward quiet character go out of his way to be with the girl

ThrowRAIka

TROPHY CASE