This is why I tend to like yuri more than straight romance anime. With no need for one character to be the viewer's cardboard avatar, the MC tends to be more interesting. Off the top of my head, the only straight romance show in the last decade that I thought had a good male MC was My Love Story.
Konosuba is the only one I’ve actively enjoyed, but I have seen the first couple of episodes of Tanya and I’ll probably continue with that at some point, becoming the (violent, psychotic) little girl is certainly a much more interesting concept. I’m torn over whether to try Overlord or not, again it seems a more interesting concept, but from what I’ve heard it doesn’t exactly sound compelling if the MC is just so OP he beats everybody all the time.
I mean, given that the whole purpose of harem shows is just to lust over the girl(s) of your choosing (or ship, if you’re into that, I’m not) I can’t really think of much other reason for the male MCs to exist. As such, I’d much rather they were a character I would actually root for getting the girl(s) than one I’d just like to shove off a cliff and take the girls for myself.
Eh, yuri’s not really for me either. Honestly if it’s romance (rather than harem, which I think is a big distinction) just give me two decent characters, or maybe a love triangle at most. I don’t have anything against romance, things like Maison Ikkoku and After the Rain are lovely. But if the purpose of the show is just “look at all these cute/hot girls” just give me the girls and forget the boys.
That’s been on my list for a while, destined to be one of those shows I keep forgetting about and will end up watching about ten years after everyone else. Ever see Maison Ikkoku yourself Prof? I ask because that description makes me think you’d probably enjoy it.
I tried Natsuyuki Rendezvous but didn't massively care for it, was a bit of a mixed bag and I dropped it after a few eps :/
Fair point, and certainly worth making people aware of, but I do think the romantic aspect is still pretty moving. Probably more-so because it’s not the sole focus. Godai and Kyoko are good characters in their own right beyond their relationship.
From what I’m aware, it does appear to still be a thing. There are certainly a few in existence as I’ve found when looking longingly but fruitlessly at the prospect of visiting Japan for a while. Maybe one day.
I don't think Yotsuba is over genki-y though. Just about the right amount of cheerful!
She's the "quite one". I do like characters like that, but there has to be something about them to make them interesting otherwise they just come off as boring.
Yotsuba
I also happened to finish watching this today, though for me it's a rewatch. Much like you I find the ending to be a cop out though being ready for it meant it didnt anger me like the first time I watched years ago.Clannad (both seasons)
I am not binging a prodigious amount of anime don't worry, I just watch a few things in sequence (normally 3-5 different anime) so I can watch across a few different genres. I started Clannad a few weeks ago I think.
I was going to give this a solid 8.5 overall but, for me at least, I think the ending was slightly spoilt from what I envisioned it was going to be. I still don't think the huge eyes were a good character fit but I was able to overlook them (⓿_⓿)
Spoilers ahead:
The first season I could kind of take it or leave it, it was very moe, and pretty light-hearted especially compared to season 2 (After Story), however I think it was necessary for it to exist to really make AS build on it.
AS was a whole different level for me, without being spoilt somehow I got to like episode 9 or so and I just got this overwhelming sense of sadness as I knew Nagisa was going to die, I didn't know how I knew, but I did.
Of course we hit her death around episode 16, and I think I was just a total mess from then onwards, it's the saddest an anime has made me since Violet Evergarden. I thought the sadness would end with her death in an episode or two, but no, it carried on for the next 8 or 9 episodes in bursts
I actually wanted it to end with a bitter-sweet happy ending, Tomoya raising Ushio with the help of Sanae and Akio, he's lost Nagisa but Ushio becomes the redemption and his reason d'aitre.
Instead we got a slightly cop-out ending in my opinion, with Nagisa coming back to life via multi-verse theory or similar. For this reason I can't give it the 8.5 I wanted to give it overall.
I think a lot of what KyoAni does is a good fit for my tastes and I want to watch some more of their shows, I've not seen them all yet.
8/10
Yeah they basically covered that in a montage right at the end Kyou a teacher, her twin a nurse, the smart one driving with a suitcase presumably in the States. It was a bit vague, especialy for some characters like Tomoyo. Shes just on a beach.