"Mature" Relationships/Couples? [Archive]

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Lego

02-01-2006, 03:49 AM

With the good and bad anime couples thread, I figured that I would make this thread. While I don't hate the usual "build up to a confession" romances that we get in most shows, I'm not a huge fan of them(unless they're really well done). So I often find myself looking at predefined relationships, or relationships where "something" is going on. Instead of the usual confession and acceptance to end the last episode, something where you know things are going on behind the scenes or under the sheets.

Although after thinking about it for a while, I could only come up with partial ones like a Onegai Teacher, AMG TV, and so on.

02-01-2006, 04:16 AM

There's also Saikano and Kare Kano.

golthin

02-01-2006, 04:17 AM

Lego

02-01-2006, 04:22 AM

Kare Kano is a one that I didn't think of. From the anime and manga, you have lots of things going on. I was in the same predicament as you golthin. While making the topic I thought that I would rattle off 3-4, but in the end I could only think of a couple ones that almost made the cut.

Damo

02-01-2006, 04:28 AM

Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 places some pretty large hints with couples like Sylia and Nigel Priss/Nigel. MS Nadesico has a couple too as side stories to the main Akito/Yurika one. Can't remember there names though. /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif

02-01-2006, 10:27 AM

Nadesico also includes the relationship between Uribatake and his wife, and also between Minato and Goat Hoary.

One of my personal favorites is the relationship between Cobra and Lady in Space Adventure Cobra. No sexual tension there--just brigands on a mission.

I'll also mention the occasional romances that blossom in Dai-Guard. Couples get together and break up not out of idolization or fear of imminent destruction, but rather out of honest mutual attraction. The end of a relationship isn't treated like the end of the world.

And the last that comes to mind is the relationship between Captains Gotoh and Nagumo in Patlabor. They're at once like an old married couple and at the same time like two teenagers who can't get their feelings across. One of the most touching episodes of the series is just about these two driving around in the rain.

Pfil

02-01-2006, 11:02 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Lego said:
With the good and bad anime couples thread, I figured that I would make this thread. While I don't hate the usual "build up to a confession" romances that we get in most shows, I'm not a huge fan of them(unless they're really well done). So I often find myself looking at predefined relationships, or relationships where "something" is going on. Instead of the usual confession and acceptance to end the last episode, something where you know things are going on behind the scenes or under the sheets.

Although after thinking about it for a while, I could only come up with partial ones like a Onegai Teacher, AMG TV, and so on.

[/ QUOTE ]
If you want anime with mature relationship themes, you'll want to watch Maison Ikkoku. It has plenty of themes that you don't get to see in other anime (or rarely in other genres of entertainment either, really). Sure, Godai is an immature kid who doesn't know the first thing about women, which leads to the usual jokes and sitcom situations. But there is so much more going on in the background, with Kyouko and the other characters - loss of one's spouse, marrying young, pressure to marry (/remarry ------------) by one's family, 'miai' (meeting between the two parties in an arranged marriage), implied sexuality, teacher/student relationships, and much much more. (It's really worth a thread on its own if one were to delve into it properly.) And then there's the relationship between Ms Ichinose and her husband, etc. You even get to see a traditional Japanese wedding during the course of the series, which is something I hadn't seen before. MI is a comedy on the surface, but there's plenty of depth to the drama when you get further into the series. I've seen it described as a soap opera, which again is kind of true on the surface, but mostly insulting considering a lot of thought and care obviously went into crafting the story...

There are also some good episodes in the Takahashi Rumiko Gekijou series dealing with relationship issues. I'm desperately hoping that as Takahashi gets older, she'll get a desire to do more of these more mature kinds of stories, as much of a fan as I am of her works for kids and young adults.

Lego

02-01-2006, 12:30 PM

While I wasn't really asking for reccomendations, I have seen Ikkoku. Patlabor was one I didn't really think of. I remember from one of the movies that had Nagumo leave at the end with her old teacher, or something like that. You could see and feel that they had something "deeper". I do like Gotoh though.

fantasydewdrop

02-01-2006, 12:45 PM

Well, Uranus and Neptune from Sailor Moon have an established relationship from before they were first introduced and do hint that they've been doing things under the sheets, but since they aren't the focus of the series, I suppose they aren't what you meant.

Uh, there's a BL title that has an established couple as the main characters (with a third party trying to ignore the fact that his love interest is taken), but I don't know if it's in R1 (don't think so...) and I'd have to look up the name.

Pfil

02-01-2006, 12:47 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Lego said:
While I wasn't really asking for reccomendations, I have seen Ikkoku.

[/ QUOTE ]
Despite the 'you'll want to watch' part, I didn't intend for my post to sound like a recommendation, that was just my poor English kicking in. /images/graemlins/happy.gif I keep mixing up expressions, it's very annoying (for those who read my posts as well, I imagine)... Anyway, I meant to list MI's properties as they pertain to the 'mature relationships' part of the topic title. It does also (occasionally) feature people in steady relationships, something I forgot to mention in my post, although it isn't really the main focus of the series.

akcoll99

02-01-2006, 01:50 PM

Well, there's Kaoru and Aoi from Ai Yori Aoshi, who have a serious relationship, even if they have to keep it secret from everyone.

And wow...that's about the only other one I can think of off the top of my head that hasn't already been mentioned...

Lego

02-01-2006, 02:10 PM

[ QUOTE ]
akcoll99 said:
Well, there's Kaoru and Aoi from Ai Yori Aoshi, who have a serious relationship, even if they have to keep it secret from everyone.

And wow...that's about the only other one I can think of off the top of my head that hasn't already been mentioned...

[/ QUOTE ]

Something like that is what I was after also. I find myself gravitating to more serious or "mature" relationships like the one you mentioned, and like the ones mentioned. I also like the challange of trying to think of more couples that fit the description.

akcoll99

02-01-2006, 05:54 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Lego said:
[ QUOTE ]
akcoll99 said:
Well, there's Kaoru and Aoi from Ai Yori Aoshi, who have a serious relationship, even if they have to keep it secret from everyone.

And wow...that's about the only other one I can think of off the top of my head that hasn't already been mentioned...

[/ QUOTE ]

Something like that is what I was after also. I find myself gravitating to more serious or "mature" relationships like the one you mentioned, and like the ones mentioned. I also like the challange of trying to think of more couples that fit the description.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree. I don't know how old you are, but I'm in my late 20's, and I find myself more and more interested in the relationships of older characters, and less interested in teen romances, with some notable exceptions like Kare Kano.

When I posted before I was on lunch from work and didn't have a whole lot of time to think about it, but now that I'm home from work, I still can't think of too many series where the relationship is already established, or the focus isn't on just the relationship's build-up...Jinto and Lafiel in Crest Of The Stars maybe, but even then it's still a building relationship. I guess anime really is a teenager's market after all... /images/graemlins/tongue.gif /images/graemlins/sad.gif