Among the many manga genres, romantic comedy is said to be a surefire hit, and in recent years, it has become especially popular. Many works in this genre have been gaining popularity in recent years, such as "Teasing Master Takagi-san," which depicts the love game between a classmate sitting next to another person, "The Quintessential Quintuplets," which is a romantic comedy that incorporates elements of mystery in which the protagonist searches for a destined person he met in the past, and "My Youth Romantic Comedy is Wrong, As I Expected," which incorporates many literary elements. However, at the same time, we have also heard many voices from people who just can't stand watching such romantic comedies. So, this time, I would like to explain the fun of romantic comedies and how to enjoy them to the fullest, using the work "The Lady Boss of the Goddess Dormitory" as an example.
Symptoms of Romantic Comedy Aversion
First of all, I would like to introduce here as symptoms of romantic comedy aversion what it is about this work that people who don't like romantic comedies, or people who have a romantic comedy aversion, find disgusting.
I hate convenience
The first thing that comes to mind is the typical story progression of a romantic comedy. In a romantic comedy, the heroine must be portrayed as attractive as the protagonist, so the relationship between the protagonist and heroine needs to progress at a good pace. This results in a story progression that is convenient, where the two characters are being affectionate with each other just a few pages later.
I find myself hating the main character
The next thing is that I can't sympathize with the main character at all. The main character's situation, in which he is pampered almost unconditionally by many heroines in the story, seems too unrealistic to the reader. It's certainly difficult to empathize with such an ultimate lucky boy.
I can't like the heroine
Naturally, if you can't empathize with the protagonist, you can't empathize with the heroine who is in love with him. If you can't empathize with the protagonist and heroine, the content of the work itself seems like something that doesn't concern you, and you can't like the characters, which is a typical symptom of romantic comedy aversion.
Differences between romance novels and manga romantic comedies
In this way, manga romantic comedies have a slightly different aspect to romance novels, which can carefully depict the protagonist's feelings and inner thoughts. Therefore, even if they are works that deal with the same love, isn't it necessary to read manga romantic comedies with the knowledge that they can be enjoyed in slightly different ways?
Prescription for Romantic Comedy Haters
So how should readers who cannot enjoy romantic comedies for the reasons mentioned above approach them? It's a common opinion that if you don't like it, you don't have to read it, but when it comes to romantic comedies, even those who hate romantic comedies can enjoy them quite a bit if they change their perspective.
Many people who hate romantic comedies have high IQs! ?
First of all, one thing to say about people who dislike romantic comedies is that many of them have a high IQ.
Why does dislike romantic comedies have a high IQ?
When a smart person reads a romantic comedy, they are left with a lot of questions, such as "Why did the protagonist act like that?" or "What are the heroine's true feelings?" Naturally, romantic comedies are not a genre that provides clear answers to such questions, so the content can feel a bit thin.
There's a way to enjoy romantic comedies that only those who hate romantic comedies can do
So how should high-IQ readers enjoy romantic comedies? In fact, with just one perspective, you can enjoy romantic comedies just as much as romance novels. From here on, we'll introduce you to some high-IQ ways to enjoy romantic comedies.
Change the way you look at romantic comedies
First of all, people who dislike romantic comedies need to change the way they look at them. Naturally, as long as you look at romantic comedy manga with the same eyes as you would a romance novel, you will not be able to understand the true enjoyment of romantic comedy manga.
Focus on composition
The essence of a romantic comedy manga is in each and every illustration. This is a work that focuses not on the story or the empathy with the protagonist, but on how to produce a wonderful illustration at the optimal timing.
Romantic comedy manga is a gallery
In other words, romantic comedy manga is a kind of gallery. Take a look at this work and pay attention to the tempo and situations in which you can enjoy the illustrations.
Romantic comedy is kabuki!!
Now, I explained above that you can enjoy romantic comedy manga like a gallery, but in fact, the same way is enjoyed in Japan's good old traditional arts. That is Kabuki, which can be said to be the pinnacle of Japanese theatrical arts. From here, I would like to introduce the common ways to enjoy Kabuki and romantic comedy manga.
Inherited traditions and conventions
The "conventions" are a special feature of romantic comedies, but if you think about them in relation to kabuki, they make perfect sense. Kabuki has the aspect of conveying excellent theater that has been cultivated over a long tradition to the present day. Isn't this a charm that is shared with the conventions of romantic comedies? So, can we say that we can learn how to enjoy romantic comedies from kabuki?
Differences between actors (characters)
The way to enjoy Kabuki is, of course, to enjoy the content of the play, but what is especially important is which actors are performing the same play. Each actor has their own unique family background and physique, and enjoying the differences is one way to enjoy Kabuki.
How to enjoy a romantic comedy
Isn't this also common to how to enjoy romantic comedies? What is noteworthy about romantic comedies is how they change the characters to make the story more interesting, even though the story revolves around similar conventions.
Romantic Comedy and Kabuki's Mie
Looking at romantic comedies like kabuki, there are other similarities between them. For example, in kabuki, there is a concept of Mie, which is to freeze scenes that you want to leave an impression on the audience, but even in romantic comedies, there are many scenes that show the heroine's cuteness in a big way, so rather than as a story, it is something to enjoy as a single frame like Mie, like in kabuki.
Original Kabuki and Romantic Comedy
Some may wonder if it's appropriate to combine romantic comedy with traditional Kabuki, but if you look back, Kabuki was also an erotic culture at the time, with women performing on stage.
Romantic Comedy is Modern Kabuki!
This backfired, and restrictions were put in place during the Edo period, so that only men could perform on stage. However, in any case, when you consider the historical background of Kabuki, you can see that romantic comedies and Kabuki are not cultures that are far apart, right?
What makes this work interesting
In this way, the good points of traditional romantic comedies are condensed into this work. It does not just follow the same old conventions, but also adds ingenuity within those conventions to make it even more interesting, giving it a kabuki-like fun that sets it apart from recent romantic comedy works.
The Taste of Tradition
In recent years, many works have been released that are not bound by the conventions of traditional romantic comedies and have made a breakthrough by using their original style as a weapon. Of course, such works are also attractive, but it is also interesting to look through works that pursue the fun of the classic, especially like this work.
Summary
What did you think? In this article, we introduced the fun of the classic romantic comedy work "Megami-Ryo no Ryomou-kun," which stands out from the recent trends in romantic comedies, and the recent trend of romantic comedies. With the recent spread of social media, it has become easy to swipe through illustrations of cute characters. However, even in such times, the idea of a romantic comedy where a story connects cute girl illustrations to make them look even better still lives on, right?
