@IKnight: yeah, I think it’s a way of looking at film that can be applied to a lot of genres, but romance in particular seems to be benefit from it - perhaps it’s the amount of character study that goes on.

The Tesco Value card gag gets me every time. ^_^’

@Owen S: a sci-fi related post sounds like a plan. I’m kinda going through the genres, what with slice of life, romance and hopefully soon a comedy-related editorial. Sci-fi is one of my favourite genres but I’ll have to spend a fair amount of research on it though. As for TT, I’m thoroughly absorbed into it now so I’ll probably make another post or two before the end of its run.

I’m onto the fifth volume of KK but yeah, I got distracted with other things. A Saikano post will be forthcoming too, but the viewing experience is too…intense? for a marathon session. As for TMC’s donkey, I’m not sure. If anything, it’s some sort of devine intervention or matchmaker to bring the couple together. Maybe…I haven’t really thought too hard on it TBH. That needs a rewatch too…damn, my backlog is shocking!

What your comparison reminds me of is the distinction between “hard” and “soft” sci-fi — assuming you’re not familiar with the concept, hard sci-fi generally emphasises real science and actual rules over the more fantastic and removed-from-reality approach favoured by its soft counterpart.

How this bears similarity is in the way hard sci-fi usually has its eye on the big picture, as opposed to soft sci-fi where the focus lies on the characters, and how its usage of science helps cast the spotlight on them all the better.

Glad to hear that Noe’s finally grown on you. I was beginning to get a little bit worried at the lack of true tears posts from your end, but that’s put paid to that idea, I guess.

Two other questions before I end this meandering comment: how’s your progress with the KareKano manga so far? I got distracted by many a shiny thing and haven’t obtained the discipline to sit down and finish the other half off just yet, so I’m wondering if you’re basing your comment on the manga or anime, although I’m assuming the latter more than former.

Finally, is it just me, or did you see the donkey in TMC as an allegory on love? I’ll be expanding on that in my post, but I’m just wondering if I’m reading too much into things.

Great post all in all, in addition to being a timely reminder that I still have all seven volumes of Saikano to read whenever I can get down to that, too. Memories of the anime remain faint from when I saw it about 5 years ago, and I wonder if a rewatch of that would help me appreciate it more (but it’s not like I didn’t then).

I imagine you could pick out a zoom lense vs. wide angle difference in the way that anime handles other things too, but romance is a particularly (emotionally) visceral plot element/theme/thingy. Almost unique in the intensity of feeling it can provoke, I think, perhaps only matched by death/grief and birth (though birth doesn’t feature very often in my anime experience - Seikai no Danshou excepted, and even in that case it’s present as a possibility rather than on-screen).

Eh, hatching, matching and despatching; I’d better stop before becoming too maudlin.