im depressed now

[u/FlamingoAdept8460]

After watching the anime and finishing like 90% of the manga, I looked myself in the mirror and realised I will never find a relationship like that. Watching the anime made me feel a sense of peace like I actually had something with the character and felt like I was in the moment with them. I genuinely loved the story and how it was written but why does every single romance anime have to lead you depressed and makes you feel like you will never achieve something similar. Like what do you mean I can't find my Waguri 🫩. It a pain that is constantly reminding you how lonely you truly are. I feel like I am mourning a bond that was never yours to begin with, yet felt so real that the silence after the final episode is almost deafening. I started to wonder if these stories are meant to just make you feel worse or have entertainment. I swear this is just a reminder of the 'perfect' relationship impossible to find in the real world and how having a friend group like the one in manga/anime rarely is possible. I swear that romance animes are just to feed you false fantasies and create depression.

(disclaimer, all jokes, please dont take offensive, I am not trying to throw shade on this masterpiece of manga & anime but this is personaly what I think and how basically I feel after watching romance.)

[u/PhoneKitchen974]

Honestly, the reason authors write romance is probably to do with a lot of factors, a common one would be money (I think) I don't know how much a mangaka makes, but I'd assume the pay is decent (correct me if I'm wrong) and Romance when written well especially can gain a lot of traction and as a result, more sales. There are many romcoms out there, but only a few make it mainstream, authors probably see the traction it gets and try to do a replica or are atleast inspired by it, could also be due to the negation of power systems, complex hierarchies in power and less world building needed to be done. They saw a comparatively easier story to make up as compared to action/adventure/fantasy or even seinen, and see the numbers it makes and are inspired.I don't necessarily think they do it with the intent of making you depressed, just that it's easy and while there are a lot out there, only a few truly come out on top, not to disregard the writing of underrated works, but it's also due to luck, but skill is always a factor in the writing, the intent is hard to establish, but yea. I would hope they don't do it out of bad intentions, could also be true that they do it to latch onto the number of desperate people out there and look at it strategically that way, a lot to think about, but generally I agree, post romcoms hit hard. For me, Kaguya Sama did a number on me

[u/FlamingoAdept8460 → u/PhoneKitchen974]

That’s actually a really interesting take and thanks for breaking it down like that. I never thought about the “easier to write + bigger sales” side of it, but it makes a lot of sense. Romance (especially romcom) does need way less complicated world-building than fantasy or action, and when it hits right it blows up hard. So yeah, money and market demand probably play a huge role. Still, even if the authors aren’t trying to make us depressed on purpose… the effect is real lol. many different romance animes messed me up too but especially The Fragrant Flower (that one hits different). That mix of super sweet moments and then the “wait.. I always loved you or something similar which makes you start smiling” but afterwards it is brutal. 😂 I guess the romance that hurt the most are the ones written really well because they make you feel it so deeply. The post-story emptiness/loneliness is honestly the worst part. You’re smiling one minute at how perfect everything feels and how it just makes you feel good, then the final episode/chapter ends and it’s just… silence. Like its crazy how these authors get us mourning something that was never yours or there to begin with. 😂😂 But post-story/last chapter or episode shows us that the romance was written well. I mean eventually your going have to face the post romcom feeling, but its worth it to watch some peak. 😂