So I want to start this right off the bat. I am not one who celebrates Valentine's day. Never really enjoyed it, and probably never will. Not because of passed relationships with people, but simply because the idea of having a holiday to celebrate love just seems so business cordial. If that makes sense. Why celebrate love on a single day? Celebrate it everyday! And if you need a special day to really make it special. Why not his/ her birthday? Or better yet, be really romantic and make it a surprise, whatever it is. Love.
Now that that rant is out of the way, I have some anime choices for you all; if you feel inclined then go watch them. If you have already, go watch them... again. :D Most of the animes I'm going to post on this list deal more with the couples than the actual concept of "love".
1) Mirai Nikki
To start this list off let's go from dark to light. Haha... light. You'll come to know I don't do anything half hearted ;)
So yeah, Mirai Nikki (Future Diary) is the first one. A series about a middle school student, Amano Yukiteru, who is a bit of a loner. He has a friend though, who just so happens to be the god of causality, Deus Ex Machina. Deus offers him a phone that can predict the future, and thus the story begins. I'll try not spoiling it from here on.
During the series he meets Gasai Yuno. A mysterious pink haired girl who is practically super-human. As these two spend time together, it starts off very confusing to Yuki. He's uneasy around her because she openly admits to loving him. And like every male (me included), don't know how to answer that. But over time, he realises that Yuno truly does love him, and he begins to show her affection in return. This anime is dark, and really shows how far someone is willing to go for the one's they care about in a hyper-parody sort of way. For those men/ women who want a loyal, and I mean LOYAL waifu, Gasi Yuno is your girl :3
2) Hellsing: Ultimate
What? This isn't a very romantic anime! I know I know. But it has the color red in it. Like the heart :P
Hellsing: Ultimate deals with the Hellsing family. A family of vampire slayers that has been around for a very very long time. How long? Long enough to make Alucard aka Vlad the Impaler aka Dracula their guardian. But let's jump a few levels and get to Seras (Police girl), and Pip Bernadette (The French Man). Extra points if you get those references.
Seras now works for the Hellsing Organization after turning into a vampire herself by Alucard. It was either that or die. As the story progresses, the Hellsing organization hire a mercenary group named "The Wild Geese", lead by Pip Bernadotte. As soon as he spots Seras, he is immediately smitten. He tries, really tries to win her over. He stays calm, he tries and lightens the mood with constant jokes even though it's a thin veil masking how scared he actually is. In my personal opinion, for those who want an awesome husbando, Pip is your man.
3) Plastic Memories
Yup. Some of you may have seen this coming.
Plastic Memories. Just thinking about this is making my eyes water *sniff*. Imagine where the memories of dead relatives are stored in to artificial human bodies and kept there for a certain amount of time. These humanoids are know as Giftia.
The story is about a young boy, Tsukasa, who works for a corporation as basically a body farmer. When the Giftia are close to expiration, it is his corporation, SAI's duty, to collect from people who have paid for the Giftia. He is partnered with a Giftia, as is the practice of the corporation, and her name is Isla. Oddly enough too, the pairs that his company makes are all Co-ed. Ironic?
At the very beginning of the series Tsukasa falls in love with Isla the moment he lays eyes on her. At first, Tsukasa doesn't understand the ropes of the job, and his partner Isla really wants nothing to do with him. He persists, though. Even the other workers try and assist him because they want it to work out. To me, this couple really shows what happens when you open your heart to someone, put some trust in, take a chance, and never give up. That being said, get a tissue box when you watch this, because you're going to need it.
4) Your Lie In April
Little thing I want to share is I tried auditioning for the voice of Kosei. I wasn't what they were looking for. Oh well. But yeah Your Lie In April.
This anime hits me hard because I was active in music for 10 years. So I felt a connection when I discovered that it was about a musician :)
This anime follows Kosei, a prodigy pianist who has lost touch with playing the piano, and Kaori, a violinist who seems to have a thing for him. Throughout the entire anime, Kaori tries to help mend Kosei's connection with music. It's very character driven, and damn well executed and must be commended for it. So much so that I really can't say much else about it without spoiling it. Just know this: Don't be afraid to spend time with someone you want to spend time with. Our lives are very short. Don't waste it thinking about what if. Go!
5) Toradora
Probably one of the most probable high school romances in anime history, in my opinion.
The story is about a young high school "delinquent" who lives with his mom in a one room apartment who suffers from restless bitch face syndrome. Ryuji. In all seriousness I think ryuji is the perfect guy that every woman looks for. He's nice, hardworking, cooks, cleans, and can put up with even the most aggressiveness that any girl can give him. Speaking of aggression, enter Taiga. A fellow classmate of Ryuji's, and is famously known as the "Palm- Top Tiger" who probably has a temper with a shorter fuse than her actual size. Short person, short temper. Personally I think Taiga is the perfect girl for men. How? She's aggressive, active, a bit bossy, but she isn't afraid to speak her mind. And from men, I'm going to tell you this now women, all we want is for you to tell us how you feel, and when you don't it pisses us off. Which is why sometimes fights break out.
So what makes this anime great? Well it's social satire is a good start. Ryuji like's Taiga's friend, Minori, while Taiga likes Ryuji's friend Yuusaku. So here's where it gets interesting. Ryuji and Taiga find out about this cross- love relation, and try to help each other win the heart of their friends. Which honestly to me they managed to pull off spectacularly considering it went on for 24 episodes.
The adventures these two pull off just to try and help each other is just awesome and funny. There's even one line in the movie that kind of moved me right from the start. It's when Ryuji mentions how the dragon and the tiger have always been equals, and always by each other's side, or something like that. If find this symbolic since Ryuji's name comes from dragon (Ryu), and Taiga is known as the Palm- Top Tiger. You see that?
But ultimately enough these two go through a lot, and experience so much together that the ending is obvious. Even with that said however, the ending no less beautiful and will make you shed a tear out of joy. In hindsight, this anime really teaches for you to find your equal. Someone who makes you feel strong, confident, can push you when you need it when you're feeling down. Someone who will give up a party for you when you're feeling upset and just want to stay home and watch crunchyroll all night with. I'm getting too in-depth here.
Here's the jist of it though. Dragons, find your tiger. And tigers, find your dragon. It may be a difficult, it'll be a lonely road at times, but never settle for someone you don't distinguish with as your equal. And the only way you're going to do this is if you get out there and go be happy and do things that make you happy with people who make you happy.
Conclusion
I'm sure there are some animes I may have missed. These are just a few choices that I recommend you watch this week if and when you have the time. Honestly, I may not celebrate this holiday of love, but that doesn't make me heartless. I wish everyone who is reading this to be happy. I hope someday we all find that person that makes us feel like we can do anything. Someone who will inspire us to be something more and push us further and further, and vice versa. I wish you all, a happy Valentine's Day.
