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Originally Posted by Mentar
I'd say that in drama/romance anime circles, these shows are generally considered to be excellent and highly successful reference animes. And I'd fully agree with that. I feel tempted to ask: What would YOU consider to be good romance dramas?
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Depends what you mean by "circles", because IIRC, True Tears got pretty mixed reactions on the blogosphere. I initially started out very enthusiastic about True Tears, I thought it was going to be something special, but as the characters became more erratic, I became more indifferent, and ended up being very disappointed. True Tears I wouldn't say was a failure, I'd just say it didn't live up to its potential. KGNE is definitely a failure, IMO.
I'm glad you asked about what I consider to be good romance drama, because it's one of my favourite genres in anime. Maison Ikkoku is a classic, and Honey and Clover is a modern day classic, and I'd even go so far to suggest that the sequel is a masterpiece (that's not a word I throw around lightly). Bokura ga Ita is excellent, high on angst, but, more importantly, also high on character development and character analysis. Kanon 2006 is great, a tad mild, but an extremely well made anime and thoroughly endearing. Air is also excellent, but there's a bit of a Seinfeld factor, so I'm not sure I'd have the same reaction if I watched it today (so many anime have "taken" from Air that I'd probably be a little more sensitive to its flaws than when I first watched it). Kare Kano is also excellent, probably the best romance series of the 90s. Fruits Basket... not really romance, but in that similar vein, and another anime I consider excellent. 5cm/s: an extremely well made and highly thought provoking movie. Koi Kaze... not quite a masterpiece, but very, very close; controversial, emotional and thought-provoking. ef - a tale of memories was also highly emotional, but gave us reasons to like the characters and then made an attempt to understand them, and was also highly ambitious in its presentation and the way it allowed its themes to propel the story. Victorian Romance Emma was beautifully made, well grounded, and had deep and likable characters and was so absorbed in but respectful of its setting. These are just a handful of romance drama anime that I consider "great". Others that I consider to be good, but not quite as good as these include Clannad, Kimikiss, Asatte no Houkou, Paradise Kiss, ef - a tale of melodies and The Place Promised in Our Early Days, among others.
The problem with the likes of True Tears and KGNE is that they come off as too heavy handed. I guess one could make the argument, what makes this any different from Bokura ga Ita or ef - a tale of memories, and I'd say it's characters. For whatever reason, the characters in these anime reached me, but the characters in True Tears and KGNE failed to (spectacularly so in the latter case). And I really think, in both places, part of the problem was misplaced emphasis, which is why it felt like drama for the sake of it, rather than drama because it actually means something. That's why I kinda think that KGNE and, also, Myself; Yourself are the anime equivalent of soap operas.
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Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo
If this show could be as good as KGnE, or even true tears, I would be very happy. I thought the drama in KGnE was fairly natural, if intense, given the plot. Angst is good.
true tears did fail to reach the highest level it could have, but was still one of the best (i.e., both well made and enjoyable to me) animes of 2008. I liked all the characters, but then again I do prefer characters to have flaws, lol.
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As far as romance in 2008 were concerned, I really thought that both Kimikiss and Itazura na Kiss were better than True Tears. Anyway, I just don't think angst is good of itself. Angst is good if you care about the characters. But I'd almost make the argument that drama that doesn't need to resort to angst is even better. That's not universally true, but it tends to be that way, IMO.