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Old 2013-08-08, 16:50   Link #1
kitten320
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Talking Something like Sakurasou? (Aka good comedy/drama mix)

I'm not really into comedies. I do like them but they rarely stick with me for I always prefered something more mind blowing and tricky like mysteries and actions.

Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo prooved to be an exception. For those who did not watch the series, you really should. It is a great mix of comedy and drama, both of which are in good balance.

What I also liked about the show is that it was not just romance centered and had other themes going on: prodigy VS normal people. A theme to which probably a lot can relate.

Things also didn't go smoothly for main cast and story actually made you guessing "Did it work? Did they pass?! What now?!"

It had it's surprises.

Another big plus is that it was not just main cast centered aka Mashiro and Kanda only like it tends to happen in other shows. Each character got their share of attention and development what gave this series more depth.

What I'm basically searching for is a good comedy/drama with well developed cast of characters that make you feel, laugh as well as make you emotional and connected with them. Romance is a plus but not a must.
Here it was kept to a minimum but enough to make you go "Oh!""Ouch!" and "Aaaawww".

Any suggestions?

P.S. I also really liked relationship between Ryunouseke and Rita. Any other good shows with relationship between a shut in and more out going person? Basically good romance series with complete opposite characters? Doesn't have to be a main pairing.
I just liked their dynamic and how Rita would support and understand Ryuunosuke no matter how harsh he could get.

Or just someone who is scared of other gender. Other goo dshows I can think of are Mayo Chiki and Working!.

That's a bonus^^

Hope for your help!
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Old 2013-08-08, 17:16   Link #2
totoum
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Just quickly went through your plan to watch list:

- Ookami Kodomo Ame to Yuki : now it's by the team that made summer wars and it seems you didn't like it very much,the good news is it's a very different movie and I know plenty of people who didn't really like Summer Wars who enjoyed Ookami Kodomo.
It has plenty of fun moments but can be quite dramatic as well.

- Tari Tari: A high school SoL/Drama that it overall quite lighthearted but every character gets an arc where they have to overcome personal issues.

- Hanasaku Iroha: Now this one definitely goes for a mix of comedy and drama, how much you enjoy will depend on how much you think it mixes both, that seems to vary a lot depending on who you ask
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Old 2013-08-08, 17:26   Link #3
Kushi
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Well have you tried Honey and Clover? It's honestly the shoujo version of Sakurasou. However, it's a bit less eccentric and focuses a bit more on the drama and feelings of the main characters.

The premise of the two shows are eerily similar. MC is in art college, not talented but a hard worker, his senpais really love teasing him, his best friend and girl he likes are both regarded as geniuses, MC has to deal with feelings of inferiority when seeing his super genius friends at work.
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Old 2013-08-08, 19:19   Link #4
kitten320
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Thanks, I already had most of this shows highlighted on my list. Now I have more reasons to go along with them, thanks
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Old 2013-08-08, 20:58   Link #5
Pocari_Sweat
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Toradora. Many people consider Sakurasou Toradora v2.0, and I'm inclined to agree with them.
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Old 2013-08-09, 07:17   Link #6
kitten320
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Watched Toradora ages ago and in all honesty didn't like it as much as this one.
Not bad, but not great either. Just good.
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Old 2013-08-09, 12:15   Link #7
Tenzen12
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Kokoro Connect - Good mix of Drama and comedy. And it has Inaban in it!

Oregairu - Deal with social issues with great amount of black humor, sarcasm and witty dialogs as main source of comedy.
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Old 2013-08-09, 17:47   Link #8
Haak
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I highly recommend following Gin no Saji. It's the author of Fullmetal Alchemist doing a coming of age slice of life. There's also Oujisan no Lamp for even more relatable "ups and downs of life". Neither have much focus on romance though.

Highly second Honey and Clover and Hanasaku Iroha.
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Old 2013-08-11, 08:56   Link #9
kitten320
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Have seen Kokoro Connect, I preferred Iori more, especially after OVAs

Thanks for suggestions guys^^
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Old 2013-09-28, 12:03   Link #10
kitten320
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Ok I finally started Honey and Clover and 1st episode is seriously off putting...

For one all characters seem to be retards here... especially Morita.
Don't get me started on Hagu... while Shiina was also socially awkward she at least didn't act like a 10 year old cry baby or looked like one. Scratch that, Hagu looks like a doll and is half everyone size!
I honestly have hard time buying that she is 18 year old sheltered teenager/adult.

For MC to fall for someone like her is just weird... I just can't take it seriously. It would be one thing if Hagu looked like a child but since she even acts like one it makes MC look like a total pedo... And I actually liked him...


Please tell me it gets better!
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Old 2013-09-28, 18:32   Link #11
SeijiSensei
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I don't see either Nodame Cantabile or Oh! Edo Rocket on your list.

Nodame starts off as a screwball comedy, but it becomes more serious and dramatic as time goes on. Rocket is an hilarious satire about political repression with great characters and a weird but appropriate style of illustration.

I found the first episode of Honey & Clover off-putting as well and never really followed up. Maybe I'll give it another try.
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Old 2013-09-28, 19:19   Link #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SeijiSensei View Post
Hmmm, I'm guessing this probably wasn't what lead to your suggestion, but I do recall Sorata and Mashiro very loosely reminding me of Chiaki and Nodame when I first started watching Sakurasou.

I'll second Hanasaku Iroha and Tari Tari because I'm a PA Works fanboy. I prefer Hanasaku myself though a number of people I know preferred Tari Tari.

I've never gotten around to giving Honey and Clover a good chance. However, if I had the time (God, the way my habit of alternating between procrastination and work binges causes me to be short on both (actual) free time and sleep feels like its killing me, really want to get my second degree and get a job with regular hours soon), it's one of the shows I'd be inclined to give a few episodes. The anime club I attended during undergrad liked it so much that they made a Honey and Clover mural for our club board, and it's unusual for a show to be able to unite that crowd.
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Old 2013-09-29, 05:06   Link #13
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Honey and Clover has been my favourite anime of all time for a very long time now. It has college melancholy and nostalgia by the dozen, and towards the end of the first season and second season, it's focusing on job hunting and the the early days when you find your first office job. If that doesn't connect with someone like me who has just gone through a undergrad college degree, a postgrad college degree, went through the struggle of job hunting for 1+ year and just now recently started working into the office environment fulltime, then I don't know what will.

Back on topic though, I don't think Honey and Clover has much comparability to Sakurasou. The tone, atmosphere and purpose are way different.
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Old 2013-10-11, 00:21   Link #14
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I also thoroughly enjoyed Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo. I would recommend Gin no Saji if you're looking for a light-hearted meaningful anime. I think there are many overlapping themes.

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun is also very light-hearted and fun (although not meaningful). Give it a try if you have time.
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Old 2013-10-12, 20:49   Link #15
GDiddy
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pocari_Sweat View Post
Honey and Clover has been my favourite anime of all time for a very long time now. It has college melancholy and nostalgia by the dozen, and towards the end of the first season and second season, it's focusing on job hunting and the the early days when you find your first office job. If that doesn't connect with someone like me who has just gone through a undergrad college degree, a postgrad college degree, went through the struggle of job hunting for 1+ year and just now recently started working into the office environment fulltime, then I don't know what will.

Back on topic though, I don't think Honey and Clover has much comparability to Sakurasou. The tone, atmosphere and purpose are way different.

I always thought of Sakurasou as an R version of Honey and Clover.
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Old 2013-10-16, 18:59   Link #16
kitten320
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I'm on episode 11 right now and I duno...

For one time flies way too fast. And even though 2 years have already passed, nothing changed at all.

Sensei was gone for like what? 4 episodes? His absence had no effect what so ever. It was a perfect opportunity for Hagu to develop and become more independent but nothing changed... at all.

I duno, these series seem to be going in circle. And I don't see the conflict between normal and genius.
For one they all are talented in their own areas nor do they really affect each other.
In Sakurasou, MC had to struggle and things just did not work for him while geniuses were progressing. Here everyone is doing fine in their own areas, no problem.

Don't really see where all the praise is coming from =/
While the drama in nice, it is over done a bit in some parts and stupid humour doesn't help much. For a genius, Morita is pretty retarded too. His gags aren't funny for most of the time.

Sorry to those who love the series, but I don't see where the appeal is coming from.
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Old 2013-10-16, 19:24   Link #17
Haak
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It's very slow moving and I do think it grows on you the more you watch it because I recall having similar problems (except I laughed my head off at everything Morita did, especially what he does in episode 12) but ended up loving the series. Your complaint about Hagu is totally justified imo. I felt the same way and actually disliked her character. However my opinion of her character drastically improved in the second season when she runs through some serious trials.

In hindsight though, it may have been a bad recommedation considering that it's more similar to Toradora than Sakurasou: the focus is far more on romance and it's only the romance where their issues collide. They have other personal problems as well but the characters generally resolve these on their own iirc. If you want to continue then I think you'll have to switch your perspective accordingly since it appears to me that's what's causing the problem.

If not then it probably just isn't the anime for you. You should have probably started with Hanasaku Iroha instead.
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Old 2013-10-16, 19:44   Link #18
kitten320
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My main problem is pacing to be honest... they created so much drama around sensei's leave yet before you even got to feel what it is like without him, he is already back.

We had Christmas and then 4 episodes later there is another Christmas and despite that whole year had passed, nothing changed at all. It simply looks pointless.

If creators wanted to get to graduation as fast as possible, they should have just started on final year of studies. Or have sensei leave for a month because what happened in those few episodes did not feel like year at all.

It is almost like SAO but other way around. In SAO they developed characters through time skip, creating an impression that creators just had no idea how to develop characters progressively. Here despite time flying by, characters remain the same.

I personally think that massive skips like that hurt the story a lot. They should not be done unless there is some point behind.
The only series I can think of where it worked is Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom.
In both cases there were reasons for those time skips and development was subtle but there.
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Old 2013-10-18, 19:17   Link #19
frubam
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What is this!? You haven't seen Fruits Basket!? You poor soul, go do it RIGHT NOW!!!

I need to say that, even to this day, it is one of my favorite shows of all time(look at my username =03). Comedy; drama; the tone of the show manages to balance these concepts in perfect harmony. I think I loved the entire cast of characters(save for one, his voice is just... (x_X) ), and most of them have a interesting amount of depth. If you haven't seen it, please do. You'll fall in love with the main character. I'll even give you a link to the first episode

http://www.hulu.com/watch/114277#i0,p0,d0

The dub is also very well done for its time(2004), even in comparison to the japanese version.
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Old 2013-10-26, 12:54   Link #20
kitten320
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I have just finished season 1 of Honey and Clover and feel pretty unsatisfied with the ending. I actually can't even call it as one since nothing was resolved in the end.

I duno how to rate it... series had its pluses but for most part it felt likes series went in circles and with such ending I'm tempted to give it 6 out 10...

Well I will check season 2 later to finally see some conclusion.
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