[Sackett]

So... what is a romantic comedy? Well, Booker's 7 Basic Plots has a pretty good description under Comedy of every romantic comedy ever.

That's probably what I'll start with, but in these recommendations I'll also try to focus on the romantic comedies that have a clear emphasis on comedy as well as romance.

#1 Anime Romantic Comedy:

Maison Ikkoku

Maison Ikkoku is not only one of the greatest anime romances, it's also one of the best romances around period. Written by Rumiko Takahashi, Maison Ikkoku exemplifies Takahashi's strength as an author in developing strong characters that interact well with each other. Maison Ikkoku is Takahashi's only major manga written for seinen audiences instead of shounen, and is missing any of the wacky mystical magical events that most people associate with Takahashi works (Ranma 1/2 and Inuyasha).

Godai is a long suffering ronin, studying hard to try and get into college. The other residents of Maison Ikkoku regularly harass him, and mock his attempts to study for the entrance exams.

Kyoko Onotashi is a young widow, asked by her father in law to take over management of Maison Ikkoku, who's unruly residents have regularly driven off the other managers.

Yes, it's a landlady and housing resident romance. Done in anime many times? Yes, many times, starting with Maison Ikkoku. Yes, this is the anime that is the grandmother of all the other romance anime out there. Accept no substitutions, Maison Ikkoku is still the romantic comedy that does it the best.

Not only do Takahashi's characters shine once removed from all the wacky hijinks, but Maison Ikkoku has a story that resonates still. For one thing, many romances suffer from the love rival being either much better than the main male lead, or so obviously worse you don't get the competition. Shun Mitaka, who becomes Godai's main rival for Kyoko's affection is a great character himself, and you understand why Kyoko would hesitate in choosing between the two.

Of course, being Takahashi you have a bunch of other characters, love rivals, and complex webs of unrequited love. At 96 episodes it's actually the shortest of Takahashi's major works, and the first one to ever have a conclusive ending. In fact, Maison Ikkoku is still often cited as one of the most complete and satisfying endings to any romantic comedy. I've watched it through fives times myself, and it is a wonderful bundle of tears and laughs.

Although Maison Ikkoku does have some flaws, such as early slow pacing, some gratuitous service in the first episode that fortunately does not return, and a decidedly 80's feel, I actually still rank this as my number one favorite anime of all time.

Other works with a similar animation style includes Ranma 1/2 (of course, as they were written at the same time by the same author), and Kimagure Orange Road (which was animated at the same time).

Other Recommendations:

Ah My Goddess (aka Oh My Goddess)

So the story of Belldandy and Keichi (aka K-1) is an interesting case. As pretty much the climactic event that sells this story occurs in the very first episode, and is the premise for the show. Keichi is a hard luck young man, dogged by misfortune. But he continues to show kindness and gentleness towards others.

As a reward for enduring misfortune well, he is granted a call from the Goddess Help Line, and a goddess (Belldandy) is sent to visit him, and grant him one wish. Being a wise young man, and unlike other male leads, Keichi knows what he wants when he sees it. Deciding not to let a good thing slip away, Keichi wishes for Belldandy to stay with him forever.

And thus begins the long, chaste, and sweetly gentle courtship of Belldandy the first class goddess by Keichi Morisato, a broke motor head and all around car geek. Of course, it'd be a little boring to watch this, so Belldandy's sisters soon show up to interject some excitement in the mix. Both Urd (Belldandy's older sister) and Skuld (Belldandy's younger sister) receive good character development arcs, while Belldandy and Keichi slowly progress in the background.

Oh My Goddess is probably the flagship anime for the "magical girlfriend" genre (which was actually first created by Rumiko Takahashi in her first manga/anime: Those Darn Aliens).

Oh My Goddess has been popular enough to get an OVA series, followed by TV series (starting back at the beginning) and a movie. I recommend the TV series to start with, though the OVA series is also equally valid. I give the series an 8 out of 10.

Katanagatari

Katanagatari is a tragedy. But it is a tragedy built on the framework of a romantic comedy gone wrong.

Katanagatari tells the story of a young woman who saw her family die as a young child, and who has dedicated herself to revenge. As part of her plan, she must recover the 12 swords of legend, and only the son of the man who killed her father can help her.

So she sails for the distant island on which he lives, and imperiously informs him that he will fall for her, and so become her sword. And he does. Together they must find and battle to gain the 12 swords, and in the process they grow closer and closer together.

If you like a romantic comedy mixed with drama and a bittersweet taste, then Katanagatari might be for you. Done in a very different style than normal, I find the animation gorgeous, and vaguely reminiscent of Samuri Jack. As a story I give Katanagatari 9 out of 10, but as a romance I give it 7 out of 10.


..... More recommendations to follow