---
title: 'The Current State of Romance Anime.'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=6pgr5oMmNug'
video_id: '6pgr5oMmNug'
date: 2026-07-01
duration_sec: 1471
---

# The Current State of Romance Anime.

> Source: [The Current State of Romance Anime.](https://youtube.com/watch?v=6pgr5oMmNug)

## Summary

This video analyzes the recent surge in 'modern romance power fantasy' anime, where a shy, nerdy protagonist is noticed by a popular girl with secret shared interests. The host reviews three recent series to understand the genre's appeal, concluding that the true fantasy is not just romance but the journey of building genuine human connections.

### Key Points

- **Genre Definition** [00:41] — The host identifies a new subgenre of romance anime called 'modern romance power fantasy,' featuring a quiet, nerdy guy who attracts a popular girl with secret shared hobbies.
- **First Show: Girls Can't Be Kind to Otaku** [04:20] — The show follows a shy anime nerd who bonds with two popular girls (one also a secret otaku, the other extroverted). The love triangle is balanced, with both girls equally developed. The focus on friendship over romance is highlighted, with the protagonist simply happy to have friends to nerd out with.
- **Second Show: Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You** [09:02] — Targeted at older audiences, the show follows a middle-aged salaryman who bonds with a mysterious goth girl (who is secretly his favorite supermarket cashier) while smoking after work. The core appeal is not romance but two lonely adults finding comfort and genuine conversation in each other's company.
- **Third Show: I Made Friends with the Second Prettiest Girl in Class** [14:09] — The show subverts expectations by having the main couple confess early (episode 5) and then focusing on internal conflicts: the girl's inferiority complex about being 'second prettiest' and the boy's family issues. The real story is about two people learning to communicate and support each other through personal struggles.
- **Why This Genre Dominates** [22:04] — The host argues that in an era of social isolation and a 'loneliness epidemic,' the modern romance power fantasy appeals because it fulfills a deep craving for genuine human connection, friendship, and a non-judgmental bond—the romance is secondary to the friendship.

### Conclusion

The modern romance power fantasy genre resonates because it prioritizes authentic friendship over romantic drama, offering viewers a sense of belonging and connection they may lack in real life. The host understands and respects this appeal, even as he continues to appreciate spicier romance anime.

## Transcript

Hey you. Who? Me? Are you a shy slash socially awkward nerd who may or may not be cripplingly addicted to anime? Yes? Are you looking for a girl that's popular, charming and attractive, but also has a secret side where she likes the same things you do?
How does he know? Are you still a teenager in high school? Um, well why not try your local romance anime where we have all the hot single girls in your area looking for a shy, lonely nerd today?
Where do I sign up? The Romance genre is an absolute staple of anime and manga and you know why we watch it, the love triangles, the hand holding, the first confession, the drama!
This is why we keep coming back time and time again, and look, if you're a regular viewer you probably know the types of romances that I tend to gravitate towards. That's right, the respectable ones. But recently there's been a subgenre that has emerged that has dominated the entire space that I've been struggling to find a name to properly describe.
It's been called a lot of things, but the best I can come up with right now is the modern romance power fantasy. You know, it's the one where you have the guy and he's the quiet guy who's probably a nerd and likes anime. I want those who that's meant to represent.
And he has a thing for the popular girl in class and sometimes she's blind and sometimes she's Russian and sometimes she's his sister. And I don't want you to take this the wrong way, because as a seasoned isekai connoisseur, just because I call something a power fantasy doesn't mean it's inherently bad or can't come with great writing and well written characters.
Like, I really enjoyed Nagatooro. Dress up darling was amazing as well and then they started making more and more. All right, we're still going. Okay, there's still more. Okay, that's good. I think we're good now. Okay, we're still going. Okay, that's more. That's good. I'm good. That's enough slices.
I thought the trend was going to peak a while ago, and yet somehow, some way, it is only getting more popular. I mean, just look at the season alone. And look, I'm gonna be real. A lot of these times I've glazed over these shows because most of the time, they're always a bit too comfy, a bit too drama-free.
Not enough spice compared to the romance anime I grew up with. But I needed to know why this has become such a dominating force in the space. So I thought I'd give it a second chance because I needed to react to normal society after rewatching scumswish.
I picked three recent shows that have just kept showing up on my timeline to see why this genre just doesn't seem to be going away. Are these as much of an unrealistic power fantasy as just an adhesive card just with a new lick of paints? Do I have the wrong image of them?
Are these shows doing anything new in a saturated genre? Is this the new template for the modern anime fan wish fulfillment show? But do you know what is my ultimate power fantasy? Hitting my favorite 5 star character on my first 10 roll.
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Starting things off, with girls can't be kind to Otaku. Or can they? Okay, so I'll be completely real. Out of the 3 shows I watched, this was the one that came closest to playing out like the romance wishful film in playbook.
Anime has been in a full-on Gary Renaissance recently, and this time we got not one, but two of them at the same time. They seem like your stereotypical popular anime girls in class, except nah, not these girls, they're not like other girls, which must be true because the opening
says so. Because you see, one of them is secretly a nerd who's into anime stuff, which is exactly like every other anime girl. And who's not protagonist this time? Of course it's the shy,
unpopular anime nerd, but from the get-go he makes it clear that he's not like other Otaku. Nah, he's different from every other Otaku protagonist because he likes anime for girls.
And not like those other Otaku. So you're used to. More would you know, one of the other girls is also secretly into the exact same show he is. So, after building up the courage, he presses her about it, and they form an unlikely friendship.
The other girl also gets involved, and they all start hanging out, bonding over nerd shit, then of course the two girls start developing feelings for him, but a beam, but a boom, there are two marion kids of gals in your room. It's a very recognizable formula,
that's been done so many times before, so that begs the question. Am I really going to enjoy this show because we've got not just one, but two. Yarros, this time. Yes. The answer is yes. Look, I'm not gonna lie to you. I'm a simple man. I see two peak Gary designs with
likable personalities, and they show with great production values from your typical romance, and I'm gonna fuck with it. I mean, just look at his opening man, he's got the colors, he's got the movements, he's got the vibes, and I don't even like K-pop,
but shit, if we get more STA-garros, I'll become the biggest stray kids, Blackpink, BTS, TXT listener, I don't even know what I'm saying. These are just letters to me. Have I seen this exact play by play before? Yes. Did this show do a lot to surprise me?
No, but it was just really well executed, and I think the main reason I think this show worked really well is that it gives us a love triangle with equally strong contenders on both sides. Too many romance anime come into their stories, pretending to have a love triangle that looks
like this, but you know, a lot of the time, it actually just looks like this. Here, both girls get introduced at the same time, they both have their equal charms, and they share an equal amount of screen time with the protagonist. I came into this with the mindset of it being your typical comfort romances,
but with two girls this time, but the more episodes I watched, the more I've realised what this show truly is. This is a horror anime with only two options, and boy, now you're entering my playing field. As much as I had a good time with it though,
I gotta be honest, it did have its fair share of moments that I like to call, shit I see in romance anime that makes me want to become a grass toucher. Main character, creaming their pants over the slightest bit of female touch. Oh man, alright lad, I think it's been a while since I've gone out for a run, yeah?
Protagonist, having a full blown hallucination, thanks to smelling a woman's scent in his room. Ah shit, there was a park this close to where I live, how the fuck have I not been there yet? Anime character having a full-on anxiety attack over the thought of an indirect kiss.
Hello? Yes, sorry, ma'am, I'm a bit busy, I'm sending off job applications, become the ground keeper, the next world guy. One thing I will say that stood out though was this show's focus on friendship. Our main boy, Takiya, shares a different type of friendship with each girl.
With Amane, they have this shared interest in a niche hobby they can bond over that they can't really do with anyone else, and it's only really around each other that they can truly let their passions come out. aka, the introvert friend.
And then with the Gigi, you have someone who has totally different hobbies and likes, but she takes a general interest in his interests. She learns about them, asks him about his fanart, but in turn, she also brings him out into situations he normally wouldn't
put himself in, and it's because of her that we see a new side to him, aka, the extrovert friend, and it's this friendship that everyone, especially the girls, are afraid to mess with, because on Takiya's side, Bro doesn't even register them as a romantic partner,
he's just ecstatic he can find people he can nerd out with about his favorite topic.
And though it's so blindly obvious that the two girls know how each other feels towards Takiya, there seems to be this unspoken agreement that no matter what happens, they're not going to let that affect their friendship with each other. Reminding us that in the equal battlefield of love, the players can still look at each other,
and go, hey, you may be my competition, but you're not my enemy. And I'll tell that to the average Messian Ronaldo fan. And it was this focus on friendship first over romance that I started to notice in a lot of the
other shows, because moving on, let's throw high school out the window for a second, and focus on a protagonist that is closer to my age, I mean way older, far far far older, so old I would never be able to relate to him. He's not that old, right guys?
We're talking about smoking behind the supermarket with you. Older viewers may remember I've already guessed up this title when it was a manga, and now that the anime is just released and I've seen so many post-discovering the Greek Goth goddess, that is Taiyama, all I can say is.
Yeah, I can tell you so. But I know the insides have given everyone the memory of a goldfish show, allowing me to give you a refresher. Here it is. The show follows Sasaki, aka Billy Nomate, for long solitude maxing. He's your pro typical middle-aged Japanese salary man.
He works hard, frequently stays behind until go fuck yourself a clock, where his only solisan life is seeing the smile of his favorite cashier, the supermarket, the angel, and an apron, Yamada. I think the only way we could describe him having a healthy work balance is if we use your
mum as a counterweight. You can tell a lot about a man about what you buy as a Tesco's after a long day of work, so let's see what our lad is picking up. All right, looks like he's got some half-priced dike on. Ooh, what else, some mochi chips? I see you, I see you, big man.
And oh, yes, it's been a long day, so here comes a couple of cold ones, respect, respect. Oh, damn, must have been a really long day of a-up. Really, really long day of work, okay? Okay, brother, okay? You can stop now, okay?
Come on, brother, that's enough. On this one day, though, Yamada is nowhere to be found, so he has to find some other way to cope with his life. Five hundred cigarettes. And who does he find wandering around in the smoking area?
Yes, it's the sassy, lassy, tajama. I wonder who she could be.
That's the show. Sasaki comes by the supermarket after work to smoke and shoot the shit with Yamada. I'm sorry, tajama. Over time, they relax and open up.
Their fondness of one another grows, and all the wild tajama withholds the secret that she's actually his angel and his devil. So yeah, this is basically what happens if you put Senko-san and call to the night into a blender with the carton of Lucky Sharks.
Lots about to become the world-rank number one cancer speed runner. I just simply turned around telling the fuck off. The reason I wanted to revisit this series was just to show that you don't always need to be in high school
to get a little bit of cheeky power fantasy. Because yes, as a teenager, you can fantasize about getting noticed by the popular girl in class, but you know, as an exhausted adult, crashing out after your nine to five grind, what man wouldn't want to vibe
with a hot anime-goth girl after hours, even if you have to speedrun cancer in the process? A face value doesn't take a genius to figure out what this show's appeal is. I mean, just look at her. Tajama's aesthetic is basically peak performance
in the eyes of 90% of modern anime fans. She's what Michael Angelo would come up with if he asked him to sculpt the perfect red-ed profile picture. You know, I don't know. There's just something about her that reminds me of someone else.
I just can't quite put my finger on it. Oh. But you know, unlike all of us down bad degenerates, Sasaki is a gentleman. He's genuinely not here to creep on Yamada. He's just here for the vibes.
In fact, not a single line of dialogue slips his lips or even his internal monologues would suggest that he has any salacious intentions. That, or maybe Tajama just isn't his type.
Yep, that confirms it. He's got no interest in hitting on Tajama because his perfect girl is actually geodude. Because you know, while romance is down there as one of its main tags, I'd argue that's not the main driving force of this show at all. Sure, there's no shortage of blushes
and moments of overt flirting from Yamada in this show, but they always feel at least organic and quite frankly are the weakest part of the show for me. But what I do love about this show and where I think it shines the brightest is it being about two people who outwardly
could not be more different, but in fact, are very much the same. Because the focus of this series is on Sasaki, as a viewer, it's easy to miss that. Yamada is going through pretty much the same stress as he is. Outside of work, we don't see any friends or family of hers.
The show puts great emphasis on all the night Sasaki works until midnight, but brushes over the fact that Yamada is always there at the supermarket at that time as well. The show makes it very clear that he is as much of a comfort to her
as both versions of her are to him.
Because the focus of the show is the time they spend together and their jobs, you rarely see anything outside of that. But the one time you do, you see both of them live in small apartments with near to no visible possessions, eating junk food and drinking alcohol.
From what we've seen so far, they simply don't have anything else. And for Yamada, it's perhaps even worse because the comforting third space they share between them is literally behind the very supermarket she works at.
And it's this shared experience that makes their conversation feel so organic. Like it's the actual stuff people in their shoes would actually shoot the shit about. This is a show where most of this content is just two people sitting in the same place every episode having a chinwag.
And it's no small feat to making a formula like that engaging episode after episode. I recently rewatched the film, Lost in Translation. And there's this one scene where Bill Murray's characters with the much younger Scarlett Johansson's character
after a serendipitous meeting that has brought the two strangers together. And after a long night of exploring a foreign city, parting and getting lost, they are just laying in bed in an ungodly hour just talking about life.
It's a moment that is so intimate but not in any weird or romantic way. It's just two people from two different walks of life talking about their deepest feelings, their hopes, their dreams, their regrets
and its two souls bonding. I love this scene so much. It's a moment that so perfectly captures those 3am deep conversations you have where all barriers are broken down.
For some reason you feel like opening up and it's reciprocated by the person you're talking to and you get to have the types of conversations you never usually would under any other circumstances. And it's these conversations
that you'll remember between the two of you for years to come. Now take this moment and make an entire show around it and that is smoking behind the supermarket with you because it's episode after episode where you feel a small subtle change
in how much of a positive effect they have on each other's lives. Gradually the scenes of Sasaki's work feel less and less stressful. Things that would have previously knocked him out he begins to take in a stride. You can feel that because he's now got
something more positive going in his life everything else feels more positive because of it. Work is easier when there's something after work to look forward to. For a show of this type that is clearly targeted towards an older audience I can definitely say that this is the vibe
by god damn crave even more than having a straight up romance but again having a show with this setup that is more catered to a much more audience is certainly a rarity in anime because going back to high school if there was one show that on paper looked like it checked every box
for the purest wish fulfillment romance power fancy bingo this season it was of course I made friends with the second prettiest girl in class Shumatsuとか a little bit of fun is there anything to do with this show? Shumatsuとか
Mandiga Shumatsu Mandiga Shumatsu Shumatsu Shumatsu Shumatsu Oh Now I went to this show with alarm bells ringing just reading the title alone because I made friends with the second prettiest girl in class
I like is there a better shorthand name for this show? Pretty girl I made friends Oh my friend Me IMFWTTPGIC Secondly who in this high school decided that she was
the second prettiest girl did all these girls compete in mischapan does this school have a pretty girl power ranking system are these boys taking a listen arguing who's prettier than Goku then episode one stars and it's exactly the type of show you think it's going to be
you got this guy marki and just to give you a little bit of insight about the type of guy he is we get introduced to him where he announces himself to the class as the guy with zero hobbies who spends his weekends alone eating pizza watching movies
and drinking coke I shit you not underskills he puts gaming brother what? shit man why stop there you could have added not showering being broken giving your opinion over you've got a war game
bloodstained the profile probably has as much chance of finding a match as it really does winning this year's world cup sorry to the end didn't need for you to catch trace I'm just really into the world cup right now but of course this is anime we're having the personality of lukewarm beer make sure you fall on giga chat
in the anime high school hierarchy and umi the titular's second prettiest girl in class takes notice and follows him into a store so they can bond over B movies together and from there they become friends hanging out watching movies
and playing video games on the surface everything about the show screams cheap romance wish fulfillment you've got the loner main character hmm I'm sorry introvert who gets noticed by the popular girl in class
that shares a secret interest with the guy that is used as a foundation for a friendship and for bonus points this girl is super desperate for a friend because she has no guy friends at all she doesn't know how to talk to a guy properly which is about as believable as
Ryan Gosling being a boy failure in project hail Mary look I get it if I was a teenager still I would have eaten this concept up but how the hell am I going to get invested now that these characters are just your normal teenage high schooler
ok i need to meet oh what happens we must stay focused brothers we must stay focused I was prepared to go on around on how this isn't too dissimilar to your cheap power fantasy esokais except the fantasy is just a different genre
but then I kept watching and it actually started to surprise me and if you want to go into this show blind here's where you can stop now because I will be spoiling some plot developments a question people often ask me
is what separates a good esokai from a bad esokai to which I answer the exact same thing that separates a good anime from a bad anime good writing good characters and execution it's no rocket science there's no secret formula
and I made friends sorry in the book excuse this far better than what I was expecting umi and marki are just two grounded characters who genuinely make a great couple that are far less tropy than the premise would make you believe
premise aside before any romance this is what it feels like to see a real friendship form you know that feeling of having that friend in your life you know it's your boy or girl they're just really excited to be able to hang out with
whenever you get the chance it doesn't matter what activity you're doing or if you're doing any activity at all you could be sitting next to each other scrolling on your phones in complete silence while memes play on in the tv but it's still a baller time because damn
your vibes just fit together perfectly this show captures that feeling it's been a while since I've seen a relationship develop so naturally in a romance anime it's not about the big romantic moments or gestures of love
it's about two people who just sincerely enjoy spending time with each other forming a genuine human connection if anything it felt closer to a slice of life this shit was moving so naturally you don't even notice a specific point
they start developing feelings for each other they just kind of feel like they always have or always should have done after a while you just notice they casually start going on dates holding hands sleeping over and the protagonist isn't going
oh my god I'm holding hands with a girl this is the first time I've ever felt a touchable woman forget the will they won't they this is the when will they because they already clearly like each other wait
is that the big confession? I'm sorry, where episode are we on? episode five? there's like seven episodes left the biggest surprise is that when it's less than half way through the series drops a bombshell and blows its metaphorical load
by giving us the big confession that most romance anime build towards which is great to subvert expectations where you see my domestic girlfriend brain-righted ass was like that's it where's the conflict going to come from where's the drama going to come from
how are they going to keep the story interesting but this is where it really starts to show its true colors because instead of manufacturing conflicts like adding a third girl midway through to introduce a love triangle and the audience thinks oh great here she comes
they've introduced the Italy of the best girl tournament the conflict is instead internal I thought this title was just going to be in light novel clickbait but one of the central driving forces of the plot is umi dealing with her inferiority complex
of being seen as the second best girl her friends use her as a stepping stone to get to know the real shining class star she's never felt like she's truly had a real friendship where she's treated as an equal and just appreciated for who she really is
and marquee is right in the middle of a family divorce his dad is seeing another woman his mom is clearly fighting off a boatload of stress and as a teenager he's dealing with so much turmoil he shuts down and emotionally distance himself
from the problem and in turn everything else in his life none of this is presented in a dramatic or over-the-top way it's muted it's quiet and it just feels real this was a level of emotional depth
I wasn't expecting from this show both of their troubles stems from a lack of ability to fully talk and communicate about their inner feelings and it's the bonds they form of each other that helps them to gather the courage to confront these problems head on
funnily enough the romance is really just a byproduct of the two of them pushing to bring out the best in their respective partners to help them through these issues and I think this is the exact point that I realize why
these types of romance shows are so prevalent in the modern anime space because yes you can argue that hey a lot of guys just want to get noticed by the popular girl in class and oh my god she likes anime and video games mom get the camera
the girl layer deeper and I can see with a lot of these shows yes they are romance anime with the ultimate goal of seeing two characters become a couple but before that is well friendship we don't always need the spicy development
saw the love triangle that expands into the fourth dimension to keep our interest anymore it's about the journey of building a true human connection with another person that you know may eventually blossom into romance
fiction stories have always been there to fill the gap of something the viewer doesn't have and forgive me for this conjecture but I don't think it's a coincidence that in an era where the new generation are apparently going
through a loneliness epidemic where we went through a period that has just completely fucked with our social skills for a bit the fantasy that a lot of people may crave might just be finding that right person they can bond with
on a deeper level that's right the real power fantasy might just be the friends we made along the way that was too much right they were in the vibe they were in the vibe so to modern romance fans
all I can say is I get it I understand it now that's not going to start me from re-watching four seasons of rent a girlfriend though hey guys hope you enjoyed the video thank you very much this month too basil pain patch it watergeist vt dysfunctional degenerate pony stark flabberwocky
mesaka 1 2 3 1 5 orthocurtis x-team mic 808 jonna thick to basil 1989 daza and everyone else my patreon for helping to support me for this month and making this video possible look guys I promise you I watch more anime than just romance
anime more anime than just trashy romance anime you know but I've found myself in a little bit of a rabbit hole this year it seems but who knows next time I'm forced to watch other genres
because we're gonna be doing the summer anime chart and I promise there won't be another romance anime video after that also to anyone in la next weekend I'm going to be at anime expo once again so look out for my socials to see what panels I'm going to be on this year
because I have got a bunch of panels to do it's gonna be a very very busy weekend for me anyway though that's it for me I've been gigak and I'll see you all next time