The series changes the way we perceive shoujo couples.
Summary:
- The main leads of A Condition Called Love are weird.
- They both don’t know how to deal with romantic relationships.
- In a typical shoujo series, the genders would be reversed.
A Condition Called Love (Hananoi-kun to Koi no Yamai) is a rather fresh romance shoujo anime that started airing this April. The anime is still a baby with only four episodes released, but there are already some things worth discussing.
Unusual Start to Romance
The main relationship in A Condition Called Love forms in a rather weird way: two people meet, there’s nothing romantic going on, and yet they start dating and trying to learn how to be a couple together.
The series doesn’t force you to wait for ages until the main leads get together. Instead, A Condition Called Love throws Hananoi and Hotaru into this wild relationship and makes them deal with it step by step. It’s still a story about them becoming a true couple in a way, but it’s handled in a unique way.
The peculiar getting-together beginning is not the only way that makes A Condition Called Love so special, though. It’s also the personalities of the main characters, Hotaru and Hananoi.
Both Have No Idea What to Do
Hotaru doesn’t know a thing about romantic love and being a girlfriend, so she might be rather cold and unaware at times. And Hananoi is only trying to act like he’s got it all figured out, when in reality, he has no idea what it means to be truly in love, either.
Hananoi gets so intense when it comes to romantic advancement that it borders on creepy. It’s obvious he means well, but he’s starting to give off the Joe Goldberg vibes from Netflix’s live-action series ‘You’.
The main leads were definitely meant to be weird and even unlikable at the beginning of the story. They have to learn how to form a proper bond together, while becoming mature and thoughtful people.
They’re Unlike Other Shoujo Couples
In typical shoujo narratives, Hotaru and Hananoi’s roles are switched. It’s usually the male lead who’s calmer and colder, while a blushing and freaking out girl is completely smitten with him. We saw it in last season’s hit, A Sign of Affection, and dozens of times before that.
But A Condition Called Love doesn’t care about these shoujo tropes. It’s not afraid to show a more reserved female character, who admits that her emotional state is close to that of a robot, and a male character who goes over the top while seeking attention and appreciation.
At the end of the day, Hananoi and Hotaru are two sides of the same coin: they both don’t know how to approach romance and handle romantic relationships. But they do it in a very peculiar way for a typical shoujo anime.