Junjo Romantica: Pure Romance
A boys' love series following multiple male couples.
Junjo Romantica: Pure Romance is a Japanese boys' love manga series by Shungiku Nakamura that has expanded into a 37-episode anime series. It is notable for being the first boys' love title to enter the New York Times Manga Best Seller list.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Boys' love
Facts from the source article.
Characters
Misaki Takahashi, voiced by Takahiro Sakurai, is the younger brother of Takahiro and the uke in the Romantica pairing. He starts the series at eighteen, turns nineteen by episode eight of the anime, and reaches twenty-one in the third season. A classic tsundere, he blames himself for his parents' death and initially asks Usagi for tutoring to get into Mitsuhashi University, the school his brother gave up for him. Their tutor-student bond becomes romantic, though Misaki struggles to accept his feelings. He later becomes a grad student at Mitsuhashi and is hired at Marukawa. Akihiko Usami, voiced by Hikaru Hanada and as a child by Rina Sato, is twenty-eight at the start and thirty-one by season three. The seme to Misaki's uke, he is a famous author of fiction and BL novels and the youngest winner of the Naomori Award. After learning his friend Takahiro is engaged, Usagi realizes he loves Misaki instead, and they move in together. He has a cameo in the first episode of the spin-off Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi. Haruhiko Usami, voiced as an adult by Kōsuke Toriumi, is another character.
Media
Written by Shungiku Nakamura, Junjo Romantica: Pure Romance began serialization in Asuka Ciel in 2002. Individual chapters have been compiled into twenty-nine tankōbon volumes by Kadokawa Shoten, with the first volume released on June 2, 2003; as of September 1, 2026, 31 volumes have been released. The series was licensed for English release in North America by Blu Manga, an imprint of Tokyopop, until Tokyopop's closure in May 2011; twelve English volumes had been released by April 2011. Online vendor bestseller listings suggest it was the best-selling boys' love manga series of 2008. In 2017, Viz Media stated at Yaoi-Con that they declined to re-license the series due to its length. Studio Deen produced an anime adaptation that premiered on TV Hokkaido on April 10, 2008, with a first season of twelve episodes ending June 26, 2008. A second season of twelve episodes premiered on the same channel on October 12, 2008. An OVA was released with the limited edition Volume 16 on December 20, 2012. A third season was green-lit on July 30, 2014, and premiered on July 8, 2015. The anime is licensed in North America by Kadokawa Pictures USA; Season 1 was released on May 4, 2010, with no English dub. Nozomi Entertainment re-released the series on Blu-ray on July 17, 2017.
Reception
Junjo Romantica made history as the first boys' love manga to appear on the New York Times Manga Best Seller list, landing there during its debut week. The anime adaptation's first DVD hit shelves on July 25, 2008, and quickly became a success, moving 8,406 copies in its opening week. That made it the fourth highest-selling debut DVD for an anime series in 2008, trailing only Gundam 00, Macross Frontier, and Aria the Origination. It held a spot in the top five on Oricon's anime DVD chart for a second week, with total first-DVD sales reaching 10,986 copies. For 2008, it claimed the number one position in the shōjo DVD sales category. Over a five-year span tracked by Oricon, it remains the best-selling BL anime and has consistently performed strongly on the charts. The second season also did well, averaging 7,000 to 8,000 copies per DVD, making it one of the year's most profitable anime series. Fan reception was positive. Critic Jacob Chapman from Anime News Network observed that the series follows three couples with only shallow ties between them and no crossover relationships. He called it a prime example of BL but noted that the main couple's dynamic includes rape, while the other two relationships are consensual. He also praised the anime's art, calling it a treat for the fanbase.
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