Actually Shell, that was proably one of the most intelligent and genuinely personal reviews on this issue that I have seen so far, thank you very much. I think the problem with relations like you said with the teenage robot shot is that believe it or not, romance is something we all want to be apart of.
Even if we don't admit it, a part of us wants to get together with other people and when that doesn't work, we want others to. When it comes to shows, you watch characters for countless episodes and seasons long enough, you begin to feel for them and desire them to feel truly happy.
Take Trigun for example, you get 2 male characters that are so buried neck deep into misery, murder, depression and pretty much everything that involves violence and destruction. Wolfwood and Vash lead incredibly depressing lives, yet as you watch them, you start to feel for them.
Same with Meryl, she hated Vash and constantly considered him to be a donut eating, trouble making moron. But as she got more involved in his life and as she saw the same stuff that us the viewers saw in Vash's life, we felt bad for Vash and could sympathize and feel sorry what he's been through.
Hell, by the time we start to realize all these terrible things are not Vash's fault, I wanted him to end up falling in love JUST so I couldn't stand to see the guy suffer so much. It helps us become involved with our characters lives and gives us a chance to see what makes them happy outside of their "jobs".
Sure, romance isn't the most important thing in TV these days and maybe kids and people don't want to see it, but I still think we need it. I think it's more important then most people realize and I think it's critical in helping us see how these characters emotionally and mentally tick inside wise.
Anime romances end up being the most powerful and touching because since animes have official end dates (26 episodes usually), they don't beat around the bush too long and manage to land some happy couples together. They also are very cute because you can SEE them blushing in anime shows.
What's also great about anime romances is the realism they portray, how seriously DEEP they can become. In the anime Slayers, the main girl Lina Inverse falls in love with an occasionally dim knight named Gourry Gabriov. During the show's sequel (Slayers Next), Gourry is abducted and turned evil.
Lina has always joked about Gourry's incompetence and always claimed she let him stay with her so she could get a special weapon from him. But, during the next episode after his abduction, Lina is bursting to tears in her bedroom as the reality finally sinks in that Gourry is gone, something she never thought would happen.
Something she never had the guts to admit in front of her friends, that scene really moved me and there are loads more powerful scenes like that which always remind me just how strong those feelings of love can make me feel. That's why I fear it's dead, and I hope it doesn't stay dead because it's those love scenes that truly prove love is a dream worth keeping.
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