Love Roma
a review by saulgoodman
a review by saulgoodman
Confessing in the first chapter? Show's over.
Jokes aside, Love Roma firmly establishes early on that it doesn't intend to idle around with dreary romance tropes and hair-pulling drama that'd bog down one's enjoyment. What establishes its frank nature is the manzai protagonist couple, Hajime Hoshino and Yumiko Negishi. A violent tsukkomi by nature, Negishi is baffled by her classmate and natural boke Hoshino's perhaps-too-blunt confession in front of the entire class. One full of explosive emotions and prone to violent embarrassment and the other defined by his cluelessly robotic, logical yet heartfelt personality, this polar-opposite couple defies their contrast with communication that an army tank couldn't hope to penetrate.
What ensues after their official romantic declaration in the very first chapter is nothing but sweet, sweet progression. Drama, such as love rivals and brief tensions, are refreshingly resolved within a single chapter with heartfelt conversations between Negishi and Hoshino, despite their differences. Or rather, it's because of their one massive similarity, their honest nature of speaking, that allows their relationship to prosper despite some issues that prove to be mere pebbles. Sprinkled generously with amusingly simple tsukkomi and gag-comedy indicative of its older age, even the perilous drama is infected by the lightheartedness.
Despite its simplistic charm and permanently-fixated lighthearted humor, Love Roma possesses surprising maturity in its portrayal of adolescent romance. Sex, though a bit of a gag later in the series, propagates heartfelt and serious discussions between Negishi and Hoshino. A girl who isn't comfortable and a boy with a raging libido, talk out the sensitive topic rather than pretending it isn't there. This intangible existence of the two facing their issues head-on hand-in-hand is a dominant pattern throughout the series. Jealousy and loneliness, usually the bane to a fictional couple's happiness, are also resolved in the couple's endearingly quiet conversations. Though, by no means are these two picturesque. Their conflicting personalities, Negishi defined by rampant emotions and Hoshino by his deadpan logic, make them all-the-more self-aware of their own flaws. Though, because of their never-lacking communication, unconditional support gets the better of their insecurities and happiness permeates the end of every chapter.
A first love is a clumsy one. Love is a fickle matter of the heart, especially during puberty. Hormones run high and emotions run rampant. Though easier said than done, communication is key.
Just with the presence of powerful relationship communication between our protagonists, irritating tropes and drama homestay to the romance genre are whisked away for lighthearted gag comedy and a constantly upslope romantic progression. More than that however, the characters grow despite their contrasting personalities by yearning to understand each other. Rough patches are not absent, but the couple's honest and blunt conversations resolve relationship perils in the blink of an eye with warm genuineness.
Love Roma is a refreshing romcom, despite its age. The unfiltered, simple manzai and gag comedy remind me of School Rumble and other classic 2000s romcoms, and the bold, somewhat janky character designs are a loveable quirk. Perhaps its age is what keeps it under-the-radar, but by no means is that warranted. At the time when you finally grow too dreary of romance series too deeply saturated with sigh-inducing drama, Love Roma is a straight-ball unamused with prolonged drama, fixated on depicting perhaps not the most natural high-school romance, but a satisfying one at that.
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