Valentine’s Day has come again and love is in the air! Think Valentine’s Day is just a bunch of pink hearts everywhere, smelly roses in plastic vases, and heaps of cheep candy that no one really wants? Or maybe you think it’s only for those lovey dovey high school students? Think again! Just like anime is for everyone, so is this special day of love.
In ancient Greek there were actually quite a few words that meant “Love” and each was important to have a complete life. There was Eros, meaning uncontrolled passion for someone (which could be good or bad). There was Philia, meaning a deep long lasting friendship. Ludus, meaning flirty not-serious love. Agape meaning selfless, altruistic love or charity. Pragma, or long term stable relationship kind of love. And of course there was also Philautia, in modern times it’s called self care/self love.
So heed this ancient advice, whether you’re spending it with your soul mate, your best friend, or a family that just gets you, this day is for you too! And what better way to celebrate this heart warming day than to cuddle up with your special someone(s) and watch some anime that is the perfect match!
Banished From the Hero’s Party
If you’ve read any blog post or seen any review about the anime Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside, than you have probably heard about Rit and Red. These two are one of the cutest couples in anime. Red (Gideon Ragnason) never planned on being thrown out of his little sister’s party of heroic evil slayers, but he tried to do the best he could with what he had, and started life over again in a remote backwater.
But it was when Rit (an old friend and pretty heroic princess) returned into his life that Red’s life suddenly turned into one worth living. Rit and Red are two halves of a whole. They understand how the other one thinks and they work so well together. Rit and Red’s Pragma love is as stable as you can get, and will last a lifetime!
Ouran High School Host Club
If there was ever an anime example of Ludus love it would be Ouran High School Host Club. This den of beautiful boys (and one girl) are nothing but flirty! When Haruhi Fujioka first stumbles into her school’s host club, she was the farthest from flirty a person can get. Haruhi was sloppily dressed, unsociable, and even clutzy enough to break a rather expensive (and precariously placed) vase. But being pressured into working off the debt from that broken vase did a lot to teach Haruhi the ways of ludus. And her most avid teacher was none other than the king of flirting, Tamaki Suoh. Too bad Haruhi learned a little too well, because it didn’t take long for poor Tamaki to be under her charms and moving from ludus to feeling something more eros!
Card Captor Sakura
Though the anime Card Captor Sakura has a wide variety of cute couples to get your heart a pitter patting, one of the most endearing relationships is the philia felt between Sakura and Tomoyo. These two cousins have been close friends long before Sakura opened that magical book and got scammed into hunting down the accompanying cards. A little adventure and chaos never put a dent on their relationship. In fact, Tomoyo jumped to support Sakura’s magic girl work without a second thought, eagerly volunteering to design Sakura’s magic girl outfits and sharing whatever little gadgets that might be helpful for Sakura’s work. Likewise (Sakura being the heroic type) whenever Tomoyo is in danger, Sakura stops at nothing to save the best friend a magic girl can hope for! (Please visit website animehanabi.com to see slideshow as intended to be viewed)
Love Stage
There are many anime that are great examples of eros love, but there are few as sweet and silly as Love Stage. In this rom/com anime, Ryouma Ichijou has had a crush on Izumi Sena since they were little kids acting in a commercial. Ten years have passed and the original actors have been called back for a reunion photo shoot, but much to Ryouma’s surprise the beautiful and delicate Izumi that he has secretly loved for so long is not a actually girl. Though Ryouma is shocked at first, this does little to cool off the passion he feels for the girl (who’s actually a guy) of his dreams!
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Anime Hanabi 
Yours is my first experience with an anime blog. Any tips for best understanding them. I’m looking mostly at the eyes.
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Hmm, I’m not sure I understand what you mean. Maybe if you shared more details about what kind of tips you would like, I could help?
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What’s your underlying reasoning for expressing ideas through anime format?
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Hmm, that’s a tough one! I think, like any visual artwork, anime is a medium for communication. Much like American/European style cartoons, the artwork of the characters is to emphasize the personality of that character and the tone of the work. Many of the themes seen in anime style artwork are universal from culture to culture. Children’s cartoons in the Western world often feature short round characters with large round eyes and exaggerated facial features. This is also seen in children’s anime and anime with more family friendly themes. But, unlike in live action visual art, anime and cartoons have the benefit of being seen as a symbol or stand- in for reality and not expected to be completely realistic. This allows anime and cartoons to bend or even ignore the laws of reality so they can have more fantastical themes that would not be believable if they were live action.
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The Sakura/Syaoran pairing is one of my favourite anime ships out there.
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I totally agree! Sakura and Shaoran are so adorable together. Both in Card Captor Sakura and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle.
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Honestly I prefered them more in Cardcaptor Sakura, they had a lot of fun moments together there than in Tsubasa Resevoir Chronicle. Their romance was so adorable, and at times reminded me of the last Austrian emperor, Bl. Charles of Austria and his wife, named Empress Zita, to whom he said on his wedding day “Now we must help each other get to Heaven”.
But then again, I did finish the former entirely while the latter has yet to be completed hence my bias 😅 Let alone, yet to complete the first half…
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Hmm, I actually had to look up the last Emperor of Austria! Very interesting person, though his end was a bit sad. Hopefully Sakura and Shaoran’s ever after will be a bit more happy!
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