Ask John: What Are Anime’s Most Interesting Romantic Triangles?

Question:
What would you say are the best examples of the commonly used – and some would say overused – love triangles in anime?

Answer:
There really are a rather large number of anime that prominently include a romantic triangle or romantic interest involving more than three characters. Series including Fushigi Yuugi, Maison Ikkoku, Hana Yori Dango, Marmalade Boy, and Honey & Clover are exceptional romantic anime involving love triangles, but in these shows the couplings to form are never really in doubt, or the love triangle contributes only a part of the show’s entire strength. I hope that it will be forgivable that rather than nominate the “best” romantic triangle anime, I’d like to address the more interesting subject of most unique and interesting romantic triangle anime.

It is, or should be, impossible to discuss romantic triangle anime without acknowledging the quintessential example, Kimagure Orange Road. The Orange Road story is charming and fun, and despite knowing who will be involved in the final romantic pairing from the outset, the journey to that ultimate resolution is bumpy and winding. The Orange Road anime story is particularly memorable for its climactic motion picture. The heartbreaking “I Want to Return to That Day” movie delivers a definitive closure to the uncertainty of the romantic triangle in an unforgettably moving way.

The other major romantic triangle anime that contemporary American fans frequently overlook is Tenchi Muyo – the original storyline, excluding the GXP and Pretty Samy spin-offs. Tenchi Muyo is best described as a harem anime, but its core relationship is between Tenchi, Ryoko, and Ayeka. And that relationship is especially interesting because throughout its duration there’s always a sense that Tenchi could ultimately pair with either girl. The intriguing possibility that’s always present throughout Tenchi Muyo makes it a more fascinating love triangle than that of many anime in which viewers know that the final coupling is predestined.

I don’t like School Days. It’s a tragic romantic triangle anime revolving around selfish, inconsiderate, and short-sighted characters. It’s filled with thoughtless betrayals; crude, avaricious lust; soap-operaish melodrama; and sensationalized, grotesque violence. However, all of those unconventional components are exactly what make School Days so unique in the realm of love triangle anime.

The 1981 anime film Natsu e no Tobira (Door Into Summer) is an adaptation of Keiko Takemiya’s seminal 1975 romance manga. Like many romantic triangle stories, it involves two men and one woman, but it’s the details in this case that make this example so unique. Natsu e no Tobira revolves around Marion, a schoolboy seduced by a bored married housewife, and the fellow schoolboy who has a passionate affection for Marion, not the older woman. The film is now quite old, and its aesthetic evokes the manga art of the 70s, which may make this film difficult for viewers used to contemporary anime to appreciate. But the film is sensual, shocking, and quite beautiful. And it remains a very unusual entry in the history of anime love triangles.

The 1994 Boku wa Konomama Kaerinai OVA (known as “Our Road of No Return” and “I Shall Never Return”), based on Kazuna Uchida’s 1992 manga, covers a similar territory as Natsu e no Tobira, but arrives at a very different conclusion. Ritsuro has a comfortable life with his girlfriend Moeko until his handsome, decadent male friend Ken intrudes into the relationship. But Ken isn’t after the girl. The bisexual Ken wants to steal Ritsuro away for himself! Although the anime is only a single 30 minute episode, it packs in an abundance of unexpected plot twists and shocking surprises.

The Kashimashi ~Girl Meets Girl~ anime introduces the unique and bizarre angle of a love triangle between three girls, one of whom was previously a boy. A single line summary sounds exploitive, but as presented in the show, the set-up is quite natural and not lewd in any respect. In fact, the Kashimashi anime is exceptional precisely because it’s such a dignified, heartfelt, and insightful romantic drama. The series’ story is squarely centered on the relationship between the three girls, and most of the show is devoted to exploring the girls’ psychological turmoil between their sense of friendship and loyalty to each other and the conflicting irrepressible urge to create exclusive romantic attachments.

Among the numerous exceptional attributes of the Princess Tutu anime is its fascinating love triangle between two girls both vying for the affection of a young man incapable of feeling love. Series protagonist Ahiru commits herself to restoring Mytho’s ability to love, all the while knowing that doing so may actually result in Mytho developing affections for someone besides her. Princess Tutu is uniquely interesting because it enhances its conventional romantic triangle tension with a thematic rivalry between self-sacrificing love and self-fulfilling love.