Junjou Romantica -third season

The third season of the anime Junjou Romantica proves to be up to the challenge set by the previous two seasons; the relationships are developing, slowly but surely. The plot skillfully combines deep, touching moments with very funny scenes and the soundtrack is as lively as before (Innocent Graffiti by Fo'xTails- the opening song; Kawaranai Sora by Luck Life- the ending song).

Like the previous seasons, the third one also focuses more on the couple Usami Akihiko- Misaki Takahashi than on the other two. Misaki surprises us in a positive way by taking the initiative from time to time. He’s more aware of the romantic feelings he has for Usagi-san and can make the difference between these feelings and those he has for his mangaka hero, Ijuin Kyo. But Misaki is not the only one full of surprises; Usagi-san shows visible signs of maturity (shocking, isn’t it?! :P) when he decides to control his jealousy fits and instead have more faith in Misaki.

Still, Usagi-san does become jealous, especially when a certain someone confesses to Misaki. Tension also arises from the little amount of time Usagi-san gets to spend with Misaki, since the young adult is in search of a job and his place in society. To top that Misaki finds himself between his desire to continue living with Usagi-san and other’s more-or-less obvious expectations to begin living on his own. Here is a quote of Usagi-san, that I really like: “I can be strong because I’m with Misaki”

The second couple, Hiro and Nowaki are very busy with their work. Nowaki becomes insecure and starts wondering if Hiro’s life would have been better with someone else. In the end this proves to be another problem of communication, which the two manage to solve.

In the third couple, Shinobu worries about his lack of cooking skills but Miyagi reassures him, saying that he appreciates Shinobu’s efforts. Miyagi decides to make an effort and pay more attention to what Shinobu wants. Miyagi: “Thank you for falling in love with me!” Their relationship moves to a new level at the end of the episode.

In this season there is another couple’s story that continues as well, beside the three main ones. Since Isaka becomes president at Marukawa he doesn’t have time to be with Asahina. He is under the impression that Asahina either avoids him or is cheating on him. For the first time we see emotions taking over Asahina because he’s afraid that he’ll lose Isaka. Their relationship will also evolve to the next level, so get ready for deep and touching moments between the two.

A fourth season is expected to come next year, since the manga is still ongoing. I won’t spoil too much, but I can say that in the near future Misaki wants to talk to his brother about his relationship with Usagi-san.