3 ms·

I think you see that trope mainly in hentais and very rarely in regular romcoms, as far as animes go.

sotojuan 10y ago
That's not true. I've stopped watching seasonal anime but the last time I did (2014), every single comedy/romance anime had that trope. Sometimes it's just admiration and not romance but it seems to always be there.
- astrobe_ 10y ago
  It's most of the times admiration and not romance, and is most of the times a comedy element and not part of the main plot. That's very different from what OP stated.
Nadya 10y ago
Very common in Slice of Life/Highschool Life shows. It is essentially the Japanese equivalent of the Football Star/Quarterback dating the Head Cheerleader trope.
- astrobe_ 10y ago
  I strongly disagree. The typical trope in SoL highschool romcom animes is the love triangle featuring a rather "dense" MC, a tsundere and a childhood friend, the three members of the triangle being classmates (so no "senpai"/underclass-mate relationships). Examples: Toradora!, Golden time, Kokoro connect, White Album 2, ... to name the most popular ones. Those that don't feature a love triangle (Ore Monogatori!, Lovely Complex, Kimi ni Todoke,... ) don't have sempais either. I simply can't remember a romcom anime in which the sempai relationship plays a significant role, if present at all. In any case, that's not a dominant trope in the genre.
  - Nadya 10y ago
    Yotsugi from Monogatari series, Kuriyama from Kyoukai no Kanata, Azusa from K-On (more-so admiration of Mio than romantic), Free!, Gochuumon wa Usagi desu ka? just to name a few. If MAL wasn't for whatever reason blocked by my work's filter I'm sure I could come up with 10+ more from relatively popular shows (Monogatari, Beyond the Boundary, and K-On! being the most popular)
    - astrobe_ 10y ago
      I still don't agree. Love triangles are very common. Tsunderes are very common. Sempais are less common. "In terms of pop culture however, senpai is a word that has taken on a life of its own. Now it seems that everyone and their uncle on both sides of the Pacific are throwing the word around like it's nothing at all. Anyone who is slightly older than you might or might not have a crush on is now being referred to as senpai. Will it become yet another buzz word that invades popular culture in the west? It's certainly possible." [0] Anyway. Calling it the "BAKA protocol" would have fit more in more than one way. [0] http://myanimelist.net/featured/645/Senpai_and_Kouhai_Relationships_in_Anime__Notice_Me_Senpai_ http://myanimelist.net/featured/645/Senpai_and_Kouhai_Relati...

That's not true. I've stopped watching seasonal anime but the last time I did (2014), every single comedy/romance anime had that trope. Sometimes it's just admiration and not romance but it seems to always be there.

astrobe_ 10y ago
It's most of the times admiration and not romance, and is most of the times a comedy element and not part of the main plot. That's very different from what OP stated.

Nadya 10y ago

Very common in Slice of Life/Highschool Life shows. It is essentially the Japanese equivalent of the Football Star/Quarterback dating the Head Cheerleader trope.

astrobe_ 10y ago
I strongly disagree. The typical trope in SoL highschool romcom animes is the love triangle featuring a rather "dense" MC, a tsundere and a childhood friend, the three members of the triangle being classmates (so no "senpai"/underclass-mate relationships). Examples: Toradora!, Golden time, Kokoro connect, White Album 2, ... to name the most popular ones. Those that don't feature a love triangle (Ore Monogatori!, Lovely Complex, Kimi ni Todoke,... ) don't have sempais either. I simply can't remember a romcom anime in which the sempai relationship plays a significant role, if present at all. In any case, that's not a dominant trope in the genre.
- Nadya 10y ago
  Yotsugi from Monogatari series, Kuriyama from Kyoukai no Kanata, Azusa from K-On (more-so admiration of Mio than romantic), Free!, Gochuumon wa Usagi desu ka? just to name a few. If MAL wasn't for whatever reason blocked by my work's filter I'm sure I could come up with 10+ more from relatively popular shows (Monogatari, Beyond the Boundary, and K-On! being the most popular)
  - astrobe_ 10y ago
    I still don't agree. Love triangles are very common. Tsunderes are very common. Sempais are less common. "In terms of pop culture however, senpai is a word that has taken on a life of its own. Now it seems that everyone and their uncle on both sides of the Pacific are throwing the word around like it's nothing at all. Anyone who is slightly older than you might or might not have a crush on is now being referred to as senpai. Will it become yet another buzz word that invades popular culture in the west? It's certainly possible." [0] Anyway. Calling it the "BAKA protocol" would have fit more in more than one way. [0] http://myanimelist.net/featured/645/Senpai_and_Kouhai_Relationships_in_Anime__Notice_Me_Senpai_ http://myanimelist.net/featured/645/Senpai_and_Kouhai_Relati...