Raise wa Tanin ga Ii

This is an incredibly unique story where the female love interest doesn't seem keen on the male love interest at all. I appreciate the story and how it begins to develop almost like a weird crime show with romance nuances and how the characters are more complex than they seem. The characters are anything but boring and the dialogue they exude is also very "one-of-a-kind". If you're looking for a romance anime that is not your typical "run of the mill" kinda anime, this one is definitely a great choice. There is violence and some slight sexual undertones for some instances but for the most part, I can see why my friends recommended this to me. I eagerly await a new season if it receives one (if not, Manga here I come)!

High school girl Yoshino Somei has lived a relatively normal life in Osaka despite the fact that she comes from a Yakuza family. All that changes when her grandfather arranges for her to be married to Kirishima Miyama, heir to another Yakuza family. She agrees to meet him and travels to Tokyo to see him; from the moment they meet she despises him. He is constantly getting into violent altercations. Over the course of the series they get entangled in a number of dangerous situations. Will she raise him out of his criminality or will he drag her down to his level?

This is a solid enough series. I thought it would be a romance but the drama of the situation dominates. There is a good sense of danger and action that feels real rather than overly stylised or sanitised. The characters have a rough look to them that suits the somewhat gritty story. The final episode feels more like an end of season rather than an end of the story; hopefully there will be more. Overall I'd say this is a decent series, certainly worth checking out.

These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.

Really enjoyed this show! First time watching a yakuza centred show as I was looking for a non-standard romance story, and really enjoyed it. The characters are interesting and do a good job of building on them and the relationships. They also do a good job of balancing the mood between silly and serious.

I would very much like to see a season 2 of this show.

The main complaint I have is with the heavy dialogue scenes, don't get me wrong the writing is interesting so the dialogue itself isn't boring, I just wish there was something a bit more visual to go with it, a character will be talking about some interesting backstory and I just think they could have made it more of a narration with something more going on on screen.

Still overall I think this show deserves way more attention (and way more reviews! I don't even write reviews but I felt sad for the lack of, so here ya go). I'm also more reserved in my rating system, but I think a decent second season could easily bring it up to an 8.

Lately, there have been more yakuza animes; the good thing is that most of them have different approaches. In this case, we have a female protagonist who does not follow any typical clichés. This is a traditional story in the style of arranged marriages, territorial power alliances, etc. But it comes with a very peculiar script, an artistic style, and character design full of personality-all at a well-paced rhythm that won't feel tiresome to anyone.

You'll find humor, drama, action, blood...

It's another yakuza anime, but with a twist worth watching.

If you have even the slightest interest in the yakuza theme and don't mind a romantic element, then this is an anime you might really enjoy.