Where exactly is it romantic? oO
He is just some arse for most of the time. His behavior doesn't have anything to do with romance (ignoring her even in private and in public). There are only few times he does show affection, even after their marriage.
Lame. Unrealistic.
naoki irie is a male tsundere. that's something that you rarely see in an anime.
Lizzy, this goes for Nodame Cantabile also. Just replace Naoki Irie with Chiaki Shinichi. The difference though, is that Chiaki doesn't really ignore Megumi. It's more like getting angry at her. There are quite a few hints that Chiaki's relationship with Megumi develops from a one sided love to a more mutual understanding, though, but I'm assuming you missed out on these cues?
Obviously... and I said so too.
However, watching 22 episodes (it has 23 in total) with no romance when it was labeled as romance was greatly disappointing and the last episode did what have? One hug from him. Wow. It was sweet but way too long for this and the moment also too short to call it a romance anime. FAIL
I dl'ed Nodame Cantabile Paris, but didn't start it yet. Will do after New Year because except for the missing romance it was a good anime... funny, good animation and best is the classical music part.
At the very least, Chiaki does not suddenly become affectionate for Megumi, as shown by a couple of scenes where he actually cares for her well-being and her piano playing. Just because the only physical way he shows his affection for her is by hugging her doesn't mean it's the only way he shows that he cares about her, you know.
I would hardly say that Nodame Cantabile's romantic aspect was "FAIL." In fact, I thought it was balanced well with the comedy to be a fun and lighthearted watch, all the while being touching at a few parts with the relationships. I actually thought that Chiaki and Megumi not being too "touchy-feely" was a good thing, because (it may just be me) but I don't really think heavy romance and comedy mixes well.
The second season was, in my opinion, nowhere near as good as the first. You might like it more, though, because it was definitely more romantic than its predecessor. However, I found that the second season suffered from pacing problems as a couple episodes felt rushed. Chiaki and Megumi's relationship does get some development, and it does leave the viewer wanting more for the third season, though, so overall it wasn't bad.
So, my nomination for greatest romantic comedy is Nodame Cantabile. It's not perfect, but it's one of the few anime that has made me laugh and warmed my heart at the same time.
As for a couple of the others that were mentioned, they were good too, but I just didn't find them as enjoyable as Nodame.
Also, Toradora would have a possibility of getting second in my book, but its not finished yet, so I can't really judge it this soon.
