Yeah, so basically my taste in romance is 1) No love triangles / Harems (this prolongs them getting together), 2) like them getting together earlier on, 3) A "Mature" relationship (i.e. they aren't a barbie and ken doll, they should deal w/ sex or even just kissing but doesn't need to show this, just ones that do usually have a more mature atmosphere overall)
I think that was the only 3, their might have been more key aspects... anyways, yeah Kimi wa Pet does have a somewhat misleading title since it makes it sound like a manga where the female MC is like a dominatrix to the male MC ... that isn't the case, in fact if I had to say who was leading who, it would be the male MC ... of course he doesn't admit to it, but he is kind of whimsical and very good at handling people when he wants to be, so he is just a little bit sly, basically he acts to fool usually.
As for goong ... yeah ... I don't remember why I picked it up, and I am glad I did (aside from the rushed ending) but ... That is only now looking back at it, their were times while reading it that that wasn't the case, and since it is such a long manga you really got buckle down if you want to have a "worth it" feeling by the end.
Yume de Aetara is actually one of the key examples I use when explaining why I don't like most Seinen (they get together at the very end, whereas I want a couple getting together at the very beginning and going through the trials then) so yeah ... But yeah, from what you are looking for I would say Mars is a perfect manga to read, it is very different from your typical shoujo (some have it as a Josei), and the plot/characters/etc. are actually really great. But the main thing is that it deals with problems they face while dating alot, and hardly ever (I think that their is an ex-girlfriend at one point) does it use a love rivals ... loved how it actually used real developments instead of just the swarm of love rivals.
well, some shoujo (I guess most) kind of have a cliche style so yeah ... You will get the whole "school prince" kind of thing (although the same is true of shounen) ... but most Seinen usually have a kind of "troll" mentality to their romances, where right when you think they are going to get together, a misunderstanding occurs, and once that is resolved and they are about to get together, another misunderstanding occurs, and this loop will continue usually until right before the series ends ... I really can't stand that type of drama (which usually comes in romance series about the chase), and since shoujo/josei are usually the safest bet for stories where the couple gets together earlier on I usually go with them.
As for Mars, the male MC does have a personality, it is slightly whimsical I guess, and he hardly actually outright says what he is feeling to the female MC but that is due to the fact that he is supposed to be her "pet" and just be someone she can show her weakness to. So he feels it isn't exactly his place to speak his own opinions, however this is only infront of her, he doesn't act like a "pet" in front of others. (the art does take some getting used to though)
As for Mars ... Well ... It's a psychological so the pasts are somewhat dark ... not depressingly dark, more like "wow you had a shitty life, but this could be somewhat realistic" dark. The atmosphere for both Mars and Kimi wa Pet are quite a bit darker than REC for example ... I would slightly warn against Goong if you aren't a shoujo/josei reader ... I am not the biggest fan of drama so I usually avoid some series, this would have been a series I might have avoided initially, although now that I look back it was pretty good.
Okay, sorry about the late reply, you would think after being done with finals I wouldn't be nearly as busy but with finding a job and getting summer school at a community college all squared away it has been somewhat hectic lately ... anyways, moving on, the type of manga you are looking for (involving a married couple or almost married) is actually somewhat rare in "good" manga ... not that it is a poor set-up (I would like to read more manga involving a fiance or even marriage myself) however usually from what I have read, for the most part they are usually found in shoujo series as a comedic device (rich guy shows up, and points to female MC and says, "she is now my wife" and then it's a comedy about her trying to struggle away from his clutches until she falls for him) ... But I was able to find a few (as well as some that sort of follow the 3 rules extremely well, but don't really have the marriage part, or will have it but only at the end, which I'm not sure if you want me to spoil or not so just message me after I send the list with whether or not you wanna know in which manga it has the main couple married or not)
- Goong (Very dramatic, actually contains alot of things I usually try to avoid in romance since I like more straightforward romances however it was still pretty good ... except for the end which was rather rushed, and in a 179 chapter series having a rushed ending is a major let down ... Anyways this series features a "forced" marriage due to a promise made by the male MC's and female MC's grandparents, it does involve marriage quite a bit.)
- Hapi Mari (Josei with I think some minor levels of smut, however it is, if I remember correctly a pretty good romance about getting married or engaged (been a long time so can't remember if they get married earlier on or not), the main "hurdle" they face in this manga has to do with the male MC's family since he comes from a rich family in which he isn't really welcome, let alone her.)
- Kimi wa Pet (This is kind of the wild card out of everything I will list, it doesn't match all of the "bonuses" nor does it deal with marriage ... Anyways this is a very good series that I really enjoyed despite the fact I am a huge fan of "just the male and female MC (no love triangles/harems), and they get together earlier on", This is somewhat of a love triangle, and while it is a spoiler I feel it would be cruel not too mention that they don't get together until later on, however the male MC (and female MC but not as much) are extremely unique and very well done, it is a very good series and might be something worth thinking about reading some day ...)
- Kiss/Hug (Since the last few series I listed have been rather dramatic felt I would add this, now this isn't "not dramatic", but it isn't really the same either, it is very warmhearted and has a rather unique atmosphere to it that I have only ever found in this author's works, I believe this is a short story in which they get engaged (although not sure if it is an official engagement or just verbal) rather early on, a good read if you have a couple hours to kill as it is a very short series too)
- Koukou Debut (One of my favorite romance manga, This has a shared view I believe (although it might have been primarily the female's POV but can't remember), and is not as dramatic as the other series but is still rather dramatic and very nice, it also does have the couple get together earlier on so it is a manga about them overcoming hurdles and whatnot ... Anyways I could talk alot about this one but basically if you are in the mood for a really good and rather straightforward romance this is definitely worth checking out)
- L-DK (Ok so this is like an "implied engagement", it does deal with their relationship quite a bit and they do start going out relatively early in the series I suppose, anyways due to circumstances they are now living together, I can't really explain what I mean by an "implied engagement" but I should note this is one of my favorite on-going romance manga)
- Mars (So I have written the description for this manga like a bajillion times so gonna just ctrl+c one of those real quick - "Best romance I have read by far for a plethora of reasons 1) because it didn't drag out the lead up to them being a couple (IE they got together early on), 2) because it did go past "Holding hands" (IE yes they did have sex, not why it was better but prefer more mature romances over the kind that never progress). 3) No love triangles. 4) The story didn't just focus on their relationship but also covered their environment as well as their goals and aspirations (environment = things like parents, and inner or exterior conflicts that were either overcome alone in some cases or together) and 5) Probably the biggest reason why I loved it so much, It is labeled as psychological, the author brilliantly used hints of psychological to give the most cliche archetypes in shoujo Handsome Delinquent Male MC and Nerdy Shy Female MC and gave them truly unique and deep personalities, honestly I have never seen another manga that has done so well at developing the characters as this one" - Anyways it passes all of the bonuses w/ flying colors)
- Sora wa Akai Kawa no Hotori (aka Red River, This manga is actually rather unique to me, in that it is the only shoujo/action/adventure I can stomache, it is done amazingly well, and is truly a good manga if you want to read a romance that involves other elements in it ... Anyways this is another one of my favorite romances, and on top of that it does match the whole marriage part you were looking for, the only points of concern are the art is rather old and with 28 volumes it is quite long)
- Spicy Pink (I actually really liked the atmosphere of this Josei ... The only problem was that the ending was rather rushed which was somewhat disappointing, but anyways it starts off with the main couple sort of "dating" after meeting at a goukon, while this isn't being married or engaged they are somewhat older (like 25+) so it is very obvious they are dating with the intent of marriage)
As for anime ... well ... Marriage is very uncommon in anime, but more than that I didn't really get too interested in romance in general until I finally decided to try out a shoujo (which until then I would go "Ewww, Shoujo?!?! That's too girly!", and this started when I started going on my manga reading spree ... so I never really watched too many anime dealing with romance, but even with that, I still would say there aren't too many good romance out there but two that do deal with marriage are:
- Itazura na Kiss (not sure if this is a spoiler but the anime basically goes meet in highschool --> date in college --> marry and working --> kids, w/ quite a bit of time devoted to all parts, basically it doesn't start off w/ marriage but their is quite a bit of it in the series, in terms of quality, I would consider all of the manga series I listed better if not most, but for anime it is one of the ones that actually has more romance than just a confession at the end)
- Lamune (Okay so ... I think this one contains marriage or damn close ... but could be wrong, anyways after Clannad and Toradora! This is my 3rd favorite shounen romance anime ... I actually enjoyed this one because the trials the couple face are more than just a cluster fuck of love rivals and jealousy ... anyways don't hold me to the marriage part ... I should also note that this is the only anime I have watched from start to finish in one sitting)
Anyways I hope this helps, sorry for the late reply, if you have any questions feel free to leave me another message, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible, and again if I didn't mention that the series contained marriage it could be because this was a spoiler or because their was no marriage involved in the series, if interested whether a specific series does or doesn't contain marriage feel free to ask me.
I might be able to help, might be slightly hard (married/engaged plots aren't the most common occurrence but I can try and look through what I have read) ... I'll get back to you probably tomorrow, kind of late her so not planning to stay up much later.
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I think that was the only 3, their might have been more key aspects... anyways, yeah Kimi wa Pet does have a somewhat misleading title since it makes it sound like a manga where the female MC is like a dominatrix to the male MC ... that isn't the case, in fact if I had to say who was leading who, it would be the male MC ... of course he doesn't admit to it, but he is kind of whimsical and very good at handling people when he wants to be, so he is just a little bit sly, basically he acts to fool usually.
As for goong ... yeah ... I don't remember why I picked it up, and I am glad I did (aside from the rushed ending) but ... That is only now looking back at it, their were times while reading it that that wasn't the case, and since it is such a long manga you really got buckle down if you want to have a "worth it" feeling by the end.
Yume de Aetara is actually one of the key examples I use when explaining why I don't like most Seinen (they get together at the very end, whereas I want a couple getting together at the very beginning and going through the trials then) so yeah ... But yeah, from what you are looking for I would say Mars is a perfect manga to read, it is very different from your typical shoujo (some have it as a Josei), and the plot/characters/etc. are actually really great. But the main thing is that it deals with problems they face while dating alot, and hardly ever (I think that their is an ex-girlfriend at one point) does it use a love rivals ... loved how it actually used real developments instead of just the swarm of love rivals.
As for Mars, the male MC does have a personality, it is slightly whimsical I guess, and he hardly actually outright says what he is feeling to the female MC but that is due to the fact that he is supposed to be her "pet" and just be someone she can show her weakness to. So he feels it isn't exactly his place to speak his own opinions, however this is only infront of her, he doesn't act like a "pet" in front of others. (the art does take some getting used to though)
As for Mars ... Well ... It's a psychological so the pasts are somewhat dark ... not depressingly dark, more like "wow you had a shitty life, but this could be somewhat realistic" dark. The atmosphere for both Mars and Kimi wa Pet are quite a bit darker than REC for example ... I would slightly warn against Goong if you aren't a shoujo/josei reader ... I am not the biggest fan of drama so I usually avoid some series, this would have been a series I might have avoided initially, although now that I look back it was pretty good.
As for anime ... well ... Marriage is very uncommon in anime, but more than that I didn't really get too interested in romance in general until I finally decided to try out a shoujo (which until then I would go "Ewww, Shoujo?!?! That's too girly!", and this started when I started going on my manga reading spree ... so I never really watched too many anime dealing with romance, but even with that, I still would say there aren't too many good romance out there but two that do deal with marriage are:
- Itazura na Kiss (not sure if this is a spoiler but the anime basically goes meet in highschool --> date in college --> marry and working --> kids, w/ quite a bit of time devoted to all parts, basically it doesn't start off w/ marriage but their is quite a bit of it in the series, in terms of quality, I would consider all of the manga series I listed better if not most, but for anime it is one of the ones that actually has more romance than just a confession at the end)
- Lamune (Okay so ... I think this one contains marriage or damn close ... but could be wrong, anyways after Clannad and Toradora! This is my 3rd favorite shounen romance anime ... I actually enjoyed this one because the trials the couple face are more than just a cluster fuck of love rivals and jealousy ... anyways don't hold me to the marriage part ... I should also note that this is the only anime I have watched from start to finish in one sitting)
Anyways I hope this helps, sorry for the late reply, if you have any questions feel free to leave me another message, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible, and again if I didn't mention that the series contained marriage it could be because this was a spoiler or because their was no marriage involved in the series, if interested whether a specific series does or doesn't contain marriage feel free to ask me.