Week 5 - Princess Jellyfish

I want to take time to talk about Princess Jellyfish, because I really think this series strongly diverts away from what you would expect to be a typical romance manga/anime. One of the main concepts of Princess Jellyfish that especially stand out is how relatable Tsukimi is. She's gentle and innocent, but shows some insecurity around beautiful people. I immediately developed a strong connection with her, since she's an illustrator that has a love for an exotic animal and feels intimidated around stylish people, to the point where she freezes up. This doesn't apply to just Tsukimi though, as the other women living in the apartments are just as weird, but that's one of the many things that makes the series so endearing.

The primary thing I want to point out about this series is how the men are handled, in comparison to other romance manga I've experienced. In other works, the men are rather focused on their masculinity. They sometimes play sports and are kind of perverted. Some are unusually handsome and talented or charismatic, while others are handsome, but edgy and mysterious. In Princess Jellyfish, the main boy, Kuranosuke is an open cross-dresser. Something I adore about his character is how he embraces femininity and how he does his best to support Tsukimi once they get to know each other. His type of character is none like any other I've seen in anime. It's a type of character I'd like to see more of, especially in anime/manga series, because he's a guy who's comfortable with his lifestyle. He brings comfort to women, because he's supportive and respects them, and it's because he understands.