By "healthy romance," I don't mean a romance in which both partners are health freaks or gym bunnies, or something. 😛 I just mean a romance in which the lovers actually treat each other right.

I'm sure that many of you have noticed, but doesn't manga have an inordinate number of dysfunctional relationships? Or downright abusive ones? Like, a guy keeps mistreating or ignoring a girl horrendously, but for some stupid reason, she still stays smitten with him. Because obviously, his bad treatment of her is a sign that he just wuvs her sooo much. o_O; What the hell? In the real world, such abusive relationships are in the minority, but in manga, they appear to be in the majority. It messes with my brain, people. Like it's somehow normal to get treated like shit, and that we're supposed to like it...

Similar patterns repeat across genres, whether in yaoi, yuri or even just plain old ecchi. A really mean, cold-hearted or frigid girl somehow attracts the devotion of the male protagonist even though there are other very sweet girls nearby; a sadistic businessman with the morality of a shark somehow wins the affections of a righteous schoolboy. Huh? How does that work out? I find it incomprehensible when these couplings are somehow given happy endings.

I, for one, have never stuck around in a relationship where I wasn't treated properly, nor have I ever treated anyone improperly. Because then it isn't a relationship, it's self-flagellation. Hell, I dunno, but whatever it is, it ain't love.

So I just want to read about people loving each other. A nice, healthy romance in which neither of the lovers is a "victim" of the other, and in which they both treat each other with real respect. In which they show that they care for each other by doing caring things, not by bullying or ignoring or punishing each other! And in which they don't play stupid mind games with each other. And in which one of them doesn't rape the other one as an expression of their undying love. Gah. SAVE ME FROM THE INANITY.

...

Sorry for the rant. And for spamming you guys with too many threads; it's just that I may have to go offline again for another two weeks, during which time I would like to have a surplus of reading material. So if you can give me good recommendations now, then I'll be well-fed for the coming fortnight... Like bears are during their hibernations, you know?

Not that I am at all bear-like. hides claws behind back 😀

Thanks in advance!

Read manga with the following themes...
Politics
Power Couples
Pure Subtext

Only one that came to mind right now is Mahoraba.

If you're up for fairly fluffy shoujo, W Juliet fits that - that the two leads care for each other and act like it is one of the main reasons I love that manga. 😃

"[English] not only borrows words from other languages; it has on occasion chased other languages down dark alley-ways, clubbed them unconscious and rifled their pockets for new vocabulary."
-James Nicoll, can.general, March 21, 1992

i think you are looking for nana to kaoru. pretty healthy relationship

I second mahoraba. God i love that manga.
i second nana to kaoru as well.

[img]http://img.userbars.pl/69/13603.gif[/img]

Immortal Rain Maybe? I think it also goes well with your subtext request. (other thread)

Hrodulf and Bjornolfr, you will not be forgotten.
[img]http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp199/SyberAngelGabrielle/couplesig.jpg[/img]
[color=black]And if the world were black and white,
you would be my rainbow in shades of grey.[/color]

Click 'n Play!

If I had a fantasy self, it'd be a tentacle monster.

Try Love Roma, I just finished reading it and it was great.

[img]http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc113/saidin_and_ubw/fate-UBWarcheredit.jpg[/img]

Thank you, everyone! Yes, I certainly do like my fluffy shoujo, so feel free to recommend those titles, TofuQueen! I also appreciate "Love Roma," because I've just looked at the summary and it sounds like exactly what I'm looking for. 🙂

Read manga with the following themes...
Politics
Power Couples
Pure Subtext

Public lists are good 'cause I don't know if you've read these or not:

Lovely Complex -first one that comes to mind
Koukou Debut
Nodame Cantabile
Spicy Pink

The Hating Girl
Mysterious Girlfriend X kind of-weird, but stable

Yeahh i get tired of those kinds of manga too, let me think of some.

Good Morning Call
MAX Lovely!
Bokura ga Ita
Bokura wa Itsumo
Celebrity Yukojou Yaku
Crimson Hero
Hanatsukihime
Kaichou wa Maid-sama!
Kimi ni Todoke
Koko ni iru yo!
Senpai to Kanojo
Beast Master
M.T. Pass
Mizutama Fabric
Strobe Edge
Sunadokei
Venus Capriccio

Yeahh i just got some of these from my lists 🤨

♪MONSTARR~ will eat all your cookies and steal your bishies~♪ Φ_Φ

Holy cripes, that's a lot of good stuff you guys have recommended to me! Lots of titles I've never seen before! StarlightDreams, particularly. Thanks for your exhaustive list. 🙂

Read manga with the following themes...
Politics
Power Couples
Pure Subtext

Maybe I gave up too early, but I quit reading Good Morning Call because the guy wasn't very nice to the girl and seemed to expect her to do all the housework, cooking, etc. while they shared the apartment. 🤢 Didn't seem like a very fair (or "healthy") relationship to me, but if anyone can confirm that it changes, maybe I'll pick it up again.

"[English] not only borrows words from other languages; it has on occasion chased other languages down dark alley-ways, clubbed them unconscious and rifled their pockets for new vocabulary."
-James Nicoll, can.general, March 21, 1992

Quote from TofuQueen

Maybe I gave up too early, but I quit reading Good Morning Call because the guy wasn't very nice to the girl and seemed to expect her to do all the housework, cooking, etc. while they shared the apartment. 🤢 Didn't seem like a very fair (or "healthy") relationship to me, but if anyone can confirm that it changes, maybe I'll pick it up again.

Well sure he does make her do housework, but it's not like he abused her, and treated her like crap and raped her, it's definitely not one of those manga, it's very lighthearted and it's not like he never does anything for her and doesn't care about her. The guy isn't some kind of masochistic, arrogant guy who abuses his girlfriend, that's for sure, he's a nice guy overall and does treat her nicely and cares for her.

EDIT: my bad, i meant sadistic

♪MONSTARR~ will eat all your cookies and steal your bishies~♪ Φ_Φ

Quote from StarlightDreams

Well sure he does make her do housework, but it's not like he abused her, and treated her like crap and raped her, it's definitely not one of those manga, it's very lighthearted and it's not like he never does anything for her and doesn't care about her. The guy isn't some kind of masochistic, arrogant guy who abuses his girlfriend, that's for sure, he's a nice guy overall and does treat her nicely and cares for her.

Masochists don't abuse their girlfriends...
And I don't think that a guy should expect a girl to do all the housework either. In fact, that ideas prevalence in manga really pisses me off.

This signature was recovered from Hades to serve in my rotting armies.

Some good recommendations here - I'll add a few more if you don't mind a fantasy/supernatural aspect:

Koi Neko
My Lovely Ghost Kana

And although they may be in one of the slowest moving ever, Keiichi and Belldandy of Ah! My Goddess really do have a very good relationship together.