Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru – Love is Forbidden!

Parents play a curious role in anime, they are often the invisible force, beings that exist and look after the main characters but don’t necessarily have a physical, or visible role. Throughout numerous anime the main characters, often in their teens appear to live in a curious realm, the everyday, but without their parents ever making a direct appearance in the series. In some cases the absence of parents is the catalyst, or reason for certain characters actions, but in the case of Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru or ‘OreShura’ for short, it is precisely because of the parents absence that Eita acts the way he does. His is a dysfunctional family, and arguably doesn’t necessarily exist due to his parent’s apparent dissatisfaction with their lives and willingness to leave him behind as they search for true love. The notion that parents can be so uninterested in their child that they willingly divorce and disappear never to be seen again is shocking, but unfortunately not unheard of. And the impact that it has clearly had on Eita would explain his current attitude towards love and the way he approaches life in general.

The central idea of OreShura is that love is horrible, it is forbidden, but it is also essential, because without love, or at least affection and friendship, which are other forms of love then you would be alone in the world and likely very depressed. For Eita love is unnecessary and he wishes to avoid it as much as possible, instead spending his time studying in order to get into a medical school and eventually earn ¥10 million a year. His goal is partly because he views it as the only way with which he can pay back the kindness of his aunt Seako who has been taking care of him ever since his parents disappeared. In a sense his goal is for a good cause and isn’t entirely selfish since he wants to pay others back for their kindness, but it also lacks emotion and has become the single driving force in his life. As such his life seems dull and because he studies so much there is little semblance of a social life or even a social group other than his childhood friend Chiwa. The main relationship in OreShura is a complicated one between Eita, Chiwa and Masuzu, a returnee who is beautiful, but dislikes love as much as Eita and appears to be a very good actor. As we watch Eita and Masuzu sit next to each other it becomes increasingly clear that she has something planned, and that Eita’s feelings on love are important to her.

The notion that someone as beautiful as Masuzu despising love as much as Eita is fascinating, especially since she acts the perfect ‘ojou-sama’ while at school. That she is willing to blackmail Eita into becoming her boyfriend, only because she knows he doesn’t really love her, but will nonetheless act as a deterrent for all the confessions that she keeps getting was brilliant to see. Her reasons for despising love are not as clear as Eita’s, and we know very little about who she is, why she has returned and her family, but she remains a fascinating character. But, the difference between her public persona and her true personality suggest that she is a very good actor and will quite freely blackmail people to get her way. What is particularly interesting about OreShura however is that, despite his claims, Eita still shows affection for Chiwa, and clearly cares for her deeply, even if it may not be due to romantic feelings. Chiwa seems to live in Seako and Eita’s house, constantly coming over for food and apparently spending the majority of her time with him.

On numerous occasions we also see Eita clearly unhappy when Chiwa starts running around, alluding to a possible injury that we have yet to be informed of, and also helping to demonstrate that while he claims to dislike love, he continues to care for Chiwa on a daily basis, perhaps out of a sense of duty, but also because he does genuinely care for her. Furthermore, his reactions to Masuzu and her proposal also demonstrate that he does at least think about the opposite sex occasionally. What is interesting of course is the emphasis placed upon not appearing to be gay, since his rejection of love might make people believe that he has no interest in the opposite sex and is therefore homosexual. Japan has no anti-gay laws and some legal protection for gay individuals, but it remains a relatively traditional society when it comes to notions marriage and relationships, admittedly, the same can be said for large parts of America or Britain as well, so it is hardly unique in that respect. Then again, like with all people of a certain age, the idea of coming out and freely talking about being gay, or even being considered as gay can be harmful both emotionally and psychologically. Overall it looks to be an interesting series, with the central relationship being pretty tense, and considering the title talks about fighting Eita is likely to have a pretty crazy life now that Masuzu has dropped into it.