Two romance series from Crunchyroll‘s current and previous seasons, A Condition Called Love and Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable!, respectively, unsurprisingly devote an entire episode to Valentine’s Day, as the majority of anime in the genre almost always do. However, each of them explores the international holiday from two very different, but more importantly, very fresh perspectives. This comes amid persistent, highly unsupported claims that the genre is stagnant, helping to prove that romance anime is fresher than ever before, even though it always has been.

A Condition Called Love completely circumvents the usual presentation on Valentine’s Day where normally the girl presents special chocolates to the boy she secretly likes to deliver an unprecedentedly shared experience that also underscores two incredible instances of character growth.

In Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable!, this presentation does take place during its ubiquitous Valentine’s Day episode, but the focus is completely on friendship instead of romance, effectively putting all the emphasis on an oftentimes overlooked strength of the genre as a whole.

A Condition Called Love Completely Rejects a Massive Moment in Most Valentine’s Day Episodes

Hotaru and Saki Bake Their Chocolate Together, Leading to an Unexpected Confession

In A Condition Called Love episode 6, Hotaru Hinase eventually goes to check on Saki Hananoi when he fails to show up for their Valentine’s Day date, to which she finds that he was late because he had been unsuccessfully making chocolates for her and didn’t want to leave until he had prepared them properly. Of course, most people will point out that it’s usually the girl who gives chocolates on Valentine’s Day and that the boys return the favor on White Day. However, that’s not what’s so special here. The obvious deviation is that Hotaru and Saki bake together rather than in private, which would have added more suspense to the highly anticipated and, more importantly, conventional presentation of chocolates.

Seeing them share this moment is not only unconventional but incredibly heartwarming, and even leads to an equally unprecedented moment when she drops the usually delayed confession. While this rarely transpires so soon in romance anime, what’s equally incredible is directly correlated to the proprietary elements of the specific show, specifically what compels Hotaru to see Saki and how he later reacts to her confession. Regarding the former, this is the first time that Hotaru reacts based on how she feels rather than thinking of what would be best for Saki. This is a massive change based on how honest A Condition Called Love is about Hotaru’s struggles with love.

Meanwhile, it’s incredible to see Saki almost nonchalantly accept her words without overwhelming her physically and emotionally. This not only disproves the obviously inaccurate interpretation of Saki’s character in A Condition Called Love, but also underscores just how much he needed his love to be requited, and how his past behavior has mostly been a reaction to not having his feelings reciprocated, almost like an overcompensation.

Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable! Subverts The Same Moment For Friendship, Not Romance

This Series’ Valentine Episode Revolves Around Friendship

Meanwhile, the entirety of Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable!‘s Valentine’s Day episodes revolves almost exclusively around friendship. Although Minami Fuyuki and Sayuri Akino’s heavily implied love triangle with Tsubasa Shiki is explored therein, it’s only a minor moment. The focus quickly shifts when the chocolates she makes for her friends are destroyed, with most of the drama revolving around how much importance Minami places on their success and the negative effect that some of the reactions from Minami’s friends have on her. This is especially the case when Sayuri stands up for her.

Even though Tsubasa later plays piano for Minami to cheer her up, this romantic moment is quickly upstaged when Minami shocks both the audience and Sayuri when Minami presents her, not Tsubasa, with chocolates. Although there is still a major presentation of chocolates, the moment is subverted by having the gesture focus on friendship. Many romance veterans undoubtedly appreciated at the time the fact that one of the most romantic cliché episodes was upended for friendship, especially since it’s the unsung hero of some of the most celebrated romance anime.

One of the genre’s flagships, Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You, is partly as successful as it is because of the rich friendships that blossom throughout the series, but even Kimi ni Todoke doesn’t put such an obvious spotlight on this type of relationship, even though there are entire arcs dedicated to it. This is even the case even though the protagonist never had any friends until the events of the anime. However, Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable! decided to do it so conspicuously. It’s for that reason that its subversion of the biggest moment in anime’s Valentine’s Day episodes and A Condition Called Love‘s complete rejection of it make them so fresh.