When I was younger and less successful in love & relationships, #anime #Romcoms were an escape, a way I could focus on and feel vicarious joy for the characters while forgetting about myself for awhile. They still do to an extent, but as someone now who's been married and divorced, and had a few serious girlfriends since the divorce, they hit differently now and evoke more actual memories now. The remind me of past relationships more now that I have that wealth of experience to draw upon. In the moment they're still an escape and I enjoy the story and the characters, but when I'm done watching for the night the memories and associations leap to mind. It just is how it is now.