UNPOPULAR OPINION:The massive height difference trope in anime and manga is just cringe and unrealistic

[u/LateNightWonderer]

I honestly don’t get why so many anime and manga keep pushing this exaggerated height difference between male and female characters. You’ll see this super tall guy standing next to a girl who looks way too small, almost childlike, and instead of looking like a couple it feels more like two completely different species. It just isn’t realistic at all because you hardly ever see such an extreme gap in real life, yet it keeps getting treated like some ideal of romance. What makes it worse is how it always plays into the same tired stereotypes where the guy has to be the big strong protector and the girl is drawn as tiny, fragile, and “cute,” which often makes her look more like a kid than an actual partner. I get that some people find it visually appealing, but when it shows up in so many series it starts to feel lazy, outdated, and honestly a bit harmful. Anime and manga shape how people think about relationships and constantly showing this kind of imbalance really does send the wrong message. It would be so much nicer and way more refreshing to see couples with a normal, believable height difference or even ones where the girl is taller instead of repeating this overdone cliche again and again.

[u/Nerobought]

Maybe you should get outside and meet more people? Even in my close friend circle I know two couples who are like this lmao.

[u/Lulukassu]

I mean... One of the gals I can sort of call a friend (our uncles were friends so she tolerates me more than most other women) is 4'8

Her husband is 6'7

[u/elitemegamanX]

I’m usually like a foot taller at least than most girls irl

[u/Draco_Estella]

Keep pushing? I can't even name more than 10 series that has a massive height difference. Between Asuna and Kirito, Emilia and Subaru, or even Sakuta and Sakurajima, there isn't much of a height difference.

It is an unpopular opinion because clearly you haven't been watching much romance.

[u/famaki_ → u/Draco_Estella]

more like uneducated opinion, say "i don't like it, i don't like that" without giving example by OP and not trying to see why 'trope' even exist if OP claim is true

[u/LateNightWonderer → u/famaki_]

The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity

[u/famaki_ → u/LateNightWonderer]

only that?

[u/LateNightWonderer → u/famaki_]

My Love Story, Lovely Complex, Toradora, Itazura na Kiss, Ouran High School Host Club, Fruits Basket, Kimi ni Todoke.

[u/famaki_ → u/LateNightWonderer]

then compare it to romance anime/manga with male/female have same height or not that much different, like clannad, sakurasou, monogatari series, etc. is it really a trope or not. and then, you need to see average height of people in Japan

[u/LateNightWonderer → u/famaki_]

All i know is not all guys are 6 feet in japan

[u/Lulukassu → u/Draco_Estella]

Not familiar with your last couple, but the first two are ships in series outside the romance genre rather than Romance, right?

[u/Lazearound10am]

If you ever follow Jbiz at all, you'll see that Japanese actresses are sometimes only around 150cm tall. It's rarer these days but one of the most famous actress, Hashimoto Kanna, is literally just 152cm tall. On the flip side we got actor Masahiro Higashide who is 189cm tall, which mean nearly 40cm taller than Kanna.

So it's a thing that absolutely exist IRL and it's ridiculous to criticize authors who bring that interesting dynamic into their works.

[u/Successful-Permit856]

Honestly, it exists because it's rooted in a very real and common preference. Anime just amplifies it for dramatic, comedic, or romantic effect.

[u/Count_Kylt]

The thing is that tall men and short women pair of all the time. I knew a girl in high school who was 4'6" in heels.

I (6'2") dated a chica (4'10") in my early 20's with F cups.

Anime and Manga exaggerate how common these features are, but they're usually based within the possibilities of the human anatomy.

[u/De-Mattos]

You should separate these longer posts into paragraphs for ease of reading.

[u/NanoYohaneTSU]

I like big tall guys who are strong, mature, athletic, handsome, etc. They represent the ideal man.

I like small innocent girls who are feminine, pretty, childlike (read: naive), graceful, and elegant. They represent the ideal woman.

It doesn't matter how unrealistic it is. It's aesthetically pleasing. Although you are complaining about realism and cringiness, what you actually want is everything to be ugly, grim, grey, and samey.

There is an entire genre of media for you! It's called comics and movies. Men and women protagonists are ugly, samey, and genderless while having almost no personality or virtuous traits for your viewing pleasure. So please stay far away from anime and manga.

[u/LateNightWonderer → u/NanoYohaneTSU]

Why would I stay away from anime and manga id rather stay away from shity ass romance anime I love seinen and shonen