The featured image is called “Anatomy of a Hug” by the artist Lana Lu.

How far does your love for your special someone truly go? Of course, many people would swear they would do anything for their significant other, but would they really act upon their words, or are their words just an illusion to maintain their relationship? When reading a graphic novel called They Called Us Enemy and mangas like Whisper Me a Love Song and The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady, I’ve noticed how healthy the romantic relationships between the characters like the mother and father in They Called Us Enemy and the main relationships in the two mangas due to the circumstances they’re in. A lot of relationships that undergo and experience very tough situations tend to break apart due to the stress and problems that the situation could have caused, and the people in the relationship are most likely arguing often or lashing out at each other because of the emotional toll and pressure from that problem. However, despite the fact that the relationships within those novels have gone through their own hardships and extreme circumstances, they still loved each other dearly and even became closer because of it. They communicated with each other very well, comforted each other when needed, and also didn’t judge each other.

Something that these relationships have in common is each one of the partners’ lovers has done something bad, but their significant other doesn’t berate them because of it. Whether it was against a rule/law or risked their lives, their significant other stayed calm about it and most of the time even laughed about it with their loved one. In the novel They Called Us Enemy, the mother brought along a sewing machine, a prohibited item, when they were sent to the camps; when the husband found out, he just laughed with her about it instead of getting mad at her that she brought it. In the manga, The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady, one of the lovers, Anisphia, usually does very dangerous experiments, risks her life often, and also gets into a lot of trouble. Her lover doesn’t get angry at her, but instead makes sure she’s okay and makes sure she learns from her mistakes and to be more careful next time.

Even though her beloved doesn’t get angry at her, they do show concern for her. There was this time where Aisphia could’ve died when she tried to beat a powerful entity alone, and instead of her lover getting mad at her for doing it alone, she instead expressed her concern and talked to her about wanting to be by her side. They communicated with each other about it and they both agreed to be by each other’s side and fight things together. In another manga called Whisper Me a Love Song, one of the partners, Yori, is a guitarist in a band and got jealous and worried that the other partner might fall for somebody else in a different band since their girlfriend Himari is a manager for that talented band that they are soon going against in a huge important contest. Instead of being controlling or giving her girlfriend an attitude to hint that she is upset, she instead talks and expresses to her lover about how she felt and they both reassure each other about their loyalty and love to one another. Within They Called Us Enemy, there are many instances where the mother and father communicated with each other about their important decisions on what they wanted to do/should do in the concentration camp that could affect them horribly and they always came to an agreement together. On one particular instance, they had to choose to give up their citizenship to stay at the camp where they have a place for the family to stay or they could keep their citizenship and be kicked out of the camp. They talked about it and mother decided to be the one to give up her citizenship for the family to stay and have a shelter to live in.

Soon, they were given the chance to move back to LA, which is where they originally lived until they were sent to the concentration camps. The wife was worried about moving back due to the fear of discrimination, plus their home was most likely taken and it would be hard to find a job and place to live there. With an intention to comfort her, the husband decided to go to LA first to make sure it was safe. When Yori and her girlfriend Himari in Whisper Me a Love Song were talking about Yori’s concern about how Himari might like somebody else in the competitors band and slowly start to love Yori less and might backstab her so that the other band could win, Himari offered to stop being the manager for that band if it meant her girlfriend wouldn’t be jealous or worried. Yori didn’t want to stop Himari since she trusted her, so Himari instead suggested that they should see each other more and talk to each other more which not only comforted Yori and made her worries go away, but also strengthened their relationship with each other.

Dreadful situations with a lot of pressure can help show how healthy a relationship is. Good relationships can still thrive and can even grow stronger during hardships, stressful circumstances, and/or harmful emotions that the pair is going through. During stressful circumstances, communication and comfort are important and needed factors for a relationship to stay healthy during those times since it helps take away the uneasiness and harmful emotions that could’ve arose because of the circumstances and it could stop potential fights from miscommunication. Being judgemental to the partner could also lead to potential fights. It’s okay to take a break from a relationship during a stressful time but if somebody can’t handle a stressful situation once in a while with their partner, how will that relationship ever grow?