Romance webtoons always takes place at School/college setting

catty152 2016-09-07 14:15:05 UTC #1

Whenever I read popular webcomics under the romance genre, I usually find that they almost, like 90% in a school or college setting.
I find that there are very few romance stories that happen outside of school. What do you think about this? Are there any webcomics you know that take place outside of school? where the people are basically strangers?

AnnaLandin 2016-09-07 14:52:09 UTC #2

Well, I don't read a whole lot of romance comics, but of the ones I do, there are a couple who are set outside of school-settings!

Blossom Boys has one character who is in college, but only a small percentage of the scenes are actually in a school environment; they're mostly set in a florist's shop, or in other non-school locations.

Erie Waters is a paranormal romance set next to a lake, and has NO school-elements at all. The main characters are strangers to each other at the start. It's finished, and lovely, and you should read it.

Dragon Husbands is set in a scifi city where real plants are so rare they're almost mythical - also there are dragons. Absolutely no school-elements at all, and the main characters are (kind of?) strangers to one another at the start. I will say that there are some more mature elements to the story, so proceed with caution if you're not over 18.

Hades' Holiday features characters (based on Greek myth, but not sticking 100% to their mythological origins) that already know each other, but has no school-elements at all.

I think the reason that school-settings are so common is that a.) 99% of the readers will be familiar with it, as most of us have at some point been to school. It's a setting we're so familiar with that the creator doesn't have to explain it. And b.) it gives the characters an external reason to meet: they might be in the same class, they might be student and teacher, they might be fellow teachers, they might be a teacher and a parent, etc., etc. And they have to meet because the school structure requires them to be in proximity to one another.

It's an easy way for the creator to set up the meeting of the characters.

bakasama25 2016-09-07 14:56:57 UTC #3

I think it's because those webtoons are aimed at teenagers. Heck webtoons at Naver/LINE are aimed at teens. If you really want find romance webtoons that aren't aimed at teenagers or set in a school or college you really have to go beyond Naver to read them. Like, Comico, Spottoons, Lezhin, and the like.

catty152 2016-09-07 15:20:14 UTC #4

It is true that pretty much all of us have been to school and so would be more familiar with this setting, but those days are over and some people would want something that that takes place in the adult world away from school too. We were all high schoolers then we grew up, and while it is nice to look back at our high school days, we are no longer there, and our problems, relationships & situations that we face now might be more complicated and we want something we can relate too. I would like to see more webcomics on Romance being made in a setting outside of school where we deal with the adult world. I feel like people keep using school settings as a safe comfort zone that they never want to get out of. It would be refreshing to see more works in which adults can relate to.

joannekwan 2016-09-07 16:45:58 UTC #5

Thanks for the EW shout-out @AnnaLandin!

Yeah, I mostly avoid school-settings like the plague when writing or reading (unless it's executed suuuper well with the latter, or it's just that interesting). The thing is a lot of said comics are aimed at late high-school, young college kids, and made by late high-school, young college kids. So they're living the life and will depict or gravitate toward that life.

For the record, my other romance Heavy Horns, also has zero school-time. Both guys are over 25, have jobs, live on their own, and never really knew each other until the start of the story.

A romance that I enjoy that fits your parameters is Comedown Machine. The main girl and guy in this are both adults out of school and do not know each other.

And as far as I know, the ladies in Lavender aren't in school either.

AsFoxger 2016-09-07 16:58:07 UTC #6

It's not that big deal. Anime does that and nobody cares about that.

Pandastrophic 2016-09-07 18:24:18 UTC #7

I kinda had to set my comic in a university, the plot wouldn't have worked anywhere else as it deals with someone who had social anxiety and chose to go with his friends to the uni they were going to instead of the one he actually wanted.
But I also like reading romance set in uni, they're usually a lighter read.

maddadam94 2016-09-07 19:10:42 UTC #8

well my comic isn't set at school or university! fair enough, one of the 2 main characters is trying to get into a college programme but that's about it!

anyway, it's called who's your daddy?. basically, it's about a dad and his daughter's boyfriend. and slow-building (b)romantic bonding.

mariusthered 2016-09-07 19:35:44 UTC #9

my comic Talesfromswipecity has some school stuff in it but also has relationship stuff outside of school , (a romance between one of the parents that's not what it seems to be)

Michelle 2016-09-08 19:40:52 UTC #10

Like some have mentioned, it's largely because the target audience for these stories are usually middle/highschool age or young adults in college. Same reason why a lot of anime takes place in a school setting.

Personally I seldom care to read/watch those stories, since I've been done with schooling/college for a while. I quite enjoy not having to worry about tests, grades, and homework and have a hard time wanting to go back to that mindset! >A> But if I were a teen or younger adult I could see how those stories would be more relatable and interesting.

ToonDoctor 2016-09-08 23:52:44 UTC #11

I think the case may be that most of those comic' creators are also in school.

CrispyGhee 2016-09-09 20:37:29 UTC #12

I definitely think this has a big hand in it (apart from the stuff mentioned earlier about the intended audiences).

I mean, I heard that the two places most people meet a romantic interest in real life are 1) School, and 2) Work, for reasons of opportunity and exposure. A lot of scenarios to meet and get close arise in these situations, so it's that much easier to concoct storylines that take advantage of the structure.

That and school is rife with drama, stress, and life changes, and emotions are naturally high for a number of reasons. Easy to really reap from those seeds when you want to write a charged romance. People read and write these stories for a reason, not just because everyone else reads and writes it! Probably because they see or understand something in it from their own experiences, even if the experience is not current to them.

But I hear you, having and finding unique romance stories is always great. Especially since my personal school experiences were never spent finding or seeking romance, so it's a setting I have to take an extra step to connect to.

punkarsenic 2016-09-12 15:30:15 UTC #13

its understandable, but a bit annoying. for a lot of webtoon creators, thats likely all theyve got real experience with yet, its also what their readers know, unanimously. its a structured atmosphere and its own microsociety where you can easily be familiar with everyone, so its dead convenient. theres probably an overlap with the dominance of highschool AUs in fanfic as well - very similar demographics, after all.

speaking of fanfic, though - i remember once there was an event of writing fic set in your own workplace. that would be interesting for webcomics as well, provided we had authors who worked. i think people are probably scared to draw from their own surroundings too much and become unrelatable - when really, romance comics set in say, a theatre production crew or a supermarket would be pretty cool if you ask me.