The dilemma of "what am I to the Other?" provides the central narrative mechanism of romance anime/manga, like in the above "Please don't bully me, Nagatoro-san!" The viewer feels a sense of "does she like him? does he like her?" and as the characters' feelings become more clear, we begin to feel a rising anticipation for the resolution of the tension through a "revelation" of the feelings which were always there, thus bringing us final clarity on what we mean to the Other, and ostensibly, filling the gap which constitutes our perceived lack.
