WL's Gay Manga and Anime Review - 1. Sasaki and Miyano by Harusono Shou (High School Romance Anime/Manga/Audio CD’s)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sasaki_and_Miyano

Yes, I am stepping out of my comfort zone and what most people read or review on GA, but I feel like this story deserves to get some highlight. I’ve watched and read a lot of Boys’ Love Anime and Manga along with my usual Shonen, and honestly, it can get repetitive watching a guy lust after another guy or somehow get seduced by a moment of passion via questionable consent/no-consent gay sex. I don’t mind the rape fantasy, the weird scenarios some of these characters get into, or the age gaps, because I am a reader of gay fiction with similar story concepts, too. The same tropes exist in books just as they exist in Japanese Manga and Anime written by female authors for the female majority audience, who enjoys those things. From a gay man’s point of view, I try to find things I can enjoy from the mountain of materials that are created for mass consumption in any medium. That’s my BL reading paradigm, just look for what seems to be interesting. Sometimes I find amazing stories about gay boys or men that could be relevant to actual people and situations like Stranger by the Beach (a very cute romance between 2 boys, who waited for each other for years), Given (Psychological and musical story with in-depth instruction on guitars and a great gay romance), or Yuri on Ice (It’s a sports anime with gay romance that shines), along with the Anime/Manga that I am reviewing here. Other times, I find funny moments of comedy and genuine laughter at how absurd the couple’s interaction is, like Junjou Romanttica (So many teddy bear jokes), Gravitation (Funny and playful old-school gay romance), or Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi (same writer as Junjou Romantica, more fun story concepts). Then, there’s stuff I understand is artistic license and tests my willingness to keep watching or reading due to objectionable concepts like child grooming between the age gap male lovers, like Hybrid Child (disturbing and provocative concept about A.I, I still don't know what to say) and Super Lovers (I was wondering, how can any of this be legal, even Canadian aren’t that open-minded?). Yet, it’s seldom I find a pure, aka no-sex, and wholesome story in the Japanese BL world that makes me feel less like I have had to deal with issues or laugh at the absurdity, but feel like I want these characters to succeed and be happy together without preconceived notions. Sasaki and Miyano is that Anime/Manga that made me feel like finally there’s something that reflects the LGBTQ experience.

Length: For the Anime, it has 12 episodes, dubbed in English, and 1 OVA scheduled for the first season so far. It has 8 Manga Volumes with a 9^th coming out this month with English translations. There are 2 audio drama CD’s as well if you understand Japanese. Reading Manga and watching Anime is different than reading a book, despite the length. You may find it to be very binge-worthy if you enjoy romance stories or coming-of-age stories within a day. The story is continuing in both the Manga and Anime format, but based on what I’ve hard, the author may be spinning-off deeper into their college years, so it’s a Happy For Now love story between high school sweethearts within a world that has some light homophobia along with supportive family and friends.

Plot: The story starts with Miyano, a petite-looking boy, coming across a bunch of bullies beating up one of his classmates. He wants to intervene, despite being small and scrawny himself, but before he could; an older boy from his school named Sasaki with orange hair jumps in and breaks the fight. This act of heroism endears Sasaki to Miyano beginning a friendship that grows exponentially after Sasaki learns about Miyano’s interest in BL, Boys’ Love, and Manga. Miyano is a Fudanshi (literally translated to mean “Rotten Boy” in Japanese), a boy who enjoys BL media, and it has social stigmas attached to it. Through the pretense of sharing Miyano’s secret stash of BL Manga, Sasaki becomes Miyano’s best friend and their relationship deepens as Miyano shares his secret hobby of BL Manga, Anime, Movies, and Audio Dramas with Sasaki.

Sasaki recognizes that early on, he’s in love with Miyano. Yet he is unfazed by the realization that he’s not heterosexual and freely speaks about his interest to Miyano. Miyano on the hand lives in a perpetual state of unease, he has always been slightly feminine looking and shorter than other boys from a young age. He consoles himself with the belief that he’s only been interested in one girl in middle school and has not shown interest in boys, except in his BL manga. Miyano must wrestle with his internal demons and slowly recognize his interest in Sasaki is more than admiration or friendship, which happens in the last episode of the Anime. In the Manga, their relationship grows despite Sasaki graduating high school with events such as Sasaki coming out to his family with Miyano along with side-stories about how much they try to make time for each other despite the changes in their lives. It’s been hinted in Manga news that a “College” era continuation of their story will be developed by the author.

Review: I was blown away by the author of this Manga, because across all the BL and Yaoi that I have seen or read, this one is probably the sincerest attempt at trying to describe a real LGBTQ+ relationship. For non-heterosexual males out there, a lot of us can imagine a time and a place, where we meet someone like Sasaki, who shared interest with us. Back in the past, it might have been reading lines from Homer’s Iliad about Achilles and Patroclus, an admiration of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, or something as mundane as commenting on guys from magazines. Some folks might even be discussing this very story site with someone they know as we speak. There’s a lot to be said about falling in love over something as simple as an interest.

What resonates with me is the character of Sasaki? He’s the ideal gay partner, courageous and considerate to a fault, but he’s not perfect to be unbelievable as he feels put out by Miyano’s indecision throughout the series. He’s an imperfect person, who holds his emotions in check for the sake of his potential partner. He confronts Miyano about his feelings for him early in the manga and anime. There’s very little indecisiveness about Sasaki, which adds to his character. He is unabashed about speaking on subjects like BL, gay-sex, or openly asking Miyano out with people around them. Maybe Miyano's BL interest opened up his mind like books, TV, and internet opened up a lot of other gay boys to their sexuality, which to me is another great touchstone on how a gay boy can figure out he's into boys. However, despite being so upfront, he tells Miyano that he is fine if Miyano doesn’t feel the same way about him. When Miyano tells him, he’d consider the idea of being with him despite always assuming he liked girls by default, Sasaki was elated. He knows in his head that Miyano is not straight, there was a monologue where he points out that one BL manga purchase might be a mistake, but an entire library of these books and explicit audio tracks with guys having sex is not merely an accident. The knowledge that Miyano was considering him as a suitor was enough. As the story progresses and Miyano’s interest in him became more apparent, Sasaki doesn’t push Miyano to accept him or force him to confront his sexuality, rather he’s offering Miyano time and opens his heart to him without asking for anything in return. Many of us would be lucky to have a partner like Sasaki.

Miyano on the other hand is in my mind probably one of the best portrayals of queer youth in this genre. I’ve met many effeminate guys in my life and Miyano strikes me as someone, who tries actively to control that part of himself, but he is not repressing his interest, either. When he is faced with his love of BL and the possibility of its connotation with his non-heterosexuality, he hides his interests but does not stop himself from buying more. He knows there’s nothing wrong with being gay or bisexual with supportive friends assuming he was gay or bi. However, the way society views his looks and his interest through what passerby says or stares indicates adds a stereotype on top. There’s homophobia in the world that has been created about how non-heterosexual men should act that may not be physically hurtful, but mentally it does create false narratives with labels like “gay” and “bi”. Thus, he’s the epitome of Schitt’s Creek line from David Rose, “I liked the wine, not the label”. If I had to give him a label, I’d say he’s “pan”, someone who loves what he loves without regard to gender or social norms. He’s an Otaku, someone interested in Japanese Anime, Manga, and video games, so he gravitates to the comic and animated literary tradition. He once liked a girl but hasn’t had an interest in girls or women ever since. Being with Sasaki balances his reserved nature out, while his understanding of social stigmas being associated with being “gay” help guide them through awkward social encounters. He’s a fascinating character that deserves to be happy.

The other characters have their own stories adding to a unique kind of situation comedy related to the BL genre in general as meta-commentary. There’s a bit of over-aggression and over-sexualization created by a rabid Fujoshi (literally “Rotten Girl” in Japanese), female BL fanbase. It’s funny to have straight characters comment about gay relationships with terms like Uke (Bottom/Submissive) and Seme (Top/Dominant) when the reality is sometimes you have more fluid relationships. Even Miyano worries after reading his BL that he’s the Uke in his relationship with Sasaki, but I’d argue that they’re very versatile and equal. Miyano and Sasaki can give and take, while both always discuss with the other before making certain decisions, for example, Miyano is asked to dress in Drag by his class for a School Festival Contest. Sasaki worries that it could hurt Miyano’s body image issues, while Miyano doesn’t want to let his class down despite reservations. Ultimately, Miyano realizes that Sasaki’s support was enough for him to attempt going into Drag. Juxtaposed to these subtle hints at what a real gay relationship is we have Ogasawara, one of Sasaki’s very macho straight friends, fretting about his girlfriend, a Fujoshi, dreaming of him as a Uke with other boys dominating him. It adds comedy but also points at the absurdity of what straight BL audiences accept as being their stereotype of a gay relationship when a healthy gay couple is just nearby.

I know there’s a continuing spin-off series, Hirano and Kagiura, involving two of the friends, who are roommates and in a gay relationship as well. That Manga series is different and showcases another kind of gay relationship. If you are into relationships between a needy jock and a tender though abrasive guy, they’re also very interesting as a pseudo-couple, neither has made it official yet.

Are there weaknesses? Sure, it follows a lot of High School romantic comedy formulas, we have everything from the jealousy angle to the fake-out break-up. However, for what it is, this is the first BL and quite honestly genuine gay relationship anime that feels real enough to stack up against the mountain of other Japanese and Western materials out there.

Rating: 5 out of 5, yes, it is definitely worth watching for all the gay romance, manga, and anime fans out there, looking for something different. It's a coming-of-age and love story that should be enjoyable for readers of similar works.