WL's Gay Manga and Anime Review - 6. Hey Your Ears Are Showing! (Chinese name 喂，看見耳朵啦 ) By Telexihu (Shifter/LGBT Fantasy Romance Manhua)

https://yaoi.fandom.com/wiki/Wei,_Kanjian_Erduo_La!

Does gay anime have to always be from Japanese manga in origin? For some folks, who are only familiar with popular Japanese Gay Yaoi or lesbian Bara manga genres, there are actually other mediums that have become anime series based on alternate art-based stories. The manhua is a Chinese equivalent to the Japanese manga with distinctive two-dimensional drawings similar to American comic strips, rather than the texture-based compositions that you will find in modern Japanese manga. Gay webcomic series have existed in China for a decade, despite censorship fears that have already been put in place for television and film. This manhua was picked up by a Japanese animator in 2018 and distributed via online streaming through the bilibili website, along with other platforms. The series was picked up for a second season in 2019 as well. I will be judging the series based on the anime rather than the manhua. It’s a very cute anime series with a slice-of-life type of storytelling rather than any concise narrative.

Length: 24 English sub-translated episodes across two seasons with each episode at three minutes each, it’s a short watch for anyone used to anime productions. I have not found any Chinese manhua translation to English for this title, but there are 4 volumes in total if you are able to read Chinese.

Plot: The story takes place in China, where Da Shu is a young struggling comic artist who is lonely and unfulfilled with his life until he brings home a cat from the street. He did not realize that the cat would transform into a cute 16-year-old boy with cat ears, named Miao. It is learned through Dong Dong, Miao’s older blue-haired cat brother and college student, that they were from a species of shifters called “Ear People”. Certain animals evolved alongside human beings and have gained the ability to shift into human forms. We follow their misadventures from shopping at a market, taking vacations, and even dating, while Da Shu tries to keep the secret of Miao’s cat ears. Over time, Da Shu realizes that he has fallen in love with Miao. In season 2, another relationship is introduced between Dong Dong and his roommate/boyfriend, Ivan, a junior professor at his university. Jin Zhu, Da Shu’s female best friend and editor, also begins a lesbian relationship with Ginshi, a female mouse shifter. Through the story, we explore the lives of these three couples, their dynamics, and the comedic scenarios that exist when being involved with shifters.

Review: Let me address a point before I begin my review, I know some people have said online the series makes Da Shu seem like a pedophile for falling in love with Miao, due to the age gap and Miao’s childlike portrayal in the series. Here’s the thing, when I reviewed Super Lovers, I did not like the concept due to the coercive nature of the protagonist’s relationship. However, in this series, there’s no coercion, it’s just two boys with probably a 6–8-year age difference falling into a relationship, which is legal due to the age of consent being 16 in many jurisdictions. Miao has some developmental issues, I’ll grant you that and Da Shu recognizes that Miao doesn’t understand what a relationship would mean, but Miao chose with his own free will to stay with Da Shu, along with the snuggling stuff that he does as second nature, being a cat. Now, it might not be a traditional relationship, but this is a fantasy story with cat boys, not real-world fiction.

Da Shu is a really interesting character despite the short development you get of him in the anime’s run. He was an orphan child, abandoned by his parents at a young age, who sought acceptance and love from someone unconditionally. It’s really sad and beautiful that he could be so loving despite all the loneliness he faced from other human beings. Miao, on the other hand, rejects his humanity in favor of his cat-side. It’s an interesting and well-explored theme in some shifter fiction that shifters with dual natures may reject humanity due to their dislike for human behavior or cruelty as Miao does as a child. It explains why Miao acts so childlike and prefers to be in his semi-cat form or just snuggle with Da Shu as a calico cat to comfort him. Both Da Shu and Miao have alienation issues, which the comedy and drama within the anime obscure, but don’t hide.

The other couples are very cute and loving, similar to most BL pairings. Dong Dong and Ivan are your typical uke and seme from Japanese anime, where they help each other be better people through their relationship. Dong Dong came across as a naïve kid at times like his younger brother, but he’s far more grounded in his humanity. Though he does enjoy snuggling with Ivan. I know that the implication is that they are in a formal relationship with the blushes and allusions. Ivan in contrast appears to be more reserved, he doesn’t speak about his life or family before the story, and even during the story, he’s not fond of his family either. He’s an interesting mystery character, probably Russian based on his name, but very little else is known.

The last couple, Jin Zhu and Ginshi, is one I wished the anime explored more. It is the first time in a gay anime that has explored a lesbian couple in-depth alongside their male counterparts, it makes me feel like I am actually viewing the LGBT community rather than just narrowly enjoying my own subset. Jin Zhu is an independent and strong-willed woman; she has goals and desires for herself and her work. Her strong tenacity and upfront aggressive attitude attracted Ginshi to her when she was still a mouse. Ginshi’s first shift was inspired by the words that Jin Zhu offered to Da Shu about having goals, so it’s a really interesting concept for a shifter-human pairing. Ginshi, being a mouse shifter, is adorably fearful and skittish. I loved her brief interaction with Miao because the cat and mouse shifter bit was exactly what I’d expect from these characters.

There are several issues with this anime. Among them was how little time is given for the couples to develop or their stories get expanded. The budgetary constraints limited some of the stories to simple analogs for everyone, which were enjoyable, but lacked the depth found in longer-form BL anime. Another weakness was the issue of Da Shu and Jin Zhu’s status as orphans, it’s implied that they were both raised by “Granny” an unnamed grandmother figure at the orphanage, but we don’t know how these two became friends. Additionally, there’s a much bigger issue with the shifter style in the anime, sometimes the shift appeared to happen with clothing fully coming back after a shift versus in other instances the shifters appear naked in front of their partners. Shifter stories either go with one method of shifting or another, you shouldn’t do both without an explanation.

Rating: 3.25 out of 5, it’s an enjoyable fluffy shifter romance story. I’ve read more than my fair share of these kinds of love stories in gay literature. It has some fun points and I’d suggest people, who enjoy cute anime and lighter styles give this series a try.