Sasaki et Miyano

I absolutely ADORED this anime! I saw someone reacting to certain scenes on TikTok which is how I discovered it. It looked extremely sweet so I picked it up and I absolutely TORE through the series in a matter of hours, I couldn't put it down I was watching it at home, at work, in my car. It made me blush and smile and chuckle. It was so so cute and I really hope they do make a second season or continue Sasaki and Miyano's story. Officially one of my favorite animes.

I am a gay man who loves GOOD boys love anime. Sasaki and Miyano is pretty fantastic.

The show follows the eponymous high school students Miyano, a fudanshi (a male fan of boys love manga), and Sasaki, his slightly older delinquent classmate. They meet when Sasaki breaks up a fight between Miyano's friend and trash-talking jerks. The random encounter immediately subverts a BL trope; the older love interest protects the younger man's friend rather than him, earning his admiration and respect rather than attraction. Their relationship progresses as they continue to run into one another; Sasaki gradually admits to himself he finds Miyano cute and Miyano questions whether he really likes BL manga because he's into men (oh, you innocent boy).

In the first half of the show, Miyano introduces Sasaki to the world of boys love by lending him manga. Over these episodes, the two discuss BL stories, tropes, and character archetypes while slowly realizing their attraction to one another. Dissecting your own story's genre is a precarious choice for an author. They risk drawing the reader's attention to the flaws with their own story. Luckily, these writers are self-aware. Though the main characters fall into the categories of seme (dominant, older, usually taller) and uke (submissive, younger, shorter), these archetypes don't define their personalities. By pointing out every trope in the BL genre during the show's first half, they set the stage to subvert them in the second half. Once the romance becomes the prominent part of the show, BL manga moves to the background, referenced occasionally to remind you of certain tropes being subverted. Such as by suggesting the delinquent uke pushes himself on the seme, essentially fetish fuel for fudanshi/fujoshi. No shame if you're into that thing, but it ruins the story. Though these scenes' lighting and dramatic music would suggest something scandalous is about to occur, Sasaki expresses his concerns to Miyano in a mature level-headed manner. Witnessing his love interest care for him, Miyano respects Sasaki and embraces his affection. As the viewer, this is so satisfying because the romantic outcome feels earned rather than shoehorned.

The central romance is far more developed than either character involved. Aside from a love of manga and rebellious behavior respective to each protagonist, there's not a whole lot of background information about these boys. The character progression made up for the lack of character development. Both of them gain emotional intelligence by overcoming relationship conflicts: setting boundaries, asking for consent, admitting mistakes, and knowing the right time to comfort each other are some of the ways they build communication. Honestly, I can't recall the last time I saw a boys love anime that actually discussed consent. Sasaki and Miyano exemplify a healthy gay relationship, and I wish I had their story while I was growing up.

Sentimental high school romances often struggle to escape the honeymoon phase: the early stage of a relationship when the attraction is at its peak). The show addresses this concern; Sasaki finds Miyano cute, which is one of the main reasons he gives at first to explain his attraction. Hence, he gives him the pet name "Mya-chan," but Miyano comprehends how real romance differs from manga. He tells Sasaki, "When I'm 50, I might look totally different than I do now," which shows he considers the far future of their relationship beyond the honeymoon phase. Long-term is rarely considered in high school romances, let alone BL because it risks overshadowing the fantasy love story the viewer uses for escapism. Drawing attention to the potential problems you may face in a long-term relationship makes the romance less idealized and more believable.

I have many problems with boys love anime; one is that you can switch a male character with a female and make it a heterosexual romance, and the story would barely change. Many aspects make this show unique to BL. First of all, societal expectations to be heterosexual. The will-they-won't-they conflict comes from within rather than by plot contrivances (EX: every time the characters in Dress-up Darling are about to kiss, they get interrupted). Their internal turmoil comes from the inability to admit that they're attracted to men. Too often, western TV shows tac-on poorly written homophobia subplots because individual writers don't know any other problems that affect gay people. I, of all people, know homophobia impacts your ability to date in high school when you're gay, but tonally it would've ruined a wholesome love story. Instead, part of what keeps them apart is the thought that they've never been attracted to men-both had crushes on women in the past. That's a common issue characters face in BL manga, but it is addressed substantially here. Miyano's past crush returns into his life, but she's surprisingly not judgemental. It's refreshing to see their friends are supportive of their relationship. Through the side characters, the author explores challenges gay teenagers deal with that don't fit within the main duo's story. Interesting topics are explored like how to come out of the closet to friends and family, recognizing abuse, and dealing with questions people only ask same-sex couples. I found all of these painfully relatable.

The original soundtrack is just beautifully dramatic. Every few minutes, there are heartfelt piano melodies. The sound effects, every footstep, clothes movement, and hair rustle are audibly pleasing. Unfortunately, studio Deen is infamous for low effort and low-budget anime adaptations. The animation is stilted. Characters barely move aside from motion tweens, which at least means their designs are usually consistent. Every background is overly simplified and bland, I couldn't blame anyone who found the visuals too distracting to enjoy the story. The director often adds eye-catching colorful shapes spinning on the frame to make up for the lack of motion; at least it adds visual flares.

Sasaki and Miyano, the guys and the anime itself, are the antithesis of every bad boys love anime I've ever seen. None of this ambiguous stuff, no censorship, no assault, no baiting, and no toxic relationships. Just genuinely believable drama and heartfelt romance. Gay, straight, ace, I recommend this one to everyone. If I had to describe Sasaki and Miyano in one word it would be "Heartwarming."

This anime is really very good, I really like it. This is the first time I've seen a BL anime that really drains my emotions, I can't help but smile even when I'm outside the house. When I saw the 12th episode, I was very happy. And I also really can't wait for season 2, I hope it airs soon, I'm really looking forward to it.

I would like to try not give too much away with this as from the moment I started watching it I was hooked in and avoided finding too much out about it so as not to spoil anything for myself.

All I can say is that it is by far one of the best portrayals of a gay relationship developing I have ever actually watched. You feel so much care and compassion for the characters, and you just want everything to turn out good for them, and obviously to be together.

People rave about Heartstopper, but I think this show knocks that out of the park. The characters are more relatable and the friend group is more believable. You also care more for them than you do with Heartstopper, as sometimes the characters in that can become incredibly frustrating and annoying, but with Sasaki and Miyano it is much more realistic. As a gay man myself I can attest to the reality of the feelings you go through as a teenager, the confusion of the feelings, the questioning of how you feel. It was nice to see that being the focus with out any homophobia thrown in there, which seems to be common in other shows/movies seemingly to purely make you feel worse and guilty for the characters instead of empathising and relating.

By the end of the story I was left emotional and on the verge of tears, partly from happiness for them, partly from relating it to my own experiences, and partly from wanting it to carry on so we know everything is okay for them in the future.

Just give it a go, it doesn't disappoint, but it may leave you feeling very emotional after wards.

This is probably the second yaoi anime I had watched after Gravitation (though this one thankfully does not have any problematic moments like that one scene in Gravitation that repulsed me). This series is truly cute.

In the series, we have Miyano, a young teen with a feminine face who attends an all-boys school. Miyano loves reading manga, BL manga to be exact. One day, Miyano sees a fight between some students to which Sasaki intervenes and gets somewhat ruffled up in the fight. Around that time, Miyano introduces his upperclassman to BL. So, it begins with Miyano loaning Sasaki manga, and they would then talk about the different motifs of the genre. Through it all, the two become more aware of the increasing feelings they have for each other.

It is a simple story that I can see being done several times. What makes it good, however, is seeing these two boys pondering their feelings for each other and you could tell that they are confused about what they should do about those feelings. But at the same time, it felt right. I appreciate that the show does not rush to them suddenly falling for each other. Instead, it takes a slow-burn approach planting the seeds for their relationship until it started to bud.

The animation itself is also pretty simple, but it befits the soft, gentle atmosphere of the series.

The main couple is just adorable. Miyano starts off being hush-hush about his interest in BL manga, but when he gets Sasaki invested in it, he becomes very passionate about what he loved about the genre. It doesn't take painstakingly long for Miyano to recognize Sasaki's feelings for him, but he is conflicted about them because he held onto the idea that he liked girls due to a minor relationship with a girl he knew years ago (though someone should really tell Miyano about bisexuality). Joking aside, Miyano is a good protagonist.

Sasaki, the supporting protagonist, is the "delinquent" who takes a liking to BL when Miyano introduces him to it. I just love nearly everything about Sasaki. He treats Miyano with such tenderness, it is too cute. Unlike with Miyano, it doesn't take Sasaki too long to realize his feelings for his kouhai, but he's the type of guy who would allow the significant other to think about it instead of pushing for it which would make the other uncomfortable. It was also sweet to see him have moments of being defensive of Miyano.

The supporting characters are good. There's Taiga who also looks out for Miyano; Jirou, a "bad boy" who doesn't understand BL manga since his girlfriend was deep into that genre (even though she doesn't expect you to take part in her likes my dude) and is never without a sucker in his mouth.

Sound: The opening and ending themes are very good.