Review of Yes, No, or Maybe?

[6/10 for Story]: it's simple, nothing groundbreaking. But compared to other yaoi/sho-ai, the progression is relatively natural (if you exclude the reason why Kunieda helped Tsuzuki in the first place, that is). The pacing was really good. It wasn't too fast for me to feel annoyed and awkward, but it's not too slow for me to feel frustrated. The little bits about the show-biz/news-biz/entertainment world are interesting, as well as the technique about pronunciation/articulation which is important in the industry and, interestingly, serves as a plot device. [4/10 for Art]: I googled the original illustration for the light novel, and honestly I don't think this animedid it justice. The novel's illustration looks really pretty, soft, and has a 'light' feeling to it (perhaps also because of the 'soft filter' it uses. I probably didn't explain it right, but just google the novel's cover and you'll know what I mean). The anime's art, on the other hand, didn't even attempt anything special, not even to distinguish itself from the light novel's illustration. It looks mediocre for a 2020 anime. The character design also looked different. They appeared slightly chubbier in the anime.

[7/10 for Sound]: It makes sense for the anime to talk a lot about voices/sounds considering the setting and I think the casting for the VA was really great to maintain that energy. Abe Atsushi's voice suits Kunieda's character a lot and he did well in making the voice for both sides of Kunieda distinguishable. A lot of Kunieda's mannerisms also seemed to translate to the voice. I enjoyed hearing it a lot. Kawahara Yoshihisa, on the other hand, was just okay for me. It's not that he's bad... I actually think he did better than average, but I think it's just the kind of voice that is typical for a 'seme' in yaoi, so it didn't leave that deep of an impression.

[4/10 for Character]: Kunieda is a relatable, yet interesting character. I think I relate to his dilemma about work ethics and job position a lot. His duality, even though exaggerated, is humane. A lot of yaoi MC annoyed me but I'm glad Kunieda didn't (perhaps it's because I saw too much yaoi MC who's easily flustered over every little thing the seme said/did and Kunieda, who the majority of the time wasn't like that, refreshed me). Tsuzuki seemed genuine, kind, and straight-forward. I have to say, he didn't seem very special, but he was personable and seemed like a guy we encounter in our everyday life.

/!!!spoilery paragraph!!!/
I, however, don't like the part where Tsuzuki ignored Kunieda's plea to stop the sex when he's scared. The guy also didn't stop when Kunieda said he was hurt, which I think is an asshole move. With the way the story progressed so far and how kind & understanding Tsuzuki seemed to be, I would've thought that he'd stop. But no, apparently this is still a yaoi movie and characters don't care when their partner is hurting as long as they can serve sex to the audience. How fascinating.

[7/10 for Enjoyment]: It was good because I enjoyed it from start to finish, the majority of the reason being the perfect pacing for me. It's not groundbreaking, but it wasn't as awful.

[OVERALL]: 28/5 = 5.6 = rounded to 6