Review of Sasaki and Miyano

I've gotta say this is very unlike any romance anime I've seen, but I think it was mostly for the better. The main point I want to make about it both covers the little thing I would've liked to see changed and everything I love about it. That point is that everything is about the two main characters. In most cases, I would be saying that's a bad thing, and here's why: in a cast with as many supporting characters as this one, it feels like a waste not to explore them. Now, granted, this series has a spin-off, but that only covers two characters. InSasaki to Miyano, I did spend some time wishing that the few plot points brought up about these other characters were investigated a bit more closely because I think the characters were actually all really well done. They've got defined personalities without being over the top, and it would have been worth it to dig into them more.

That being said, the excessive focus on Miyano and Sasaki is something I actually like about this anime--far more than I would in any other anime. Maybe that's because Sasaki to Miyano is quite relaxed so it feels nice to spend all the time with the two main characters, but I think what it really is is that so many romance anime are overcomplicated. Yes, this one is a bit simple (which I just talked about), but it's so much nicer than a messy love triangle, various friendships that go awry, and dramatic or tragic events happening all the time. It was lovely to go into every episode knowing that I wouldn't walk away missing the opportunity to have a nice moment or two between the two main characters. This anime, unlike every other romance anime, was a romance first. Not an episode was wasted in that regard. Everything else was secondary.

Some people might not like that about this anime--perhaps they would have wanted to see background stories from Miyano and Sasaki that weren't there--but I actually think the minimalism of it all was done well enough that it doesn't feel like any holes are left anywhere. Doing that well is very rare, and I don't think I've seen another anime be successful at it. Typically, having a lot going on with the characters is nice, but Sasaki to Miyano is nice, too. Enjoying a high-quality, simplistic, sweet romance is sometimes exactly what's needed. So, if you want to give this a go, do. It handles the genre and the topic of LGBTQ+ people very well; I don't know that it tops Given in terms of normalizing non-heterosexual relationships, but it comes very close with how casually it talks about the subject, rather than making it a showpiece (though it does at times, which is why it isn't quite as good as Given). All in all, I'm super glad to have watched this. I'll come back to it.