Review of Sasaki and Miyano

Want some sweet BL but without all the bullshit toxic tropes? Then boy, do I have the show for you! Personally, I am open to all kinds of romance shows, with Yaoi and Yuri being even more interesting to me than the same old hetero high school romance. There's just one problem; By now, there are plenty of fun Yuri options to pick from - and I bet plenty more that I am excited about, yet haven't gotten around to! - whereas with Yaoi, it's like a minefield if you aren't into stuff like assault and cookie-cutter seme/uke constellations and tropes. Not to say that oncein a while, a show with a more "problematic" constellation like student/teacher, age-gap and so on doesn't also please, but the sheer lack of variety here is a big issue. It makes the whole genre seem like it's only meant to appeal to a very, very specific demographic.

Luckily, I came across this little gem and had a thoroughly pleasant time with it.

It tells the story of two high-school kids - a kouhai and a senpai, one year apart, who over the course of over a year slowly become friends, become more and more interested in each other and then slowly fall in love. But then, why does it have to be a BL? What makes this one so special? Well, it's the fact that it was clearly made by someone with a lot of affection for the genre, yet also enough self-awareness to ground the show and make it actually endearing. We got Miyano, a young man who is really into BL even though he isn't "into it in that way", and his Senpai Sasaki, who ends up asking for a manga recommendation and then slowly becomes more interested in BL as a storytelling genre as well as his cute Kouhai. And both of the boys get plenty, plenty of room to work with their feelings. There's a lot of consideration, thought process and desire that doesn't seem to match in the beginning. Yet this show also avoids becoming too heady by having its main couple talk to plenty of colorful, fun side characters, all of which can tell what's going on much sooner and can gently help to nudge them both in the right direction.

And that is also where the BL commentary comes into play; it's light, but it's undeniable. Miyano questions the true nature of his feelings for his senpai a lot, and in no small part due to the common BL clichés. He's a small, somewhat girlish-looking boy with a cute face. Would he have to be the Uke? But that would place his senpai as the cooler, older Seme. But that doesn't seem right! Can't he be cool, too? It's weird for him to find this tall, supposedly manlier senpai cute, isn't it?

And Sasaki isn't just cool either - he wrestles with his desire for his kouhai, he wants to touch his hands, his hair, his face, but also wants to be sure his kouhai is comfortable. He doesn't want to do something just out of desire, so he constantly makes sure to give his kouhai all the room he can.

It's just all around a pleasant show, with two good kids who give each other all the space and consideration while also having a real connection that many other yaoi works are devoid of. They have interests they share, they have a wonderful chemistry, they more or less share a friend group, give and take a few, who are all supportive of them. They develop and think about their feelings each in their own pace and it's really well-done. Add to that the shows somewhat mellow, soft presentation with plenty of warm oranges and pinks, and a lot of soft shapes that kinda just float in space softly, and perfectly communicate blossoming feelings and the mood of each scene.

In conclusio, this show may not do anything revolutionary, but sometimes just doing something ordinary really well and being a good time through it all is enough. Sometimes just a sweet little romance is all you need. And in a genre desperately lacking grounded romance, this is one solid entry I can easily recommend to everyone.