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This Week in Anime - Is The Stranger by the Shore the Perfect BL Movie?




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wolf10



Joined: 23 Jan 2016
Posts: 931
PostPosted: Thu Jul 15, 2021 9:14 am Reply with quote
The manga was already gorgeous to look at, but they really went all out on the color design. Having the original author doing the animation designs probably helped (I never would have pictured Shun in lime green), but even the backgrounds have gone from overly-cluttered Ghibli delights to overly-cluttered Ghibli delights with masterful use of contrast.

Amazingly, the bar owner's role is actually expanded on in the sequel. An entire gay bar gets emotionally invested in the romance of these two disasters, and they're frequently called on (literally) to give Mio advice and dunk on the less realistic tropes of BL. Truly, the BL we didn't deserve.
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Kakegurui



Joined: 04 Feb 2019
Posts: 48
PostPosted: Thu Jul 15, 2021 10:18 am Reply with quote
A few of my friends who were not bl fans loved it. I personally think this is a classic. Superb animation and it made me feel good about life in general while watching it.
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MagicPolly



Joined: 26 Nov 2020
Posts: 1639
PostPosted: Thu Jul 15, 2021 11:31 am Reply with quote
I already wrote my thoughts about it in the review forum, but I thought it was really amazing. I gotta get to reading the manga at some point.
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R. Kasahara



Joined: 19 Feb 2013
Posts: 713
PostPosted: Thu Jul 15, 2021 12:40 pm Reply with quote
More of a manga reader here, but I do enjoy these columns. Anyway, Twittering Birds is enjoyable in its angst and grittiness, but as I get older, I find that I'm drawn more to lighter BL stories. This one sounds very much up my alley; I should probably check it out sometime.
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leongsh



Joined: 30 Sep 2006
Posts: 181
PostPosted: Sat Jul 17, 2021 9:01 pm Reply with quote
Just watched this to see what am I missing in not watching this BL movie. I have to say that this movie is really romantically sweet. Will want to know more about Mio's years away from the island when he worked through his feelings for Shun. Other than that, I can empathise with Shun in initially keeping Mio at bay. It was a bit sad when Mio could not get Shun to reciprocate initially but Mio did come on a bit strong.

I am also pleased with how they dealt with sex scenes. It's definitely not the stereotypical type of forced sex (even rape) that I often find when it comes to BL/yaoi work. It seems to look and feel normal even though I am not aware of how that normal is of gay couples in real life.

The one thing I am impressed is with Shun's aunt. She is running an inn and a restaurant, plus a boarding place for young people who do not fit the hetero-normative norm. She accepts and does not judge them even though she is clearly aware of their preferences. Older folk in Japan tend to be conservative about these matters. She is a beacon of hope and acceptance.

Thank you to TWIA in making me take a first look into this movie.
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