This Week in Anime
The Modern Romance of Sasaki and Miyano
by Nicholas Dupree & Monique Thomas,
Nick and Nicky discuss the emotional ups and downs of potential couple Sasaki and Miyano and the latter's attempt to navigate his feelings and sexual identity. His Miyano just a BL fan or could he see himself falling for another boy?
This series is streaming on Funimation
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.
Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead.
@Lossthief
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@mouse_inhouse
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@NickyEnchilada
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@vestenet
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Nick
Well Nicky, it's still technically the week of Valentines Day, and even better now that all the leftover chocolate is half-off. So why not carry on things with some more wholesome, lovey-dovey anime?
OK maybe not entirely wholesome.
Well Nicky, it's still technically the week of Valentines Day, and even better now that all the leftover chocolate is half-off. So why not carry on things with some more wholesome, lovey-dovey anime?
OK maybe not entirely wholesome.
Nicky
That doesn't make this boy's love-centric romance any less heartwarming, though. Sasaki and Miyano is probably one of the most fluffy and sweet romances that happens to just be about trying to form a friendship via sharing your favorite romance and erotica books.
That doesn't make this boy's love-centric romance any less heartwarming, though. Sasaki and Miyano is probably one of the most fluffy and sweet romances that happens to just be about trying to form a friendship via sharing your favorite romance and erotica books.
As somebody who's sent a friend porn for Christmas (twice) before, I can attest to the efficacy of that. Though I don't think Miyano's ever gonna recommend Dick Fight Island to his crush.
Look, as a self-proclaimed fujoshi I would be remiss if I didn't say some of my most long-lasting friendships and relationships weren't built upon gushing about my favorite pairings and sharing fanfiction. It can be pretty lonely otherwise. This part of me sympathizes deeply with Miyano who simply starts out as a lone fudanshi or "guy who is entrenched in BL," for those unfamiliar.
Meanwhile he shares the title with the tall, "delinquent" looking Sasaki. Who, despite what some might think from the piercings and dyed hair, is the sweetest little cherry tree to every trip his way through a meet-cute.
On the surface they might share some similarities with known pairing archetypes; the tall, outgoing sempai vs the short, somewhat feminine underclassmen, but what's pleasant about Sasaki and Miyano is how much it acknowledges the genre expectations most people have and instead turns out this very grounded slice-of-life series. It genuinely explores a couple of guys navigating those expectations of what a romance between a couple of dudes should look like.
And by exploring, we mean the show is like me playing the new Pokemon game, where I searched out every nook and cranny in the first area before even thinking about advancing the story missions. I've called SasaMiya a slow burn romance, but you could probably get rug burn on your butt from sitting in a chair faster than these two can figure out romance. Hell, the OP just teases the POSSIBILITY of them maybe holding hands some day. There are species of tortoise that move faster than this show.
And yet somehow that still feels real and satisfying to me? The devil is in the details. Anime in particular could take a romance premise and spend 100 episodes before the main couple could admit that they like each other. But with Sasaki and Miyano it does this really good job of letting you sit and spend these moments with the characters that just puts you at ease. It's not without a little drama or heart-squeezing, but it's the exact kind of low-stakes chill I wanted.
Oh I'm certainly not complaining. In romance, the journey is ultimately more important than the destination. I just figured people should know what they're getting into and prepare accordingly. This isn't a site where you can pitch a tent and wait a few days for payoff. You're building a settlement and digging a long-term latrine ditch with these boys.
Not to mention, it looks very nice compared to most BL anime! It's got pleasant but simple character designs, a bit of atmosphere, and these great sparkling effects that pepper charm into average scenes. Lots of little touches both metaphorically and physically. BL seems to excel in manga for the same reason it flounders in anime. You can achieve a lot more on the page than you can in animation on a cheaper budget. Many BL anime tend to feel cheap and might not adapt what's visually appealing about a work. The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window was like this for me. But Sasaki and Miyano feels closer to a Bloom Into You in how it captures the essence of feelings.
It's a very modest production, but clearly helmed by a team who knows what they're doing. There's an emphasis on eyelines, body language, and evocative shifts in art style that really sell the intimate moments.
That last shot just perfectly annunciates "Fuck, I'm gay."
That last shot just perfectly annunciates "Fuck, I'm gay."
It's not the biggest production, but it's a far cry from stickman characters moving over what's just a single static background like they're cardboard and calling it intimacy.
Also, they're really good at making Sasaki hot, which I appreciate.
Again, very pleasing character designs all around really. There's nobody that looks like a complete "Dorito" here. Even most of the friends are pretty good-looking guys.
Ogasawara's very lucky he's so pretty, because otherwise his girlfriend would never put up with him.
Dude has a wild arc of "I'm homophobic!" to "Actually I'm anxious about my girlfriend's kinks" to just being a dude trying to understand his partner's interests.
He's very much the kind of dude you knew in high school who wouldn't shower with the team because "that's gay" only he has cool blue highlights. Not like, an outright bigot, but definitely a dude who could stand to chill about all that performative masculinity shit.
But his presence is pretty helpful, in that it puts to action the kind of judgment Miyano is so sensitive about through this whole show. For as much as he devours BL media, he's extremely defensive about how he definitely doesn't "swing that way" in real life. Which is sort of an Anime Boy Doth Protest Too Much situation.
But his presence is pretty helpful, in that it puts to action the kind of judgment Miyano is so sensitive about through this whole show. For as much as he devours BL media, he's extremely defensive about how he definitely doesn't "swing that way" in real life. Which is sort of an Anime Boy Doth Protest Too Much situation.
For an all boys school the outcome for being gay could be way harsher than what the show presents if this dude is the most opposition they encounter. But it creates a nice fantasy where the characters are working through their hang-ups about their relationship to queerness without having to deal with a lot of the real-world backlash. All queer love stories have different approaches to how they handle this vs straight ones. Sometimes homophobia is rampant, other times it's non-existent, or it doesn't matter to the main couple. SasaMiya is a soft approach but it gets the heart of it while also framing it within Miyano's struggle with his niche interests.
There's not single right way to go about it, and for this show it's definitely the correct approach to focus on internal hang-ups rather than, say, some classmate being a violent homophobe. More than anything the conflict here is about how Miyano views himself, and the various issues he has with his own version of masculinity.
If you couldn't tell Miyano is a bit soft. And we love him for it! But it's not something he necessarily takes pride in. He has insecurities about both his height and his face. He doesn't like when people compare him to girls or that his appearance might imply that he is in anyway submissive or "less of a man" than other guys around him. Even being complimented on his face by Sasaki leads him to believe that he's simply having misconceptions. And also, his only framework to go off is fiction.
That's actually one of my favorite aspects of his arc. BL is at once his refuge to explore these feelings he doesn't feel comfortable admitting to, and a means of imperfect representation that he chafes against.
And that rings true to me. Fiction can be a great tool for expression, but when it's your only exposure to the queer experience, you can get some less-than-nuanced takes on what being attracted to the same sex means.
And that rings true to me. Fiction can be a great tool for expression, but when it's your only exposure to the queer experience, you can get some less-than-nuanced takes on what being attracted to the same sex means.
And our own separation of the fictional relationships we like vs what we want for ourselves is also gonna be different too. Like your girlfriend might be down for some questionable kinks in her fanfiction, but she would probably be pretty upset if you started making assumptions about her preference IRL because of that. For deep purveyors of fiction, this is a well-known boundary. But outside of our main couple we see several characters struggle with this concept. Even for many BL fans, some may not even factor it into their own sexuality and simply like it as a hobby or a distraction. I've known many people who love BL but have no interest in dating guys for whatever reason. Anyone can enjoy stories.
That said, it's important to be discerning and discreet depending on what you're into. Don't leave your slime porn out in the open next to The Stranger by the Shore folks.
Oh yeah, even among things in the more tame realm, there's a lot of anime and manga I love but would be fully hesitant to share with someone who isn't just neck-deep in my niche swamp. There's a big difference between wanting to show someone a Ghibli film and having them sit through a shotgun of your favorite uncensored direct-to-video anime even if you love both of them with equal passion.
Still, there's nothing wrong with being proud about what you're into, which is an important lesson Sasaki's helping to teach Miyano. Like, my boy brings an ancient iPod Micro to school just so nobody can look at a screen and see he's listening to BL audio dramas.
Just look at that thing. That was designed to hold 4GB of MP3s off of LimeWire, son.
Just look at that thing. That was designed to hold 4GB of MP3s off of LimeWire, son.
I thought that might be more indicative of the actual time period rather than Miyano's shyness. All the kids are still using flip phones too.
I mean, if this does take place in the mid-2000s it's the most vague period piece I've ever seen. And either way everyone knows you don't put your saucy audio on an Apple product. Save that for your Zune, dammit.
Maybe Miyano would've had an easier time figuring this stuff out if he knew how to Google, lol.
It worked for Yamada in Kase-san!
But anyway, we've talked a lot about Miyano, since he's the tiny bundle of baggage in the pair, but I also dig how well Sasaki is characterized. He's mostly laidback, but still has a lot of pent up Big Feelings in regards to expressing his attraction to Miyano.
But anyway, we've talked a lot about Miyano, since he's the tiny bundle of baggage in the pair, but I also dig how well Sasaki is characterized. He's mostly laidback, but still has a lot of pent up Big Feelings in regards to expressing his attraction to Miyano.
He's such a Big Ol' Softy! He's confident in his attraction but he's having trouble getting Miyano to catch his signals even when he's trying very hard to be obvious.
Note: that's the version of events as Miyano remembers it, because of course he fluffs up his memories like a shojo manga. Meanwhile Sasaki envisions it like an indie romance film, complete with aspect ratio.
It's the little details that really make this show, y'know? For instance, I like how it's established that Sasaki is a very physical kind of partner, but not necessarily in a sexual way. Just that the way he's most comfortable expressing attraction is through touch - stroking hair, tickling ears, stuff that's intimate and effecting. It's a frankly welcome spin on the typical "gosh, I've got to hold myself back around them!" trope.
It's the little details that really make this show, y'know? For instance, I like how it's established that Sasaki is a very physical kind of partner, but not necessarily in a sexual way. Just that the way he's most comfortable expressing attraction is through touch - stroking hair, tickling ears, stuff that's intimate and effecting. It's a frankly welcome spin on the typical "gosh, I've got to hold myself back around them!" trope.
He's just dying to get closer in any way possible and is struggling to get it out without crossing a boundary and potentially scaring Miyano off.
Also he's terrible at flirting. Just god awful. I love it.
Bruh is like not even that subtle. Maybe a little awkward, but even all their friends have suspicions about the whole thing and it's only Miyano that is in denial.
Miyano's in denial about a lot of things. Not least of which being the fact he's, y'know, attracted to dudes.
That's why it's a big relief to see Sasaki just be forward even if it's sloppy and Miyano still needs the space to sort through all that baggage.
And y'know, it makes sense. Miyano's already got a complex about his masculinity, and when you're a teenage boy there's few things that seem more emasculating than being gay. So a lotta guys will equivocate and rationalize for a long time before admitting to it, even just to themselves. Dealing with that can take a while.
And I love how the show respects him for that. He also clearly just wants to be loved for who he is before jumping into new and unfamiliar territory such as a new relationship.
In all I appreciate the show's gentle touch with all of this. It's not a revolutionary new romance that'll knock your socks off, but it's solid, thoughtful character work that buoys the whole experience.
Fans of conventional romances will probably love Sasaki and Miyano even if they don't necessarily go for BL. This and My Dress-up Darling have been the perfect anime editions to the "love season" and I hope people will seek this one out.
And if you take nothing else from this show, always remember: Properly hide your porn.
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