Pride Month is celebrated throughout June, and what better way to celebrate all the weird things than to dive into the very latest Boys Love anime titled Sasaki and Miyano a series that depicts strange experiences from a new and refreshing perspective. Following the life of the Sasaki high school students (Yuusuke Shirai) and Miyano (Soma Saito) and their friends, the anime sheds light on the complex journey that teenagers go through to discover new feelings. But while the series focuses on the growing intimacy between Sasaki and Miyano, the anime also highlights the importance of finding yourself at your own pace. Yes, there are many traditional boy love tropes in this series, including the slow-burning nature of Sasaki and Miyano’s relationship, each falling into those classic shoujo stereotypes where one is more confident and outspoken, while the other is flustered and shy. What makes this series different, however, is that the emphasis is on the importance of friendship and trust, rather than just revealing one’s sexual identity.
Interestingly, at the start of the series, we find that Miyano’s character hasn’t given much thought to this sexual orientation, but he is a self-proclaimed fudanshi: a person who loves the Boys Love manga and anime. But instead of loving the sometimes sexualized components of these boy love stories, Miyano loves the individual characters and their personal development. This interest reflects his own arc in the series. As Miyano gets closer to Sasaki, he reflects on his sexuality, but struggles to label himself and instead realizes that he is not drawn to the male gender, but exclusively to Sasaki. This trope is common in queer stories, not just queer anime, where attraction and love is directed at the person, not the gender. And it speaks to the spirit of pride month, when labels, identities, feelings, and love are fluid and often inexplicable.
“Sasaki and Miyano” destroys male stereotypes
Characters in Sasaki and Miyano attending an all-boys school, but what’s great about this show is that it breaks those stereotypes of men that are often bred in a male-only education system. Judgment and indifference change to understanding, patience and acceptance. Sasaki’s character is the older, more confident of the central couple in the series, and he’s also a bit of a delinquent, but instead of judging Miyano for being a fudanshi, he accepts him for who he is and admits that he’s attracted the passionate “fanboy” side of Miyano. Sasaki is mostly unaware of his sexual identity as well, but he is also drawn to Miyano. He is the first to confess his feelings, but what fans love most about this series is the patience, understanding, and compassion that Sasaki has for Miyano. Sasaki is content to give Miyano as much time as he needs to determine his feelings. These two do not rush their relationship.
In addition, the lingering tension between Sasaki and Miyano is balanced by subplots involving their friends’ relationship, each dealing with their own set of problems and oddities with their romantic partners. It enriches the series because Sasaki and Miyano categorized as Love for Boys anime, it is also a Slice of Life anime that explores the intricacies of friendship and takes the time to understand and bond with others. Thus, in harmony with Pride Month, which celebrates the limitless nature of love and embraces the complexities of the queer experience, Sasaki and Miyano this is an anime that does just that.
Source: Collider
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