Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Sasaki and Miyano
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Saeryen
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Episode 8 was THE best episode yet.
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wolf10
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This anime's A-game is still really good, though I was briefly reminded that this director doesn't just do comedies. The contrast between cat-eye Sasaki and soft-boy Sasaki is really pronounced, even in wide shots. His eyes practically glow! And what's with the suspenseful music?
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Gina Szanboti
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Man, Sasaki is sending up all kinds of red flags. Just as I would if Miyano were a girl, when Sasaki gets aggressively possessive I just flinch and mentally scream, "Run away, Miyano!!" One time is a mistake of youthful exuberance, but he's done the "you're mine!" grabby thing at least 3 times now, and now he's putting on the "if you love me you'd do what I'm asking" pressure test. And locking the door behind him! And this is before Miyano has even given him an answer about his feelings. I dun like it.
 Imagine how possessive he'll get when Miyano says he likes him back.
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MCAL
Posts: 182 |
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You know an episode was good and/or interesting because more than two people commented on it! And with this one the anime has adapted up to Volume 4, which is where the Official English adaption has gotten up to.
And yes I did a little Spongebob "Look! Look! There he is!!" when they showed spoiler[Kagi-kun].
Also posting this so I can make the very obvious Miyano tops Sasaki joke. https://twitter.com/AniTrendz/status/1498666871935193091 |
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Kirki
Posts: 296 |
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I get it that some people see representation in this series, and that's always a good thing, but in its essence it still remains a bundle of BL romantic tropes and cliches. The 'possessiveness' trope in Sasaki is one of them - grabbing Miyano when he talks to a girl, locking the door so that nobody sees him cross-dressing, asking him not to do something he has already voluntarily involved himself into because of his own selfish reasons. When Sasaki told him "Don't do that!" and Miyano went like "...well... I could consider not doing it I guess..." I facepalmed so hard.
When we say 'revitalize' the BL genre (and the romance genre altogether), we don't mean 'take away every narrative hook possible', and we certainly don't tie that narrative hook to issues about consent. I understand the possessive trope only when a third party makes a move to an unwilling MC and the other protects him - otherwise, at best it's just used to add conflict and flavor to a story that recognizes it's missing a main hook to propel things forward. If you don't have actual drama or anything similar to a plot, you need at least strong comedy. Sasaki and Miyano's comedy hook was supposed to be the fact that Miyano is a fudanshi, but the comedic aspect is sprinkled thin and the series focuses on cute moments between the two MCs instead. Which can only have that much impact if we never see those people outside of exploring their romantic feelings. Basically, all it is, is a cute anime boy acting cutely around another cute anime boy. They don't exist beyond that, so in order to squeeze more content, the story utilizes every trope imaginable. Ok, it is what it is, and there is definitely an audience for it. We'll just have to wait and see how far it can roll with it. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11406 |
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What killed me was that even Sasaki knew he was out of line, but Miyano received that as "Wow, he's treating me like an equal!" and practically swoons over it, despite his own initial shocked reaction at Sasaki's harsh tone. |
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Saeryen
Posts: 903 |
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Regarding Sasaki being against Miyano crossdressing:
Miyano confided in Sasaki that being seen as feminine is a huge insecurity for him (or maybe not, can't quite remember but Sasaki does know that about Miyano), and now he hears that Miyano has been pressured into doing something that makes him very uncomfortable and is saying "hey, don't hurt yourself emotionally." I mean, I wouldn't just stand back if anyone I loved was doing something they were uncomfortable with because of pressure. And Miyano's classmates seemed to care more about winning than they did about his feelings, so... |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11406 |
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You're kind of ignoring all the context around Sasaki's request though. If his motivation was as caring and selfless as you suggest, then his approach would've been gentler, like, "Are you sure you're comfortable doing this?" to find out where Miyano is presently at regarding the crossdressing. But coupled with Sasaki's physical aggression and the test of "What if I asked you not to?" I have trouble buying all that as merely concern for the emotional wellbeing of someone he loves.
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Saeryen
Posts: 903 |
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I do get where you're coming from. Though personally regarding the way he's always been conscious of Miyano's boundaries before, I think he's more protective than he is possessive. Overprotective maybe, but not to the point of disrespect. That's just my two cents. |
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MCAL
Posts: 182 |
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Of course the scene in question wasn't actually over and there was still more to it. Hopefully the conclusion to it in the first half of this episode ended up satisfying.
Bit of a slow episode this time, but next episode title promises a lot of good stuff to come at the very least. Anyway, I'm glad Shirai Yusuke got down Sasaki's cute sneezes down pat and his bad boy voice was on point as well. His horrified reaction when he saw Miyano was in front of him was probably the funniest moment of the episode. (And really hits on the fact that Sasaki is far from being a bad boy as possible) Also Matsuoka Yoshitsugu really channeling his inner Inosuke as Bad Boy Hirano there. And his smile (Which would have been the only time we probably would have seen him give a genuine smile if not for the anime original moment last episode) in reaction to Sasaki and Miyano's convo near the middle of the episode was probably my favorite non-comedic part of the episode. (Bonus points for him being a good wingman again and convincing Sasaki not to get too sick and miss his incoming date) |
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NicoleNippah
 Posts: 62 |
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Miyano nursing Sasaki was super cute!! Bad boy Sasaki was funny!! I can't wait for the next episode!!
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wolf10
Posts: 906 |
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I decided to be good boy for once and just hold my tongue for a bit. This series has such low stakes it needs to find its drama somewhere, I guess. I am amused and annoyed that Miyano is now contemplating for the first time what it means to "like" someone, like he didn't waste four episodes insisting he already knew the answer. Oh, SasaMyaa... 
As good as this arc is, especially animated, I feel cheated that Kagiura had actual lines this week, but was kept entirely offscreen. (He does have a nice voice, though...) |
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MCAL
Posts: 182 |
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The translation has been okay for the most part, but at the very end you can clearly hear Miyano say "Senpai no koto ga suki da", but the translation just has him say "I..." which makes it hard to tell that Miyano realizes he's now 100% sure he is in love with Sasaki romantically. Considering its a pretty big defining moment, its really bizarre thing to botch.
Other than that it was another good episode. And just in case it wasn't clear, we have Sasaki realize his flaws and wanting to get past them with his "I wanna grow up" monologue. He reiterates again that he will try his best not to pressure/rush Miyano's response to his confession (It's been six months since than btw). And of course he refrains from touching Miyano without his consent again during their little movie date. So I think he'll be okay. |
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wolf10
Posts: 906 |
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Three whole lines missing from the subtitles this week. It might have been a playback/timing bug? (Even missing lines this is still loads better than the manga translation, so whatevs.) Times like these I'm glad I'm bilingual.
Not much to say this week except Cute Shit is cute? I would have liked the cross-dressing contest to have gotten a little bit of expansion, or at least played up a little more how we're not ever going to see the winner. It felt kind of dry and matter-of-fact, which is basically 90% of the manga's execution of anything, to be fair, but that's a small ding in what has otherwise been a very well-produced adaptation. (I'm curious who was voicing the "kouhai" character in the movie, since nobody was directly credited for the role. I think it was Yuuki Shin?) |
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yeehaw
 Posts: 433 |
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They managed to make me forgive Sasaki for his creep behaviour! Aside from that am I the only one who hated cross-dressing Miyas wig? Awful. It's just his normal haircut but longer. I hate it, it looks like a bathroom rug.
I did find the pacing a bit weird in this one, spending most of the ep onthe festival only to abruptly cut to some other day. I think it would have worked better if the festival was were Miya realized he's in love. It's played up in the opening and everything. That aside, I did find the cinema scene very cute, but I also interpreted it as Sasaki wanting to touch Miya, but when he realised how concentrated he was on the so he held back to not distract him which I like. Like he realised that holding hands would make Miya embarrassed and nervous and unable to enjoy the movie |
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