Season aired: Winter 2022
Number of episodes: 12
Genres: Romance, Comedy, Slice of Life
Thoughts: Sasaki and Miyano was one of my most anticipated anime to come out this season. As much as I want to see more anime with LGBTQIA+ couples, the ugly truth is that many of them are steeped in problematic elements like rape, assault, and gaslighting. Sasaki and Miyano, however, gave me hope that this was not one of those anime. Sporting cute trailers, pretty character designs, and casual posters, it looked like the exact type of gay romance I’ve wanted to see more of — wholesome, funny, and romantic. The good news? I was right.
Sasaki and Miyano follows the budding relationship between two titular characters — Sasaki and Miyano. Miyano is a closeted fudanshi who’s part of the school disciplinary committee. Sasaki looks like the bad-boy type but in reality is a really sweet and confident senpai. The two meet when Sasaki intercedes on Miyano’s behalf to stop a bullying situation. Instantly earning Miyano’s admiration, Sasaki also finds himself attracted to Miyano quickly after meeting. To get closer, he asks Miyano to teach him about BL. Thus, their school days are changed forever.
Is the plot of Sasaki and Miyano groundbreaking? Not even close. When it comes to in-depth stories and characters that feature nuanced LGBTQIA+ couples, I can instantly point to Given and Bloom Into You. What it is though is a lighthearted romcom with all the elements of a straight romance anime. This fact might not sound praiseworthy, but the reality is that a gay romance anime that is nothing more than a lighthearted romcom is rare. This is genuinely my first time watching one — from an otaku who’s watched almost 20 years of anime.
Sasaki and Miyano’s strength lies in its characters and main relationship. Sasaki’s internal thoughts that reveal his immediate physical attraction to Miyano, as well as his plan to have Miyano teach him about manga in order to spend more time with him, is realistic to how relationships are developed in high school. Miyano is far more reserved due to his insecurities about his feminine face and his love for BL. However, with Sasaki’s genuine curiosity and commitment to learning about BL manga, Miyano learns to embrace his authentic self with the same confidence with which Sasaki carries himself. Their relationship is endlessly positive as Sasaki discovers a new hobby and Miyano learns self-love.
The story even manages to make Sasaki a flawed character, escaping the stereotype of the flawless love interest that many romcoms utilize. As his feelings towards Miyano grow, Sasaki grapples with his jealousy when he sees others flirt with Miyano. Even though he values Miyano’s freedom more than anything else, his jealousy does emerge in two instances. However, in both instances, Sasaki lectures himself for his own irrationality and immediately apologizes to Miyano, making him feel more appreciative of Sasaki’s consideration than upset. Best of all, Sasaki shows growth. After the second jealousy incident, he never shows those possessive behaviors again.
The supporting characters are also delightful. There’s the typical best friend who helps bring the couple together, but the shining crown goes to Kurosawa, Miyano’s friend. Kurosawa is in a relationship and is head over heels in love with his girlfriend. He’s supportive, confident, and unafraid to talk about his affection towards her with his bros. The true purpose of his character is to directly illustrate how Miyano’s growing relationship with Sasaki is emotionally no different than Kurosawa’s relationship with his girlfriend. It is often through hearing Kurosawa describe his feelings about his girlfriend that Miyano faces his own romantic feelings about Sasaki.
However, as noted before, this anime isn’t perfect. The drama and obstacles that delay Sasaki and Miyano’s official debut as a couple are incredibly predictable, and it draws the story out far longer than necessary. It’s not an uncommon problem to find a romcom anime doing whatever they can to feed the “will they, won’t they” narrative longer, but it’s still an annoying one. While many BL anime jump far too quickly into the relationship with little setup, I think Sasaki and Miyano stretched it a little too long. By the last few episodes, I wanted to press a fast forward button so I could reach the finale where I knew they would start dating.
The animation also lacks considerably. While the character designs are wonderful, it doesn’t always translate well to the animation of their movements. Hands look uneven, character faces move smooshed together, and sometimes entire bodies are drawn weird. There are some beautiful shots featured, but as a whole, this is not a strong art package. Even as someone who cares more about story and characters than animation, I found myself distracted by the wonkier scenes when I could usually ignore them.
The soundtrack, on the other hand, is excellent. I love the piano and violin music used throughout the series, and the use of both instruments brings a whimsical motif that just tickles me in the right places whenever a romantic scene comes up. The composer definitely understood what tune and beats to utilize to make the giddy fangirl in me rise up because it works every time, regardless of how predictable of a romantic scene it is.
The two seiyuus behind Sasaki and Miyano have a lot of chemistry. Saitou Souma is a famous and award winning seiyuu known for the likes of Moriarty in Moriarty the Patriot and Yamaguchi in Haikyuu!!. His excellent performance as Miyano doesn’t surprise me one bit, but Shirai Yuusuke, a seiyuu I hear far less in anime, really got me with his performance as Sasaki. Sounding completely different from the bouncy and happy Ramuda of Hypnosis Mic, Shirai Yuusuke channeled Sasaki’s emotions through the character’s internal thoughts with a voice that sounds both soft and heavy. Ramuda, a character with two distinct personalities, gave him an opportunity to show off his acting abilities, but the character wasn’t given enough screen time for his performance to sink in. Sasaki finally gives him that screen time, and I am so excited to hear him in more anime in the future.
In summary, Sasaki and Miyano is an enjoyable anime with strengths and weaknesses. If this story featured a straight couple, I would end the review by stating it accomplishes what it wants to do — make the audience feel warm and fuzzy as they watch two people develop feelings for each other, confess, and get their big finale kiss in. I genuinely hope one day that I can end a review of a gay romance in that exact format: it’s a fun-to-watch romcom but nothing more. However, for one of the few of its kind, Sasaki and Miyano is an important anime to have, and I am grateful for its existence.
Rating
Plot: 7 (Multiplier 3.5)
Characters: 8 (Multiplier 3.5)
Voice acting: 8
Art/Animation: 6
Soundtrack: 8
FINAL SCORE: 74.5
