haitangkitty

13 episodes + bonus movie on Crunchyroll

I was looking for something chill to watch so I decided to give Sasaki and Miyano a try. It's been called the Heartstopper of BL so I knew I wasn't exactly the target audience for it. It's a very slice-of-life friends to lovers teenage romance which I'm usually not a fan of but I was looking for something wholesome to watch. I have to admit it's a little bit too cute to my taste but I like the slowburn how their romance unfolds during the story. I love both Sasaki and Miyano as characters. Sasaki especially is a bit like Hua Cheng as a cool seme (although it's not confirmed who's the uke and seme as the anime discusses these tropes...but according to the character design it's obvious BUT that's only my interpretation).

As I wrote on my tumblr: It's refreshing to read a wholesome romance like Tgcf and Sasaki and Miyano. The seme is not a typical rapey obsessive mind controller. But that doesn't mean they don't deal with similar feelings: both Sasaki and Hua Cheng constantly hold themselves back because they cherish their loved ones and want to act consentually. They do get lustful, jealous, and possessive but choose not to lash out that energy towards their loved ones. I think both are stories with wholesome pure love, and although i tend to enjoy darker stories this type of consensual and loving dynamic is very important for me as well. I usually engage with darker content because it seems more realistic for me and the type with pure love actually make me sadder because they are more unrealistic. It's not easy to find or become as devoted lover as Sasaki or Hua Cheng.

Overall it was a cute show!

4/5 stars