Roomba007

I had high expectation when I started watching this series, on account of all the praise I had heard and the general notion that this would be the kind of show that would make me bawl my eyes out. I was not disappointed.

Starting from the first opening from Survive Said The Prophet, which you probably know from Vinland Saga if you've watched it, every song in this anime has both masterful storytelling and gorgeous animations. I am not going to spoil anything, but as an artist, it is nice to see openings and endings with so much symbolism. Although the second opening is way more emotional and soulful than the first– for obvious reasons– I really cannot choose a favourite between the two. Even the endings, although much simpler in how they convey their message, are still very insightful regarding the characters of the story and friendship between the two protagonists. The one thing I would consider a bit of a bummer is the way these songs are a bit on the spoiler-y side, but it shouldn't be much of an inconvenience for a first-time watcher. It certainly wasn't for me.

Now, onto the characters itself. Again, no spoiling, but please do not watch this if you expect a happy ending. As I said before, starting this anime means you want to get emotional and cry like a baby, but not for the reasons you'd expect. The de-facto protagonist, Ash Lynx, is not someone you would normally relate to, and instead, you should find yourself more empathetic of the Japanese photographer, Okumura Eiji. I could spend paragraphs on these two but, for the sake of brevity, let me only outline why their relationship is so important in this story.

This is not, as you might have understood by now, a BL nor a Shounen Ai, because that is not the point. Some have criticised BF's approach to homosexuality because it is toxic and unhealthy, because this is not the kind of representation we should strive for or whatever pandering excuse they want to find. Again, that is not the point. The bigger picture here involves the worldbuilding of a society controlled by the iron fist of the Mafia, and the explanation of why people in it live and behave as they do. This is not supposed to be rainbows and unicorns, and anyone who thinks that being gay means, like the word itself, being only happy, probably have watched this with some kind of biased prejudice and turned a blind eye to every good point that makes this series a masterpiece. Ash and Eiji represent the struggle of trying to obtain freedom from that world from two drastically different approaches, their journey against various hardships, and how the bonds they made along the way end influencing their own choices. There is a plethora of good and terrific characters in this show, and all of them play a role in the growth of both boys. It was honestly mesmerising to see how Ash grows into accepting his responsibilities, and the exploration of his emotions and psyche as he struggled so desperately to fight powers much greater than him. Thus, no matter how uncomfortable and gritty this show might get, which it really does, it should not be by any means an excuse to simply cast the 'bad yaoi' title onto this how. 

Another aspect of this anime that really stood out to me was the artistic direction and the animation quality. I've already talked about the openings and endings, but it bears repetition to say that MAPPA really did a fantastic job in foreshadowing and representing each and every emotional moment throughout the series. Twentyfour episodes is a lot of screentime, but rarely I see every minute of it so intensely dedicated to showcasing every single minutia in the character's behaviours. One moment in particular that I still vividly remember, that is absolutely not relevant to anything at all, is when Ash gets startled and drops a glass into the kitchen sink. It is funny and surprising coming from him, and yet another example of how to spice up a scene that otherwise might make you forget that these guys are, in fact, barely adults. The small details like this are truly what made me enjoy this show to the very end, and why I believe this deserves a watch.