Fuyu no Semi

I stumbled upon this randomly and got lucky because....hear me out, this is such a masterpiece considering this genre's evident flaws with recurring portrayal of non consentual themes. This is ROMANCE. You will forget this is BL for a moment and fall in love with the two MCs

For 2007, the makers really got into this. Amazing story by Nitta Youka, and ED track from Morikawa Toshiyuki just hit the mark.

I just hope this gets more attention and more people discover this hidden gem of a period BL thriller.
PS: This will leave an emotional imprint on you for a long time so stay strong!

This is the third yaoi anime I watched, and the second one with strong sexual content within it. I really enjoyed this anime not only because of samurai which that is my second favorite genre of anime to watch and I seen quite a bit of samurai related anime up thus far, but up to this point, I have never experiened homosexual anime before. Even as a straight male. I felt drawn to the two characters who were both on opposing factions politcally during the meji era. The major part which I felt drawn to with this anime and what to me, made it really ... special, was the absolutely heart warming love story that was what this entire anime was about. This anime was absolutely amazing. And bitter sweet. There was a time, especially towards certain parts especially towards the ending that I felt myself about to shed tears, because I thought it was so very beautiful, how two people, especially in this case two men could love each other so much and be willing to risk their own lives to stay together. To me, there's no love stronger then that. Nothing even comes close. I am beginning to really love yaoi anime. I think I am getting more and more hooked with each "yaoi" anime that I watch. I highly reccomend this anime.

Fuyu no Semi is about two people of opposite factions falling in love for each other. A love that is never meant to be because of the circumstances they find themselves in. Sounds familiar? Well. It basically sounds like a classic tragic love story and in its essence, it is. What’s fascinating for the western viewer is its setting around the Boshin war which led to the Meiji period and their implications to the story. The historic facts were embedded pretty well in the story, both being referenced by the characters and having huge impact on their lives. The at the beginning seemingly shallow characters ... were fleshed out well when the conflicts and decisions led us see deeper into who they really are, ultimately cumulating in a tragic climax. One can even think that the work comments on how their naïve, even romantic view of the political situation and their escapism of that reality helped leading them into their downfall.

The music and production quality are reasonable. Although there was nothing standing out, the director knew how to use the available resources well which led to a quite enjoyable experience. We could easily follow the struggles of the characters and while some of their decisions were questionable, it makes them quite human and can led us reflect on their fate and what it means to love. Especially the title-giving comparison with the cicada let us think of the what-ifs, giving the story a melancholic feeling and one can even see a twisted irony in its tale. Would they have been able to be happy when they were patient and waited one more year? Would they have been happy if they just made different decisions? Or was the tragic fate sealed alone by the fact of living at that time and place?

In the end these OVAs presented us with a classic drama with its own unique spin and a lot of interesting themes that can be interpreted into them. Definitely a worthwhile watch for people who can live with Yaoi and like a tragic love story in a historic setting.

Disclaimer: Sorry for this mediocre review, I - I- I'm not doing this because I want to, you know >.