Doukyuusei

Doukyuusei is a very simple romance story that will leave a big smile on your face.

Based on the very popular manga of the same name, this movie follows Hikaru Kusakabe and Rihito Sajou, two high school students of the same age, through their journey of self-discovery and their first love.

Story (8/10): Even tho this movie is good, the story isn't very deep or emotional. In real life first loves can be a very complicated thing, but not for these characters. The story flows as it should be, there's isn't a "dramatic twist" or a "love rival" or a "love triangle", this movie didn't need that ... at all, it's just them falling in love and enjoying each-other. Nothing more, nothing less.

Art (9/10): Doukyuusei has a very unique kind of artstyle. I personally think it works PERFECTLY with the movie and the characters but you'll have to see it for yourself.

Characters (9/10): the characters are what makes this movie WORK. How they interact with eachother is the cutest thing you'll ever see. You can feel the love they have for eachother, and that's an big accomplishment for the mangaka, the studio and specially the director.

Overall: If you're looking for a hardcore yaoi movie then you'll be disappointed because this movie is very romantic and REAL. You can easily feel the characters and understand their actions because they're very relatable.

Anyway, WATCH IT.

Reading the manga, a lot of stuff bugged me. Mostly how quickly the storyline just moved on. The characters and relationship didn't get time to properly develop or even be introduced well. The idea of this story was cute, but the way it was told turned the manga pretty shitty. However, in the movie they changed all of that. The creators stretched out all of the "soon-to-be-over" scenes, and ended up spending their time very well. This way it was easier for me to really get to know the characters, and for their relationship to build. They also managed to not stretch anything too far. ... They changed some of the moments in this story from being weird or feeling unnecessary to being absolutely adorable.

The artstyle is unique and simpler than what we're used to, I really liked it. It's very similar to the manga artist's artsyle. Animation is smooth and fits this movie perfectly. Just the animation itself made me laugh a several times. The backgrounds are also gorgeous. I loved all of the usage of colors.
The soundtrack somehow gave Doukyuusei a realistic vibe, and Galileo Galilei's song playing at the ending was perfect.

Both Kusakabe and Sajou are mostly chill characters, and seeing them get along like this makes me very happy. Their love doesn't seem forced, which is in my opinion the most important thing when it comes to love stories. Sajou is a typical nerd/careful character, but something about him makes him stand out, as if there's something that he really wants. Kusakabe is not like the typical rock star/talk-without-thinking character. He's calm and very nice. They are both just high school students, which is very easy to notice. They make dumb choices like every teenager does. I love how their ages actually show through their personalities.

I would recommend this movie to anyone, whether they like shounen-ai or not. This is what a good love story looks like: characters falling in love the most natural way.

The only thing I didn't like was one of the changes from the manga. I wish that they would tell us something about Sajou earlier. ***SPOILER He has a fear of trains SPOILER IS OVER*** In the manga, they made this very clear, and it cleared up what was going on in some of the scenes. In the anime, this didn't come through well at all, and has definitely caused confusions.

You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this. I've been familiar with the source material for more than a couple of years and have read it over and again multiple times. I've even listened to the Drama CD more times than I would probably ever confess to.
I am what you would call "biased af".
So yeah, no effort to be objective here.

Simple story, "a boy meets a boy, they were in the blush of youth", but it is that simplicity that keeps it fresh and sweet without making it too mushy. The movie covers only the first volume of the ... series, but it is enough to appease my fangirl heart.
I don't think I've ever seen a movie before that just has me grinning from side to side for the whole time looking like a psycho.

As an interesting point that can also be a bit of a minus, you can clearly tell this was plot derived from a manga. You have shots that lead you around like panels, jokes that work more on manga since they are kept more brief and a pacing that is at the same time a bit rushed and slowed down. But you can't really blame anyone, that's how manga works, translating Nakamura Asumiko's format is probably pretty tough.

The voice actors are once again doing an outstanding job, it was interesting to hear them do the dialogues in slightly different tones, pacing, implying different emotions (yes I remember what they sounded like for all the dialogues in the Drama CD by heart I'm fujoshi fangirl trash). It felt like they understood maybe their characters more. Kamiya Hiroshi is one of my all time weaknesses in the seiyuu world, he didn't disappoint. I guess it's funny how the Drama CD was made during the time none of the three main voice actors were big and yet now they are considered quite the formidable cast. It makes you realize how long it's been.

All in all this was great for my heart. It makes me want to re-read the series. I probably will. Ok I'll read it now bye

(Intro is spoilers sorry even then it doesn't take away enjoyment.)
Asking your teacher at an all boys school how two guys do it. Basically. Dating someone who's really popular and has good looks, Unlike you. Not talking about your future, and falling out. ⠀
⠀Where do I begin with Classmates?! (English title) Actually the plot isn't anything new, it's been dried out like a fruit. Even so if you put enough emotion and love into something it's bound to hit some heart stings!
The characters drove this movie till the end. If anything I'd like to say well done to Kamiya Hiroshi, for always putting in 100%. ... It's honestly a treat to hear his voice acting.⠀⠀⠀
⠀So the animation is fluid, or how I like to explain it. Not really detailed but the running and backgrounds all were pleasing to look at. Honestly I think this style is surprising for A-1, they usually have that more generic A-1 look if ya know what I mean. I'm pretty sure it's the first Shounen Ai they've produced too, correct me if I'm wrong it's usually Deen.⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀Overall I highly recommend it if you're a fan of sekai ichi hatsukoi or Junjou Romantica, it's got all the same drama and feels plus that comedy.

Well, you can definitely say that Doukyuusei is aesthetically pleasing. The colours used for backgrounds are generally muted, but the characters are vivid. Expressions are adorably drawn and very clear through a distinct art style.

Music and sound are gentle and well picked to bring out emotions , so that in combination with the art means that moments lacking in plot-driven interest often make up for it through pure atmospheric value.

Really, it's good that the aesthetics can carry the movie, because the characters can be frustrating and the plot is feeble at best.

As this was the highest ranked shounen-ai, I entered thinking this would ... be a genuine romance with a fairly realistic story - barring cute coincidences. Instead, I got something pretty typical - boy meets boy, they run into issues that could be solved through minimal amounts of communication, and ultimately put issues aside because their love is too powerful to fight, or whatever... It felt pretty weak, and 'important' moments in the relationship just didn't carry any weight.

This was mostly because neither character really bothers to work for their relationship. They both enter it thinking the hard part's over, and freeze at the hint of any kind of challenge. Any time they're in conflict, they let it fester until they can have a big, dramatic moment which loses the heartwarming factor in favour of a frustration because they could have just talked to eachother, damn it.

(Spoiler: Seriously, who follows up "I guess we don't know anything about each other." with "We shouldn't meet for a while"????)

Overall, Doukyuusei is sweet and pretty, but painfully shallow. It's nice if all you're looking for is some blushy faces and cute kisses, but it pretty much fails as a depiction of a relationship.

(Also, a warning: there's a random taboo interaction between a teacher and a student stuck in there for nothing more than an extra dramatic event. Why.)

It's been a longstanding tradition for me to review terrible yaoi anime every June. However, I'm rapidly running out of hilariously bad ones. I can't really do anything to top Kimera: Gay Vampires from Outer Space. So, this year I'll break with tradition and review the highest rated LGBTQ anime on all of MAL! Why is it the highest rated? Honestly, I have no idea.

Doukyuusei is a direct adaptation of a yaoi manga written by a heterosexual woman. A lot of the hackneyed cliches you would expect show up here. There are clear cut "seme" and "Uke" roles. The Seme forcibly kisses the Uke ... against his protests on two occasions. The Seme has to bust in and rescue the Uke from being raped by another gay dude. At least there's no forced sex in this movie. I don't know what the top review is talking about.

Doukyuusei begins with 2 classmates at an all-boys school striking up a friendship that quickly evolves into romance. The seme rock singer has to teach the nerdy and studious uke how to sing for graduation. Then they both lean over to pick up a dropped water bottle and accidentally kiss. That's when seme discovers that he's gay and falls madly in love with uke. We get a little bit of light courtship before the homeroom teacher, who also happens to be gay, starts sexually harassing uke in the middle of college counseling and tries to sexually assault him. Thankfully, seme busts in and punches his teacher in the face, giving him a bloody nose and rescuing the purity of his beloved. This action will never be brought up again or have any legal ramifications in this story! Then we get a totally pointless 3rd act break up in which uke is worried that seme is still straight. Seme then feels frustrated about the slow rate of their physical relationship and goes to rapist teacher for sex advice. Yes, I'm serious. I don't know what the writer was thinking either. Then we get another possible break up when uke wants to move away to an exclusive school. However, seme helps him get to a practice exam on his motorcycle and the 2 end up together in the end. Pretty standard yaoi story.

One thing I will say in favor of this film is that the animation and direction is spectacular. This is easily one of the best looking things A-1 Pictures has ever made. The director, Shouko Nakamura, did this in 2016 and tragically as of 2022 hasn't gotten to direct anything else. Instead she got stuck in the thankless job of storyboarding Darling in the Franxx. It doesn't matter how visually gorgeous a scene featuring a giant spaceship waifu looks, people are still just going to laugh at it. I feel really bad for this lady. I hope she gets another chance soon!

Doukyuusei was the first gay male romance anime to receive a theatrical release in the United States. It played in a select number of theaters in California on a limited run in 2016. That was an interesting milestone, even if the writing and romance wasn't groundbreaking.

It's too bad that some reviews I read made this sound far more rapey than it actually was and likely scared off many viewers. In order to address this issue, I have created a new test to act as the absolute bare minimum standards for BL romance in anime/manga. In 2013, the controversial Bechdel test gained widespread fame on Tumblr. It seems like a decent idea, but it also discriminates against films with a small cast. For example, if I wanted to make a movie about a woman who is stranded on an island. Or you know if someone wanted to make a movie about 3 dudes wandering around a magical toxic waste dump for 3 hours. That would fail the test, but could still be a great movie! Now in 2022 I present...the Yaranaika Test! The bare minimum consent for BL content must consist of one dude saying "Shall we do it?" and receiving an affirmative nod from his partner. I am happy to say that Doukyuusei does still pass the Yaranaika Test despite those 2 forced kisses. On the other hand, Boku no Sexual Harassment fails the Yaranaika Test, and therefore can be considered problematic!

This movie sucks. I had high hopes going into as I see it recommended a lot and then was seriously let down, and had to froce myself into sitting through the whole thing. Lots of nonconsensual kissing and a pedophile teacher. If you want a cute gay high school romance watch sasaki and miyano. They have the most healthy relationship I have ever seen in anime, especially in BL which has an unfortunate history of controversial and often harmful tropes. Bro how long does this review need to be. I said everything I need to say. Let me publish. ffs

I was really excited about this anime. I heard great things about it, and having been monumentally disappointed with the BL genre in general, I thought that FINALLY a gem had been made.

Eh. Not really.

The thing is, when a story is entirely centered on romance, I want that romance to BLOW ME AWAY. If there's no bigger or more intricate plotline, I want the story to put everything it has into the relationship I'm being shown and really move me. I want poignant interactions, whether it's deep conversation or cute moments. I want to see them be charmed by each other, surprised by each other, ... and, sure, maybe a little lusty for each other. I want to see them fall in love.

Doukyuusei just kinda...skips all that. And then boom! They're together. And I sigh because once again it's a story of, "No, I'm not going to bother showing you why these two people are drawn to each other or why they're meant to be, you're just supposed to go with it because I said so." I mean, this is why I hate most canon het romances these days: A boy and girl share a glance within the first five minutes of a film/show and that's it, that's the entire relationship build-up. Doukyuusei may have slightly more than that to go on, but not much.

The "relationship build-up" all takes place off screen, and I simply can't fathom why a romance anime would do that. Instead of seeing any real connection between Kusakabe and Sajou, we get a montage of Kusakabe showing up late to band practice. Um. Okay. Not sure how I'm supposed to be invested in this couple, and therefore the entire anime, when I'm not seeing any kind of interaction between them in the first place, but sure, go ahead and have them kiss and pretend like that's all a relationship is. (And then--SPOILER except not really because it's not like there's much plot to spoil in a plotless romance--it's a year later and the characters themselves are like "why do we keep making out when we don't know anything about each other." Yeah, I don't know either, guys.)

But, okay, I do have some nice(ish) things to say. Despite the utter lack of showing a foundation for the relationship, Kusakabe and Sajou do have a certain quiet and gentle connection that I still found myself enjoying, though it pained me that the anime didn't do it justice at all and failed to put the depth and intensity that should have been there. They share a number of sweet scenes that were really quite beautiful. There's also a lot of cuteness and humor. If the movie was longer or if they'd made it an OVA or something, it would've been nice to build on those moments and see this relationship really turn into something--though admittedly, I'd prefer more time be spent on the build-up because I find the foundation of the relationship really important and interesting and it's a shame Kusakabe and Sajou didn't have that. It's like: imagine approaching an acquaintance right now and kissing them and reciting poetry to them and immediately thinking, "Wow, we're so in love, this is great." That's pretty much what this relationship seems like.

I do have to say that I really liked the artwork. Unique and whimsical and refreshing. The music was very nice too, perfectly complementing the moment and the scenery. The voice actors did a wonderful job (I'm always a sucker for Kamiya Hiroshi).

I honestly can't tell if I'm being too generous with my rating or not. I certainly didn't hate this anime and, despite my criticism, I wouldn't even say I disliked it. I did get some mushy fluffy feelings at some parts and I generally liked the relationship between Kusakabe and Sajou, but there was always that feeling like something was lacking. I feel like I just watched a teaser and now I'm waiting for the actual movie.

Alas, I continue to wait to see if the BL genre will ever really satisfy me. For now, non-canon m/m ships in other anime continue to have more substance than anything I've found in BL ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I was really pumped when I heard there was a decent, cute BL anime movie coming out. I was a little disappointed. Not because it was bad, because by any means it's a decent flick, but because it was only merely okay.

I want to start off by saying I'm a (bi) girl, and I didn't check to see if this BL is aimed at girls or boys, but I think that all genders would be able to enjoy the movie.

The pacing seemed really off. It moved too slow and too fast at different moments, and I think it's because it's a movie instead of an ... OVA. Had it been an OVA, say, a 6-episode OVA or even a 3-episode OVA, a lot of the plot would have moved much smoother.

The story itself is pretty okay. It's about a kinda flashy guy in a rock band and a shy cute guy who fall in love after the rock guy decides to teach the shy guy how to sing his part for the school choir. It's really cute! They go through some ups and downs, which is where the pacing problems come in, because the story moves very fast and skips through some of the fluff straight to the drama. Story-wise, though, it's a typical and adorable story. The kisses are steamy and there's discussions of sex but nothing happens.

The characters are cute, but they seem a little one-bit to me. I have a hard time believing their motivations and personality points besides one or two things. In fact, I can't remember if they had any motivation and personality. Their design was okay.

The art is okay. I think they might have cut some corners, which is terrible considering this is a movie. The sound is okay.

All in all, it's an okay movie. I like it better than I like a lot of BL, but not by much. It's cute but it honestly doesn't feel like a lot of effort was put into this movie, which is a pretty big disappointment. I'd say give it a shot because you might see something in it that I don't, but don't be shocked if it isn't as great as you hoped it would be (if you hope it's great).

To be honest i never actually thought i would like this when my friend recommended this to me as I was never really into the yaoi and romance genre. But I was wrong.

The reason why I didn't like the yaoi genre was mostly because of those highly unrealistic story lines. I know I know, "this is anime just turn off your brain and enjoy the show!!!". But seriously, in anime like sekai ichi hatsukoi and jinjou romantica, they act like the whole fucking world is gay and focus only on the romantic scenes between the protagonists to satisfy the fangirls. It's just basically like changing ... the girl into a dude and BANG you get shounen ai.
However this show managed to not only portray love scenes that will bring a smile to your face but also the difficulties and and differences of loving someone of the same sex. This is still your typical love story but that little detail they actually put effort in is what made all the difference.

I seriously can"t rate is anime unbiasedly as it goes beyond my expectations of a shounen ai movie. But overall It's a decent movie that will leave a smile on your face and is definitely worth watching. Seriously it only takes you an hour, GO WATCH IT.

A very good movie to watch on a summer day. It's light, with a little bit of pain. The art is wonderful. I actually never read the manga of this movie, because I don't like to read things that make me sad, and I knew this story will most probably make me cry. But in the movie it was actually what added the deeper layer to it. It's a very simple movie, and watching it definitely made me think of "youth". Also a note that I believe is important: there are no homophobic slurs in this film. This film is about love between two people, ... two men, and it's completely acknowledged to be so. They also kiss. Several times. Honestly, this is probably one of the best BL movies I've ever watched.

This is my first review isn't going to be very in depth, and I am basing my review off of personal enjoyment which I probably shouldn't do since my own personal opinion is, well, personal to me, however I believe that if you aren't overly critical and enjoy a cute romance then u will enjoy Doukyuusei.

First of all, for a short, hour long film there is a lot going on between the relationship of the main characters, and it's just adorable. The way they became friends and eventually caught feelings for each other by practising their singing together for choir is really cute as well, ... and I'm repeating myself because I can't really say much other than it was cute. That's all you really need to know.

The art style was also extremely pleasing to the eye, which made it even more enjoyable to watch.

The only thing negative I can say is that the teacher really creeped me out, and I'm not sure if it was intentional.

That's all, goodbye :)

Art- 4/10. Probably (and controversially) the biggest con for me was the simple art style. Kusakabe's character design wasn't all too much to my appeal either, but of course, this all comes down to a matter of personal taste. Gradually, it started to bother me less and less as their personalities and emotions started to overpower their appearances.

Story- 6/10. Simplicity. It's something that could either make or break a film, but in Doukyuusei, it's what carries the story up. There's nothing special or outstanding to be found here, but this is a film that deals with feelings of first love, inner turmoil and a coming ... of age growth. If you're looking for soap opera worthy drama or angst, this isn't for you. If you're looking for deep, intricate relationships that delve into serious matters, this isn't for you. What it is is a short and sweet, heart-warming flick to pass a good time.

Character- 6.5/10. Considering this is only an hour long movie, you shouldn't expect much character development. While this is true, it still manages to leave you with a smile watching Sajou and Kusakabe stumble about their relationship. If cardboard characters don't faze you, this one's a decent fluff fest.

I do not enjoy this movie as much as other people do, just because I found the pacing to be too quick. If this were episodes, I would probably enjoy it more than I do.

The story is not something new as if I have never seen it before, and the plot was predictable. Everything does not excite me as much as I do when I first watched the first few minutes.

This is just a typical light BL story, and everyone probably knows the drill. Characters meet each other, characters feel insecure, side character intervening, characters cannot be together, characters will be fine.

I do ... appreciate that this movie tells us the struggles of being at school. Balancing love life, work and relationships at the same time are hard. And it was clearly shown in the movie.

Other than that, nothing more.

Is this movie worth the watch? Yes. But do I love it? No. Am I going to rewatch it in the future? Maybe. Do I recommend others to watch this? Absolutely.

Very much enjoyed watching! A very light yet touching watch, a feel good movie for people who seek a little bit of youth romance. Just enough fluffy, chummy, lovey-dovey stuff to compliment the story.

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Story
The story of high-school romance that happens so suddenly. It all starts in the summer when the students have to perform a song in a choir. The musical prodigy takes a liking to the smartest kid in the class, and they start practicing together. The love grows, and then blooms at the end of the performance. The relationship continues as they struggle to finish their high-school year, with college/career options, university ... entrance exam preparations, and their own respective hobbies.

The settings are kept simple, and they perfectly fit the ups and downs of a relationship in such short amount of time without feeling rushed or forced. The pleasure of love, the misunderstandings, the light drama, and the resolve, was executed beautifully. The fluffy parts are just enough to keep you satisfied, and it is kept at PG-13 rating.

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Art
The art style is very unique and but it really helps with the delivery of the story. Rough-sketch like pictures and animation impeccably capture the essence of youth romance, carefree and delightful. The brightly tinted pictures are giving me this feeling of effervescence, as if taking me to float into the sky.

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Characters
The pair of MCs seem perfect for each other, despite being different, Sajou a quiet academic, who spends most of his time at cram school and worrying about college, while Kusakabe being a musician who spends more time with friends and practicing with his band.
How they handle each other is especially adorable. There's very little push-and-pull, instead both characters are shown to have equal amount of love for each other <3. The supporting characters help with the story by creating a pinch of drama and deeper understanding of the MCs' feelings of each other.
The casts are kept at minimum, which is a good choice knowing the movie only lasts for an hour and is already packed up (even I still want more of those!)

Just a note that this review is not entirely free of the lightest of manga spoilers.

Anime fans (myself included) are guilty of colloquially tacking the “fujoshi” label to anyone who enjoys consuming stories depicting romance between men. In some fundamental sense, it’s true, but with such broad usage we forget that the word translates to “rotten girl” and that the people it ought to describe are indeed rotten fetishists of relationships that too often are violent, exploitative, incestuous and/or non-consenting in which the fairer sex happens to be uninvolved.

Such a distressing (and rather unflinchingly vocal and parasitical) status quo makes it easy for something ... like Doukyuusei to fly under the radar as some garden variety...um...that.

What an egregious offense.

This franchise will absolutely ruin your mouth—my teeth rots from its sweetness and my jaw aches from smiling so damn much. The only offensive thing about it is the fact that such beautiful romance blossomed so realistically right in front of me that it feels that much more out of my reach.

Strangers Kusakabe and Sajou start to notice each other, each stained in the light pouring through their windows of their shared classroom. They sing to the tune of cicadas and new beginnings. The rest is history.

These boys do not steamroll their ways into each other’s arms—there’s no self immolation or collateral damage (beyond Harasen, more on that later) or ruination—Doukyuusei chooses to celebrate the stumble, the blushing moment when the internal chaos halts for a minute and everything remains unclear except the fact that you’re in love.

You’ve read the plot of Doukyuusei before: honor roll and rock n’ roll get tangled up in fate’s inept hands. The writing’s poetic enough to make the cliche work for them.

By “poetic enough” I refer to its mastery over awkwardness. It hits amazingly close to home when Kusakabe idly chats about a poem to put off getting to the point only to bulldoze straight to it soon after, when Sajou affirms in meek I-don’t-know’s in lieu of apologizing for running away, when Kusakabe has no issue spilling to his teacher that he’s tryna bone a guy but tomatoes at the notion of said guy being his first love.

This relationship really feels soulmate-y, and it’s not because there’s some arbitrary red string linking their pinkies. The movie totally rejects such an idea, joining the two characters by chunky yellow ribbon, one frequently cut and retied together, only unchanging in color. You root for the relationship with full confidence that they’ll get through it somehow because they so fervently work toward a middle ground it’s only natural that they would. As a regular consumer of shounen ai I can only lament where we went wrong such that cousin incest became less surprising than mere classmates, such that loving one of the same sex came from a place of dependence, addiction and indulgence rather than from the beautiful heart that beats in every frame of this movie.

All the praise I give Doukyuusei for being non-contentious is seemingly upturned by a certain stinkyhead who very much embodies the “forbidden love” aspect that’s so detestably endemic.

At the very least i can say that Harasen, a thirty something washed up music teacher harboring painfully pathetic feelings for our resident scholar is exactly that—pathetic. His affections are purely catalystic. He’s taken seriously by Kusakabe, not necessarily because he has a chance, rather, Kusakabe regards it as a threat because the feelings exist at all. For all of Harasen’s efforts at repression, for all the personal strife he feels at his own pedophilic tendencies, he ends up being a mere hill the doukyuuseis climb only to zoom down with more speed than they had before.

Even if he is such a nonentity though, his role has still done its damage in making gay relationships seem illicit or scandalous. In the manga, the teacher-student relations don’t even stop there: Harasen gets his proper ending and there’s a whole other couple walking the same halls, going through the same motions.

If I had to make a case for such relationships, though I hesitate a lot in doing so, I’d argue that rather than something, for lack of a better word, trashy, like Why the Hell Are You Here Teacher which fetishizes the age gap and indulges in its wrongness, this franchise opts for providing real meaning to the characters involved in the relationship being in different places in their lives, much like After the Rain. Such commentary is actually even more welcome considering this show is about gay relationships - the adults especially have to deal with reorganizing themselves around an identity that wasn’t so easily accepted by society in their heyday. That argument is weakened by the fact that the characters do really end up romantically involved, but at least in a narrative respect, it’s one I think worth entertaining. (That said, most of what I said here hardly has much to do with the anime movie at all. Whoops.)

On appearances, Doukyuusei is the prettiest BL animated thing I’ve ever watched. The conventional attractiveness of Yuri on Ice and the paradoxical vintage modernity of Banana Fish are still third and second to the light handed aquarelle I can stare into forever and feel sheer summer romance staring back at me.

It was a serious blessing to drink in the ethereal watercolor, the delicate stroke of the lines, the cutie lil character models that so animatedly bounce and wiggle and trip and slouch their way across my screen it makes me personally feel as though I’m missing out on youth (hardly moving as is and lugging myself as though my mass is a chore whenever I do; quarantine’s been tough on the lot of us.)

The OST isn’t anything too special to my untrained ears, but I really really enjoyed the way this show sounds — the voice acting is stellar for sure, ideally capturing the franticness, the playfulness, the awkwardness both possess in spades. No complaints felt passionately enough to mention.

There’s no real reason to avoid this movie. For good romance, for decent rep, and for a good freaking time, do give this one a shot.

For the record, I posted this review on my friend’s Instagram, and it was seen there first. I didn’t steal it, I wrote it. Check it out: instagram.com/neverdaijoubu.

Felt like I had to write a review because I really enjoyed this. It deleted. So this is going to be a little concise. (Note: I haven’t read the Doukyuusei manga.)

Story: 8 for Very Good

The issues brought up in this were typical for teenagers. What stood out were the characters' responses. The emotions and reactions made sense. The progression was logical.
The script especially shines in this one. One memorable instance that I liked was:
Hikaru: “Was I cool?”
Rihito: “I dunno.”
This just seemed like something teenagers would say, not long speeches from John Green novels. So the story and the progression of the plot made sense to ... me, seeing as they were inexperienced teenagers and this is how everything fell into place.
The poem thing was cheesy, but there weren’t cherry blossoms in this, so that makes up for it.

Art: 9 for Great

I liked the range of settings and how they were illustrated.
Sometimes when I watch BL, I wonder, “Why do these characters find each other attractive?” But it was easy to see why Rihito liked Hikaru and vice versa. Points to the artists for being able to bring out the beauty in both characters.
But I did think that Hikaru’s appeal could’ve been more understandable in the concert scene.
I especially appreciated the transitions between settings. I thought they were artfully done.

Sound: 8 for Very Good
At one point while Hikaru and Rihito were running, it sounded especially manufactured.
But I liked the music. The sound was at a good level. It wasn’t too overbearing and the music didn’t get to be too much at times.
Not sure if voice actors go into this category, but except for one instance where I felt like Hikaru could’ve sounded a little more intense, the voice acting was good.

Character: 7 for Good

I found it strange that Hikaru chose to ask the teacher for advice. (But the teacher’s interactions with Rihito were actually surprising to me, so that was a plus in the Story category.)
I don’t know if I found a strong sense of character from the beginning, but I did like that the character development was evident throughout their relationship. Hikaru realized where he’d gone wrong, and Rihito sorted out his priorities.
I especially liked Hikaru’s friend - his prying seemed justified to me. He just seemed like one of those teenagers that didn’t really care about too much because he just cared about his friend.
Hikaru and Rihito were never suave Casanovas. They seemed a lot like teenagers in the ways that they interacted with each other and the way that they seemed flustered. Hikaru’s attitude about exams was especially reminiscent of a teenager’s - the whole “it works out how it works out” thing.

Enjoyment: 10 for Outstanding
I did enjoy this! I got into the characters and story. Rihito, especially, was a character I could relate to, in the anxiety that he had about his exams and the “ribbon.” There wasn’t anything in this that took me out. I think that the soda metaphor is weird in concept, but watching it play out in the movie, I loved it.

Overall: 9 for Great
This is the art that animated movies can bring out. I loved Doukyuusei and I’ve already recommended it. A solid piece of work all around. I would watch this again, and now I’m interested in reading the manga. Just a really beautiful story. A first love story that's way more realistic than Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi.

I was... not expecting this at all. Having seen some yaoi before, I've rarely come across any that's realistic or relevant. Most of the time, it's a little strange, makes no sense, and is more than a little heteronormative and it makes me a little annoyed. In this case, I think that they managed to portray it in such a beautiful way that even if you're not a fan of the yaoi genre, you'll be able to enjoy this as an amazing romance on its own.

To begin with, the story is split into multiple pieces as seasons. It's very poetic and has a slow, ... realistic pace. There isn't as much sexual assault as yaois usually have, which is a relief. Other than that, it's also very sweet and builds up naturally. Not for a moment did I feel this was undoable in any way. The whole time, I actually felt like the characters had chemistry as well. The problems they faced together were very true to life.

I've seen some people complain about the art, and when I first saw it, I had a similar opinion, but watching the whole thing, I've been charmed by it. It's a strange style for sure that I've never really seen before, but at the same time, it's very fluid and soft, much like the story itself. I think it really matches the flow of the story.

Most of the time, I'm not really impressed by the music, but the background music and the closing song are both gorgeous. I could just listen to the plain instrumentals all day long. This was so calming to listen to.

Gosh, the characters were masterpieces. They weren't heteronormative sexual assaulters and the plot wasn't spent mostly on the seme-uke dynamic and claiming that they definitely weren't gay. There was acceptance, there was romance, there was conflict, there was chemistry. What more can we ask for?

I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would. It's a perfect movie to watch with a significant other or even alone on a rainy day. It's adorable, it made me squeal and smile and also nearly cry. But I'm a little bit of a crybaby so I don't know if the crying will apply to everyone. :)

I would recommend this if you: like romance movies, dislike heteronormativity, dislike the classic yaoi tropes, want to watch something short on a rainy afternoon, want a cute date movie, want to smile like an idiot for an hour

I would NOT recommend this if you: like classic yaoi tropes, are expecting smutty stuff, like the seme-uke structure, don't like romances

Have a great day everyone!

This is the type of movie you watch when you want to put a smile on your face! It's very sweet and all around a very pleasant movie to watch! The animation looked great (when the characters would run on screen they did look slightly wonky but that's fine) and the backgrounds were all very nicely done. The characters I really enjoyed. Also if you already watched the movie.. did you think it was weird how that teacher guy kissed the student and then nothing ever happened after that?? I thought that was kind of odd! I mean the teacher never got in trouble and ... the rest of the time the movie acted like it never happened..

Man this is like, my favorite movie ever. It is not the best anime movie I've watched but, it was beautiful and decent for an yaoi.
The OST just made cry so much, so pretty...
I love the couple and how they really care about each other, Kusakabe is so sweet and caring for Sajou, and a very interesting character. He had many girlfriends before but Sajou was his real first love, like, woah! So cute.
There isn't rape or lemon scenes and thats very good and kinda rare in this gender.
The art isn't perfect or detailed, but it's so simple and pretty, it suits perfectly the movie.
I ... just cry every time I watch it.(but that's probably just because I'm a fujoshi)
I love it 10/10