Hitorijime My Hero

Masahiro Setagawa is a hopeless teenager who is often used by the neighborhood bullies as an errand boy. Defenseless, Masahiro knows that nobody will ever save him. However, his life drastically changes when he meets Kousuke Ooshiba, a man known as the "Bear Killer," who takes down neighborhood gangs.

A year later, Masahiro and his former friend, Kensuke Ooshiba, attend high school, only to find that Kousuke is their math teacher. While the three grow closer, Masahiro starts to view Kousuke as his "hero," and Kousuke develops an urging desire to protect Masahiro. However, their normal lives take a turn when Kensuke's childhood friend, Asaya Hasekura, returns, seeing Kensuke as more than just a friend, much to his surprise. Will the three boys be able to live a regular high school life? Or will forbidden love keep them apart forever?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Ooshiba, Kousuke Main

Maeno, Tomoaki Japanese

Setagawa, Masahiro Main

Masuda, Toshiki Japanese

Hasekura, Asaya Main

Tachibana, Shinnosuke Japanese

Ooshiba, Kensuke Main

Matsuoka, Yoshitsugu Japanese

Fukushige, Mitsuru Supporting

Yamashita, Daiki Japanese

Natsuo Supporting

Hatano, Wataru Japanese

Yamabe, Tsuyoshi Supporting

Adachi, Yuuto Japanese

Houjou, Tsunehito Supporting

Kondou, Takayuki Japanese

Houjou, Ayaka Supporting

Koshimizu, Ami Japanese

Yabase Supporting

Tamaru, Atsushi Japanese

Hiiro, Yukina Director

Morishita, Hiroto Sound Director

Awai, Shigeki Episode Director, Storyboard, Animation Director

Fukuda, Michio Storyboard

Reviews

Sep 24, 2017

-Sonal-

Recommended

“It might have looked that way to you, but I’m just normal ”
~ Setagawa, ep 4.

And that’s practically ever BL protagonist ever, isn’t it?

Anyway, if you aren’t interested in reading my entire review (because who enjoys reading long reviews, huh?), here’s a TL;DR version of it:
If you’re a fujoshi or someone who's tired of the same tropes being used in BL (abusive seme, weak MC, cliché romance), then Hitorijime is something you’ll enjoy. But if you’re looking for something new, refreshing or path breaking in the BL genre, look somewhere else.

This review will contain my opinions on what I liked and disliked about ... the anime. If you’re interested, read on! Man, I remember when news of a new Shounen Ai anime was released. EVERY fujoshi account in existence went crazy over this development, and the Mystic Messenger fandom couldn’t get enough of the fact that one of the MCs totally looked like Jumin Han (which he really did from certain angles, honestly). My Insta and FB newsfeeds were littered with scenes and GIFs from episodes as and when they were released. But me being the kinda person who waits for an anime to finish airing so that she can binge watch it in a day, patiently waited for three entire months for Hirotijime to, you know, finish airing.

Now, since it’s Shounen Ai, the entire anime’s focus is on the increased closeness between our two MCs - Setagawa (the blond aka MC1) and Kousuke (the Jumin Han lookalike, aka MC2), as well as the doubts and trauma they both go through. The anime’s first three episodes, for some reason, were dedicated solely to the love story between MC1’s bestie (Kensuke) and his long lost friend Asaya (whose character design looks suspiciously similar to that of Sunagawa’s from Ore Mongatari). The dialogues were lackluster, the story had tropey elements and had certain aspects that I sincerely hoped the BL genre would have got rid of by now. The biggest sinners, ofc, are tropes where the seme kisses the uke WITHOUT HIS CONSENT and that’s portrayed as totally okay bc the seme is in love with the uke. Uh, no. Consent exists for a reason. But I digress. I did not like how this secondary romantic relationship developed – the seme gave the uke an ultimatum – bed me, or leave me. What the fuck?? That’s not what you say to someone who genuinely thinks of you as a good friend. And magically, this ultimatum made the uke realize his actual feelings for the seme and tadaaaaaaa!! They’re lovers. Again - what the fuck??
Also, the character responses were 1 second too late. So that was annoying.

However, things did improve for the better when the relationship between MC 1 and 2 was explored. But there were several things that were not explained. Like, at all. First, how does a ruffian like MC2 become a respectable teacher in a boys’ school?? How and when did he get such an education? What forced him to make the change? How was his violent past (and I’m assuming, his criminal records) NOT an issue with the principal when hiring this dude as a temp??? Second, when and why does MC1 colour his hair blond?? The change in colour isn’t even used as a plot device, so why bother changing his hair colour at all? If you really wanted him to be blond this badly, then why not make him a blond child, instead of a child with ginger coloured hair?? These two things confused me till the very end if anybody reading this review has an answer, do let me know. Third, and most importantly, how could MC2 be so chill about kissing MC1 so openly in the school hallways? I mean, I get that you don’t care about what people think and all, but DUDE. You could literally be jailed for getting physical with a MINOR. Fourth, why did MC1 have to be a minor? The setting could have easily taken place in a college instead of a school and literally everything would have remained the same, except for the fact that this anime wouldn’t have been normalizing paedophilia. Ugh.

So, anyway. Some of the dialogues were very well written, especially in the second half. My fav was when the dude who was ‘grossed out’ by MC1’s relationship (and was eventually shunned by his friend circle) said,“Nobody’s on my side. The one who speaks out is automatically the villain”. Not because it’s very deep, philosophical or ground breaking, but simply because of how REAL it was. I also enjoyed the little character details which made the show a little more memorable for me. For example, MC1 is a nice boy, yet he has ear piercings and wears rings on his knuckles (which nice guys absolutely never do in anime). His mother’s a prostitute, and it’s a miracle the boy turned out to be as normal as he is. Perhaps that’s also why he was totally chill when his bestie started dating a guy – you’re not exactly in any position to judge anybody when you yourself come from a pretty questionable place, you know. MC2 is a chain smoker (I didn’t like that, but it’s a unique quality nonetheless) and has big eyes, while it’s the uke who has smaller eyes. Generally, it’s the other way around, so this one thing that definitely stood out for me. However, MC1’s eyes were so beady (they reminded me of the eyes of the MC from Yahare Ore whatever the fuck its name is) that they actually made me not like him as much as I’d hoped. Why go for such an eye design? And he was the only one with such small eyes. Another breaking of clichés that I enjoyed was the seme encouraging the uke to take an initiative to kiss him. We don’t generally get to see that in BL bc it’s almost always the seme who’s the more dominant one (and by extension, the one more in control) in the relationship.

***Spoilers***
It was cute to see how one of MC1’s friend reacted (and handled) to his relationship with MC2. The friend then went on to join a different group of guys, and the way the group leader spoke to him made for an unnecessary (and yet more likeable) aspect of the details of the anime that I enjoyed about it.
Episode 11 was definitely the highlight of the series. It had raw dialogues, show cased the internal/emotional struggles between both our MCs when MC1 decided to call of the relationship, and both the boys reacted exactly like normal people would in such a situation. I believe that episode was handled quite well. The engagement at the end of Episode 12 was totally ripped off Yuri on Ice, but I liked how it was played out. Totally did not see that coming!
***End of Spoilers***

My scores:
Art: 6 (basic)
Story: 6 (predictable)
Sound: 6 (Catchy OP)
Characters: 7

So, why an overall score of 7? Because of late, this has been the only anime that I binge watched in two days. It was nothing path breaking, but it was definitely worth a onetime watch.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Mar 10, 2019

znapple1

Mixed Feelings

It's your usual BL, I'm a sucker for cute romances so I continued watching it. However, I can't get behind the age gap of the first couple (high school freshman + teacher). Also the usual drawn out BL drama, an episode that could be 5 minutes is stretched to 20 based on a misunderstanding. And I also dislike the whole 'older man/Top dominates and bullies younger man/Bottom into realize he's gay ONLY for him. If you can look past all that, then it's a cute feel-good show.

I know sexualizing high schoolers in anime is common, but I don't think it should be common: pop ... culture is a reflection of society after all. If this was purely pornographic it wouldn't bother me, since the intent behind it would then be not to tell a good story but to fulfill a kink.

The animation can be a bit stiff at times, but considering it's not an action anime, it's fine. The voice acting is great and I enjoy the character designs as well.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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May 10, 2019

little_bat

Not Recommended

never have i ever... wanted to watch an anime that glorifies emotional dependency :(

“you can decide, do you want to sleep with me or not have anything to do with me at all“ (couple 1)
“enough, stop pretending, i know you want me to screw you“ (couple 2)
“i didn‘t mean the relationship when i asked ‚so this is the end?‘.“ (couple 2)

does the art even matter if you hate the show’s concept of love?
my inner alarm bells were triggered so many times throughout this show. it is sickening to think about how many people are stuck in unhealthy relationships like these. seriously guys, i ... even liked Super Lovers, but this is a whole new level. make a reality check before you’re tricked into fangirl mode. DEFINITELY DO NOT WATCH IF YOU’VE EXPERIENCED EMOTIONAL ABUSE IN YOUR PAST!

-

couple (1):
uke1 and seme1 haven‘t seen each other since elementary school when they meet again in high school and seme1 drops that „sex or not spending time“ line. let me remind you, at this point they’re strangers, they missed crucial years for anybody’s character development! while the anime suggests somebody who is in love would say something like that uke1 wants his old best friend back so bad that instead of punching him and moving on, he realizes he’s in love with that jerk.

WTF, this is emotional dependency at its best. you’re so afraid to loose an important person that you would do anything said person demands. and adults comment „they were close as kids, must mean they love each other“ - great, so this is the level of depth this anime has...

in their actual relationship this pattern continues. seme1 can’t stand that uke1 has a best friend and is constantly mean to him. uke1 complains but does nothing no matter how unbearable it gets. it is sickening that the show implies this is ok and what love looks like and obviously gets away with it, looking at all the good reviews. just to be clear, this is not seme1 „having a character“, but simply being shitty. if he had any character at least you‘d be able to say uke1 has a messed up taste, but nah, there’s just nothing they could actually love each other for.

-

couple (2):
neglected child meets man with helper complex. this dynamic of the main couple sounds dark and quite promising, both sides have a good psychological reason to fall in love. the gang history of both of them as well as the present teacher student situation feel a little like too obvious choices, but whatever, i like it, it‘s sexy. or so i thought. the problem is not the age gap but how seme2 behaves in this scenario.

uke2 lived in hell when seme2 lets him stay at his home. hero turns stray into housewife (eye roll), secretly feelings develop as familiarity builds up over the years. but ok, if the grooming a bride vibes don‘t turn you off, it‘s cute.

when the teenager finally shows signs of a crush but doesn’t make a move the adult gets impatient. deciding the time of restraint and patting hair is over because he might get some 15y old booty now he drops line 2 from above, in a casual conversation. eww. and to top his shitshow off he lies about not being able to return the teen‘s feelings, although he actually expects him to come forward afterwards.

WTF. we understand you can’t restrain your desires any longer, we know the drill, but is uke2 so unimportant to you, you didn‘t even think this through for 2 consecutive minutes? of course, not only does this crush self esteem, it destroys all the security you built up for him all. these. fucking. years. - for what? a quicker fuck? that’s just disgusting. how selfish can a person be? could this be handled any worse? is „l’m just not a hero“ all you got as an excuse for being an absolute ass? why don‘t you stop him from running away?

down falls the neglected child and with it all the likeability of seme2. but of course this is not the end of things, because... yeah, this is shonen ai.

future „romantic“ events include:
breaking into your student‘s apartment when your bad conscience is finally bugging you. not caring for the pace your 15y old is comfortable with, constantly telling him he needs to show more initiative. playing games about being found out at school although your partner doesn’t want it. knowingly hurting your partner for the sake of teaching him a oh so ‚valuable‘ life lesson. using your friends for a stupid loyalty test to further provoke the thought that the relationship is in constant danger. not seeking the healthy conversation immediately, making sure to trigger his insecurity problems, repeatedly, knowingly. seriously saying line 3!!!

all of this is painful to watch. because again - this is emotional dependency. when everything good that ever happened to uke2 is connected to seme2, then without him, he has simply nowhere to go. breaking up or even trying to avoid the other to think means going back to life in hell. and seme2 doesn‘t care enough to act a tad more responsible and prevent his lover from scarring. instead he is provoking the poor teenager again and again.

being in love is no excuse for totally misusing your position of power. don’t get me wrong, nobody’s perfect. but we’re talking bare minimum common sense here. seme2 could’ve easily taken the pressure from uke2 and given him the assurance he knows this boy needs. you don’t need to be a hero to tell your loved one that it’s ok to have doubts. that he can stay at home anyways. but he doesn’t. why this is considered love i don‘t know, to me it certainly is nauseating.

-

if i have to give the anime credit for anything then it would be that it is bold enough to pick the topic of being stuck in an unhealthy relationship.

i think it’s great that gay relationships in general are normalized by the characters. i like the artstyle. i like that it concentrated on an established relationship. that it showed how difficult relationships with big age gaps are for the more experienced partner.

but in the end i can‘t forgive that it‘s romanticizing emotional abuse.
actually nobody should.
the devil lies in the details stated above.

i don‘t want to overlook everything just because this is anime and the industry cannot overcome its tropes. or just because it is shonen ai and there is not a lot of better stuff out there.

i hope someday the quality of my favourite genre will change into something the gay community mustn‘t be ashamed of - No.6 and banana fish are a good start, watch them instead if you haven‘t already, they have an actual genre besides shonen ai. it’s quite sad that this show has almost a rating as high as those...

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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