elany said:Katsudon-kun said:
I believe that if this franchise wants to rake in more female fans, the characters’ really need to have more distinct individual personalities - and not just “I want the one who’ll prevail in Blue Lock by being the best there is” type of mentality.
A huge part of Haikyuu’s appeal is that many of its characters didn’t just have great developments, but their personalities plus intra-personal relationships were also varied and fleshed out as well. Blue Lock’s concept and setting (while it can make the tension between two characters palpable since they’re stuck in a training facility with other handsome dudes after all) makes it rare to see them act out like teenage boys and have more wholesome moments together.
In other words, and speaking as a gay guy as well, despite the attractive characters in the cast (and there are a lot of them), the franchise’s lack of cute moments between two boys and its hyper competitive nature makes it a pretty terrible BL vessel.
With that said, Rei and Navi seem like good BL candidates since they do have history, wholesome moments and great chemistry together. (I would even vouch that they’re better than Isagi x Bachira or Isagi x Kunigami). Even without the BL lens, they’re genuinely entertaining to watch since they compliment each other’s abilities and personalities well.
Speaking as a manga reader, the series does have BL potential but of the, how to put this, doujinshi variety. What we've seen in the anime so far doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of how absolutely insane these guys are. Yes, they remain pretty one note throughout, but they do it in the most intensely unhinged way possible, which combined with the setup makes for a much better doujinshi premise, where the characters are much more likely to just ehm get it out of their system and move on.
Realistically speaking, unlike something like Yuri on ice, which as an anime original was able to be a mostly sports anime with a queer love story at its core, Blue lock is based on a manga and doesn't have that freedom and never could've. If there were to be BL elements since its inception, then no matter the overarching story, the manga would've been published in a different magazine, aimed at different audience, received different marketing etc. and i don't think those two elements together would've been approved by just about any editor to begin with.
Doujinshi on the other hand, well, anything fucking goes with those, doesn't it lmao
[Edit: just saw your name and wow hey friend lmaooo]