Suki na Mono wa Suki Dakara Shou ga Nai!!, or better known as Sukisho/Sukysho, is an anime that surprised me initially. A particularly funny YouTube comment that I relate to spiritually wrote, "I never knew yaoi could be so scary." As I have said before, I came across Sukisho one night on a whim; a need for a shounen-ai series because there are so few. And I was not disappointed, surprisingly. At least not at first.
→ STORY
Sukisho starts out very confusingly. We are first introduced to the shounen-ai aspect of the show. Admittedly, that first scene was purely fan-service. Or was it? A pink-haired boy sneaks into a blue-haired boy's room, 'asking' about a person by the name of Yoru. Of course, our protagonist is not named Yoru--he is Sora.
The story of Sukisho is not profoundly original. Our protagonist is amnesic and the main conflict of the show is his past, conveniently shrouded in mystery and questioning. His love interest appears out of the blue, and enters his life, but there's a twist! They were childhood friends! (M. Night Shyamalan would be proud.)
The pacing of the show seemed off to me. Some episodes were dedicated to the plot, and were serious in turn, but the others give it the 'Slice of Life' title. It seemed to jump back and forth between trying to advance the plot and simultaneously entertain with its light-hearted Do-It-All Club filler episodes. The humor is of the slapstick, idiotic comic relief variety, which is not a bad thing. It depends on your sense of humor and was not so overbearing in my opinion.
However, the ending was what irked me the most. To avoid spoilers, all I will say on the topic is that I felt like all the development leading up to the ending was wasted by plot armor. It didn't seem impactful in the least. They used more energy to tug at heartstrings rather than create a concise, logical conclusion. Also, episode 13 is purely a filler. It's cute, but it's filler.
Scoring: 5/10
→ ART
Keep in mind that Sukisho was created in 2005. That is not an excuse for shoddy animation, but it is an explanation. The art of Sukisho is not in any way terrible. I found the comical scenes endearing, and the characters are all diverse appearance-wise. Any beef you have with the design of the characters can be directed toward the game's producer(s) since Sukisho is an anime adaption, not an original work.
At times, the animation was a bit wonky and the character's anatomical proportions are inaccurate, but nothing too atrocious to look at. It is perfectly mediocre and that's alright.
Scoring: 5/10
→ SOUND
The soundtrack of Sukisho is not outstanding. The opening and ending are okay, but nothing stood out to me. I don't have anything to say about the sound because I am not talented in the musical side of things.
Scoring: 4/10
→ CHARACTER
Most of Sukisho's characters are archetypes. There's Sora, the stubborn protagonist, Sunao, the tsundere, Matsuri, the childhood friend who exploits his friends for (comical) personal gain, etc. My favorite characters were Ran and Yoru, but for a reason that I cannot explain because of spoilers. In my opinion, they were well-written and very enjoyable to watch. Their interactions were sweet, but the reason they were in love was never explained, which is disappointing. The inherent lack of females in this anime is bizarre, even considering the fact that the setting is an all-boys academy. They venture out into the world outside of school and yet no women are seen or interacted with.
The development between Sora and Sunao was very well executed. They did not immediately fall in love, but they did not dilly-dally about their romantic feelings. It was very real to me. It was immature, but I excuse it because they're high school students who come from rough pasts. They aren't exactly a conventional pair.
Scoring: 6/10
→ ENJOYMENT
This is one of Sukisho's high points. I personally enjoyed the sh-- I mean, crap out of Sukisho! I binged it out of boredom and was on the edge of my seat, trying to anticipate the next episode. Sukisho was not painful to watch, which surprised me the most. I would suggest watching three episodes before deciding if this anime is for you.
Scoring: 8/10
→ OVERALL
Sukisho does not ever draw the line between realism and fantasy. That may turn some people off because it's so abrupt and out-of-the-blue. Along with sharing multiple people in one body, ghosts exist, as well as wish-granting hot springs. Just something to keep in mind. I wouldn't count this as a low-point for me. It was just surprising.
Overall, I enjoyed watching Sukisho very much. It is not the most amazing show you will watch, and I don't even guarantee that you will enjoy it, but please give it a try. You might find that its comical aspect and endearing characters resonate within you.
Scoring: 6/10
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Anime to watch if you enjoyed Sukisho are:
・ Junjou Romantica (eng. Pure Love), a shounen-ai/yaoi 'classic' as dubbed by BL fans. It is also domineered by a colorful cast of men (with the odd woman here and there).
・ No. 6, for its fantasy background and shounen-ai couple.
・ Love Stage!!, because it also has a tsundere uke and is a must-see in the BL world.
