There is no romanticism in this OVA, which is odd, considering the content. Mokkun, a somewhat bland character, sees Pico and ends up having sex with the underaged boy. He brings Pico around slowly, taking him out for ice cream, giving him blowjobs in the car, then finally bringing him around to his apartment. What creeps me out is the realism involved here...they don't fall in love. There are no roses. Instead there's a guy who seems to have little or no social life or girlfriend obsessing over a pretty boy. To the point where he dresses the boy up as a girl and even compares him to one. Pico likes the attention and (after the initial shock) the sex. It brings to mind stories of teachers having sex with their young children that you see in the news from time to time. I watch this anime and think...this could happen, no, this has happened to people. Not all cases of pedophiles are brutal rapes. Mokkun is neither presented as a bad guy or a good guy. He is not madly in love with Pico nor does he treat him badly, nor is it clear if he is manipulating the boy or simply lonely and desperate.
Pico too is a mystery. He is staying with his grandfather, for the summer if I remember correctly. The man seems old and disinterested in Pico and more than happy to let a completely strange man take his grandson out for long periods of time. If we consider the ending, which takes place at night on the beach...where is the grandfather!?
Of course, I'm not trying to say this is anything but shota porn, no. Merely that it stands out to me because of its stark realism. Compared to other yaoi, and even to its own sequels (Pico to Chico and Pico x Coco) Boku no Pico stands out awkwardly. It's clear Pico loves Mokkun much more than Mokkun loves him and the ending scene where Pico turns his innocent blue eyes towards the audience (facing Mokkun) and says 'I love you' always haunted me.
There are no roses and flowers in this OVA, no love, no happy ending. Just a brief glimpse into the life of a man and his lover, who happens to be a boy. The series takes its time showing scenery and building up to the sex scenes, all the while playing the disturbing call of cicadas. Had there been better character development, more story and more purpose, this could have been quite the interesting anime.
Overall, enjoyable as shota, but with the slightest sense of something not right going on underneath the surface. I can't even go so far as to say it glorifies pedophilia or rape...just presents it. Boku no Pico is an anime that does not judge, merely shows.
