Sasaki and Miyano is a romance anime based on the concept of falling in love with a guy over the gay porn he lends you, which is just an inherently funny premise.
I was hesitant at first, when I found out the characters in Sasaki and Miyano were active fans of BL. This is because BL is a genre with a fraught and controversial history, so I was fully prepared for it to be full of unfunny jokes about uncomfortable tropes. Thankfully, I was wrong!
Sasaki and Miyano uses its self-aware nature to its advantage. Some might criticize it for affectionately joking about and including BL as a major part of the plot in a way that is almost entirely uncritical (as, like I said before, it is a genre rife with controversy and tropes worthy of criticism), but I disagree. I think most people would agree it's okay to like a genre that is often done in poor taste, and I don't think affectionately joking about and including that genre without criticizing certain tropes it is inherently agreeing with the more controversial side of it.
I mean, it's a lighthearted school romcom. What do you expect it to do? Pause the story to say "by the way, what did you think of the rape scene in the last volume I lent you? I know that BL tends to include tactless depictions of rape, oftentimes done by the love interest in a way that is supposed to be romantic, so I wanted to know your opinion. Personally, I just can't stand for when BL includes rape scenes like that" or something?
Furthermore, I don't even think it *was* entirely uncritical. Primarily, it makes BL jokes that are not, in fact, based around the uncomfortable side of BL, yet at the same time doesn't completely ignore it. At one point, it takes a short time to recognize that certain tropes are not okay in real life, which is surprisingly mature and refreshing from a lighthearted school romcom. And I think that that's proof enough that the author is well aware of the seedy side of BL, and you shouldn't assume they aren't just because their lighthearted story doesn't pause itself for serious literary criticism.
My point is, Sasaki and Miyano stands out from a lot of other BL due to its self-awareness of its own genre, and it does it in a way that's funny and charming, and it hikes my enjoyment way up. Honestly, it was probably the main reason I enjoyed the show so much.
Though, the real driving force of the show is obviously the romance, which, to be honest, I probably should have opened with, but what can I say? I'm a literature student.
Anyways, Sasaki and Miyano (the characters, not the title of the show) have a dynamic that kind of seems like it was written for the Tumblr crowd, but that's not a bad thing. It's the insecure nerd x oblivious himbo dynamic, which is a real crowdpleaser, but it is for a reason. Their opposites dynamic is cute and charming, and it's incredibly heartwarming and refreshing to see Sasaki so earnestly interested in Miyano's hobby, which is often considered niche, weird, and socially unacceptable. They're very different people, yet there is no judgment between them. It's so earnest and empathetic.
And the development of their relationship was...God, how many times can I use the word refreshing? They fell fast but took things slow. Sasaki resolved to wait for Miyano for however long he needed to figure out his feelings. I found it to be very grounded. There's just so much care packed into their relationship that I feel a lot of us could take to heart and apply to real life.
Everything about their relationship is just so...*kind.* It's incredibly kind.
Now, it's certainly not peak writing or anything. The plot is inherently dumb and it doesn't take itself seriously at all. I may have opened by praising the literary merit of it, but it's not high art. But that's okay. It doesn't have to be. And it wasn't trying to be.
It still falls into some tired romance tropes (like miscommunication or the whole "how can I like boys?????" thing) but I can kind of excuse them on the grounds that these characters are like, 16. Pretty accurate for teenagers in all honesty, even if I'm tired of seeing it.
TLDR: Incredibly cute and heartwarming with some literary merit buried underneath it due to how well it utilizes self awareness of the BL genre.
