Apr 15, 2021
I was really excited about this anime, I had heard of it by recommendation, the animation looked amazing, and it was about queer/gay people, being queer myself, this was a big plus.
Unfortunately, right off the bat with this film, I was already suspicious. I know that the BL genre is ripe with problems from beginning to end. The great majority is written by straight authors for a straight audience with zero respect for actually gay people. It's only once in a blue moon that you can find a piece that both succeeds in enticing storytelling and in character authenticity/respect.
While I concede that the animation and
...
visuals of the film were beautiful and captivating, that is pretty much all it has going for it.
On to my frustrations!
In the beginning, even when there is a romance beginning, one of the characters is clearly a minor! This is super not okay, especially when trying to show relationships that are different than the "norm" where people are quick to make assumptions.
Not only this but the characters were super underdeveloped. I know nothing about them besides the "juicy" things that make the characters traumatized enough to be "interesting."
This was another really problematic thing: the use of trauma to make a character. This is used a lot in all types of media, but at least in the better cases, there is more to that character than their pain. This obviously did not happen in this film. We only ever learned about the main couple (the rest of the characters are left completely undeveloped and unexplained) and of those two the only thing we learned was what made them "broken."
SUPER IMPORTANT NOTE: TRAUMA DOES NOT MAKE ANYONE BROKEN, I ONLY USE THIS WORD TO DESCRIBE THE WAY THE FILM DEMONSTRATES THE CHARACTERS.
Not only was being traumatized their only character traits, but they weren't even addressed properly. When the storyline came to something that could potentially trigger a character, it would gloss right over, using it to further the entertainment value while avoiding difficult topics.
Last but certainly not less frustrating is the clear ignorance of consent.
There were several moments in this film where a character clearly said "no" or "stop" and it was not followed. Consent must ALWAYS be listened to and followed, that did not happen in this film.
Final Verdict:
As a queer audience looking for a queer film, this movie was more than disappointing.
If you enjoyed this film, I am super glad you did but I urge you to see its failings as well because its send a lot of detrimental messages that should be consciously recognized as such.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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