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I'll be honest: I mostly started watching this because I'm a complete sucker for BL subtext. And it has that, absolutely. But I really enjoyed this anime for more than that, more than I thought I would.

So, okay, I'll admit that I'm typically the kind of person who, if the show has great characters with great interactions, then I don't even care if the plot is weak: I'm satisfied. And Fukigen na Mononokean definitely has great characters. Ashiya is the incredibly kindhearted type--with a healthy dose of the airheaded type--passionate about helping others even when he might be scared or might not really know how ... to help them, and he's intensely loyal to those he befriends. Abeno initially seems rather cold and businesslike, but his interactions with yokai show how considerate and gentle he can be. Their interactions range from hilarious to sweet to quietly emotional and I loved every minute of it. It's always a treat to me to watch two characters learn to trust each other and forge a deeper connection; one of my favorite things is a character being able to predict how the other character will react to things and knowing when that character is feeling off because of how he's acting, and there's definitely a lot of that here. Whether you view their relationship as strictly platonic or heading towards romance, it's a fascinating relationship.

There's a healthy dose of interesting side characters too, though unfortunately we never spend much time with them. I feel like Zenko--a girl who initially meets Ashiya and Abeno because they come to help her father, but after getting bitten by a yokai and being able to see other yokai, she sort of informally becomes part of their circle--is going to eventually play a bigger role and I hope that's the case!

I will admit that the plot is a little weak. It's a rather episodic structure of Ashiya and Abeno meeting a new yokai in almost every episode and assisting that yokai with a problem. There are hints of deeper stories--how the human Abeno came to be the Master of the Mononokean (a yokai in the form of a tea room that allows him to easily travel between places and gives him the power to move between the mundane world and the Underworld), some secret power Ashiya seems to have, what the heck is up with the three heads of the Underworld (we only meet the Legislator, but there's also the Justice and the Executive). Unfortunately, they are only briefly introduced and we get nothing near resolution on any of these things. But I still really enjoyed the anime, and ultimately I understand that the manga it's based off of is still ongoing and certain things haven't been revealed yet--I just hope this means there will be a season two to keep the story going! (I haven't read the manga yet so I suppose I have that to turn to if a season two never comes, but I really do hope this anime continues. I mean, listening to Kaji Yuki and Maeno Tomoaki is always bliss.)

The art was nice--nothing extraordinary, but I thought it was pleasing and fitting. (I'm no artist though.) I loved the unique take on the Underworld as a setting; I won't "spoil" it, but it's definitely not the kind of Underworld people generally imagine. I wish I could comment coherently on the music because the snatches I caught seemed quite lovely, but unfortunately I don't tend to focus on the music too much while people are speaking. But I do want to download the OST because it certainly seemed promising. I enjoyed the OP, and especially liked the ED featuring Kaji Yuki and Maeno Tomoaki.

It's a little tortuous because this anime teased at deeper plots without delving into any of them, but it certainly managed to get me hooked! I can only hope we'll see more of Ashiya and Abeno and their hodgepodge of yokai friends in a second season that will start revealing more about this story and these boys.

I was really excited about this anime. I heard great things about it, and having been monumentally disappointed with the BL genre in general, I thought that FINALLY a gem had been made.

Eh. Not really.

The thing is, when a story is entirely centered on romance, I want that romance to BLOW ME AWAY. If there's no bigger or more intricate plotline, I want the story to put everything it has into the relationship I'm being shown and really move me. I want poignant interactions, whether it's deep conversation or cute moments. I want to see them be charmed by each other, surprised by each other, ... and, sure, maybe a little lusty for each other. I want to see them fall in love.

Doukyuusei just kinda...skips all that. And then boom! They're together. And I sigh because once again it's a story of, "No, I'm not going to bother showing you why these two people are drawn to each other or why they're meant to be, you're just supposed to go with it because I said so." I mean, this is why I hate most canon het romances these days: A boy and girl share a glance within the first five minutes of a film/show and that's it, that's the entire relationship build-up. Doukyuusei may have slightly more than that to go on, but not much.

The "relationship build-up" all takes place off screen, and I simply can't fathom why a romance anime would do that. Instead of seeing any real connection between Kusakabe and Sajou, we get a montage of Kusakabe showing up late to band practice. Um. Okay. Not sure how I'm supposed to be invested in this couple, and therefore the entire anime, when I'm not seeing any kind of interaction between them in the first place, but sure, go ahead and have them kiss and pretend like that's all a relationship is. (And then--SPOILER except not really because it's not like there's much plot to spoil in a plotless romance--it's a year later and the characters themselves are like "why do we keep making out when we don't know anything about each other." Yeah, I don't know either, guys.)

But, okay, I do have some nice(ish) things to say. Despite the utter lack of showing a foundation for the relationship, Kusakabe and Sajou do have a certain quiet and gentle connection that I still found myself enjoying, though it pained me that the anime didn't do it justice at all and failed to put the depth and intensity that should have been there. They share a number of sweet scenes that were really quite beautiful. There's also a lot of cuteness and humor. If the movie was longer or if they'd made it an OVA or something, it would've been nice to build on those moments and see this relationship really turn into something--though admittedly, I'd prefer more time be spent on the build-up because I find the foundation of the relationship really important and interesting and it's a shame Kusakabe and Sajou didn't have that. It's like: imagine approaching an acquaintance right now and kissing them and reciting poetry to them and immediately thinking, "Wow, we're so in love, this is great." That's pretty much what this relationship seems like.

I do have to say that I really liked the artwork. Unique and whimsical and refreshing. The music was very nice too, perfectly complementing the moment and the scenery. The voice actors did a wonderful job (I'm always a sucker for Kamiya Hiroshi).

I honestly can't tell if I'm being too generous with my rating or not. I certainly didn't hate this anime and, despite my criticism, I wouldn't even say I disliked it. I did get some mushy fluffy feelings at some parts and I generally liked the relationship between Kusakabe and Sajou, but there was always that feeling like something was lacking. I feel like I just watched a teaser and now I'm waiting for the actual movie.

Alas, I continue to wait to see if the BL genre will ever really satisfy me. For now, non-canon m/m ships in other anime continue to have more substance than anything I've found in BL ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Demons! Dragons! Swords! Reincarnation! Supernatural abilities! Mystery! Gorgeous characters! What's not to love?

It's always baffled me how this manga seems so vastly overlooked, but I suppose the severe decline in updates over the past few years hasn't helped. And then there are people who go "ew, hints of homosexuality, ew," and, like, your loss for being so immature that you still care about the genders of people who love each other. The relationships here are beautiful and deep, whether they are platonic or romantic.

The story begins with the young boy Yuki, who's living in an orphanage and trying his best to not be a burden ... to anyone--which proves difficult as some curious supernatural abilities of his get harder and harder to hide. And then he's introduced to the Zweilt, who claim to also have supernatural abilities and the means to help him control his. Turns out the Zweilt, along with Yuki, are all reincarnated soldiers in a centuries-long war against a mysterious figure called Reiga and the demons he summons to Earth. And while the other Zweilt remember their past lives, Yuki seems to have lost all memories of the demons, his comrades, and a man called Zess who seems determined to protect Yuki.

To say much more about the characters or the story would give away too much. But watching the story unfold and slowly introduce the puzzle pieces of why Yuki lost his memories, what past lives were like for the Zweilt, and why Reiga wants to destroy humanity is a tortuous yet delicious treat. Tortuous because it is rather slow--and more painfully slow due to the mangaka's long, frequent hiatuses. But I love the mystery of it.

There's a rather large cast of characters, each of them with distinct and well-rounded personalities, some that complement each other, some that clash. There are really interesting dynamics between all the members of the Zweilt: some are like family, some are like lovers, and some are like enemies, but there is still mystery surrounding why these characters don't necessarily get along. It's actually really refreshing to have some animosity; usually large casts are depicted as all being bffs, but it's more realistic to include some tension and recognize that a large group of people who are thrown together are not necessarily all going to get along.

The general plot does move very slowly, but there's usually some new hint introduced frequently enough to keep you hooked. And there are many more storylines threaded throughout to help give you the full scope of Zweilt abilities and relationships, their roles in the real world and the demon world, and to just give you some humor amidst all the drama. (And I LOVE the humor of this mangaka--there's more than you'd initially expect from such a dark story, but it never feels out of place and it's so genuinely hilarious and adorable.)

It's a pity the mangaka has health issues (it's hard to get news, but I believe she has some hand troubles?) so updates are few and far between, but this manga absolutely deserves more love and attention. Great characters with amazing dynamics, beautiful art, a really unique and intriguing plot, and a lot of bad*ss supernatural elements. If that doesn't sound appealing to you......well, that's a shame......but if it does, don't pass this one over!