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Apr 4, 2019
There is a lot that can be said about Sasaki to Miyano and while all of it I would write glowing, purple prose over, a lot of it would be spoiler-y. So I'll do my best to sing my praise for this wonderful series without spoiling much.
Sasaki to Miyano's greatest charm, and something that I think isn't talked about enough, is that it technically isn't BL. (As it runs in a traditionally non-BL magazine and isn't necessarily labelled BL on the raws.) We as a reader are left in the dark over the developing feelings between the two titular leads - are these feelings
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romantic in nature or are they purely platonic? Therefore, Sasaki to Miyano is a slowburn (and a slow one at that) but that is what makes Sasakit to Miyano so good. It gives the manga plenty of room and time to develop not only the budding romance (?) between the leads, but the leads themselves.
Story: 8/10. I won't be the first to admit that the story itself isn't very original. A fudanshi and curious ex-bad boy forming an unlikely friendship that might evolve into something more? It's a pretty common set up. However, where Sasaki to Miyano lacks in originality, it plenty makes up for it in trope-aversions. Typical BL-ish setups are circumvented and inverted so that it never really feels like you're reading a by-the-numbers BL. You're just reading a really sweet story between two people that may or may not blossom into romance. And even if it doesn't, it's clear through the trope-aversions and the characters that they still care about each other. While I am admittedly reading with the hopes that it will turn into a romance, I wouldn't even be mad if it didn't because that's how good the characters are.
Characters: 10/10. The characters in Sasaki to Miyano are wonderfully developed. Sasaki is the sweetest, most caring, most considerate and most gentle lead in a BL(-not-BL) I've ever read. He begins every little bit the typical seme in a BL (with a modest curiosity and outright bluntness) but as he learns more about Miyano and who he is, grows more thoughtful of Miyano's feelings. He is patient; he never tries to push Miyano into anything he isn't comfortable with and always makes sure to reaffirm with Miyano if he *is* okay with anything. And while Sasaki isn't perfect, he damn well near is. I love him to bits.
Miyano is just as sweet as Sasaki, but in a different way. I can't go too much into detail over how sweet and kind Miyano is (because that would dip too far into spoiler territory), but he is just as thoughtful and considerate of Sasaki's feelings as Sasaki is for him. Miyano is earnest, passionate, however, he doesn't rush headlong into decisions and feelings. I don't know, I just really love how earnest and sweet Miyano is.
As for the other characters, they are supportive friends to our main pair and invert tropes all on their own too. For instance, Miyano's one friend completely supports his fujoshi girlfriend and loves her all the same. He even indulges her fujo-fantasies lol.
Art: 10/10. It's gorgeous, seriously. Stunning. They do occasionally suffer from too-long-leg syndrome but nevertheless, the character designs are absolutely beautiful. The art was what initially hooked me and convinced me to read Sasaki to Miyano.
Enjoyment: 10/10. I can't remember how many times I've read Sasaki to Miyano. It's a slowburn with an uncertain ending and I can't stop reading it. I even read the raws, own the volumes and one of the two drama CDs. I absolutely adore this series, its humour, its charm and how endearing it is.
Overall: 10/10. Sasaki to Miyano is an adorable story of a fudanshi developing feelings (platonic or romantic) for his ex-bad boy Senpai. It's wonderful, addictive and an absolute delight. I definitely encourage people to read it and it is always my go-to recommendation when someone asks me about BL. While Sasaki to Miyano won't be everyone's cup of tea, I certainly hope you give it a shot and at least appreciate the stunning art and trope inversions.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jan 1, 2017
Do I honestly think ZeXal deserves a 10/10? Not really (8 or 9 but not a perfect 10) but I wanted to offset some of the lower reviews, even just by a little.
I only watched the original Japanese version of Zexal, so I cannot comment on the dub other than Yuma's voice is horrendous.
Zexal has a really slow start, by that I mean really, you could skip episodes 3-9 and not really miss out on anything. And when I first started Zexal, Yuma was not my cup of tea. However, Yuma's growth in Zexal I is incredible. I find it a little unfair
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that people criticize Yuma for being childish when he's a thirteen year old boy. He just wanted to play card games and is dragged into harsh game of circumstances far beyond his control.
Zexal is my favourite Yu-Gi-Oh! series to date (followed by Arc-V>5D's>DM=GX) and Zexal does have it's faults. The plot is slow to start and some of the characters suffer a lack of character development but for the most part, the characters grow. Yuma begins to change, to grow, in more obvious ways at about episode 40. Astral constantly grows, changing and allowing his character to take shape along with Yuma's decisions. Shark really tastes the character development and Kaito grows so much in zexal I that I truly believe you cannot compare him in the beginning of zexal I to the end of zexal I. I mean, Kaito has taken the spot of my favourite anime character ever and did I think when I started watching zexal that I would love him that much?
While some episodes lack the refinement of others, Zexal is undeniably beautiful. The characters in zexal range from mind-blowingly gorgeous to adorable. (Seriously, Astral is gorgeous.) The art in zexal stands above with memorable character designs (almost everyone in zexal looks incredibly different, if I showed people pictures of the main cast I'm positive they wouldn't confuse any of them for each other.)
The Sound is also just wonderful. You start to notice the most incredible things when you watch episodes over again and listen to the sounds of the show. For example, if you listen carefully while Kaito summons his powered up Ace-Monster, you can hear Haruto's Theme. It's just... zexal has such memorable songs that I can pick up notes of sounds in the show and hum them at a whim.
I also find some of the reasons people hate zexal to be somewhat petty and marinated in nostalgia. Yuma doesn't use Hope anymore than Yusei uses Stardust or Yugi uses Dark Magician or even Yuya using Odd-Eyes. Yuma is incompetent because he is 13 and honestly, at 18, I still don't understand all the schematics of the game. All of the protags have pulled cards out of nowhere and well... have people actually watched more than 15 episodes? Because I seriously have to wonder sometimes.
Overall, with my high enjoyment of the show, all I can really say is the zexal experience will be different for everyone. However, if you were to take anything from my review, actually try the show for yourself rather than listen to what everyone has said about zexal. Because, I used to hate zexal and thought it was crap before even giving it a chance but now that I've watched it, I absolutely love it. So seriously, rather than fall onto the "Hate-Zexal bandwagon", maybe give it a chance first then you can decide whether you hate it or not.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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