Doukyuusei

Doukyuusei is a very simple romance story that will leave a big smile on your face. Based on the very popular manga of the same name, this movie follows Hikaru Kusakabe and Rihito Sajou, two high school students of the same age, through their journey of self-discovery and their first love. Story (8/10): Even tho this movie is good, the story isn't very deep or emotional. In real life first loves can be a very complicated thing, but not for these characters. The story flows as it should be, there's isn't a "dramatic twist" or a "love rival" or a "love triangle", this movie didn't need that at all, it's just them falling in love and enjoying each-other. Nothing more, nothing less. Art (9/10): Doukyuusei has a very unique kind of artstyle. I personally think it works PERFECTLY with the movie and the characters but you'll have to see it for yourself. Characters (9/10): the characters are what makes this movie WORK. How they interact with eachother is the cutest thing you'll ever see. You can feel the love they have for eachother, and that's an big accomplishment for the mangaka, the studio and specially the director. Overall: If you're looking for a hardcore yaoi movie then you'll be disappointed because this movie is very romantic and REAL. You can easily feel the characters and understand their actions because they're very relatable. Anyway, WATCH IT.

Reading the manga, a lot of stuff bugged me. Mostly how quickly the storyline just moved on. The characters and relationship didn't get time to properly develop or even be introduced well. The idea of this story was cute, but the way it was told turned the manga pretty shitty. However, in the movie they changed all of that. The creators stretched out all of the "soon-to-be-over" scenes, and ended up spending their time very well. This way it was easier for me to really get to know the characters, and for their relationship to build. They also managed to not stretch anything too far. They changed some of the moments in this story from being weird or feeling unnecessary to being absolutely adorable. The artstyle is unique and simpler than what we're used to, I really liked it. It's very similar to the manga artist's artsyle. Animation is smooth and fits this movie perfectly. Just the animation itself made me laugh a several times. The backgrounds are also gorgeous. I loved all of the usage of colors. The soundtrack somehow gave Doukyuusei a realistic vibe, and Galileo Galilei's song playing at the ending was perfect. Both Kusakabe and Sajou are mostly chill characters, and seeing them get along like this makes me very happy. Their love doesn't seem forced, which is in my opinion the most important thing when it comes to love stories. Sajou is a typical nerd/careful character, but something about him makes him stand out, as if there's something that he really wants. Kusakabe is not like the typical rock star/talk-without-thinking character. He's calm and very nice. They are both just high school students, which is very easy to notice. They make dumb choices like every teenager does. I love how their ages actually show through their personalities. I would recommend this movie to anyone, whether they like shounen-ai or not. This is what a good love story looks like: characters falling in love the most natural way. The only thing I didn't like was one of the changes from the manga. I wish that they would tell us something about Sajou earlier. ***SPOILER He has a fear of trains SPOILER IS OVER*** In the manga, they made this very clear, and it cleared up what was going on in some of the scenes. In the anime, this didn't come through well at all, and has definitely caused confusions.

You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this. I've been familiar with the source material for more than a couple of years and have read it over and again multiple times. I've even listened to the Drama CD more times than I would probably ever confess to. I am what you would call "biased af". So yeah, no effort to be objective here. Simple story, "a boy meets a boy, they were in the blush of youth", but it is that simplicity that keeps it fresh and sweet without making it too mushy. The movie covers only the first volume of the series, but it is enough to appease my fangirl heart. I don't think I've ever seen a movie before that just has me grinning from side to side for the whole time looking like a psycho. As an interesting point that can also be a bit of a minus, you can clearly tell this was plot derived from a manga. You have shots that lead you around like panels, jokes that work more on manga since they are kept more brief and a pacing that is at the same time a bit rushed and slowed down. But you can't really blame anyone, that's how manga works, translating Nakamura Asumiko's format is probably pretty tough. The voice actors are once again doing an outstanding job, it was interesting to hear them do the dialogues in slightly different tones, pacing, implying different emotions (yes I remember what they sounded like for all the dialogues in the Drama CD by heart I'm fujoshi fangirl trash). It felt like they understood maybe their characters more. Kamiya Hiroshi is one of my all time weaknesses in the seiyuu world, he didn't disappoint. I guess it's funny how the Drama CD was made during the time none of the three main voice actors were big and yet now they are considered quite the formidable cast. It makes you realize how long it's been. All in all this was great for my heart. It makes me want to re-read the series. I probably will. Ok I'll read it now bye

Well, you can definitely say that Doukyuusei is aesthetically pleasing. The colours used for backgrounds are generally muted, but the characters are vivid. Expressions are adorably drawn and very clear through a distinct art style. Music and sound are gentle and well picked to bring out emotions , so that in combination with the art means that moments lacking in plot-driven interest often make up for it through pure atmospheric value. Really, it's good that the aesthetics can carry the movie, because the characters can be frustrating and the plot is feeble at best. As this was the highest ranked shounen-ai, I entered thinking this would be a genuine romance with a fairly realistic story - barring cute coincidences. Instead, I got something pretty typical - boy meets boy, they run into issues that could be solved through minimal amounts of communication, and ultimately put issues aside because their love is too powerful to fight, or whatever... It felt pretty weak, and 'important' moments in the relationship just didn't carry any weight. This was mostly because neither character really bothers to work for their relationship. They both enter it thinking the hard part's over, and freeze at the hint of any kind of challenge. Any time they're in conflict, they let it fester until they can have a big, dramatic moment which loses the heartwarming factor in favour of a frustration because they could have just talked to eachother, damn it. (Spoiler: Seriously, who follows up "I guess we don't know anything about each other." with "We shouldn't meet for a while"????) Overall, Doukyuusei is sweet and pretty, but painfully shallow. It's nice if all you're looking for is some blushy faces and cute kisses, but it pretty much fails as a depiction of a relationship. (Also, a warning: there's a random taboo interaction between a teacher and a student stuck in there for nothing more than an extra dramatic event. Why.)

It's been a longstanding tradition for me to review terrible yaoi anime every June. However, I'm rapidly running out of hilariously bad ones. I can't really do anything to top Kimera: Gay Vampires from Outer Space. So, this year I'll break with tradition and review the highest rated LGBTQ anime on all of MAL! Why is it the highest rated? Honestly, I have no idea. Doukyuusei is a direct adaptation of a yaoi manga written by a heterosexual woman. A lot of the hackneyed cliches you would expect show up here. There are clear cut "seme" and "Uke" roles. The Seme forcibly kisses the Uke against his protests on two occasions. The Seme has to bust in and rescue the Uke from being raped by another gay dude. At least there's no forced sex in this movie. I don't know what the top review is talking about. Doukyuusei begins with 2 classmates at an all-boys school striking up a friendship that quickly evolves into romance. The seme rock singer has to teach the nerdy and studious uke how to sing for graduation. Then they both lean over to pick up a dropped water bottle and accidentally kiss. That's when seme discovers that he's gay and falls madly in love with uke. We get a little bit of light courtship before the homeroom teacher, who also happens to be gay, starts sexually harassing uke in the middle of college counseling and tries to sexually assault him. Thankfully, seme busts in and punches his teacher in the face, giving him a bloody nose and rescuing the purity of his beloved. This action will never be brought up again or have any legal ramifications in this story! Then we get a totally pointless 3rd act break up in which uke is worried that seme is still straight. Seme then feels frustrated about the slow rate of their physical relationship and goes to rapist teacher for sex advice. Yes, I'm serious. I don't know what the writer was thinking either. Then we get another possible break up when uke wants to move away to an exclusive school. However, seme helps him get to a practice exam on his motorcycle and the 2 end up together in the end. Pretty standard yaoi story. One thing I will say in favor of this film is that the animation and direction is spectacular. This is easily one of the best looking things A-1 Pictures has ever made. The director, Shouko Nakamura, did this in 2016 and tragically as of 2022 hasn't gotten to direct anything else. Instead she got stuck in the thankless job of storyboarding Darling in the Franxx. It doesn't matter how visually gorgeous a scene featuring a giant spaceship waifu looks, people are still just going to laugh at it. I feel really bad for this lady. I hope she gets another chance soon! Doukyuusei was the first gay male romance anime to receive a theatrical release in the United States. It played in a select number of theaters in California on a limited run in 2016. That was an interesting milestone, even if the writing and romance wasn't groundbreaking. It's too bad that some reviews I read made this sound far more rapey than it actually was and likely scared off many viewers. In order to address this issue, I have created a new test to act as the absolute bare minimum standards for BL romance in anime/manga. In 2013, the controversial Bechdel test gained widespread fame on Tumblr. It seems like a decent idea, but it also discriminates against films with a small cast. For example, if I wanted to make a movie about a woman who is stranded on an island. Or you know if someone wanted to make a movie about 3 dudes wandering around a magical toxic waste dump for 3 hours. That would fail the test, but could still be a great movie! Now in 2022 I present...the Yaranaika Test! The bare minimum consent for BL content must consist of one dude saying "Shall we do it?" and receiving an affirmative nod from his partner. I am happy to say that Doukyuusei does still pass the Yaranaika Test despite those 2 forced kisses. On the other hand, Boku no Sexual Harassment fails the Yaranaika Test, and therefore can be considered problematic!

(Intro is spoilers sorry even then it doesn't take away enjoyment.) Asking your teacher at an all boys school how two guys do it. Basically. Dating someone who's really popular and has good looks, Unlike you. Not talking about your future, and falling out. ⠀ ⠀Where do I begin with Classmates?! (English title) Actually the plot isn't anything new, it's been dried out like a fruit. Even so if you put enough emotion and love into something it's bound to hit some heart stings! The characters drove this movie till the end. If anything I'd like to say well done to Kamiya Hiroshi, for always putting in 100%. It's honestly a treat to hear his voice acting.⠀⠀⠀ ⠀So the animation is fluid, or how I like to explain it. Not really detailed but the running and backgrounds all were pleasing to look at. Honestly I think this style is surprising for A-1, they usually have that more generic A-1 look if ya know what I mean. I'm pretty sure it's the first Shounen Ai they've produced too, correct me if I'm wrong it's usually Deen.⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀Overall I highly recommend it if you're a fan of sekai ichi hatsukoi or Junjou Romantica, it's got all the same drama and feels plus that comedy.

This movie sucks. I had high hopes going into as I see it recommended a lot and then was seriously let down, and had to froce myself into sitting through the whole thing. Lots of nonconsensual kissing and a pedophile teacher. If you want a cute gay high school romance watch sasaki and miyano. They have the most healthy relationship I have ever seen in anime, especially in BL which has an unfortunate history of controversial and often harmful tropes. Bro how long does this review need to be. I said everything I need to say. Let me publish. ffs

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)_/¯

So this is not really a review, but a warning. This movie was very promising, however it has dissapointed me a lot. I was hoping for a film about love, while its just fetishization of gay people and non-con (non consent). The mc, Kukasabe has no respect towards his love interest: he never asks for consent, and even after being told 'no' he doesnt stop. In this movie its portrayed as something normal, or even attractive. The art, music and design in this movie is really nice, so its easy to miss these harmful things. If you decide to watch Dokyuseii anyway, please keep in mind what I said, and educate other people about it. I know, this kind of thing is shown in many anime, so please if you notice it, make sure to also spread awareness, have a nice day

I was really pumped when I heard there was a decent, cute BL anime movie coming out. I was a little disappointed. Not because it was bad, because by any means it's a decent flick, but because it was only merely okay. I want to start off by saying I'm a (bi) girl, and I didn't check to see if this BL is aimed at girls or boys, but I think that all genders would be able to enjoy the movie. The pacing seemed really off. It moved too slow and too fast at different moments, and I think it's because it's a movie instead of an OVA. Had it been an OVA, say, a 6-episode OVA or even a 3-episode OVA, a lot of the plot would have moved much smoother. The story itself is pretty okay. It's about a kinda flashy guy in a rock band and a shy cute guy who fall in love after the rock guy decides to teach the shy guy how to sing his part for the school choir. It's really cute! They go through some ups and downs, which is where the pacing problems come in, because the story moves very fast and skips through some of the fluff straight to the drama. Story-wise, though, it's a typical and adorable story. The kisses are steamy and there's discussions of sex but nothing happens. The characters are cute, but they seem a little one-bit to me. I have a hard time believing their motivations and personality points besides one or two things. In fact, I can't remember if they had any motivation and personality. Their design was okay. The art is okay. I think they might have cut some corners, which is terrible considering this is a movie. The sound is okay. All in all, it's an okay movie. I like it better than I like a lot of BL, but not by much. It's cute but it honestly doesn't feel like a lot of effort was put into this movie, which is a pretty big disappointment. I'd say give it a shot because you might see something in it that I don't, but don't be shocked if it isn't as great as you hoped it would be (if you hope it's great).

To be honest i never actually thought i would like this when my friend recommended this to me as I was never really into the yaoi and romance genre. But I was wrong. The reason why I didn't like the yaoi genre was mostly because of those highly unrealistic story lines. I know I know, "this is anime just turn off your brain and enjoy the show!!!". But seriously, in anime like sekai ichi hatsukoi and jinjou romantica, they act like the whole fucking world is gay and focus only on the romantic scenes between the protagonists to satisfy the fangirls. It's just basically like changing the girl into a dude and BANG you get shounen ai. However this show managed to not only portray love scenes that will bring a smile to your face but also the difficulties and and differences of loving someone of the same sex. This is still your typical love story but that little detail they actually put effort in is what made all the difference. I seriously can"t rate is anime unbiasedly as it goes beyond my expectations of a shounen ai movie. But overall It's a decent movie that will leave a smile on your face and is definitely worth watching. Seriously it only takes you an hour, GO WATCH IT.

A very good movie to watch on a summer day. It's light, with a little bit of pain. The art is wonderful. I actually never read the manga of this movie, because I don't like to read things that make me sad, and I knew this story will most probably make me cry. But in the movie it was actually what added the deeper layer to it. It's a very simple movie, and watching it definitely made me think of "youth". Also a note that I believe is important: there are no homophobic slurs in this film. This film is about love between two people, two men, and it's completely acknowledged to be so. They also kiss. Several times. Honestly, this is probably one of the best BL movies I've ever watched.

Yes, I'm a homophobe (no), asshole, (I'm a member of LGBT and I'm interested in LGBT representation)but I'm sorry, I don't see the point in giving a high BL rating just for being non-toxic. I want to praise art. It's a good styling with decent workmanship. You can see that the original style. There are no yaoi hands, characters that look the same as from a Chinese toy factory, no scary triangular faces like in JR and SiH. The colors are well-matched, and it doesn't look like a rainbow-colored glitter nightmare like in the LS. The relationship of the main characters is not that someone molests someone, sexually assaults like in a typical BL. And that's where the pluses ended ... If you think what is presented here is a real and realistic representation of a relationship, then I have no words. lack of a plot and rather faceless characters with incomprehensible motivation and a strange set of emotional reactions. In this title, practically nothing happens, except for the relations of the main characters, and this is not very interesting. It's sad that the relationship is completely uninteresting, hackneyed. It’s also okay that the anime, as usual, is built on proven romantic movies standards, and you get the feeling that you’ve seen it a hundred times already, and here again love is represented as hell. Have you been meeting for a year and don't know anything about each other? No, I understand, the first week, well, a month, you can still run and kiss and think about sex, but then what? What were they talking about? What did you do together? Do they have any common interests? How do they spend time together? Do they do anything other than kissing, hugging, and thoughts of doing cute things? The characters are uninteresting and shallow. Apart from features such as: shy and ... maybe more confident, they have absolutely nothing about them. Virtually no character, no motivation, no history, no bigger expansion, nothing. They cannot be of interest. And the plot is ... wait, is there a plot? There are some smaller threads, that's true. But they are neither extensive nor interesting. For example, the thread that one of the boys goes to a concert where the other performs. And he leaves the blanket offended. Why is he offended and pissed off? It doesn't make any sense. Nothing bad happened, but he got pissed. What's the point of that? And finally ... there is a conflict in their relationship with her. A conflict that can be solved with the help of BANAL COMMUNICATION, but not. Apparently love is stronger, more important, or I don't know. In general, to give this film a bad rating is unfair, of course, but to say it's perfect is nonsense. It is the Bl standards that are low, which is why this movie looks good compared to others. It is more above average compared to others but fails to represent a relationship. It's not bad, It's kinda nice but just average

I do not enjoy this movie as much as other people do, just because I found the pacing to be too quick. If this were episodes, I would probably enjoy it more than I do. The story is not something new as if I have never seen it before, and the plot was predictable. Everything does not excite me as much as I do when I first watched the first few minutes. This is just a typical light BL story, and everyone probably knows the drill. Characters meet each other, characters feel insecure, side character intervening, characters cannot be together, characters will be fine. I do appreciate that this movie tells us the struggles of being at school. Balancing love life, work and relationships at the same time are hard. And it was clearly shown in the movie. Other than that, nothing more. Is this movie worth the watch? Yes. But do I love it? No. Am I going to rewatch it in the future? Maybe. Do I recommend others to watch this? Absolutely.

Art- 4/10. Probably (and controversially) the biggest con for me was the simple art style. Kusakabe's character design wasn't all too much to my appeal either, but of course, this all comes down to a matter of personal taste. Gradually, it started to bother me less and less as their personalities and emotions started to overpower their appearances. Story- 6/10. Simplicity. It's something that could either make or break a film, but in Doukyuusei, it's what carries the story up. There's nothing special or outstanding to be found here, but this is a film that deals with feelings of first love, inner turmoil and a coming of age growth. If you're looking for soap opera worthy drama or angst, this isn't for you. If you're looking for deep, intricate relationships that delve into serious matters, this isn't for you. What it is is a short and sweet, heart-warming flick to pass a good time. Character- 6.5/10. Considering this is only an hour long movie, you shouldn't expect much character development. While this is true, it still manages to leave you with a smile watching Sajou and Kusakabe stumble about their relationship. If cardboard characters don't faze you, this one's a decent fluff fest.

that kiss 8 mins in was the most unnatural thing ever omggg?? and why were they in love in literally 12 minutes? and asking for consent to kiss only to promptly ignore the "no"?? the teacher-student kiss that's only there for added ~drama~? 😭 i'm afraid this just wasn't for me (though they still had some cute scenes, for sure) it's just, overall, quite shallow, in my opinion. there's for sure worse, but i'm sure there's 1000x better stuff out there. regarding the art style: a lot of people really liked it, but i'm clearly in the minority that doesn't think this is that pretty. it's just mediocre at best, in terms of the visuals.

im disappointet. This movie is just the manga panel for panel word for word. For me there are to options to make a movie for the manga 1. they take there own turn and make something that isnt just a bland copy or 2. they make it comletely the same with the perspective of the teacher and the side story. but no, they couldn't do eather one of them. I personally loved the manga and was excited for the movie. Even though the movie was complete bullshit and a waste of my time the manga is for me a 10 out of 10. It just shows more sides to the story what makes some parts easier to understand. For example: in the movie you are propably just coonfused why the teacher kissed him when you havent read the manga. A movie shouldnt be like that its supposed to be able to stand on its own when its not an obvious sequel to a movie before. The one behind this movie probably just wanted some extra bucks and didn't even try. I just cant recommend the movie and advise you to read the manga. Its just beautiful and you get even more than with the movie.

Very much enjoyed watching! A very light yet touching watch, a feel good movie for people who seek a little bit of youth romance. Just enough fluffy, chummy, lovey-dovey stuff to compliment the story. ----- Story The story of high-school romance that happens so suddenly. It all starts in the summer when the students have to perform a song in a choir. The musical prodigy takes a liking to the smartest kid in the class, and they start practicing together. The love grows, and then blooms at the end of the performance. The relationship continues as they struggle to finish their high-school year, with college/career options, university entrance exam preparations, and their own respective hobbies. The settings are kept simple, and they perfectly fit the ups and downs of a relationship in such short amount of time without feeling rushed or forced. The pleasure of love, the misunderstandings, the light drama, and the resolve, was executed beautifully. The fluffy parts are just enough to keep you satisfied, and it is kept at PG-13 rating. ----- Art The art style is very unique and but it really helps with the delivery of the story. Rough-sketch like pictures and animation impeccably capture the essence of youth romance, carefree and delightful. The brightly tinted pictures are giving me this feeling of effervescence, as if taking me to float into the sky. ----- Characters The pair of MCs seem perfect for each other, despite being different, Sajou a quiet academic, who spends most of his time at cram school and worrying about college, while Kusakabe being a musician who spends more time with friends and practicing with his band. How they handle each other is especially adorable. There's very little push-and-pull, instead both characters are shown to have equal amount of love for each other <3. The supporting characters help with the story by creating a pinch of drama and deeper understanding of the MCs' feelings of each other. The casts are kept at minimum, which is a good choice knowing the movie only lasts for an hour and is already packed up (even I still want more of those!)

um....this movie deeply confused me if I'm being honest. I was lost in the first 10 minutes because it's very fast sense. The couple I felt had no real development at all; a good story was completely tossed away for kissing. I couldn't get into their relationship because of this and I can't list reasons as for why they were together. I tried to stay away from BL specifically because of the awful troupes it could have, like problems with consent, fan service over story, and typical miscommunication issues that could of been easily solved. This movie had all three fml. I'm not giving it a 1 because the art was very beautiful and I watched with no ads so I wouldn't say it wasted my time too much.

This is the type of movie you watch when you want to put a smile on your face! It's very sweet and all around a very pleasant movie to watch! The animation looked great (when the characters would run on screen they did look slightly wonky but that's fine) and the backgrounds were all very nicely done. The characters I really enjoyed. Also if you already watched the movie.. did you think it was weird how that teacher guy kissed the student and then nothing ever happened after that?? I thought that was kind of odd! I mean the teacher never got in trouble and the rest of the time the movie acted like it never happened..