Senpai wa Otokonoko

"I want to openly say that I love the things that I love. I don't want to give up on my true self. I want to live as myself."

I was wondering if I would like this anime because it's barely animated. The production by Project No. 9 is really not good. The staff just didn't have the budget or time to animate this show.

Thankfully, I still ended up really liking this anime. The well-explored characters, thought provoking drama and heartfelt coming-of-age arcs broke through the animation.

I think this is a very well-written drama. There are 3 protagonists in this story. There is Makoto, a boy who likes to cross dress. There is Ryuji, a boy who likes Makoto. There is Aoi, a girl who likes Makoto too, but I shouldn't spoil more about her story right now. Each of them is struggling to find out who they really are. What do they like? Will their likes or dislikes harm others or not? Whether society will accept them or not? What is right and what isn't? This is a story about each of them finding out more about themselves and coming to terms with their identities. The author was able to portray the coming-of-age for all 3 of them, and somehow intertwined their arcs very well. I'm usually not a fan of love triangles, but here, the romantic feelings between the three of them is only part of their coming-of-age.

I loved the arcs for each of these characters and teared up as they came to a close. The arcs are sad but very satisfying. The story starts off while focusing on Makoto, but later the focus shifts on Aoi and Ryuji. The author did a great job in exploring all of their perspectives. Aoi was probably the most complex character among them. Despite her body language, her story was probably the saddest too.

I'm sure we'll see the continuation of these characters' growth in the movie. A quarter of the manga story remains and it will be adapted in the film releasing next year. 75 chapters adapted in 12 episodes did feel rushed though.

Animation aside, I did like the soundtrack.

Overall, this was a very nice drama. If it was adapted well by another studio, it would have been a stand-out drama anime this season.

People reviewing this low can get rekt, this is such a beautiful narrative about gender that doesn't force labels or push anyone into one box or another. Atrociously lower rated on here than it deserves.

It explores themes of not only gender, but acceptance, homophobia, identity, family, abandonment, depression, teenage romance and awkwardness, and probably most importantly next to gender - friendship.

If you watched this and low rated it honestly you legit have no soul and are a walking red flag.

Though the animation is pretty limited at times and resorts to stills, its still done really well. And they use the budget they have well in the areas they need to. Its far from being "bad" in terms of animation, but I will concede its biggest flaw is how limited the animation is. But its truly not a big deal honestly because the voice acting, narrative, and emotional tones are all nailed.