Love Stage!!

Okay so I have a couple of problems with this anime. First thing I will say is that the basic premise of 'boy falls in love as a child and they reunite' has the potential to be a cute story but this anime is not as PG as that.

(This part may contain slight spoilers) The main character of this anime Ryouma sexually assaults his love interest Izumi multiple times and everyone just seems to accept it? Ryouma forces Izumi to undress, proceeds to kiss him and fondle him until Izumis brother intervenes and initially Izumis brother tries to keep Ryouma away from his little brother (dealing with victims guilt) but eventually just decides Ryouma is a good guy? Anyways next Ryuoma and Izumi become friends and Ryuoma repetitively kisses an unconscious Izumi. Later in the series Izumi tells Ryuoma "to do as he pleases" with him and is visibly upset and uncomfortable and Ryuoma is delighted and proceeds to do so.

Personally I found the relationship creepy, and watching it progress wasn't satisfying as I wanted Izumi to stand up for himself and get away from Ryuoma.

The main two characters are not that likeable. The only characters that I found remotely interesting were Izumi's brother Shougo and the company manager Rey. I would have liked to see more about them, and their relationship rather than the main.

The animation was full of blank backgrounds, and instead of being artsy (like it seems to have been) it comes across as distracting.

I could continue to talk about the negative stereotypes it plays into about gender roles in gay relationships and the use of victims guilt to build a sexual relationship but this review is already too long and thought out for an anime that is the opposite.

Considering this is a yaoi anime, I was surprised as to how cute it was. I actually liked it quite a lot. The artwork was stunningly beautiful, voice actors great, and the plot was very well-developed. I hope there will be a next season, someday. I would love to see it. Until then, I'm checking out the manga too. Recommended.

This show is pretty bad. I say this being gay, so its not homophobia that makes me dislike it. This show was made for straight females, not the LGBT+ community.

Animation - The visuals in this show are at best generic, and at worst not there. Very few scenes actually have backgrounds. This could be a stylistic choice, but honestly it comes off as lazy.

Plot - Its a romance. The only plot is the two "love interests" getting together. Why would a romance actually have a plot?

Audio - I watched this with the Japanese dub. Its not good. Honestly its pretty annoying.

Characters - The main love interest is honestly a terrible person. He's homophobic and obnoxious. There is a scene where he sexually assaults the protagonist (I only managed to watch around 2 episodes after that, so I don't know if he gets any kind of consequences from that, but I don't think he does). The two "romantic leads" play into heteronormative stereotypes and don't have any chemistry. Its honestly uncomfortable to watch. I don't see how they could possible get together after everything that happens at the beginning.

Yurri! On Ice, Ouran Host Club, and many other wonderful shows are a great example of BL anime at it's highest. If your looking for a steamer, more blunt showing of BL than this is the anime for you!

It was so good. I'm not sure if I'm gonna watch anime again but this tv series was by far the best. Dub was op. Especially Izumi's. Ryoma is the hottest guy out there. Recommended 10/10.