I've seem my fair share of this genre, but I've yet to figure out what makes it so addicting. Throughout this show, (mostly in the first couple episodes) I was very much concerned about the rapey vibes. If you can take it for a few episodes thought, the rest of the story does get considerably better despite the beginning being questionable. And before you ask, yes, there is a hell lot of implied (or nearly explicitly shown) sex in this series. It's not even meant to further the plot in any way, it's just fan service for the fujioshis and fudanshis. Was it still entertaining? Hell yah. Overall, not a strong storyline, but enough that it's not just a softcore porno compilation. The ending really makes up for it!
I've seen a lot of complaints about the animation, and I do agree, in some places, it does seem undone, but I think that's a fault of the budget. There are more than a couple stills and some awkward movements here and there, but overall, I was very pleased with the consistency and realisticness of the body proportions and sizes, as well as how attractive they made sure to make the characters always look. Some scenes there was clearly more money spent on (Takato's play, the Christmas episode) which looked amazing overall.
The opening and closing scores honestly weren't my fave. I can see the appeal, but they bored me overall. The background music was honestly forgettable, especially since there were little to no scenes with silence where you could just hear the music. The voice actors did an outstanding job though.
I'm going to be honest, Junta was a little terrifying throughout the series. He was a little crazy, a stalker, forceful, pretty rapey-- you name it. However, he's obviously not the one who kept me here. I came and stayed for Takato, who's such a sweetheart. I loved seeing him grow throughout the show which still retaining the underlying principles of his character. Also, for being the 'uke' I'm SO glad that he didn't spend his time being helpless and crying. He was a strong character with resolve and a certain aspect of badassery to him that I adored. What a cutie too <3
Overall, I'm almost ashamed to say that I enjoyed this as much as I did. It was fun to binge, made me fangirl despite my moral compass, and I laughed a lot (1000 yen anyone?) and died a lot. There were many times that I just plain out yelled "FUCK NO" at the screen and died inside. So yeah, there's that.
I would recommend this if you: like the traditional seme/uke dynamic, like forcefulish couples, like repetitive/frequent sex scenes, like love triangles, like love drama, like the idea of secret celebrity relationships
I would NOT recommend this if you: are expecting a realistic portrayal of gay men or celebrities, are looking for a pure romance (starts off rapey, I'm warning you, even though it gets shippable later on), are annoyed by love triangles, hate harems/everyone being in love with the main characters, don't like 'showbiz' anime, don't like heteronormative stereotypes in your romances
Have a great day everyone!
