I was introduced to the world of BL,
as I've mentioned before, by the buddy cop manga FAKE. It was
a tame introduction. Dee makes out with Ryo a few times per volume,
and when they finally get it on, all the details are hidden beneath
their sheets of modesty. Their story was sweet and unfolded slowly,
and I loved absolutely everything about it. And after I finished, I
decided I was ready for more BL in my life.
I did some research, and found out
that Junjou Romantica was currently the
most popular BL anime/manga series among female audiences, so I
decided to give it a whirl. I started out with the anime (a good idea
in hindsight; the explicitness of the manga may have scared my
innocent self to death) and curled up on the sofa to enjoy some more
fluffy boy on boy fun.
Except
fluffy isn't exactly the word I would use to describe Junjou
Romantica. It's cute and funny,
but let's just say I was not expecting the main character to get
molested by the love interest in the very first episode. I would be
lying if I said it wasn't a shocker. My jaw nearly hit the floor. Did
that really just happen? Did he really just...? Why is Misaki talking
so calmly to Usagi as if nothing happened? Do I like it, or am I
totally grossed out right now?
 |
| My innocence has come a long way over the years. It takes much more than this to get me flustered now. |
It
took me a bit to sort my feelings out on the subject. Misaki
Takahashi (uke), who starts off the series as an eighteen year old
nice boy with a self-sacrificing complex and an inability to express
his true feelings without panicking, was a bit of a challenge for me
to understand at first. His actions indicated he loved Akihiko
“Usagi” Usami (seme), but his words were all about resistance and
accusing Usagi of being a raging pervert. I didn't know at that time
that stubborn ukes are a common BL trope, and that if Misaki really
didn't want a physical relationship with Usagi, he would have never
allowed Usagi to touch him in the first place (as he admits later in
the series). Until I figured that one out, I was a little conflicted
over how much I enjoyed watching all the shenanigans of Junjou
Romantica.
 |
| Misaki is a bit overwhelmed and totally in denial over the crazy BL world he has fallen into, and he pretty much has every right to be. |
JR is
a story of second loves. Usagi was once unrequitedly in love with
Misaki's older brother Takahiro, who, with the sole exception of
Mizuki and Usagi-chichi, is the only straight guy in the series (I
bet even Alexander and Takana are secretly gay). For obvious reasons,
it doesn't work out. Clueless Takahiro gets married and moves to
Osaka, and Misaki moves into Usagi's apartment when he needs a place
to stay while attending university. Usagi is captivated by Misaki's
ability to empathize and deeply feel the pain of others while
treating them with consideration and tenderness, and almost instantly
falls in love. For Misaki, it takes a bit of coaxing. He loves Usagi
and subconsciously admits it, but apparently normal, healthy Japanese
young men do not go around saying 'I like you' to their partners.
Since Usagi is a seme, as well as a crazy Japanese anomaly, he is
allowed. That's what you get for spending so much time in England, I
guess. In any case, Misaki enters into a physical relationship with
Usagi, but tries to resist and act as if the entire thing is against
his wishes.
 |
| The power couple is quite lovey-dovey, but Misaki brings his share of issues to the match |
On
that subject, does anyone know of any semes who
resist having sex with their ukes for reasons other than not wanting
to cause them pain? The only one I can think of is Kuon Aikawa in
the first chapter of Mujihi na Otoko (a
part of the I want to be naughty! Series),
and even he gets over that pretty quickly.
The second couple
features literature professor and all-out tsundere Hiroki Kamijou and
tender-hearted med student Nowaki Kusama. Nowaki is Hiro's second
love; his first was (surprise!) Usagi, who was of course in love with
Takahiro while Hiro was crushing on him. Hiro was crying over Usagi
in the park one day when fate led Nowaki to find him, and after
Nowaki dogs him for awhile and sneaks into his head, the two fall in
love. Of course, it doesn't end so simply. Hiro is a bundle of
tsundere pride who is incapable of being directly affectionate, and
Nowaki is insecure about the fact that Hiro is four years older than
him and lives a more adult and professional lifestyle. In their
respective quests to become more ideal lovers, they both end up
confusing each other and having their intentions come across in a
jumbled fashion.
 |
| My favorite of the couples in a rare moment where Hiro's tsundere tendencies aren't causing trouble |
Last comes You
Miyagi and his ex-wife's brother Shinobu Takatsuki. If Nowaki thinks
his four years difference with Hiro is a big deal, Miyagi and Shinobu
take the cake: there is a grand total of seventeen years separating
them! Add that to the fact that Miyagi starts off straight and is
still hung up on his high school love (his homeroom teacher, now
deceased) and Shinobu is a bit of a spaz who expresses his love by
repeatedly cooking and botching cabbage stir fry and insisting Miyagi
take responsibility for his feelings for him. In true BL fashion,
Shinobu manages to charm his way into Miyagi's heart and lessen the
pain of losing his first love, but this isn't achieved without a few
epic misunderstandings and another case of non-consensual touching
(Shinobu wants a relationship with Miyagi, but is freaked out when a
pissed off Miyagi gets a bit 'handy' to shut him up).
 | |
|
HOWEVER,
that is not to say there aren't some issues. BL has one particular
trope that is overused x10, and that is the “Character A sees
Character B out with Character C. Character A assumes Character B is
cheating or else that Character C is after their lover. Character A
gets pissed, only to find out that Character C is actually Character
B's sibling/co worker/childhood friend/or casual acquaintance, or
that Character B has absolutely no interest in Character C.
Characters A and B kiss and make up” set up. This happens quite
frequently between Misaki and Usagi over Aikawa, Sumi, Haruhiko,
Kaoruko, Mizuki, and Ijuuin. Jealousy is undeniably spicy, but using
this trope too often gets old. When JR gets
away from this set up, the stories are stronger because they focus on
the one-on-one dynamic of the couple rather than the interlopers. For
example, the episode where Misaki has to decide whether to move back
with his brother or stay with Usagi is particularly good, as well as
the arc where he struggles over the fact that Usagi's father makes it
clear that he thinks his son's relationship is destructive and headed
for disaster.
 |
| Misaki is a wanted man. Who can resist an adorable, hesitant uke? |
That
being said, I'm really hoping that Junjou Romantica will
address the fact that neither Usagi nor Misaki have told Takahiro
about their relationship. Obviously this would be an awkward
conversation, but even the clueless Takahiro will eventually notice
that Misaki is a working adult still leeching off a family friend. I
am also curious as to how Takahiro would react. I doubt he would be
happy, considering the fact that his ultimate goal is for Misaki to
have a normal family life. The ten year age difference between Misaki
and Usagi would also make it look like Usagi forced and took
advantage of Misaki to Takahiro (and the incident with Sumi proves
this is the action Usagi is most uncomfortable of being accused of).
However, the thing most important to Takahiro is Misaki's happiness,
and I think that's what will rule out in the end. Besides, Takahiro
is already doing his duty in carrying on the next generation, which
is rather noble given that the in-universe version of Japan is pretty
much doomed due to its high level of gay and bisexual individuals
going the same-sex route, especially if you factor in all the
characters from JR's companion,
Sekaiichi Hatsukoi.
 |
| Fight for the next generation of Japan, Takahiro, you brave young soldier! |
One of these days
the scattered single females in the series will have to band together
and date each other. I swear to god.
All
in all, I'm glad I came across Junjou Romantica when
I did. It shocked me to begin with, but I've always had way too much
innocence for my own good, and it's considerably tame compared to
some of the things I myself have written in the way of fanfiction. At
first I felt like the world's biggest pervert for getting such a kick
out of it, but do you know what? Not all perversion is bad. In fact,
life would be pretty dull without it. So if Junjou
Romantica sounds like something
you might be interested in, just go for it. Bishie on bishie action
is delightfully hot!
Since I've done plenty of shounen-ai, next up will be Maria Holic, where shoujo-ai runs supreme!
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