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Spiritpact (Ling Qi)

Description: (Japanese) You Keika makes a living by fortune telling and doing personal computer repairs. Tanmoku Ki is an exorcist, fighting evil spirits. When You Keika suddenly finds himself dead, Tanmoku Ki shows up, offering him a deal.

1 season, 2016

Tags: 

Shounen Ai

Supernatural

Comedy

Action

Public rating: 7/10

Explicitness rating: PG-13

Tropes: 

Characters meet once briefly then meet again later.

Poverty-stricken character suddenly joins a rich family.

“I can’t do this, I’m a failure,” then, ten seconds later, “I did it!”

Everyone is ridiculously over-powered.

Animation/production quality: GREAT! Absolutely beautiful!

Personal review: I LOVE THIS ANIME. Seriously it felt like a breath of fresh air because it has been a long time since I’ve seen a really, truly brilliant anime. The characters are actually kind of realistic and there’s a great balance between hilarity and seriousness. The action sequences are well done, the comedy is well placed, and the relationships between characters are full of emotion be it love or hatred. I’ve seen a lot of reviews that say this anime was bad, or it wasn’t good enough, wasn’t worth the watch. Well I watched it anyway and I’m really glad that I didn’t listen to all of those other reviews. Sidenote: I’ve only seen it with the Japanese dub, and though the fandom is small it tends to veer on the Chinese version.

Personal rating: 10/10

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Love Stage!!

Description: With an actress mother, producer father, and rockstar brother, anyone would expect Izumi Sena to eventually enter showbiz himself. However, he aims to become a manga artist. But a decade after the only shoot he’s been a part of (a marriage ad), the magazine calls for a 10th anniversary ad, requesting the original child actors for the project. This reunites Izumi with Ryouma Ichijou, now a popular actor who, much to Izumi's shock, has been in love with him ever since their first meeting! Even after discovering the truth, Ryouma can't seem to shake off his feelings...

1 season, 2014, plus 1 OVA bonus episode

Tags: 

Comedy

Romance

Shounen Ai

Slice of Life

Public rating: 8/10

Explicitness rating: PG-13

Tropes: 

Love interest thinks main character is a girl! Woah gender-bend!

Internalized homophobia

Characters meet as children then later as adults.

Incredibly attractive love interest/jealousy as a plot point.

Oops, everyone is actually gay af.

Rich kids who are ungrateful of their parent’s wealth.

Animation/production quality: Whew thank you 2010s for introducing well done art. Also everyone has an actually distinct face and body! The quality is pretty dang high by my standards. 

Personal review: I have watched this whole series now 3 times and it is just as good the second and third time. I really loved this show, it’s pretty and has good characters and is ridiculously cute. I mean, there are things I would change about this, but in general this show is very funny, very cute, and VERY gay.

Personal rating: 9/10

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Kono Danshi (series)

Description: With 4 unique stories, the Kono Danshi series is all about supernatural love and how love between two people (romantic or friendly) can help someone get through dark times and face their emotions. This series deals with common themes of isolation, despair, and overcoming personal hardships.

This Boy Can Fight Aliens: 1 episode, 2011. When aliens suddenly invade the world, Earth seems to be fighting a losing battle until Arikawa discovers a young man, Kakashi, who has the power to defeat the attackers Unfortunately, Kakashi has also lost his memory, and with it the knowledge of how to actually use his power. (NOTE: This one is more josei than shounen ai.)

This Boy Caught a Merman: 1 episode, 2012. When a picture of his late grandfather falls into the ocean, Shima jumps in after it without thinking. Nearly drowning as a result, he is instead saved by a very perfect stranger who is human only from the waist up. The young man and merman quickly begin to bond in ways neither anticipated. 

This Boy Suffers from Crystallization: 1 episode, 2014. High school boy Ayumu Tamari has an illness that makes him start to turn to stone when he's stressed and isolates from from classmates. His homeroom teacher and stone-loving geology teacher Kouya Onihara says that Ayumu's stone transformation is beautiful. Ayumu begins to become attracted to Kouya, who starts to give him advice.

This Boy is a Professional Wizard: 4 episodes, 2016. Chiharu Kashima, captain of the Wizard Bureau's Crisis Countermeasures Division, is among a handful of people who can use magic. While frequenting his favorite bar, he is approached by a friendly man named Toyohi Utsumi. After only a little time has passed, Toyohi confesses that he has fallen in love with Kashima. However, Kashima fears that magic is all that he has and Toyohi is only in love with Kashima the Wizard.

Tags:

Supernatural

Fantasy

Shounen Ai

Comedy (This Boy Can Fight Aliens)

Public Rating: 7/10

Explicitness rating: PG

Tropes: 

Main character is special but in a bad™ way.

Main character recovers from hopelessness by falling in love (with the exception of This Boy Can Fight Aliens).

Love heals all.

Animation/production quality: Okay. So these are animated really bizarrely, but in such a way that I personally really enjoy because of how weird. The first one (Aliens) has the worst production quality but it isn’t bad (like probably a B- or something). The rest have better quality but are also just very unique in style. These won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, I know, but I think they’re worth a look if only to see something out of the ordinary for anime.

Personal review: I really like this series. I watched This Boy Caught a Merman first without really knowing it was part of a series, then I watched the rest. I think all of the stories have merits to them (though I will say my least favorite was the Aliens and my most favorite was the Crystallization and the other two were equally good) and they all do a good, if different than usual, job of telling a compelling story. I was able to get the know the characters easily and feel for them even in such a short period. I personally enjoyed the weird animation style which I think added to my overall satisfaction of this series.

Personal rating: 8.5/10 average

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Hybrid Child

Description:   Kuroda, the puppet master, invented the Hybrid Child, a specialized android that is neither a machine nor a real human being. Originally purchased by lonely rich people yearning for companionship, the Hybrid Child is able to grow like a human when showered with love and care by its master. Even though they are designed like dolls, they have consciousness and can feel all kinds of emotions. Hybrid Child is made up of three very emotional and tragic love stories that explain the depth of a bond between a Hybrid Child and its owner.

4 episodes, 2014

Tags: 

Shounen Ai

Sci-fi

Historical

Drama

Tragedy

Public rating: 8/10

Explicitness rating: PG-13

Tropes: 

Androids are people, too.

Older + younger. (I’m talking literally raising a child and falling in love with them.)

Help, I’m gay for my robot!

Nothing is okay, everybody dies. (okay, so in reality it is not so extreme but yeah the tragedy tag is real my dudes.)

Animation/production quality: Really good. Very pretty, high quality. 

Personal review: Despite this having the issues of childhood sex, legality, and ability for consent, this show is fair with boundaries. Definitely beware of emotions when watching these because ngl I totally cried at the ending of at least two episodes. I really liked the story here actually because they go into the origins of the androids and why they were made and like holy moly hit me right in the feels.

Personal rating: 8/10

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Seito Kaichou ni Chuukoku (Hey, Class President!)

Description: Even as he tries to keep the student council president out of trouble, Vice President Chiga-kun finds himself being drawn to the president's strength and power. Chiga-kun wonders how he, being such an intelligent individual, can be so unwillingly taken with a boy who is so country and simple...

2 episodes, 2010

Tags: 

Yaoi

School

Drama

Romance

Comedy

Public rating: 7/10

Explicitness rating: R 17+

Tropes: 

Airhead love interest.

Love interest must be protected at all costs!

Friends to lovers.

Animation/production quality: Not great but like, pretty okay. Kind of your average quality.

Personal review: This was cute and had some good comedy moments in it but I definitely have some complaints. The nitty gritty yaoi is...very good. The story is lacking though and the main plot is that the love interest gets continually harassed by men and doesn’t realize it’s a problem. Them boys are very gay, though. Very gay.

Personal rating: 7/10

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Koisuru Boukun

Description: Tetsuhiro Morinaga is in love with his upperclassman Souichi Tatsumi. He even manages to confess his love. Too bad it turns out that Tatsumi is an aggressive, self-centered, and outspoken homophobe. An unfortunate accident with an aphrodisiac drug brings the two men physically together against Souichi’s will, changing both of their lives. (DUB-CON WARNING)

2 episodes, 2010

Tags: 

Yaoi

Romance

Comedy

Drama

Public rating: 7/10

Explicitness rating: R 17+

Tropes: 

Sex pollen. Obvi.

Internalized homophobia.

Friends to lovers.

Animation/production quality: It’s decent. About average I guess? Not great, not bad.

Personal review: I have mixed feelings about this. To be fair, the actual yaoi stuff is like pretty good, but because the relationship begins out of drugs and because Souichi basically says “no” and Morinaga does it anyway, it’s a bit rapey. That aspect is very well acknowledged, though, and this has a happy ending...mostly.

Personal rating: 6/10

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Doukyuusei

Description: Rihito Sajou is an honor student who got perfect scores in every subject on his high school entrance exam. Hikaru Kusakabe plays guitar in his band that performs at live events and is popular among the girls. These boys would have never crossed paths, but one day Hikaru offers to help Rihito prepare for their upcoming chorus festival. Their feelings for one another grow, Hikaru's emotions are frivolous, pure, and direct causing Rihito to hesitate at first, but he gradually opens his heart. 

Film, 2016

Tags: 

Shounen Ai

Slice of Life

Romance

Public rating: 8/10

Explicitness rating: PG-13

Tropes: 

High school kids are young and stupid.

Mutual pining.

Opposites attract.

Study partners become friends even though they are from two different worlds.

Animation/production quality: Very, very good. This one is out of the ordinary in style but it’s really pretty and well done.

Personal review: I think about this movie and I feel many feelings. Gonna be real, I think I cried during the last couple of parts because I’m a baby and these kids are very sweet and stupid. I loved the story, how it was written and how it was portrayed. The characters showed raw and real emotions and I could really feel them falling in love over time. It’s just so sweet and good and I don’t have all the words to express how much I loved this.

Personal rating: 10/10 

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Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru

Description: Growing up as an orphan, Sakurai Yuki questions his reason for living and ability to see a person's painful memory by simply touching them. After receiving anonymous notes telling him to die, Yuki is unable to shake off the nagging feeling forming inside of him. Unbeknownst to him, he is being watched, both by people who want to harm him and those who want to protect him.

1 season, 2010

Tags: 

Shounen Ai

Fantasy

Action 

Drama

Supernatural

Public rating: 7/10

Explicitness rating: PG-13 for violence

Tropes: 

Ordinary main character suddenly unlocks magical powers.

Orphan actually has relatives he never knew.

Gender-bending. (Sort of. It’s complicated.)

Soulmates/reincarnation.

Super sexy strong man love interest. 

Small adorable animal friend.

Animation/production quality: A solid good. The effects are generally okay but the best animating is actually the characters. Faces and hair and clothing are great.

Personal review: I liked this a lot more that I thought I would. The first couple of episodes I was thinking, “Well this is okay but it’s not great.” Then I watched more of it and I was quickly sucked in. I ended up watching the entire series in just one day and I couldn’t believe it when it was over. The relationship and character building subplots were fantastic, which is a big reason that I enjoyed it so much. The whole magic and supernatural thing I wasn’t really into at first, but as time went on and things were explained I realised that it was actually pretty interesting. Now, I’ll note here however that this really isn’t a romance. I was a little disappointed because I had been expecting it to be, but I still like how everything played out in the end. It’s all about bonds, rather than love.

Personal rating: 8/10