In Japan, a large number of anime works are broadcast every season. The original works are based on a variety of manga, light novels, and games. I’m sure that there are many of you who can think of at least one work that you would like to see made into an anime.
In this article, I would like to introduce “works we want to see made into anime” selected by Anime! Anime!’s editor for the spring “Golden Week” holidays.
“Graduate: Sotsu Gyo Sei -Winter-” and “Graduate: Sotsu Gyo Sei -Spring-”
Outline/Story
This manga is a sequel to Nakamura Asumiko’s BL manga “Dou Kyu Sei”, which was made into an animated film in 2016. Sajo Rihito (CV: Nojima Kenji), a serious honor student, and Kusakabe Hikaru, a band member who performs concerts and is popular among girls, start talking after practicing for a choir festival. The two high school boys from different genres develop a “serious and slow” love story…
Why I chose it or recommend it
When people say “I want this to be animated,” there are probably many thoughts behind it, but “I want the original story to be animated all the way through” is a popular and sincere request.
In fact, there are many works that have been made into anime, but due to various reasons and how stories unfold, the anime adaptation has stopped at the first or middle of the work even though they were produced well as anime works.
The one that I really hope will be animated until the end of the original story is the BL manga series “Dou Kyu Sei” written by Nakamura Asumiko. This work was made into an animated film in 2016 and became a smash hit, ranking in the top 10 in terms of attendance despite its small scale release with many repeat audiences.
At the time, I had never been exposed to BL manga or visual works based on BL manga, but I watched it alone, feeling anxious in the Shinjuku Wald 9 theater filled with mostly female audiences because I felt that I should follow the released anime works closely because of my job, though an animated film of BL manga was very rare at the time. I was surprised by an unexpected feeling that arose.
“I found myself loving it, even though it’s a romance between two boys ……!
The film depicts a pure love story between two boys from “different genres”: Sajo Rihito (CV: Nojima Kenji), a serious honor student, and Kusakabe Hikaru (CV: Kamiya Hiroshi), a band member who is popular among girls for his live concert performances.
The love story between Sajo and Kusakabe is a classic romance story: “Two boys who have never crossed paths before gradually become interested in each other after learning about the other’s unexpected side.” However, it is such a popular masterpiece to be called a “milestone of youth BL” even after all these years because it depicts straightforwardly.
In addition, there are some charms only anime can have; the delicate and soft lines of the drawings by Hayashi Akemi, the character designer and animation director, the gentle and refreshing background art drawn like watercolors, and the fetishistic love scene of “checking the bones of his spine one by one with fingers” (Kamiya Hiroshi’s performance in this scene is sexy)
The anime “Dou Kyu Sei” was highly praised by fans of the original work, but no sequel has been animated.
After watching “Dou Kyu Sei”, I immediately bought the sequels “Sotsu Gyo Sei -Winter-” and “Sotsu Gyo Sei -Spring-“, so of course I know how the love story between Sajo and Kusakabe goes. However, I would still like to see how the love story between them goes with movement and voice in “anime.”
Among BL fans, the style of watching their love story in silence without getting emotionally involved is called “wall-eye-viewing”. For me, “Dou Kyu Sei” manga is not the original, but the anime version is, which means that if it is not animated, I will remain buried in the wall.
However, if you ask me if there will be a chance to be animated for this work, well, it looks like it will be hard to be realistic. …… In addition to the high cost of producing an anime, BL manga is a niche genre.
Nevertheless, the reason why I have listed “Sotsu Gyo Sei” as a work that I would like to see animated is because I have a faint hope that it might be made into an anime, and because it is a decent stance for someone who wants an anime to keep raising their voice. So, Aniplex and A-1 Pictures, please do something for me…!
“Dou Kyu Sei”
(C) Nakamura Asumiko / Akaneshinsha, Aniplex
