The Shounen-Ai We All Deserve | Doukyuusei -Classmates-

The Shounen-Ai We All Deserve | Doukyuusei -Classmates-
3C Category

Hello everyone and welcome to our place! 😀

Remember when I published a post called “Why, as a gay guy, I don’t like Shounen-ai animes!“? That’s actually the post I got more traction. Although I think the reason is because of the gigantic hate comment I got in there ahah

K-On Anime laugh
I love when this kind of things backfire

Well, at the end of it I talk about Doukyuusei, as one of the Shounen-Ai Animes that are worth trying. I can’t completely remember, but at least in my mind, I always thought that I would later do a full review of this show. However, almost a year has passed and still no review >.< But, well… Better late than never, right? So, here’s my full review of Doukyussei!

– Synopsis –

shounen-ai Doukyuusei review

Doukyuusei – Classmates – is a movie for 1 hour which story is around two guys from the same class (obviously). One day, Hikaru Kusakabe, a delinquent notices that the number 1 guy in class, Rihito is not singing at the music class. First, he thinks that Rihito just doesn’t like to sing. However, later that day he finds Rihito training his singing but being terrible at it. Without thinking, Hikaru reaches out to him and offers him a help. Little did he know that something so small like this would completely change his life.

– Plot –

shounen-ai Doukyuusei plot

Normally I prefer Anime who follows an episodic plot just because it normally has more time to develop and give you a better storyline. However, with the 60 minutes A-1 Pictures had, they were able to create a great story.

Dokyuusei shows you a normal love story. That’s it! The only difference is that we have 2 guys instead of our typical straight couple. These are 2 completely different male classmates who end up passing time together for one fateful reason. However, they end up liking each other more and more.

What starts with singing classes, quickly translates to a personal relationship. The story tackles the issues of being in a gay relationship in this type of society as also the confusion when you fall in love for the very first time towards someone has the same gender.

shounen-ai Doukyuusei rihito x hikaru

What Dokyuusei does beautifully that most of the Shounen-Ai anime shows fail is how fluid and real the story is. In fact, I’m pretty sure many gay couples out there started as the Dokyuusei started. You can clearly see that Hikaru is more at ease with his feelings and he is the one trying to seduce Rihito. However, not even once he tries to force himself up to the other guy. In fact, during the story, you are able to watch a conversation between Hikaru and an adult in what is the best way to introduce the sex talk with Rihito since he is a virgin and Hikaru does not want to mess anything up.

It is true that there is some harassment in the Dokyuusei though. However, in a completely different light in what we normally get when it comes to Shounen-Ai Anime shows. Here, a professor tries to force himself towards Rihito. But, here the harassment is seen as a bad thing and Rihito does not really get under a spell or something. Basically, what you would expect in the real world.

– Characters –

shounen-ai Doukyuusei classmates hikaru

Like the story, the characters are really well put together.

We have Hikaru who is considered a delinquent, I mean he smokes and misses school, so that’s what we consider a delinquent, right? (although I did the same with his age ahah).

On the other hand, we have Rihito Sajou. Best on his class and who feels the pressure of being the best and getting into the best college every single day. As normal for this kind of characters, he is more uptight and has more difficult to be “different” in the eyes of society. Of course, this comes from the family that gives him these kinds of values.

shounen-ai Doukyuusei rihito

As I always say, opposites attract, and it’s no different in this story. In fact, they are so different that it’s a delight to see them grow as characters because of each other. While you can see Hikaru more interested in, at least, getting average grades. You can also see Rihito starting to loosen up a little bit. I mean, that’s what relationships are supposed to do, right? A way to make you grow as a person?

Seeing this Ying and Yang relationship coming to live and see these characters changing in people who work perfectly together is a kind of special thing to watch. The character evolution is beautiful. Moreover, for 60 minutes, you can really get into the characters.

– Conclusion –

shounen-ai Doukyuusei hikaru x rihito hug

Contrary to the most Shounen-Ai Anime shows which normally go for a specific target, I think Doukyuusei is an Anime that can be watched by everyone. In the end, it’s just 2 guys falling in love and work themselves out their differences and not being “right” in the eyes of society kind of thing.

In fact, for the ones who do not have much information about gay relationships I advise you even more to watch this. There is no “girl” or “boy”, no “top” or “bottom”. These are just 2 male classmates who fall in love with each other. Although it may seem simple, the Anime does it a beautiful way. In fact, it resonated a lot with my own relationship.

What about you? Ever watched Doukyuusei? What do you think about it? Tell me all in the comments 🙂

shounen-ai Doukyuusei cute
See You Soon! 😀

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0 thoughts on “The Shounen-Ai We All Deserve | Doukyuusei -Classmates-

    1. Thank you for your kind words!

      I think I watched this in the summer… But, now that you said “Curled up on my couch”… This is the perfect thing to watch in a rainy day outside 😀

  1. I watched this because of you! I loved the soft drawings and the progression of their relationship. I did wish for more though! I was thinking about this anime just the other day and was thinking of looking up the manga to see if their story was continued on further. Thank you for your post back then otherwise I never would have found this gem!

    1. Really? That makes me so happy 🙂 Yeah, I also loved the animation, but I was already writing too much (and I’m terrible in reviewing animation) so I decided to focus on the story xD

      Hmm that would be a nice idea! I did add the link, but I was not still able to read the manga… Well, it has more volumes than 1, so at least the story is probably more depp eheh

      You’re welcome eheh! Thank you for reading my post and give it a chance 😛

  2. Haven’t seen this one yet, but this sounds like one of those perfectly wonderful feel good kind of animes that I just always love to see ? And as always your post is pretty convincing in me wanting to check this one out and give it a go. So….thanks for adding another one to my never ending and ever growing encyclopedia! ????

  3. I’ve been meaning to watch this, I’m so glad that it’s just a ‘genuine’ shonen-ai (that feels so pretentious to write). Too often I see people just slap a yaoi sticker on it and call it a day. To see this just being two dudes at an awkward age in life falling love sounds wonderful. I’ll have to bump it up on my plan to watch list! Thanks for your insight!

  4. Watched Doukyuusei this summer. Actually I don’t remember having watched anything else with shounen-ai elements at the time, so it felt a bit strange. Even so, I was amazed how simple but at the same time well put together the movie was. Just like you wrote – everything feels organic and sincere – a definite recommendation for anyone.

    1. Yeah it’s normal that you felt a bit strange. Happened to me 2.

      Organic!!!! That’s the word! Damn I really need to start expanding my vocabulary xD

      Thank you for the comment eheh 😉

  5. If you haven’t read it yet, I highly, HIGHLY recommend I Hear the Sunspot, by Yuki Fumino. It’s not just a cute romance that happens to be between two dudes, it’s also a damn good story overall. One of the two main characters is hard-of-hearing, and I learned so much about hearing disabilities from reading this manga.

    1. Oh, thank you so much for the recommendation. I still haven’t read it, so it’s added to my next thing to read XD

      From what you said, it just seems the kind of story that I love and looking forward to 😀

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