REVIEW: ‘Sasaki And Miyano: Graduation’ Is A Sincere Look At Growing In Love

BL anime is finally starting to get the attention it deserves, and now, we have the next chapter in the Sasaki and Miyano story. Directed by Shinji Ishihara with an original story by Yuji Kaku under Studio Deen,  Yoshikazu  Miyano’s (Soma Saito) world of Boys’ Love manga turns to reality when chance leads him to Shumei Sasaki (Yusuke Shirai). Aptly titled Sasaki & Miyano: Graduation, this OVA adapts elements of the end of the manga series by Shō Harusono, published in English by Yen Press.

Taking the next steps in their now official relationship, this OVA focuses on the couple as Sasaki wants to spend every opportunity with Miyano leading up to graduation. Sasaki and Miyano: Graduation is set after the events of the anime series and adapts the Graduation Arc of the manga, with some elements from the beginning of Hirano and Kagiura, a shounen-ai series that runs parallel to the events of Sasaki and Miyano. While this is just the opening of the OVA, fans may take it as a confirmation that Akira Kagiura (Nobunaga Shimazaki) and Taiga Hirano (Yoshitsugu Matsuoka) will get the anime treatment as well.

In Sasaki and Miyano: Graduation, a hugely popular manga, serves as a movie adaption and takes audiences through the boys’ growth as a couple, still grounded in the healthy communication we saw in the main series. Only now, they have the pressure of preparing for graduation and the separation that will come with it, with all of their friends. Their usual high school life is changing; they’re getting closer and wanting to explore more intimacy and affection, and they have to make the decision whether or not to tell their families about their relationship. But the couple has no choice but to embrace the change and come out the other side better for it.

Sasaki & Miyano was a fantastic shounen-ai series to bring to animation, primarily because it focused on a wholesome coming-of-age romance that centered around learning to communicate. Even more so, the series focused on two male BL fans, a group that isn’t often looked at. Through them, we explored young romance and learned how to accept yourself and look for same-sex romance stories to build some sense of feeling like it’s okay. In this OVA, Sasaki & Miyano: Graduation, we see the two teens as they’re finally dating and exploring what comes with that.

Still an example of healthy communication, we see the couple navigate their budding intimate attraction and learn what boundaries they have. Not only that, this animation, which is more like a film, puts a spotlight on coming out to your family. Everything about this animation may be romanticized, but to see two boys coming out to their families and finding acceptance, well, that joy is a relief that young queer teens deserve to see shown in media. Media can help you navigate the difficulties of life and the stigmatization, but it can also showcase the healthy ways and the possibility of acceptance, which can be just as important.

It should be said that as a shounen-ai, Sasaki and Miyano: Graduation is trying to show any explicit scenes, and it also avoids any stereotypes about teen romance. While both Sasaki and Miyano are using BL as a grounding way to understand how they can move forward in their relationship, they are open with each other, discussing what they’re comfortable with and ensuring that they recognize each other as equal partners in the process.

The OVA itself is filled with small moments that show a long future for the pair. Whether it plans for next year, the confessions of love made in front of family, or discussions about physical intimacy in the future, the OVA shows the long runway of story that Sasaki and Miyano will have, which fans will read in the sequel series of the manga focused on the couple’s college romance. That said, Sasaki and Miyano: Graduation doesn’t feel incomplete, even while nodding to the future.

One of the final elements of the OVA that stands out to a manga reader is how Studio Deen adapted the dreamlike art style with shapes floating over scenes to show romance in the same way that Harusono illustrated in their manga and even included some of the mangaka notes in the margins as the scenes transition. That said, these elements, at times, make the film feel like small vignettes pulled together instead of a cohesive story.

Sasaki and Miyano: Graduation even with it’s small amount of awkward title card pacing moment is still a fantastic story of young love and a healthy exploration of growing in a relationship. Kaku’s adaptation of the manga is strong, capturing the moments that make this couple so endearing.

Sasaki and Miyano: Gradution is streaming now, exclusively on Crunchyroll.