Doukyuusei Anime Movie Review

(Adapted from my MAL review)

(WARNING!: There may or may not be slight spoilers.)


It's really amazing how you can just fall in love with someone else after interacting with them for a certain amount of time, even if you've known who they are due to the two of you being classmates. It's also amazing how sometimes, that "someone else" may even be the same gender as you. Let that last part sink in for a second, okay? Okay, this anime movie was the one yaoi anime for me to be truly interested in watching, mainly because of Hiroshi Kamiya, one of my favorite seiyuus, having a role in it; under normal circumstances, I don't really watch yaoi or shounen-ai anime (although I did try to make an exception once), but with a certain milestone approaching, I decided to make a true exception in order to make hitting that milestone extra special. All I'm going to say is that if Doukyuusei ends up turning me into a fujoshi, I really wouldn't mind becoming one.

Doukyuusei, or Classmates in English, begins when Hikaru Kasukabe, a student at an all-boys school, takes notice of a classmate, Rihito Sajou, as their school's choir festival approaches. When he catches him singing by himself in a classroom one day, he offers to help him prepare for the choir festival, with Kusakabe being in a band and all. As the festival looms closer and closer, Kusakabe and Sajou end up developing feelings for each other; eventually, the two of them begin a relationship. From there, the film covers some of the things the two boys go through as a couple, especially when the time comes to be seriously thinking about their futures....

The story is divided into four parts, and not every single part is perfect. However, the overall story is admittedly better than some of the straight or yuri romance anime I have watched; it's got some funny moments and some heartwarming moments. I also really enjoyed the relationship between Kusakabe and Sajou; they say that opposites attract, and with this relationship, that saying really holds a meaning! As individual characters, they're pretty enjoyable, too; Sajou got some interesting character development, and Kusakabe was overall fun to watch. Although there was barely any focus on the few side characters, that's okay; Kusakabe and Sajou did a good job carrying the story along.

The voice acting was pretty stellar, especially Hiroshi Kamiya as Kusakabe. Maybe it's just me being biased, since I'm a fan of him; however, his voice suited his character, and I could feel the emotion he put into his acting. The same goes for Kenji Nojima as Sajou; he did a pretty great job with him, as well. The ending theme, "Doukyuusei" (same title as the anime), was a beautiful song, and if I could just find it somewhere, I'd love to listen to it again. As for the animation, I absolutely loved it; the art style was very unique, and A-1 Pictures was able to impress me once again with the movement of each scene.

Overall, Doukyuusei was a really enjoyable film, and I'm glad to say that it was the first yaoi anime for me to complete. If you don't mind watching anime where the main characters are homosexual dudes, I'd definitely recommend it. If you're a hardcore fujoshi who likes watching those homosexual dudes do the nasty, they won't go all of the way.... although this was a subject touched upon.

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