If ever were a show that described my otaku fanfiction experience, it was probably this one. Think I’m lying? Try me. The High School Life of a Fudanshi may have been short, but it didn’t need to say much in order for your soul to resonate with it. While I wanted to watch this anime to bash it, as is customary of me, I don’t think I have it in me to really do it with this one. It was just too real.
This anime follows the everyday life of Ryou Sakaguchi who likes boy-love anime/manga fics. Often thought to be gay, Ryou constantly has to explain that he doesn’t swing that way, he just likes the stories. Because of fear and stigma, we see Ryou’s everyday struggles as a fudanshi; and the results are pretty relatable.
The Good:
If it wasn’t already obvious, the humor in this anime really got to me. If you’re an otaku, or you like any kind of yoai or fundashi stuff, you’d probably relate to this series too. The jokes made throughout the show weren’t ever really meant to bash on us but rather just acknowledge that we’re all a little strange. A little.
I’m lying. We’re really strange. But that’s not the point.
If it wasn’t the humor that made me happy, it was definitely the fact that I felt like this wasn’t entirely catered to women. Some might argue with me, (and I have to agree that to an extent it still felt like the audience may have been primarily female) but I still really liked the fact that it showed it was okay for guys to like this stuff too. There is definitely a stigma around otaku culture and especially when it comes to the genders. So even if it did have some female pandering, I really thought it was a step up from what I usually see.
It wasn’t Super Lovers, thank our lord and savior Elliot.
The Bad:
I’m not sure what the trend is with extremely short anime, but this was definitely one, each episode no longer than five minutes. I didn’t really mind this, but I felt that it had the potential to be a full scale anime with at least 15-20 minute episodes. That’s just my opinion, however.
On the other hand, some episodes really proved that it was just a series of funny moments that happen to your everyday otaku/shipper. And if the characters had more drama going on or more depth to their overall layout, then yes, it did carry the potential to be longer. But some episodes made you feel like you were just watching just to watch.
And there were only so many ships I could do, man. Not as many as I thought there would be for an anime about a fudanshi… It was somewhat disappointing for someone who strongly identified with Rumi.
Kitty Rating:
As you can see, Elliot and I clearly loved this anime for what it was. And I think, if you’re into this sort of thing, you’ll like it as well. While it was short and essentially a way to waste time, it really did have the makings of a fine anime. It’s humorous, not to mention light hearted, and if you’re an otaku, you probably see a lot of yourself in each episode. Elliot sure does; just look at that face. But alas, I could not give this a full five kitties. I think it’d have to be a much larger anime for me to do that. Regardless, it did a great job of drawing in it’s targeting audience and doing what otakus do best; ship.
So other than being an otaku, what are you guilty pleasures? Tell us in the comment section below!
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