Doukyuusei 同級生

| Episodes: 1 | Score: 8.3 (152002)

Updated every at | Status: Finished Airing

Type: Movie

Producers:Aniplex | Half H.P Studio

Synopsis

Hikaru Kusakabe is a normal, carefree boy in a rock band who is always focused on the present. During the summer, his entire class is forced to participate in an upcoming chorus festival. By coincidence, he discovers his classmate Rihito Sajou—known for being an honor student with excellent grades—practicing his singing alone. Sajou just cannot seem to get their class' song right, and Kusakabe, delighted at seeing a new side of his straight-laced classmate, offers to help him prepare for the event. Although their lives and personalities are total opposites, they begin to grow closer as time progresses. But with the pressure of an unknown future, what will become of them and their growing relationship? [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Voice Actors

Kamiya, Hiroshi

Nojima, Kenji

News

Reviews

s3w3rw0lf
05/29/2024, 06:38 PM
This movie sucks. I had high hopes going into as I see it recommended a lot and then was seriously let down, and had to froce myself into sitting through the whole thing. Lots of nonconsensual kissing and a pedophile teacher. If you want a cute gay high school romance watch sasaki and miyano. They have the most healthy relationship I have ever seen in anime, especially in BL which has an unfortunate history of controversial and often harmful tropes. Bro how long does this review need to be. I said everything I need to say. Let me publish. ffs
strawberrysz
12/04/2022, 06:47 AM
This is my first review isn't going to be very in depth, and I am basing my review off of personal enjoyment which I probably shouldn't do since my own personal opinion is, well, personal to me, however I believe that if you aren't overly critical and enjoy a cute romance then u will enjoy Doukyuusei. First of all, for a short, hour long film there is a lot going on between the relationship of the main characters, and it's just adorable. The way they became friends and eventually caught feelings for each other by practising their singing together for choir is really cute as well,and I'm repeating myself because I can't really say much other than it was cute. That's all you really need to know. The art style was also extremely pleasing to the eye, which made it even more enjoyable to watch. The only thing negative I can say is that the teacher really creeped me out, and I'm not sure if it was intentional. That's all, goodbye :)
literaturenerd
06/01/2022, 08:12 PM
It's been a longstanding tradition for me to review terrible yaoi anime every June. However, I'm rapidly running out of hilariously bad ones. I can't really do anything to top Kimera: Gay Vampires from Outer Space. So, this year I'll break with tradition and review the highest rated LGBTQ anime on all of MAL! Why is it the highest rated? Honestly, I have no idea. Doukyuusei is a direct adaptation of a yaoi manga written by a heterosexual woman. A lot of the hackneyed cliches you would expect show up here. There are clear cut "seme" and "Uke" roles. The Seme forcibly kisses the Ukeagainst his protests on two occasions. The Seme has to bust in and rescue the Uke from being raped by another gay dude. At least there's no forced sex in this movie. I don't know what the top review is talking about. Doukyuusei begins with 2 classmates at an all-boys school striking up a friendship that quickly evolves into romance. The seme rock singer has to teach the nerdy and studious uke how to sing for graduation. Then they both lean over to pick up a dropped water bottle and accidentally kiss. That's when seme discovers that he's gay and falls madly in love with uke. We get a little bit of light courtship before the homeroom teacher, who also happens to be gay, starts sexually harassing uke in the middle of college counseling and tries to sexually assault him. Thankfully, seme busts in and punches his teacher in the face, giving him a bloody nose and rescuing the purity of his beloved. This action will never be brought up again or have any legal ramifications in this story! Then we get a totally pointless 3rd act break up in which uke is worried that seme is still straight. Seme then feels frustrated about the slow rate of their physical relationship and goes to rapist teacher for sex advice. Yes, I'm serious. I don't know what the writer was thinking either. Then we get another possible break up when uke wants to move away to an exclusive school. However, seme helps him get to a practice exam on his motorcycle and the 2 end up together in the end. Pretty standard yaoi story. One thing I will say in favor of this film is that the animation and direction is spectacular. This is easily one of the best looking things A-1 Pictures has ever made. The director, Shouko Nakamura, did this in 2016 and tragically as of 2022 hasn't gotten to direct anything else. Instead she got stuck in the thankless job of storyboarding Darling in the Franxx. It doesn't matter how visually gorgeous a scene featuring a giant spaceship waifu looks, people are still just going to laugh at it. I feel really bad for this lady. I hope she gets another chance soon! Doukyuusei was the first gay male romance anime to receive a theatrical release in the United States. It played in a select number of theaters in California on a limited run in 2016. That was an interesting milestone, even if the writing and romance wasn't groundbreaking. It's too bad that some reviews I read made this sound far more rapey than it actually was and likely scared off many viewers. In order to address this issue, I have created a new test to act as the absolute bare minimum standards for BL romance in anime/manga. In 2013, the controversial Bechdel test gained widespread fame on Tumblr. It seems like a decent idea, but it also discriminates against films with a small cast. For example, if I wanted to make a movie about a woman who is stranded on an island. Or you know if someone wanted to make a movie about 3 dudes wandering around a magical toxic waste dump for 3 hours. That would fail the test, but could still be a great movie! Now in 2022 I present...the Yaranaika Test! The bare minimum consent for BL content must consist of one dude saying "Shall we do it?" and receiving an affirmative nod from his partner. I am happy to say that Doukyuusei does still pass the Yaranaika Test despite those 2 forced kisses. On the other hand, Boku no Sexual Harassment fails the Yaranaika Test, and therefore can be considered problematic!
cracqueer
05/09/2020, 07:41 AM
Very much enjoyed watching! A very light yet touching watch, a feel good movie for people who seek a little bit of youth romance. Just enough fluffy, chummy, lovey-dovey stuff to compliment the story. ----- Story The story of high-school romance that happens so suddenly. It all starts in the summer when the students have to perform a song in a choir. The musical prodigy takes a liking to the smartest kid in the class, and they start practicing together. The love grows, and then blooms at the end of the performance. The relationship continues as they struggle to finish their high-school year, with college/career options, universityentrance exam preparations, and their own respective hobbies. The settings are kept simple, and they perfectly fit the ups and downs of a relationship in such short amount of time without feeling rushed or forced. The pleasure of love, the misunderstandings, the light drama, and the resolve, was executed beautifully. The fluffy parts are just enough to keep you satisfied, and it is kept at PG-13 rating. ----- Art The art style is very unique and but it really helps with the delivery of the story. Rough-sketch like pictures and animation impeccably capture the essence of youth romance, carefree and delightful. The brightly tinted pictures are giving me this feeling of effervescence, as if taking me to float into the sky. ----- Characters The pair of MCs seem perfect for each other, despite being different, Sajou a quiet academic, who spends most of his time at cram school and worrying about college, while Kusakabe being a musician who spends more time with friends and practicing with his band. How they handle each other is especially adorable. There's very little push-and-pull, instead both characters are shown to have equal amount of love for each other <3. The supporting characters help with the story by creating a pinch of drama and deeper understanding of the MCs' feelings of each other. The casts are kept at minimum, which is a good choice knowing the movie only lasts for an hour and is already packed up (even I still want more of those!)
dickchip
03/25/2020, 06:58 AM
The build up of the story is quite simple, but is done in a clever way. The plot is compelling and sweet, and it doesn't drag on for longer than it has to. Doukyuusei is one of my personal faves, but it's not perfect depicting it's lgbtq+ themes. Yes, it's far better than many other anime's at it but it still fails to treat queer relationships as normal. The relationship between the two leads feel very stiff sometimes, and the development in their relationship is mostly physical (even at the end it doesn't feel like the characters really know each other, despite having dated for quitesome time). It's a great movie and a big step for lgbtq+ anime but it's still far from perfect
matchamilkshake
07/03/2019, 06:02 AM
I do not enjoy this movie as much as other people do, just because I found the pacing to be too quick. If this were episodes, I would probably enjoy it more than I do. The story is not something new as if I have never seen it before, and the plot was predictable. Everything does not excite me as much as I do when I first watched the first few minutes. This is just a typical light BL story, and everyone probably knows the drill. Characters meet each other, characters feel insecure, side character intervening, characters cannot be together, characters will be fine. I doappreciate that this movie tells us the struggles of being at school. Balancing love life, work and relationships at the same time are hard. And it was clearly shown in the movie. Other than that, nothing more. Is this movie worth the watch? Yes. But do I love it? No. Am I going to rewatch it in the future? Maybe. Do I recommend others to watch this? Absolutely.
Mofuchi
04/23/2019, 04:42 PM
Man this is like, my favorite movie ever. It is not the best anime movie I've watched but, it was beautiful and decent for an yaoi. The OST just made cry so much, so pretty... I love the couple and how they really care about each other, Kusakabe is so sweet and caring for Sajou, and a very interesting character. He had many girlfriends before but Sajou was his real first love, like, woah! So cute. There isn't rape or lemon scenes and thats very good and kinda rare in this gender. The art isn't perfect or detailed, but it's so simple and pretty, it suits perfectly the movie. Ijust cry every time I watch it.(but that's probably just because I'm a fujoshi) I love it 10/10
84DaysWithout
07/06/2018, 12:26 PM
A reliable litmus test for boys love anime is to ask myself whether I'd care about the story if the characters were not gay. Is homosexuality being used as an erotic ploy or does the narrative explore broader themes that apply to relationships of all varieties while offering meaningful commentary on the social stigma faced by the gay community I'm happy to say that Doukyuusei passes that test with full marks. Rather than stressing the sexual orientation of the characters, what is proudly emphasized is the fact that love knows no specific orientation, and it does not matter who we choose to confide in so longas they can grant us feelings of self actualization and acceptance in who we are. Doukyuusei is not only a gay love story. It's an exceptionally written love story. As tends to be the case in love stories, the lead characters are as opposite as can be. Sajou has neatly trimmed, short black hair, is introverted and studious. Kusakabe has curly blonde hair, is extroverted and lacks direction in his life. It is together that they manage to fill the gaps in their personalities and inevitably conquer the pitfalls that so often doom young relationships, number one of all being lack of communication. The narrative is split into four separate arcs with each taking place in a specific season. In each of these seasons the viewer can the viewer observe a change in the dynamic of Kusakabe and Sajou's relationship, and a broader theme being applied to their development - such as not being afraid of failure, acceptance of oneself and not giving up when a string of fate is cut temporarily. The visuals are consistently impressive - Shoujo Nakamura uses a lurid mix of warm watercolors and atmospheric backgrounds that emphasize the season taking place. This makes the aesthetic appear almost dream-like, creating a feeling of relaxation and making it easy for the viewer to sink into their couch for fifty minutes and watch the drama unfold itself. The character designs are somewhat typical of BL stories - long limbs seemingly trying to run away from their torso, beautiful facial features and large hands, but nonetheless befitting of the characters and appealing to look at. Doukyuusei came very close to being a 10/10 on my list, and only two negatives in a sea of positives managed to bring it down to a 9. I felt that Kusakabe's initial aggression towards Sajou was bordering on sexual harassment. If it were a heterosexual pairing with the male asserting his dominance over the female, my inner raging feminist would be taking the same issue. Lastly, I found myself wanting to know more about our lead characters backgrounds. Their family history, what contributed to their personalities and interests. This is a romance that deserves a larger audience than it has, but probably never will gain because of the divisive yaoi tag that prematurely splits audiences upon first glance. Yet as expressed above and in many other reviews on this page, Doukyuusei goes beyond the initial hook of a homosexual romance and speaks to broader themes of communication, self acceptance and empowering your better half that anyone can sympathize with and apply to their own lives.
NotCalc
03/30/2017, 12:30 PM
Well, you can definitely say that Doukyuusei is aesthetically pleasing. The colours used for backgrounds are generally muted, but the characters are vivid. Expressions are adorably drawn and very clear through a distinct art style. Music and sound are gentle and well picked to bring out emotions , so that in combination with the art means that moments lacking in plot-driven interest often make up for it through pure atmospheric value. Really, it's good that the aesthetics can carry the movie, because the characters can be frustrating and the plot is feeble at best. As this was the highest ranked shounen-ai, I entered thinking this wouldbe a genuine romance with a fairly realistic story - barring cute coincidences. Instead, I got something pretty typical - boy meets boy, they run into issues that could be solved through minimal amounts of communication, and ultimately put issues aside because their love is too powerful to fight, or whatever... It felt pretty weak, and 'important' moments in the relationship just didn't carry any weight. This was mostly because neither character really bothers to work for their relationship. They both enter it thinking the hard part's over, and freeze at the hint of any kind of challenge. Any time they're in conflict, they let it fester until they can have a big, dramatic moment which loses the heartwarming factor in favour of a frustration because they could have just talked to eachother, damn it. (Spoiler: Seriously, who follows up "I guess we don't know anything about each other." with "We shouldn't meet for a while"????) Overall, Doukyuusei is sweet and pretty, but painfully shallow. It's nice if all you're looking for is some blushy faces and cute kisses, but it pretty much fails as a depiction of a relationship. (Also, a warning: there's a random taboo interaction between a teacher and a student stuck in there for nothing more than an extra dramatic event. Why.)
shiroamane
03/08/2017, 10:44 AM
Doukyuusei (同級生) is what every shounen ai (or yaoi) story should aspire to be. The story is brought to life by the incredible voice acting, soft and bright art style, and relatable themes shown in the story. Story: The story was great, and while it was cheesy and rather simple, I feel like that was the point. The more complex the story is, the harder it is to relate to the story, and I think the point here was to show how a typical high school relationship between boys in Japan may go. It is easy to relate to, but it isn't so plain that there'sno character development. The ending was sweet, though it didn't wrap everything up, as there has to be room for sequels (which exist through the Manga, and hopefully through future movies, if A-1 decides to pursue the sequels). Art: The style is nice, soft and vibrant. The backgrounds had much more detail put into them than the characters in the background, whom are noticeably undetailed, but I believe that enhances the theme of the story. The only characters who have detail put into them are Kusakabe, Sajou, and Hara-sen; even Kusakabe's friends, whom seem to get even more showtime than Hara-sen, aren't detailed. The reason behind this is likely due to a focus on the relationship between the two main characters, in that this story focuses solely on them. For some reason, Hara-sen is a detailed character, yet he plays a relatively small part in the film (this may have something to do with the sequels). Other than that, the animation is mostly fluid and the style is easy to watch. It isn't on-par with some of the masterpieces of animation that are out there, but it is definitely good for a modern anime film, and the focus is mostly on its other aspects anyways. Sound: The sound was nice and pleasant, but nothing popped out at me. Every tune seemed to be background music (aside from the credits and Moyuru Wakaba, sung by the choir). However, it was pleasant background music, and its ease in ability to sit in the back of the movie and play without my noticing does a good job complimenting the film in that we can keep our focus on the story while the music does its work backstage. Character: Kusakabe has the most character development and screen time, and deservedly so. He is more outspoken, with many different character traits that make him an interesting character. Unfortunately, we don't see much character development from Sajou, but this can be attributed to his timid and reserved nature. Unlike Kusakabe, it seems that he spends most of his time on his studies, like a typical Japanese student. There is a bunch of character underneath, but on the outside, he is quite plain, which can explain why he did not get as much development. I am hoping that the sequels will draw him out of his shell more and show more character, perhaps post-graduation when he is finished with his studies. Hara-sen, as mentioned earlier, was the third most detailed character in the series, but he didn't get much attention at all. I would have also liked to see more about Kusakabe and his band; however, the movie is about an hour long, and that's a very small amount of time for an animated movie to flesh out their characters. Even so, they do so very well, while leaving us more to crave from potential sequels. Enjoyment: I have a lot to relate to here, so personally, I enjoyed watching it a lot. I've gone as far as to order Aniplex's overpriced collector's edition of the movie just because I want to support it and the potential for its sequels. It's such a beautiful movie, and it's compacted into an hour for easy viewing, so I can easily see myself showing it to everyone and watching it several more times in the future for details that I may have missed. Overall: It was a great movie, with great character development, great art, great everything. It left some to be desired, but I feel like these things are nitpicks, which can potentially be solved through sequels. Here's a basic list of Pro's and Con's to sum up my review: Pros - Great art and animation, one of the very few yaoi stories that isn't entirely based around sex, and genuine romance themes that can melt any (non-homophobic) heart. Neutral - Short film (while being short has its advantages, it leaves a lot out that could have fleshed out character development further), Collector's edition is like $90 and that's pretty much the only way you can legally purchase the movie outside of Japan (you can thank Aniplex, however this doesn't subtract from the content itself, it's just a little aside, so it's in Neutral) Cons - Leaves some to be desired (sequels?), can be seen as generic and cheesy (even if that's the point), forgettable (but still solid) soundtrack.
MissChopin1
03/05/2017, 10:45 AM
NO SPOILERS If you are like me with anime, If you dont mind to watch a boy's love stories, if you like modest, simple, natural, elegant, etc... then i would recommend you this. I am not going to tell you this is a yaoi anime (because when i think in yaoi i always think in something more... hard) The Story its simple, two male classmates who meet because one of them has some problems with reading music (he need it for the school) and the other one helps him. The art, I love this kind of art, the style and everything. Like i said, i LOVE modest animes. Thesound, the ost is not very impressed, natural sounds, soft music. I think its fix perfect with the movie and the style. The Character, the same, modest and clear, very different. You can see how the fix little by little. Enjoyment, I really did. But again i must say if you dont like simples anime maybe its not an anime for you. Everything in this movie fix and it has armony. It was really easy to watch and too short :(
Thisisalladream
03/02/2017, 09:26 AM
This film absolutely blew me away! It manages to achieve more in it's 1 hour run time than most high school romances do in there entire series. What's more is that it leaves you more connected to these characters than the majority of anime in general. The wispy art style works to the films benefit as it shows through the characters very expressive facial expressions as well as giving it a great beauty right from the get go. While this is shounen-ai it certainly doesn't pander to the fudanshi and fujoshi audience. In fact anybody can enjoy this film as all it is, is atruly fantastic romance. I can't recommend it more.
chelime
11/23/2016, 01:28 AM
I was really excited about this anime. I heard great things about it, and having been monumentally disappointed with the BL genre in general, I thought that FINALLY a gem had been made. Eh. Not really. The thing is, when a story is entirely centered on romance, I want that romance to BLOW ME AWAY. If there's no bigger or more intricate plotline, I want the story to put everything it has into the relationship I'm being shown and really move me. I want poignant interactions, whether it's deep conversation or cute moments. I want to see them be charmed by each other, surprised by each other,and, sure, maybe a little lusty for each other. I want to see them fall in love. Doukyuusei just kinda...skips all that. And then boom! They're together. And I sigh because once again it's a story of, "No, I'm not going to bother showing you why these two people are drawn to each other or why they're meant to be, you're just supposed to go with it because I said so." I mean, this is why I hate most canon het romances these days: A boy and girl share a glance within the first five minutes of a film/show and that's it, that's the entire relationship build-up. Doukyuusei may have slightly more than that to go on, but not much. The "relationship build-up" all takes place off screen, and I simply can't fathom why a romance anime would do that. Instead of seeing any real connection between Kusakabe and Sajou, we get a montage of Kusakabe showing up late to band practice. Um. Okay. Not sure how I'm supposed to be invested in this couple, and therefore the entire anime, when I'm not seeing any kind of interaction between them in the first place, but sure, go ahead and have them kiss and pretend like that's all a relationship is. (And then--SPOILER except not really because it's not like there's much plot to spoil in a plotless romance--it's a year later and the characters themselves are like "why do we keep making out when we don't know anything about each other." Yeah, I don't know either, guys.) But, okay, I do have some nice(ish) things to say. Despite the utter lack of showing a foundation for the relationship, Kusakabe and Sajou do have a certain quiet and gentle connection that I still found myself enjoying, though it pained me that the anime didn't do it justice at all and failed to put the depth and intensity that should have been there. They share a number of sweet scenes that were really quite beautiful. There's also a lot of cuteness and humor. If the movie was longer or if they'd made it an OVA or something, it would've been nice to build on those moments and see this relationship really turn into something--though admittedly, I'd prefer more time be spent on the build-up because I find the foundation of the relationship really important and interesting and it's a shame Kusakabe and Sajou didn't have that. It's like: imagine approaching an acquaintance right now and kissing them and reciting poetry to them and immediately thinking, "Wow, we're so in love, this is great." That's pretty much what this relationship seems like. I do have to say that I really liked the artwork. Unique and whimsical and refreshing. The music was very nice too, perfectly complementing the moment and the scenery. The voice actors did a wonderful job (I'm always a sucker for Kamiya Hiroshi). I honestly can't tell if I'm being too generous with my rating or not. I certainly didn't hate this anime and, despite my criticism, I wouldn't even say I disliked it. I did get some mushy fluffy feelings at some parts and I generally liked the relationship between Kusakabe and Sajou, but there was always that feeling like something was lacking. I feel like I just watched a teaser and now I'm waiting for the actual movie. Alas, I continue to wait to see if the BL genre will ever really satisfy me. For now, non-canon m/m ships in other anime continue to have more substance than anything I've found in BL ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
cactusanime
08/08/2016, 01:21 AM
I was really pumped when I heard there was a decent, cute BL anime movie coming out. I was a little disappointed. Not because it was bad, because by any means it's a decent flick, but because it was only merely okay. I want to start off by saying I'm a (bi) girl, and I didn't check to see if this BL is aimed at girls or boys, but I think that all genders would be able to enjoy the movie. The pacing seemed really off. It moved too slow and too fast at different moments, and I think it's because it's a movie instead of anOVA. Had it been an OVA, say, a 6-episode OVA or even a 3-episode OVA, a lot of the plot would have moved much smoother. The story itself is pretty okay. It's about a kinda flashy guy in a rock band and a shy cute guy who fall in love after the rock guy decides to teach the shy guy how to sing his part for the school choir. It's really cute! They go through some ups and downs, which is where the pacing problems come in, because the story moves very fast and skips through some of the fluff straight to the drama. Story-wise, though, it's a typical and adorable story. The kisses are steamy and there's discussions of sex but nothing happens. The characters are cute, but they seem a little one-bit to me. I have a hard time believing their motivations and personality points besides one or two things. In fact, I can't remember if they had any motivation and personality. Their design was okay. The art is okay. I think they might have cut some corners, which is terrible considering this is a movie. The sound is okay. All in all, it's an okay movie. I like it better than I like a lot of BL, but not by much. It's cute but it honestly doesn't feel like a lot of effort was put into this movie, which is a pretty big disappointment. I'd say give it a shot because you might see something in it that I don't, but don't be shocked if it isn't as great as you hoped it would be (if you hope it's great).
Nayuki_Minase
07/17/2016, 08:42 PM
A very good movie to watch on a summer day. It's light, with a little bit of pain. The art is wonderful. I actually never read the manga of this movie, because I don't like to read things that make me sad, and I knew this story will most probably make me cry. But in the movie it was actually what added the deeper layer to it. It's a very simple movie, and watching it definitely made me think of "youth". Also a note that I believe is important: there are no homophobic slurs in this film. This film is about love between two people,two men, and it's completely acknowledged to be so. They also kiss. Several times. Honestly, this is probably one of the best BL movies I've ever watched.
blobfishRcute
06/29/2016, 04:21 AM
To be honest i never actually thought i would like this when my friend recommended this to me as I was never really into the yaoi and romance genre. But I was wrong. The reason why I didn't like the yaoi genre was mostly because of those highly unrealistic story lines. I know I know, "this is anime just turn off your brain and enjoy the show!!!". But seriously, in anime like sekai ichi hatsukoi and jinjou romantica, they act like the whole fucking world is gay and focus only on the romantic scenes between the protagonists to satisfy the fangirls. It's just basically like changingthe girl into a dude and BANG you get shounen ai. However this show managed to not only portray love scenes that will bring a smile to your face but also the difficulties and and differences of loving someone of the same sex. This is still your typical love story but that little detail they actually put effort in is what made all the difference. I seriously can"t rate is anime unbiasedly as it goes beyond my expectations of a shounen ai movie. But overall It's a decent movie that will leave a smile on your face and is definitely worth watching. Seriously it only takes you an hour, GO WATCH IT.
Sir-up
06/08/2016, 05:43 AM
Reading the manga, a lot of stuff bugged me. Mostly how quickly the storyline just moved on. The characters and relationship didn't get time to properly develop or even be introduced well. The idea of this story was cute, but the way it was told turned the manga pretty shitty. However, in the movie they changed all of that. The creators stretched out all of the "soon-to-be-over" scenes, and ended up spending their time very well. This way it was easier for me to really get to know the characters, and for their relationship to build. They also managed to not stretch anything too far.They changed some of the moments in this story from being weird or feeling unnecessary to being absolutely adorable. The artstyle is unique and simpler than what we're used to, I really liked it. It's very similar to the manga artist's artsyle. Animation is smooth and fits this movie perfectly. Just the animation itself made me laugh a several times. The backgrounds are also gorgeous. I loved all of the usage of colors. The soundtrack somehow gave Doukyuusei a realistic vibe, and Galileo Galilei's song playing at the ending was perfect. Both Kusakabe and Sajou are mostly chill characters, and seeing them get along like this makes me very happy. Their love doesn't seem forced, which is in my opinion the most important thing when it comes to love stories. Sajou is a typical nerd/careful character, but something about him makes him stand out, as if there's something that he really wants. Kusakabe is not like the typical rock star/talk-without-thinking character. He's calm and very nice. They are both just high school students, which is very easy to notice. They make dumb choices like every teenager does. I love how their ages actually show through their personalities. I would recommend this movie to anyone, whether they like shounen-ai or not. This is what a good love story looks like: characters falling in love the most natural way. The only thing I didn't like was one of the changes from the manga. I wish that they would tell us something about Sajou earlier. ***SPOILER He has a fear of trains SPOILER IS OVER*** In the manga, they made this very clear, and it cleared up what was going on in some of the scenes. In the anime, this didn't come through well at all, and has definitely caused confusions.
Seasonalanime
05/31/2016, 07:14 PM
(Intro is spoilers sorry even then it doesn't take away enjoyment.) Asking your teacher at an all boys school how two guys do it. Basically. Dating someone who's really popular and has good looks, Unlike you. Not talking about your future, and falling out. ⠀ ⠀Where do I begin with Classmates?! (English title) Actually the plot isn't anything new, it's been dried out like a fruit. Even so if you put enough emotion and love into something it's bound to hit some heart stings! The characters drove this movie till the end. If anything I'd like to say well done to Kamiya Hiroshi, for always putting in 100%.It's honestly a treat to hear his voice acting.⠀⠀⠀ ⠀So the animation is fluid, or how I like to explain it. Not really detailed but the running and backgrounds all were pleasing to look at. Honestly I think this style is surprising for A-1, they usually have that more generic A-1 look if ya know what I mean. I'm pretty sure it's the first Shounen Ai they've produced too, correct me if I'm wrong it's usually Deen.⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀Overall I highly recommend it if you're a fan of sekai ichi hatsukoi or Junjou Romantica, it's got all the same drama and feels plus that comedy.
Katt_Cleo
05/28/2016, 06:48 PM
You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this. I've been familiar with the source material for more than a couple of years and have read it over and again multiple times. I've even listened to the Drama CD more times than I would probably ever confess to. I am what you would call "biased af". So yeah, no effort to be objective here. Simple story, "a boy meets a boy, they were in the blush of youth", but it is that simplicity that keeps it fresh and sweet without making it too mushy. The movie covers only the first volume of theseries, but it is enough to appease my fangirl heart. I don't think I've ever seen a movie before that just has me grinning from side to side for the whole time looking like a psycho. As an interesting point that can also be a bit of a minus, you can clearly tell this was plot derived from a manga. You have shots that lead you around like panels, jokes that work more on manga since they are kept more brief and a pacing that is at the same time a bit rushed and slowed down. But you can't really blame anyone, that's how manga works, translating Nakamura Asumiko's format is probably pretty tough. The voice actors are once again doing an outstanding job, it was interesting to hear them do the dialogues in slightly different tones, pacing, implying different emotions (yes I remember what they sounded like for all the dialogues in the Drama CD by heart I'm fujoshi fangirl trash). It felt like they understood maybe their characters more. Kamiya Hiroshi is one of my all time weaknesses in the seiyuu world, he didn't disappoint. I guess it's funny how the Drama CD was made during the time none of the three main voice actors were big and yet now they are considered quite the formidable cast. It makes you realize how long it's been. All in all this was great for my heart. It makes me want to re-read the series. I probably will. Ok I'll read it now bye
leonsdead
05/28/2016, 01:55 AM
Doukyuusei is a very simple romance story that will leave a big smile on your face. Based on the very popular manga of the same name, this movie follows Hikaru Kusakabe and Rihito Sajou, two high school students of the same age, through their journey of self-discovery and their first love. Story (8/10): Even tho this movie is good, the story isn't very deep or emotional. In real life first loves can be a very complicated thing, but not for these characters. The story flows as it should be, there's isn't a "dramatic twist" or a "love rival" or a "love triangle", this movie didn't need thatat all, it's just them falling in love and enjoying each-other. Nothing more, nothing less. Art (9/10): Doukyuusei has a very unique kind of artstyle. I personally think it works PERFECTLY with the movie and the characters but you'll have to see it for yourself. Characters (9/10): the characters are what makes this movie WORK. How they interact with eachother is the cutest thing you'll ever see. You can feel the love they have for eachother, and that's an big accomplishment for the mangaka, the studio and specially the director. Overall: If you're looking for a hardcore yaoi movie then you'll be disappointed because this movie is very romantic and REAL. You can easily feel the characters and understand their actions because they're very relatable. Anyway, WATCH IT.

Doukyuusei 同級生

| Episodes: 1 | Score: 8.3 (152002)

Updated every at | Status: Finished Airing

Type: Movie

Producers:Aniplex | Half H.P Studio

Synopsis

Voice Actors

Kamiya, Hiroshi

Nojima, Kenji

News

Reviews

s3w3rw0lf
05/29/2024, 06:38 PM
This movie sucks. I had high hopes going into as I see it recommended a lot and then was seriously let down, and had to froce myself into sitting through the whole thing. Lots of nonconsensual kissing and a pedophile teacher. If you want a cute gay high school romance watch sasaki and miyano. They have the most healthy relationship I have ever seen in anime, especially in BL which has an unfortunate history of controversial and often harmful tropes. Bro how long does this review need to be. I said everything I need to say. Let me publish. ffs
strawberrysz
12/04/2022, 06:47 AM
This is my first review isn't going to be very in depth, and I am basing my review off of personal enjoyment which I probably shouldn't do since my own personal opinion is, well, personal to me, however I believe that if you aren't overly critical and enjoy a cute romance then u will enjoy Doukyuusei. First of all, for a short, hour long film there is a lot going on between the relationship of the main characters, and it's just adorable. The way they became friends and eventually caught feelings for each other by practising their singing together for choir is really cute as well,and I'm repeating myself because I can't really say much other than it was cute. That's all you really need to know. The art style was also extremely pleasing to the eye, which made it even more enjoyable to watch. The only thing negative I can say is that the teacher really creeped me out, and I'm not sure if it was intentional. That's all, goodbye :)
literaturenerd
06/01/2022, 08:12 PM
It's been a longstanding tradition for me to review terrible yaoi anime every June. However, I'm rapidly running out of hilariously bad ones. I can't really do anything to top Kimera: Gay Vampires from Outer Space. So, this year I'll break with tradition and review the highest rated LGBTQ anime on all of MAL! Why is it the highest rated? Honestly, I have no idea. Doukyuusei is a direct adaptation of a yaoi manga written by a heterosexual woman. A lot of the hackneyed cliches you would expect show up here. There are clear cut "seme" and "Uke" roles. The Seme forcibly kisses the Ukeagainst his protests on two occasions. The Seme has to bust in and rescue the Uke from being raped by another gay dude. At least there's no forced sex in this movie. I don't know what the top review is talking about. Doukyuusei begins with 2 classmates at an all-boys school striking up a friendship that quickly evolves into romance. The seme rock singer has to teach the nerdy and studious uke how to sing for graduation. Then they both lean over to pick up a dropped water bottle and accidentally kiss. That's when seme discovers that he's gay and falls madly in love with uke. We get a little bit of light courtship before the homeroom teacher, who also happens to be gay, starts sexually harassing uke in the middle of college counseling and tries to sexually assault him. Thankfully, seme busts in and punches his teacher in the face, giving him a bloody nose and rescuing the purity of his beloved. This action will never be brought up again or have any legal ramifications in this story! Then we get a totally pointless 3rd act break up in which uke is worried that seme is still straight. Seme then feels frustrated about the slow rate of their physical relationship and goes to rapist teacher for sex advice. Yes, I'm serious. I don't know what the writer was thinking either. Then we get another possible break up when uke wants to move away to an exclusive school. However, seme helps him get to a practice exam on his motorcycle and the 2 end up together in the end. Pretty standard yaoi story. One thing I will say in favor of this film is that the animation and direction is spectacular. This is easily one of the best looking things A-1 Pictures has ever made. The director, Shouko Nakamura, did this in 2016 and tragically as of 2022 hasn't gotten to direct anything else. Instead she got stuck in the thankless job of storyboarding Darling in the Franxx. It doesn't matter how visually gorgeous a scene featuring a giant spaceship waifu looks, people are still just going to laugh at it. I feel really bad for this lady. I hope she gets another chance soon! Doukyuusei was the first gay male romance anime to receive a theatrical release in the United States. It played in a select number of theaters in California on a limited run in 2016. That was an interesting milestone, even if the writing and romance wasn't groundbreaking. It's too bad that some reviews I read made this sound far more rapey than it actually was and likely scared off many viewers. In order to address this issue, I have created a new test to act as the absolute bare minimum standards for BL romance in anime/manga. In 2013, the controversial Bechdel test gained widespread fame on Tumblr. It seems like a decent idea, but it also discriminates against films with a small cast. For example, if I wanted to make a movie about a woman who is stranded on an island. Or you know if someone wanted to make a movie about 3 dudes wandering around a magical toxic waste dump for 3 hours. That would fail the test, but could still be a great movie! Now in 2022 I present...the Yaranaika Test! The bare minimum consent for BL content must consist of one dude saying "Shall we do it?" and receiving an affirmative nod from his partner. I am happy to say that Doukyuusei does still pass the Yaranaika Test despite those 2 forced kisses. On the other hand, Boku no Sexual Harassment fails the Yaranaika Test, and therefore can be considered problematic!
cracqueer
05/09/2020, 07:41 AM
Very much enjoyed watching! A very light yet touching watch, a feel good movie for people who seek a little bit of youth romance. Just enough fluffy, chummy, lovey-dovey stuff to compliment the story. ----- Story The story of high-school romance that happens so suddenly. It all starts in the summer when the students have to perform a song in a choir. The musical prodigy takes a liking to the smartest kid in the class, and they start practicing together. The love grows, and then blooms at the end of the performance. The relationship continues as they struggle to finish their high-school year, with college/career options, universityentrance exam preparations, and their own respective hobbies. The settings are kept simple, and they perfectly fit the ups and downs of a relationship in such short amount of time without feeling rushed or forced. The pleasure of love, the misunderstandings, the light drama, and the resolve, was executed beautifully. The fluffy parts are just enough to keep you satisfied, and it is kept at PG-13 rating. ----- Art The art style is very unique and but it really helps with the delivery of the story. Rough-sketch like pictures and animation impeccably capture the essence of youth romance, carefree and delightful. The brightly tinted pictures are giving me this feeling of effervescence, as if taking me to float into the sky. ----- Characters The pair of MCs seem perfect for each other, despite being different, Sajou a quiet academic, who spends most of his time at cram school and worrying about college, while Kusakabe being a musician who spends more time with friends and practicing with his band. How they handle each other is especially adorable. There's very little push-and-pull, instead both characters are shown to have equal amount of love for each other <3. The supporting characters help with the story by creating a pinch of drama and deeper understanding of the MCs' feelings of each other. The casts are kept at minimum, which is a good choice knowing the movie only lasts for an hour and is already packed up (even I still want more of those!)
dickchip
03/25/2020, 06:58 AM
The build up of the story is quite simple, but is done in a clever way. The plot is compelling and sweet, and it doesn't drag on for longer than it has to. Doukyuusei is one of my personal faves, but it's not perfect depicting it's lgbtq+ themes. Yes, it's far better than many other anime's at it but it still fails to treat queer relationships as normal. The relationship between the two leads feel very stiff sometimes, and the development in their relationship is mostly physical (even at the end it doesn't feel like the characters really know each other, despite having dated for quitesome time). It's a great movie and a big step for lgbtq+ anime but it's still far from perfect
matchamilkshake
07/03/2019, 06:02 AM
I do not enjoy this movie as much as other people do, just because I found the pacing to be too quick. If this were episodes, I would probably enjoy it more than I do. The story is not something new as if I have never seen it before, and the plot was predictable. Everything does not excite me as much as I do when I first watched the first few minutes. This is just a typical light BL story, and everyone probably knows the drill. Characters meet each other, characters feel insecure, side character intervening, characters cannot be together, characters will be fine. I doappreciate that this movie tells us the struggles of being at school. Balancing love life, work and relationships at the same time are hard. And it was clearly shown in the movie. Other than that, nothing more. Is this movie worth the watch? Yes. But do I love it? No. Am I going to rewatch it in the future? Maybe. Do I recommend others to watch this? Absolutely.
Mofuchi
04/23/2019, 04:42 PM
Man this is like, my favorite movie ever. It is not the best anime movie I've watched but, it was beautiful and decent for an yaoi. The OST just made cry so much, so pretty... I love the couple and how they really care about each other, Kusakabe is so sweet and caring for Sajou, and a very interesting character. He had many girlfriends before but Sajou was his real first love, like, woah! So cute. There isn't rape or lemon scenes and thats very good and kinda rare in this gender. The art isn't perfect or detailed, but it's so simple and pretty, it suits perfectly the movie. Ijust cry every time I watch it.(but that's probably just because I'm a fujoshi) I love it 10/10
84DaysWithout
07/06/2018, 12:26 PM
A reliable litmus test for boys love anime is to ask myself whether I'd care about the story if the characters were not gay. Is homosexuality being used as an erotic ploy or does the narrative explore broader themes that apply to relationships of all varieties while offering meaningful commentary on the social stigma faced by the gay community I'm happy to say that Doukyuusei passes that test with full marks. Rather than stressing the sexual orientation of the characters, what is proudly emphasized is the fact that love knows no specific orientation, and it does not matter who we choose to confide in so longas they can grant us feelings of self actualization and acceptance in who we are. Doukyuusei is not only a gay love story. It's an exceptionally written love story. As tends to be the case in love stories, the lead characters are as opposite as can be. Sajou has neatly trimmed, short black hair, is introverted and studious. Kusakabe has curly blonde hair, is extroverted and lacks direction in his life. It is together that they manage to fill the gaps in their personalities and inevitably conquer the pitfalls that so often doom young relationships, number one of all being lack of communication. The narrative is split into four separate arcs with each taking place in a specific season. In each of these seasons the viewer can the viewer observe a change in the dynamic of Kusakabe and Sajou's relationship, and a broader theme being applied to their development - such as not being afraid of failure, acceptance of oneself and not giving up when a string of fate is cut temporarily. The visuals are consistently impressive - Shoujo Nakamura uses a lurid mix of warm watercolors and atmospheric backgrounds that emphasize the season taking place. This makes the aesthetic appear almost dream-like, creating a feeling of relaxation and making it easy for the viewer to sink into their couch for fifty minutes and watch the drama unfold itself. The character designs are somewhat typical of BL stories - long limbs seemingly trying to run away from their torso, beautiful facial features and large hands, but nonetheless befitting of the characters and appealing to look at. Doukyuusei came very close to being a 10/10 on my list, and only two negatives in a sea of positives managed to bring it down to a 9. I felt that Kusakabe's initial aggression towards Sajou was bordering on sexual harassment. If it were a heterosexual pairing with the male asserting his dominance over the female, my inner raging feminist would be taking the same issue. Lastly, I found myself wanting to know more about our lead characters backgrounds. Their family history, what contributed to their personalities and interests. This is a romance that deserves a larger audience than it has, but probably never will gain because of the divisive yaoi tag that prematurely splits audiences upon first glance. Yet as expressed above and in many other reviews on this page, Doukyuusei goes beyond the initial hook of a homosexual romance and speaks to broader themes of communication, self acceptance and empowering your better half that anyone can sympathize with and apply to their own lives.
NotCalc
03/30/2017, 12:30 PM
Well, you can definitely say that Doukyuusei is aesthetically pleasing. The colours used for backgrounds are generally muted, but the characters are vivid. Expressions are adorably drawn and very clear through a distinct art style. Music and sound are gentle and well picked to bring out emotions , so that in combination with the art means that moments lacking in plot-driven interest often make up for it through pure atmospheric value. Really, it's good that the aesthetics can carry the movie, because the characters can be frustrating and the plot is feeble at best. As this was the highest ranked shounen-ai, I entered thinking this wouldbe a genuine romance with a fairly realistic story - barring cute coincidences. Instead, I got something pretty typical - boy meets boy, they run into issues that could be solved through minimal amounts of communication, and ultimately put issues aside because their love is too powerful to fight, or whatever... It felt pretty weak, and 'important' moments in the relationship just didn't carry any weight. This was mostly because neither character really bothers to work for their relationship. They both enter it thinking the hard part's over, and freeze at the hint of any kind of challenge. Any time they're in conflict, they let it fester until they can have a big, dramatic moment which loses the heartwarming factor in favour of a frustration because they could have just talked to eachother, damn it. (Spoiler: Seriously, who follows up "I guess we don't know anything about each other." with "We shouldn't meet for a while"????) Overall, Doukyuusei is sweet and pretty, but painfully shallow. It's nice if all you're looking for is some blushy faces and cute kisses, but it pretty much fails as a depiction of a relationship. (Also, a warning: there's a random taboo interaction between a teacher and a student stuck in there for nothing more than an extra dramatic event. Why.)
shiroamane
03/08/2017, 10:44 AM
Doukyuusei (同級生) is what every shounen ai (or yaoi) story should aspire to be. The story is brought to life by the incredible voice acting, soft and bright art style, and relatable themes shown in the story. Story: The story was great, and while it was cheesy and rather simple, I feel like that was the point. The more complex the story is, the harder it is to relate to the story, and I think the point here was to show how a typical high school relationship between boys in Japan may go. It is easy to relate to, but it isn't so plain that there'sno character development. The ending was sweet, though it didn't wrap everything up, as there has to be room for sequels (which exist through the Manga, and hopefully through future movies, if A-1 decides to pursue the sequels). Art: The style is nice, soft and vibrant. The backgrounds had much more detail put into them than the characters in the background, whom are noticeably undetailed, but I believe that enhances the theme of the story. The only characters who have detail put into them are Kusakabe, Sajou, and Hara-sen; even Kusakabe's friends, whom seem to get even more showtime than Hara-sen, aren't detailed. The reason behind this is likely due to a focus on the relationship between the two main characters, in that this story focuses solely on them. For some reason, Hara-sen is a detailed character, yet he plays a relatively small part in the film (this may have something to do with the sequels). Other than that, the animation is mostly fluid and the style is easy to watch. It isn't on-par with some of the masterpieces of animation that are out there, but it is definitely good for a modern anime film, and the focus is mostly on its other aspects anyways. Sound: The sound was nice and pleasant, but nothing popped out at me. Every tune seemed to be background music (aside from the credits and Moyuru Wakaba, sung by the choir). However, it was pleasant background music, and its ease in ability to sit in the back of the movie and play without my noticing does a good job complimenting the film in that we can keep our focus on the story while the music does its work backstage. Character: Kusakabe has the most character development and screen time, and deservedly so. He is more outspoken, with many different character traits that make him an interesting character. Unfortunately, we don't see much character development from Sajou, but this can be attributed to his timid and reserved nature. Unlike Kusakabe, it seems that he spends most of his time on his studies, like a typical Japanese student. There is a bunch of character underneath, but on the outside, he is quite plain, which can explain why he did not get as much development. I am hoping that the sequels will draw him out of his shell more and show more character, perhaps post-graduation when he is finished with his studies. Hara-sen, as mentioned earlier, was the third most detailed character in the series, but he didn't get much attention at all. I would have also liked to see more about Kusakabe and his band; however, the movie is about an hour long, and that's a very small amount of time for an animated movie to flesh out their characters. Even so, they do so very well, while leaving us more to crave from potential sequels. Enjoyment: I have a lot to relate to here, so personally, I enjoyed watching it a lot. I've gone as far as to order Aniplex's overpriced collector's edition of the movie just because I want to support it and the potential for its sequels. It's such a beautiful movie, and it's compacted into an hour for easy viewing, so I can easily see myself showing it to everyone and watching it several more times in the future for details that I may have missed. Overall: It was a great movie, with great character development, great art, great everything. It left some to be desired, but I feel like these things are nitpicks, which can potentially be solved through sequels. Here's a basic list of Pro's and Con's to sum up my review: Pros - Great art and animation, one of the very few yaoi stories that isn't entirely based around sex, and genuine romance themes that can melt any (non-homophobic) heart. Neutral - Short film (while being short has its advantages, it leaves a lot out that could have fleshed out character development further), Collector's edition is like $90 and that's pretty much the only way you can legally purchase the movie outside of Japan (you can thank Aniplex, however this doesn't subtract from the content itself, it's just a little aside, so it's in Neutral) Cons - Leaves some to be desired (sequels?), can be seen as generic and cheesy (even if that's the point), forgettable (but still solid) soundtrack.
MissChopin1
03/05/2017, 10:45 AM
NO SPOILERS If you are like me with anime, If you dont mind to watch a boy's love stories, if you like modest, simple, natural, elegant, etc... then i would recommend you this. I am not going to tell you this is a yaoi anime (because when i think in yaoi i always think in something more... hard) The Story its simple, two male classmates who meet because one of them has some problems with reading music (he need it for the school) and the other one helps him. The art, I love this kind of art, the style and everything. Like i said, i LOVE modest animes. Thesound, the ost is not very impressed, natural sounds, soft music. I think its fix perfect with the movie and the style. The Character, the same, modest and clear, very different. You can see how the fix little by little. Enjoyment, I really did. But again i must say if you dont like simples anime maybe its not an anime for you. Everything in this movie fix and it has armony. It was really easy to watch and too short :(
Thisisalladream
03/02/2017, 09:26 AM
This film absolutely blew me away! It manages to achieve more in it's 1 hour run time than most high school romances do in there entire series. What's more is that it leaves you more connected to these characters than the majority of anime in general. The wispy art style works to the films benefit as it shows through the characters very expressive facial expressions as well as giving it a great beauty right from the get go. While this is shounen-ai it certainly doesn't pander to the fudanshi and fujoshi audience. In fact anybody can enjoy this film as all it is, is atruly fantastic romance. I can't recommend it more.
chelime
11/23/2016, 01:28 AM
I was really excited about this anime. I heard great things about it, and having been monumentally disappointed with the BL genre in general, I thought that FINALLY a gem had been made. Eh. Not really. The thing is, when a story is entirely centered on romance, I want that romance to BLOW ME AWAY. If there's no bigger or more intricate plotline, I want the story to put everything it has into the relationship I'm being shown and really move me. I want poignant interactions, whether it's deep conversation or cute moments. I want to see them be charmed by each other, surprised by each other,and, sure, maybe a little lusty for each other. I want to see them fall in love. Doukyuusei just kinda...skips all that. And then boom! They're together. And I sigh because once again it's a story of, "No, I'm not going to bother showing you why these two people are drawn to each other or why they're meant to be, you're just supposed to go with it because I said so." I mean, this is why I hate most canon het romances these days: A boy and girl share a glance within the first five minutes of a film/show and that's it, that's the entire relationship build-up. Doukyuusei may have slightly more than that to go on, but not much. The "relationship build-up" all takes place off screen, and I simply can't fathom why a romance anime would do that. Instead of seeing any real connection between Kusakabe and Sajou, we get a montage of Kusakabe showing up late to band practice. Um. Okay. Not sure how I'm supposed to be invested in this couple, and therefore the entire anime, when I'm not seeing any kind of interaction between them in the first place, but sure, go ahead and have them kiss and pretend like that's all a relationship is. (And then--SPOILER except not really because it's not like there's much plot to spoil in a plotless romance--it's a year later and the characters themselves are like "why do we keep making out when we don't know anything about each other." Yeah, I don't know either, guys.) But, okay, I do have some nice(ish) things to say. Despite the utter lack of showing a foundation for the relationship, Kusakabe and Sajou do have a certain quiet and gentle connection that I still found myself enjoying, though it pained me that the anime didn't do it justice at all and failed to put the depth and intensity that should have been there. They share a number of sweet scenes that were really quite beautiful. There's also a lot of cuteness and humor. If the movie was longer or if they'd made it an OVA or something, it would've been nice to build on those moments and see this relationship really turn into something--though admittedly, I'd prefer more time be spent on the build-up because I find the foundation of the relationship really important and interesting and it's a shame Kusakabe and Sajou didn't have that. It's like: imagine approaching an acquaintance right now and kissing them and reciting poetry to them and immediately thinking, "Wow, we're so in love, this is great." That's pretty much what this relationship seems like. I do have to say that I really liked the artwork. Unique and whimsical and refreshing. The music was very nice too, perfectly complementing the moment and the scenery. The voice actors did a wonderful job (I'm always a sucker for Kamiya Hiroshi). I honestly can't tell if I'm being too generous with my rating or not. I certainly didn't hate this anime and, despite my criticism, I wouldn't even say I disliked it. I did get some mushy fluffy feelings at some parts and I generally liked the relationship between Kusakabe and Sajou, but there was always that feeling like something was lacking. I feel like I just watched a teaser and now I'm waiting for the actual movie. Alas, I continue to wait to see if the BL genre will ever really satisfy me. For now, non-canon m/m ships in other anime continue to have more substance than anything I've found in BL ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
cactusanime
08/08/2016, 01:21 AM
I was really pumped when I heard there was a decent, cute BL anime movie coming out. I was a little disappointed. Not because it was bad, because by any means it's a decent flick, but because it was only merely okay. I want to start off by saying I'm a (bi) girl, and I didn't check to see if this BL is aimed at girls or boys, but I think that all genders would be able to enjoy the movie. The pacing seemed really off. It moved too slow and too fast at different moments, and I think it's because it's a movie instead of anOVA. Had it been an OVA, say, a 6-episode OVA or even a 3-episode OVA, a lot of the plot would have moved much smoother. The story itself is pretty okay. It's about a kinda flashy guy in a rock band and a shy cute guy who fall in love after the rock guy decides to teach the shy guy how to sing his part for the school choir. It's really cute! They go through some ups and downs, which is where the pacing problems come in, because the story moves very fast and skips through some of the fluff straight to the drama. Story-wise, though, it's a typical and adorable story. The kisses are steamy and there's discussions of sex but nothing happens. The characters are cute, but they seem a little one-bit to me. I have a hard time believing their motivations and personality points besides one or two things. In fact, I can't remember if they had any motivation and personality. Their design was okay. The art is okay. I think they might have cut some corners, which is terrible considering this is a movie. The sound is okay. All in all, it's an okay movie. I like it better than I like a lot of BL, but not by much. It's cute but it honestly doesn't feel like a lot of effort was put into this movie, which is a pretty big disappointment. I'd say give it a shot because you might see something in it that I don't, but don't be shocked if it isn't as great as you hoped it would be (if you hope it's great).
Nayuki_Minase
07/17/2016, 08:42 PM
A very good movie to watch on a summer day. It's light, with a little bit of pain. The art is wonderful. I actually never read the manga of this movie, because I don't like to read things that make me sad, and I knew this story will most probably make me cry. But in the movie it was actually what added the deeper layer to it. It's a very simple movie, and watching it definitely made me think of "youth". Also a note that I believe is important: there are no homophobic slurs in this film. This film is about love between two people,two men, and it's completely acknowledged to be so. They also kiss. Several times. Honestly, this is probably one of the best BL movies I've ever watched.
blobfishRcute
06/29/2016, 04:21 AM
To be honest i never actually thought i would like this when my friend recommended this to me as I was never really into the yaoi and romance genre. But I was wrong. The reason why I didn't like the yaoi genre was mostly because of those highly unrealistic story lines. I know I know, "this is anime just turn off your brain and enjoy the show!!!". But seriously, in anime like sekai ichi hatsukoi and jinjou romantica, they act like the whole fucking world is gay and focus only on the romantic scenes between the protagonists to satisfy the fangirls. It's just basically like changingthe girl into a dude and BANG you get shounen ai. However this show managed to not only portray love scenes that will bring a smile to your face but also the difficulties and and differences of loving someone of the same sex. This is still your typical love story but that little detail they actually put effort in is what made all the difference. I seriously can"t rate is anime unbiasedly as it goes beyond my expectations of a shounen ai movie. But overall It's a decent movie that will leave a smile on your face and is definitely worth watching. Seriously it only takes you an hour, GO WATCH IT.
Sir-up
06/08/2016, 05:43 AM
Reading the manga, a lot of stuff bugged me. Mostly how quickly the storyline just moved on. The characters and relationship didn't get time to properly develop or even be introduced well. The idea of this story was cute, but the way it was told turned the manga pretty shitty. However, in the movie they changed all of that. The creators stretched out all of the "soon-to-be-over" scenes, and ended up spending their time very well. This way it was easier for me to really get to know the characters, and for their relationship to build. They also managed to not stretch anything too far.They changed some of the moments in this story from being weird or feeling unnecessary to being absolutely adorable. The artstyle is unique and simpler than what we're used to, I really liked it. It's very similar to the manga artist's artsyle. Animation is smooth and fits this movie perfectly. Just the animation itself made me laugh a several times. The backgrounds are also gorgeous. I loved all of the usage of colors. The soundtrack somehow gave Doukyuusei a realistic vibe, and Galileo Galilei's song playing at the ending was perfect. Both Kusakabe and Sajou are mostly chill characters, and seeing them get along like this makes me very happy. Their love doesn't seem forced, which is in my opinion the most important thing when it comes to love stories. Sajou is a typical nerd/careful character, but something about him makes him stand out, as if there's something that he really wants. Kusakabe is not like the typical rock star/talk-without-thinking character. He's calm and very nice. They are both just high school students, which is very easy to notice. They make dumb choices like every teenager does. I love how their ages actually show through their personalities. I would recommend this movie to anyone, whether they like shounen-ai or not. This is what a good love story looks like: characters falling in love the most natural way. The only thing I didn't like was one of the changes from the manga. I wish that they would tell us something about Sajou earlier. ***SPOILER He has a fear of trains SPOILER IS OVER*** In the manga, they made this very clear, and it cleared up what was going on in some of the scenes. In the anime, this didn't come through well at all, and has definitely caused confusions.
Seasonalanime
05/31/2016, 07:14 PM
(Intro is spoilers sorry even then it doesn't take away enjoyment.) Asking your teacher at an all boys school how two guys do it. Basically. Dating someone who's really popular and has good looks, Unlike you. Not talking about your future, and falling out. ⠀ ⠀Where do I begin with Classmates?! (English title) Actually the plot isn't anything new, it's been dried out like a fruit. Even so if you put enough emotion and love into something it's bound to hit some heart stings! The characters drove this movie till the end. If anything I'd like to say well done to Kamiya Hiroshi, for always putting in 100%.It's honestly a treat to hear his voice acting.⠀⠀⠀ ⠀So the animation is fluid, or how I like to explain it. Not really detailed but the running and backgrounds all were pleasing to look at. Honestly I think this style is surprising for A-1, they usually have that more generic A-1 look if ya know what I mean. I'm pretty sure it's the first Shounen Ai they've produced too, correct me if I'm wrong it's usually Deen.⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀Overall I highly recommend it if you're a fan of sekai ichi hatsukoi or Junjou Romantica, it's got all the same drama and feels plus that comedy.
Katt_Cleo
05/28/2016, 06:48 PM
You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this. I've been familiar with the source material for more than a couple of years and have read it over and again multiple times. I've even listened to the Drama CD more times than I would probably ever confess to. I am what you would call "biased af". So yeah, no effort to be objective here. Simple story, "a boy meets a boy, they were in the blush of youth", but it is that simplicity that keeps it fresh and sweet without making it too mushy. The movie covers only the first volume of theseries, but it is enough to appease my fangirl heart. I don't think I've ever seen a movie before that just has me grinning from side to side for the whole time looking like a psycho. As an interesting point that can also be a bit of a minus, you can clearly tell this was plot derived from a manga. You have shots that lead you around like panels, jokes that work more on manga since they are kept more brief and a pacing that is at the same time a bit rushed and slowed down. But you can't really blame anyone, that's how manga works, translating Nakamura Asumiko's format is probably pretty tough. The voice actors are once again doing an outstanding job, it was interesting to hear them do the dialogues in slightly different tones, pacing, implying different emotions (yes I remember what they sounded like for all the dialogues in the Drama CD by heart I'm fujoshi fangirl trash). It felt like they understood maybe their characters more. Kamiya Hiroshi is one of my all time weaknesses in the seiyuu world, he didn't disappoint. I guess it's funny how the Drama CD was made during the time none of the three main voice actors were big and yet now they are considered quite the formidable cast. It makes you realize how long it's been. All in all this was great for my heart. It makes me want to re-read the series. I probably will. Ok I'll read it now bye
leonsdead
05/28/2016, 01:55 AM
Doukyuusei is a very simple romance story that will leave a big smile on your face. Based on the very popular manga of the same name, this movie follows Hikaru Kusakabe and Rihito Sajou, two high school students of the same age, through their journey of self-discovery and their first love. Story (8/10): Even tho this movie is good, the story isn't very deep or emotional. In real life first loves can be a very complicated thing, but not for these characters. The story flows as it should be, there's isn't a "dramatic twist" or a "love rival" or a "love triangle", this movie didn't need thatat all, it's just them falling in love and enjoying each-other. Nothing more, nothing less. Art (9/10): Doukyuusei has a very unique kind of artstyle. I personally think it works PERFECTLY with the movie and the characters but you'll have to see it for yourself. Characters (9/10): the characters are what makes this movie WORK. How they interact with eachother is the cutest thing you'll ever see. You can feel the love they have for eachother, and that's an big accomplishment for the mangaka, the studio and specially the director. Overall: If you're looking for a hardcore yaoi movie then you'll be disappointed because this movie is very romantic and REAL. You can easily feel the characters and understand their actions because they're very relatable. Anyway, WATCH IT.

Doukyuusei 同級生

Winners of the Newtype Anime Awards 2016

North American Anime & Manga Releases for September

Movie of BL Manga 'Doukyuusei' Adds Second Theatrical Run

PV Collection for Dec 28 - Jan 3

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BL Manga 'Doukyuusei' Gets Anime Adaptation

Doukyuusei 同級生

Winners of the Newtype Anime Awards 2016

North American Anime & Manga Releases for September

Movie of BL Manga 'Doukyuusei' Adds Second Theatrical Run

PV Collection for Dec 28 - Jan 3

PV Collection for Oct 26 - Nov 1

BL Manga 'Doukyuusei' Gets Anime Adaptation