‘Sasaki and Miyano’ Season Finale Reveals That a New Anime Project Has Been Greenlit!

Spoilers to the Sasaki and Miyano season one finale

One of my favorite anime series so far this year has been Sasaki and Miyano, an utterly wholesome romance story between two boys who connect through reading BL (boys’ love) manga. While the dub still has a couple more episodes to go, the subtitled version aired its finale and ended it with a delightful little announcement.

A new anime project has already been greenlit for Sasaki and Miyano!

How did season one end?

The entire first season of Sasaki and Miyano has been a heartwarming slow burn between the two main characters. Miyano has been trying to sort out his feelings for his upperclassman while attempting to figure out what it even means to like someone. Sasaki not only gives Miyano time to process his emotions, but he also continues to be friends with him, the two still reading and discussing the BL manga they like. While Sasaki does have moments of absolutely wanting to be closer to Miyano, he either gives him space so he can decide for himself or apologizes if he feels like he’s stepped out of line.

It’s refreshing, actually, to watch a story about a crush where the characters are still friends and no one is putting pressure on anyone to make a decision.

In the final episode of the season, Miyano finally makes his decision, admits his feelings out loud to Sasaki, and the two get together. A hug and holding hands feel just as significant as the kiss we get (two, actually!) and I really appreciated how all forms of intimacy felt important, right down to the two FINALLY exchanging phone numbers. After the credits, the two tell their friends (most of whom already figured it out), and everyone is legitimately happy for them.

So … what happens now?

What could the new anime project be?

There are two things we could be getting in this upcoming anime project: a second season or a movie. The manga is currently eight volumes in Japan and is still ongoing, with four volumes licensed in the US (volume five will be released in April 2022 by Yen Press). Along with the manga are novels and a spinoff focusing on two other characters in the series.

What’s great about the manga is that the story doesn’t end with Sasaki and Miyano getting together. We actually get to see them as a couple figuring out what it means to go from classmates to friends to boyfriends. There are also moments where we get to see other people’s reactions to them, like their friends and family members. This, technically, isn’t in the licensed volumes yet, but the ongoing manga chapters in Japan have these two already dealing with situations that would be great to see in a new season—if that’s what we’re getting. With the manga still going, we could absolutely get a season two.

Or there’s a chance that we’ll switch focus to Hirano and his roommate (who, if you know where to look, has been shown in the anime series). These two have their own story going on in the manga, which is sure to make Miyano a very happy fanboy.

Why this is a big deal

There is a lot of queer content in manga, but as far as anime goes we don’t always get an entire series—let alone a series that gets dubbed. That’s not to say there isn’t any queer anime (or anime characters), but when you think about how much anime is available, there aren’t a lot of 12-episode stories dedicated to canonically queer characters. I’m very used to queer anime being a movie, a short-lived series, an anime that doesn’t get dubbed, or something that doesn’t get as much press as everything else.

Sasaki and Miyano does have a good ending point in its first season so I honestly expected it to just stop there. I’m not used to queer anime getting more content after the season is over. There are a couple of examples like the Given movie and live-action adaptations live Cherry Magic getting live-action films, but I typically expect queer anime to have one release and that’s it. That’s why the announcement of a new anime project right at the end of the finale is pretty exciting. We didn’t have to wait months to wonder if they’d continue the story, it’s right there at the end of the episode.

I’m excited to see what else is in store for Sasaki and Miyano. At the very least, I can’t wait to rewatch these last couple of episodes as they get dubbed.

(Image: Shō Harusono/Studio DEEN/Funimation)

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