Can the Year’s Most Wholesome Boys’ Love Anime Please Come to U.S. Theaters?
Let the boys kiss on the big screen!
Spoilers for the Sasaki and Miyano season one finale
Sasaki and Miyano, one of anime’s best romances of 2022, will be getting a theatrical release! Not only will the two boys have the next part of their story told on the big screen, but the spinoff series, Hirano and Kagiura, will be getting a short anime adaptation at the same time. It’s no secret that I absolutely adore this series and its heartwarming, honest portrayal of “I has a crush, what do,” so seeing it get more content is a highlight of my day.
What we know about the film so far
According to Liam Dempsey over at Crunchyroll, the news was announced during a Sasaki and Miyano event. The film, titled “Sasaki and Miyano: Graduation Arc” looks to be picking up where the series left off. After realizing his feelings for Sasaki (and after a bit of miscommunication), Miyano admitted to his senpai (upperclassman) that he liked him. Sasaki had admitted his feelings for Miyano a while ago, but instead of pressuring Miyano for an answer, he was patient and let the boy figure out what it meant to like someone in the first place. The two continued their friendship – which had developed over a shared interest in boys’ love manga – and the finale ended with a heartwarming kiss, the two officially becoming boyfriends.
Sasaki still has to complete his final year of high school, hence the Graduation Arc of the movie. With Miyano being a year younger, it’ll be interesting to see what happens with their relationship once they aren’t in the same school anymore.
Meanwhile, Hirano (Sasaki’s friend and another one of Miyano’s senpai) has had very brief moments with his roommate, Kagiura. His roommate has been mentioned in the anime and seen for a split second, but the special episode will focus on their relationship. Hilariously, Miyano ships the two, often asking Hirano questions about Kagiura. Hirano often brushes it off, but it turns out Miyano might be right about the “but they were roommates” situation at hand.
When is the release date? Is it coming to the U.S.?
All we know about the release date at the moment is that it’ll be sometime in 2023. We also know that it’ll be in theaters in Japan, but there’s no word on whether or not it’ll be in theaters in the U.S. The first season was originally available on Funimation (now Crunchyroll), so chances are, the movie will be available there, too. That being said, I would love for this to actually get a theatrical release here in the U.S., something that, to my knowledge, has never happened with a boys’ love release.
Two recent(ish) boys’ love anime films have been made available on streaming – Given and The Stranger by the Shore. However, these are two films that were originally shown in theaters in Japan before they were available for streaming or home video release. Neither one was made available in theaters in the U.S., so I’d like to see Sasaki and Miyano get the same box office treatment that other non-BL anime films have gotten.
Films like My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission, Fruits Basket: Prelude, and Belle premiered in theaters. This will also be the case for the upcoming Dragon Ball Super and One Piece films. I want the same for Sasaki and Miyano next year. Don’t just bring it straight to streaming, let me watch my wholesome queer romance on the big screen!
(Feature image: Shō Harusono/Studio DEEN/Crunchyroll)
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