Teens Fall in Love, Get Creeped on By Teacher, and Look Like They’re Melting
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Warning:
This review will contain spoilers for the manga and anime series Classmates: Dou Kyu Sei. While the manga may vary slightly from all other forms of media, it may have similar story elements and could be considered spoilers.
Content Warning: There may be references to sexism, gossiping, inappropriate student-teacher relationship (not between the main couple), violence, implied homomisia, blood, self-deprecation, underage drinking, excessive drinking, grooming (not between the main couple), and possible panic disorder, as they appear in the manga.
Synopsis:
Note: This is a series comprised of multiple volumes. The English publisher lists all of them under the single title Classmates, but each has a different subtitle and is a self-contained narrative that builds on the previous one like a sequel series/spin-off rather than continuing an ongoing plotline like a second or third volume. As such, each title will be reviewed separately (except volumes 2 and 3, which have the same subtitle).
Sajo and Kusakabe are in the same class. Kusakabe isn’t the most model student, but Sajo very much is. That is why, during their choir practice, Kusakabe is surprised to find that Sajo is only pretending to sing. It isn’t a big deal, and Kusakabe has no interest in exploring why he’s doing that, but then he walks in on Sajo practicing alone. As it turns out, the perfect student, Sajo, has problems performing music. Kusakabe, a musician in his own right, offers to help him then and there.
This isn’t like Kusakabe at all. And Sajo is so different from him that the two would usually never interact in any other instance. But what Kusakabe slowly realizes is that the reason he is so interested in Sajo is that he may feel more for him than simple curiosity.
Review:
This is considered a classic in the BL space, and I have been meaning to read it since it popped up on my radar. However, the reason it has taken me 30,000 years to get around to it is that I despise the art style. I’ve seen all of the covers, and I immediately pull away from this series because it is just so unattractive to me. Don’t get me wrong, it is very unique, which is a positive in its own right, but I just hate it. The art within the story itself is slightly better, but they all look like they are melting (especially Kusakabe with his long hair and rounder features). They also have proportions reminiscent of some classic CLAMP titles, so it is just a bunch of inconsistent, lanky, melty people, and I hate it.
As for the story, I do want to discuss something I have only recently realized I hate in BL. Many titles do this, but it is particularly egregious in this one, and that is background chatter/side conversations. There are times when our characters will be having conversations, and there is a main thread or topic they are discussing, but through the duration of the conversation, there are random side comments, or they will stray off the main topic and start talking about something that isn’t relevant to the story or has little point at all. Don’t get me wrong, I think it does add to the atmosphere and the realism of the narrative, but I just don’t tend to enjoy this. I find it distracting and confusing, and, especially in this case, it clutters the panels with a bunch of random speech bubbles. I don’t care for the art, but I would at least like it to be given more space to breathe rather than being choked by unnecessary conversations.
I will say, though, this story is very grounded in reality. It features two teens who realize they have feelings for each other and then navigate the pressures of school and their impending futures. Kusakabe and Sajo reflect very different paths and different levels of fear and pressure for the future. Kusakabe has a very laissez-faire attitude, and while he has no interest in anything beyond music, he still feels the pressure of life after high school and makes sure to really enjoy the last days of teenhood by going all out on a stage, relaxing at an onsen, or just doing nothing with his friends. On the other hand, Sajo sees everything as a stepping stone to securing his future, so while Kusakabe enjoys his teen years, Sajo feels compelled to use every second of them to prepare for college. What their relationship provides for one another is a safe space for Sajo to relax and something to consider for Kusakabe’s future. But it isn’t all fluff and romance. These two realize that a relationship comes with its own stressors, and I love that this explores all the different sides of not only a relationship but also the end of high school. It is coming-of-age perfection, and I really enjoyed that aspect.
However, I have to mention the teacher. But before I get too deep on that, let me be clear: I am fine with fictional characters doing bad things. It is fiction. I am an adult and can discern fiction from reality, and I am not here to police anyone’s preferences or creative work. With that said, I do want to share my own preferences, and this predatory teacher is so not my preference. My main issue is how shoehorned he is. He functions as a semi-rival of Kusakabe for Sajo, and he gets his own chapter in which he shows that he could be attracted to his students if they meet his criteria and that he fully intended to groom Sajo and pursue him when he turned eighteen. I didn’t necessarily mind him appearing as a rival because I could definitely see a teen being jealous of an adult and their perception of closeness between their crush and said adult. But I hate how he is then openly presented as a predator for a chapter, and then we never see him in any major capacity again. It ended up having little to no relevance to the whole story. If it were at least a relevant part of the story, I could just say it isn’t my thing and move on, but this is just a weird thing to randomly show and then ignore for 90% of the volume. It messes up the pacing, it is a weird view and tonal shift, and it is icky.
Results:
This was interesting. I’m not going to lie, I am semi-shocked this is as beloved as it is. Maybe I just need to read more of them to understand, but I certainly wouldn’t call it a must-read for anyone who wants to read BL. The coming-of-age aspect to the narrative is beautifully done, and if that had been combined with better art and less chatter, I think I would’ve felt very different about this one. But all those issues, along with the shoehorned predatory teacher chapter, make this a miss for me. I will definitely continue this series, but for now, I’m not feeling great about it.
Have you read Classmates: Dou Kyu Sei? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!
