Welcome back to Niji Nights! I am so excited to get into the swing of things with this post. While yesterday we talked about a great BL live-action drama, today I’m going to highlight 5 anime I wish had been BL. Or rather, 5 anime that were coded as if they were a BL–and perhaps that was the subtext that the author was going with. Either way, in my head they were practically BL couples because of the way that they interact–or because of the stories they are a part of. Call me a trash shipper if you will, here’s my 5 anime I wish had been clearly coded as BL.
5 ) Faraway Paladin
Ya’ll. It was so hard to watch this anime and try to convince myself that Menel and Will weren’t together. The bond they shared seemed to be incredibly strong. So much so that when Menel was gravely injured because of Will, our main character literally went a little rogue. He was VERY unwell, crying at Menel’s bed–thinking it was his fault. Sure it was the reaction of a close friend, but still–their bond is so unique.
Ya’ll–this is so queer coded to me. And perhaps by saying that I’m saying something wrong or shipping problematically but episode one literally had flowers framing the two main characters when they met (which by the way, one of them caught and held the other princess style for a moment). Yuu and Shun, while seeming mostly platonic have moments where their relationship seems anything but. I don’t know if it was bait or if it’s a subtle romance, but Star and I counted it as subtle romance.
I’m sure some of you have read the great Sk8 or Bait debate blog post. While we were looking at it as a friendship between Reki and Langa, I would be lying if I said I didn’t wish that Reki and Langa had been more clearly romantically involved. While again, we could just be working with a subtle romance, I feel like had they edged a little more into making Reki and Langa feel like a couple, that would’ve been perfect.
Ya’ll, I dont even know why I wanted this to be a BL so bad but Star and I really did. Maybe because it would’ve made sense–it was already like, all boys cast, singing, vampires. Sexy songs. Plus I feel like Robin and the main character Ange would’ve been a great pairing. But also there were a lot of possible couples. Again, maybe that’s because we wanted them to be, but still–this anime felt very bait-like the whole time which just made me want it to be real BL.
1 ) Sabikui Bisco
OKAY. So this IS boys love as far as I am concerned. Listen, I know people will argue with me on this but I refuse to believe that Milo and Bisco weren’t being painted as a romantic couple. It was something I had joked about early on in this series but the more I watched, the more I truly believed this was a queer relationship in the middle of this action story. Milo even told Bisco he loved him for kami’s sake. The series ended with them watching the sunset, Milo leaning on Bisco. I get they tried to push a straight relationship for Bisco with Milo’s sister at the end of the show, but I truly believe that this was intended more for a Milo x Bisco love story. It just makes sense. Also: THE CAVE SCENE.
Am I just a shipper with trash opinions? Perhaps. But with the way the relationships between male characters were coded in these five anime, they made me wish they were truly labeled BL. Mainly because of the array of genres they cover. IMAGINE if even just one of these was actually labeled as a BL and they made the effort to seamlessly state it. I think that’d be amazing for representation. But again, maybe that’s just my opinion. I would love to know what anyone else thinks. Anyway, we’ll see you tomorrow for another Niji Night.
Stay weebtastic,
xoxo
Luna
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