On the surface, boy love anime are presented as flowery love stories about young men discovering their feelings for one another, but all too quickly these stories take dark turns. Popular shounen-ai titles: Love Stage!!, Super Lovers, World's Greatest First Love
It’s part of a sub genre of anime called shounen-ai or “boy love.” Crunchyroll, and other anime streaming services are full of these shows, and they all have similar names: Love Stage, Super Lovers, World’s Greatest First Love. Nothing in the pink and flowery opening title sequence or key art implies that Love Stage is a story about sexual abuse. It’s an incredibly shocking scene for an anime that promotes itself as a saccharine sweet love story. When he realizes he has feelings for another man, Ryoma goes to Izumi’s house to confront him, forces Izumi to undress… and ultimately tries to rape him. Thanks to a cross dressing mishap, handsome celebrity Ryoma discovers his childhood crush, Izumi, is actually a boy. In the anime Love Stage, Izumi and Ryoma are two star crossed lovers.
