Sasaki and Miyano (佐々木と宮野, Sasaki to Miyano) is a Boys' Love manga released in 2016, by Shou Harusono.
The manga follows a pair of friends in high school; Yoshikazu Miyano, a shy boy with a complex about his feminine face and a love for BL manga despite being attracted to women, and Shūmei Sasaki, his delinquent-looking senpai who wants to read manga with him to get to know him better; and their daily lives after they bond when Sasaki rescues Miyano's friend from a fight.
The manga is serialized by Gene pixiv. An anime was released during the Winter Season of 2022 to a good reception from critics and fans, confirming an OVA which was released on July 27 of that year. The manga has a spin-off, Hirano to Kagiura, released in 2019, which follows the secondary character Hirano in his own romance with his roommate. Additionally, an anime film entitled Sasaki and Miyano: Graduation Arc, premiered in Japan on February 17, 2023.
Tropes
- Affectionate Nickname: Sasaki affectionately refers to Miyano as "Miya-chan". Also applies to the English dub, where he calls him "Miya".
- The Big Damn Kiss: In episode 12, after Miyano properly confesses to Sasaki, they kiss in a park for the first time. The scene if pretty intimate and quiet, viewed from above and hiding their faces, though that could be due to Japanese laws about what can be shown during the time the anime is aired.
- Big Brother Instinct: Hirano has this tendency towards Miyano; being the latter’s senpai, he’s tasked himself with looking out for Miyano, especially in regard to Sasaki. This caution gradually wanes as he realizes they're attracted to each other.
- Closet Key: Miyano previously only ever had a crush on a girl, but after meeting Sasaki begins to question whether he is also attracted to boys.
- Cuteness Proximity: Sasaki's inner thoughts are often about how cute Miyano is.
- Dude Looks Like a Lady: When younger, Miyano was often subjected to people saying his face and build looked feminine or androgynous, which left him with a complex about his appearance and being considered feminine. By the time of the story, however, while Miyano is still considered a Pretty Boy, he is still largely considered to be more masculine, with it being noted that both his jaw and build have become more masculine.
- Everyone Can See It: It's obvious to pretty much the entire school that Sasaki and Miyano are attracted to each other, and many even assume they're dating.
- Genre Savvy: Miyano knows everything about BL and is always on the lookout for BL tropes in real life.
- He Is Not My Boyfriend: For quite a while, every other member of the main cast believes that Sasaki and Miyano are already dating, and Miyano has to confirm they aren't dating at that point. During the later part of the anime, pretty much everyone thinks so up until they are corrected.
- Hidden Eyes: Characters' eyes often disappear for the sake of gags.
- If It's You, It's Okay: Sasaki says he is not gay and has never previously been attracted to boys, and Miyano's only crush was on a girl. Even after realizing their mutual feelings, neither one specifically labels themselves as gay or bisexual.
- Iyashikei: The manga and the anime both have a very light-hearted feel, with little in the way of conflict compared to the amount of time Sasaki and Miyano spend being wholesome friends and later a couple.
- Love Bubbles: Constantly in the anime. The screen is often filled with geometrical colored shapes to contribute to the atmosphere of the story, especially when Miyano and Sasaki are interacting and falling for each other.
- Masculine–Feminine Gay Couple: Downplayed. Sasaki isn't incredibly manly, but Miyano is significantly shorter than him, has a more feminine face and voice, and is overall more sensitive.
- One Head Taller: Miyano is about 7-10 inches shorter than Sasaki, though does grow a bit over the story.
- Open-Minded Parent: Masato's mother immediately accepted his older brothers coming out as gay to her at the same time.
- On another note, Miyano's mother is perfectly content with her son dating another boy. She even thinks about inviting Sasaki over for dinner.
- Open Mouth, Insert Foot: Miyano asks what Sasaki likes about him. Having been put on the spot, Sasaki responds with saying that he likes his face. Miyano naturally doesn’t take this too well, though it's cleared up by the end of the episode.
- Pretty Boy: Miyano is so androgynously pretty that when they first meet Sasaki isn't even completely sure he's a guy.
- Red Herring: Masato seems to be built up as a romantic rival to Sasaki for Miyano's affections, but he is later confirmed to be straight and is simply trying to watch over Miyano (a kouhai he likes) since he might be liable to societal prejudices if he does decide to date Sasaki.
- School of No Studying: In scenes set during school, the main cast seems to spend a disproportionate amount of time in free periods and lunch breaks.
- Series Continuity Error: Episode 1 apparently shows some discrepancy around the title characters' early interactions. With the Japanese school year beginning in April, they first meet when Kuresawa is beat up "before summer". Their second meeting shows a September date on the chalkboard despite seemingly being a few days later. However, Sasaki later realizes his attraction towards Miyano with a date on a phone lockscreen showing it is July, all of this taking place during Miyano's first year.
- Shipper on Deck: It’s implied that pretty much all of Sasaki and Miyano’s friends (especially Hirano) are quietly waiting for the two of them to just get together already. Come the last episode, everyone who’s been told about their new relationship isn’t surprised, but instead they all smile fondly.
- Single-Target Sexuality: Despite his crush on Miyano, Sasaki denies being attracted to other guys, or girls for that matter.
- Super-Deformed: Often used for gags.
- Transparent Closet: Miyano insists that he's heterosexual, despite being obsessed with BL manga.
- Umbrella of Togetherness: In the first episode, Sasaki and Miyano hold an umbrella together in the rain.
- Yaoi Fanboy: Miyano is a big fan of BL manga and loves the fact he gets to share that with a friend when Sasaki gets interested in sharing manga with him. Ogasawara and Kuresawa's girlfriends both are also huge fans of BL and they both have used him as a reference to understand them better (be it doubts about the genre or suggestions of gifts).
