Preface
Before you call my statement bold, I'd like to introduce my relationship with the romance genre to understand the reasoning behind the rating. I've been consuming the particular genre since my late teens, approximately ten years. My journey started with American and European media, mainly TV and novels, and later expanded to Eastern Asia. As to anime and manga media, I'm rather new, but the storytelling aspect remains the same. In the last three years, my enthusiasm died down because of the overly repeated patterns and the romanticization of toxicity.
What is Romance Fiction?
It should be obvious, right? Spoiler: it's not! The vast majority of consumers confuse romance with drama and sometimes thriller. According to Romance Writers of America® (RWA) "Two basic elements comprise every romance novel: a central love story and an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending". If you dig deeper, the most respectable seminars and textbooks convey the same description about every medium. What does that mean? Couples who resort to extremely abusive or dubious actions fall into the psychological thriller genre or one of the several drama subgenres, and couples who meet a sobering ending fall into the drama genre, either tragedy or romantic drama. The fact that the focal point of a story is the romantic relationship between two or more people doesn't translate to romance. The label simply wants to indicate the existence of the said dynamic. In this review, I'll strictly discuss romance and the drama surrounding their personal lives.
Romance Downsides
If you asked me a few days ago to applaud a romance, I'd call you crazy. Don't get me wrong. I deeply respect some Japanese romance works such as Kaguya-sama, Kimi ni Todoke, Wotakoi, Lovely Complex, and Given. However, the common denominator of half of these shows is that they tie romance with other genres to create something original and unique. Is that wrong? No, it's brilliant because they have a distinct identity. I cannot help but feel a bit disappointed though. The romance genre is fading. The industry doesn't try to build purely upon this genre. This is the biggest downside, in my opinion.
For example, Kaguya-sama is undoubtedly a rom-com and a great one. My issue is that it focuses heavily on comedy and style, overshadowing romance. It becomes a subplot with slow progression. It's a treat for me as a comedy geek and easy to impress with stylization, but it'd turn me off if I looked for a romance. Given is also a good reference. It relies on the protagonist's tragedy so much that the romance takes a backseat. There is no balance, keeping me from giving a perfect score.
Another problem is repetition - cliches, and tropes we experience a million times, with school romances taking the cake. Initially, it was always the geek-girl-meets-popular-hot-boy trope without any substance in their characters. The girl would be innocent, dancing around the spectrum of stupidity and total ignorance. They tried to convince us that being a virgin means being uninformed about elementary-level biology and common knowledge. The boy would be mysterious and edgy with either an absent or problematic family. Abusive behaviors were okay because deep down he was good, and his hotness was god tier. Nowadays, they just swapped their roles. Several more annoying tropes destroyed the genre (i.e. dragged miscommunication, love triangle), but I rambled too much for a prologue.
Introduction
The light novel is a spin-off of the "Yes, No, or Maybe?" series. The latter had a movie adaptation in 2020. Honestly, I don't recall anything of the parent series other than I didn't enjoy the main couple because of personal preferences about their character archetypes. Thankfully, this spin-off can be read separately. The story is straightforward. It follows the work lives of the AD of a popular variety show, Shin, and the sports news anchor, Minagawa Tatsuki. As the genre suggests, a romance blooms between the two men.
Plot & Characters
Wow, what a read! The author mastered their craft. They know the recipe of the genre like the back of their hand. When I pick up a romance, I expect two things: 1) Realism and 2) Healthy standards for the reasons I highlighted in the "What is romance fiction?" section. This light novel exceeded my expectations.
Right off the bat, the characters were a treat. They all were colorful and flawed, with several personality traits and habits. I discovered a new side of them in every chapter, perfectly fitting the puzzle. Their workplace was so vivid and alive that you could picture yourself working alongside them, bad-mouthing the boss, bitching about your workload, and anticipating your lunchtime. Shin, Tatsuki, and Sakae were the central cast of the story.
Shin was the AD of the tyrant-like producer/director for five years. He dedicated his whole life to his job because of his selfless love for the "Go Go Dash" variety show, regardless of the unfair treatment and extra labor his boss cast upon him. I was afraid he'd follow the usual kuudere or tsundere stereotype but thank god I was mistaken. Shin was trapped in his ambition, suppressing his thoughts, dreams, ideals, and desires for the sake of the show and his fear of intimacy. He had many things to offer as a person and potential director, but he chose to undermine himself.
Sakae, the infamous producer, was the worst person you could encounter but the brightest fireball in the industry. Despite his seemingly rotten personality and trust issues, his skills were untouchable. He also exploited Shin to the point he ordered him to clean his house and deal with the aftermath of his sex partners! The baffling thing is that Shin was the only person he deeply trusted and felt a fondness for (as a mentor) until the very end of the first book. Of course, that doesn't redeem him, but it shows how many layers a relationship can have. There were several hints throughout the light novel of how deep the roots of their mutual respect lie.
Tatsuki, the sports news anchor and love interest, was the most fascinating. He was bright, charismatic, loud, extroverted, nosy, pushy, sharp, honest, and the list goes on! His character is so fleshed out and flawed, beating your next-door neighbor. He made every person an acquaintance, and he was either loved or envied till Shin stepped in and saw under the surface, and vice versa.
Three things made the romance between Shin and Tatsuki exemplary. First, they fell in love because of their essence. They learned each other's strengths and weaknesses, exploring their compatibility and boundaries. Usually, romances suffer from two tropes, fall in love either because of their sexual attraction or what I like to call the "savior's charm", and the rest is history. Second, they improved themselves and each other. I always consider it arrogant to save someone in the name of love instead of giving them a push and letting them be independent and develop individually (thank you, author!). Third, they COMMUNICATE. Like every mature adult human being, they addressed the elephant in the room. They talked about their worries, jobs, habits, likes, dislikes, sexual preferences, etc. Their productive alone-time allowed them to properly advance to every step of their relationship without useless conflict. Their conflicts revolved around either serious practical issues or insecurities they quickly communicated and solved together, even though they made mistakes.
Closing Thoughts
This story may not bring something new to the table, but I compliment the author for creating something solid, compelling, relatable, and realistic. Michi Ichiho broke free from those toxic patterns. The patterns that declined the romance genre and caused Eastern media to shove it in the background. I'm looking forward to reading the sequels and side stories, and I hope it gains recognition from the anime/manga BL fans and not only the novel readers.
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