I like Sekaiichi, But...

Despite loving the Sekaiichi anime, it frustrates me to no end that the problematic parts of this story get a pass from readers while other properties with similar issues have been ripped to pieces in the comments and given a pretty low rating.

Disclaimer. I've seen the anime numerous times, and I read the manga only as far as to when Haitani started actively interfering and then decided to quit reading it. I may come back and read the end, skipping all the drama with Haitani and Nao, and just read whatever parts are the wrap-up for Ritsu and Masamune finally getting together in the end. I just couldn't take the forced extension of the drama between Ritsu and Masamune anymore.

Anyway, while all that is annoying and should get some dings from people as well (which I have seen some comments about), that's not what I'm really here to talk about.

When one says "problematic", this is code for "offensive to my modern SJW sensibilities". And this story has those sorts of issues all up in it, yet somehow still miraculously holds a 9.6 rating, while other stories with similar problematic aspects hold nowhere near the same rating. Hmmm. Curious.

Now, don't get me wrong. I enjoy Sekaiichi despite it, because there is a lot of good to be found here (*caveat: I don't like Junjou; it has everything possible wrong with it -- this opinion is based on the anime only). I'm not going to list all of Sekaiichi's good qualities because I think people probably understand those pretty well.

Time to complain!
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Kisa and Yukina I'm completely good with. Love these two. Probably the only couple this author has written about that seem to be completely unproblematic.

Tori and Chiaki. Tori was a huge problem in the anime, which it turns out was being toned down some from the manga. Yikes. Tori as a character in Chiaki's life is just a huge problem. He is such a psycho I don't even know where to begin. This storyline alone would, for another manga property, get it rated at 7.2 or so. Chiaki I never really liked, not because he was problematic, but in the anime at least, he's a total airhead and is basically useless for anything but drawing manga. He's actually better here in the manga, is a much more well-rounded and thoughtful human, so I was able to like him more in this version of the story. Buuuuuuuut.... I just can't like any of his storylines because of Tori. That said, Tori is fine as a support character as one of the editors on the team who can't get his mangaka to deliver on time. I'm completely fine with him in this support capacity. (The notes I took about these two upon my first viewing of the anime was "Chiaki's an airhead and his boyfriend is insane".)

The elephant in the room: Ritsu and Masamune. I struggle with these two because I really like both of them independently of each other. Both are well-realized characters with distinct personalities, they are both smart and diligent, and have a lot of appealing qualities that aren't tied to their roles as seme/uke (ie, girly things for the uke like cooking and cleaning -- I'm looking at you, Misaki). I like that both of them feel like men when I read about them, and both come across as attractive to other characters of both genders. Their whole backstory is just really great and really well written. When they re-meet in present day and discover that they were both victims of a huge misunderstanding, it's pretty much just the bestest "oh crap" moment ever.

But, well.... I guess I should just come right out and say it. No point in beating around the bush about it. Masamune rapes Ritsu repeatedly throughout the story and it's treated as sexy and fine.

Now, I also fell pray to the thinking of, "well, but" about these occurrences early on. But something nagged at me in the back of my mind the more I rewatched the anime. Then I finally made myself come and read the manga, where the sex scenes are way more explicit, and it struck me immediately what was bugging me. There is no "well, but" if you set aside your affection for the anime or the two characters independently. Ritsu says no, and Masamune forces it on him anyway. Just because Ritsu eventually admits it in his own mind doesn't mean it's ok. Just because Ritsu was in love with Masamune back in high school does not mean at all that he does now or will love Masamune again. This is extremely wrong-headed thinking on the part of Masamune, and when it's NOT being presumed true by an extremely hot alpha male that I wish would tie ME up, it comes across as gross and awful.

In my estimation, it's the storyline the mangaka chose to write for these two that is completely to blame. She chose to write a shoujo plotline in an R18 BL. In shoujo, characters generally don't have sex* (* there are exceptions, like KareKano), and so the only way to force a will-they-won't-they plotline into an R18 BL where the characters can't get together until the end yet still featuring tons of sex between them is to have someone getting forced into having sex against their will all the time. Really, this story should've been treated like a non-R18 BL all the way up until the final chapter. Then you can have your will-they-won't-they plotline with a good, satisfying sex scene when they get together finally at the end. If you need to sprinkle intermittent sex scenes throughout, have characters lucid dreaming about it, or daydreaming about it, or just feature Kisa and Yukina boning more.

I will still always love the anime. Masamune's voice actor is amazing, and the dialogue, plotting, music, and scene construction are tight. Ritsu and Masamune are still one of my all-time favorite anime BL couples and it saddens me that the manga put such a damper on their relationship for me. The problems were always there, even in the anime, but yannow, "Stockholm Syndrome" is one of those BL tropes that needs to go away for good (unless you're writing an edgy thriller that doesn't end well -- Unfather ; Kokoro wo Korosu Houhou), and I just can't automatically give it a pass because I love the anime so much.

I know a lot of people will disagree with me, and that's fine, everyone's entitled to their own opinions. But I feel better having gotten that off my chest.