Title: Hitorijime My Hero Complete Collection

Director: Yukina Hiiro

Publisher: Sentai Filmworks

U. S. Release Date: 10-30-18

Format: Blu-ray /300  Minutes /  12 Episodes

Genre: yaoi drama

Age Rating: 14+

Overall Personal Grade: C

Synopsis:

Mashahiro is a student with things to deal with that makes life difficult. He often avoids being home since his mom often brings in her “clients” over to the apartment. Being lonely, he’s been getting involved with a bad crowd, and it is difficult to get out. One day, he meets a new friend, Kensuke, when they find a homeless kitten. They take it to his friend’s house and there Mashahiro meets Kousuke, Kensuke’s older brother. Now, through the years, Kousuke has been a guide and mentor to Mashahiro. This is what he always wanted and needed.

With the start of high school, Kousuke becomes a teacher at the boy’s school. It can be difficult to keep things professional when they all know each other so well. Kensuke begins dating an old friend while Mashahiro finds that his mentor wants their relationship to deepen in a different direction. Their student/teacher situations makes things complicated and Kousuke’s job may be in jeopardy if they pursue the forbidden relationship.

Commentary:

Okay, I’m not the target audience for this anime. Truthfully, the coercion and trickery to get their love interest to consent to fooling around and/or being in a relationship ruined it all for me. I don’t like the aspect of boy’s love/yaoi that includes the “You don’t know you want it, but I’ll force you to see that you do.” I know it is common in the genre, but it is such a negative way to enter into a relationship and I certainly wouldn’t want any of my friends to experience something like that. I prefer to see someone fall or grow into love instead of pressured or tricked. And do I need to mention, there is a reason student/teacher relationships are taboo.

Now, with all of that, I’ll focus on the anime and what and who it is intended for. Hitorijime My Hero is an average yaoi anime. I didn’t find anything really different or out of the ordinary. (Well, there is a moment when another kid in the gang questions why Mashahiro was able to get out, I would have like to have that explored.)  What it is and has is all standard characters and elements that boy’s love anime often does. Both couples that formed were already friends of sorts, and one falls for the other, who doesn’t seem to get the hint because they’ve not thought about a same sex relationship before. Through pressure on one side and embarrassment on the other, the challenged one begin to accept the new elements of their relationship. Things seem to settle down until the community and people around them begin to notice. So, it will be enjoyable to yaoi fans, but probably won’t be in their top ten.

The characters are personable and easy to invest in. Mashahiro has plenty to deal with, but took the opportunity when someone was there to protect and guide him. Kensuke is the enthusiastic friend who really cares and wishes the best for everyone. Kousuke is the sexy tough guy who expects everyone to do their best. There is a few other guys in the friend circle that help drive the humor and some plot elements. I liked the blue haired, “Why is he here?” guy. You know, the kid people generally don’t notice, and when they do, don’t know why or  how  he ended up with them.

I watched some of the anime in subtitled, mostly watching the show in English dubbed. I thought the voices worked most of the time and preferred the English.

Overall Grade: C

Hitorijime My Hero has lots of the elements that a fan looks for in a boys love/yaoi relationship drama. Nothing explicit, less than Junjo Romantica in action, but you get the idea.