The anime “ Twilight
Out of Focus (Tasogare Out Focus)” has generated a
considerable amount of criticism since its premiere on Crunchyroll during
this season. Despite being an anticipated series, its Boys Love theme has
unleashed a wave of negative comments and controversies on the platform.
In case you haven't heard of it, the synopsis
writes:
- In
front of a camera, roommates Mao Tsuchiya and Hisashi Ootomo make three
promises: Mao must not tell anyone that Hisashi is gay and in a
relationship with another man; Hisashi must never fall in love or make
advances towards Mao; and neither should disturb the other's 'personal
time'. Thus begins their second year of coexistence. However, everything
starts to fall apart when the film club, of which Mao is a member, wants
Hisashi to be the lead in his next film. The problem arises with the plot
of the film, as it is about a Boys Love romance between a delinquent and
the class president.
- Mao
is determined to dissuade Hisashi from becoming the protagonist because of
his first promise; but, to his surprise, Hisashi is easily convinced by
the director. After imagining Hisashi as the criminal he is playing, Mao
becomes overly aware of his presence. He knows that Hisashi is just a
friend and out of his league, but Mao can no longer lie to himself: his
feelings for her roommate may not be purely platonic.
Since its release, “Twilight Out of Focus” has
been the subject of strong social pressure due to its theme, generating
numerous negative comments that have come to question Crunchyroll 's
decision to broadcast the series. Below are some of the comments that have
circulated:
- « RUN!
Another attempt by Crunchyroll or the alphabet people to make something
foreign accepted. IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN ".
- « Listen,
Crunchyroll… you're not giving us the option to exclude any genres in our
profile settings. So, if I find man-on-man shit like this on my feed, I'm
going to give my honest opinion about it ."
- « This
is bad in many ways, don't watch it because it is bad. In fact, this anime
is bad, very bad . »
- « One
of the worst shows that promote a shitty ideology... I just hate this...
This needs to be the worst rated on Crunchyroll .»
- « Stop
the faggot crap, we're here for traditional anime and male plus female
romance. Don't you fear God? ».
The intensity of the comments has been such
that many users believe that this was one of the triggers for
Crunchyroll to decide to remove the option to leave comments on animes
within its platform. This measure has generated divided opinions among users,
some applauding the reduction in toxicity and others criticizing the limitation
of freedom of expression.
Despite the criticism, “Twilight Out of
Focus” has found a loyal following that values diverse and inclusive
representation in anime. Followers of the series hope that the
controversy does not overshadow the work of the creators and that
Crunchyroll continues to support diversity in its content.
- « This
is surprising because I don't remember people opposing BL itself in the
last 5 years. I thought these people were angrier about LGBT content
appearing in non-BL works. I guess the reaction is getting worse .'
- « Well,
now I will definitely see it. New gay material? Come on! ».
- « If
we show them Black Butler, they could die on the spot .»
- " They
will say 'Don't you fear God?' and then they will proceed to watch loli
porn .
- « LOL,
BL has been a thing in anime for over 40 years. Wait until these guys
discover Patalliro from 1982 ».
- « God,
I'm so embarrassed. Say you only started watching anime a year ago without
saying you only started watching anime a year ago.
- ' Don't
you fear God?' As if the Christian God were not going to condemn all anime
fans to the abyss without exception, lmao ».
- « Do
you know why this specific show? Because I didn't see this barrage of
reviews for Cherry Magic in the winter season, unless I missed it .
»
- « It's
honestly crazy that people don't know or simply ignore how much LGBT and
related content there has been in animenga for decades. The vast amount of
social commentary on identity, gender, sexuality and relationships is how
I learned the most about myself as a child, honestly .
- " I
will never understand how homophobic One Piece fans exist ."
- « Look,
anime comes in 31 different flavors, but the Boys Love stuff is easy to
identify, it's basically your fault if you click on it. "It's like
clicking on 'Izumi-chan's place is a Gal hangout' and being surprised when
you find out it's not a school life teen drama ."
- « I
don't understand, can't they just not watch the anime? lol
- « Why
are Shounen fans always the most homophobic? As if all the great Shounen
anime didn't have some kind of deep 'friendship' between two guys who are
so in love with each other and always ignore the female cast around them .
- « The
series description begins with 'A boys' school film club is the backdrop
for three stories of new romance.' Well, if that's not what you're looking
for, just move on, there are dozens of other anime series waiting to be
seen . »
- " If
it's getting in their face, they've done searches that would imply they
have something to admit to themselves ."
- « Why
are they watching anime if they don't like BL? Yuri and yaoi are, like,
the pillars of this medium .
- « Anime
has become mainstream enough that core genres that have existed since the dawn
of manga and anime are now part of the 'modern woke agenda.' It's time to
be social justices .
- « So,
wait... If I understand these people correctly, Crunchyroll is tying them
up and forcing them to open their eyes like in A Clockwork Orange and
making them watch this? If that's true, I'm 100% happy to just download
what I want to watch. Subscription services are going crazy ».
- « Not
even on the anime piracy platforms that I frequent do you get to see
people complaining about yaoi or yuri series. It seems that the community
there is more decent and, if they don't like something, they simply don't
see it .
Source: @G0ffThewon Twitter
