Jero

And to add more context from the novel:

"Maybe for the first time, someone of the same gender had complimented something about
who I was—my personality, not appearance.
And not even directly, but in a conversation he thought I’d never hear.
If it had been from a girl, maybe I’d have felt differently.
But being praised by another guy—it was… surprisingly nice.
A warmth spread quietly in my chest, and I found myself smiling without realizing it.
Maybe I was easier to please than I thought."

Watarai is clearly noticing the gender of the person giving the compliment, and it matters to him. That attention from someone of the same gender seems to hit differently than it would from a girl.

The warmth in his chest and the smile he doesn’t notice are classic signs of attraction or a romantic flutter.

The “If it had been from a girl” line shows that this reaction is special because it’s a guy, pointing toward a queer (and that includes being gay as well) interpretation. It doesn’t outright say “I’m gay” but the way Watarai experiences these feelings makes them different from ordinary friendship or admiration

It’s not, and that’s why I can’t understand why others keep pushing the bi/pan narrative when the novel makes it pretty clear that he’s still in the stage of self-discovery. He just accepted his ex-girlfriend’s confession because he found her shy, which he thought was cute, and there are remarks showing that middle school relationships were kind of childish

The line “whether you are a boy or a girl” is overused, and it’s a hard truth for some to admit, some people still feel uncomfortable accepting that a guy can simply love another guy, so they try to give “options” instead. My bottom line is that he could also be gay, but the majority isn’t ready to have that discussion

I got hooked on the series bc of Hioki from the very first episode, so I’m second in line right after Watarai 😘

I don’t think the text actually supports that reading. The novel doesn’t frame Watarai’s realization as “gender doesn’t matter at all” and it frames it as him moving away from a hypothetical scenario and toward a specific person in front of him. He explicitly starts with, “If someone like Hioki were my girlfriend” then immediately corrects himself, realizing he doesn’t need an abstract versionn

The novel reinforces this later with, “I realized… I really do like the real, unadorned Hioki” Not “whether you’re a boy or a girl” That distinction matters. It doesn’t soften or reframe his feelings for a presumed straight audience, I think. It’s direct and sincere, rooted in who Hioki actually is.

Even the side story about Watarai’s ex-girlfriend makes this clearer: “It started around the summer of second year. She was the one who confessed. I don’t remember exactly what she said, but I do remember how nervous and shy she looked, and I nodded because she was cute. Middle school dating was childish—walking home together, going to the local mall—simple stuff like that” Watarai isn’t even confident about his feelings there. It reads less like proof of a defined sexuality and more like someone going along with something uncomplicated before he truly understands himself. It’s all about self-discovery and not a confirmation that he’s bi or pan.

The adaptation shifts the focus in a way that feels “safer” as if it needs to explain or neutralize gay attraction for presumed straight viewers. But that completely undermines the quiet courage of the novel. The story was never about Watarai liking a hypothetical girl when it was about him realizing he likes Hioki, specifically and honestly. That’s why the change feels so unnecessary. It tries to reassure people who were never the target audience in the first place, and in doing so, it erases the clarity and integrity of the novel’s queer realization.

It’s just a living truth that some people are still uncomfortable admitting gay feelings, and we can’t erase that. But the context makes it clear that Watarai is still in the stage of discovering himself. Let’s admit that it’s hard for others to accept that he could also be gay but the majority still finds it uncomfortable.

My bottom line is this could just be a story of two boys falling in love, and adding unnecessary “neutralizing” lines can feel offensive to certain viewers, as a gay guy, like me. I see these kinds of lines in almost every series, and it’s overused. Why is it so hard to simply admit that a guy likes another guy? The same goes for women, it’s frustrating when shows imply that being a girl is somehow “convenient” or necessary for a love story

Actually, the author has some short stories (if I recall correctly, about the winter season) while Koichi was still alive. But my computer files are a mess right now, I have no idea where I sorted them 😭

Thanks for sharing your perspective. I can see where you’re coming from and why that line might feel reassuring or contextual in the scene.

But at the same time, in the novel, Watarai’s realization is very clear and precise: “Maybe I didn’t need to find a girlfriend like Hioki because right here, was the person I’d been looking for”

He imagined a “girlfriend version” of Hioki for a moment but immediately understands he didn’t need a hypothetical or safer version, bc what he wants is the real Hioki as he also realized that “I really do like the real, unadorned Hioki”

For me, the adaptation’s added line shifts that emotional logic a bit. It turns a more specific queer moment into a generalized statement, which is why it felt like a shortcut for me compared to the novel. I get that in-universe it could be read as reassurance, but the novel frames the attraction as unambiguous and precise, and that’s what made the moment so meaningful to me

Someone finally gets my point, and to be honest, that line wasn’t originally part of the novel. In the novel, Watarai immediately realized: “Maybe I didn’t need to find a girlfriend like Hioki. Because right here was the person I’d been looking for” and later in the novel: “I realized… I really do like the real, unadorned Hioki”

His attraction is specifically to Hioki as he is, not a gender-neutral version of Hioki

While the whole audience is asking for one Watarai...

me, just asking for one Hioki

Those who’ve read the novel will probably understand what I mean

Can I be honest? I can’t sleep without releasing my thoughts, and this is one of those moments that’s been sitting with me.

Yes, that realization actually deepens his love instead of diluting it. Loving Hioki as a guy means loving the exact circumstances that shaped him, specifically, the version of Hioki that exists with Watarai, not some abstract, interchangeable idea of him.

But the added line, “I like you whether you’re a boy or a girl” (which was also NOT originally part of the novel), just doesn’t work for me. Watarai isn’t drawn to a hypothetical girl version of Hioki, he’s attracted to Hioki as he is. Inserting that line flattens what should be a very precise, very queer moment. It shifts the focus away from desire and specificity and into something safer, broader, and frankly tired something added to reassure straight viewers rather than to serve the emotional logic of the story. And that’s kind of disappointing, ngl.

That said, I still love this show. One overused line doesn’t erase the tenderness, the intimacy, or the sincerity that make Watarai and Hioki compelling. I just wish it hadn’t reached for a shortcut when the moment was already saying something much braver on its own.

Ify so much!! It hits even harder for me bc it reminds me of those one-sided crushes I never got to pursue irl, or even experience as a closeted gay teenager lol. Somehow this drama heals that little teenage ghost in me that always wanted moments like these. Some people take it way too far and make something so simple unnecessarily complicated, when it’s really just meant to be enjoyed

Same honestly. I got my spark back too, but it’s not even about “outgrowing” BL well, it’s just that a lot of adaptations don’t hit the way the manga or novels do. Some actors can’t bring out the chemistry or the emotional beats the source material promised, and that disconnect ruins it for me. That’s why I stopped finishing the School Trip novel yet, I don’t wanna spoil the show if the live action ends up feeling weaker

This series is cliche as hell, no lies, but the chemistry between these two is so good af. It kinda reminds me of Kiekoi, the story isn’t anything special but the way the actors play off each other makes it work. Sometimes it’s not the plot, it’s how believable the pair feels

No exactly, you get it. That’s what I used to say as well, if we had shows like this earlier, a lot of us could’ve found the language for ourselves way sooner. And you’re right, BL isn’t some one-size-fits-all category. It’s a whole spectrum and there’s space for all kinds of stories. That’s why limiting it to one “target audience” never made sense to me in the first place

That’s exactly why my own community isn’t progressing and the fact that he’s also part of my queer community makes it even more frustrating. Shows like these aren’t created for the specific audience he keeps insisting on. They’re made for us. For us gays who never got to experience the kind of soft, wholesome teenage romance straight teens we see everywhere. For the kids who need queer content they can watch openly, even with their parents. For the people who finally want to see themselves reflected in stories that aren’t built on trauma or fetish

Tbh, the OP actually has a point about those girls who get “irked” by any homo stuff like kissing scenes, bed scenes, anything intimate. That hits for me because I’ve had acquaintances who claimed they “watch BL” but the moment the two guys actually kiss, they start acting disgusted. Sorry but that’s kind of homophobic. But we also can’t generalize it as all teen girls or all women. Let’s say some. Some people have their own reasons and are simply NOT used to seeing intimate or R18 scenes in general, whether it’s straight or queer media

And honestly? Those some fujoshi who only watch BL for the “seggs” part aren’t any different either. The ones who only look forward to the explicit scenes… it really feels like they see gay people as entertainment or something to satisfy their fantasies

What annoys me the most is how OP made it sound like these shows are made for girls, when in reality, a LOT of us gay people watch and enjoy fluffy BL too. We exist, and BL isn’t just some fanservice genre built solely for a straight female audience. Don’t erase the actual queer viewers who are here because these stories matter to us

For me, their dynamic reads more like companionship than an actual couple. The romantic chemistry just isn’t there, but I can let that slide since like the one person said here, romance isn’t the main focus anyway. It doesn’t really bother me as well bc everything else in the story is crafted so well. This show plays more like a family or queer-drama series than a BL

Sakuta hid some paper, idk if it’s about the housing loan. Guess we’ll find out in the final ep next week

No thanks. You don’t get to tell me what I should watch to feel what I want to feel. My gay friend and I enjoy it, and some of us just want a little escape from reality. Maybe get a job and stop camping here, dropping your think pieces and essays every wk abt a show you don’t even like just like some unemployed wannabe BL critic

Lol, that’s why I kinda felt offended. I’m gay, and my gay friend is watching it too. And yeah, I know this kind of perfectly smooth gay story isn’t really how things play out for most of us irl. But sometimes we just need a little escape from how harsh the world is. There’s nothing wrong with finding comfort where you can

You really get me. CM and Kiekoi are literally my top 2 and 3 BLs (and honestly, School Trip might replace or tie with Kiekoi at this point lol)

I don’t really care whether a BL has kissing scenes or love scenes or not, what matters to me is how the whole show is executed. But ngl, I am expecting a bit more than a fish kiss if they ever give us one here. Japanese dramas (not just BLs, even straight ones) used to serve the non-passionate kisses ever. Like pls, I just want to see lips actually enter another pair of lips atleast 😭

And yeah, I’m also being petty because I got annoyed at that one comment saying this show is “for teen girls who don’t want to see homo stuff” Yes, those people annoy me too, don’t get me wrong but it’s the same energy as people who watch BL with voyeuristic expectations. As a gay person, it’s irritating seeing some treat us like entertainment or fantasy fuel to satisfy their desires