The plot summary for this show had me expecting a deeply problematic premise I probably wouldnt be able to sit around for. If youve seen almost any Boys Love anime before you know how creepily dubcon things can get sometimes verging on or becoming full out noncon. Its...not comfortable...even when they eventually get around to confirming that yes the Uke really does want the Seme. But actual Boys Love anime is extremely rare so I tend to give this genre more of a chance than I would otherwise. And to my deepest surprise that chance has finally finally paid off. See the plot summary is highly misleading. In the first episode a deal for sexual favors so that compromising footage will remain hidden is brought up and yes the overeager Junto pounces on the idea in order to get Takato into bed. But all of that ends there. No sex is had in that context and its not the overarching plot of the series not even close. What emerges instead is a risky fascinating and surprisingly deep dive into dismantling the Outward resistance to physical affection as a result from inward gay panic trope. They do this by subverting several other tropes and expectations chief among them the Tsundere/Deredere roles. By flipping expectation on its head we now have the sexually aggressive dominant as the sweet adoring sanguine Seme Deredere and the entirely submissive pleasegodtopthehelloutofme Uke as the Tsundere. This makes for a compelling character and relationship dynamic that you really cant find anywhere else. If you can then I havent seen it and feel free to tell me. What makes the setup really shine though is the problem they give Takato the Tsundere Uke: the core of his being does not want to be a Uke/Submissive. In his mind hes supposed to be the suave untouchable Seme/Dominant and dammit thats exactly what he is. So when hes confronted by the truth and its as polar opposite to his expectations as it can possibly get this triggers a long and significant internal struggle and THAT is what makes up the series. However all of that isnt readily apparent at first. For an episode or three it kinda looks like business as usual. The Seme doesnt really take no for an answer and the Uke protests and protests but doesnt really fight back so he must want it yeah? But trust me stick with it and youll see them flip the script in real time. They turn what is unfortunately typical into a real damn love story with enough character exploration and legitimate romance to please anyone. I realize this makes the show sound like a big super serious drama. It is very much not. Its a shiny romantic comedy with just as many tropes theyre faithful to as there are tropes they subvert. The overall structure is textbook. The twists and turns and Big Last Problem are all there. Its everything Ive talked about before now that mixes into the old formula and really makes it something new with more depth than a show like this has any right to have. Another thing I appreciate is the presence of sex and sexual contact throughout this relationship. Not because Im a pervert but because anime has the distinct habit of either being all love and romance and feelings or all sex which descends into perversion and consent issues. This series finally integrates the two so that we can get a fuller richer depiction of this love story. And given the emotional ground they needed to cover with Takato skimping on the sexual aspects would have harmed the story as a whole. In terms of flaws and drawbacks: While they do contrast Juntos overeager thoughtlessness with a couple of actual intenttoharm scenarios the chief character who winds up almost crossing the line is given a 180 degree redemption arc in the blink of an eye. Im not entirely sure why they chose to do that since they could have just left him as an antagonist and pushed him into the background to save time. Theres also a bit of intrigue thats dropped with a tertiary character late in the game that is never explained. It could have been a tease for season two but I have no idea where they could take the show from here? In general the supporting characters arent as developed as I would have liked. But as far as storytelling crimes go thats far outweighed by all the good thats here. Dakaretai promised to be another shallow delivery of dubious intent and wound up delivering on almost every single thing Ive been dying to see from Boys Love/Yaoi since I first found anime in my teens. I always appreciate a love story that starts out in genuinely risky messy narrative territory where youre left wondering how on Earth they could possibly spin a genuine romance with the characters involved. The Captive Prince trilogy was the first time Id ever seen it done damn near flawlessly and now Dakaretai makes the second. If you are particularly sensitive to consent issues or theyre a hot button issue for you I recommend watching episode seven first. It will give you a lot of foundation as to why Junta behaves the way he does in earlier episodes and in general.