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Now in Japan
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Written by maehara
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Tuesday, 30 May 2006 00:00 |
 Gakuen Heaven doesn't really hide its shounen-ai roots - meaning that for hot-blooded hetero males, this quickly becomes Gakuen Hell. For the fangirls, on the other hand, it's the all-boy equivalent of Maria-sama ga Miteru...
1 - An Out-of-Season Exchange Student
Keita Ito has been accepted into the Bell Liberty Academy, aka BL Academy - in mid-term, which is a bit strange, and it's not like he has the talent usually expected for such places, but he's not about to turn down the opportunity as BL is meant to be one of the most elite all-boy schools in the country. While some in the school are getting ready to welcome Keita with open arms, others are more curious about him - and rightly so, since Keita seems to have a Past(tm)...
This will be short, as I'm one of those hot-blooded hetero males that are so not this show's target audience. I can see how the fangirls will love this, as I'm as big a fan of similar yuri-leaning shows as the next guy, but there's just something about boys-love shows that just doesn't sit with me. Gakuen Heaven is based on a series of existing BL (Boys' Love) games, and it's fans of the games that this is really aimed at.
Part of the problem is that the series seems to take itself seriously - other all-boy shows like Ouran High School Host Club play the comedy route and that gives them an appeal across the obvious boundaries, but Gakuen Heaven plays it down the line which does restrict it to the bishounen fans out there. That said (and far be it from me to promote fansubs too obviously), there's a parody sub of GH doing the rounds that adds the comedy element while keeping the basic story intact that's worth a look if you can track a few episodes down. But for the series proper - Pass. |
