The anime “Out of Focus Twilight (Out of Focus Tasogare)” has generated a considerable amount of criticism since its debut in Crunchy Roll during this season. Despite being an anticipated series, its Boys Love theme triggered a wave of negative comments and controversy on the platform.

In case you haven't heard of it yet, the synopsis reads:

• 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 of them must disturb the other's "personal time." Thus begins their second year of living together. However, everything begins to fall apart when the film club, of which Mao is a member, wants Hisashi to be the lead in their 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 portraying, Mao becomes overly conscious of his presence. He knows that Hisashi is just a friend and is out of his league, but Mao can no longer lie to himself: his feelings for his roommate may not be purely platonic.

Since its launch, “Out of Focus Twilight” has been the target of strong social pressure due to its theme, generating numerous negative comments that began to question the decision to Crunchy Roll to broadcast the series. Below are some of the comments that circulated:

• «RUN! Another attempt by Crunchyroll or the alphabet people to make something foreign acceptable. THIS IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN».
• «Listen, Crunchyroll… you’re not giving us the option to exclude any genders in our profile settings. So if I come across some man-on-man shit like this on my feed, I’m going to give my honest opinion on it.».
• «This is bad in many ways, don't watch it because it's bad. In fact this anime is bad, very bad».
• «One of the worst shows that promotes a shitty ideology… I just hate it… This has to be the worst rated show on Crunchyroll».
• «Stop with this faggot crap, we're here for traditional anime and male-female romance. Don't you fear God?».

The intensity of the comments was such that Many users believe that this was one of the triggers for Crunchyroll's decision to remove the option to leave comments. in animes within its platform. This measure generated divided opinions among users, with some applauding the reduction in toxicity and others criticizing the limitation of freedom of expression.

Despite the criticism, “Out of Focus Twilight” has found a loyal following who value diverse and inclusive representation in anime. The series' followers They hope the controversy doesn't overshadow the creators' work. 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 more upset about LGBT content appearing in non-BL works. I think the backlash is getting worse.».
• «Well, now I'll definitely check it out. New gay material? Let's go!».
• «If we show them Black Butler, they might die on the spot».
• «They will say, 'Don't you fear God?' and then they will start watching loli porn».
• «LOL, BL has been a thing in anime for over 40 years. Wait until these guys discover 1982's Patalliro».
• «God I'm getting so embarrassed. Let's say you only started watching anime a year ago without saying you only started watching anime a year ago 😭😭😭😭 Fujoshis are the cornerstone of all anime fandoms, and men know better than to face beasts they can't defeat».
• «Don't you fear God? As if the Christian God wouldn't condemn all anime fans to the abyss without exception, lmao».
• «Do you know why this show specifically? Because I didn't see this flood of reviews about Cherry Magic in the winter, unless I missed it».
• «Honestly, it's crazy that people don't know or are simply unaware of how much LGBT and related content has been in anime for decades. The sheer amount of social commentary on identity, gender, sexuality, and relationships is how I learned the most about myself as a kid, honestly.».
• «I will never understand how homophobic One Piece fans are.».
• «Look, anime comes in 31 different flavors, but the Boys Love stuff is easy to spot, so it's basically your fault if you click on it. It's like clicking on 'Izumi-chan's House is a Gal Hangout' and being surprised to find out it's not a high school teen drama.».
• «I don't get it, can't they just not watch the anime? haha 😂. They're upset by its mere existence. You can literally watch something else».
• «Why are Shounen fans always the most homophobic? As if every great Shounen anime doesn't have some sort 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 school film club for boys is the backdrop for three stories of a new romance'. Well, if that's not what you're looking for, move on, there are dozens of other anime series waiting to be watched».
• «If this is on their face, they have done research 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 the pillars of this medium».
• «Anime has become popular enough that the staple genres that have existed since the dawn of manga and anime are now part of the 'modern woke agenda'. It's time for social justice».
• «So wait... If I understand these people correctly, Crunchyroll is stringing them along 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 download whatever I want to watch. Subscription services are going crazy».
• «Not even on the anime piracy platforms I frequent can you see people complaining about yaoi or yuri series. It seems like the community there is more decent and if they don't like something, they simply don't watch it.».

Source: @G0ffThew on Twitter