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 a highly 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 with or make advances toward Mao; and neither of them must disturb the other's "personal time." Thus begins their second year together. However, everything begins to fall apart when the film club, of which Mao is a member, wants Hisashi to star in their next film. The problem arises with the film's plot, as it's a boys' love story 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 portrays, Mao becomes overly self-conscious about his presence. He knows Hisashi is just a friend and 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, “Twilight Out of Focus” 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 WILL NOT HAPPEN».
• «Listen, Crunchyroll… you're not giving us the option to exclude any genders in our profile settings. So if I find some man-on-man bullshit like this in 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 promoting a shitty ideology… I just hate it… This needs to be the worst rated on Crunchyroll».
• «Cut the gay 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 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 restriction on freedom of expression.

Despite the criticism, “Twilight Out of Focus” 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 recall 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 the 1982 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 simply ignore how much LGBT and related content has existed in anime for decades. The sheer amount of social commentary on identity, gender, sexuality, and relationships is how I learned most about myself as a child, 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 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 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 in 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 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 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 download whatever I want to watch. Subscription services are going crazy.».
• «Not even on the anime piracy platforms I frequent do 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