Haru wo Daiteita

Iwaki-san

Katou-kun

Haru wo Daiteita focuses greatly on the pressure of the entertainment industry. Kyousuke Iwaki is an experienced adult video actor, while his new film partner, Youji Katou, is an energetic youth just starting out in the business. While filming for an erotic television series with Iwaki, Katou starts to have feelings for him. In an attempt to prove the extent of his feelings, Katou moves in with Iwaki and starts to have sexual relations with him. The two are constantly pressured by the media and the fear of a homosexual scandal breaking loose. The main cast of characters includes Katou and Iwaki, as well as a nosey tabloid reporter, an actor longing for homosexual acceptance, and an eccentric superior.

Overall, the good elements in this series outweigh the bad. The animation was much better than that of what I have seen in other yaoi series. The voice acting was very well done and the voices matched the appearance and personality of the character being portrayed. I also noticed that small details were paid attention to. Numerous small sound effects and details in the animation exist that set the right feel for the action unfolding before the viewer's eyes. Most of the love scenes were very short, but they appeared in all the right places and played a significant part in the progression of the plot. The plot, itself, seemed fairly realistic and was very easily to follow.

Iwaki and Katou

Iwaki and Katou

Unfortunately, Haru wo Daiteita did have some bad qualities to it. The personalities of the characters were very bland and not explored to the full extent that they could have been. Past events should have been explained in much more detail, such as Katou's relationship with women and Kikuchi's publicly shunned relationship with his lover. Aside from that drawback, the story seemed to progress too fast. I would have liked to see more of a process in Iwaki's and Katou's relationship. Katou seemed to fall in love too fast, and the fans seemed to accept this new found love too easily.

If I were to recommend this series to any specific fan, I would suggest it to the newer yaoi fan. The love scenes are short and not too intense, which would gradually lead a beginning fan into the love of harder series. Also, the typical yaoi character stereotypes that exist in this series would not have such a negative effect on a newer fan. However, I do think this series can be enjoyed by any yaoi fan. When it's all over, one will definitely have a feeling of time well spent.