First season of The Summer Hikaru Died was so good that every other gay anime show/movie has retroactively been ruined for me. I think because the 'romance' part is second to the supernatural conflict-- Yoshiki & Hikaru's queerness and the 'main' plot are fully intertwined of course, but the overarching conflict is beyond just the two of them. There are more potential consequences in the story than them not getting together. Also the series is beautiful in general.

Idk. The typical Will They/Won't They story can be cute but it's not compelling to me, maybe I just don't like the romance genre. I prefer when relationships are just another part of the human ecosystem instead of the whole point of your existence.

I just wish queer love was casually inserted into stories more often, where it's not the "point" but not hidden or subtextual. Where the plot doesn't treat them like a punching bag, but doesn't completely sand out the hardships of being queer. I want more queer stories like TSHD