Senpai Is An Otokonoko Ep. 12 “The Real Me”: Acceptance At Long Last [Review]

Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 12 “The Real Me” definitely feels like a turning point in the life of Makoto Hanaoka. Even just the title will tell you that they’re making an important decision about their life. All after meeting a relative they hadn’t previously known about who turns out to bear a surprising resemblance to them in so many ways.

Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 12 “The Real Me”: Details

Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 12 “The Real Me” is the 12th and final episode (you can read my reviews of Ep. 1, Ep. 2, Ep. 3, Ep. 4, Ep. 5, Ep. 6, Ep. 7, Ep. 8, Ep. 9, Ep. 10, and Ep. 11 here) of this LGBTQ+ romantic comedy anime series. Said anime is the anime adaptation of the manga of the same name by Pom. Project No.9 (Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?!, Love After World Domination) is the animation studio behind this anime. Crunchyroll is the company licensing this anime in NA region.

Production Cast

Mizuki Sakuma is the director behind Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 12 “The Real Me”, with Yoriko Tomita as the writer, Zi Hao Xuan as the storyboarder, and Shōto Shinkai, Eri Ogawa, and Yuta Masaki all collectively claiming credit as the chief animation director. As for Senpai is an Otokonoko as a whole, Shinsuke Yanagi is the director behind the anime. Yoriko Tomita is the writer behind the same, with Shōto Shinkai as the character designer, and Yukari Hashimoto as the composer for the music you hear in that anime.

Speaking of music: the opening theme song is “Wagamama” (我がまま, “Selfishness”) by Kujira. Meanwhile, “Are ga Koi Datta no kana” (あれが恋だったのかな, “I Wonder If That Was Love”) by Kujira feat. Nishina is the ending theme song.

Voice Cast

Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 12 “The Real Me” features the voices of Shūichirō Umeda as Makoto Hanaoka, Akira Sekine as Saki Aoi, and Yuma Uchida as Ryuji Taiga. Other notable voice roles in this episode include Hitomi Ishikawa as Chihiro Ishikawa, Ai Satō as Masako Aoi, Mai Nakahara as Mika Hanaoka, and Masahiko Tanaka as Eiichirō Kawasaki.

When and Where to Watch

Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 12 “The Real Me” made its airing and streaming debut (read: simulcast) on September 26, 2024. You can watch this episode only on Crunchyroll. In fact, you can watch the anime as a whole only on Crunchyroll due to it being an exclusive there.

Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 12 “The Real Me”: Synopsis

Alas, Senpai is an Otokonoko has only just ended its run. In fact, Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 12 “The Real Me” only just made its debut six days ago as of this writing. Thus, I will present to you Crunchyroll’s official synopsis for this episode instead of a spoiler-filled plot summary. You can read that synopsis below:

Due to his father’s work, Makoto goes to meet his grandfather for the first time.. While spending time with him, Makoto begins to sort through his own feelings. Then, with a hidden resolve in his heart, he decides to go home.

Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 12 “The Real Me”: The Good

Because Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 12 “The Real Me” is the final episode of the anime for now, this review will also be for the anime as a whole. With that in mind: Senpai is an Otokonoko is an amazing anime. It’s the first romantic comedy anime I’ve seen so far in which all of the main characters are LGBTQ+ that still has them live in an otherwise typical Japanese society. This allows the story to explore Japan’s trans community, the titular otokonoko cultural phenomena in Japan, as well as homophobia and transphobia in Japan in general. All this makes this anime feel more…real compared to other LGBTQ+ anime that also features LGBTQ+ main characters.

This is especially so in Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 12 “The Real Me”. We see Makoto finally meet their grandfather, who is basically an older LGBTQ+ person for Makoto to look up to. In fact, their grandfather helps Makoto officially come out to their parents, and confront their mother’s homophobia/transphobia in a way that’s shockingly heartwarming and positive. No details on that though, since I think I might’ve said too much. Still, this should be quite the refreshing and relieving take on this pretty serious subject matter. Pom truly has crafted a most wonderful LGBTQ+ story here.

All with studio Project No.9’s high quality animation to complement that story to boot. Their animation quality for the serious scenes is still quite HD, and balanced out with a good amount of adorable chibi scenes to enhance the light-hearted moments. This is the trend they have established throughout the anime, and it’s a trend that continues to the very end.

Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 12 “The Real Me”: The Bad

Honestly, I feel like my one complaint is a nitpick for Senpai is an Otokonoko. I wish the food could’ve been slightly higher quality. It all just looks so amazing and adorable that I wish the animation for the food had Black Butler -Public School Arc-‘s level of animation quality. However, that’s on another level entirely. So much so that I feel that particular anime has spoiled me in that regard.

As for the anime in general though, I must point out that this is not an action-packed anime. It’s a romantic comedy anime, not some shonen fighting anime. If you want that, then might I suggest Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Solo Leveling, Kaiju No. 8, The Elusive Samurai, and/or DEAD DEAD DEMONS DEDEDEDE DESTRUCTION? Those anime should have more than enough action to satisfy any action junkie.

Lastly, I would like to point out one last time that there is still a very vocal and hateful minority review bombing this anime purely because it’s focused on LGBTQ+ themes. If you like Senpai is an Otokonoko, then I implore you to do your part and give this anime a high rating on Crunchyroll to fight the review bombers.

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