By Courtney
Stranger by the Shore is a classic BL anime for a reason. The manga Seaside Stranger by Kanna Kii is a long-running and well-established series. Still, the anime has an even stronger reach. In fifty minutes, it manages to pull off both a visually stunning portrayal of island life in Japan and also convey the feeling of isolation and loneliness that such a place can have on someone. It also shows how having someone to love can completely shift your perspective and feelings about a place.
Our main character, Shun, is an openly gay novelist who has moved to an island off the coast of Japan to escape his disapproving parents and live free of their judgment. He lives and works out of a restaurant with attached housing and notices, in his loneliness, the presence of a young man who begins to make a habit of lingering on the bench across the street, all alone. When he approaches him one day to quell his curiosity – the young man reveals himself as a recently orphaned high schooler whose name is Mio. He initially rejects Shun’s advances, which is a good thing, given their seven-year age gap. Still, the two do become casually flirty acquaintances.
Not expecting much of this relationship and used to being alone, Shun is unsurprised when the younger man announces that he will be leaving the island to live in a group home on the mainland. He is surprised, however, when he returns as an adult three years later and announces his persisting love for the older man. Unable to accept that someone could embrace him for all of his lifestyle choices, he urges Mio to try women instead and pursue a less controversial partner and life. The eagerness and determination of the younger man eventually open his heart back up to the idea of love.
The heartbreak of this story doesn’t come from relationship drama but from the self-doubt and internalized homophobia that the main character feels. His insistence that someone could be better off without him in their life is shattering to the viewer and also a realistic portrayal of emotion that some of us are all too familiar with: worthlessness.
It is both a tricky subject for an anime to tackle and completely unforgettable when done as well as it was. This story and its fandom remind us that anime as a medium is much more than silly little cartoons and can reach people like Shun who feel completely isolated and remind them that not only are they not alone – but that there is hope for a day when they will no longer feel that way and acts as a salve to the heart in the meantime. I recommend this anime with all my heart; I have collected up to volume six of the manga and now consider it an all-time favorite. If you want to hear even more of my thoughts, make sure to listen to the podcast episode available now! As always, remember that sometimes the delusion is the solution!
Yours in Deep Delusion,
Courtney