Last July, Florida’s House Bill 1069 came into effect, allowing parents within the state to object to any book they consider “pornographic or inappropriate.” Since then, hundreds of titles have been banned from school libraries.
One of the latest victims of this unjust censorship is Sho Harusono’s popular boys’ love (BL) manga Sasaki and Miyano, Vol 1. The wholesome manga is being unjustly labeled as featuring “harmful material” and removed from school library shelves.
The “harmful materials” in question? Depicting a healthy – and non-sexually-explicit friendship between two male high school students as it gradually becomes romantic. This innocent portrayal of a budding relationship is what is “harmful and inapporipriate.”
Sasaki and Miyano Described As ‘Offensive’
There’s nothing explicit in Sasaki and Miyano. Indeed, the series is rated as Teen (13+) on its back cover in the US. That makes it appropriate for middle schoolers and beyond. Unless, of course, you’re a homophobe.
While many BL titles contain sexual depictions, Sasaki and Miyano does not contain any explicit material. However, one board member still objected that the material could be potentially “offensive” to students. They wrote:
Children are harmed by being exposed to age-inappropriate, obscene, explicit content. These experiences can lead to struggles with porno…sexual identity, shame, self-esteem and maintaining healthy relationships.
Additionally, the same board member accuses Sasaki and Miyano of “encouraging” readers to embrace a certain sexual orientation through its depictions.
Sexual orientation should not be encouraged, suggested or implanted in our youth. The subject of homosexuality should not be offered at school and sexual orientation should be expressed “within the safety of an adolescent’s home.
In other words, the objector believes that sexual orientation isn’t something inherent and biological but something that’s taught.
Kicking off in 2016, Sasaki and Miyano has received 10 volumes so far, following the slowing developing relationship between two teenage schoolboys. It has given birth to one of the best LGBTQ+ anime ever.
In a vote conducted on August 27, 2024, the Brevard County School Board chose to ban Vol. 1 of the manga from school libraries. The core relationship was deemed ‘inappropriate,’ and a board member cited the manga format as a problem. Yes, you read that right- the manga format was a problem.
A Book Read from Right to Left is Suspicious
The Brevard County Public Schools chair expressed indignation that you read Sasaki and Miyano from right to left. Yes, that’s suspicious. Satanic, even.
In this video, a woman who appears to be chair Megan Wright says:
“I’ve read every one of these books…You start the book, you read it backwards – I mean, it literally, when you start reading a book, which we’ve been teaching our kids from day one, you start at the beginning and then you read from left to right, from the top. Not that book you don’t.”
In Japanese books, novels, and manga, text is printed vertically, and books are read from right to left. In other words, the board member seems to be unaware of how the Japanese language works, a fact that is both surprising and disappointing. She seems to regard any book that reads from right to left as suspicious.
Needless to say, Sasaki and Miyano isn’t in any way special in how it’s presented, manga and Japanese literature are simply written differently from top-to-bottom format of European and American publishing.
It’s absurd to hear these ignorant words from the mouth of someone who has authority over the education of over 74,000 students. The lack of cultural awareness is astounding.
Sasaki and Miyano Suggested to Be Replaced With…Chainsaw Man?!
There’s nothing funny about banning a book because it depicts a healthy LGBTQ relationship, of course. However, the person who made the complaint suggested Chainsaw Man — a series featuring topics such as grooming and sexual assault — as an alternative. The irony of suggesting a series with such explicit and controversial content as a replacement for a harmless manga like Sasaki and Miyano is not lost on us. (This is also read from right to left, btw)
The list of titles they included feels like they selected top search results from Google, which they probably did. These suggestions include:
- Chainsaw Man: Rated 18+ in its US release, graphically violent and explicit series packed with bloodletting in every issue and sports a controversial storyline that touches on the issue of sexual consent between two characters, Denji and Yoru. (I guess since both characters are cishet, it’s fine.)
- Sailor Moon: The inclusion of Sailor Moon is another surprise, as the original manga depicts a lesbian romance between Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus.
- To Your Eternity: Features a protagonist is born male and is attracted to men and is at the least gender-fluid, expressing their desire to dress as a woman on occasion.
- Seven Deadly Sins: A series featuring too much sexual harassment, explicit scenes and ridiculously inappropriate age gap relationships.
In addition to Sasaki and Miyano, People Kill People by Ellen Hopkins (graphic depictions of violence) and Damsel by Elana K. Arnold were also put up for vote and removed. The Book Review Committee voted that these two titles should be removed.
About Sasaki and Miyano
Sasaki and Miyano by Harusono is a BL (Boy’s Life) manga which has been published on the pixiv website since 2016.
Miyano is a girlish looking boy who is insecure about how he looks and spends his days reading BL manga.
He meets Sasaki, a delinquent senior, while trying to prevent a scuffle at school. Sasaki seems more and more interested in Miyano every day.
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