Īnime tropes can be benign, like high school students running with toast in their mouth. Oftentimes they’re somewhat problematic fan service, like magical girl costume changes. Romance anime has its own set of tropes, prevalent in straight and gay stories alike. And in the case of shounen-ai, these tropes become deeply troubling instances that present a warped and dangerous view of gay relationships. So let’s break down these common themes and why they’re so damaging to queer representation. One of the most obvious and apparent tropes in boy love shows are that the main couple have a substantial age difference. There is always a distinct seme (top) and uke (bottom) in the relationships, which creates a distinct power dynamic. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this, but in boy love anime the uke character is often presented as VERY young. They may technically be an adult, or likely a teen, but they have the body of an early pubescent boy.
This is often spelled out clearly, that this 16 year old boy looks like a 12 year old. Haru and Ren in 'Super Lovers' have a significant age difference that is noted as taboo in the show. There’s a damaging and untrue stereotype that gay men are predators, on the prowl for younger boys.
