I'm aware of the fact that Twitter is a hell site, but quite frankly, I'm already exhausted with people calling Soul Mate a "bromance", "queerbaiting" or even just "queer coded".
There is nothing "coded" there. This show is explicitly queer and it Does Not hide the fact that it is.
The relationship between Ryu and Johan never reads platonic and I'm absolutely baffled by the sheer ignorance and inability of people to understand queerness and queer relationships without it being explicitly defined or "shown" through physical intimacy. (Heed the upcoming spoilers!)
The show starts with Ryu's best friend coming out and confessing to him. Ryu can't answer and freezes (he can't really confront how he himself may feel or not feel), and their teammates essentially out Arata. The entire situation becomes so dire that Ryu flees the country.
The first scene in Berlin is Ryu overhearing an argument between a religious, homophobic father and his gay son. Ryu then later Confesses In A Church Booth that he can't confront the fact that he is liked (by Arata). And that he feels guilty about it.
Later, the show reveals that the teenager who burned down the church was the same guy with the homophobic, religious dad. Johan confesses that he saw himself in that teenager and he is The Same. (Which he also confessed to Ryu by the way. That they’re the same.)
We see that Johan has a safe space growing up in a gay bar; he talks about Ryu so much that the bar owner hugs Ryu the moment he sees him.
The entire fight at the gay bar is homophobic assholes destroying Johan's safe space, hurting his "queer confidant" (for lack of a better word), after we saw Johan moments earlier talking to Ryu about seeing each other again. They then threatened Johan at his own home to the point he flees into the darkness to feel safe again.
Their entire relationship is mirrored by Sumiko and Seiichi’s relationship. When Seiichi dies, she screams at Ryu: "At least you have Johan, I don't have Seiichi anymore.”
Ryu and Johan's last big fight before Johan moved out mirrored their conversation about the painting (painting means having the one person you cherish and want to be happy forever). Johan says he finally found such a person. Ryu reads this as Johan finding a lover (which Ryu is so baffled by and Can't Contemplate). Johan later says that he wanted Ryu to have a different happiness, which is why he lied and ran away (meaning, he found that person in Ryu).
Johan's entire speech at the end of the show is him finding his soulmate and his salvation. He says the only person he wants to be with at the end of his life is Ryu. The show ends with them saying "I love you" in their native languages.
And these are just a few instances at the top of my head.
I find it extremely insulting to label this show anything but queer and people not wanting to check it out because "it's not a BL anyway" is so....frustrating.
I understand that some people don't want to see queer people struggling or a "bad" ending for queer people (though I'd argue that this show doesn't explicitly “hold a bad ending” for their queer characters....like Very Straight Seiichi dies before he gets to meet his own child.)
I can even understand that some people don't want to see queer people who never quite dare to define and/or untangle their feelings and/or relationships. But I do think it's quite sad that people feel like queer stories like this are not deserving or worth watching.
I don't think this show is perfect, and I, myself, don't really enjoy characters dying (or in this case getting sick) that have already suffered enough.
But I think their (love) story is still very special because it showed kind people who were trying to find themselves in this not-so-gentle world, and they found some peace and safety in each other. Maybe they could've found even more if they ever dared.
Regardless of that, they saved each other in a very special way, and the show is very clear about that. It was a miracle they found each other, Johan said.
There was a time (or still is to be honest) when writers and showrunners dismissed any queer reading from the audience about their characters.
It's sad that it's the audience now who dismisses and cheapens it.
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