[repost; original @ fencer-x] 'Back Stage!!' Primer - Everything You Need to Know About Sena Shougo and Sagara Rei
So! With the Love Stage!! anime off to a great start now, many fans are starting to pick up on the hints of a relationship between Izumiās older brother Shougo and the Sena family manager Rei. It wonāt be spoiling much to affirm that yes, theyāre in a relationship.
In this post, Iāll give a brief primer on who they are, how they met, what their relationship is like, and where you can read more about them!
This post will have spoilers galore, so if you donāt want to read them, donāt go behind the cut! Conversely, if youād rather just dive right into the story itself, donāt let me hold you back!
Volume 1 (COMPLETE): http://backstage01.pressbooks.com/ Volume 2 (ONGOING): http://backstage02.pressbooks.com/ Volume 3 (COMING SOON)
Summaries can also be found here. Other related materials (like comic shorts) can be found in our archive. If any links are dead, just ask for a reupload in the comments.
Unlike Ryouma and Izumiās relationship, which unfolds in the pages of the Love Stage!! manga, Shougo and Reiās relationship is confined to their 3 novels (ongoing, presumably), with a few manga one-shots as well as the occasional cameo in Love Stage!! itself (which usually involves Rei using his sex appeal to distract Shougo from meddling in Ryouma and Izumiās relationship).
But before we get too far into their love story, letās see who weāre dealing with first!
Sena Shougo
At age 25 (birthday: April 8) as of the animeās start, Shougo is the elder brother of Sena Izumi, our protagonist, and the lead singer of the band CRUSHERZ. He first met Rei when he was 16 years old and immediately entered into a physical relationship with him (like, literally immediately. Two minutes after clapping eyes on him, they were jerking off together), and while initially uninterested in being an entertainer, at Reiās request, he set off on a journey to become a famous singerāand succeeded well beyond anyoneās imagination. His fellow bandmates Haru and Rinpei know of his feelings for Rei and support him 100% (going so far as to switch rooms so they can be together while out of town or cover for Shougo when he slips out to have some private time with Rei). Shougo write all of his songs himself, and theyāre all about Rei. He has no confirmed sexual orientation, and Rei was the first man he ever had sex with, but heās never shown any aversion one way or the other, so assumed bisexual.
Sagara Rei
Age 28 as of the animeās start, Rei is the manager of SenaPro. He grew up under the care of his single mother but didnāt have a very good home life and was quite the punk in his youth, sleeping around and getting into fights. When his mother died and he was left destitute and ready to die on Christmas Eve one year, Sena Seiya wandered by and took pity on him, giving him his coat and walletāincluding a ticket to his performance that evening. Rei went to the performance and was moved by Seiyaās singing. When Seiya asked him to be his assistant, Rei took him up on the offer, joining the Sena family. He lived with them for some time, functioning as babysitter for Izumi and manager of sorts for Seiya and Nagisa, eventually realizing that heād fallen in love with Seiyaāa state he continues to be in through the animeās opening. Canon confirmed bisexual with preference for men.
Their Relationship
As mentioned above, the two meet in their youthāwhen Shougo is 16 and Rei 19āand itās an awkward relationship from the beginning, as Shougo walks in on Rei masturbating atop Seiyaās bed. Shougo isnāt the type to think much of this kind of thing, as sex and physical affection arenāt that big a deal to him, so he decides to join in and lets Rei know he can use Shougo in place of Seiya, since he looks a lot like his father. This awkward relationship continues for some time until, after a close call and nearly being found out, Rei cuts off the relationship. After the break, Shougo comes to realize that he is developing feelings for Rei, but Rei cannot return them. Itās only when a crisis necessitates the need for Rei to push Shougo to prepare himself to take over the family business from Seiya that Shougo finally decides to become an entertainer, as Rei falsely promises him that if he becomes a bigger success than Seiya, heāll consider his feelings for Shougo instead of Seiya. This ultimately comes crashing down when, three years later, Shougo does just thatābecomes a huge star and expects Rei to look his way, but the two manage to put their relationship back together and, while not exactly āin loveā on Reiās part (but very much so on Shougoās), they continue their physical relationship over the years to their mutual satisfaction.
Of course, thatās not the end, but thatās all that weāve translated so farāso if you want to know the rest of their story, youāll have to either wait patiently or read the above-mentioned summaries!
As of the animeās start, Rei and Shougo have been together on and off for nearly a decade and act more like Izumiās mother and father than his real mother and father, giving him support and discipline in equal measure.
To sum up ā I LOVE these two and love talking about them, so I encourage everyone to read up on them so you can enjoy their parts in the anime/manga even more! If anyone has any questions, also, Iām happy to answer them!!
I been watching the anime and I am usually really good at seeing side romances AND I MISSED THIS ONE THE ENTIRE SERIES!!!
