Since the game staff basically called Sorey gay by saying he would never want a female love interest, doesn't all the sorey x ali in the anime count as like, erasure. I've seen a lot of anime/game fans toss erasure accusations a lot for nothing but shipping reasons, but this is the first franchise I've seen where it might be accurate.
Sorry for making you wait for an answer. I had to give this ask a bit of thought before I answered it, mostly because I wanted to give this a good mature answer, as it often brings in a lot of debate and discourse whenever this topic gets brought up in fandom. And what I’ve concluded is that, yes, it is gay erasure, especially since this is supposed to be a source of canon material as an official adaptation of the game. Granted, there’s a part of me that’s holding out for a heavy-handed Sorey/Mikleo Is Canon finale, but I’m not holding my breath. And even then it doesn’t change the fact they did throw in all those moments of teasing Sorey with a female love interest . . . which makes this an accurate accusation. That said, though . . .
It’s really disappointing and infuriating (to put it extremely mildly) to see this happen in the anime after all the support Bamco has put behind Sorey, his sexuality (going as far as to Word of God him as gay, even if it’s more a case of look at everything they’re denying and what’s left is the answer), and his relationship with Mikleo (between the “One and Only” in game title in the Japanese version and calling him Sorey’s irreplaceable presence). And this is support that Bamco continues to put behind them - just look at the screen caps for that skit for Tales of Asteria, not to mention the True Names skit in Berseria. Look at the manga and how true to the game it is, and how it brings their relationship even more to the forefront.
The only thing I have to wonder is how much creative control Bamco has over the anime adaptation, especially when it’s deviating so severely from the original story compared to the manga. The manga did have its moments where it didn’t follow the game - it notably cut out the 4 trial shrines, and pushed Mikleo’s pact to Marlind and the Drake fight instead of Galahad Ruins - but it never strayed far from the game where characterization and relationships were concerned.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, skewer ufotable all you want for gay erasure, but until Bamco says anything one way or the other, or comes out with a skit (whether it’s Asteria, Link, TalesFes, or now, Rays) that erases Sorey’s sexuality or changes his relationship with Mikleo to make way for a female love interest, hold off on lumping Bamco in with ufotable. Yes, Bamco’s credited in the anime - they’re the company that holds all the licenses for the game after all. But when the anime deviates so heavily from previous established canon and canon adaptations, I have to wonder just how much of this is Bamco’s fault versus them handing all creative control to ufotable for the worse.
