Ryouma's aggressive lashing out stems directly from his sheer panic over questioning his own heterosexuality after a decade of believing his crush was a woman.
Ryouma's plan completely backfires. Instead of curing his crush, seeing Izumi makes him lose control. He forces a heavy kiss and advances on Izumi without his consent. Love Stage!! Episode 3
Episode 3 is highly debated among fans and reviewers of the series. It highlights several major writing tropes and issues typical of classic BL media: Ryouma's aggressive lashing out stems directly from his
To force himself to snap out of it, Ryouma pins Izumi down to prove to himself that Izumi is physically male. He forces a heavy kiss and advances on
Reviewers from platforms like BL Watcher heavily criticize Ryouma’s aggressive actions in this episode, classifying them as sexual assault.
A to the live-action Thai adaptation of the same scene
Eiki Eiki (Author) and Taishi Zaō (Illustrator)