Tadaima, Okaeri

Welcome Home - You like BL? Yes, but not enough? There's a curveball thrown back at you: the Omegaverse. When it comes to the Yaoi a.k.a BL scene, there's a lot of cute moments...lots of them — that lead to the same predictable ending, and honestly, it's nice to watch a gay relationship come alive, but the same elements just don't strike twice for a good show, and when subsequent shows come, the formula gets old really quick. So, in this season, there is a BL show, but it's more than just your typical average BL work: mangaka Ichi Ichikawa's Tadaima, Okaeri a.k.a Welcome Home, whichpits the Yaoi genre under a new and rarely seen spotlight: the sub-genre known as the Omegaverse, and this show being the very first to be featured in AniManga, it's none like any other. To all not in the know, the folksonomy known as Omegaverse a.k.a A/B/O (an abbreviation for "alpha/beta/omega"), is a sub-genre of speculative erotic fiction, and originally of erotic fan fiction. Its premise is that a dominance hierarchy exists in humans, which is divided into dominant "alphas", neutral "betas", and submissive "omegas", determining how people interact with one another in romantic, erotic, and sexual contexts. Its main peculiarity is that characters have two sexes: a main one (male or female), decided by their external sexual organs, and a secondary one, that manifests during puberty, determined by their internal reproductive system. It's usually chosen from one of the following, each of which also corresponds to some distinctive character traits: Alpha (α): socially (and in some interpretations, even biologically) dominant, physically built, short-tempered, and a natural leader. Beta (β): depending on the story, they are regular human beings, have a mix of Alpha and Omega traits, or have their own unique traits. Omega (Ω): submissive and gentle, calm and a peacemaker. Applying the above term to the manga-turned-anime work, you have a happy family of a husband, a wife, and kids, though all of them are male (in the show), since either sex in either Yaoi or Yuri genres can still give birth to kids the exact same way as specified. But this happy family is not a perfect one, as this is an Alpha and Omega family of the Fujiyoshis, with the Alpha husband Hiromu, the Omega wife Masaki, and their healthy child (presumed to be Omega) Hikari. If you'd think normal families have it rough, wait till you see an Omegaverse family like Masaki and Hiromu. Considering the hostile environment that is not accepting of such risky marriages, not to mention the growing animosity, harassment, and continuous discrimination, the Fujiyoshi family is a blessing in disguise, built on the cusp of family drama with abandonment always on the topic (before their marriage), since it's natural to have two of the same kind be wed. Yet, despite the prejudice that they constantly face, they have support from friends, neighbours, and co-workers to give them the support, love, acceptance, and compassion they deserve. It's nice to see people like Hiromu's co-worker, Tomohiro Matsuo, and the family's next-door neighbor, Yuki Hirai, be understanding of the family's circumstances for being a special family that still has a strong bond despite all of the criticism from loved ones. And that's not an easy job maintaining the stance that both were made for each other, despite the obvious and clear difference between the dominant one in the relationship. And this is where I feel that the series ups the ante on the Yaoi genre for being not just still a topic that is highly debated today (related to LGBTQ+/queerness), but a sub-genre that has exploded in popularity since 2017, enough for numerous fan fiction material. Honestly, there are lots of opportunities to go the Omegaverse route, and Ichi Ichikawa embraced it to write and draw a simple story with an execution that you cannot simply ignore because of its peculiarities. The production is very nice...or rather, this show just proves to me that Studio Deen should ONLY keep making more BL shows. So far, they've done Winter 2022's Sasaki and Miyano, and are set to adapt the upcoming Summer season's Yaoi show of Twilight Out of Focus, so I'd rather prefer if producers get the hint to stop allowing Studio Deen to tackle action-heavy shows (i.e. this season of the underwhelming Re:Monster, and the abomination that is Dekisoko a.k.a The Banished Former Hero Lives as He Pleases (alongside Marvy Jack)) and shift them over to the BL scene. Also, having Gakuen Babysitters's character designer-cum-chief animation director Mina Oosawa, means that for the few of you who watched the Winter 2018 show, you'll instantly feel right at home as if you're watching a spiritual sequel to said series. The OST is also good, with the surprise being MADKID performing the rather cutesy and uplifting OP song that's way outside of what their usual Anisong calibre is, it instantly strikes off as being a feel-good song. Takayoshi Tanimoto's song is alright, though I'd take it or leave it. “If you want to see a rainbow, you have to learn to see the rain.” - Paulo Coelho The above quote sums up Tadaima, Okaeri a.k.a Welcome Home completely, as your understanding of what the Omegaverse is, will contribute to the enjoyability factor of the show as a whole. I would love to see more Omegaverse-centric stories like this, because not only do we don't get them a lot, and even if it's almost a toss-up if the stories are either good or bad, it's still worth the effort to do so.