[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 Izumiβs older brother Shougo and the Sena family manager Rei. It wonβt be spoiling much to affirm that yes, theyβre in a relationship.
In this post, Iβll 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 donβt want to read them, donβt go behind the cut! Conversely, if youβd rather just dive right into the story itself, donβt 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 Izumiβs relationship, which unfolds in the pages of the Love Stage!! manga, Shougo and Reiβs 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 Izumiβs relationship).
But before we get too far into their love story, letβs see who weβre dealing with first!
Sena Shougo
At age 25 (birthday: April 8) as of the animeβs 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 Reiβs request, he set off on a journey to become a famous singerβand succeeded well beyond anyoneβs 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 theyβre all about Rei. He has no confirmed sexual orientation, and Rei was the first man he ever had sex with, but heβs never shown any aversion one way or the other, so assumed bisexual.
Sagara Rei
Age 28 as of the animeβs start, Rei is the manager of SenaPro. He grew up under the care of his single mother but didnβt 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 walletβincluding a ticket to his performance that evening. Rei went to the performance and was moved by Seiyaβs 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 heβd fallen in love with Seiyaβa state he continues to be in through the animeβs opening. Canon confirmed bisexual with preference for men.
Their Relationship
As mentioned above, the two meet in their youthβwhen Shougo is 16 and Rei 19βand itβs an awkward relationship from the beginning, as Shougo walks in on Rei masturbating atop Seiyaβs bed. Shougo isnβt the type to think much of this kind of thing, as sex and physical affection arenβt 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. Itβs 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, heβll consider his feelings for Shougo instead of Seiya. This ultimately comes crashing down when, three years later, Shougo does just thatβbecomes a huge star and expects Rei to look his way, but the two manage to put their relationship back together and, while not exactly βin loveβ on Reiβs part (but very much so on Shougoβs), they continue their physical relationship over the years to their mutual satisfaction.
Of course, thatβs not the end, but thatβs all that weβve translated so farβso if you want to know the rest of their story, youβll have to either wait patiently or read the above-mentioned summaries!
As of the animeβs start, Rei and Shougo have been together on and off for nearly a decade and act more like Izumiβs mother and father than his real mother and father, giving him support and discipline in equal measure.
To sum up β 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, Iβm happy to answer them!!
