No... but... The internalized homophobia. This show makes me think more and more that Nozue hasn't suddenly realized that he likes men or likes them too, but that he has denied himself exploring that part of him for a very, very long time.
I know these adaptions of manga aren't often centred around the coming-out experience. The conflict around 'but he is a man' is often just a nod in the direction of acknowledging that this is a lgbtq story, but Old Fashion Cupcake...
Maybe it's because it feels so comfortingly adult. Nozue might not always see what his words do to Togawa, but the way he naturally flirts with him, the looks, and the way his face changes every time Togawa is most likely stirring up these long-buried desires make me believe that he knows exactly who he is in terms of his own sexuality.
Don't get me wrong. It would also be absolutely beautiful to have a story about a man who in his late thirties figures out that he might not be as straight as he has thought all these 39 years, those stories exist and are equally valid. It's just... there is this melancholy around Nozue, this sadness. That he denies himself a lot. And it stayed even after all this anti-aging they had done.
