Two episodes, and it still manages to gut you. Kizuna doesn't treat Ranmaru and Kei as a fantasy pairing so much as a debt neither of them can stop paying: Ranmaru gave up kendo, the thing he was actually great at, taking a hit meant for Kei, and that sacrifice sits under every argument they have like a floorboard that creaks. Then Kai walks in, yakuza-bred and openly hunting Ranmaru's attention, and suddenly Kei's jealousy stops being a joke and starts looking like fear of losing the only person who chose him. The 1994 cel work sells it, all soft-focus quiet and long held reaction shots where nobody says the thing that would fix it. This is early-90s boys' love with actual stakes instead of teasing, and the drama lands because both men are stubborn in ways you recognize from your own bad relationships. You come for the romance, you stay because Ranmaru's ruined kendo arm is the most honest thing in it.

Ranmaru Samejima is a gifted young kendo player who catches the eye of Kei Enjoji, the illegitimate son of a yakuza boss. Kei sets out to win him over, and their friendship, grounded in trust and sacrifice, grows into love. After Ranmaru saves Kei from a yakuza hit-and-run, he has to abandon kendo for good. The pair then set up a home together, promising to back each other and stay clear of the yakuza. Their peace is shaken when a mysterious figure from their past comes after Ranmaru, dragging them back toward the life they left behind. Tempers flare and hidden emotions surface, and the question becomes whether their bond can hold. The story is a two-episode romantic drama OVA.