i completely agree with you. i feel sorry for anise ╥﹏╥
It didn't distract me at all. Besides, Cipher didn't fall in love with Dana Jackson. Have you been reading at all? Cipher loves Anise while Siva loves Dana. That's why he can't get over Dana's death. Also, as for Cipher the reason why he kept delaying about telling the truth is because Cipher wanted to finish his drama series. At that scene, Cipher was selfish because he wanted to keep his fame as an actor. Aside from that, shoujo doesn't really have to be revolve around "pure romance." This manga doesn't just revolve around romance but it tackles a lot of issues relevant during 1980's such as drugs, gang, racism, friendship, family, betrayal. Mind you, the author didn't intend to make this Yaoi. Remember this is a 1980's manga made in 1984. It's just you DON'T understand the 80's era.
This could be labeled as a shounen ai more than a shoujo. It could've been a great story if the mangaka didn't get confused about the concept she was delivering. It was supposed to be a shoujo with Anise having a major role as the female leading character. However, at some point, she just became a third wheel. On top of that :::spoiler::: Cipher fell for another girl, the same girl his brother loved (and well she dies before either of them gets the chance to confess to her). It would have been great if this story was presented from the start as a manga about the twin brothers, Anise could have been cast in a supporting role. However, it is really not very chic to cast her in Cinderella's role, then send her off to the backstage where both guys treat her as an unnecessary part of the (theatrical) prop. Very uncool and not cute at all. It also distracts the readers from keeping up with the flow of the story while trying to figure out why this dramatic change happened? Perhaps the mangaka wanted to continue with a yaoi-sh story, given the fact that yaoi was becoming more and more popular? Whatever her reasons were, the result is quite unsatisfying.