In yaoi anime, why does the uke always say 'senpai'?


I wasn't exactly sure how to phrase the title but in yaoi animes, why does the
uke refer to their love I guess as senpai?

For example, wouldn't it make more sense to say 'I love you Takano' rather
than 'I love you senpai'?

Is this a Japanese language thing or is it better to just say senpai rather
than their actual name?




I am going to make a couple of assumptions here. Since _Uke_ is normally the
"passive" partner in the relationship, it would stand to reason that they are
the younger in the couple, while the _Seme_ , being the dominant partner, is
the older one.

In a school scenario, _senpai_ would make sense and I'd assume the Uke would
start calling the Seme by their name (probably with the -sama honorific at
first) when their relationship is a bit more intimate (intimate = anything
after their first kiss).

While I don't read Yaoi, one can't assume that every Yaoi story has the Uke
and Seme attending the same school. There may be some where one attends a
different school or doesn't attended at all, as such _senpai_ could still be
used.

However, the Seme, being the senior, is still guiding the Uke like how one's
_senpai_ guides, protects, and teaches their kōhai as best they can. With
that, _senpai_ becomes a term of endearment from the Uke after having been
guided in the relationship by the Seme.

