Utsukushii Kare (2021)

Les premiers émois amoureux sont souvent compliqués ^^'

Il s’agit d’une histoire que j’attendais, j’avoue ne pas trop savoir pourquoi. Sans doute les teasers qui montraient une certaine « tension »… (Va savoir x’D)

Je me lance donc dans le visionnage de ce drama qui suit deux lycéens : Kiyoi & Hira. Il s’agit de deux personnalités assez complexes… Kiyoi est le genre qui attire toujours les gens à lui, tandis que Hira préfère rester seul. Durant une grande partie de l’histoire, on tente de nous faire croire qu’ils sont des opposés… Cependant, plus nous avançons dans l’histoire, plus on se rend compte qu’ils sont similaires de par leur sentiment d’insécurité mais également pour leur indifférence face au monde qui les entoure…

Au fur & à mesure de l’histoire, nous voyons se dérouler un jeu du chat & de la souris… Avec deux personnages des plus maladroits ! On peut voir qu’il s’agit de leur premier émoi, ils ne se comprennent pas… & n’essaient même pas, partant du principe que leur amour ne pourrait pas se concrétiser… (Est-ce car il s’agit d’un amour homosexuel ? Ou simplement une question de fierté ? Surement un mélange des deux ^^’)

J’avoue avoir apprécié cette histoire, le mélange de tension & d’incompréhension m’ayant tenu en haleine. (Même si l’histoire n’a rien de bien original x’D)

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Une jolie romance.

Cette série m'a beaucoup plu et voici mon ressenti.

J'ai aimé le fait que le drama reprenne un thème bien connu, celui du harcèlement scolaire mais pour le faire dévier avec le beau-gosse de la classe qui s'intéresse, sans le montrer, au paria de la classe. D'ailleurs ce thème est à nouveau réutilisé par la suite, mais je m'arrête là pour ne pas spoiler à ceux qui n'ont pas encore découvert la série.

Nos deux héros se croisent, s'apprécient et se protègent mais ils restent souvent dans le non-dit qui est, bien évidemment, préjudiciable à leur relation (mais, sans ça, où serait le drama ?). J'ai aimé également la façon qu'avait la série de nous montrer, tout d'abord, le point de vue Hira Kazunari, pour ensuite passer à celui de Kiyoi Sou.

On parle de deux personnages : l'un populaire et l'autre paria, mais, ils sont tous autant l'un que l'autre ostracisés : le premier par la carapace qu'il a dû se construire en regard de sa popularité et aussi de son milieu familial et le second à cause de son bégaiement qui l'a mis à part de ses camarades et l'a fait évoluer dans un monde bien solitaire.

La photographie de la série est vraiment belle et soignée et j'ai adoré la maison de Hira Kazunari, je me voyais tout à fait y vivre tellement elle est chaleureuse et accueillante.

La réalisation a réussi à raconter toute l'histoire dans ce format pourtant court en plaçant ellipses et bond dans le temps à point nommé ce qui donne un ensemble cohérent et bien mené.

Je ne dirai pas non à une éventuelle saison 2 même si je pense que cette série peut très bien se suffire à elle-même.

Maintenant, à vous de vous faire votre avis.

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A story that causes controversial overreaction by viewers without doing anything controversial

This is my first time writing a drama review because I was usually a silent viewer but this drama was so interesting that I ended up feeling the need to write one despite this is not a language I speak.

Story:

When I first read the synopsis, I thought that It must be one of those lazy shoujo/BL story that used to be popular with trope like bully x victim cheesy high school romance which usually end with bully kept enjoying the bullying while the victim just submit to them after awhile because they can’t fight back. It started with two kids with troubles of their own who seemed like it will end up in a bad relationship but the story turned out different the more I watched. It was about calling out their deep rooted issues until they are ready to face it together and touched on topics like communication, idolatry, consent and first love. Because of first episode alone I feel like these characters have more behind what they are showing on facade so I chose to look for the source material and found the audio drama adaptation which is close to the original Novel. I LOVE IT. I was anxious and anticipated to see how the drama which only have 2 and half hours run time overall would be able to adapt such complicated story accurately.

Characters:

They started like one of those boring flat characters, an obsessive introvert boy and his crush who’s the opposite. However, what you will realize is that, the story is being told in first person point of view, which mean for the over half of the drama you will hear from this boy Hira about his life and his obsession over his crush. From his point of view, me and the other viewers are sympathized with him and feel the anger toward the crush who seems like bland untouchable character but we are so wrong when the narration switched to Kiyoi, the popular boy, to be the one telling the story from his eyes which to be honest, more realistic view than Hira’s. It told you the complexity of both characters and WHY there was misunderstanding between them because even we, as the third person who watch them, also misunderstood them. Worth noting that this story might not have much of them as romantic partners but more like HOW they became a couple because this is only adapted from 1st book of the novel trilogy.

A lot of people’s reaction to this drama was a shallow view and criticism on the story and characters without looking closer and reflecting. The word “Toxic” and “Abusive” wouldn’t be what I would call their romance, I would say they are two teenagers with their own issue who found comfort in each other but miscommunication happened, loneliness and bad timing didn’t help either.

Rewatch value: HELL YEAH this is the only romance drama that I suggest rewatching because trust me, every rewatch will give you new details you didn’t notice before and that should thank to awesome and attentive production team as well as the young actors who surprisingly are good at portraying complex story and characters with such a short limit of time.

I believe drama-only fans won’t find it anything special but this drama put a lot of effort in including favorite lines and hidden detail from its source material so the rewatch value is MUCH higher for fans who love the novel and audio drama version.

However, I would suggest everyone to give it a try and watch for yourself. This is a good story but probably not for everyone, especially those who refuse to open their mind.

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The Best Japanese BL EVER

The funny thing to me is.... I started off liking Kieta Hatsukoi more... and I just thought My Beautiful Man first episode was JUST OK... but in the end I liked My Beautiful slightly more than I did Kieta.. both shows are beautiful but the story build up in My Beautiful Man was just perfection.

The acting performance from the two leads were so stellar and gripping. The show builds episode by episode and it leaves u on the edge of your seat... This is definitely the best Japanese BL I've ever seen and definitely top 10 among all time BL's for me. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves boy love content.

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Worth your time

(Minor spoilers)

What got me to start this was knowing the ML from another drama and enjoying his performance as well as the absolutely gorgeous poster. I went in with average expectations, and I was not disappointed. It was even better than I imagined.

Watching Kieta Hatsukoi and this back to back was an interesting experience. This featured a fairly masochistic character, some unhealthy relationship dynamics, and ominous music and shots. It's also somewhat dark but honest about it, with characters who are at times morally grey. But, believe it or not, you can enjoy this and Kieta Hatsukoi.

This was an addictive drama that always made me curious enough to go back and rewatch the recently released episode about six times before the next one was released. I had to pay attention to see what I may have missed. And there are quite a few small details that can be missed.

It was also wonderfully shot, had moments that promised something dangerous, and the music in particular really lended to the eerie/uncomfortable atmosphere at times. The light masochism was also quite interesting to watch. Not to mention they did a great job at building tension between Hira and Kiyoi. You feel those stares.

The way this was shot in particular really lended itself to the idea that Hira views Kiyoi as a King/God. They did an amazing job of making us see him the way he did too. On a pedestal. Above him. Some untouchable ethereal person. He comes into the classroom and a light shines on him while petals fall gracefully around him. He turns to the camera and gives us one smile and our heart stops. Or with symbolic moments such as Hira getting down on one knee to kiss his hand and even that small touch is so precious and he feels unworthy for receiving it from his King.

One last compliment:

The ending shot literally looks like a painting based on ancient times. They literally look like art pieces. I want to capture it and frame it on my wall. Just... Hats off to the person who directed this and the people who filmed it.

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Love with Flaws

Here we have a special series, which is defined primarily by its unique storyline.
Unlike the often over-romanticized BLs, both main characters have recognizable character flaws: they are arrogant, selfish and obsessed, but also insecure, intimidated and vulnerable.
This contrast is what makes the series so appealing, because for all their negative attitudes, they remain sympathetic and likable and I always wished them a satisfying love.

Their relationship is neither perfect nor equal and their love hurts others, but that's how it often is and I'm glad that a series shows this without losing sight of the beauty of their relationship.

The acting, cinematography and soundtrack are always on a high level.
All in all a nice surprise at the end of the year and probably one of the best BLs from Japan.

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It's beautiful

It makes me sad that this drama is getting so little attention + a lot of attention that it is getting is negative because apparently these days every character has to be flawless & every relationship has to be 100% healthy which is so annoying.

What I liked about this drama:
- The cinematography in this show is so beautiful!!!
- Fell in love with the music, the end credit song is a bop.
- Didn't even notice how the episodes went by (I often struggle with getting bored even with 20min eps) which means that I was really invested in them.
- The animated scenes when starting Hira's & Kiyoi's POV were well done.
- The dynamic between Hira and Kiyoi is just interesting to me because you don't see it often in series.
- Flawed characters who have a lot of growing and maturing to do (and no Hira isn't an innocent baby who's just being abused by Kiyoi, they both got issues + Kiyoi treats Hira better than everyone else in that high school, sure he calls him names sometimes but he also talks to him and spends time with him without expecting something in return unlike others who either ignore him, make fun of him or uses him.)
- Despite what some people say I don't think it's "romanticizing toxic relationships", I'm pretty sure the characters know that they have issues and they're trying to deal with them, that's the whole point.
- I also have to mention that I love the acting!! Especially watching Kiyoi I really saw and felt his inner conflict and frustration while trying to understand his own feelings.

Overall I really enjoyed this drama and have rewatched every episode multiple times (which is not what I was expecting when starting it since I'm not a fan of high school stories, especially ones that deal with bullying but that's only first 3 eps)

You should give this series a try but don't expect it to be light & fluffy, that's just not what this show is about, it's like the polar opposite of Kieta Hatsukoi.

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Complex & Beautiful Story

This is one of the best dramas I've seen in a long while. It's incredibly emotionally and visually compelling, with complex characters that develop themselves and their relationships to one another so captivatingly over the 6 epidodes. I held my breath all the way through the final episode, it's the kind of show that just draws you slowly and will make you feel emotionally connected to it.

This show will make you feel so strongly about the characters and it's so well acted and produced that I was really captivated by the story the whole time. Particularly strong is the acting from the character Kiyoi, which is revealed so well in the later episodes as we understand more and more about him.

Also this show is just such a realistic portrayal of complex relationships, emotions, and the obsessive tendencies we have as humans when we like people. Specifically it portrays very emotionally the complications and contradictions young people may feel when coming to terms with their own sexualities, and navigating the social pressures in their surrounding environments at the same time. All of this emotional complexitiy comes together so beautifully with the settings, lighting, music, and camera work in the show (which is just visually stunning). I just felt so strongly connected to the story.

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IF YOU'RE HESITATING TO WATCH IT.. DON'T HESITATE BITCH GO WATCH IT NOWW

i don't know how to write reviews but i really wanted to write about this one
I'll probably never be able to fully express the amount of love i have towards this bl
u know when you watch tons of bl that it's like you feel they're like all so similar but then you watch a one and you feel like ✨
i don't really know much about love and im not sure if i understand it that much but this might be the definition of love to me
it's so beautiful that i want to rewatch it already even though i just finished it
it's insane and driving me crazy how the actors portrayed the feelings of the characters in such a perfect way
but as much as i love it i also hate it cuz it kinda hurts watching it knowing that : oh so this is what love looks like and knowing that I'll probably never get to experience it
im in love with every single detail every scene every look and every line
it's just so pretty that i want to watch it again and again and again
you should really really watch it

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