Captivating, emotional and intriguing

THIS.

THIS BL.

THIS BL RIGHT HERE.

I'm not good at explaining things, but believe me when I say this BL is one of the best BLs I've watched in a long time. What I like about Japanese storytelling in particular is the focus on the emotional journey of the (main) characters, exploration of character relationships, and making YOU, the viewer or reader (if you read novels or manga) FEEL something. And that's exactly what Utsukushii Kare does because by the end of this series you will FEEL so many emotions for these characters and WANT them to be together more than anything, even if the idea seems crazy when you begin to watch this.

I'm probably not the only one who wasn't sure how to feel about the main characters, because they seem...flat at first, Kiyoi is just mean and seems to use Hira like all the other classmates and Hira is kind of ridiculous at first, putting Kiyoi on such a high pedestal. But please keep watching. The story is unpredictable and doesn't fall into clichés and the characters, especially Kiyoi, are much more than what meets the eye.

Anyway, to keep it short: The story is captivating, leaves you on the edge of your seat, the directing ánd acting is amazing (the y REALLY understood the assignment).

Only minus I could find would be the OST, I liked it during the scenes but after finishing the series I don't think it's very memorable.

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The bar is raised

This BL is really amazing. I'm not good at writing reviews so I'm just going to share my thoughts and feelings. All I want is for people to give this show a chance because it's just that good. I really hope directors and studios can learn from this show. It's such a simple and yet very unique and different show.

+ Great cast of interesting characters with colorful personalities
+ 10/10 chemistry between main leads/actors, you really feel Kurosowa's love for Adachi through his actions, his eyes, his facial expressions and ofcourse his thoughts
+ I just loved the acting in this. Kurosawa (Machida Keita) has great facial expressions, if he's hurt you want to cry for and with him, if he's happy you're happy
+ Akaso Eiji as Adachi is a great actor and really brings the akward Adachi's character to life. Sometimes, he's just thinking to himself and we can hear his thoughts in those moments, I kust love the way he acts with his facial expressions, just like Machida Keita he has great expressions while acting
+ Wholesome story, characters and relations (friendships and romantic)
+ High quality production (camera-work, directing, writing)
+ Funny, cute and romantic
+ You WILL get emotionally attached to the main characters and want to watch more of them
+ Great OST, very fitting and really adds something to the scenes
+ Not dramatic or overdramatic because it's a light and cute story
+ Entertainment value 10000/10 you will want to rewatch each episode 3-8 times (I'm not kidding, I read so many comments here saying it's their 5th or 6th rewatch per episode)
+ Healthy relationship
+ I know I said it's a simple story, but the show and characters do have a lot of depth. There are struggles they deal with and must overcome. It's really handled well!

Since I want to give an honest review I wil also add what I didn't like (despite the following points please keep in mind im still rating this a 10/10 so please don't be discouraged because the strong points of this show is all written above and it's really a must watch!)

- Kiss or any sexy time between the main couple is left to our imagination (while the side couple kisses a few times)
- Side couple, altough very funny and a nice contrast to the main couple, didn't really leave an impression on me like the main couple.
- I personally liked the side characters (they didn't have a romantic interests) more than the side couple
- Last episode, despite the rememberable moments, was a little weak because it felt rushed and the conflict was settled so quickly (on the other hand I'm happy the conflict was solved fast but still)

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An honest review from a long-time fan of the cast and novel (No Spoilers)

I want to give an honest review, as a fan of the cast before the show started airing and a big fan of the novels. This review will not contain any novel spoilers. By the time I'm writing this review, only 1 episode is released.

+ Novel similarities +

I was very impressed by the first episode. The storyline followed the novel closely, but they skipped over many scenes, added new scenes or completely changed things, but they didn't skim over anything important. This was a very good choice of the screenwriters/authors. All our favorite scenes and the core of the story and characters are still there. The changes made the characters more relatable and seem more 'human'. Also, the story was more fast paced, which I liked a lot. It would have taken much longer to reach the scenes at the end of episode 1 otherwise.

Also, the chess game between Chan and Korn was very interesting, it is foreboding that there is a game being played here by Korn. I wonder if they follow the novel, or do something entirely else?

+ Acting +

Mile and Apo did a fantastic job, bringing the characters of the novel to live. First, I had to adapt to the personalities of Porsche and Kinn, because for two years we followed Mile and Apo and I had to tell myself, wait they're Porsche and Kinn now, don't look at them thinking of Mile and Apo! While watching the episode, I was able to turn the switch about half way.

Mile as Kinn, to me, was so sexy, so hot, without showing a lot of skin. It's the confidence, power, mannerisms. I really couldn't see Mile anywhere, the smiley, happy man was replaced by Kinn. He was so amazing. Porsche was borderline annoying, but that means Apo did an amazing job because I remember thinking Porsche was annoying in the novel too sometimes haha. But he's also serious when he has to be, especially when it comes to his brother. Really loved seeing Apo as Porsche, he really is perfectly casted, just like Mile.

Porsche's uncle, Korn, Big (nodt), Ken (Perth), and Jom (ping) are really good actors, especially Nodt (Big) caught my attention each time he came into view, he's really great.

Barcode as Porchay, sometimes I thought he looked nervous while acting and not convincing, but at other times he really did a great job, especially at the scenes with the letter and the more emotional scenes with Porsche. He's very young and this is his first time acting, I think overall he did a good job and I could feel the brotherly love between him and Porsche.

+ BGM & Close-Ups +

At certain times, the music was nice, but sometimes it was not very memorable or non-existent. And there were scenes without background music, where I think BGM would have made the scene better. I hope when the dvd or blu ray set is released, they will do something about the music. Because music in film conveys emotion and feelings, it's so important and adds extra dimension.

Also wish there were more close-up scenes to provide context and visual interest. Close-up scenes of hands, faces, touches, looks, but also the setting, are so important to give more information about the character and the scene, but we got very little. Especially in a Boys Love drama, it is important because it helps create tension between characters, anticipation, and conveys emotions and mood. I hope the future episodes, especially the more intimate scenes, will have more of those close-up shots. Since the first episode was mostly action, I can understand why they save those kind of shots for later episodes!

+ Final Word +

All in all, really good episode, very high re-watch value, and I'm so excited for the next few episodes, especially Vegas and Pete who will play with your emotions a lot. We saw Pete for one second blurred in a corner, and I was so happy to see him, but I guess it wasn't his time to shine yet!

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