I Hear the Sunspot

Never Reached A Pinnacle; Awful Ending

This is a series that got so close to the mountain top but just fell short of reaching its summit. That is too bad as the story itself was original and creative and very likeable. But it all crumbled at its denouement. My own suspect was that they did not want to make it too gay for reasons that elude me. This series had so much potential. The relationship between the disabled and ‘normal’ worlds was captured with good accuracy. You had a protagonist that found his calling from this experience in wanting to devote his professional life to helping others. We see that individuals with a disability can and often do use their disability for the wrong reasons or use it as an excuse for inappropriate behavior. This series would have been an outstanding one if it had taken it to a greater intense level in which we were shown that an actual and genuine real love relationship could occur.

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I Can Hear Your Voice

This is a gem of a show filled contemplations, heartwarming moments and one of the more genuine stories out there. The nuanced and deep representation of disabilities, friendship and bonds really shone in a story driven by it's characters.

The growth displayed by the leads was the strongest suit they played, Kohei and Taichi were incredible characters as they were, and watching them grow as they grew closer was extremely well done. Kohei came out of his shell, interacting with the world on his terms, and as he did, Taichi did as well, trying to understand what Kohei is going through and familiarise himself, both with Kohei and his disability.

Another aspect I think they handled well was the representation of disabilities. There wasn't a one fits all mold in place here, it was ensured that the dilemmas and experiences of those hard of hearing were shown to be different for each person.

The romance didn't quite pan out the way I thought it would, while it was clear that Kohei and Taichi had an extremely deep and amazing bond, it was hard to visualise this as a romance when the focus shifted onto another character who was neither Kohei nor Taichi.

I did think the introduction of Maya as a supporting character was a double edged sword, she added nothing to the plot, because with or without her, the essence of the story would've remained the same. Her rude, and sometimes demeaning attitude didn't really come across well, and though I believe there was a bit of depth to her character and actions, ultimately, they came across as self centred and her development seemed like it never came even though it did.
The other supporting characters felt much more genuine, not perfect, just genuine.

With Maya's introduction, the tone of the drama shifted into more of drama than a romance, and that wasn't solely because of the new character. The focus was later shifted onto Taichi's personal growth, which, while I loved to see, kind of took away the focus from Kohei and their bond, the very things I had come to love in the first half. The romance then came much too hard and fast, and despite it's genuineness, felt too rushed.

Don't let any of that take anything away from this brilliant story though, because despite it's flaws, it was pretty perfect. The beauty of watching two people become someone the other person cannot see themselves without to each other, while still being themselves, understanding and recognising each other, it's a special thing.

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Hearing Gayed. Broken.

The following conversation took place this week between me (a gay man) and a friend of mine (a straight woman who’s hard of hearing). We sometimes watch BLs together. (Note: This conversation was first posted on Reddit, but felt more appropriate here.)

ME: So, what do you think (of Hidamari)?

SHE: What do *I* think? With all this praise from everyone, everywhere, all at once, you’d think this was the second coming of Christ!

ME: Tell me about it. I think there has been a sprinkling of healthy scepticism on Reddit, but it’s out and out war on the pages of MDL.

SHE: Let me guess. Between those who think it’s a disability drama, and those who think it’s BL?

ME: Bingo!

SHE: Are there any who think it’s bad at both?

ME: Ummm… you?

SHE: Bingo!

ME: There is also that other, internecine war on MDL: between that group of mostly young, mostly female population who want a chaste, aching BL, and the older gays who, understandably, don’t want the sex erased from homosexuality.

SHE: Well, you know whose side I am on.

ME: Mine, I hope. Anyway, do spill.

SHE: As you know, I don’t think art needs to be representational at all. It is not anyone’s duty to represent anything. But, insofar as people think that this show ‘represents’ disability, it is a miserable failure. Not least because it is primarily a plot device, whose purpose is to sow misunderstanding and miscommunication between our boys. As if Japanese characters don’t do enough of that to themselves already. Apparently, deaf people can’t communicate because… well… they can’t hear well. Get it? How original! Have you ever known me to be non-communicative?

ME: If only.

SHE: Might I remind you that you gave me your number? Anyway, I know I'm oversimplifying matters... but not that much. The idea that people hard of hearing cannot reach out, or do not reach out, out of fear, failure of confidence, or low self-esteem, is just so old and tired, I'm quite sick of it. Our lives are richer than that. There is nothing we want more than be part of the world, and we are often better communicators for it. I don't know if Kohei's syndrome was more cultural or physiological, but either way, he made me quite angry with all that self-pity. A highly unattractive trait in a man. At least Taichi brought a measure of joy and innocence into the drama -- and Kobayashi is an amazing actor -- but soon I grew weary of his naïveté too. He's so dense that even light would bend around him. I was patient enough of all this for the first few episodes, but then they brought in Maya...

ME: Who, by the way, has a lot of defenders.

SHE: Of course she does. Another straight, evil woman who comes in between the boys in a BL? It's revolutionary, I tell you.

ME: She transcends that trope, apparently...

SHE: By, let me guess, being deaf and having a sad past? Yay! Deaf people can be evil too! I feel seen! That’s true representation! Trope? What trope?

ME: I get it. I get it. Also, it's not as if either of us are against tropes, when done well. I seem to remember you did love Heart and Li Ming in Moonlight Chicken.

SHE: Oh, that was wonderful. I was swooning over them, and wondering where the fuck was my Li Ming. Was it good “representation”? No. (Let's face it, nor is Hidamari.) Was it “realistic”? No. (Again, nor is Hidamari.) But was it full of joy? Yes! Was it full of chemistry and sensuality and longing? Yes. Did it show that deaf people can be fun and joyous too and want rampant sex and can make fun of ourselves? Yes, yes, yes. It didn’t even have a proper kiss, and yet managed to be so full of physicality. Which emotionally starved fuck-up wrote this script?

ME: I’d rather not go into it.

SHE: Was the person who wrote the manga hard-of-hearing?

ME: I don’t know. I didn't think it mattered.

SHE: Good. Better that way. Because if I found out that they were, I might be tempted to cut them some slack, and I don't want to. I want to preserve my unrighteous indignation.

ME: When did you first become suspicious that the show was going to be a damp squib?

SHE: Shall we say it together?

BOTH: The kiss!

ME: Yes!

SHE: What a cop off!

ME: People tried to justify it, you know. Everywhere. The pearl-clutchers came up with all sorts of explanations. I just couldn’t accept it. At all. This is 20-fucking-24! It smelt too much of cowardice to me. If not institutional homophobia.

SHE: Thank god I can still smell.

ME: Indeed, and my tastebuds are thankful for it. But yes, it was a symbol, a symbol of oncoming failure of imagination, a lack of daring. I knew at that point that they were going to take the easy way out. I mean, the show had so many good things at the beginning. The set-up, the acting, the natural fluidity of presence between Kohei and Taichi. What happened?

SHE: Multitasking never works. Trust me. Not even for women. The show was vacillating from theme to theme, character to character, without knowing what it wanted to say, or show. In other words, the definition of a bad script, which no acting, however good, can redeem. It had no focus.

ME: And the focus should have been on love.

SHE: Yes. Why else are we here?

ME: You mean on earth, or in the BL world?

SHE: What’s the difference?

ME: I’m going to block you now.

SHE: Don’t. Then I have to talk to my husband. I'm just saying that if they wanted to marry the idea of love and hardness-of-hearing, they shouldn't have resorted to such cheap tricks as introducing Maya, or just make misunderstanding the whole machinery of the show. I could practically hear the plot creaking. Ironically...

ME: No wonder you bought me lube for my last birthday. When did you throw in the towel then?

SHE: An episode or two after Maya came in. You?

ME: The episode where Maya came in.

SHE: You quit sooner? That almost never happens!

ME: Yes, but I have been keeping up with discussions on MDL — you know I’m a masochist — and Reddit, and it has been going exactly where I thought it would go. I knew the romance would disappear, I knew that there would be no further intimacy, I knew that Maya would occupy too much time… it all came true. I have developed a sixth sense for turgid BLs.

SHE: And you call me harsh.

ME: I'll do one better and call the ending now. There will be a time-jump, there will be another almost near-miss, there will be an “I’ve loved you all along” realisation, and then the worst bad-angle, fish-eyed kiss imaginable. You know, with the kind of chemistry that causes asphyxiation? Or death by proptosis? That is, of course, if there is a kiss at all. Maybe they'll end it with a low-five.

SHE: What is a low-five?

ME: Where they just hug, or briefly hold hands, and as soon as their hands move downwards, they go: Ewww... gay.

SHE: I've taught you well. And I bet they’ll try to redeem Maya too.

ME: Like Tong in whatchamacallit.

SHE: My Stand-in?

ME: Sorry, I’m too busy.

SHE: What are you watching now?

ME: Happy of the End. Terrible title, but it is sooo good! I'm hoping it will redeem JBL for me this year. You?

SHE: 4Minutes, mainly to see Fuaiz being a power-bottom. I'm hoping that, in the finale, he'll be railed to death by Win and Korn, and maybe have a Great Tyme too.

ME: I’m still waiting for a Thai power couple named Gang & Bang.

SHE: One can only hope. On which note…


Reader's Digest:
DO SAY: What's your love language?
DON'T SAY: What's love in sign language?

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I was dreading this Wednesday

This series was absolutely amazing. So accurate to the mangas, I need a season two desperately (it won’t happen). I read the series right after the first episode had aired and enjoyed every moment reading those, it quickly become one of my favorite bl stories and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Taichi and Kohei are absolutely adorable together and their friendship/relationship is so cute. They both have struggles talking about they feel. Taichi pushing Kohei to open up to him and Kohei doing so once he knows he can trust Taichi, Taichi not wanting Kohei to think him being friends with him was just to pity or be little him just because he has a hearing disability. The way Kohei finally had someone who didn’t treat him like he was some kind of alien because of his hearing after being outcasted for so long. Kohei and Taichi have become one of my favorite couples, I love them dearly. This show is such a comfort show to me even thought it stresses me out a bit. It’s not common I’d say to have a series about someone with a disability and I’m so glad that this series was made into a live action. This and the movie will always be a favorite.

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utterly adorable, a must watch for sure

After reading the manga, watching the movie, and now finally this series-- can I say just how much I adore this beautiful slow burn?

The story follows Taichi-- a naturally loud and honest guy who often gets himself into fights with his blunt words and tendency to talk with his fists. He quite literally slides into Kouheis world one day, an anti-confrontational loner who is hard of hearing, and seemingly hard to approach. Taichi however has no such difficulty getting close to him, and they become fond of eachother almost immediately.

You immediately fall in love with both of the MCs, the chemistry between them is so well done, and the flow of their relationship has such a natural feel. The actors themselves are adorable, they both do an amazing with their characters.

Production is good too, unlike a lot of manga adaptations, this drama doesn't have corny transition sounds or effects, yet they still stay incredibly cannon to the manga, and near identical to the movie.

My ONLY qualm with this drama is that it felt a bit rushed at the end, though we did finally get our long awaited happy ending, it felt almost as lacking as the open ending from the movie. I wanted to finally get to see them interact like lovers, even without a kiss is fine, but some chemistry at the end to show the shift between friends and lovers would have been perfect.

Overall, absolutely lovely, definitely recommend the watch.

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Exceptional! One of the best bls to exist!

This bl was honestly one of the best bls I have ever seen. I can’t say one bad thing about it. The storyline was very interesting and beautifully made, the actors were brilliant, plus had an amazing chemistry, and on top of it I also really enjoyed the soundtrack. The show was a little bit slower, not many characters and many different storylines, which allowed them to fully focus on the main couple and we could properly see their relationship developing. I feel like the problem with many bls is the last episode which is often badly made and can often kind of ruin the show. I can definitely say that this was not the case - the last episode was the best last episode I could have asked for. Getting a second season would be amazing, I would love to see more of their relationship as they grow older.

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Well... it's over

I'm really conflicted about this show because... yea, i made sure to watch it every week as soon as it was available.. but like... now that it's over, i'm kind of ehh over it. I feel like the entire story was just about the fact that they couldn't communicate, and i get that that's the major overall theme is that communication is difficult but like...
I dunno, Taichi could communicate with everyone except Kohei and that just rubbed me wrong.
It was cute and i was definitely drawn in but I feel like it was a dream rather than something I was super excited about every week.,

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Cuteness shower couldn't cover all major issues

The story itself was well written and executed most of the time throughout the 12 episodes.
Taichi and Kouhei are so cute together and don't feel like monodimensional characters because their struggles and thoughts unravel throughout the story.
That said, one cannot deny that there were some issues in the story's development, one of them being the character of Maya.
Since Maya appeared, I could sense the story becoming more and more draggy as the episodes passed. Her character, to me, had little to no reason to exist or at least to behave the way it was in the series.
Another major issue was the lack of noticeable progression between the mains regarding their love. This lack of progression made the series shift more like a friendship/school-setting series than a BL with romantic attachment. And I would have been perfectly fine with that if not for the fact that I started watching this, mostly because I was intrigued by the premise of a hearing-impaired MC and his love for a boy who doesn't face the same struggles in his day-to-day life.
I liked how the production decided to represent the daily struggles of hard-to-hear individuals, both visually and with the help of sound effects - or the lack of them; therefore, help someone who doesn't have to face these difficulties like me get a better understanding of it.

I would still recommend it, but I would also suggest not having big expectations for the love progression, as this series takes a very Japanese approach.

PROS:

- A good representation of the daily life of hard-to-hear individuals, which helps the viewer get the MC's POV better;
- Both Taichi and Kouhei are such cute and precious characters. It's impossible not to like them!
- The lighthearted moments with other characters helped ease much of the draggy feeling of the overall progression between MCs;

CONS:

- Lack of progression and development of the love story;
- The ending might be dissatisfying for some viewers;
- The character of Maya fails to have a unique identity in the overall context of the story despite the potential visible in a few scenes.

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A Somber Love Story with Realistic Characters

In a world filled with sound, it’s easy to get lost in the noise. In a world of silence, it’s easy to get lost in the stillness.

Adapted from the manga Hidamari ga Kikoeru by Yuki Fumino, the Japanese BL I Hear the Sunspot explores the themes of sound and silence through the journey of two young men who find solace and understanding in one another.

Starring Nakazawa Motoki as Sugihara Kohei and Kobayashi Toranosuke as Sagawa Taichi, I Hear the Sunspot follows deaf student Kohei as he navigates university life, feeling isolated behind the barrier his hearing loss has created. Everything changes when he meets Taichi, an outspoken, cheerful student whose lively, somewhat naive personality is impossible to ignore—and all too easy to fall in love with.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/09/20/i-hear-the-sunspot-series-review-ep-3-to-12/

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Slow Burn Romance That’s Totally Worth It!!

This series kept popping up in my recommendations, and it’s honestly so good. Lately, I’ve been dropping shows because of toxic relationships, weak plots, bad acting, or too many sex scenes, but this one? It hits differently.

The acting, cinematography, music, dialogue, storyline, chemistry—everything was on point. I love how they tackled the topic of hearing loss and how people who lose their hearing later in life face different challenges compared to those born deaf. I also really liked how they portrayed Taichi’s insecurity about not having a clear path in life like his friends, and how he eventually finds his own passion.

The story is definitely a slow burn, but it’s done so well because the acting is top-tier. Even in the quiet moments where they’re just staring at each other, you can *feel* the tension, like the dialogue is happening without words. I loved how they resolved conflicts, like when Kohei avoids Taichi or when Taichi explains why he loves hamburg steak. The only real miscommunication happens when they confess their feelings, but it still works.

While some people didn’t like Maya’s character, I actually think she added a lot to the story.

My only issue is how episodes 1-11 take their time with the slow burn, but then the ending—where Kohei finally confesses—felt rushed. I was like, "Wait, that’s it?" I was hoping for something more dramatic.

Overall, this was an amazing watch. I loved everything about it, and it was absolutely worth it.

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Modern Issues, Fresh Perspective

This one really deserves a sequel so we see how the MLs progress in the future. Am now planning to read the manga as it apparently ends differently. A heartwarming, fast paced, realistic perspective on living with, or loving, different ability, and the people who do not judge others as "less". Good to see acceptance woven throughout the ensemble cast and across the script. Also very realistic in that often PWD will retreat from social situations that cause difficulty or inconvenience for others. Some very lovely scenes of modern campus life and friendship, realistic male conversations and positive older role models such as Grandpa. The 12 episodes are short and will fly by. Highly Recommended!

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