Our Youth

Waters that should and can never meet, meet

"The sea had never called to me.
But you were wading out into it.
And, suddenly, I was up to my knees."

This drama draws you into Jin's world of perpetrators, victims, and bystanders, where he lives his life according to expectations and doesn't get involved or let himself be "swept away" by feelings. And as he is this way, the tone of the drama itself is unnatural--a blanket of passive and offness over everything.

But then he meets Haruki, and from their first meeting, there is a strange kind of unsettled draw and fascination between them as they "cleanse" themselves at the water fountain.

Haruki, dealing with abuse at home, covers up his bruises and fear by playing the troublemaker role. But then, he is caught . . . By Jin. And Jin's unwillingness to pry and admittance of pity is foreign to him.

And as Haruki edges himself into Jin's world, Jin finds himself becoming attached; caring. He doesn't advocate for himself, dream, or even express his emotions. But he's willing to risk his future crumbling for Haruki. He doesn't cry for himself but for Haruki.

Waters that should and can never meet, meet. And Jin is swept offshore as he becomes "weaker." But he is not "weaker," no. The more he's with Haruki, the more he lets himself feel. And it's a needed revelation but also terrifying.

Again and again, I was troubled and moved beyond words. From Haruki inviting violence upon himself just to sit waiting on the steps for Jin in hopes he'll pity him once he sees how badly he's beaten enough to invite him inside (and admitting it to him on the spot) to Jin yet again resorting to his fake smile or an easy lie to keep his desires and relationship with Haruki a secret.

They can't rescue each other or run away; they're not adults. And even when they age, discrimination still puts up walls in front of them. They don't live in a fairytale, but they're happy just staying together, even in a reality with limits.

It's the kiss of a beer bottle's edge against your cheek, brown flecks and sharpened edges raining down on you in a beautiful but painful shower.

This is a drama of consequence that I would beg you not to ignore.

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I’ve honestly lost count of how many times I’ve rewatched this drama! Every time I go back to it, it feels just as fresh and exciting. I absolutely love everything about it – the storyline, the performances, the chemistry between the leads… it’s all perfect. The characters feel so real, and the plot is engaging from start to finish.

What makes this drama even more special is the fanservice in real life. The cast's interactions off-screen add so much to the experience, and it’s great to see the genuine bond they share. It definitely adds an extra layer of connection to the show and makes the entire experience even more enjoyable.

This drama will forever be one of my favorites!

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IM DEAD IN LOVE

Im sorry I havent even finshed watching it uet because I want to wait until after exams to finish this show BUT I KEEP ON SEEING CLIPS OF THE LAST 2 EPISODES AND IM GOING FERAL.
I literally can't concentrate and 4 more exams are left 😭😭.

Its been a while since a drama has done this to me and so i hope it speaks volumes when i say just how invested i am into this show!?! And the actors did such a great job at portraying their characters so far its so refreshing to watch.

I dont know how the webtoon goes but this show makes me want to read it! I have no other reason not to accept the fact that I wont see Kenshin and Junsei's faces on the screen when I do😭.

I really hope to see both of them in other projects soon, hopefully as a pair and if not , as main charcaters. So greatful to see them grow throughout this series.

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Didn't Buy The Emotional Tugging

This series has all the right elements to pull at the heartstrings of the audience. Misunderstood youth. Overbearing parents. Abusive family dynamics. Tone-deaf school officials. And reverential/delinquent love. Unfortunately, for me, it just did not work, and I did not, as the expression goes, ‘buy it’. Undoubtedly alone here, I felt no chemistry between the two main leads. In addition, it is getting tiresome and weary to preach the same tune over and over again: someone physically 25 years old simply cannot be a student in high school. In fact, no one past 20 should even attempt to portray anyone supposedly in high school. No matter how much they try, their own life experiences as well as their physical characteristics begin to show/display that they are not 16, 17 or 18. And I lose interest in the story. No matter how good the story is. It just does not work. In this case, one could easily tell who were not young looking. Overall, the story vacillated from being good to being utterly frustratingly bad. The whole story is so filled with tropey scenes and cliché setups that whatever emotional responses that we were supposed to feel, I could not elicit. Regrettably, this series did not even have potential. The characters are overplayed. The plot is weak and mawkish. And the storylines are right out of the unoriginal book of tropes and cliches. To be sure, it worked on a lot of people; I just did not get its attraction or appeal.

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Shallow, Boring and Depressing

This one is extremely boring story with a pretty predictable plotline. The characters are flat one dimensional characters like straight out of a yaoi comic and characters have zero logic or motivations behind their actions. The so called poetic melody was redundant, shallow and repetitive and had very little depth or meaning to it. Minase acting like a girl whenever hirakawa messed with was honestly annoying. No reasoning was given why Hirakawa's father beat him up for no reason and why did Hirakawa took the theft allegation onto himself, trying to be a hero? Absolutely unrealistic and unrelatable! Certainly an overhyped show!

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One of the best; my favourite BL this year

"I hope the boundary between me and you will fuse and disappear..."

Now, THIS is how you do the bad x good person trope! The storyline is nothing unique or unheard of, yet still manages to captivate you, make you feel, laugh, and cry. 🥰

Minase Jin is a top student from a wealthy family, already facing a prosperous and successful future, lots of career opportunities. All he has to do is to be a "bystander", focus on his studies, and not get into trouble. However, all changes when he accidentally discovers that the deliquent of his class, Hirukawa Haruki is being abused by his father. He smokes, hangs out with shady people, barely attends lessons, and couldn't care less about his grades - not the good type of people to befriend. At least, so does Minase Jin think, yet not matter how hard he tries, he finds himself falling deeper and deeper for Hirukawa. Until the house of cards he carefully built falls apart.

There are many things I love about this drama - the list goes on and on. But two things I'd like to point out are the pacing and the characters. Everythings just clicks so nicely. Altough some find the pace a bit too fast (compared to the webtoon it's based on), but I think it delivers perfectly. Sometimes it's a bit faster, but when needed it slows down, taking its sweet time with meaningful silence, longing gazes. My heart flutters everytime these two look at each other! OMG, what a great couple! Also, the cinematography is beautiful, very Japanese like - minimalist but clean, not too bright, not too dark. Just perfect! 🇯🇵

HIRUKAWA IS ONE OF MY FAVOURITE CHARACTERS EVER... He is written so well. A complex character! He is not the typical "bad guy", a nonchalant bully. Rather, he is filled with love, yet lost and lonely. Nobody really cared about him until Minase gave him a shelter in his own appartment - damn, I feel why Hirukawa can't hold himself back from kissing him. The fact that this is their first love makes it even more better. Two people who are polar opposites falling for each other, despite all the hardships and prejudices. 👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨

Minase is such a nice person. At first, he comes off quite bland and awkward, but as the story goes on, you realise that being simple isn't that bad after all, and he has a heart of gold. Everybody tries to tell him not to befriend Hirukawa, and he tries, but clearly can't stop. From the moment their eyes met for the first time at the water fountain, he was done for good haha. The series is still on going, so I'm curious how the conflict between him and her mother will turn out...

Minase gave a safe place, a home to Hirukawa, meanwhile Hirukawa now became the meaning of Minase's live, the motivation to be himself instead of trying to impress others, especially his mum all the time. ❤️

So far, this is all I wanted to yap about. More's upcoming once the series finished airing. If you read this whole pharagraph, thank you very much, ILY <<33

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BL Block Perhaps..?

I think I might be slipping back into my unfortunate BL Block, because I have found zero interest in this BL, which is very rare for me when it comes to a Japanese BL, but good Lord, I don't think I can do it anymore.

Let's Dive In.

I want to also start this off by saying: I genuinely see nothing wrong with anything that this show has to offer. I think the first two-three episodes were my favorite, and then after that, it just bored the fuck out of me. I'm not sure when it went all wrong, but it took me less than two hours to watch the first four episodes, then took me two days to watch the fifth, then a week to watch the sixth until I was forcing myself to sit and watch the rest. I can't do that anymore.

I will say, this series was hyped a lot, honestly a lot more hype than I'm used to hearing when it comes to JBLs, so I had high hopes for this, but inevitably, this is where I'm at with this series.

Ratings:

Story: 6/10 - good until it wasn't. Started boring me to no end. Main characters were cute though,

Acting: 8/10 - really good, great job for Kenshin (Haruki) for real.

Music: 5/10 - didn't pay attention to it.

Recommendation Value: 4/10 - I can understand why people liked this, loved it even, but for some reason, the plot, the mess with the character's dad, the overall ominous feeling just did not do it for me.

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Opposites attract and complete each other

This is a story about foremost two youths both troubled, broken, lonely but in very different ways, living in two very separate realities but within the same space. Maybe I should say spaces as while one space is the type that is so close but yet so far. Floating around like two parallel rivers. The other one has this window or maybe this small stream that connects the two rivers but only has space for the two of them. A space that allows the two to forget the worlds/rivers they come from and focus on each other.

While the story is a sweet, youth love story it is surrounded by the pain, lowliness and hardships of youth. A story that needs to be told. Letting us know that there are those who are predators, those who are victims and those that are bi standers. Thus explaining how the adult world could let these youths live the way they do.

It is really beautiful and fun to watch how these two find each other, watch these opposites interact, in more or less subtle ways.

A decent drama for most.

Edit:

Just watched the extra episode, that one is a 9, an interesting wrap up, while somethings change some things clearly stay the same.

one silent, closeted the other free spirited with a sense of fight inequality, Il get married wen I can vs. I dare not say anything about... anything. But one thing is clear the love and lust is there. But how long will they be able to hide?

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Intense, heart-breaking and hopeful

By the time I write this review, this show is absolutely the best japanese drama I've watched. The story, the writing, the production value, the overall message of the story all fit perfectly toghether to create a wonderful, intense and engaging experience. It took me just one episode to get hooked by the unfloding story of Minase and Hirukawa, and I enjoeyed every second of it.

The story, while probably not that uncommon, manages to portrait perfectly the story of the protagonists, two troubled boys finding unexpected comfort in each other, while also always remaining grounded and realistic. Both Minase and Hirukawa are extremely reletable and genuine characters, and you just can't avoid getting fond of them. Their relationship is very intense, sometimes herotic yet very delicate, and the actors did a splendid job in portraying their relationship. Without any major spoilers, the finale in the eleventh episodes offers a beautiful, well thought, bittersweet yet hopeful commentary on the desire of getting married without being able to, which I personally very much appreciated.

Production wise, the show is phenomenal, with attention to deatils, every camera angle clearly studied and with a soundtrack that nicely gets along with the overall mood of the story, without ever being distracting or off setting: honestly, even though everyone is free to like or dislike the show and its story, it just need to be admitted that is beautiful to watch anyway.

In short, I personally believe Miseinen raised the standards for japanese dramas, with a simple yet impactful story that really touches your soul.

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