The Proper Way to Write Love (2025)

The writing could’ve been tighter less screen time spent on the salon competitions would've helped but I still really enjoyed the series. What I appreciated most is that it doesn’t try to romanticize love. The main characters are flawed, and it’s those flaws that make the story feel so raw and human. Hiro and Natsuo are both starved for affection. They’re lonely, insecure, and use love as a way to cope with their pain:Hiro uses it as a shield, while Natsuo seeks redemption through it. That push-and-pull between them creates a cycle of closeness and distance, revealing their self-destructive tendencies. They sabotage what could be healthy because they’re afraid of getting hurt again. It’s a powerful reflection on how our past shapes the way we love and how we let ourselves be loved.

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How do you write your love?

I certainly hope better than Hiro and Natsuo did.

From the very beginning, this was such a unique set up. The idea of "I hate him, so I'll date him" is the stuff of my enemies - to - lovers dream plots, but wait! This execution of the trope has an additional clause because one of our leads Hiro decides, "I date him so I can dump him". A revenge plot.

However, once again, from the beginning it was very obvious that this was no revenge plot. He wanted it, but he just got sidetracked. Like when you play a video game and forget to do the main quest because you were too busy harvesting a special limited edition crop. The two of them begin dating, they go on dates and the story teeters between being a simple rom-com and a story about growth and self confidence. It did the rom-com better. Because while I was able to believe in their romantic connection, I didn't quite see much depth to either of their characters, which made it harder for me to connect to them.

We do get a lot of glimpses to their past as high schoolers, during which time so much happened that the entire present day plot is a repurcussion of those incidents. We had a ton of side quests that added no depth to the plot or the characters, it all felt very superficial, because with every scene, you can kind of see what they're trying to say, but emotions don't quite reach.

The finale was easily the best episode - we got a payoff to the romantic relationship they built up in the first seven episodes, there was reasonable closure for all other parts of the story, but it came a bit too late to create much impact.

Now I did read that the story is based on a two episode (?) manga, a very short iteration, and in hindsight, you can absolutely tell that they didn't have a lot of story to work with. Because eight episodes based on a short story is long ask, and in adapting it, they tried to fill in the gaps by repeating and recreating the same scenes over and over. Again, teetering between taking the story and expanding upon it, or keeping it as is and making a shorter version, they decided to keep it as is and make a long version.

I thought I would enjoy this more, the actors did a great job, and like I said, the premise was very interesting. It was a very rare instance where the misunderstanding didn't feel frustrating and this had potential, a lot of lost potential. I wouldn't wholly recommend it, but if you're in the mood for a rom-com with tiny glimpses of some emotional depth, sure, give this a try.

Also! Check ID before you date someone! This one was insane, like if you know someone's address but not their last name, that's red flags all around! Ask to see their ID!

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high school scars and scared teenage boys become men

This feels more coming of age than conventional BL, which may be why it worked for me. Given how split opinion is, maybe it's worth it to throw my read into the mix? I found both of the leads believable, even if puppy Natsuo was a bit exaggerated. There's a lot going on under the surface.
Major spoilers below. I wish we had the option to spoiler bits out in reviews.

We see three sides of bullying in this (I'm including the classmates he meets again briefly, the ones who didn't change.)

Hiro went through high school in defensive mode and hasn't let it go. For all he's changed himself in appearance, learning a fashionable skill and developing confidence in that area (but not others), that hurting kid is still at his core. I don't think he actually wants revenge, certainly not in the way a few of the reviewers were after. More like seeing Natsuo again brought all of that back. Natsuo wouldn't go away so to protect itself, the scared, scarred, hurting part of Hiro's psyche came up with a plan of 'revenge'. And yes, it was never going to work because Hiro was never truly vengeful. It was also a way for Hiro to be near Natsuo and soak up his puppy energy, affection and enthusiasm without acknowledging it to himself.

Natsuo makes sense as a kid who didn't pay much attention in school. He could learn when he tried but he had no one at home encouraging him. (IIRC Hiro described their high school as being mostly delinquents - perhaps everyone had written the students off already and the teachers weren't really trying either.) Being gay, not the brightest bulb, with absent parents, he was very vulnerable and ill-equipped to cope with peer pressure.

I don't think I'm reading this into the story. There's a lot in this that's understated but still present. Maybe it helps if you watch enough coming of age? Japan makes some excellent CoA films, the best country in the genre IMO.

Hiro trying to force himself on Natsuo felt out of place to me. The whole tone changed so much, dark melodrama. The only way I can make sense for its inclusion is that the traumatised part of Hiro's psyche (which developed to protect him from previous danger and is still holding onto that purpose) felt severely threatened by the disclosure - but because the series is short and there was a lot going on (all of those side stories some complain about as 'filler' have purpose in developing the characters) it was abbreviated. I'm not in any way justifying that - if they were going to cut clear resolution short for time, it would have been better to drop this bit altogether and find another way.

Following this interpretation, perhaps Natsuo submitting later reflects his continued vulnerability to peer pressure. If so, these dots should have been connected in dialogue. He's grown but maybe not in this way. He's still very much a kid who needs to be loved.

So that's how I see it, a story of two teenage kids, lonely in different ways, now become young men and finding in each other what they each need to grow.

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Occasionally, there is a drama that gently touches one of my soft spots, and it finds that spot so precisely that I find it very hard to see if there are any flaws.
"The Proper Way to Write Love" is one of them. After I finished it, I immediately queued it up again, something that hasn't happened for at least two and a half years, and then I proceeded to watch it another two times withing the next weeks -- and that has happened only once before, with "Secret Crush on You".

I love "The Proper Way to Write Love" not only for the central issue of a person who has been an outcast and a victim in his teenaged years and learns to let go of the past, I also love it for the way it slowly, almost imperceptibly, lets their protagonists change (Natsuo's is even less visible than Hiro's) and the way it develops their relationship dynamics.

The drama tells a small love story about two young men who both bear mental scars from their time as teenagers at high school (one more visible than the other), who learn to clumsily express their feelings and learn to read the other's expressions -- which directly ties back to the Japanese title. It's a story that shows us how they grow together through little "adventures", with a slice-of-life feeling that reminded me of "Rokuhodo Colorful Days" or "The Four Yuzuki Brothers".

Others might find it mundane, even boring. They might say "why should I care about a random little boy cutting flowers or about a hair styling competition"?
However, this is not about these things themselves -- it's how Hiro and Natsu react to these events. It's how they learn to do things together. And it's how we see what is important to them, and how they learn to understand each other and how they learn to adapt to the other's presence in their lives.

In a way, this is a very Japanese drama; in which the protagonists are neither rich nor famous, their lives are very average, and meaning comes from paying attention to the little things.

And here's one of the few things that could have been better. If the little things are important, and if it's about the small changes in the protagonists' lives, then I would have loved to see more close-ups of them. The actors certainly have great ability, and it's clear that they are excellent at expressing emotions. Unfortunately, the director not only adheres to the usual Japanese way of often using wide shots, they also seem to have a fondness for not focusing on the person who is speaking. There were more than a few scenes where I would have liked to see Natsuo's or Hiro's expression when they talked, but they were just outside of the frame we were seeing. I'm sure this was a deliberate choice, since there are many shots where the frame, the lighting and the colours are obviously chosen with great care.

But in the end, I only care for this aspect because I love the whole so much that I want to see more details than there are shown (I would love to see more of Natsuo's life at school outside of his interactions with Hiro, for example), so I'm not sure I would be satisfied, even if there were more close-ups of Hiro and Natsuo.


Was it good?
I find it hard to give an opinion on whether it was "objectively" good. I do think that the actors were excellent and that the overall technical quality was above average -- and that it all felt rather Japanese.

Did I like it?
Yes! Yes! And Yes! It is one of those stories that touches a weak spot of mine -- but not so that it hurts, but so that it feels more as if someone gently applies balm to an old and itchy scar.

Would I recommend it?
Yes. Maybe not to those who need melodrama and big emotions, and not to those who are looking for the love story of the ages.

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Deceiving title or I’m just expecting a lot of pain

Not gonna lie, I am always a big fan of Japanese BLs and how they executed a devastating melancholic storyline. From the synopsis, I’m sensing a sad romance of a bully and its victim. Yet, it turned out differently from the drama. It was light, unmessy, and simple.

With the two main characters, they seem fine. But at the end of the day, the chemistry wasn’t that strong either. I like the cute and minimalist color tees of Natsuo. To be fair, the Hiro from high school and the Hiro as the hairstylist in the present really do look different.

I don’t know how they came up with the title as I can’t actually derive and connect it to the story, both in a literal and metaphorical way. The drama and all of its elements were average. It is kind of interesting but it was just strongly delivered the expected outcome from its potential.

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Realism and surprise steam

I was quickly immersed in the world and the story as these actors were incredibly realistic in their expressions and reactions. I forgot I was watching a story and just focused on the micro expressions and the nuances. The interesting shots that took place in the hair salon, making good use of reflections as well as in the apartment with clever use of the potted plant slowly blooming to mirror their relationship. When the potted plant shattered near the end, it was almost too on the nose, but such a beautiful visual stamp that I didn’t mind the predictability.

I loved the way this was a character-driven piece, not plot-driven, so we really traveled on the internal journey of these characters in their personal growth and how they brought out strengths in each other. I thought it would follow a classic trope of the nerdy kid who got bullied finally coming into his own, but in fact, it was the misunderstood bully who really blossomed. It was amazing to see his self-confidence grow as Hiro saw him for who he is and lifted him up and let him know he was valuable.

Seriously a beautiful BL, a beautiful drama in general, worth re-watching. And the totally unexpected steamy scene at the end that was more than I could hope for! While it was on the explicit side as far as BLs go, it was so beautifully scored and the realism and the focus on the changes happening in each person and their relationship dynamics was fascinating to watch in the setting of an NC scene. Highly recommend this drama, and at less than 30 minutes an episode, it is a good binge watch!

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Cute

I watched this all in one go last night blindly so I can understand that maybe my experience with watching the show is slightly different than someone waiting in real time for episodes to release. But honestly I enjoyed the show, I would say if anything it’s one of those shows that is best watched in one go.

I think I might have read the manga source this drama comes from but I was definitely surprised to see how differently the characters looked from the drama almost like they did a swap of the characters appearances lol. I do have to say though for once it’s a decision that I was glad they made I personally enjoyed the different dynamic, appearance wise at least, it created in the drama.

Watching Hiro slowly fall in love over the episodes with the end revenge goal still in his mind was great. From the beginning I felt like it was pretty obvious that Natsuo’s past actions were not ever out of true malice (this is not me trying to justify what he ultimately did), they did make an effort to try and show an explanation for his hyper-ness and how easily attached he gets because of the lack of attention from his parents in his childhood I just wish there would’ve been more of a conclusion to it. However, I did like the dynamic between the two characters it was a little choppy at times but I could feel what they were going for. The nc scene near the end was really nice I could honestly feel the intense emotions and tenderness between them, this was the exact time in the series where I could feel the genuine chemistry and love between these characters more so than any other moment in the series, it’s a shame it happens near the end. For the first time I think the last episode of a series was my favorite.

What I would have wished for is the drama touch on the sexual assault scene and actually did some sort of condemning for it, I mean there was a slap but that’s it just felt like the audience was expected to move past that like it was nothing. I also found it hard to believe it was love at first sight for Natsuo, even more so when we see another crush of his looked exactly like the old Hiro, it makes me wonder what exactly it was about current Hiro that made Natsuo instantly fall in love when he did not even know this was the same Hiro from high school. Alongside that I get the purpose of the flashbacks but some of the flashbacks being repeated so much took away screen time from what I feel could have been used to explore other things. Natsuo’s stalker tendencies never get touched on either like literally not at all and I’m not sure how to feel about it. The pacing in the series felt rough at times, where they chooses to speed things up and slowed things down felt very random. That’s what I will say I dislike about this series, it introduces a lot of deeper conversations and topics only for them to never be explored. With an additional couple of episodes I feel the pacing and story could have improved.

I was surprised to see the reviews I did see here, I don’t think the story is spectacular or anything but I don’t think it’s the god awful show some people are making it out to be.. Of course it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea and that’s fine, but I’m glad I went into watching this show blindly without looking at reviews.

Overall, I’d say binge it one night it’s entertaining and enjoyable enough in my book. It’s a show that has an interesting premise but needs a couple fixes here and there. Just know that when you watch this series a lot of things will remained unanswered and not explored, essentially lower your expectations going into it and you’ll enjoy it more.

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