Takumi-kun Series: Drama (2025)

guys hurting each other

Overall: the writers needed to narrow the scope and make the protagonists more likable. Based on the book series "Takumi-kun Series" by Gotoh Shinobu (1992-2014) which I haven't read and the review is of this series only. 6 episodes about 25 minutes each aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5814/takumi-kun-series-drama-2025 (not available in Thailand, Taiwan, Japan or Korea).

Content Warning: dub/non con touching/kiss, sexual assault turned consensual, trauma, hit/punch/violence, blood, slaps, past: incest, molestation/sexual assault, rape?, death)

What I Liked
- visuals
- a straightforward rejection in episode 5
- good production value

Room For Improvement
- there were way too many characters introduced (and I've seen the older movies), I couldn't tell who the characters were, their relationships to each other, who loved who until several episodes in, multiple exposition dumps
- did not like any of the couples, the main couple had a guy say this to his sleeping boyfriend: "How can I move forward? Don't wake up. You say no with you mouth, I see, I'm done waiting" and sexually assaulted his boyfriend in order to cure him (by the way freeze and acquiesce are also sexual assault responses that the brain might make on its own) , another guy slapped his love interest who innocently asked about a past crush and the 3rd couple had one guy as a cold jerk
- recent flashbacks and farther back flashbacks added to the confusion (seemed as if they both expected people to know what was going on and also didn't think people would know what was going on)
- telling another person that they need to be responsible for his feelings, everyone is responsible for their own feelings
- poor communication trope

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What does this series want to tell us?

First, the series pushes us directly into the fray without any context at all. If you didn't watch the Tamkumi-kun Series 6 movie, you are lost of what is happening. Besides that, they changed some of the actors so even if you have seen it, it feels a bit weird. Only Gii is the same actor in the movie and the series.

And instead of concentrating on one story there are many stories involved with little screentime and without any depth besides the main couple and one rejection which was done well. I was never a fan of the Takumi-kun series, because they are mostly shallow and without substance. Such a series is not really "helpful" at all.

Production quality was ok, but not spectacular, costumes were also just ok, I guess because of a limited budget. So, I would have prefered a second movie instead of a series with the same actors and of course some real kissing which is still not happening in any Takumi-kun series. Besides some cute "boys" there is not much going for this series. It has some fluffy moments, it has some serious moments, but overall it's just a medicore series with a codensed storyline which should have been expanded especially with the "side-couples". If you liked the movie, this will contiune the story. Should you have not seen the movie I guess you will be overwhelmed with the story.

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just,,,,,what?

I saw one of the movies years ago, could not tell you which one, but do not consider myself a fan of the series. Since then I have been hesitant to watch any of the movies as I kind of asumed that they where doing the same thing that Hollywood does with Jane Austens Pride & Predjudice, aka just tell the same story every couple of years but with slight changes. As I have learned after finishing this show however, that is apparently not the case.

Which is a problem itself. This series suffers from MCUingitis aka you have to watch 6 different movies before you watch this show or you wont have any idea of whats going on. When the show does not give any indication that it is a sequel you can´t be suprised when people are confused the entire time. I do not want to have to watch multiple different movies to understand whats going on in a six episode show. Maybe if I had I would have understood why the main character had a full on breakdown after getting a letter from his mom. He had not even read it yet. That was not explained in the show.

The show itself was confusing but fine. There was way too many "main characters" ,if you can call them that, and none of them got enough screen time too have a well developed story. The only way I could tell which characters were important was the fact that they had these hideous light blue uniforms when the background characters had dark navy ones. And I had to google why the uniforms where different halfway through the show to find that out.

Overall the show was generally inoffensive but I also can´t say that I recommend it.

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I haven’t read the books or watched the other movies, so I’m judging this series on its own merits. It’s not perfect, but I genuinely enjoyed it. For a show with just six episodes under 25 minutes each, there are way too many characters and subplots. That kind of overload waters down the main storyline and leaves a lot of arcs feeling underdeveloped. Plus, some key info only shows up really late, which makes things feel a bit rushed. But my biggest critique — and this goes for most BL series, not just this one — is how trauma gets handled. It’s like everything magically gets resolved in a snap, without any real emotional unpacking.

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Takumi, that was trauma.

A 25 min 6 ep series ahould not have four couples with separate storylines to keep track of. Given that the main story was about Takumi, this was completed nicely. The progression was steady and the differences in his persona as he was freed from the internalized trauma were evident. That was some serious trauma. His behaviors were very understandable once the truth was made known. Before knowing, Gii's actions may have been seen as forceful but just what was needed to get through.

The other three couples, while there wasn't much to resolve, it was very confusing to remember who's who, who wants to be with who and what were their issues that prevented them from being together. Takabayashi, the slapper, finally admits he likes Yoshizawa whom he previously was abusive to. Arata, sleeps with Kanemitsu, quickly reverts to pretend coldness to keep up the facade. Though this is one of the traits that Kanemitsu seems to like. It was refreshing to see Shozo stay true to himself while rebuffing Shun's declaration and maintaining a relaxed friendship at the end.

It didn't help that the majority of the supporting cast had generic features. I would have liked to see either more episodes to have a better flow as the other relationships were interjected with no warning and just as abruptly, shifted to another. The viewer has to mentally pause to remember which storyline is currently shown. The slapper's aggression took awhile to understand the root. I will say, there was no fault with the acting. Just, keep a notepad on hand to note who's who, what's what and where it's going. One confusing ride.

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I have a stronger love for Takumi Kun's manga, and because this is my first BL ever, I have a soft spot for the old movies, even the first one that everybody hated lol.

But this isn't a continuation to the old 2007 movie, this is a readaptation that stands alone away from all the old movies, yet somehow the 5 movies makes more sense than a full series.

First I'll not discuss the story because it's flawed, we all know that, and it's either you like it or not.
Also I'll not mention the actors here because they were really bad as if they were instructed to mirror the first movie performance.

What really bothers me was the stories that they decided to show, they way they showed them, and the screen time they gave each of the 4 couples.

I understand that this is a Takumi Kun series so Takumi and Gii are the main focus but why showing 3 other couples if you don't want to explore their relationship, also why did they decide to add another story that wasn't even mentioned in the movies, like you are already adapting 5 different movies already in a very short series, why add more to it, just focus on the stories you already have...

I also feel really really bad for the 4th movies Pure because the story of Arata and Kanemitsu is my favourite yet they messed it up and they only appeared in like 4 scenes total ~~

I believe if you won't adapt a very famous manga well, just don't... Don't ruin our favourite old shows ~

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A Mess & Not a Hot One

Confusion. I just did not get this series. Perhaps had I known this was composed of snippets of movies/series, I might have appreciated it more. I assumed it was a stand-alone series. Not having seen any of the previous references, I was at a loss as to the subtle references. Frankly, trying to make an anthology out of several movies/series is a fool’s errand and those of us trying to watch this are engaging in a fool’s task. Having said that, the account as presented does have some merit, and I found several subplots it was trying to emphasize, noteworthy. The rest of it merely became fluff and was perfunctory. Frankly, I am just not sure why these ‘Bls’ continue to be made. Give it a rest. Just make the stories doramas. The substories were surprisingly interesting from what I could glean. You destroyed the messages by not making them meaningful to the content for which the story was intended to display. Shame. Shame. Shame. You can read the full review of this at BLBliss.com.

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Missing Informations Without Prequels

Without having watched the previous content relating to this drama, I was quite confuesed and didn't get a lot of stuff. It seems like you have to watch several different earlier movies/series to get the gist of the plot.
The cast is doing a good job and are fun to watch, however I acually enjoyed having the three side couples on screen way more than the pairing of Takumi and Gii. To me, as them being the main couple, I feel the weakest chemistry and actually wished to see more of the others. Unfortunately we don't get to see much of the side couples, which kinda disappoints me but yeah, they are not the main plot.
Visually speaking, this BL is very pleasent and relaxing, which the music underlines nicely.
In summary, it's not a bad watch, but you have to have the knowledge of the prequels otherwise you will have difficulties getting the entire picture. I will probably not be returning, if they release more content relating the other pairings, I will be watching those tho.

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Too few episodes killed good intentions

Sigh. It didn’t start badly at all — in fact, it was very promising. I honestly didn’t realize it only had six episodes, and that’s a real pity. The restrictions clearly hurt it, but that’s not the only thing people are criticizing.

One of the most talked-about issues is how a show with such obviously high production quality could end up with such awkward, almost perfunctory kisses — and even worse, how it skips straight from A to Z in the main relationship. It’s deeply unsatisfying to see them suddenly become a couple without any real emotional build-up. If you can forgive the kisses, that abrupt transition might still be the biggest transgression here.

Then there’s the subject matter. What we learn about the main character is undeniably problematic, and the way the show treats and approaches these topics feels clumsy. I suspect that’s another reason the current rating sits around 6.9. Personally, I don’t think this is a series for kids or teenagers — it’s better suited for adults who can handle retrospective and introspective storytelling. Still, it’s painfully underdeveloped. Six episodes were never going to be enough.

As another reviewer pointed out, trying to squeeze four couples into a regular-length Thai BL is already ambitious. Doing it in six short episodes is nearly impossible. Each episode gets about twenty minutes of story, and that’s just… laughable. Maybe if they had split it into four separate mini-series, one per couple, it would have worked better. But as it is, they decided to keep all four — and while every character was charming and likable in their own way, all couples felt rushed.

If you watch this as a supplementary series rather than a standalone, you might not be too disappointed — at least until episodes 5–6, when you realize how much they tried to cram in so little time. The first four episodes just drift along, postponing the moments everyone waits for in a BL: the first touch, the first kiss, the emotional payoff. Then, suddenly, everything happens all at once. It’s uneven, to say the least.

Despite that, I still believe this is a higher-quality series than its rating suggests. The visuals are beautiful, the characters are adorable, the performances are solid, and it’s definitely more watchable than some other BLs with weaker writing but higher ratings.

If anything, I think the show was simply dealt bad cards. Maybe if they had left out the kisses entirely, it would’ve even worked better.

So, newcomers, don’t be put off by the rating — this isn’t a “bad” series. It’s just one that deserved more space to breathe.

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