Duty First, Kiss Later

.

This was such a cute and enjoyable watch. 🥹🤍 I really liked the dynamic between Saito Ryu and Watanabe Shu, especially the little moments where their feelings started to show. 💕✨
The mix of romance, awkwardness and those “just kiss already!” moments definitely kept me entertained. 😂🌸
Not a new all-time favorite, but I had a really good time watching this one. 📺💖
8/10 from me!

.. ... ... .... .... .... .... .. .. ... ... .... .... .... .... .. .. ... ..

🌸✨🌈 Hiii~ Welcome to my kawaii corner~ ♡(≧▽≦)ﾉ✨🌸

You can find more of my reviews on Instagram~ 🌟💖

Check my homepage for my account~ (｡♥‿♥｡) 🌷

Some reviews are under 500 words, so I can’t post them here~ (≧ω≦)ﾉ💫

Thank you sooo much~ ☆:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:☆ 💕🌸

Read More

A Detective BL Where the Younger Man Knows Exactly What He Wants

Kiss wa Sousa no Ato de is a lighthearted detective BL that combines police cases with the romance between two very different men.

Takoi is an experienced detective who is kind, friendly, and naturally charming. He easily wins people's affection without even realizing it—but when someone actually falls for him, he can be unbelievably oblivious.

Shiono, his younger colleague and partner, is almost the complete opposite. He knows exactly how he feels about Takoi and isn't afraid to show it. Their constant bickering, jealousy, and difference in personality make them a very entertaining couple.

What I enjoyed most throughout the ten episodes was this balance between them.

Takoi may be older and more experienced as a detective, but when it comes to romance, Shiono is clearly the one leading their relationship. Takoi keeps innocently attracting people, while Shiono becomes jealous and frustrated because the man he loves doesn't seem to understand what he is doing.

The final episode brings this dynamic to its conclusion when Takoi gets caught up in a dangerous case involving Omaeda.

Omaeda tries to use Takoi and Shiono's relationship against them, believing that exposing their romance will give him power over Shiono.

But he completely misunderstands one thing:

just how much Shiono loves Takoi.

In the end, Shiono doesn't hesitate when Takoi is in danger.

Their final scene on the rooftop is simple but satisfying. They hold hands, confirm their feelings, and kiss. Shiono even talks about rising through the ranks and eventually bringing Takoi along with him—which somehow feels exactly right for these two.

This wasn't a particularly complicated BL, and the crime stories were sometimes quite exaggerated, but the chemistry between the leads made it consistently enjoyable.

Most of all, I loved Takoi.

For someone who charms practically everyone around him, he is remarkably clumsy when it comes to his own love life. And when he looks completely in love with Shiono, that dimpled smile is simply adorable.

A fun, warm detective BL with an endearing age-gap couple.

Read More

Expecting more mature conflicts

This is an okay series. I was able to finish it, but honestly, it didn’t leave that much of an impact on me.
I love age-gap series because they usually give us a more mature and realistic approach to relationships and the different stages of life. So, when I saw the age-gap trope here, I was expecting something a little deeper and more mature. However, despite having the age-gap setup, most of the conflicts were the kind of conflicts I usually see in high-school trope JBLs. So yeah, I was expecting more from this.
Other people might see them as having really good chemistry, but for me, it was just so-so. I didn’t dislike their pairing, but I also didn’t feel that strong attachment to them.
Disregarding the fact that I wanted the story to be handled more maturely, I will say that the flow was good. I didn’t struggle to finish it, and the story was easy enough to follow. There were also some nice moments between the characters that I enjoyed.
Overall, I wouldn’t say this is a bad series. It just didn’t give me the kind of impact I was expecting from an age-gap story. Maybe if the conflicts and relationship dynamics were handled in a more mature way, I would have connected with it more.

Read More

Before I even get into the actual review of the series, I need to take a quick moment to just scream about the two lead actors! I swear, this is the very first time I’ve watched a Japanese BL where both main leads are this ridiculously, undeniably attractive. A massive round of applause is seriously owed to the makeup and styling team. The way they completely transformed Shu is wild, I literally had to do a double-take because he was so unrecognizable! And then you have Ryu, just radiating absolute charm. I have to admit, he is officially the second Japanese actor this year who has left me completely and utterly mesmerized.

As for the series itself, the central conflict is pretty predictable right from the jump. You can easily read between the lines and see exactly where the story is heading. Unfortunately, it suffers from that classic JBL curse, the 20-to-25-minute episode runtime. Because the episodes are so painfully short, the supporting cast gets practically zero development or screen time. The world outside the main couple feels a bit empty, which is always a bummer.

But honestly? The connection between Takoi and Shiono completely makes up for any of those narrative flaws. Their chemistry is absolutely off the charts. I found myself grinning from ear to ear and giggling at my screen every single time they shared a scene. They just have this magical, effortless spark that pulls you right in.

They are so good together that this show completely hijacked my viewing schedule and aggressively pushed every other BL on my watchlist to the side. And speaking of breaking my own rules, I know I just said I broke my "binge-only" habit for Connecting to You, but I did it again here! This is the first time I've started a JBL without waiting for it to finish, and let me tell you, the weekly wait is absolutely exhausting.

Read More

The reason why I love JBLs

Duty First, Kiss Later is everything I love about JBLs. It's cute, funny, it never took itself too seriously, but that never detracted from the romance and sometimes heartbreak between the two characters. JBLs just really have a way with balancing different emotions that BLs from other countries struggle with. From the first episode I was shocked and smiling like a fool from the first kiss scene, then sad and disheartened in the second episode, to laughing out loud because of the characters' shenanigans. The actors really did such an amazing job conveying their feelings and making these characters feel like real people even when they're being completely ridiculous.
I really hope this series gets a second season because I could watch Takoi running around like an idiot and Shiono chasing after him all day.

General info for anyone wanting to know:
• Is the series nsfw/spicy? No, the characters only have a couple of kiss scenes and nothing else.
• Is there noncon or violence? Yes, there are multiple fight scenes which lead to blood shed.
• Is there a love triangle? Yes, Takoi was out here releasing pheromones istg cause he had multiple love interests.

Also, if you liked this series, there's an old yaoi manga called Honto Yajuu which had a similar vibe to it except it's about a police officer and yakuza member. It is also very silly and cute, but Honto Yajuu is also relatively smutty tbh so if that's something you're interested in than you might enjoy reading it.

Read More

Go for it Shiono-kun....we are rooting for you!!!

Kawaaaiiiii....this surely lifts the blues...I enjoyed it quite a bit

BL-Needle Score - 9. Very High BL-ness

This is a mix of Love is Poison, Old-Fashion Cup Cake and several other OTT-Hilarious-Adorable JBLs....this is almot sure to win hearts for the lighthearted, unadulterated fun it promises to be

Takoi is a kindhearted, super-popular, and a tad messy cop in his forties who is constantly clashing with his junior, handsome-colleague Shiono, who seems a stickler for rules and mostly stone-faced. As soon as a potential date walks into Takoi's life, Shiono throws all caution to wind and says the 'Sukida' word..... and then we are set for an adorable-hilarious-messy ride that promises to keep us smiling and going 'awwwwwww'.

Verdict: Watch this for the fluff and messy

Read More

My fave Jbl now

This is easily my fave Jbl now😭🥰🥰🥰 I love everything about this show, all the cast,acting,story,chemistry😭😭😭 speechless and at the same time I wanna yap about this show !!!! I’m gonna miss them😭😭😭 They should make Season 2 asap!!!!! My Mondays wouldn’t be the same without my silly cop lovers😭😭😭 Saito Ryu and Watanabe Shu are such a great actors hands down🫡 and the way Shiono kissed Takoi is so gentle and you can really feel the love between the two🤭 If you haven’t watch it please do!!!!!! Coz it/ so effin good!!!

Read More

don’t watch if you want suspense

this is more on the funny and light side of police shows (not that it is something bad, it’s a matter of taste).

i enjoy suspense and police action so this show was honestly a miss for me. i enjoyed it and fell in love with takoi and his personality but the lack of suspense was a huge turn off for me. not that there is no action, it is just not the main focus of the show and the action is honestly only there to make the couple get closer..

the beginning of the show was great. the character introduction and first interactions and the falling in love part was well done. but sometimes it felt like something was missing. the characters were there but it felt like there was no depth at all. maybe i was expecting more from a show that isn’t all about depth idk

another huge reason for my disinterest was the plot of omaeda… he is a corrupt cop that works with gangs (that’s what i understood), why would he actually commit a crime in the open and risk his illegal work just because his crush doesn’t like him??
genuine question: why do filmmakers make a whole character’s personality and existence only to the benefit of the main couple?
i could think of many ways of how takoi and shiono could make up without having omaeda turn into a villain and a kidnapping to occur. it honestly pisses me off that shiono’s brother in law plot had more depth than omaeda’s…
they honestly missed me by not giving him a few more lines and a backstory for me to understand his sudden villainous behaviour.

other than that, the other characters were mostly forgettable… especially the friends at the police station… they had no unique character depth or features other than being friends with the main character..
i understand that a short show would have to remove some details to focus on the couple but then again why even mention or show these characters if they change or add nothing to the story..

verdict: the scriptwriter(s) and director(s) need new jobs

Read More

A Small Drama That Gets Almost Everything Right

Great fun!

What starts as a funny workplace BL about a beloved small-town cop and the younger officer who seems permanently irritated with him turns into something much more layered than I expected.

Duty First, Kiss Later is warm, romantic, genuinely funny, and surprisingly thoughtful about kindness, boundaries, intention versus impact, and what it means to make one person feel different from everyone else.

Takoi’s growth is especially satisfying because he never stops being fundamentally himself; he simply becomes more aware of how his words and actions affect the people around him. Shiono is a great balance for him—more observant, more direct, and patient enough to let Takoi figure things out at his own pace.

Their relationship develops naturally, with humor, jealousy, tenderness, and some genuinely lovely emotional moments. Even the police/crime subplot gives the story enough substance to keep it from feeling like a lightweight workplace romance.

Short, charming, well-paced, and very easy to love.

A happy and earned ending.


Original review:

Five Episodes In, and This Is the First J-Drama I Don’t Want to Drop

I went into Duty First, Kiss Later almost by accident. I started it while waiting for an appointment because I didn’t want to interrupt another drama I was already watching. Five episodes later, I am completely caught up and genuinely annoyed that there aren’t more episodes available yet.

That is especially notable for me because Japanese dramas usually do not work for me. Every J-drama I have tried before this one has been dropped by around episode 3. This is also my first Japanese BL, and apparently I have once again managed to choose an unusually strong first entry into a new country/genre combination.

The setup is simple: Takoi is a 38-year-old police officer who is beloved by basically everyone in his small community. He is warm, helpful, approachable, and kind to everybody. Shiono is a younger officer in another division who is talented, highly praised, on a fast career track…and inexplicably irritated by Takoi almost every time they interact.

Takoi cannot figure out what he ever did to make Shiono dislike him.

Then he finally corners Shiono and demands the truth.

Shiono kisses him.

That is where the romance begins, but what surprised me is that this drama has much more going on than a simple “straight older man unexpectedly falls for younger male coworker” plot.

The central issue so far is actually Takoi himself.

Takoi considers his kindness one of his best qualities, and in many ways it is. But he treats everyone with such intense, undifferentiated warmth that he does not always recognize when he is creating false expectations, crossing emotional boundaries, or saying something comforting in the moment without considering the consequences. Shiono sees this flaw much more clearly than Takoi does, and the drama uses it both for humor and for some surprisingly thoughtful character development.

At the same time, Takoi is trying to understand what it means that he has fallen for a man when he has always thought of himself as straight. I really like how this is handled. He is confused, flustered, and occasionally ridiculous, but his struggle is never treated as meaningless. Shiono also does not pressure him. Once he realizes how destabilizing this is for Takoi, he gives him space and lets Takoi make the important moves himself.

That makes their growing relationship extremely sweet.

What I am enjoying most is the balance. This drama is genuinely funny without becoming silly, romantic without becoming weightless, and surprisingly thoughtful about kindness, boundaries, intention versus impact, and what it means to make one person feel different from everyone else.

Episode 5 also raises the emotional stakes considerably, and the final scenes hurt in exactly the way they were supposed to.

Five episodes in, I am very impressed.

If you like adult BLs, workplace settings, an age-gap romance where the age difference actually affects the characters, grounded humor, and a relationship with something more substantial to explore than simple attraction, this one is absolutely worth trying.

Now I just need episode 6.

Read More