Lyson

Despite all the many people turning your comment into an issue, I do get what you mean by 'looks like a top', stereotypes (for lack of a more specific word in this context) exist for a reason and they are applied very often (as all tropes are) in written, drawn and televised media. Whether people wanna feel some type of offended way about it doesn't matter, most fiction will continue to add these stereotypes all up and down because they are largely prefered.

In BL, the top and bottom 'appearance' is a standard (some do deviate but most will not), it's in almost every BL for them to be differentiated visually or by personality, denying that is pointless. The casting here was in fact not well chosen, if according to the canon manga (I did not and will never read it) Hiro was the top, because the actor cast as Hiro, in appearance and his acting, did not check any of those stereotypical top boxes and the shift in Natsuo's character going from stereotypical top to bashful and seemingly nervous shy bottom was an awkward atmosphere shift.

TLDR: I get what you're saying bro.

It's a 6/10 from me.

Yeah, the ambiguity definitely is meant to give people room to take it how they prefer, as far or as limited as they want! I think for me it was easier to like CC and GCY because I was not attached to WSW's character (in the novel and the show) and despite liking XS a fair amount, the visual and underlying sexual and emotional tension of GCY and CC was way stronger, even with such limited scenes. But , it's all good, it's all fun, it's all entertaining >XD

Lol, no, he didn't go to prison for SA. If I've read this thread right, that's what you're thinking?

I get most viewers don't want to see GCY and CC as non-platonic because they're attached to the main pairings, but I'm not. I'm totally open to other pairings, especially when the canon material presents it as a possibility and I personally like them more.

In the novel, XS specifically said GCY and CC would be good together and I agree, and I think CDJ and the crew left the series version as ambiguous as the novel for a reason. They're obvs not long term compatible, but if people didn't see the hints of their history presented in the show by:
a) the extended implied kiss WSW watched but we didn't see
b) there being absolutely no clarification on CC's feelings for GCY to WS or WSW, and GCY not offering up any solid explanation or information about their history (purposely ambiguous writing)
c) they played that 'fly, fly' game again and if you think they didn't kiss again while playing it, it feels like willful blindness to me. lol
d) their lack of boundaries, though watered down from the explicit version of the novel, still presented in the show
e) the hints of their past sexual experiences, mixing up twin lovers, sleeping with the same people, comfortable having sex within visible distance of one another (all of this happened in the show, not just the novel)

- then I think that's just fans cherry-picking what they want to acknowledge and that's totally fine.

After all, CJD had the main pairs in mind and those are the pairs most people are attached to, but in the novel and the show, she hinted at A LOT more between GCY and CC. Personally for me, the aesthetic of CC and GCY outdoes the main pairs of RL by miles, but that's not to say I didn't enjoy the show anyway. So basically, for me, GCY/CC would have been the best ship. I'd pay to watch a throwback series about them, like late highschool/early uni days, before WS showed up.

Someone told me: "Most people got hooked by episodes 3 ad 4."
Me: NOOOOooooOOOOO, episodes 3 and 4 were noice and all but episode 5 HOOKED ME and episode 6 FUCKING KILLED ME. I'm invested now, there's no going back.

Agree 100%

I agree with everything you said except the lack of sexual feelings between GCY and CC. CJD wrote them as having a sexual past in the novel, and that felt heavily implied in the series too, hence the ambiguity surrounding the subject. They chose not to write any kind of explanation about it in the show for a reason.

Long term, GCY and CC would not have been compatible physically or emotionally as a couple, so they settled on 'closer than friends', but their lack of boundaries is still present in the series, albeit watered down, like everything else was from the novel.

Yo. No problem. I have provided links to the English translation of the novel here: https://kisskh.at/discussions/death-kaleidoscope/125101-kaleidoscope-of-death-novel-links-online-epub-pdf

Don't apologize for your opinion, man.

Well then I'm looking forward to it :D

Episode 2: It's a'ight so far. I'm not sure I'll be sitting around waiting for new eps eagerly, but I'm interested enough to keep watching. Hopefully at some point I'll get hooked.

Clearly he's got Clark Kent levels of incognito 😂 they're 'dating' (if the inorganic and stiff interactions they're having can be labeled as such, mostly on Hiro's side) but somehow Natsuo still hasn't recognized him NOR has he asked his full name. Yikes.

Ep 5 and I think Natsuo just has bad taste in men.

"What a nice shout-out to us 2Cheng shippers." ~~ yeah das me. The show robbed us of that WS dare kiss. I was lowkey mad. lol

They really said "let's take a gardening hobby and a hairdresser job and try and make it deep and emotional, serious and meaningful" I'm on episode 3 and having a hard time not laughing whenever they have some 'intense' discussion or long drawn out scene about the hairdresser and flower thing, I started skipping at some point. The subject matter of this BL is very basic slice of life stuff, who's having deep feelings about their haircut??? It's only 8 eps long though, and Natsuo is easy on the eyes and likeable (despite being a simp for no apparent reason, a trope iI personally find yegh) so I miiiiight stick it out, but I don't even know if I'll make it honestly.

I watched all of those, except Takara-kun & Amagi-kun, and I dropped two of those BLs, but I remember them and yeah, I never personally found any of those actors attractive. It's not a slight to the actors, it's just my preference, majority of them don't appeal to me. 😆

Lol yeah obvs it's just personal taste, but yeah, I've literally only ever found 3 Japanese actors to be attractive, this guy is number 3.

I don't mind some bts of the show, it can be funny or interesting to see, but table reading bores me to tears. I think I watched like two clips and moved on. But yes, I am still hopeful for an uncut release of the show
Hopefully they'll just go all the way and release it anyway, even in a few months or something.

I'll be honest, I don't possess the level of interest or patience to watch all the table reading bts, probs gonna skip, pick and choose, BUT I think it's awesome they're releasing all of it and I look forward to bts from the actual show recording itself in future.