Lyson

This show is basically walking into a BL restaurant and ordering...

...an extra LARGE pizza with a thick but LIGHT crust, lots of EXTRA CHEESE and a WHOLE PACK of RAINBOW coloured SKITTLES sprinkled on top and served with a SWEET SYRUPY milkshake to help you easily swallow every mouthful.
That is, it should have been awful to make it through 12 whole episodes and yet IT WASN'T.

ᴍʏ ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ ꜱʏꜱᴛᴇᴍ: 8.5 = [ᴇɴᴊᴏʏᴇᴅ ɪᴛ, ᴡᴏʀᴛʜ ᴀ ᴏɴᴇ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜ. ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴛɪᴍᴇꜱ ɪ ᴍᴀʏ ᴅʀᴏᴘ ᴀɴ 8+ ʀᴀᴛᴇᴅ ꜱʜᴏᴡ ᴅᴇꜱᴘɪᴛᴇ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏɪɴɢ ɪᴛ, ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜꜱᴇ ɪᴛ ᴅʀᴀɢɢᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ᴏʀ ɪᴛ ʙᴇᴄᴀᴍᴇ ᴘʀᴇᴅɪᴄᴛᴀʙʟᴇ.]

There is so much gay, and so many gay, and so much cheesiness and so much dorkiness. Really, what a bunch of absolute dorks. They're adorable and stupid and entertaining and extra and amusing, all of them. And there are no trash family members or friends and everyone is NORMAL-ish, even the NPCs.

And there are some one-liners. Like;
'they're screaming so loud, I thought they were being attacked by Zombies'
and
'who would think you're hot, you look funny just standing still'
and
'you're not that smart, using your brain won't help you much'.

Delivered in context, these random lines had me snorting FR.

This show beat its own shortcomings really, I don't even care about the little issues with budget, cut scenes or overacting or when the actors clearly wanted to laugh during a scene, because I was smiling and chuckling and almost laughing in every episode at the overall delivery and vibe of this show.

Have a slice of this pizza. eat the whole pizza guys. I'd recc it.

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It's not a BL, it's a pre-relationship story, but it's a good story worth a one time watch

ᴍʏ ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ ꜱʏꜱᴛᴇᴍ: 8 = [ᴇɴᴊᴏʏᴇᴅ ɪᴛ, ᴡᴏʀᴛʜ ᴀ ᴏɴᴇ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜ. ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴛɪᴍᴇꜱ ɪ ᴍᴀʏ ᴅʀᴏᴘ ᴀɴ 8+ ʀᴀᴛᴇᴅ ꜱʜᴏᴡ ᴅᴇꜱᴘɪᴛᴇ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏɪɴɢ ɪᴛ, ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜꜱᴇ ɪᴛ ᴅʀᴀɢɢᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ᴏʀ ɪᴛ ʙᴇᴄᴀᴍᴇ ᴘʀᴇᴅɪᴄᴛᴀʙʟᴇ.]

I wouldn't recommend it as a BL, I classify it as pre-BL because they did not actually move beyond being friends until the last few minutes of the show, not even through anything being implied or in subtext, as intended in Cn BLs. They were actually, genuinely just friends for 12 episodes then they confessed and it ended. Still, I would recommend it as a one time watch for anyone who likes a well written story tackling something different in a life drama series.

I had my hope for episode 11, however the ending was just okay. It's another J (not really BL) that I can't give a 10, not even a 9 really, just an 8, and basically just because it was a good production, well written with an interesting story and good acting, but I can't rate it a 10 because it wasn't actually a BL and that's a false lead I don't appreciate.

GOOD:
- Acting
- Casting
- Production Value
- OST
- Writing
- Pacing

BAD:
- It's in the wrong genre, this is not a BL. If you watch it with the wrong expectations, you'll be disappointed, if you watch it as a story about a disability with two guys who end up admitting their feelings for each other in the last 5 minutes of the show, you'll be better prepared.
- Feels like false advertising.

There is no UGLY in this, I don't regret watching it.

HIGHLIGHT:
- Kobayashi Toranosuke, quite a gem of an actor.

---

Side Note:
From my personal perspective a 'BL' like this -with no actual BL- is made for two reasons-
1. New actors need a show in which they can depict their acting range so they can get better and more main roles in the future
2. They need a show that will make them popular and well known, fast

A BL series these days is the fastest track to achieve that for young male actors, however the downside of this is usually that the actors don't want to do BL or be associated with it long term, so the show barely scrapes by being a BL at all, just toes the line, as it were, which is what has happened here. Another example of this was Star Struck (except that show was not well written at all). I could be wrong, but when I see a good production like this with 'BL' slapped on it when there is basically no BL in it at all, there is no other explanation I can think of. The people behind it are just trying to jump on the fast track BL band wagon. Which, blah.

Even so, as a standalone show it was entertaining and I am glad to have discovered Kobayashi as an actor, it's the first time I've found a Japanese actor likable, talented and attractive since Kenichi Matsuyama so many years ago. I will move on from this very quickly though. It failed to leave a lasting impression. They had one shot in the final ep to have an emotional impact on the BL viewers in ep 12, but even the hug after the confession didn't land well at all.

If they make a sequel they might redeem the first season. Here's hoping.

8/10

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