6
21
1
1
This review may contain spoilers
My January 2026 recommendation
Watched this for my Recommendation Challenge from Jojo. Let's discuss drama…
The story follows two high school students, Minase Jin and Hirukawa Haruki, who are polar opposites in both personality and social standing.
Minase is an honors student—polite, quiet, and burdened by the heavy pressure of meeting his parents’ high expectations.
Hirukawa is a so-called “delinquent”—straightforward, emotionally honest, and seemingly carefree.
Minase believes there are three kinds of relationships between people:
The Bystander — like water. Always present but trying to remain invisible. They don’t take sides; they simply “flow” around the situation.
The Perpetrator — like a stone thrown into that water. They cause ripples, create chaos.
The Victim — the one hit by the splash, left to suffer the impact.
To Minase, the safest place is as the water. He believes that by remaining a bystander and avoiding emotional involvement, he can protect himself from harm. To him, being “water” is the most logical way to survive a suffocating society.
That belief, however, is soon disrupted by Hirukawa.
They first meet in their first year—by chance, at the school sinks. Minase is washing his hands when Hirukawa walks in, right after nearly strangling a teacher. Their eyes meet. Nothing is said.
For a long time, they remain strangers who merely attend the same school. Their dynamic begins to change in April of their second year. Minase witnesses something no one else sees: Hirukawa being beaten by his father in their front yard. When Hirukawa notices him, he doesn’t cry or beg—he just glares and says: "Don’t tell anyone."
After that, Minase starts to notice Hirukawa more. Everything truly shifts when Minase encounters Hirukawa outside of school, at a local park. He finds Hirukawa beaten up, and instead of staying away, something about Hirukawa’s presence draws Minase in.
Against all logic, he does something unthinkable. Minase approaches Hirukawa—injured and emotionally guarded—and invites him to come to his house. Hirukawa is shocked and suspicious, since they aren’t even friends. But with nowhere else to go and his body in pain, he accepts. That night at Minase’s house marks the true beginning of their awkward and clumsy progression.
From then on, they begin spending time together in a secluded outdoor spot and at Minase’s house. Minase has only one rule: they cannot be seen together at school.
As days pass, they grow closer. Minase learns about Hirukawa’s broken home, his loneliness, his fight to survive; while Hirukawa begins to understand Minase’s inner emptiness. Yet no matter how close they become, Minase’s rule remains unchanged. To the outside world, they are merely strangers—but quietly, deeper feelings begin to form.
Everything changes again when Hirukawa’s father suddenly dies. With no family left, Hirukawa has to move—far away, to his mother’s district. Contact fades. Life moves on. And before they realize it, university life begins.
Now the question:
? Will they meet again…
? Will they continue their relationship…
? With Hirukawa’s bad reputation now in the past, will Minase finally dare to acknowledge their relationship openly…
That's pretty much the story without giving anymore spoilers. Now what I like and don't.
What I like:
+ Portray the almost perfect ambiguity for teenagers. Their identity crisis, their confusion in sexual prefrence…
+ Portray the perfect never judge the book by its cover. You never know what people hide behind their ‘mask’
What I don’t like:
- How Hirukawa kept yielding to Minase…
- Never really tell the story about Hirukawa’s family in detail. Like why his parents divorce in the first place…
Overall this is really one good BL drama to watch. Our Youth masterfully deconstructs the "bystander" philosophy through the quiet, complex bond between Minase and Hirukawa.
The story follows two high school students, Minase Jin and Hirukawa Haruki, who are polar opposites in both personality and social standing.
Minase is an honors student—polite, quiet, and burdened by the heavy pressure of meeting his parents’ high expectations.
Hirukawa is a so-called “delinquent”—straightforward, emotionally honest, and seemingly carefree.
Minase believes there are three kinds of relationships between people:
The Bystander — like water. Always present but trying to remain invisible. They don’t take sides; they simply “flow” around the situation.
The Perpetrator — like a stone thrown into that water. They cause ripples, create chaos.
The Victim — the one hit by the splash, left to suffer the impact.
To Minase, the safest place is as the water. He believes that by remaining a bystander and avoiding emotional involvement, he can protect himself from harm. To him, being “water” is the most logical way to survive a suffocating society.
That belief, however, is soon disrupted by Hirukawa.
They first meet in their first year—by chance, at the school sinks. Minase is washing his hands when Hirukawa walks in, right after nearly strangling a teacher. Their eyes meet. Nothing is said.
For a long time, they remain strangers who merely attend the same school. Their dynamic begins to change in April of their second year. Minase witnesses something no one else sees: Hirukawa being beaten by his father in their front yard. When Hirukawa notices him, he doesn’t cry or beg—he just glares and says: "Don’t tell anyone."
After that, Minase starts to notice Hirukawa more. Everything truly shifts when Minase encounters Hirukawa outside of school, at a local park. He finds Hirukawa beaten up, and instead of staying away, something about Hirukawa’s presence draws Minase in.
Against all logic, he does something unthinkable. Minase approaches Hirukawa—injured and emotionally guarded—and invites him to come to his house. Hirukawa is shocked and suspicious, since they aren’t even friends. But with nowhere else to go and his body in pain, he accepts. That night at Minase’s house marks the true beginning of their awkward and clumsy progression.
From then on, they begin spending time together in a secluded outdoor spot and at Minase’s house. Minase has only one rule: they cannot be seen together at school.
As days pass, they grow closer. Minase learns about Hirukawa’s broken home, his loneliness, his fight to survive; while Hirukawa begins to understand Minase’s inner emptiness. Yet no matter how close they become, Minase’s rule remains unchanged. To the outside world, they are merely strangers—but quietly, deeper feelings begin to form.
Everything changes again when Hirukawa’s father suddenly dies. With no family left, Hirukawa has to move—far away, to his mother’s district. Contact fades. Life moves on. And before they realize it, university life begins.
Now the question:
? Will they meet again…
? Will they continue their relationship…
? With Hirukawa’s bad reputation now in the past, will Minase finally dare to acknowledge their relationship openly…
That's pretty much the story without giving anymore spoilers. Now what I like and don't.
What I like:
+ Portray the almost perfect ambiguity for teenagers. Their identity crisis, their confusion in sexual prefrence…
+ Portray the perfect never judge the book by its cover. You never know what people hide behind their ‘mask’
What I don’t like:
- How Hirukawa kept yielding to Minase…
- Never really tell the story about Hirukawa’s family in detail. Like why his parents divorce in the first place…
Overall this is really one good BL drama to watch. Our Youth masterfully deconstructs the "bystander" philosophy through the quiet, complex bond between Minase and Hirukawa.
Was this review helpful to you?
