Heracin

I quite enjoyed this Japanese BL which features an unconventional relationship between two characters suffering in their respective love life and finding comfort and solace in each other. Their pathway to happiness is a muddy one and the script does a good job at making the viewer understand their pain. There are some points where I feel the scenario could have been better, more specifically regarding the support roles and their motivations. I feel that some of their choices (especially the reason behind the attitude of Fujisawa Kazuaki) was a cope out to absolve the character and explain quickly his behavior.

The acting was good overall. Muto Jun (who plays Hagiwara Kazuaki, one of the main leads) has eyes that emotes so well. I was pretty impressed by him. I found the acting of Ito Asahi (who plays Nakarai Sei, the other main lead) suitable for the much more closed off role he has to play...But I think he could have done more in the emotional part to amp the angst, especially toward the ending.

Regarding the more intimate moments, they were okay but I would have wanted the tension and the passion to be even more palpable. Given the need the main characters had for each other and the lack of intimacy being such a central part of the plot, the directing of those scenes felt a bit too tame. The production value overall felt relatively low-budget and minimalist, but it managed to create some impactful moments (the museum scenes, all the rain sequences referring to the title).

I would recommend this to people that are looking for a BL with a more mature story. The series is not without flaws as I feel the conclusion was a bit too quick and I think an epilogue would allow to better round up the drama. But I truly loved how the characters connected despite being already committed in relationships and how the story focused on the intimacy issues in established couples. I enjoyed the murky and painful aspects of the the relationship, but you might want to check the triggers if you have any.