Maggi64

In the book and CD transcript for Season 2, it was Kiyoi who encourages Hira to enter the contest with the famous photographer. But the show makes Koyoma the good guy who initially encourages Hira to enter, with Kiyoi merely following up after Koyoma tells him about the contest. This troubles me because the director had similarly removed time from the leads in Season 1 in order to expand Koyama's role.

The show was under 2 hrs with barely enough time for the leads, so expanding a minor character at the main characters' expense was unwise. It's galling to rewrite a story by a revered novelist who's been winning literary awards for 3 decades for BL's as well as Non BLs. Yet here's a 29 year old director rewriting the novel simply to give some actor more screen time.

I had joked during Season 1 that the director must be dating this actor (they're the same age). Well, it turned out that my joke was not far off because she is directing him in a play and, thus, wanted to promote him. He also appeared in most of Season 1's interviews. This was already odd for a minor character, but even more odd if one had read the book, because you would know that he only appears for about 5 pages.

His role in volume 2 of the book (ie, the basis of season 2), was even smaller -- about 1/2 a page. The director's solution? Why, she simply rewrote the novel's 2nd volume to get Koyama in front of the camera as much as possible. She has him be the 1st one to get Hira to do the photography contest, with Kiyoi only talking to Hira about it later on. In short, the director usurped a lead's role with a heretofore minor character's role.

In Season 1, the director cut vital dialogue from Hira's and Kiyoi's confession scene in order to add 2 pointless scenes for Koyama that were not in the book (ie, the scene where he hugs Hira and Kiyoi catches him, plus the scene at the playhouse where he tells Kiyoi that he just confessed to Hira). The vital dialogue that she cut included Kiyoi yelling at Hira for being blind to the fact that he loves him too, and Hira explaining that he was blind to it because his self esteem is so low due to a lifetime of bullying. Hira even revealed to Kiyoi that he was once suicidal. This was crucial, character revealing dialogue that was cut to add some vapid scenes of an originally minor character.

The expansion of Koyama's role in Season 2 is even more drastic than in Season 1, because it changes the very portrayal of Kiyoi's and Hira's relationship. For example, having Koyama be the first to encourage Hira to join the contest, with Kiyoi only following up as the second, removes a pillar from the foundation of Kiyoi's relationship with Hira. You see, in the book, Kiyoi was portrayed as being the 1st and utmost encouraging person with Hira's photography.

It was the most significant way that Kiyoi helped Hira to get out of his shell socially, and to become more confident. He even worked full time to 100% pay the rent because Hira couldn't get a job. However, the director changed this to be the precise opposite, so as to not only give Koyama more dialogue, but to be a White Knight defending Hira by calling Kiyoi a "moocher."

Indeed, Kiyoi's attempts to build Hira's confidence were 99% of the positivity that he brought to their relationship. Yet the director removed the photography contest from Kiyoi's character and gave it to Koyama instead, with Kiyoi kind of shuffling in late in the game to tell Hira to enter. Now, Hira rejected Koyama last season, so why is his character getting 1st dibs on "boyfriend jobs" such as this? Why is he also the one to be giving Hira comforting words about his stutter after the failed interview, when in the book it was Kiyoi who encouraged Hira to work on his stutter?

Oh, and it's not just the photography contest and comforting Hira about his stutter. The director even made Koyama the one who found Hira a part time job when it was Kiyoi in the book.
(1) The contest.
(2) The comforting words for the stutter.
(3) The part time job.
That's 3 vital "boyfriend roles" that the director removed from Kiyoi to give to Koyama.

Changing the book this much is particularly bizarre when one considers how the Japanese are famously faithful to source material. Hell, they are FANATICALLY faithful! Dramas like "The Pornographer," "Old Fashioned Cupcake," and "Double Mints" followed the mangas frame by frame, and line by line. I've never seen a J-BL alter source material as much as this has. And this is not some manga, but an award winning novel! Nor were the changes to improve the story; they were to improve an actor's career. Moreover, the director reduced the famous Idol Yugi Yusei's screen to give it, instead, to this no-name actor.

There's already no genuine purpose for Koyama to be in the story given that Hira already rejected him last season. But when you consider that his screen time eats away at a famous Idol's time, and that it altered a famous novelist's work, I gotta guess that the director is just plain sleeping with the guy.

Can someone who's read either the novel or the CD transcript for Season 2 address my comments below about how the director keeps expanding Koyama's role?

I like the boys' chemistry so much that I've decided to re-watch the 3 eps and see if I can get into the vibe better this time. Sometimes a show will improve on the 2nd viewing if you adjust your perspective a little. I also think I'll settle more into the groove as the episodes progress. After all, it's only ep 3 and we've got 5 more to go. Lastly, I have faith that it will continue to be good because I just discovered that it is by the same screenwriter and director as "The Pornographer" and that was an excellent show. It had remarkable acting, directing, plotting, pacing, and themes. So I have every reason to suspect we'll get some good stuff with this show as well ;)

I rushed to judgement last week when I trashed Ep 1 based on what I thought was a silly premise about the end of the world. After 3 eps, I have decided that it's actually good. The leads have nice chemistry and their love story has satisfying dramatic conflicts. However, I still think the premise is silly. This doesn't mean that one cannot make a good drama about the end of the world, as there are plenty of great ones. But to do so, the vibe has to be intense, with people screaming, crying and suicidal. It would not be the romantic vibe of a BL wherein the 2 meet calmly at the library as they did in this. Hell, a library wouldn't even be open as it would be chaos with nobody going to work. In other words, a realistic vibe for an end of the world story is incompatible with the fluffy vibe of a BL. Thus, I decided to focus on the romance and just ignore the end of the world plot. Once I did this, I was able to enjoy the show.

I love this show so much that I re-watched Ep 1 of Season 2 thrice. Which is why I caught that Kiyoi never introduced Hira to those girls at the party. Nevertheless, that girl somehow knew Hira's name. Then again, I do not know Japanese, so maybe he did and I simply did not understand it. Yea, I know, I am being obsessive, lol. Still, I'm curious about how she knew Hira's name.

This is an excellent 2 part, 4 hour movie that did a remarkable job of remaining true to history. There is even an omniscient narrator whose voiceovers relay crucial historical events from the outside world as they occurred and effected the main characters -- ie, the Emperor of China's brother and his Japanese wife, who hailed from an aristocratic family.

The Japanese government arranged the marriage in order to solidify a China/Japanese union. Mainly, they'd hoped the couple would give birth to a son with Japanese blood because the Chinese Emperor (at the time the Emperor of the Japanese puppet state in Manchuria), was infertile. In short, the Japanese government wanted a boy baby with Japanese blood to be the next leader of Manchuria. What nobody counted on was the couple truly falling in love. Their genuine love is the heart of the story. The actors did an wonderful job of conveying this love to the audience, just as the director did great job of creating a strong narrative drive with brisk pacing.

I noted that there are few comments and no reviews for this movie on MDL, and suspect that this is because the only version with English Subtitles is on YouTube, and the picture there has terrible quality. I simply endured the bad picture because the movie was, otherwise, very good . I recommend it to anyone with an interest in the history at that time, or who is interested, simply, in a great love story set against the perils of war.

Wow, I am so impressed that you are a subber on Viki. I know it' s volunteer, so thank you so much for your work. I am also glad to hear that they refine the subs over time. I look forward to seeing Viki's version soon!

Good to know! And glad we both love this show :)

That's interesting because in the book it's immediately after the confession. Kiyoi basically moved in with Hira after they re-met at the play so he could rehearse at Hira's house, but they still had not resolved the things that they resolved in the final classroom scene. After resolving that, they continue to live with each other, but with a better understanding of each other -- plus they start to have sex, lol. But what you said about Kyoi trying to pull Hira forward in Season 2 is exactly what happens in the 2nd book.

Oh, so MDL's synopses is the reason for the confusion from many viewers! Thank you for telling me this. You know, these darn MDL synopses are often misinformed. For the first season the MDL synopses was so bad that they had to change it midway through the show. I have watched many movies/shows and thought, what the hell, that MDL synopses was way off! lol.

I don't get your warning about what you call, "Non/dub con touching (sleeping)." They are a couple who live together and just had sex the night before (which Hira alluded to when apologizing for his persistence). Do you think people who regularly have sex need a written contract before gently, and tenderly touching each other while sleeping? Haven't you ever impulsively reached out to affectionately touch a loved one? Or do you ask permission each time? Because impulsively touching loved ones with tenderness is part of human nature.

Regarding his calling Hira "gross," that is a terrible translation of the Japanese word "kimo" which actually means "creepy," not "gross." The bad translation made Kiyoi seem meaner than he truly was.

I am also wondering why many have assumed years have gone by. We know that Hira had already been in college for a couple of years in Season 1, because he says that after high school, "Years have gone by and all I did was grow older." Then Kiyoi said the same line when it was time for his point of view. So a couple years since high school had passed in Season 1, making Hira maybe a junior in college. .Then, in Season 2, Hira says that it's only autumn of senior year in college. Now, if it's only autumn of senior year, then very little time has gone by since the end of Season 1.

They actually have not been together a few years. Hira had already been in college 2-3 years when he re-met Kiyoi in Season 1. He even said that after high school "years had gone by and all I did was grow older," which meant he was in his 2nd or 3rd year of college. And now, in Season 2, he's a college senior. So a only a short time has passed in the story from Season 1 to Season 2.

But I see your point, because Season 2 did not do a great job illustrating this. In the book/CD, however, it's clear that only a matter of weeks have passed since they have hooked up.

I think she's referring to the scene where Kinn has sex with Porsche while Porshe is drugged out of his mind and clearly has not given sober consent. To be clear, I, myself, was not horrified by that scene, but still understand why it was considered abusive.

Kiyoi, meanwhile, is simply bad at communicating his feelings, and this is why he shoves and kicks Hira whenever he's feeling over emotional. In fact, he tends to shove/kick whenever he's actually feeling LOVE for Hira, not hate. That's what makes it so amusing. Kiyoi just does not know how to openly, verbally, express love yet.

Season 2 actually picks up very soon after the big confession scene at the end of Season 1. So what you are seeing takes place merely months afterward. Remember, Hira was already in college a couple of years at the end of Season 1, and in Season 2 he says it's only autumn of college senior year. They probably should've done a better job of illustrating how little time has passed in Season 2. At any rate, it's so early in the relationship that Hira has still not gotten over his habit of idolizing Kiyoi. As for Kiyoi, he is conflicted because he actually kind of likes it.

Remember how in the final scene of Season 1 they are biking home and Hira reveals that he saved Kiyoi's change after buying gingerale? Well, Kiyoi smiled when he learned this. He said, "Why do a I love a creepy guy like you?" but he was smiling as he said it. Thus, Kiyoi is annoyed by the idolatry while, at the same time, feels comforted by it because of his fear of abandonment from childhood. Consider what Kiyoi had said in Season 1 about how when he was a child he wanted to be worshipped like an idol. Hira fulfills this need.

The book and CD make these conflicted feelings more clear. But it's hard to catch because, so far, Season 2 has not touched on it, so I can see why you're still unclear on it. I really hope that they do explore this because Kiyoi's conflicted feelings are my favorite aspect of this story. It is what gives his character so much depth and complexity.

Really? That is so odd because they had gotten it correct for Season 1. It's a shame they messed it up for Season 2.

Did Viki at least properly translate the word "sukida" to be "I love you"??? Because both Season 1 and 2 of GagaOOlala mistranslated "sukida" to be "I like you" when in the context of Hira's saying it to Kiyoi, it clearly means "I love you."

For the Japanese, this word can mean either "like" or "love" and it is all about intonation and context. As such, it's obvious that Hira's context means "love," and not mere "like." Viki had correctly translated "sukida" as "I love you" in Season 1, and I hope they did so once again for Season 2.

I wish we could get proper translations of these shows because subtitles are EVERYTHING.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS :

Hira's still creepy and Kiyoi still cannot communicate. And I'm just fine with that. Because it means the plot still has character flaws to resolve and I'm all in for watching that unfold.

Did anyone else notice the repeated scene from Season 1 where Kiyoi sat in the rocking chair while Hira sat on the floor facing him? The significance is that in Season 1 they wore school uniforms, while in Season 2 they are wearing pajamas. In other words, it's a repeated scene telling us that now they are a couple. Nice.

It's on MyReadingManga. It's a free site, but you'll have to tolerate some porno anima ads. So beware.