Aira

Lowkey same lol I guess because he "steals" quite a significant amount of screentime which could have been spent on Hira and Kiyoi given that we only have 4 short episodes? 😂

Full trailer!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xLQTCPmRWo

They did a great job with the "almost kiss scenes" in the previous episodes because I already lowered my expectations about seeing one in the drama (I already conditioned my mind that we'll see it in the movie) so when they did kiss I was like 😳😳😳😳 the entire time lol

Yeeees unfortunately there's no "outside force" that explains to Hira what could be really happening so he just always assumes that what he's trying to say or do is what's best for Kiyoi or
that's what Kiyoi wants. 🥺 Kiyoi of course tries his best to pull Hira along with him but as we all know, Hira is also a stubborn "unconscious King" so it's gonna take some more time before Hira really moves forward.

Yes, I know most people do it in an endearing manner (like Kiyoi's "creep" lol), so I'm hoping that there are no people who really mean it.

Agree!! I don't think Hira particularly "regressed", to me it's Kiyoi "progressing" that Hira further feels he's "no good". Triggered by Kiyoi not needing to ride the bicycle anymore, then not making it to the competition, being called a "fan" by his cousin, it's too much for Hira's already very low self-esteem that inconveniencing/worrying Kiyoi with the thought of having to meet his parents is the last thing he wants.
Aaaah really love how deep both of them are, so I'm hoping people who call Hira "idiot" after episode 3 don't really mean it because there's more to it than Hira being an "idiot".

Hira already thinks all along that Kiyoi and him are not on the same "orbit" and I think him not making it to the contest triggered this mindset further (even though Kiyoi was so positive about it) so it makes their argument more heartbreaking for me. 😭

I think it's amazing that 3rd episode's closing song is Follow (and that Hira's position on the bed is exactly like his position in S1's 1st episode's last scene), it tells us clearly that we're (or at least Hira and his mindset) back to the beginning. Also that single Kiyoi photo back then in which he jerked off to (lol) versus the many Kiyoi photos he's now crying over

The movie will be a continuation of season 2 (so season 2 wil probably end with a cliffhanger), it has been confirmed by the drama's official social media accounts and have also been mentioned in many interviews with the actors and the director. They filmed S2 and the movie together.

Not me feeling personally offended when I see people saying they want Hira to be "normal" because I'm so in love with him being weird, unhinged and creepy (also, what's the plot gonna be if Hira starts acting normal???) 😂

Oh, as for me I thought it's a big step-up from S1, like Kiyoi always touching Hira's forehead/face, Hira hugging him while they're on the bed, Kiyoi on Hira's lap hugging him, Hira cooking for Kiyoi, leaving water bottle for him with a note attached to it, etc. Or maybe I'm just used to watching a lot of Jdramas without any form of intimacy at all 😂😂
Also Hira still sees Kiyoi as an untouchable god so I guess that's why most of the times he's still careful to touch him (except of course during the offscreen sexy times where he even said he's "too persistent" 😂)

I think they're saving the "intimate" scenes for the movie version, like delayed gratification or something like that. Although I know for sure that they are "intimate" (it's just that they're not showing it to us lol) because they have been implying about it, but it's already up to our imagination 😂

HiraKiyo so hilarious we can actually tag this as romcom now!! 😂😂😂
I know we're all for character growth but seriously, if Hira's devotion/obsession with Kiyoi gets toned down, I wouldn't be this entertained 😂

Agree here, Kiyoi didn't try to force Hira to go, he even said he'd decline since it seems Hira doesn't want to go to the party, but as always, Hira's willingness to do anything for Kiyoi ("I'll go even if I die") wins over lol

I was also thinking that, but he was double starring with another Nogizaka46 member in a drama few years ago so it kinda makes this case a bit mysterious. 😅 But yeah, he really did well in the movie (and is really handsome lol) so I hope a lot of Kubo fans appreciated him here too!
And OMG, you should watch UtsuKare, I've seen him in some movies/dramas before UtsuKare but UtsuKare was really the drama that made me amazed by his acting and now I'm a big fan. ♥️

Yeah, actually the Japanese fans are wondering about that too (and even me!). It's not a "doube starring" with Riku and Kubo Shiori, for some reason Riku is only credited as a support role despite having more screentime than the main (the director even got confused and tweeted about it being double starring but deleted the tweet after a few minutes). 🤔

I just assumed that Kiyoi introducing Hira to them was skipped already and that they must have been there for a few minutes already. 😂

You're welcome!! 💜

For those who are confused about the timeline/time hop, based on my understanding it should be as below:
> S1 started with Hira as 17 years old
> By the time they graduated from high school, of course they're already 18
> Hira and Kiyoi met again when they were 20 (legal drinking age in Japan therefore there's a scene where Kiyoi got drunk in the afterparty), Hira was in second year college (in the flashback where he first met Koyama, it said "1 year ago")
> Now in S2, Hira is already in his fourth year in college (in his monologue in the camera club, he said "It's autumn in my fourth year") therefore it has already been around 2 years since he and Kiyoi became lovers

There's also this interview with the director where she said something like one of her favorite scenes in the movie is Hira cooking and Kiyoi hugs him from behind and puts his chin on Hira's shoulder and they converse calmly or something like that, she said this is only possible since
"few years have already passed" since they got together.

Well, Hira doesn't have a job "yet", he's just really well off at this point 😂