any_anka

It does... Sadly Taiwanese dramas are so difficult to access and watch for international audience. Aside from BLs and a few Netflix dramas (those are usually really good, though!), their availability is pretty scarce, unfortunately :(

Yesss. Hell to the yes to that final sentence of yours. I don't know why some comments seem to try going into all sorts of mental gymnastics to make it seem like sex outside of a relationship is not really cheating and whatnot in an attempt to... I don't know... I suppose make themselves feel less "guilty" or sth for enjoying this story 😋
Is it really necessary?

No, cheating is cheating. The individual circumstances might be different, just as people's personal threshold, but *unless agreed upon differently by the two people involved in that relationship*, sex outside of a relationship IS considered cheating pretty much in every case. Just because a person is sexually repressed or unhappy doesn't change it. Just like breaking the speed limit because sb was late to an important meeting doesn't change the fact that they were still speeding. We might understand their reasons, but it's still speeding.

Watching this drama, as an audience we surely can sympathize with both male leads, understand their struggle etc. I, for one, find both of their characters really likable and am genuinely cheering for them to get together. I also personally don't find their respective partners (are Fujisawa and Sei even together, though?) likable at all, with Kaori being extremely selfish (at least from what we know about her) and Fujisawa just being plain creepy at this point, with all the red flags dropped throughout the story (isolating Sei from friends, not relying their msgs to him, creating a suffocating atmosphere at home by constantly shaming Sei - not just for being interested in sex, but even with comments like "what where you talking about? that's so stupid...", being vaguely affectionate and then immediately moving away and so on).
Still... saying that "oh, it's not really cheating because one is withholding sex from the other" etc. opens the door to also saying tons of other relative stuff like "it's not really cheating if it's just a one night stand", "it's not really cheating if it's with a bro", "it's not really cheating if I felt lonely and neglected", "it's not really cheating if I was tipsy" and tons of other ridiculous excuses.

How about we all just admit that we enjoy a drama with a possible cheating plot and simply let ourselves enjoy a well-written, well-acted, well-paced story :)

(btw so far it's still just possible cheating, we don't even know if they end up in bed together before or after breaking up with their partners - or maybe in Sei's case there's no breakup needed really? :P)

For many people sex is not just about releasing sexual tension and being sweaty and "disgusting", but a way to be intimate with another person and to feel accepted and wanted by them... When their partner loses interest in sex, it's not just about not being able to release the tension, but also the feeling of "am I not desirable for them" etc.

Don't get me wrong, I actually believe people can build a romantic relationship without sex, but invalidating the feelings of those for whom it's an important component of a relationship and talking abt how it's disgusting doesn't seem fair to me.

Having a possessive friend like that is honestly a scary experience... But I don't think it's the case here. I rewatched ep 1 and there is this scene when Kazuaki comes back home to Sei being already in bed, he sits on his bed and touches his cheek with his palm in this affectionate manner - it didn't look as sth bros would do (and I'm trying to take into account cultural differences whenever I see things like this in dramas, but Japanese are not the most touchy-feely folks, as far as I know 😋).

It's either I'm too stupid while watching dramas (possible), we understand being able to tell where the story goes completely differently, or you're watching too much formulaic fiction (which btw, doesn't have to be bad, if a formula is executed nicely) ;)

As others said, this is a popularity vote. And a popularity vote among young viewers for young artists, at that...

Still, for what is worth: Hiroyuki Sanada has my top vote.

Hmm... I've always had the impression Japanese like Taiwanese BL. I think We Best Love was really popular in Japan, for example (I guess one of the actors being Japanese could've contributed to it as well, but still ;))

I was actually surprised when I saw no attempt to promote The On1y One in Japan earlier, since even lower budget series like You Are Mine or Stand by My Side seemed to target that market to at least some extent.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for The On1y One's success in the Land of the Rising Sun! :)

Oh, and btw, I forgot to mention, the interviewer also talks with other creators and people behind The Unknown series as well. So if you liked that drama, you might find it even more interesting. I just focused on Patrick and Mou Mou bcs that's what interested me the most ;)

It's a really well-prepared material, from the point of view of people actually responsible for producing BL series in Taiwan. I recommend it :)

To be honest, I kinda internally partially gave up already... I'm still holding on to some remnants of hope, because there's not that much time left to the promised "deadline" for a decision.
So the way I'm thinking, it won't cost me much mentally to hold on a bit longer ;)

I saw that The On1y One will be airing in Japan soon... I don't know if this is a good sign or not, but for what is worth, at least the drama has not been completely forgotten.
I also pasted a comment below of a recently release interview with Patrick Liu, so... maybe they are trying to regain some momentum now?

There is a new interview with Patrick Liu about The On1y One available on YouTube with ENG sub, so if anyone is interested:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKmi-5f9-J0

I gave this show a 9/10 because it resonated with me on an emotional level. If I were to be more technical about it, I'd go a bit lower, but probably not below an 8. It's a good show. It's not flawless and the reviews with 10s for every aspect of it are - in my opinion - a bit too emotion-driven ;) Nevertheless, I don't think this is the case of fans of a genre/actor/ship or whatnot skewing the rating despite the bad quality of an actual drama.

The show touches upon some interesting themes, aside from the romance between two characters:
- domestic violence and how a teenage character copes with it in his own way
- loneliness
- neglectful parenthood/absent parents
- and even a bit of what I would call classism or elitism within society

It also has really beautiful cinematography. The acting... could be better, I'd say it's quite uneven. But it's not much below the standard of what most Japanese dramas have been delivering in the last 10 years or so. Plus, the actors are young and probably inexperienced so I give them a pass. They do have scenes were they come thru, too.

If you are not familiar with the genre and apprehensive of it being just fanservice for people fetishizing gay relationships - this show would be a good introduction to debunk such fears.

Oh, absolutely. Hira is driving the poor guy crazy. Pushing him away while thinking he's showing him due respect and whatnot.

And Kiyoi is actually a rather soft dude when it comes to liking someone.

It's not as questionable as some people are making it out to be, honestly. Especially compared to some toxic stuff you can find in bls.
It's just that the dynamics between two protagonists are not usual, with one idolizing the other for how beautiful he is, and the other one not knowing how to handle a weird affection like that (plus being a typical Japanese tsundere).
When I watched it back in the day, I felt the second guy was being a prick in initial episodes, but that's more of a drama misleading us than an actual issue.

Haruki's abuse and just in general the theme of parents not being there/neglecting their children and - finally - in Haruki's father's case, physically abusing them was a strong theme of this drama. Both boys didn't have good parental figures present in their lives.

Well, I can't say that I find it reasonable, to be honest 😋

But at least we both agree on really wanting the second season ;)

Good for you! 👍👍👏

So as for the drama, I guess that's how I will understand it then: one of its strong themes is bad parenting. With Haruki's father being the most extreme example, ofc, but not the only one.

Haruki's mother abandoned him and possibly knew what was happening, just looked the other way, maybe lied to herself too. She'd still keep in touch and occasionally do sth nice, like invite him to her place (not to live together, though - that would be too much) to still play a good parents and possibly quiet down her own guilty conscience.

Haruki, on his part, put her on a pedestal and decided on this pure image of her, not questioning her actions or lack of knowledge, not blaming her for anything even once. Out of love, but possibly even more so out of desperation to have at least this one thing in his life that was good and worth living for (truly tragic).

Then on the other side of the isle, we have Jin's parents. These two are on a less extreme part of the spectrum. Providing him with more than enough money to have a comfortable life and not abusing him, but nevertheless hardly exemplary parental figures. Both are constantly absent, with mother visiting occasionally to list her expectations towards her son and the father not being there at all.

Unless it is to talk about his own movie, that is (seriously...)

No wonder once Haruki and Jin found each other, they had so much love to give to one another. There was no other recipient around...

At this point I'm assuming there won't be any news until February (which was supposed to be a deadline for a decision anyway).
I no longer trust any hints or promises abt it being soon, possibly at the end of the year, possibly at the beginning of the year... etc.

It only makes me more impatient and the waiting more unbearable.

Well, to me this drama is a story about a person who is constantly self-sabotaging himself due to internalized belief that he can't find love/doesn't deserve love, stemming from his childhood, experience of past betrayal and having to live with Kylie. Which is probably why those things that could be "resolved with a phone call and an apology" don't get such an easy, reasonable conclusion...

I agree with all the points you made. You managed to put most of the issues I had with this drama into a thoughtful and respectful commentary.

Thank you so much for answering my question!

But then if that's the case then I actually still have an issue with the whole situation (it didn't get resolved ;)).

I mean, it all works out fine and makes sense from Haruki's point of view, but makes no sense if we put ourselves in the mother's shoes. I can't fathom neither not contacting your spouse who has custody of your son nor leaving to hide from your dangerous spouse and leaving your kid behind (as I wrote in my previous comment, it has to be either one or the other in this situation, and both are kinda unacceptable for me).