solipsism5

These are all points several other people have made below. I should include the excessive use of flashbacks, especially using the same ones that were just used in the previous episode. I also don't understand how Yagami was a saint in the past, and is weirdly cynical and cruel in the present. How does Yagami know what Ren likes sexually when he never got anywhere with him due to Ren's panic attacks? There is hardly anything that makes sense in this series at this point. BTW all of Sanada's victims have been women in the past. I know he hates Ren but to sexually assault him when he's not into gay sex is just weird. I guess that is a time honored Hollywood depiction of how gay men are supposed to be punished, but I've always found that to be rather bizarre.

This series has totally crashed this episode. I think Kozuma's running is just so comical - I just have no idea how training someone to run like a normal person could have been so hard. I know some of you are wondering why he doesn't take a cab, but, actually, no one uses cars in Tokyo. You would take the subway if anything. Tokyo is set up really well so everyone can walk to virtually any destination that they need to go to because of the multi-use zoning policies that allow businesses and homes to be in the same district.. People just walk everywhere - part of the reason everyone is so healthy is because they walk ten times more than people in the West. You usually live near where you work so Kozuma shouldn't need a cab - he's just running for dramatic effect, I guess.

I just don't like anything in this episode. What was with that ridiculous punch that Ren gives Yagami - again, how hard is it to choreograph a simple punch to the abdomen? The continued lack of coherence in the plot just lingers on in this episode. Why won't Ren just call Kozuma? It's just insensitive and out of character.

What was with that terrible crying scene with Kozuma and Yagami? That couldn't have been more unemotional if they had tried. Kozuma almost feels disembodied, completely disconnected from his surroundings while a random tear just streams down his face.

Sanada slamming Ren to the ground and just attempting to rape him while Ren crawls away from him like a crab is just comical. Sanada looks like he weighs all of 100 lbs., and his arms look like they would have a hard time lifting a 5 lb dumbbell.

They really emphasized that Kozuma was straight in the Manga, but I think they should have dropped that whole concept in the series - they spent the time to develop the idea in the manga, but the series makes no attempt to do so. They just keep saying that he's straight out of the blue. Nothing that Kozuma does makes him seem straight, and it's just odd when they mention it. Of course we all hate that trope, but it doesn't even feel like it fits here. Kozuma never had a girlfriend, has sex with Ren when he was 14, and only dreams of sleeping with Ren for 10 years afterwards, so what is the point of even bringing up that stupid trope?

I don't know what happened here, but it's a hot mess right now. There's no way they're going to clean this up in the last 20+ minutes. This could have been great but the execution has become terrible.

The manager, Sanada is really much bigger than Ren in the manga. You could see him being easily able to dominate Ren. Since these manga adaptations seem to religiously follow the script in the mangas, Sanada is still trying to do the same things to Ren though he's just a shrimp - they definitely cast the wrong guy for this role.

I love your points, and the manga is definitely much darker than this adaptation. Sanada is literally raping Ren before Kozuma gets to him.

If only this were a movie, and they could have dived deeper into the sexual elements, and the dark psychology of Ren's sadomasochistic side, this could have been much spicier, and impactful. This has just become a hum-drum soap opera with plot elements that are unintelligible.

If you haven't already found it, here you go https://mangatoto.com/chapter/2251827
The story is better constructed in this as well.

It’s just role-playing. Again, not my scene, but I think that’s nothing like rape

I like this behind the scenes footage. Look at those back muscles on Sunny - he's really been hitting the gym https://youtu.be/wa86eL_z7Tw?t=776. I can see Mame drooling in the background.

I wasn't that excited by this episode. Its more like a bridge episode than anything else. I'm not sure I buy why Ren can't reveal anything to Kozuma because he's hiding from Sanada. It's not like Sanada has the secret police behind him and would be able to track Ren through his connection with Kozuma. At best, this plot is very confusing at this point. I went ahead and read the manga to see if it could clarify why this part was so inexplicable - I really don't think Ren should make Kozuma relive his past trauma of being separated from him. They are definitely a close couple at this point and any partner in a given couple in love would be frantic if they had no idea where their partner was. Unfortunately, the manga was no better at explaining this separation than the series. The series might diverge from the manga [not likely as this series follows the manga pretty closely],so I'm not going to judge it yet.

Speaking of the manga, it pretty much verges on being pornographic, but I think that the main story we witness is still pretty much the same, so if you want pornos with a good story-line, there are some good mangas out there for you. And I should mention that Kozuma has a log in his pants in the manga and he's putting it to good use with Ren. I like the ending where Ren asks Kozuma to rip his clothes off, and abuse him in various ways, lol. Not my normal scene but it seemed pretty hot in this case.

Sometimes Mame does new things and she has a little growth spurt. I see she's actually helping to direct this one. I'm hoping for the best here. Mame does know how to entertain even if her ideas are redundant, and heavy handed.

Ugh, it's Mame. I just want to know when and how the rape is going to happen, and if it's going to be a gangbang. Will the rapist also kidnap and torture the ML, and how many episodes before the ML forgives him, and becomes his one true love? I'm watching to see what variation Mame chooses here - like one of the 32 Goldberg variations. I'm just here for Sunny, and he's certainly looking very buff in this one. I've missed him since Top Secret Together [one of the worst BL's ever made], and am just incredibly pleased that he showed up in this looking even more beautiful than ever.

This is a little too OTT. I'm watching this for Ja but his character is just so one-dimensional, and is too child-like in almost every way. He's like a 10 year old going after the signature of some movie star, who he also wants to make out with. Why are the movies portrayed in these weird caricatures? I think they are supposed to be comic relief, but they are really just annoying, and miss the mark as far as humor - they are just visual garbage with no redeeming qualities. This is just barely passable even with my low standards for Thai BL. I like the second couple but Bosston's character is so snide that it makes him unappealing. I'm not sure what I'm watching but I'm here for Ja and the hot doctor. Hopefully it gets better.

I couldn't agree more. Sorry for the delayed response - busy work schedule. I would react the same way in their position and that is set up so well by the plot.

This is really so brilliant. Really so much happened in this episode that I'm surprised it was only a little more than 20 minutes long. I like it when BL's get beyond the tribulations of the BL couple and tackle some other issues like sexual harassment in the workplace. It's done so convincingly here. Sanada's acting is perfect for this role - he's totally slimy and reprehensible feeling and I might just slap him if I ever met him. Ren is looking out for his fellow employees and it makes his character admirable and very sympathetic. What do normal BL couples do other than fight off an evil-ex? Even if they do something like in Together With Me, or Bed Friends, it just feels corny and illegitimate. I love the actress who played the victim in the workplace - she was so believable and perfect for her role. Aren't these things swept under the rug in Japan? It is is such a totally male dominated workplace with few women ever getting to any position of authority [research this if you want- it's definitely the case].

I love how they portrayed Ren when he was young. As his friend said, first loves always hit pretty hard, and I love how they portray Ren as someone who is totally consumed by that love. He's also been shunned by his family, and just thrown to the wolves by them. He doesn't even speak French, and the kids bully him [a reminder of what pieces of shit young kids are when dealing with people different from them]. Finally his only solace, an empty phone call where the recipient never responds, is taken away from him. I could really feel how devastated a person in Ren's position would be if this happened to him and kudos to the actor who captured this feeling of stark desolation. I also love the friend he found in France who is a model of compassion.

Going back to the present, I must say that the small moments captured between the couples is truly wonderful. I've never seen someone just button someone else's shirt in a BL in such a sexy and enticing way - this was far better for me than virtually any kiss I've seen in other series. This is such a great BL with so much going for it. I like the drama of it which is so understated yet always compelling.

They are transitioning from FWB to lovers. I believe it’s because Ren realizes Kozuma has been looking for him this whole time. He was just not certain enough of Kozuma’s feelings for him to move on to the next stage. I believe a slight transition also occurred at the end of the last episode because Ren felt stressed out from his difficult work assignment with the Nitto firm and needed Kozuma to comfort him, sensing he was a real friend. I think the transition is clear and was well done.

We’ve had a discussion below about Kozuma being straight. The subs for Gaga are always terrible and the whole thing could have been a mistranslation. Kozuma has never had a girlfriend and is just most likely a late bloomer rather than being straight.

I have always hated that trope the most. I have no idea where that comes from. I'm not sure if it comes from Yaoi literature, but I suspect it comes from Thailand. Rather odd, since the Japanese have invented this whole genre but are letting the Thai's take the lead in some aspects of BL development, probably because of their dominance in this business.

I think they achieved that transition really well. Ren was overworked and probably stressed out with his last assignment with the Nitto client, making him more vulnerable. Then he finds Kozuma's files revealing how Kozuma was searching the globe for him. Even though he could probably sense how much Kozuma cared for him, he needed some proof of his love to move beyond the friends with benefits stage. I think they both initially fell into that because they both felt, intrinsically, that they had to have some contact with each other, and it was a natural stepping stone into a full blown relationship. With all that physical intimacy it's really easy to go to the next stage. I like how they displayed that with all the signs you talk about here - really a nuanced and effective way of showing us how the relationship evolved.

I find this series has become one of my all time favorites. There are so many delightful things like the insatiable sexual urges of young gay men being portrayed realistically, and the casual domestic intimacy of a gay couple that is totally in love - I don't think I've seen either in virtually any BL, and never this well. I also like the unexpected stark realism in a lot of this, like a study in contrasts with the hyperbolic love of the main leads. Perhaps that is why their love comes off as seeming like a "miracle", which is also why Ren will desperately cling to it in the next episode.

I really empathize with these characters so much so that I wish I could be one of them. I would love to be like Ren with some hot man, especially one as beautiful and sexy as Kozuma, chasing me all over the planet, and loving me like I was the embodiment of all the goodness that was left in the world. I like the desperate quality of their love which started with incredibly bad luck and incubated over 10 years till it became overwhelming for both of them. This is really a very interesting plot that has a lot of quirks that make it singular and captivating without being too experimental and cerebral. There are a few plot flaws but none that can't be easily overlooked. This really is an exceptional BL and one of the best I've ever seen.

Yes. One of the usual issues with writing comments before the end of a series, though I had thought this was going to reliably remain one of those obnoxious impossible reunions. I’m actually glad I was wrong because I like this series.

This is another enjoyable Japanese BL with a lot more overt sexuality than the norm. I also like the openness of this with things like young Ren trying to have sex when he was a teenager like a normal teenager - what a breakthrough! I don't really like the plot because someone that is as infatuated as Kozuma should have at least sought Ren out, and the idea he just bumps into him at work is ludicrous given that there are a million office jobs in Tokyo. This part of the plot just takes me out of the story but I've seen a lot worse so I'm doing my usual suspension of disbelief for the sake of BL lazy writing syndrome awareness month. I really love the relationship between the ML's in this. There is something far more natural between them than hardly any other BL couple - like I can see these two being in love completely. This series also seems to be somewhere between a BL and a gay drama with less fluff, and more realism - definitely a little darker than normal.

This was excellent all the way through. I like the whole idea of the dining table, as a place where the connections in Yutaka's life were made. It was also the place where he had a misunderstanding with his older brother that caused him trauma for many years. The drama of this series was not really any hollywood-like drama but a kind of self-inflicted wound that Yutaka had created for himself. This series is really just very realistic, and I wish more series would take this approach rather than walking down the same path of artificial conflicts. Without any fake drama the touching moments between the ML's is far more real and impactful, and this was magnified by the flawless acting by the leads. The acting is just amazing from all the side cast members as well, especially the glowing, incandescent acting of little Tane, who brought a kind of radiance to this whole show that makes it the most appealing gay family drama I've ever seen. The whole sense of family in this series is executed perfectly. The sense of healing brought by a family, and the delightful warmth of a family connection, missing from virtually any gay drama, is brought out beautifully in this series. This is really one of the best BL's I've ever watched, and is also quite unique. It was very light but steady and the impact of the emotions hit really well even though hardly anything happened. It's just that I could see myself in Yutaka and Minoru because they were so vividly drawn, and little Tana as well. I felt like their pain and happiness was really my own. I can only hope to see more of this kind of drama sometime in the future because this is a new and better way to make BL's with more honesty and depth.

It’s really bad. The plot holes are much worse after episode 5. If you can’t take it now, you’ll never make it, lol