The Novelist (2018)

WASN'T CUP OF MY TEA

i knew that this will contain mature scenes but fucc this is so wild beyond my expectations... my mouth was agape for 5 mins straight frfr. i just tried to try another genre of bl series and im very much fine with mature scenes but this series has no/little fluff at all and im a sucker for fluff bl so nah this aint really my taste. moreover this is too fast-paced as well, i prefer slow burn. from my perspective it seems that this series has definitely some issues as well ... and the ending...... wasn't also satisfying... welp this was kinda heavy ya know .. it left me devastated

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I went into this series with a renewed sense of hope for Japanese BL dramas because of the good things I've heard about it. I was not disappointed.

I'll just say this ahead, in this series: there is no laughing, cute, perfect couple; no unrealistic problem-free relationship; no flat, emotionless actors-who-cannot-act; and most importantly, no shot of two lips touching and staying so painfully still for over a minute. All of these, in my humble opinion, are very good things.

I love the character interactions in this series the most. The short humorous exchanges the characters sometimes have are precious. Not only do the characters have chemistry, but they are also entirely natural and believable. There is a certain quiet atmosphere all throughout the series, punctuated by the beautiful soundtrack. The cinematography is also wonderful and aesthetically pleasing. There is just this one point in Episode 3(?) where the transition was so abrupt and ridiculous that I laughed out loud. Other than that, I have no complaints.

To be honest, I had no idea who Izuka Kenta was before this. Now, I have no idea why he isn't known more. His acting is smooth, there is almost no 'acting' but just him being the character. On the other hand, I didn't fancy Takezai Terunosuke's acting at the start. I felt it was too monotone, until this one turning point in the series where we see a different side to his character and I realized his acting was actually pretty on-point from start to end. Izuka may have stolen the show, but in at least two scenes Takezai completely stole the moment.

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Unloveable main character undermines this drama

Kuzumi (Izuka Kenta) is a university student who accidentally runs down Kijima (Takezai Terunosuke) with his bicycle, causing an injury to his writing arm. Kijima is a novelist who appears to be in his mid-30s, but he lives in the analogue world of someone twice his age. He listens to vinyl records, has no computer and writes his books out on paper. Kuzumi has no liability insurance and is a poor college student so Kijima allows him to work off the debt of medical bills by writing for him and doing light housework. At first Kuzumi is shocked to learn the books Kijima writes are graphic adult fiction, but quickly adapts. The two are attracted to each other but inexplicably act as if they have something to hide when there is really no one else in their lives. Only when Kimjima gets drunk one night does he have the nerve to ask Kuzumi to sleep in his bed. Nothing more happens than a kiss, though. Kijima is bitter about having to write low-brow porn novels for a living and he's had writer's block for the past year. So to make an excuse to have Kuzumi around, he recites passages from his old novels for the boy to transcribe. So far, this all makes sense. But then Kijima pushes Kuzumi away. Perhaps he sees too much difference in their age or feels he's all washed up while Kuzumi has his whole life ahead of him? Well, I guess that's a selfless gesture, but Kuzumi has really fallen in love with him. They have one climatic gay sex fling and Kuzumi asks him to write a story for him. Sometime later the story arrives and I think we're to believe it helped him overcome his writer's block. Meanwhile, Kuzumi has graduated from university and has a job at a big company, but we get no closure on his romantic life. The plot has all of the excitement and interest of a jet roaring down the runway, waiting to take off but it never really leaves the ground. It seems to just slow down and park at the terminal again. Izuka Kenta, who is 34 in real life, is completely convincing as 22-year-old Kuzumi. He really grounds the film in reality. Takezai Terunosuke's gives an uneven performance as Kijima. His character seems so unloveable that we begin to wonder what the heck Kuzumi sees in him. He's a compulsive liar and bit of a sadist. In the end, they seem to just be two lonely guys who find some temporary solace in their odd companionship, but it would be a stretch to say they are friends. I give this 3 stars overall because Izuka is so delightful to watch, but Takezai's Kimja must have been written by a committee who couldn't agree on his motivation.

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That was really not my cup of tea..

I liked the acting. That was great. I also liked the music. And the funny moments! And...that's it.

Unfortunately I can't join the squad which is head over heels for this drama. I didn't like it.. I know that there are also shows about Kido and Kijimas previous relationship (Mood Indigo) and a Sequel for this show, but I can't bring myself to watch these too.. even though I thought Kido was interesting. His voice is definitely a thing! x.x

But..I don't like forcing sexual acts on others and this whole lying, manipulation, not caring about Kuzumis feelings...nah. Just nah.

I liked Kuzumi, but he's naive and..stupid as hell.

I think this drama shouldn't be called a Boy Love, because there is no love at all. ^^'

2/10 for the funny moments, the great acting and "Twilight Dreams".

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*slaps screen into the wall* ....What was that ending?!

Okay but really though, I started this show just to see if it would grab my attention at all... ummmm Hours later and totally completed, I would say yes.... Yes it did. Now I need to find the rest of the series before i lose my damn mind.

I didn't know this was part of a series until I was near the end and felt like there was a lot more to this than they were saying (glad to know I was right lol)

There really isn't much I can say about this show without giving to much away, really. I think the actors are fucking phenomenal because most of the time I felt like I was reading someone's journal or looking in through someone's window. Everything about it was raw and real.

I wasn't expecting that ending at all if I'm totally honest though. Not sure what I expected but..... not that.
Not that I'm mad or anything, but I might have looked at the screen like "did my ship just sink!?" Lol

Really hoping the rest of the series is as amazing as this one.

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A great drama

first, i was kinda skeptic about japanese BL drama at first, since it never actually deliver the feeling of the story in the best way possible. but after I watched this series, it broke those thoughts of mine. I gotta say that the actors did a really good job in playing the characters. I also read the manga, but I can feel the emotion better here. the tense, pain, frustration, happiness, sadness, anger, and so much more. the dialogues are also good, the script is well-written. it made me wanted to know more about the story. the only thing I'm not so fine with is the ending. of course i like an open ending drama better than a sad ones, but i still prefer a happy or good ending where I know that every problems have been resolved.

thumbs up to everyone that made this series possible!!!

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Anyone else thirsty?

Well thought out characters, small cast not focused on unecessary sub plots, steamy, and girl i mean fog the glasses up steamy.

+ sexy + in depth story + no hinted at LGBTQ+ very in your face
- pointless eluded back story - borderline creepy grooming

Girl they done went in on the sexy times. Not only for a BL but a Japanese BL was not expected but very well done.

This was very well acted Takezai (Kijima) and Izuka (Kuzumi) really played well of each other and had clearly researched their roles. Although it did take me a few episodes to warm up to kijimi.

I couldn't help but feel the hinted at past risqué relationship felt more like a " we should do a sequel/ prequel " gimmick and not as much something that really was well thought about storyline arc.

It really unraveled and blossomed as a great story and never felt rushed. But in the same sense i don't feel the need for more.

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a boy whos new to love meets a boy whos hurt because of love

It's pretty interesting and straightforward which is quite nice to see. The way this series made the Mls meet is so funny, both of them weren't looking well on their way which leads on them bumping to each other with one of them having a bike.

Watching this without watching all the seasons (as I'm writing this review, I had finished all of them) my experience was so perplexed just like Kuzumi because Kijima was so obvious based on literally his face and the way he moves (actor of him is so good, he really looks like he dealt with a traumatic past even just by existing on the screen) that he had a bad experience he cannot move on from but I couldn't find it out. In the end, it's quite inevitable to hate Kijima for always running away and not facing his true feelings.
Then after watching all of the seasons, and rewatching this, you can finally have reasons and understand Kijima. Here you can see he was deeply hurt from the point of numbness that when he bumped to KZ, he made the opportunity to reach out to him to maybe feel something while also fooling him which had consequences, he didn't realize how precious KZ's feelings were towards him, he knew that KZ ended up falling in love with him sometime including himself but he never knew it was that deep, maybe he got reminded of his past feelings where the other didn't commit thus made him scared to accept KZ's feelings.

I think if it's your first time watching this, you'll end up maybe not liking it by the way Kijima treated Kuzumi through out the whole series or how the story literally just revolved between the two of them but if you have the patience to survive watching a lot more installment that makes the story much more clearly and be understanding of our Ml's history and his upbringings also it gets more entertaining from one installment to another. it's for you.

KZ is my boy, this dude was purely just in-love and reached out for it with all his might which KJ needed cause it compliments his arrogant and stubborn personality. I just don't like how they made his character so little on story when it comes to themselves like in here, he was just made to be the person of interest of KJ without giving much info about KJ's life, I wanted to get to know about him but they didn't do that which also made a lot of viewers dislike him cause they couldn't connect with him (including me sometimes but he was just too innocent and kind, ambitious when it comes to love which is super rare like KJ better treat him right)

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I gave relatively low ratings (at least for my standard) to this one not because it wasn't good, but because it was too short and it was originally going to be longer, which was a disappointment to me.

The story is not your typical BL: it's not bright and funny, nor about teenage boys looking for answers.
It's kinda mature in a sense (the kisses are definitely worth watching), but it doesn't give porno vibes.
Classy in its own way, I wish they could've given us a better ending.
The acting is so so good and all the darkness suits the story very well in my opinion.

I know i may sounds redundant, but the ending and the overall shortness guttered me.
It could've been a masterpiece in my book.

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It was okay!

I felt like the storyline within this drama was pretty good but left a bit to be desired. Especially with the ending. In general it was a compelling drama, with some very cringe worthy bits ( I had to pause and take a breath because second-hand embarassment lol) and a developing relationship. However, it did feel very hot and cold at some points and to be honest was very manipulative.

The cast was very good and played their roles excellently and left nothing to be desired!!

However, to circle back to the ending - it was very disappointing as the build up of the relationship was very good and then 'bam' open ending - it really leaves a lot to be desired, and I know that there is a second series but to be frank I am skeptic about watching it. So I might come back to this series later.

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Amazed

I have been avoiding this series for a long time because of the rating and also I don't really like R18 bls that much, but it is actually pretty good. The acting,plot and sex scenes were all done pretty well. I thought the plot would be just sex and no plot but it is actually not that and something more. I loved the mystery of 'the pornographer'. He seemed such a red flag but after we dive into the plot we come to know that he is just a lonely person who has lost his ability to write and with the help of the mc he finds it again. The acting is done very well. It was really splendid. The sex was just wow although they always do it with the lights down so it was bummer but it was overall very good. Amazing.

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