More than Words (2022)

No words can explain how hurt I was when Makio was hurt.

One thing I would like to say first: Makio doesn't deserve all the bad experiences he passed through. The only mistake he did was when he didn't break up with Eiji after meeting Eiji's parents.

Back to my experience while watching this series, I really enjoyed myself being dragged emotionally by the sudden twist of plots. Who would have thought that the great relationship between Makio, Mieko and Eiji would result to an unexpected outcome? The realistic turn of events left a line that drifts apart the main characters. This series has its way to stimulate a dialogue-less scene with emotion-grabbing background music and fantastic cinematography.

A MUST-WATCH SERIES!

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A love story that is more than just the perfect dream you expect it to be.

More than Words is a realistic take on the lives of 3 Japanese Characters and the effects of traditional society and life have. This is not a show to watch if you want perfect endings, it is however, a beautiful and inspiring journey through life and very fulfilling! This series was so real and I was completely caught off guard, relatable and emotionally hard hitting.

I should inform that I don't usually enjoy 'just' drama shows but this show kept me up all night and I'm writing this at 7am after completing it.

Story:
The Story is broken up into two parts that you can commonly find in most LGBT shows. The good half, where friendship and love is found and no obstacle is too hard to overcome, and then the 2nd part where the reality of life sets in, but in this show they decided to throw down the gauntlet. Dysfunctional families, unspoken words , jealousy, pretending everything is okay. I was shocked and constantly in turmoil as MTW took me down the hole of what life looks like when it gets real!

Cinematography:
The camera work was excellent showing the audience what they needed and letting us figure out some of the story through expression and creative scene flow. Emotion was captured and conveyed with the scene. It's so important for cinema to embrace the idea that we don't always need to have everything explained and then shown.

Characters:
What can I say, all 3 of the main characters in this show are exquisite. They grow and develop and have friendship and love built out of hard hitting life situations. You will get to see what makes these characters real. You get it all; compassion, empathy, understanding, frustration, impatience, duty, longing, jealousy and grief. Don't expect them to be perfect people, humans make mistakes, they change their minds and feel differently after something changes or after a period of time. Characters with depth written as if they were biographies.

Pros:
-Beautiful ORIGINAL story that makes you wonder if you haves friends that are experiencing this.

-Characters are real and relatable.

-Great acting and amazing production quality.

Cons:
-Hits very hard maybe a little too hard.

-Emotionally frustrating.

-Not the typical BL love story I thought it would be.

-Some of the storyline is a bit rushed compared to the well thought out and planned bulk.

Conclusion:
Watch this show, it's a beautiful story that you don't want to miss out on. It's hard to watch, but you won't be able to stop once you start.

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an emotional turmoil

If anyone is happy with the turn of the events in whole series, it’s Meiko. It’s a win win situation for her. Being a non-romance person, she still got a companion in a socially acceptable relationship, got a daughter, improved her relationship with her mother and in the end still got her heartfelt friend back. The one who is losing everything is Eiji. But he reaped what he sowed. Being a non-decisive person from the start, he just went the flow and even desired a conventional relationship by confessing to Meiko after childbirth ‘I like you’ ‘You are not taking me seriously’.Quite pitiful character but in the end he is the one left alone, post betrayal to his lover. And he can’t even search for a fling, being a happily married man and being unable to do sexual escapades in clubs.
Makki suffered from trauma due to betrayal, lies and possibly Cheat. But Hopefully he gets his happy ending with Asato. He reconciled with his friend Meiko because a platonic friendship, but obviously he can’t reconcile with his ex.
All in all this series gives us a toxic female character, like many BLs, although sugar-coated, Homophobic parents who ultimately win at the cost of their son’s lifelong grief and a platonic friendship which ruins everything.

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یک داستان تلخ با چاشنی واقعیت

ممنون می‌شم اگر نظرات‌تون راجع به این سریال رو با من در زیر این بررسی، به اشتراک بذارید

※ احساساتی که موقع تماشای سریال تجربه کردم :
خوشحالی ، عشق ، ناراحتی ، سردرگمی ، خشم ، نفرت
پ.ن : بازیگران این سریال به شکل تحسین برانگیزی نقش‌های خودشون رو ایفا کردن و همین موضوع در هنگام تماشای سریال منجر به تجربه چنین احساسات متفاوت و گسترده‌ای در شما میشه که از نظر من میشه نمره کامل رو به بازیگران این سریال اختصاص داد.

※ بذارین اول از سیر داستانی سریال شروع کنم :
از قسمت یک تا هشت، سریال به داستان دوستی میئِکو ، ماکیو و آشنایی‌شون با اِیجی می‌پردازه. در طول این هشت قسمت، شخصیت اصلی داستان بین این سه نفر جابه‌جا میشه . در دو قست آخر (هشت تا ده) هم داستان به کل دستخوش تغییر میشه و صرفا به شخصیت ماکیو و آساتو می‌پردازه.

داستان به گونه‌ای تلخ حقایق دنیای امروز رو به تصویر می‌کشه .

※ شخصیت‌های سریال :
میئِکو : دوستی وفادار و حامی با این تفاوت که تصمیماتی که برای کمک به اطرافیانش می‌گرفت، غالبا اشتباه بود
ماکیو : شخصیتی که ساکت بود اما از بیرون خوشحال به نظر می‌رسید. ترجیح می‌داد رابطه‌ای منحصر به دوست‌پسرش داشته باشه و تمایلی به داشتن بچه نداشت
اِیجی : فردی که در ابراز خواسته‌هاش دچار ناتوانی بود و از طرف دیگه قادر به پافشاری بر روی تمایلاتش نداشت و خیلی راحت براساس نظر اطرافیانش تغییر جبه می‌داد

در کل نمیشه این سریال رو جزء اون دسته از آثار معمول بی‌ال دونست . بیشتر برشی از زندگی واقعی بود که در اون کاراکترهایی از خانواده ال‌جی‌بی‌تی‌کیو+ حضور داشت

جنبه منفی : سریال شامل خیانت یکی از شخصیت‌های اصلی داستان هستش . با اینکه کارگردان می‌تونست اون کاراکتر رو یک شخصیت بایسکشوال معرفی کنه اما این کار رو نکرد و در دید اول اینطور به نظر می‌رسه که گرایش‌های جنسی صرفا براساس شهوت و در طول زمان متغیر هستش .

⨷ خطر اسپویل ⨷

یکی از سوالات بدون پاسخ سریال مربوط به عمل " رحم اجاره‌ای " بود. وقایع این فیلم در تاریخ 2014 رخ میده و اولین عمل رحم اجاره‌ای در ژاپن در سال 2001 اتفاق می‌افته. سوال اینجاست که چرا شخصیت‌های داستان از طریق قانونی و علمی اقدام به انجام این روش نکردن (موضوعی که بعدها منجر به خیانت شد)

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It had potential, but didnt reach it

To start out, there is an age gap here. It's 2 high schoolers getting involved with an adult. I cannot stand this and it's unnecessary. They could've had Eiji the same age as the other teens to tell this coming of age story. It didn't need to be an age gap.

Keeping that in mind, but also separating that to judge the series, it is rare that we get to see an ace character and Meiko reads as an ace character who is desperately scared to lose the people she loves. People leaving is all she knows. Her dad walked out on her and her mom is physically around but emotionally absent. She is scared of losing both Makio and Eiji who are more than just friends, but family to her.

Eiji clearly identifies as gay and gets into a relationship with Makio. So all 3 continue their lives like this and deeply care for each other. The beginning of the drama made sense to me up until (without spoilers) circumstances lead to Eiji eventually telling Meiko he loves her. So in my mind, I'm thinking platonic love. Right? Because that would make sense. But no he insists and says Im serious about you in that way. Then Im like what? What is he implying? Is he implying that he can love her in the way that he loves Makio? But he is gay! This doesn't make sense?!!!! Are you kidding me?!!!

And even after he says that, the drama shot a very meaningful scene where it's entirely silent and Eiji folds 3 kimonos that he made for all of them. But the one he specifically made for Makio, he changes the way he folded it. It recalls a time in a prior scene when Makio said that his family folds clothes differently. So Eiji folds the clothes in the way Makio does it. When years pass and Eiji takes out the kimonos again, he smells the one he gave to Makio and sobbs into it. Eiji is clearly still in love with Makio even though he chose to please his parents by playing a role in a hetero relationship.

I dont know what the drama is trying to say? One moment you have Eiji implying he loves Meiko when he is gay, which is infuriating to watch because it doesnt work that way. You cant suddenly not be gay. And that hetero relationship he chooses to remain in is still intact by the end of the drama.

But also by the end of the drama, you're not supposed to feel like everything worked out. It's a strained situation. It shouldn't have happened this way. Eiji should've been able to live as himself as a gay man. Meiko can be ace but also have love. She doesnt need to use a child as an object to secure love and a family which all 3 fully admitted to doing as it involved all them for their own gains. So the drama critiques the issue and societal pressures yet keeps this status quo maintained at the end of it? To me, it didnt go far enough as it didnt break it. I know this can happen in life where people like Eiji exist as gay in hetero relationships. But this is a drama with an intended message. While not all media has to portray a message, it's in the title. With a title like More Than Words...there is more implications and words unspoken they are trying to convey.

Also they could've portrayed a poly relationship but they didnt go that route. Which fine, not all people can do poly relationships, but they had options on directions they could've taken. All in all, I dont think this drama hit the mark. It's sad cause I think the performances itself by the actors were well done. Just that the messaging didnt hit home and missed it.

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There's always an other way to handle problems

This was a realistic take on what actually LGBT+ people go through in society. I was enjoying the drama until the moment I saw the three characters on the same bed. When Meiko proposed to be the surrogate mother for their child, they should have talked about the aftermath and whatever that's related to the pregnancy BEFORE FINALISING. But no, it was a rash decision followed by another naive decision to have a threesome. I couldn't understand that if they slept together once , then what was that misunderstanding about whose child is it. And if there was a difference then, they didn't sleep together just once. Just because they had to convince his father. They didn't even talk about this with Eiji's parents before sleeping together. How more fucked up decision could they make? That's so sick. I was liking Eiji's character until he totally didn't care about Makki at all. I understand taking care of the pregnant mother was necessary but that doesn't mean you can ignore the feelings of the person you are doing all this to be with. And what? He fell in love with her afterwards? He was literally gay? Was marriage the only way? He didn't even try looking for him for should I say he gave no effort for being with Makki at all. Rather he was thinking about how to go on once he leaves. About Meiko, she thought she was helping but it turns out she was one of the reason for their breakup. She should have talked it out with Makki if he truly wanted it or not. No matter how much I liked her character, she turned out to be very selfish character. I pity Makki a lot. He was loyal to his boyfriend, he even rejected Meiko's feelings, who he cared about the most just because of his love for Eiji. I kinda understand why he bailed out at the last moment. Asato and Makki's story needed more episodes though. It felt like Asato was helping Makki slowly put all his broken pieces together. Anyways, it was hard to watch but what can I say, it's just how complicated it is to be a part of this society. Always trying to fit in, and in the process of it, some people lose themselves completely.

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It won't make you happy, but it will open your eyes :)

It was a production in which life was handled more realistically. Everything is not as easy and rosy as it seems in other bl's. Every definite had faults and many mistakes were made. And the conclusion we can come to is this: choose the people in your life wisely.

! There are spoilers after here. !

Personally, I find the conclusion they come to very absurd. Eiji has a very fragile nature, so he hastily decided without thinking about what he should do, and the result is in front of you. Still, Makio made an attempt to get someone into his life. I believe those two (Eiji and Makio) still love each other. there was something special between them and i find eiji sinful. I don't expect season 2 to come.

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"Heartwrenching and captivating"

I just finished this series and I m literally crying ...More Than Words" is a series that truly lives up to its name, delivering a narrative that goes beyond mere dialogue and action, delving deep into the hearts of its characters and its audience alike. Throughout its episodes, the series masterfully weaves together a tapestry of emotions, leaving viewers simultaneously moved and captivated by its heartwrenching storytelling.My favourite character was Makio.Makio's character is a poignant reminder of the power of storytelling to touch the soul and leave a lasting impact.I m sorry i believe not every viewer will agree with me but I really hated "meiko ejji parents and ejji the most(most hated).they didn't even try to search makki and lived a happy life with their child in that period makki was alone in his room ...I know makki ran away but ejji didn't even search or tried to contact him .....it was all perfect till episode 6 but after 7..I didn't stop crying because I felt so bad for makki ...The most cheerful character just became so ...? Ejji choose child and meiko over makki ...but I m glad makki was not alone in the last episode .I really hate Ejji or what he did to makki ? and Meiko (in my opinion she was really jealous of makki from the very first episode.
I m literally writing this review to relieve my anger and hatred towards Meiko and Ejji but its only becoming more and more hatred and anger?.. obviously I will never watch this series again ....?
❤️Makki (the most pitiful character. Get hurt by the people whom he love,care and trusted the most.I m really glad that in the end the writer decide to give us some clues that makki is trying to move on ..)
Ejji (I just hate him..I don't even. Want to write about him)
Meiko (the 2 hated character....she was just jealous of makki .makki was present in her hard time and look she payback to makki ...)Exclude the parents ther are just awful?

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A very unique and realistic drama

I came here to watch this in hopes of a cute bl, but this was a very unique and amazing show. One thing i loved about this show is how realistic it was, it wasn't fiction but the reality that most queer people face in real life.

What i liked about this show: all the people in the show were very unique and they were all different from each other, they had their own personality, all the cast delivered an amazing performance and executed their characters very well. This show was very realistic and not some fiction. The best thing about this show was in the last ep when meiko told eji,"do as you please, please don't think about whats good for shihi and me". This kinda brought tears to my eyes.

the reason i watch bls is to run away from reality only to be bombarded with reality in the face ........

What i didn't like about this show:
One of the major things i didn't like about this show is that it was a little too slow paced for my liking, i would catch myself zoning out a couple times, like that ep where eji was blow drying maakis hair, it went on for so long and they weren't even talking, so it was a bit awkward. They should've made eji and maakis relationship a little longer, should've added more days and alone days with just the two of them, we just kept jumping from year to year but they didn't really show that the two characters build up and having those random lovey dovey moments, because of this, ejis and maakis relationship didn't really seem that strong and they were both kind of awkward around each other. They just seemed like they were each other high school crushes and nothing more.

Storyline: the story line was amazing and every bit of this show was a masterpiece, it felt like i was watching a reality show than a fictional bl drama because of the camera positioning and the dialogues, it just felt like they were talking from their own mind rather than a script and we were actually there and that was one of my fave things about this show, sometimes its good to face reality, haha. I liked how every single character is portrayed, just amazing. the story went from interesting, cute and fun to realistic, sad and depressing and i somewhat liked it.

Music wasn't it really there but the end of each ep with the credits and the music was kinda nice, i really like the simplicity of the show

Rewatch value: I would kinda never watch it again, it was a cute and fun show but it gets to depressing for me, if i were to watch it ever again, i would only watch the first 4-5 eps because the days where eji, maaki and meiko were chilling and going to fun places was very fun and entertaining to watch, then when they became adults, the show starting taking a more serious turn it got too much to handle.

Overrall a great show, i really enjoyed, there were some scenes that were cute and recording worthy, the show is just too depressing for me, it was such a perfect end, i don't want another season, if there is another season, it better not have a single second of a depressing moment, every second and every ep should be the cheesiest and unrealistic moment as possible

if you're into dark, realistic shows with queer characters existing, then you will really like this show.

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tragic, but neededly grounded

I really enjoyed the cinema style and dialogues, they gave the show have a sense of realism. I enjoyed the characters and how the story unfolded, it captured a youthful love between friends and lovers that I felt really moved by. The story is happy yet tragic, and I can't help but wish for a different outcome. I truly wish I could have seen more fight from the lead lovers and not turn practically into a surrender, as I felt way too attached to them to want to let them go. However life isn't a drama series, so I can appreciate the writing and direction of how the story plays out. That doesn't mean I didn't wish things turned out differently but, Makki is human after all. I'd recommend the show for a decently emotional lgbt coming of age story between friends and lovers.

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