agapi
This review may contain spoilers
Cute... but toxic?
Honestly, I was happy when it was announced that we will have a second season of Utsukushii Kare as I really enjoyed the first season. I believe that it is one of the best japanese bl series that we have up until today.
CHARACTERS
In the series we follow the story of Kiyoi and Hira and their relationship. Hira (Hagiwara Riku) is now a senior university student and is still obsessed with Kiyoi, while Kiyoi (Yagi Yusei) is working hard with his acting career and is making small steps towards his goals. Both have the same master/slave relationship. Kiyoi is still shy towards Hira and his only way of coping with those feelings is to talk harshly to the other person (e.g. “You are gross”) or physically hurt him; while Hira is still following Kiyoi everywhere he goes and as the time goes by he is severely obsessed with the other person.
Kazuki (Takano Akira) is also a recurring character in this season who is doing his internship and is also the president at the photography club at the university. We can see that he and Hira have a friendly relationship and Kazuki even helps the other person with getting a part-time job. Even though it seems like Kazuki still has feelings for Hira, he doesn’t make any move on the other person; instead, he takes the role of the supporting friend. Moreover, we are introduced to a new character Anna (Nimura Sawa) who is a popular actress that works in the same company as Kiyoi. She and Kiyoi seem to be getting closer as they are experiencing similar love issues.
PLOT
The main plot of this series is the relationship between Kiyoi and Hira who are now living together. It is not stated in the series, but if we take into account that in the first season Hira was a second year (?) and now, he is a senior in university, they have been in a relationship for 2 or 3 years now. Kiyoi is working hard towards his ultimate goal on becoming an actor. On the other hand, Hira is still following Kiyoi whenever he goes and on his free time, he is watching the drama and special episodes that his boyfriend took part in. However, he is struck by reality when he sees that people around him are getting a job and they are working hard for their dreams.
Overthinking, overanalyzing, and not expressing themselves bring them in a tight spot. In the four episodes we see their attempts to adapt into the new environment and grow in their relationship.
MY OPINION
Honestly, this is a drama that is worth watching. It is a good continuation of the first season. However, if I must admit as I was watching the series, I was thinking that their relationship is toxic. Since they are together for some years now, I thought they would have already grown and become more confident in their relationship but in the drama, we see that Hira still considers himself lower than Kiyoi. I don’t know… I think that I am not fond with this approach.
I am not against when we see them act jealous and shy towards each other though. For example, in the first episode we see Kiyoi getting jealous when a girl hits on Hira. We have seen something similar on season 1 with Kazuki and Hira, but now Kiyoi stood his ground and showed to Hira his jealous side. I am onboard with this type of behavior. It’s cute. Kiyoi is self-aware that he likes Hira and is not afraid to act jealous in front of him.
My issue comes with Hira. I think that he hasn’t grown at all while they were together, and his life revolves only around Kiyoi. I do understand that Hira believes that there is a huge difference between them and that’s why he still addresses Kiyoi as a “King”, but shouldn’t he grow out of it?
Moreover, even though Hira tries to play the victim all the time by bringing this high wall between him and Kiyoi, I still feel that the one who has it worse is Kiyoi. Hira’s misunderstandings and misinterpretation of Kiyoi’s feelings and actions are very painful for Kiyoi. Even in season 1, even though he doesn’t say it verbally, I got the feeling that Kiyoi liked Hira more than Hira liked Kiyoi. Even though we are always seeing Hira going after Kiyoi, I still think that the one who feels more in this relationship is Kiyoi.
I don’t know how to explain it simpler or if you get what I mean. But, in episode 3 when the two people were talking about Hira’s parents, you could clearly see the fear, anxiousness, and nervousness of Kiyoi – but Hira, instead of making the other person in front of him feel more relaxed, said that Kiyoi will never meet his parents so there is no reason to worry about it. I just feel that Hira’s stupidness hurts Kiyoi a lot. He did the same thing in season 1. Instead of working together with Kiyoi, Hira still stays behind him and whenever Kiyoi wants to take a step forward Hira holds them back. When Kiyoi said “You prefer unrequired love, right? Then just stay there (…) I’m sorry that I like you”, I felt sad… Hira isn’t worthy of Kiyoi’s love.
But don’t get me wrong… It takes two to tango… Hira is not the only at fault! Kiyoi is at fault as well. The dynamics of this couple is not good. In one hand we have Hira who misunderstands everything and who believes that if he Kiyoi’s wishes would come true then the other person will never leave him. While, on the other hand we have Kiyoi who doesn’t speak his mind but at the same time is seeking his forever from Hira. How did they even manage to be together? Communication is key for every relationship and in this case, it doesn’t exist… However, we see Kiyoi making small steps and expressing his feelings to the other person, but Hira doesn’t receive the message and we have Kiyoi being sad and mad by himself…
Am I thinking too much regarding the relationship of two fictional characters? Yes, yes I am! What are your opinions? Is Hira’s behavior expected after all these years?
Anyway, this is a good drama to watch, SO WATCH IT! BYE!
P.S. In both seasons we have only seen a jealous Kiyoi. I would love to see a jealous Hira as well. But not from Hira the Fan, but rather from Hira the Boyfriend. I am assuming that as things are right now Hira will never get jealous of Kiyoi – not because he doesn’t like him, but because he would think that he is not a place to be jealous of Kiyoi. I hope that in the movie we will see an actively jealous Hira the Boyfriend and claim his boyfriend from the predators ?
CHARACTERS
In the series we follow the story of Kiyoi and Hira and their relationship. Hira (Hagiwara Riku) is now a senior university student and is still obsessed with Kiyoi, while Kiyoi (Yagi Yusei) is working hard with his acting career and is making small steps towards his goals. Both have the same master/slave relationship. Kiyoi is still shy towards Hira and his only way of coping with those feelings is to talk harshly to the other person (e.g. “You are gross”) or physically hurt him; while Hira is still following Kiyoi everywhere he goes and as the time goes by he is severely obsessed with the other person.
Kazuki (Takano Akira) is also a recurring character in this season who is doing his internship and is also the president at the photography club at the university. We can see that he and Hira have a friendly relationship and Kazuki even helps the other person with getting a part-time job. Even though it seems like Kazuki still has feelings for Hira, he doesn’t make any move on the other person; instead, he takes the role of the supporting friend. Moreover, we are introduced to a new character Anna (Nimura Sawa) who is a popular actress that works in the same company as Kiyoi. She and Kiyoi seem to be getting closer as they are experiencing similar love issues.
PLOT
The main plot of this series is the relationship between Kiyoi and Hira who are now living together. It is not stated in the series, but if we take into account that in the first season Hira was a second year (?) and now, he is a senior in university, they have been in a relationship for 2 or 3 years now. Kiyoi is working hard towards his ultimate goal on becoming an actor. On the other hand, Hira is still following Kiyoi whenever he goes and on his free time, he is watching the drama and special episodes that his boyfriend took part in. However, he is struck by reality when he sees that people around him are getting a job and they are working hard for their dreams.
Overthinking, overanalyzing, and not expressing themselves bring them in a tight spot. In the four episodes we see their attempts to adapt into the new environment and grow in their relationship.
MY OPINION
Honestly, this is a drama that is worth watching. It is a good continuation of the first season. However, if I must admit as I was watching the series, I was thinking that their relationship is toxic. Since they are together for some years now, I thought they would have already grown and become more confident in their relationship but in the drama, we see that Hira still considers himself lower than Kiyoi. I don’t know… I think that I am not fond with this approach.
I am not against when we see them act jealous and shy towards each other though. For example, in the first episode we see Kiyoi getting jealous when a girl hits on Hira. We have seen something similar on season 1 with Kazuki and Hira, but now Kiyoi stood his ground and showed to Hira his jealous side. I am onboard with this type of behavior. It’s cute. Kiyoi is self-aware that he likes Hira and is not afraid to act jealous in front of him.
My issue comes with Hira. I think that he hasn’t grown at all while they were together, and his life revolves only around Kiyoi. I do understand that Hira believes that there is a huge difference between them and that’s why he still addresses Kiyoi as a “King”, but shouldn’t he grow out of it?
Moreover, even though Hira tries to play the victim all the time by bringing this high wall between him and Kiyoi, I still feel that the one who has it worse is Kiyoi. Hira’s misunderstandings and misinterpretation of Kiyoi’s feelings and actions are very painful for Kiyoi. Even in season 1, even though he doesn’t say it verbally, I got the feeling that Kiyoi liked Hira more than Hira liked Kiyoi. Even though we are always seeing Hira going after Kiyoi, I still think that the one who feels more in this relationship is Kiyoi.
I don’t know how to explain it simpler or if you get what I mean. But, in episode 3 when the two people were talking about Hira’s parents, you could clearly see the fear, anxiousness, and nervousness of Kiyoi – but Hira, instead of making the other person in front of him feel more relaxed, said that Kiyoi will never meet his parents so there is no reason to worry about it. I just feel that Hira’s stupidness hurts Kiyoi a lot. He did the same thing in season 1. Instead of working together with Kiyoi, Hira still stays behind him and whenever Kiyoi wants to take a step forward Hira holds them back. When Kiyoi said “You prefer unrequired love, right? Then just stay there (…) I’m sorry that I like you”, I felt sad… Hira isn’t worthy of Kiyoi’s love.
But don’t get me wrong… It takes two to tango… Hira is not the only at fault! Kiyoi is at fault as well. The dynamics of this couple is not good. In one hand we have Hira who misunderstands everything and who believes that if he Kiyoi’s wishes would come true then the other person will never leave him. While, on the other hand we have Kiyoi who doesn’t speak his mind but at the same time is seeking his forever from Hira. How did they even manage to be together? Communication is key for every relationship and in this case, it doesn’t exist… However, we see Kiyoi making small steps and expressing his feelings to the other person, but Hira doesn’t receive the message and we have Kiyoi being sad and mad by himself…
Am I thinking too much regarding the relationship of two fictional characters? Yes, yes I am! What are your opinions? Is Hira’s behavior expected after all these years?
Anyway, this is a good drama to watch, SO WATCH IT! BYE!
P.S. In both seasons we have only seen a jealous Kiyoi. I would love to see a jealous Hira as well. But not from Hira the Fan, but rather from Hira the Boyfriend. I am assuming that as things are right now Hira will never get jealous of Kiyoi – not because he doesn’t like him, but because he would think that he is not a place to be jealous of Kiyoi. I hope that in the movie we will see an actively jealous Hira the Boyfriend and claim his boyfriend from the predators ?
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