Utsukushii Kare (2021)

I don't usually write reviews but I really felt the intensity of the series. It's not cliche. The way they showed the point of views of the characters is really interesting. It was a little hard for me to get past through Hira's weirdness but I think that essential part of his character was really well delivered and directed. Meccha kimoi da haha.

It's quite an interesting story, I have always wondered how such characters would be in real life. I'm considering on adding this to favorites.

Thank you creator, director, screenwriter, cast, and crew for this series!

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Best casual BL I've seen so far

This show is not perfect. It's not a masterpiece. But it's still extremely good for a BL.
The casting is GODLY, the "beautiful man" in question is extremely beautiful for real and plays it great, and the other male lead handles the stuttering character really well. The acting may feel off from time to time, but it was still good enough for me to think the actors have had BL roles before.
The soundtrack - don't even get me started. The instrumentals fit the mood so naturally. And the ED completely conveys the character's (Kiyoi's) feelings (if you know Japanese or happen to be curious enough to look for a translation).
Story-wise, it's not that complex or deep, but it's an interesting story, exciting and enticing, making you want more. Important point though, since the plot seems to be inspired by some of the classic BL and shojo-maga tropes, the relationship may seem quite toxic to the Westerners, so if you're overly sensitive about that kind of stuff it might not be a good choice for you. Still, the toxicity has some ground for it and understanding the toxic character was not too hard.
As for the pace of the plot, it was a tiny bit too fast for me, but on the other hand we can witness decent character development thanks to that. Still, depending on the translation you might find yourself lost in the events of the show so maybe pay extra attention to what the characters are saying because sometimes just one phrase completes a whole story arc. Thanks to this pacing, it's quite easy to rewatch it once or twice to fill in some of your personal plot holes.

Overall, a REALLY good show with high rewatch rate. Absolutely recommend unless you're allergic to toxic starts.

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INCRÍVEL!

Eu só comecei a assistir por conta do tédio e por não ter mais nada pra ver, e confesso que nos primeiros episódios a atuação deles (principalmente do yusei yagi) não me prendeu muito, mas conforme os eps foram passando e depois que eu compreendi a história por trás de tudo eu achei simplesmente uma das melhores obras bls japonesas que eu já vi, a história é cativante e a 2ª temporada é melhor ainda. EU AMEI! Com certeza teve muito choro em muitos episódios e também muito plot twist, simplesmente incrível. A forma em como eles mostram o lado dos dois personagens é cativante.

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THE WORST BL I'VE EVER WATCHED

How come there's a lot of positive reviews? One is an obsessed stalker, one is an abusive person. Their relationship would never be equal. Bleh.

But seriously, why does people like this? This is pure toxic!! WTF.

I don't like how they bully him. I don't like how he worships the ground he walks on. How he tolerated being degraded like that. The second hand embarrassment is real on this one.

Maybe jt got better. Whatever. It hurts to watch this.

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A show that shot itself in the foot

This series could have been perfect. But the actors refused to kiss. Adding insult to injury, the director tried to trick the viewers into thinking that the character did kiss by "cheating the camera." Every time the characters went in for a kiss, they would turn from the camera, or the camera would pan away from them, or the actors would be backlit so no details could be seen, or the actors would block the kiss with their hand. I don't understand why a series would hire actors for gay roles who then refuse to play those roles authentically. Not only is that bad storytelling, it's homophobic. If the actors and directors are so disgusted by same sex intimacy, then they shouldn't be telling a BL story. This has nothing to do with government censorship or getting an all-audience rating for broadcast television. The producers believe that the audience for BL's are too stupid to notice these tricks or they think that we have such low standards that we'll happily consume anything BL no matter how poorly done.

The rest of the story was wonderful. Too bad the whole thing was tainted.

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Two Dysfunctional Guys Hook Up

Hira is a stereotypical shy, nerdy high school senior who falls in love at first sight of Kiyoi, an egotistical bastard who is too full of himself for words. Hira stalks Kiyoi all through their senior year while Kiyoi continues to resent Hira outwardly, but under the surface Kiyoi is coming to terms with his own attraction to Hira. On the last day of school Kioyi gets the courage to kiss Hira, but like the rest of their dysfunctional relationship, it doesn't go well and they boys are now separated as Hira goes to college and Kiyoi starts his acting career. In the college camera club, Hira meets Koyama, who quickly falls in love with dysfunctional Hira, who is still longing for Kiyoi. Eventually, Hira does hook up with Kiyoi but we are left wondering how long such a relationship would last. "My Beautiful Man" follows the typical Y drama formula with the shy lead pursuing an abusive love interest, although here, Kiyoi never seems to fully embrace their bromance. Hira's stuttering becomes a bit tiresome after the first episode. At first the story seems to pose the question, "can opposites attract?" but in the end we realize both our heroes suffer from narcissistic personality disorder. I wanted to like these characters but ended up wishing Koyama was the hero. While his appearance is all too brief, he has the best scenes. If I were plotting out the six episodes, I would have concluded the high school years at episode 3 and given more time to the far more interesting bromance between Hira and Koyama. The performances are all on point and the production values are sparkling. The standout performance is Takano Akira's Koyama Kazuki, so I'm looking forward to seeing him in future dramas.

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Strange, but Intriguing.

That's exactly how I would describe Utsukushii Kare. Based on a somewhat familiar trope, what made this drama pique my interest were the leading characters.
Timid and introverted Hira falls for the cold and untouchable "King" Kiyoi. It then follows their twisted connection and the moral dilemmas that each of them face.
It's 100% non-fluffy by the way.
The show never moved away from the "romance" aspect, which I unfortunately found boring. Narrated from Hira's point of view, we rarely leave his bubble.

Both Kiyoi and Hira had distinct personalities and personally, I felt that there was more room for growth and portrayal of their different facets. I am not familiar with the source material, so I might me wrong.
Hira in particular, looked a bit more lively and open during the latter half of the show, particularly after his time at college. He is definitely one of the most uninteresting protagonists I've ever seen, but there were not many characters or relations in the story to begin with. It looked almosy empty or crowded at times.
I particularly loved the portrayal of the characters in the final episode, thanks to the cast who did an excellent job. It was too rushed for my taste, unfortunately.
Overall, it's definitely worth a try if you are seeking some dramas which deal with the ugly truth of a few people out there.

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Started off troubling but finished strong

As far as episodes 1 to 4 was concerned, Kiyoi appeared arrogant, narcissistic and unkind, while Hira was needlessly reverent. How could a healthy relationship possibly result from such a dynamic? I thought. But I was completely won over by the end as the final episodes offered revelations from Kiyoi’s perspective.

The beauty of Utsukushii Kare is in how it demonstrates the communication quirks in conservative Asian societies. Reading between the lines is required to grasp subtler expressions of love.

When Kiyoi uses the term “stalker”, he really means “thank you for coming to me”. When he says “disgusting”, albeit in harsher tones, it’s because he just doesn’t know how else to express what he’s feeling.

“How did I fall in love with someone as disgusting as you?” Taken out of context, his sentence might sound terribly unkind. But in the particular context where it was said, Kiyoi doesn’t actually think that Hira is to be abhorred, but instead, he wants to say, “how did I find someone as special as you?”

Read my full review: here: https://asianblreviews.wordpress.com/2021/12/26/utsukushii-kare-my-beautiful-man-2021/

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Perdida de tiempo

La verdad esperaba otra cosa al empezar esta serie, dada la sinopsis. En general, aburrida. Sus puntos fuertes no justifican como la historia tiende a romantizar actitudes como vejación o bullying escolar. Claramente, los personajes necesitan ayuda psicológica. Como puntos fuertes creo que se puede decir que la realización de la serie está bien en general. Buenos planos, iluminación que crea mucho ambiente. Han elegido pocos decorados pero no se hacen repetitivos. En general, la serie está cuidada en lo que son decorados y fotografía. Las dotes de actuación de los protagonistas no están mal. Creo que el protagonista (actor de Hira) tiene mucho potencial.

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A peculiar love affair

Doubtless, many theses could be written about the Japanese psycho-sexual cultural impulse. In this series, the character Hira’s low self-esteem manifests itself in a fantasy obsession with the aloof, vain and arrogant Kiyoi. The peculiar Japanese take on this relationship imbalance is that Hira welcomes and Kiyoi obliges with masochistic behaviours. The two lead actors do outstanding work portraying these flawed characters. Kioyi evolves through his trail of humiliating failures to achieve some humility and regard for Hira. Hira’s character, on the other hand, barely leaves his comfort zone of demeanment and in the end, the writers ask us to accept that Kioyi’s continual slurs are meant as tokens of affection instead of the corrosive verbal instruments of degradation that they actually are. In my opinion, this relationship does not have the happy future the show’s creators would like us to believe. Production values are good and the earnestness of everyone involved is without question.

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I really wanted to like this, it is now going to have a movie too

I really wanted to like this series, it was recommended to me, and I thought I was going to enjoy it, I love BLs, but no. I just couldn't enjoy this show at all, the actors did a great job acting in their roles but the plot of the show, the writing, and the no real character development bothered me. I wanted much more for this, and some parts confused me in the series, where I honestly felt like dropping it. I continued watching it till the last episode, and my mood didn't change. If I was Hira, I would have picked the friend who honestly really loved me and cherished me. That was the perfect option, but anyway. This show wasn't for me, but I'm sure it has fans that love it. So I recommend just watching the first episode to see if you would continue it or not. The actors did a great job in their roles; this had nothing to do with them. Just the writing of the series.

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