PERFECTION!
STORY AND CHARACTERS. Here lies the strength of this series. Both male leads (and Kazuki) are not absolutely good or bad. We see both sides of each character. We see Kiyoi at first as a brat, user, bully, then later we realize he also feels like he’s a victim. Hira, on the other hand, despite being seen as a willing victim, is also unwittingly using Kiyoi for personal, selfish reasons. Kayoma, who seems to be the most “normal” of the three, can also do the wrong things at the wrong time.We understand where the two MLs are coming from with the help of animated scenes showing how they grew up. This is what is missing in MR. UNLUCKY CAN ONLY KISS. That series ended leaving us with no clue where the two ML’s families are.
Pacing is just right: too slow, not too fast. Also there’s no irritating side stories of side couples, so the focus is just on the main leads. Attention, Thai BL producers!
Also, this is the only BL I’ve seen so far in which the POV switched from one character (Hira) to another (Kiyoi). This switch made us see more where our main characters are coming from.
ACTING. Superb ang acting from the entire cast. Special mention is the final confrontation. Acting on that scene was spot on. Good writing, too.
TECHNICALS. Cinematography is above average, seasoned professionals obviously are behind this. Same with editing and music, above average.
REWATCH VALUE. I’d watch this over and over again, yes!
10 / 10
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This review may contain spoilers
My In-depth Analysis of My Beautiful Man
I was reading through a lot of these reviews and thought I'd add my two cents.As someone who has already rewatched this series a gazillion times since it first came out, I'm probably gonna be a bit biased.
I have seen many mixed reviews on this drama, with many saying its perfect and amazing, and others claiming it to be the worst drama ever.
I can understand where many are going with their opinions, but as story analysis is basically my life at this point, I thought I'd try and clear a few things.
Many people who see this drama as terrible and the worst thing they'd ever seen, seem to have a trend with their opinions. Its always, "Hira's an obsessive loser who is bullied by Kiyoi, and Kiyoi is this prideful asshole who bosses Hira around." While I get where they're coming from, it seems they have only taken this drama at face value.
It takes a while for one to understand the certain complexities of these characters. I wont say they're stupid, cause thats not right either, but understanding where each of these characters is coming from takes a lot more thought and deliberation.
Hira's character is one of my favorites, mostly because of how he sees the world. There are many insecurities woven into Hira's character that not many dramas, bl or not, try to portray. While many see Hira's character as a helpless loser, its more because he's "different". Which i unfortunately relate to a lot more than i should. Hira has a hard time expressing himself, its literally one of the first things explained in the series. Also, while Hira seems like a push over who lets people walk all over him, its explained in the novel (not as much in the series ig) that Hira lets people tell him what to do because he'd rather not deal with the issues that would come from him refusing and standing up for himself. This is also why i believe that hira never really cared for doing errands for Kiyoi, because he was used to being ordered around by other people. Sad, but true for a lot of people. Now, to address Hira's obsessive behavior. Its bad, but i will admit, he's a lot more tame than many other obsessive characters in dramas. I've seen both A Round Trip to Love and the Effect series. I know what obsessive is. Hira's obsession is more of a one sided idolization of Kiyoi. This is expressed multiple times in how Hira sees Kiyoi as a "god" and how he's "untouchable". Hira never sees Kiyoi as an object that belongs to him, like many obsessive characters. Once again, ARTTL has scarred me. Now, i get how you might say "Hira's just obsessed with Kiyoi as a person, not that he wants to own him." And yes, that's true, but its similar to the way a teenager is obsessed with their favorite celebrity, which is normal, yet in some cases odd. To adress the machine gun scenes, those are metaphorical. I saw many a comment on how its insane of him to want to shoot his classmates. Let's get this straight. Hira never wanted to actually kill his classmates. It's a metaphorical feeling of wanting them "dead" not in a way of killing them, but wanting them to stop or to just disappear. Now the matter of Hira and the photos of Kiyoi. I saw someone say it was weird for hira to tuck in Kiyoi's picture with him in the bed, but, honestly, thats not that bad. And while Hira masturbating to Kiyoi's photo was weird, its not that uncommon. People fantasize about their idols/celebrities in unsavory situations all the time, and be it weird, you cant just get on him for it.
I'd like to also include my take on Koyama and his relationship with Hira. I've seen many people talk about poor Koyama and how could Hira choose Kiyoi over him. I can understand as Koyama was a true friend to Hira, but i dont think many people are getting the point. There's a few reasons Hira chose Kiyoi over Koyama. Main one being that Hira never thought of Koyama as anything more than a close friend. Even though Hira and Koyama were friends for a few years, Hira still had a crush on Kiyoi the entire time. While i think that Koyama does deserve to be happy with someone, i dont think that person could ever be Hira. Even if they did get together, it would be one-sided on Koyama's end and would only hurt both of them in the long run. Ive heard some rebuttals of "Well, Hira would just learn to love Koyama and realize how much he does for him." That's not how Hira works. Hira has a hard time "liking" things to begin with. I'm pretty sure Hira understands how much Koyama does for him, and appreciates it dearly, but never thought of it as anything more than helping out a friend, in the same way of how Hira took care of him when he was sick. Also, Hira's love for Kiyoi is probably a "once-in-a-lifetime" deal. Kiyoi was the first person that Hira had ever truly "liked". It is implied that Hira feels this way ever since he first sees Kiyoi, so if Hira has known Koyama for a few years and hasnt felt anything, i doubt those feelings would change, especially since Hira has very complicated emotions.
I'm going to get a bit opinionated with this part, so if you are a big Koyama supporter, i recommend skipping this bit. I think that Koyama is just as selfish as the rest of the characters. He claims to love and cherish Hira more than Kiyoi ever could, but fails to take Hira's feelings into account. (I will admit that he's a bit more tame in s2 but the salt is still vefy much so present.) Koyama repeatedly asked Hira how and why he could like someone like Kiyoi and tells him how terrible Kiyoi is. Hira tries to tell him that he doesn't know Kiyoi like he does. (True with a capital T) I wont get mad at Koyama for the first impression he gets of Kiyoi, since its understandable that he sees him as rude and mean based of of their interaction. And while i can see how Koyama telling Hira that Kiyoi is not a good person is just concern from a friend, what gets me is the fact that Koyama has the hardest time accepting that Hira likes Kiyoi instead of him. The fact that he asks why Hira couldn't give him a chance is proof enough to me. When someone is madly in love with someone else, they're not just gonna stop loving them just because you tell them too, especially with someone like Hira. As much as i love Koyama's actor, i don't think he's as good of a person like everyone chalks him up to be.
Onto Kiyoi. Get ready for a roller coaster. There were many comments talking about how Kiyoi is such a bully and how his past doesn't excuse him for his current actions. Kiyoi is what i like to call, the most perfect tsundere character to ever be created. The reason his character is perceived as the popular bully is based off of a one sided view point. (Considering many of the people who called him an asshole and a bully dropped the series after only 2-3 eps says something bout yall.) Up front, yes, kiyoi is rude, mean, a bully. But it takes a bit of analysis and dissection of his character to really understand him. I will say it outright, Kiyoi bullied Hira the least out of that entire friend group. (Maybe second least if you count Kurata.) Yes, he did bully Hira in the beginning by ordering him around, but he never directed bullied him. (Ill get to Kiyoi's "disgusting." comments later) If you didn't notice, Kiyoi never called Hira, HiHi or Stutz, (the nickname changes based on the translations) like the rest of the group did. Kiyoi also never really let Hira get pushed around by anyone other than himself. And even when he ordered Hira to buy them things, Kiyoi always paid him back. This is implied when Hira talks about the flask of coins from the change Kiyoi would give him. Also, in the novel, when Shirota gets mad at Hira for getting the wrong sandwich, Hira brings up how Shirota hadn't been paying him for the food. The reason most likely being that Kiyoi wasnt paying him since Kiyoi wasn't top dog of the group anymore and the job of paying went to Shirota. (This might be a bad interpretation cause i want able to finish reading since the translation wasnt finished) Anyways, this same scene is also where Kiyoi tells Hira to not go back and buy a new sandwich cause he needs to eat too, further proving how Kiyoi didnt let Hira get pushed around by anyone else. I get how you might think Kiyoi pushing him around and not letting others push Hira around is still bad, but it would be a lot worse if Kiyoi just let those things happen. Now, i saw a comment on how it was wrong for Kiyoi to get physically violent with Hira. I'm guessing they're talking about the bench scene after the cafe when Kiyoi lost the competition. There is a perfectly logical explanation for this. At that time, Hira basically trapped Kiyoi in his arms, told him he liked him, and wouldn't stop when Kiyoi told him to let go. I dont know about you, but I'd sure as hell fight tooth and nail to get away, even if the person was someone i knew. Finally, im going to adress Kiyoi calling Hira "gross", "weird", and "disgusting". As i mentioned at the beginning, Kiyoi is a tsundere character who has a hard time expressing his true emotions. So when he calls Hira these names, hes not insulting him. Its the same as someone calling a friend or parter "stupid" or "dumb" when they do something silly. Its not meant to be an insult, just something they say as a light-hearted tease. Adressing the "stalker" situation, while Hira following Kiyoi to the dance studio can be seen as stalker-ish behavior, it only happens once, and the only other time that you could kind of count him stalking is when Hira follows Kiyoi behind the school, but its obvious that Kiyoi intended for Hira to follow him. There is also Kiyoi's jealous behavior, which even I cant deny is toxic. Kiyoi does tend to lose his temper with Hira when hes mad at something he did.
I personally dont have a direct opinion on their relationship, because i believe that no relationship is perfect and that if people truly love each other they can overcome differences and change for the better. I will never deny the fact that Kiyoi and Hira's relationship is toxic, especially with the amount of jealousy and miscommunication woven through their storyline, but that doesn't exactly mean that they arent good for each other. Both are toxic in their own ways and, oddly enough, that kinda makes them perfect for each other. I will, however, address the king/sevant dynamic. Many of the negative comments would talk about how this show glorifies a master/servant relationship (which is a very toxic dynamic), but they never really glorify this dynamic and actually express how Hira's mindset of Kiyoi being a king and how Hira is just his lowly servant has hurt them and prevented them from being true to their feelings. Kiyoi even says in the last episode, "I'm not a king, okay?" and refuses to be with Hira as long as he still sees him as an untouchable god. In my opinion, they do the exact opposite of glorifying the master/servant dynamic. Remember, people, just because a thing is a major plot point in a show doesn't mean it glorifies it.
To end it off, because i realize this is going on longer than i expected, i will say that the story itself isnt perfect, but this is largely in part by the fact that the series is only 6 episodes long and doesn't have that long of a run time anyways. Even though i haven't been able to find a full english translation for the novel, of what i have read, it does go a bit more into detail compared to the series. All in all, this is one of my favorite series, mostly because of my love for Yusei Yagi, but i do think it provides a different and unique take on the regular school dramas.
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Conveys plot and emotion beautifully
If i had to describe this drama in one word, it would be beautiful. I feel like this drama encompasses the beauty and simplicity of a plot which conveys pure emotion without over complications. The contrast between kiyoi and hira’s lives and lifeview but then the similarities are uncanny, and the almost unexpected romance between the two is so fascinating. I feel like you can’t really describe this drama in words and you have to watch it. The drama is the perfect length to perfectly portray the story and everything about this drama is perfectly done.Really satisfying to watch and i really did enjoy watching this- the two have an unspoken connection that is beautiful to observe. Oh and the ost bangs.
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Needs to be watched at least twice
I know I'm late to the party reviewing this, but one of the reasons I waited so long to watch it is because I read several opinions saying this was a very toxic series. I finally got around to watching it a couple weeks ago and the first watch was definitely very different from what I expected. I could see what people meant by "toxic", but when you put yourself in the characters' shoes, you see that it actually isn't. The main character is an unreliable narrator, and for that reason, there are things you only really understand on the second watch, and it's 100% worth it.The series has an amazing amount of details and it's very impressive how much plot the director and screenwriter managed to fit into 6 episodes without it feeling rushed. And of course, the actors are extremely talented and really brought the characters to life. Easily one of my favorite dramas.
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The romance that bloomed at the least expected place of life.
Also i love another symbolism that yellow duck in the gutter part holds.. the part where kiyoi sees that duck floating in the gutter and says nobody cares about that yellow duck while literally on the other side hira's taking the picture of that duck admiring it to the fullest. That's what summarises beautiful man for me.
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Kiyoi's and Hira's love is a twisted one, one that is more co-dependency than love. One feels that his only meaning in life is to adore the other. The other needs another person to look up to him. It reminds me of the relationship in "Double Mints", just without the drugs and violence.
I can see that this is a story that fascinates a lot of people -- it's raw, painful, and beautiful in its pain.
Additionally, the quality is exceedingly good. The actors are excellent, I don't think any viewer could imagine another actor in their roles. I love that the drama tells the story as much through sounds and silences as through visual elements, colours and inner monologue. The script is tight, and there's not a second that is unnecessary for the story.
For me, though, I would have needed a different story-telling to enjoy this drama. As a victim of bullying myself, I would never be able to adore my tormentor, even if I would have found them attractive (and, sorry, I don't find Kiyoi attractive at all, let alone beautiful). I cannot, for the life of me, see how Kiyoi's non-action (he just enters a room!) is more impactful for Hira than his college friend's active support from minute one.
Maybe it would have helped if I got to see Kiyoi's internal struggle earlier -- but then, he does not seem to see anything wrong with his actions during high school at all.
I do understand that we need stories about twisted and painful relationships, we need more than just sugar-coated rom-coms -- it's just that this one with it's central theme of school bullying is not the right story for me.
So, if you ask me: Should I watch it? Then, yes, absolutely, do so. Even if you, like me, will never understand their story, watch it just for the outstanding performance and the beautiful way this drama was made.
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A most recommended watch!
I LOVED this series. It's honestly a great piece of work. I loved how nuanced the writing of the characters was; the show presented us characters that are flawed and pretty unconventional but they took care to contextualize those character traits (we know right from the start for example that Hira has never felt real interest or attraction for anything as he grew up, that he saw doctors because of that) and they actually tackled those issues in the last episodes. I was fully expecting them not to do it, as I have seen SO MANY shows romanticizing "problematic" behaviors without ever shedding light on their problematic aspect, so I was overjoyed when they did.This show has a lot of depth, and a psychological dimension that I did not expect at all. Watching it is like peeling an onion: each episode uncovers a new layer of depth and give us a better understanding of the characters. It is very moving and beautiful.
The music, camera language, lighting are also expertly chosen and contribute both to creating atmospheres and to building further Hira’s characterization in subtle yet powerful ways (the two gun scenes from ep 3 left me mind-blown).
Finally the acting from both main leads is absolutely perfect - and the more you get to know the characters, the more you understand how on point their acting actually is.
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Flaws and All
This was a refreshing change of story for the BL world. No triple takes of basic moments that don't deserve it, No bully that fall in love, no ridiculous high school drama... My only negative is that the final shot could have been anything else. Literally ANYTHING ELSE.The cast for this series did very well in portraying their characters and their characters were well written. I say this because they were all flawed, which made them human. While this can be considered unhealthy by some, their brokenness is what made their love seem worth it. They had moments of fear where they acted out, moments of insecurities were they withdrew into their shells. They lived, learned and eventually found the courage to let themselves live.
Give it a watch and remember while watching that nobodies perfect. Even if you want to treat them like a king.
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I don't know how to feel about it..
I just don't know how to feel about this series. I may need some time to process what truly happened and what each of the characters really went through but for now I get this weird feeling of unfulfillement (if this word even exists).I get that both of the main leads struggle with their own demons and they're not ready for love. I really get that and I think it's somehow real in terms of I can actually see this happening in real life. This story has no sugar coating and that's what I appreciate.
However - I personally don't like Kiyoi and the toxicity his character is filled with.
It's like "oh he's being mean to you because he likes you and just doesn't know how to say it" was a person but make it 100x worse.
Do some people really find being kicked, pushed around and sworn at attractive? A genuine question because even though I get where the toxicity's coming from.. I still somehow can't find watching it enjoyable. Rather than being happy for them to finally get together I'm worried if they'll fix each other or go down together.. It's hard to describe it.
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This review may contain spoilers
Watch on lollipopsubs (google and donate 2 them if u can) cos the subtitles are CRUCIAL seriously to really understand where the hell they're coming from. i've heard people say this is all sudden but besides what we see (to me being obvious), the words really matter.legit cw:
There are allusions to shootings, which for me was the most jarring and upsetting (small) part of the show. and I don't think this would have passed after Abe's assassination. I think most Americans will have difficulty with it; it just hits too close to home. it was too scary for me so i always ff.
because this show is so bizarre it's hard to explain why someone should/would watch (or at least encourage them to via a poorly written review.)
First of all, they have chemistry. The idol that plays Kiyoi is a knockout, so good for him! He's young, so the more he works, the better he'll get. Hira's actor, as well, plays his character very convincingly. Someone said "it's controversial without anything controversial happening" in a review here, and I think that's absolutely correct. So, if you're like me and are extremely critical of social stuff, messed up dynamics, or toxic shit, but aren't afraid to see a world where they exist in some form, I'd give it a shot. At first, I was planning to just skip around, and I actually worked backwards from Ep 6 to Ep 2, but seeing the full picture is a must. Besides some production decisions being good and the Japanese flair, the story progression just works (to me).
Had episode 5 not happened, the show would have been completely different. It ties everything together about Kiyoi and Hira as an entity, and it just makes shit just make sense (as much as this shit can make sense). They have good chemistry and aren't afraid to be near each other, though I can't figure out why they weren't allowed to kiss properly (I'm chalking it up to production because there's no way they were uncomfortable with each other, this whole fuckin' show is an education in discomfort). I think the thing about the series is that it takes all the weird and uncomfortable parts of life and love in stride. There were some scenes where I was just like, "Did that just happen?" but it was just a part of their day-to-day.
Not many dislikes since I tend to take the work as a whole and it wasn't distracting enough in stupidity for me to dislike the journey I was going on. I think I disliked Koyama, which is partially because it takes me a long time to warm up to someone's face, but I guess the contrast between him and Kiyoi was necessary because we go from someone who cares about him deeply but shows it in a roundabout way, for many reasons, and then to Koyama, who is very accommodating, which isn't necessarily what Hira needs even if Kiyoi could give it. I also hate that they couldn't be friends afterward because that's...fucked up, but anyway, it was evocative and a good choice.
I feel like I see something new when I rewatch, and on my 3rd rewatch, I really enjoy the aspect. This relationship isn't healthy per se, but there is no way these characters could exist in real life so the complete disbelief and then the grounding when Kiyoi says his peace (so to speak) makes it obvious that this is not feasible for reality. No one will find themselves in this situation. and good. The sacrifices they make for each other are so stupid (in a good way for the story). Their lives and love were just in this constant feedback loop and it's fascinating, especially as more of the story is uncovered. I'm not uncomfortable with a power imbalance or toxicity because they are both crazy (aforementioned controversial not controversial comment), so effectually it doesn't exist because they are both needy, selfish, and sad. LMAO I just didn't expect the show to pan out like it did, but I'm glad I experienced it and I am very excited about the movie since you could write a lot about where they land next and how they give us more intensity and a glimpse into their lives and Hira's true emotions and affections. Additionally, they'll be able to use those good old freak skills for some good intimacy. I mean, you lick the blood off the hand of the person you love. That is true.
I do abhor obsession with sexual position dynamics—it reeks of sexism AND misogyny, transphobia; a misunderstanding of sex, love, bodies and sexuality, and false innateness—so it interests me how rigid we want to be even with a story like this. This isn't on the production team necessarily, but it's always interesting to me to see how ubiquitous it is in this genre period (and I know why) and how people receive this genre and work. I would ask for more leeway in letting people be people; not be characterized by arbitrary markers that are presented as innate especially after the fact. Clearly their relationship is difficult to pin down (in the show, not the novel idk i didn't read it) which is why their physical /sexual pull is so alluring because it's unpredictable, as most are.
Like I said, because I skipped around in the beginning, I didn't realize how crucial the aspects of the other side were to the story and to making it come together, so when I did, it just hit harder. It's most certainly not perfect, but my enjoyment trumped having to think too hard, and that's all a girl needs sometimes. I'm also just a fucking fool—a sucker—for a "the person who loved me first/the most loves me less than I love them and our worlds will fall apart if I don't express it" or "proving my love to the person who loves me the most" trope. Maybe if this were played by different actors, I would feel strongly in other directions, but it wasn't and I didn't, and if you are looking for some really weird fun and 6 episodes of befuddling tension, I would recommend it.
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This review may contain spoilers
If they had just stuck closer to the original this could have been so much better...
I started watching this series as there were many positive reviews about it. Unfortunately, I found it VERY difficult to watch and really had to force myself to finish it... .After watching the first 2 episodes and just couldn't bring myself to feel any empathy or interest for any of the characters, I wondered if the original story made the two main characters look just as bad as the drama and started reading what I could find of the manga. And to my surprise: While the general setting is the same, the characters are SO much better in the source material. I don't know why the writers decided to make both the mains so damn unlovable...
Hira is way more stalkery/kimoi in the drama while in the manga he is still uncomfortably obsessed but more in a awkward and desperate way. In the drama they cranked up the creepy-factor by a hundred and somehow still expected us to feel with him, which I couldn't bring myself to.
And I felt that they especially did Kiyoi dirty: In the drama he is a complete asshole and actively bullies and assaults Hira several times, while in the manga he is mainly onlooking during the bullying and comments on Hira's creepiness here and there, but we see him often de-escalate uncomfortable/bad situations for Hira and him showing hidden affection such as buying him food, etc.
In the orginal story their characters are a lot more nuanced and hence the change of their relationship makes more sense as you can pick up on some small but meaningful actions by Kiyoi towards Hira. The way the drama portays them, however, I felt very put off by both of them and couldn't find myself to root for either of them much less for them together . And in the drama (SPOILER AHEAD) the whole 'I loved him all along, just didn't know how to express it' as well as them getting together in the end was just very unbelievable to me as you literally see NO affection - hidden or otherwise - up until they change perspectives. And even then it seemed really unblievable/nonsensical to me.
So... while I will try to finish reading the manga, I definitely will not watch the other installments of this adaptation.
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My Contradictions
I love the story in itself but the characters design was very edging, it was hard to watch something. I just couldn't truly understand the things they did most of the time. How it seemed like they were two totally incompatible people but at the same time so similar.However I do like how the characters never seem to overshadowed each other and I love how their feelings were always shown even if it wasn't said out loud, I could almost feel what they felt. I could see that there was a lot of hidden insecurity with in themselves which made them feel way more human. The other struggling with self acceptance and the other seeking true love.
The way the characters complimented each other, was very bitter sweet but it made you want to route for them even more.
I still really recommed you watch it if you haven't. It's a beautiful story.
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