Living with Him

heartwarming slice of life/romance series (need a Haruna spin off)

Overall: I enjoyed this friends/roommates turned into romantic partner stories, though it could have used slightly faster pacing (almost rated it 8.5 but I liked their dynamic so it ended up a 9). 8 episodes about 25 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4215/living-with-him-2024-e01

What I Liked
- caring/sweet moments
- clear flashbacks and enjoyed seeing them when they were young
- ex girlfriend wasn't a cliche, non-cliche female characters
- a character was a bit naive but he did figure things out and communicated
- supportive family members, dynamics felt realistic
- Haruna was such a good wingman and friend
- overall realistic with trying to maintain boundaries but also being jealous
- production value (nice color symbology which included their clothes, pillows, mugs, toothbrushes, etc)

Room For Improvement
- not a fan of starting a series with a voice over exposition dump
- episode 2 had a too long recap of episode 1 at the beginning
- some slow pacing
- Ryota did annoy me a bit but I tried to keep in mind that he had low self-esteem and was likely struggling with internalized homophobia and/or heteronormativity
- cliche almost told something and got interrupted, the running scene

Read More

Simple yet sweet mutual pining love story between two childhood friends

Seeing reviews and comments about how this show was bad and boring, I decided I will give my own thought about it after weekly watching each episode. (Apologizing beforehand for my clumsy English )

The Characters:

Kazuhito and Ryota, for me, are fresh characters. While their story is simple and not much different from other Jdrama that had been done before, I love how these guys tried their best (clumsily) tried to communicate their feelings for each other the best they could as college teenagers. Kazuhito, being born in a more traditional family and has the pressure of being perfect, he tends to be the quiet one and keep his feelings to himself afraid that he could make the other uncomfortable while Ryota, while he’s awkward, he’s big brother in his family and chose to be the one initiated the question which Kazuhito would not hesitate to give answer. They are perfect combination for me and both actors did very well with their chemistry.

The Story:

I used to don’t have much patience for slow burn slice of life BL but a few good one taught me to love it and I really love how Living with Him did it. Some might say they are too slow and dragging but I think the pacing was perfect for a character to prepare his thought process to seriously consider his friend’s romantic feelings toward him.
Kazuhito has years to get ready to accept his own feeling but Ryota only had a short time and It’s necessary for him to have space for thoughts.
Each episode focused on how Ryota fell in love with Kazuhito and come to accept his feelings and decided how he should give his response which was realistic for someone like Ryota.

A lot were complaining about the lack of passionate kiss in this drama but it’s exactly following the source material (except their smut manga spin-off), Kazuhito barely kissed Ryota after confession in the manga which Ryota in the manga even asked him one day how could he hold himself back so much lol and Kazuhito was just being his considerate self and didn’t want to startle Ryota who just recently come to accept his feeling.

My only complaint would be the filter and colors choice used for this drama which was not my favorite and I think it didn’t give the Actor’s visual full Justice but it wasn’t too bad that distracted me from enjoying the drama overall.

In conclusion, Living with Him wasn’t for everyone but It’s definitely for me. I will put it as one of my favorite JBL from now.

Read More

NOTHING NEW ABOUT THIS

Don't get me wrong, the drama is beautiful and fluffy, easy to watch , and understandable, on point , nice actors nice setting , it was nice, but maybe because I have seen so many stories about childhood friends turned to having crush to them and the love story continues during their puberty, I thought it was just another BL that we can watch when we literally have nothing more to watch. nothing was really new , they have just changed a little bit about the set up of the story making it like they will begin it with the characters will live together and see how the love blooms .. maybe I am looking for something new , something refreshing and maybe this kind of story is not what I am looking for anymore. and I am tired of seeing characters who cannot confess their love, or guys who are confused whether they like them or not or why are they feeling that way ? all in all still I can say your time will not be wasted here, but wasted mine probably .

Read More

Fluffy and cute slice of life BL

Things I liked:
- The OST! It's such a bop! I started to listen to it even before i was watching the show and i love it. its catchy and cute!
- The acting and their chemistry. They are so adorable together!
- No annoying characters -> There was no unnecessary drama at all. It was so healthy and fluffy! And the support characters were all fun, especially Haruna! :D As someone who doesn't like angst, this was just perfect.

Things I missed:
- The kisses were cute and kinda fitting, but it still would have been cool to have at least one deeper kiss. But still, they just fitted the atmosphere, so my complain is really little (although i complain all the time about deadfishkisses xd) But like I said, it matched the vibe totally!
- I think, it would have been the cherry on top if Kazuhito called him at least one time for real Ryota. :D

All an all its a super cute and fluffy slice of life BL. I binged it, so it adds to the different feeling i have for the show. A lot of people criticized that it's boring or slow, but since i waited for the full release, i can't share this opinion. I wasn't bored a single second and it just felt good to watch those adorable cutie patooties together. I dont rewatch dramas often, but i can totally see myself coming back to this one, when i need some fluffy feel good drama.

Read More

Childhood connection, and something more

One of the major aspects of J BLs is that they're usually too short to develop character depth when the story focuses on developing romantic relationships and emotional depth. At least, that's what I thought.

Living With Him is a sweet, slice of life drama about two childhood friends who unexpectedly find themselves living together after years of no contact between them. But when feelings develop between the two of them, they have to deal with their own emotions before addressing those of the other.

The series delves into the thoughts and emotions of Kazuhito and Natsukawa as individuals contemplating a change in dynamics between them before anything else. Showcasing their relationship as children and later as teenagers and adults, we get to see the passage of their relationship that led to them living together and also why they develop feelings for each other.

Amidst all this though, we barely get time to actually see their relationship develop as adults. It is incredibly and increasingly clear with every episode exactly why they like each other, based on aspects of their personalities and their experiences that led them to become the people they've become. But we just don't get the pay off we deserve after the massive buildup. The romance inevitably had to take a backseat to allow their personal growth, but when the story required it, it delivered on moments to establish their solidifying romance.

The result was a simple and sweet story of an understated transformation of a relationship from childhood friends to virtual strangers, and then lovers. I could spend hours analysing how their personalities reflect their thoughts and actions since this is a character driven story, but I'm just going to reflect on how much I enjoyed it as a love story.

Read More

How do romantic feelings change a friendship?

Living with Him is a slow-paced, slice-of-life, friends-to-strangers-to-roommates-to-lovers story. It's one of those very gentle J-BLs which are not so much about the story but more about the characters.

The strength of this drama lies in how it is showing the dynamics of two childhood friends who are most comfortable together when they just live in the moment, don't think about what they are to each other, don't think about how others perceive them. As long as they are in their own world, everything is fine. It's when one of them starts to overthink things as well as when they think about what they are to each other that this closeness falls apart, and suddenly there's this chasm that they feel can't be overcome.
But they want to be near each other, so they try to find that balance, only to lose it again in the next moment. And this is what makes the drama interesting, not the plot but the change of distance in an evolving relationship.

The actors are quite good at showing this; unfortunately the story telling is quite different. It doesn't manage to build up the kind of tension the premise deserves, everything feels a bit flat. The scenes where Natsukawa and Kazuhito are very close to each other have the same overall feeling as those where there should be uncomfortable distance.

What also does not help is that Natsukawa is not a consistent character -- he says he is glad to be free of his obligations to his younger sisters but proceeds to fill exactly the same role in his new household with Kazuhito. And the question remains: After he realizes his feelings, what is holding him back? This is more than just the usual Japanese communication difficulties. Does he think he's not worth it? As the one who took care of two sisters for years, and seems to be mature beyond his age, his sense of self-worth shouldn't be that low. Does he have some internalized homophobia? Then it should have had more room than just that small scene.
In my opinion, a focus on one solidly developed inner obstacle and a consistent characterization for Natsukawa would have helped a lot.

The drama is worth watching for the change in distance romantic feelings can bring to a life-long friendship, just be aware that this is definitely not fast-paced, and much of what happens seems very mundane.

Read More

Remarkably Laid Back Series

Superficially, this series is cute and adorable and very entertaining but true to Japanese custom, there is a hidden undertone layered deep within the subtest of this smartly done tale. The Japanese have a way of expertly taking two modest characters and turn them into figures greater than what they are in a such a quiet manner that we do not even realize what is happening. In a way, they become unwitting stewards. Stewards in the sense each is an important someone who leaves a positive impact on the other, if for no other reason than simply because it is the right thing to do. These two young men, tacitly and effectively, are the epitome of that distinction. Without complaint or bitterness, they did what they had to do and put the needs of others always before their own. That made them paladins.

Read More

The first four episodes were cute, but it falls of till episode 7

I was quite hyped for this BL, and the beginning was really great.
But episode 7 killed some of it. I would have wished they could communicate without "Keitas" help and I would have even more flashbacks to communicate that they were really, really close. While the slow pace does not kill it for me, Ryotas behaviour does to some extent. I would have wished episode 7 did not happen or that he could break out of his shell and confess then which would have been much better.

Of course typical of such JBL the kissing was lacking as well. If you long for someone, you just not touch lips and let it be. You may be shy and start slowly but I prefer kissing which conveys the feeling of the characters. It's lame and unrealistic, so why do they do it all the time?

This series was enjoyable with some length and a frustrating moments in episode 7, but overall it was good.

Read More

A Heartwarming Childhood Friends to Lovers Reconnect

Sometimes, the security and self-assurance we need is in a person who pushes us to feel secure and needed.

Living with Him, an adaptation of Miyata Toworu’s manga of the same name, finds security in love inside the complexities of friendship and need through the shared living arrangements of childhood friends Tanaka Kazuhito (Sato Ryuga) and Natsukawa Ryota (Sakai Sho) upon entering university. Ryota is reserved and accustomed to responsibility, whereas Kazuhito is outgoing and universally liked. Despite Kazuhito’s popularity and striking looks, his inability to sustain relationships confounds Ryota and sparks a journey of self-discovery. As Ryota probes the reasons behind Kazuhito’s fleeting relationships, he confronts his own emotions and insecurities.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/06/01/living-with-him-series-review-ep-3-to-8/

Read More

Cute couple with honest communication, yet slow-paced and uneventful

“Kare no Iru Seikatasu” aka “Living with Him” could easily be a movie instead of a short drama. The plot is very simple - childhood friends-turned-lovers + cohabitation + unrequited love. It’s a comforting and predictable watch, but it was too uneventful. Nothing much really happens in this drama, therefore, I feel that the pacing is quite slow, even if there are only 8 short episodes.

The leads are cute together and have good chemistry. Both of them are very likable and they actually communicate openly and honestly. However, I do find Kazuhito’s character too perfect. I guess that’s the whole premise, to find out why such a perfect guy doesn’t have a girlfriend.

There isn’t any annoying character, or over-the-top acting. The supporting characters, friends and family, are actually supportive of the leads.

I want to like this drama more, especially when it has all the tropes that I like. But the pace is slow and there’s not enough pining and longing looks for me to keep me interested and not feel bored,

Completed: 8/28/2024 - Review #478

Read More

Hits Home really well

At first I kinda found this project boring but as it progressed I found myself getting attached to the characters. I also really liked this drama because it made me borderline emotional because I’m a softie for human affection and a lot of the stuff these characters said/went through is so relatable. it’s such realistic story and I really enjoyed it for that reason alone. The soundtrack was also on point; there were so many instances where the music would just come in at the perfect time and it would make a beautiful cinematic moment. I do wish this series was a longer (that goes for all BL series) because I think it really would’ve benefited more story building but nonetheless it was a great product, and I am so glad to be seeing the BL genre taking off!

Read More