I'll be honest, the current overall rating from my fellow viewers (7.5 stars as of today) made me want to run for the hills, but I'm glad I didn't. Once scanning through reviews, though almost every one I read talked about the sex and explicit nature of the movie, the main thing I noticed was their overall rating on the story itself. I saw 9's, 9.5's, 8's, and even a couple 10's- that's when I knew, despite the graphic scenes I was going to see, THE STORY WAS WORTH WATCHING.

THE STORY follows a man whose parent's have recently passed away. As things in his life begin to crumble, he feels he has nothing left- so upon a drunken night he hastily decides to commit suicide. But before the act is done, a man saves him... and ends up holding him captive (wild, I know, but we'll get there.) While being held captive, and through unorthodox methods forced upon him by the savior, the man realizes he doesn't want to die. The savior soon lets him go upon realizing this, and the two end up having a detailed conversation about life and death itself. This is where we discover the savior has a few dark demons of his own. In the end, upon the savior feeling he has nothing left to offer the world, it is the man who saves him in return.

THE ACTING is absolutely PHENOMENAL! The commitment to the characters, their roles in each other's lives and the scenes themselves was spot on. This may be the reason why some people found most scenes too uncomfortable. Though the story might not be the most realistic, the acting was. I could feel the pain in their eyes, the embarrassment from some scenes and the hurt in others.

THE MUSIC was slightly above par. There were many times when an orchestra or violins began to play, which added to the mood of a scene.

REWATCH VALUE is definite. Once time has passed, and I'm in the mood to view something that makes me think yet still has aspects of a BL, this would be on my list. After all, in my opinion Japan just has a certain way with portraying love in its truest and rawest form.