Heracin

This BL is centred around the relationship of Goto Naoya and Sato Takaaki. In a master-servant relationship in highschool (with one being on top of the school social ladder and the other at the bottom), their relationship shift and progress in their adult life as Goto is being crushed by family expectations.

If the dynamics between them really interested me at first, and that I truly appreciate the fact that the core of the story was the character growth arc of Goto, having to raise himself up after hitting rock bottom, I regret the lack of chemistry between the leads that truly prevented me to connect emotionally with the story. Maybe it is because I have seen this type of relationship done better in other series, but it really suffered the comparison.

Another factor of me not connecting with the series might have to do with the acting of Seto Toshiki (who played Sato), he felt pretty rigid to me and I had trouble with his character, which remained quite a bland canvas all along, with his role resolving solely around Goto needs but never really digging into his psyche more than at surface level.

I also found the pacing all over the place. Both for the development of the relationship and its evolution, as well as the way Goto grow, it was so fast paced at points that's again, I could not help to feel distached from what was happing on screen. Same for the ending of the series, which wrapped up (too) easily.

I would not recommend this as I feel there are better series other exploiting master-servant relationship. The pacing, the lack of chemistry did prevent me to really connect with the series, despite my initial interest.