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The Novelist japanese drama review
Completed
The Novelist
10 people found this review helpful
by chiha
Nov 3, 2021
6 of 6 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 6.5

Beguiling intimacy~

No spoilers.

❝You might be wondering why I did this silly thing. Maybe, it's a way to cover up how lonely I am.❞

Pornographer is the story of Kuzumi, a university student who accidentally bumps into a man and injures his arm following which, he decides to assist the man who turns out to be an author, to complete his novel. But as Renjiro begins his dictation to Kuzumi, he is surprised to learn that Renjiro writes erotica, moreover Kuzumi is discomfited by his own sexual reactions to Renjiro and Renjiro’s erotic narration.

❝I don't want to finish the last page. I want to be with him much longer.❞

Pornographer is brimming with the sort of raw emotions that are so common in Japanese dramas. It was quite overwhelming to see the feelings which these men developed for one another.

For one, there is no constrictive labelling of sexual orientation. There is no labelling of being "gay" or "bisexual." Similarly there is no strict line between lust and love. There is just sexual desire and a convoluted romance of sorts which is undefined and all their own. The dark ebb and flow of desire is beautifully displayed using a warm colour palette which elucidate the constantly varying emotions.

❝Such an idiot. This kind of thing... will never go away.❞

As their relationship progresses, it is fraught with lust as Kuzumi starts imagining himself in imaginary situations with Renjiro. In a way Kuzumi becomes a muse to the broken Renjiro who only seeks to keep writing but cheap erotica is all that he can sell.

Pornographer does not seek to rectify, uphold or justify the despondent actions of its charcters who lie and cheat and fall in love, or rather, a sort of intimacy from which they can never extricate themselves because they have revealed to each other the deepest desires hidden at their core. They are, in a way, disastrous for another; their relationship is tumultuous, the portrayal of their relationship is vivid and deep. The love letter in the form of an erotic novel cannot possibly be the last I've seen of them.

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