Yes, I think Matsumoto Hiroki is doing really good here too. Having seen Ito Asahi in other projects, I don't like his acting and don't think he is a really good actor, but that's very subjective and personal. Even if the character is indeed complex to portrayt, I don't think he is on the level of others here unfortunately, and someone else would have pull off the character Nakarai Sei much better I believe (I have Beppu Yurai from "Happy of the end" in mind for example).
I saw a lot of comments after episode 6 going on with the usual "you don't understand anything, in the original book, blablabla". I don't really care about the debate regarding the rape/sexual intercourse between Nakarai and Fujisawa, if it's real or not, if there is consent or not, that's not my point here. I think the simple fact that there is a debate over this here just show that either they left it unclear purposely or it was poorly written or/and acted.
But people who write these type of comments need to stop for a moment and use their brain for a minute, because writing comments like this is quite stupid.
When an adaptation is made, a lot of people who don't know the original material will watch it, so the viewers need to understand what is going on, or deduced things, solely with what is shown in the the adaptation. Of course, those who know the original material will make comparisons and have another point of view on the story, but for the others the adaptation is the same as an original story. So coming after and saying that things are obvious because you have knowledge of the original material is pointless (and really a lack of intelligence for me), because obviously the people who haven't read or seen the original story won't have this knowledge, and thus shouldn't need it to understand the adaptation. An adaptation can't relate on people knowledge of the original work for things to be understand, or at least deduce by all the viewers, or a big disclaimer is needed at the start if this knowledge is mandatory to understand.
I don't know the intentions of the director and the screennwriter in this case (maybe it's done like this on purpose), but objectively, it seems like a bad written scenario or/and bad acting and production of the scene, if what is so clear for people who have read the novel is interpreted so variously by the watchers of the adaptation.
Because I am not the type of person who will drop a TV series once I start watching them, or I do it from the first episode. I liked the first couple of episodes, so it's always interesting to watch until the end. After all, surprises can still happen. And as I wrote, I like the acting of Muto Jun a lot so for that only I will watch until the end, even if I aml not satisfied with the story and characters developments.
Well, the disappointment continues this week. At first I thought we had a clever and original story here, but in the end it's just a very predictable and cliché BL. Another one. Whatever happens in the last episode doesn't really matter at this point. The only good thing about it for me is Muto Jun. I hope to see him soon in another role, he is a good actor and I want to see him in something different.
How can you say hes straight? And to me the actors were all good and the emotions and sex scenes were good maybe…
Yes, so what ? Because I have a different opinion than some "majority" of people here I can't express mine ? Another example of the baffling intolerance of some people here, that also really need to make some use of their brain.
As for your first question. I watched carefully the drama, and Hagiwara Kazuaki is clearly shown as an heterosexual man, as you semed to haven't noticed. Until he suddenly totally shifted for being madly in love and attracted by another man... But of course, you, as a woman, will tell me you know better. Of course.
Thanks to you for being understanding and willing to have a real exchange here too. It's usually more interesting to confront different or opposite opinions, especially about something we both like, even if it's in a different manner. Unfortunately, it's quite rare nowadays on MDL, so it's always nice to have this kind of discussion with someone.
I do agree that it might be tiresome to always make sure to show that we express our own opinion and don't just state things like they are a fact, but the way the people communicate here is so bad, both in the substance and the form (for me at least), that I feel like it's really important to make clear as much as possible. Nonetheless, as a non-native English speaker, I'm sure I also do sometimes convey things the wrong way with the way I write.
I think that's the beauty of writing in general, confusion might arise from the way someone write and the way someone interpret or understand it (even more when it's not the native language), but through continuous exchanges we finally understand each other better even if we disagree.
I don’t know about others, but I was quite underwhelmed by the sex scene, especially given the stakes here.…
My thoughts exactly.
That's the problem of Japanese BL dramas in general, and Koreans ones too for me. They pick up very good (and very handsome) idols or young actors to play these young men in love and full of lust, the story is usually very well set and developed over the first episodes, and then when comes the time for the real intimacy, skin touch or sex, it's usually a letdown. Because with these pretty faces that are not real actors ready to give up everything for the sake and the beauty of a role, it's not possible to deliver raw, realistic and explicit sex scenes and they have to put all that vanilla and sugarcoating layer for the sake of their public image and please the crowd of young girls.
I'm a man, I'm not the original target of BL dramas so I understand. But that's still always a big deception for me to see these beautiful and deep stories with a huge potential being wasted, in my opinion, by this restraint.
The fact is that the way someone write is important. And the way I understood your comment is that you tried to convinced me I was "wrong" about what I wrote and you tried to convinced me otherwise, not just explaining your understanding and opinion about it. I'm glad it's not the case.
I'm the first to remind people that if you write something publicly, of course people can answer with their own thoughts and opinions, but again, the way things are written is important, and for some years now, and especially on MDL, people tend to write opinions like a general statement or truth. So yes, for me, it is important to add things like "I think", "in my opinion", "for me", etc., when writing.
But I know it's a matter of generation and education, and that nowadays most people write as they talk in real life and thus expect that their subjective point of view is clear, when in fact, it's not, especially when it comes to expressing an opinion about something. It's very different to stating a fact.
This one is off to a good start. I see great potential fir this sageuk, and the actors are really good. I already like Go A Ra and I'm a fan of Son Woo Hyun, but I'm pleasantly surprised by Han Seung Yeon and even more by Chang Ryul, he is quite charming.
I don't have a specific example for Ito Asahi, it's just my overall feeling about his performance for this drama, and especially this episode.
The first scene, in the restaurant, in episode 4 and their dialogue is pretty clear regarding Hagiwara Kazuaki's sexuality. That's why last week I was already a little put off by the story and character developments by the end of the episode.
Your explanations make sense for you and the people who think like you, but I didn't write my comment to be convinced of the opposite you know. ^^ The way I feel about the story and the characters, the acting, and think about the story and its development, the production, is highly subjective and personal. I don't pretend to give an objective review of it, and don't expect to convince anyone either. I was just sharing my comment about the last episode.
I think when you start watching JBL, scenes like these are expected. Not all JBL shows have shows intense sex…
I have been watching Japanese BLs for over a decade, so it's nothing new for me. This one didn't start like any Japanese BL, so I had expectations for it, but from episode 3/4 it was already noticeable that it wouldn't be as I expected first, that's what I wrote in my comment. But it has nothing to do with the length of the scene or the episodes. A scene could be thirty seconds but still very good.
Well, as expected after the last episodes, it's a let down in the end for me.
The two sex scenes ? Boring and unrealistic. I think there was no passion, no emotion, not even real sensuality or real intimacy, totally illogic considering the two were so pent up and burning with desire.
Since the beginning I'm bugged by Ito Asahi's acting, I don' think he is really pulling this character well, but in the last episode I think he is just really bad.
As for the writting, what a mess. The girlfriend having suspicions and checking her boyfriend phone, why not. But the roommate that answers the phone, without saying a word, and thus discovers the big secret because the other person just blather everything without checking who answered, seriously ? That's one of the most cliched scenes I hate in any drama or movie, because it almost never looks natural, but just for the sake of the scenario to create a ruckus, exactly like it is done here.
I like Muto Jun's acting since the beginning, but the development of his character doesn't make sense for me. It's just too unrealistic. The man has always loved and be physically attracted by women, but suddenly he is just head over heels for a man and have a strong sexual desire for him ? Well, nope, I'm not buying that unfortunately.
Too bad, it started well and it was interesting, but now it just looks like one more cliché BL drama.
Choo Youngwoo talked about 'You make Me Dance' recently in an interview and mentioned how it is a precious debut…
This. Thank you for sharing it.
And more than that, he is close friend with several actors that also appeared in BL dramas (for example, Lee Sun from "Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo"), his own brother will make his acting debut (though he appeared in "The Tale of Lady Ok" as Young Woo's doppelgänger character) at the end of February in "Secret Relationship", and he promoted it on Instagram, he just appeared in Hong Seok Cheon's jewel box on Youtube (Hong Seok Cheon just being the most famous homosexual of Korea).
I already wrote that "You Make Me Dance" wasn't a hug success, so he had no reason to brag about it. And even if he wanted to hide it, it would have been impossible in theses days and age with internet, so these attacks on him just bvecause he deleted few Instagram posts were just pure slandering. I don't see other actors being targeted because they do not promote their acting debuts in a drama or a movie (for example, Ji Chang Wook also appeared in a short indie movie as an homosexual when he was a student, but as it very old and nobody knows about it, it was never mentioned anywhere).
This is just an example of the craziness (yes I assume the word) of a generation totally fanaticised through social medias, and who only sees the world through the prism of identity, "gender", sexuality, etc. Generation of degenerates and brainless for me.
What's your criteria for writing news articles seriously ? Because there are other things much more interesting regarding actors or the film and drama industries that are much more interesting but I never see a news article about that here.
What's the point to write about stupid and meaningless controversies like that when 99% of people just don't care about it ? Is it really that good to write about trash news just to create some "buzz" ? Is it that difficult to try to elevate the level and write about serious and interesting subjects ?
"they should stop with this silly cliché that some manly man will fall in love and is suddenly physically attracted…
Well, I think it's very disturbing to write about other people lives like that. But that doesn't change anything in the end. Especially because anybody can write anything here and claiming it's true, that doesn't make it real still. People can also say something and think otherwise, purposely or unconsciously. They can be in denial, or under emotional/physical repression. Psychologically and biologically speaking, no one develops physical and sexual attraction suddenly for the other sex (we are not talking about a fling or curiosity during teenage years or early adulthood here). Even ignored, repressed, denied, it was already there, it's scientific. But feel free to believe whatever you like, I'm not here for a lecture on how all this works.
1 
But people who write these type of comments need to stop for a moment and use their brain for a minute, because writing comments like this is quite stupid.
When an adaptation is made, a lot of people who don't know the original material will watch it, so the viewers need to understand what is going on, or deduced things, solely with what is shown in the the adaptation. Of course, those who know the original material will make comparisons and have another point of view on the story, but for the others the adaptation is the same as an original story. So coming after and saying that things are obvious because you have knowledge of the original material is pointless (and really a lack of intelligence for me), because obviously the people who haven't read or seen the original story won't have this knowledge, and thus shouldn't need it to understand the adaptation. An adaptation can't relate on people knowledge of the original work for things to be understand, or at least deduce by all the viewers, or a big disclaimer is needed at the start if this knowledge is mandatory to understand.
I don't know the intentions of the director and the screennwriter in this case (maybe it's done like this on purpose), but objectively, it seems like a bad written scenario or/and bad acting and production of the scene, if what is so clear for people who have read the novel is interpreted so variously by the watchers of the adaptation.
The only good thing about it for me is Muto Jun. I hope to see him soon in another role, he is a good actor and I want to see him in something different.
As for your first question. I watched carefully the drama, and Hagiwara Kazuaki is clearly shown as an heterosexual man, as you semed to haven't noticed. Until he suddenly totally shifted for being madly in love and attracted by another man... But of course, you, as a woman, will tell me you know better. Of course.
I do agree that it might be tiresome to always make sure to show that we express our own opinion and don't just state things like they are a fact, but the way the people communicate here is so bad, both in the substance and the form (for me at least), that I feel like it's really important to make clear as much as possible. Nonetheless, as a non-native English speaker, I'm sure I also do sometimes convey things the wrong way with the way I write.
I think that's the beauty of writing in general, confusion might arise from the way someone write and the way someone interpret or understand it (even more when it's not the native language), but through continuous exchanges we finally understand each other better even if we disagree.
That's the problem of Japanese BL dramas in general, and Koreans ones too for me. They pick up very good (and very handsome) idols or young actors to play these young men in love and full of lust, the story is usually very well set and developed over the first episodes, and then when comes the time for the real intimacy, skin touch or sex, it's usually a letdown. Because with these pretty faces that are not real actors ready to give up everything for the sake and the beauty of a role, it's not possible to deliver raw, realistic and explicit sex scenes and they have to put all that vanilla and sugarcoating layer for the sake of their public image and please the crowd of young girls.
I'm a man, I'm not the original target of BL dramas so I understand. But that's still always a big deception for me to see these beautiful and deep stories with a huge potential being wasted, in my opinion, by this restraint.
I'm the first to remind people that if you write something publicly, of course people can answer with their own thoughts and opinions, but again, the way things are written is important, and for some years now, and especially on MDL, people tend to write opinions like a general statement or truth. So yes, for me, it is important to add things like "I think", "in my opinion", "for me", etc., when writing.
But I know it's a matter of generation and education, and that nowadays most people write as they talk in real life and thus expect that their subjective point of view is clear, when in fact, it's not, especially when it comes to expressing an opinion about something. It's very different to stating a fact.
The first scene, in the restaurant, in episode 4 and their dialogue is pretty clear regarding Hagiwara Kazuaki's sexuality. That's why last week I was already a little put off by the story and character developments by the end of the episode.
Your explanations make sense for you and the people who think like you, but I didn't write my comment to be convinced of the opposite you know. ^^ The way I feel about the story and the characters, the acting, and think about the story and its development, the production, is highly subjective and personal. I don't pretend to give an objective review of it, and don't expect to convince anyone either. I was just sharing my comment about the last episode.
But it has nothing to do with the length of the scene or the episodes. A scene could be thirty seconds but still very good.
The two sex scenes ? Boring and unrealistic. I think there was no passion, no emotion, not even real sensuality or real intimacy, totally illogic considering the two were so pent up and burning with desire.
Since the beginning I'm bugged by Ito Asahi's acting, I don' think he is really pulling this character well, but in the last episode I think he is just really bad.
As for the writting, what a mess. The girlfriend having suspicions and checking her boyfriend phone, why not. But the roommate that answers the phone, without saying a word, and thus discovers the big secret because the other person just blather everything without checking who answered, seriously ? That's one of the most cliched scenes I hate in any drama or movie, because it almost never looks natural, but just for the sake of the scenario to create a ruckus, exactly like it is done here.
I like Muto Jun's acting since the beginning, but the development of his character doesn't make sense for me. It's just too unrealistic. The man has always loved and be physically attracted by women, but suddenly he is just head over heels for a man and have a strong sexual desire for him ? Well, nope, I'm not buying that unfortunately.
Too bad, it started well and it was interesting, but now it just looks like one more cliché BL drama.
And more than that, he is close friend with several actors that also appeared in BL dramas (for example, Lee Sun from "Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo"), his own brother will make his acting debut (though he appeared in "The Tale of Lady Ok" as Young Woo's doppelgänger character) at the end of February in "Secret Relationship", and he promoted it on Instagram, he just appeared in Hong Seok Cheon's jewel box on Youtube (Hong Seok Cheon just being the most famous homosexual of Korea).
I already wrote that "You Make Me Dance" wasn't a hug success, so he had no reason to brag about it. And even if he wanted to hide it, it would have been impossible in theses days and age with internet, so these attacks on him just bvecause he deleted few Instagram posts were just pure slandering. I don't see other actors being targeted because they do not promote their acting debuts in a drama or a movie (for example, Ji Chang Wook also appeared in a short indie movie as an homosexual when he was a student, but as it very old and nobody knows about it, it was never mentioned anywhere).
This is just an example of the craziness (yes I assume the word) of a generation totally fanaticised through social medias, and who only sees the world through the prism of identity, "gender", sexuality, etc. Generation of degenerates and brainless for me.
What's the point to write about stupid and meaningless controversies like that when 99% of people just don't care about it ? Is it really that good to write about trash news just to create some "buzz" ? Is it that difficult to try to elevate the level and write about serious and interesting subjects ?
People can also say something and think otherwise, purposely or unconsciously. They can be in denial, or under emotional/physical repression.
Psychologically and biologically speaking, no one develops physical and sexual attraction suddenly for the other sex (we are not talking about a fling or curiosity during teenage years or early adulthood here). Even ignored, repressed, denied, it was already there, it's scientific.
But feel free to believe whatever you like, I'm not here for a lecture on how all this works.