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Utsukushii Kare japanese drama review
Completed
Utsukushii Kare
2 people found this review helpful
by labcat
Dec 24, 2021
6 of 6 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 7.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
This review may contain spoilers

Competently made though unexceptional

This BL follows a tried-and-tested formula in many ways: one-sided love on the part of an awkward unpopular guy for a popular guy, that is until it turns out to be anything but one-sided. The production values are, nevertheless, rather high. The scenes are beautifully shot, and there are no scenes that feel unnecessary or digressive.

Hira, being the awkward, stuttering guy who is bullied by others, is the character one sympathizes with first. Yet, it may be hard to understand his obsession with Kiyoi, who is one of those who order him about in school even if he is somewhat more reasonable than others. Is this some sort of Stockholm-Syndrome romance? He supposedly falls in love with Kiyoi because Kiyoi saves him from embarrassment, but Kiyoi does not even do so intentionally--he saves Hira simply by walking into the class and grabbing everyone's attention.

Kiyoi isn't the worst bully for sure, but his behavior towards Hira can be regarded as abusive too. But this is BL in which some borderline perverse sorts of relationships are par for the course. Even though we finally see things from his perspective in Episode 5, his behavior towards Hira isn't exactly very nice. Could he blame Hira for having no inkling that his love is not one-sided? In contrast, Hira's friend in college, Koyama, is such a sweetheart that one either wishes Hira would end up with him or that he would be able to find happiness. But I guess the equivalent of the second-male-lead syndrome in BLs is the third-male-lead syndrome.

The issue of romanticizing a somewhat abusive relationship aside, the series is nicely made. There are only six short episodes, but the storytelling does not feel rushed or inadequate. The young actors are surprisingly good in their roles too. It is worth a watch.
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