Bullying in (any type of) drama always hits too close to home for me. Seen few dramas where the main theme was bullying, the execution wasn't always good, because it is hard topic to work with without coming up with excuses for aggressors. In Utsukushii Kare, there's something deeper to think about.

N O T S P O I L E R F R E E / N O M A J O R S P O I L E R S

Hira Kazunari was never the cool kid, he was always shy, the slightest attention making him stutter. He knows it and he runs with it, tired of fighting and just waiting for the high school to be over. Kiyoi Sou was given good looks that make all his classmates orbitate him, without actually trying to get to know him better. He knows it, and he runs with it, using his flower boy privilege. When Kiyoi transfers to Hira's class, Hira immediately feels attracted to him. Seems like letting Kiyoi bully him, making Hira his lackey, is the only way to stay close to him. Unfortunately Kiyoi's also been bottling his feelings up and Hira practically stalking him is pushing his buttons.

What a breath of fresh air. This drama is bitter sweet, you know that what the characters are doing, saying, their behavior and things unspoken, are the root of all their problems, you know it and the creators (the novel author) knows it, and they will use it against you... With a sweet release at the end. ;))

Do you think Kiyoi is just an ordinary flower boy? Kiyoi is mainly a human being hearing for most of his life that his looks will get him everything, but he knows first hand that is not true. He's been expected to behave certain way and the beauty spell is broken, when he does the opposite the society is expecting of him. It actually makes other superficial, not him.

Do you think Hira is shy weirdo? Hira is mainly a human being that never got the help he needed as a kid. His parents tried so hard to label him as "normal", so Hira ended up even more closed up, in his own world, desperately trying to find the reason for living. And the status quo becomes Kiyoi.

In a sense, those two are destined to each other, needing each other more, than they realise and that makes the relationship they have so hard on both of them. It is also something that pushes them closer in the end, to the point where they have to communicate like two broken adults they are and stop hurting each other. And that is going to be a long journey for them. (yeah, hoping for second season, but not sure if my kokoro can handle it)

I love the way they went with both sides of the story. Kiyoi's story could've more episodes, but I understand the time they got for this was limited and they probably went for a surprise. It was surprise for me for sure. Nice surprise. I liked the cast, I had some hard time dealing with first two episodes before I realised this wasn't only about bullying. Utsukushii kare is about teens that grew up without anyone talking about their problems, which shaped them into who we see at the beginning. The character developement was there and without it, it just couldn't work.

Not feeling like rewatching it (yet!, there's too much stuff on my Plan to watch list), but I am considering reding the novel Utsukushii kare was based on. It probably doesn't have English translation, so training my Japanese it is.