My Beautiful Man - Japan

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Based on the novel by Yuu Nagira, and known under a myriad of English titles such as 'He, Who Is Beautiful', 'Crazy For You' and 'Beautiful He',  the makers of this series MBS have elected to go with the name 'My Beautiful Man'. The disparate couple are played by Riku Hagiwara as Hira Kazunari and Yagi Yusei as Kiyoi Sou. 

     

Synopsis: "Hira Kazunari, a high school student who doesn't talk much due to his stutter, has no friends and is normally at the bottom of his class. He falls in love-at-first-sight with Kiyoi Sou, the king of the class who doesn't hang out with anyone, is equally ruthless to all, and reigns supreme at the top. In the hope that Sou will notice his presence, Kazunari becomes his loyal minion, getting lunch and running errands for him, but his faith in the absolute monarch gradually falls into lust..."

The trailer is available on the MBS site here: www.mbs.jp/utsukushiikare/episode.shtml 

Or you can check out this tweet. (No subs on either):

It will debut on Thursday 18th November and has 10 episodes of 30 minutes duration. Like 'Vanishing My First love', it's looking like the only way to watch it will be via the usual places as there's currently no details of any international release known.

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No sooner do I say that it probably won't get an international release then I read this:

"NOTE: This title will be available for interfans, please stay tuned for the further announcement."

 

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Two new posters have been released, but alas no new information about the international release, except that "the Official platform will be announced soon."

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International release will be through GagaOOLala starting 19th November.

Link to the upcoming trailer:

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Link to the upcoming Trailer 2:

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(Final) Trailer 3:

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Although it says 'official trailer for Episode 2' on the thumbnail, it starts with a message from the main actors to the international audience before the actual teaser part begins:

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I've just watched the first two episode and have to say this is another Japanese series that has easily hooked me in. It's not as funny or as immediately accessible as 'My Love Mix Up' and the low-key bully story that initiates the central relationship is a tad off-putting to begin with but it quickly got me engrossed with their characters and made me want to root for them.

Hira, or should I call him HiHi (bless his stutter!) is actually a little bit creepy at the start but that's only because he's such a fragile and insecure person and has never had any friends. Kiyoi, on the other hand, is more of a surprise to me as I'm quickly getting the vibe that despite his 'king of the castle' status, he too actually suffers from low self-esteem and the confident and popular demeanour he has is all just an act. Looking ahead, I think the dynamics of this relationship will get turned on its head and Hira will turn out to be the stronger one of the two providing real support to Kiyoi when he finally needs it.

But as for what I've seen so far, I'm quite liking the way Hira has found a way to enjoy his life due to his admiration and burgeoning love for Kiyoi. He really came alive in the scene when they were in detention and ended up drenching each other with the hose. Both of them acted so natural and playful together that it was a joy to watch, and for a short time you could see there were absolutely no barriers between them.

Two moments stood out for me, one during the water scene when Kiyoi tells Hira to "stop hiding" when he's dodging the water hose. That really felt like it was full of all sorts of symbolism to show that Kiyoi genuinely wanted Hira to stop being so scared and show his true self. The other was when they were on the bike and Hira (overthinking as always) said to himself "I bet Kiyoi is putting on his 'You are disgusting face' " but in reality Kiyoi was smiling brightly and enjoying the fact he was with someone who genuinely likes him for who he is, and not just licking up to him like the other 'friends' he hangs around with.

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Teaser for Episode 3:

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I hope he becomes more self assured him basically be the groups whipping boy is making me mad

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For the people who are keeping up with this, would you recommend this series? Haven't been able to start this due to the backlog of BL I still have. Debating whether to watch it or not.

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Teaser for Episode 4:

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Hira is painfully awkward (perhaps even on the autism continuum - though the show hasn't mentioned whether this is the case or not) and also painfully captivated by Kiyoi. He is almost as earnest as Ida in Vanishing My First Love. Kiyoi is the popular new kid - he treats Hira at first as a servant, but over the first 3 episodes their relationship transitions into something less master-servant to more friendly. Kiyoi also doesn't appear to be interested in guys - but seems to find it fascinating that Hira is interested in him (though Hira's sexuality is also hard to pin down - as he states that the only boy he is interested in is Kiyoi). Kiyoi also allows his friends to trod all over Hira (at least at first - things start to change in the second episode).

I am liking it mainly for Riku Hagiwara's performance, but it isn't "my must watch as soon as a new clip shows up" show right now.

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Hira run from Kiyoi - Koyama is a much better catch!

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Teaser for Episode 5:

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I've just finished binge-watching the last three episodes to get up to date with this show and have to admit it's left me feeling quite frustrated. From a BL point of view I'm not really finding it that much of a satisfying watch any longer, but taken from a psychological angle, it's quite good as a deep and intriguing case-study of two boys with dysfunctional personality traits getting sucked into a relationship which is probably not good for them.

Hira and Kiyoi have moved on from their school years, yet Hira still comes across as obsessive and supine when it comes to Kiyoi, (he's much more stable when he's with Koyama) and Kiyoi continues to be domineering and cold when it comes to Hira. It's a thin line trying to show a relationship based on bullying behaviour and know how much backstory and emotional context is needed to make it come across as acceptable. I'm not sure there's been enough for me. We've only got one episode left and I have no idea whether they'll try and conjure up a fluffy BL ending for us, but if I'm being honest, I don't even know if I want them to be together or not.

Bah humbug!



OK, he might have bully tendencies and be a bit of a handful but that doesn't stop him from having pulchritude that would be a bit of a handful (semantics are everything).

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Trailer for Episode 6 (finale):

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Ok, I watched the last episode and admit that it was nicely filmed, well-acted and quite engrossing, but I still don't know how I feel about their relationship together. I gather this series is only based on the first of three novels telling Hira and Kiyoi's full story so obviously there is still much to be told and in all honesty I think I probably need to see more to be able to get fully on board with them. As it stands, I still see two dysfunctional young men who have a long way to go to overcome their flaws and let their personal barriers down. 

I think if they were to make a second series I would enjoy it more as it would hopefully be showing them maturing and growing together to gradually overcome their maladjustments and achieve the equality of a more healthy and stable relationship. I did like the scene where Kiyoi made a start at doing just that and admitted to Hira that he didn't want to be idolised like a king but just loved as a normal person. It was one of the only times in the whole show that he didn't come across as aloof and dismissive and it was nice to see. Hopefully we'd get a lot more of that type of character growth if a second series does get made.

The ending was admittedly aesthetically pleasing:

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I thought we'd already commented on the new upcoming movie version of the show which will continue beyond the original series, but there aren't any posts, so I guess not. The film's full name is 'My Beautiful Man - Eternal' and is due out in Japan on Friday 7th April for a cinema run before getting it's international release - currently tipped to be on GagaOOLala. Here's the (yellow themed) movie poster:


  

However, in a new surprise announcement, the production company have also released a second (lilac themed) poster which reveals that a new series is also on its way. This will cover the second of the three novels covering Kiyoi and Hira's story. 

Synopsis: "Hira is now a senior student and Kiyoi is struggling every day as a rookie actor. The two have become lovers and are living together in Hira's house. However, Hira's servile outlook has not changed at all. When he wants to get close to Kiyoi he stays away, and when he wants space he addresses it forcefully like a news release. Surrounded by such diverse mood swings, Kiyoi has endless troubles knowing what is the right move to make. In addition, Hira takes to disguising himself so as not to be discovered by Kiyoi, and trails him quietly, only to discover he may have found a new interest..." 

Here's the new MyDramaList page


The series will start on Tuesday 7th February and have 6 thirty-minute episodes. No details were forthcoming as to where it will be shown, but it's most likely to be on GagaOOLala

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Here's the teaser for season 2:



International premiere will be via GagaOOLala on Wednesday 8th February.

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Here's the full trailer for season 2 (which uses much of the same footage as the teaser):

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The first episode of series two has been released on VIKI:

S2 Episode 1

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Trailer for Episode 2:

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Trailer for Episode 3:

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Trailer for Episode 4: