Absolute BL (2021)

Divertentissima parodia

Una spassosissima trasposizione di un manga che si burla, senza mai sconfinare nell'omofobia, di tutti i cliché dei manga/drama BL. Qui la mimica esagerata di Atsuhiro Inukai la fa da padrona e non è assolutamente fuori posto, anzi, è decisamente un valore aggiunto per l'opera. Ma si lasciano guardare molto piacevolmente anche il dolcissimo Yūtarō nei panni del fratello minore del protagonista, e Akihisa Shiono come suo boyfriend.
Ovviamente il mattatore è Atsuhiro Inukai, che interpreta Mob, un personaggio di contorno che, rendendosi conto di trovarsi nel mondo del BL, e rifiutando categoricamente di innamorarsi di un altro ragazzo, fa di tutto per deviare l'attenzione lontano da sé per evitare di diventare il protagonista. Così, fra situazioni cringe oltre ogni limite, bellocci con sfondo floreale e musiche liberamente tratte da La bella e la bestia, il nostro si caccerà nei frangenti più imbarazzanti, non esitando a fungere da Cupido per chiunque lo avvicini e senza lesinare i colpi bassi.
Ma è possibile sfuggire alle leggi non scritte del mondo del BL? La domanda, ovviamente, è retorica.
Dopo aver abbondantemente sghignazzato per tutta la durata del drama, aiutata dal fatto di essere una fruitrice di contenuti BL convinta e di lunga data, passo direttamente allo special successivo. Non so se sarà alla stessa altezza, ma lo spero vivamente.

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Absolutely hilarious!

Hands down the most fun I've had watching a comedy series in a long time. I was literally rolling on the floor. It's short, but totally worth the time. The casting was also very good (not great, but decent), and the main character played his role flawlessly.
The only criticism I would have is that I'd like for the romantic storyline to be more developed & foreshadowed earlier, as well as for the entire series to be longer. However, if you look at this show purely from the comedic perspective, it's a 10!
And it's super rewatchable :)

The series tackles most cliches in the genre and does it an unexpected, fun way, without offending anybody. It's just so fresh in the sea of BL shows that are similar to each other.
It's an easy recommendation.

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Please let me live in a BL world

This series / movie / special can be defined with one word: hilarious. This series is clearly made for fans of the BL world, there is no more, to enjoy it and appreciate it in every way you have to be a fan of red bone.

All fans of rom-com genre manga (BL or not) will know that most of them are a bit .. absurd, in the world of manga everything is strangely convenient, but it is fine because the format lends itself so that these conventions work and be fun for readers, but if it comes to taking this to the big screen with real characters, well it is obvious that many creative licenses are taken, to turn the absurd and convenient situations of the manga to more or less realistic situations of the in real life, this is not always the case of course, but if it is about taking the manga as it is to another format it does not come out exactly well and many times the only thing that comes out of that is a great cringe complication and not necessarily a good one (you I'm watching you Love Stage!!), a very good way to bring unrealistic situations to the screen and also deliver a good product is parody.

This series uses the power of parody and it comes out perfect, it is very funny, the best thing is everything that happens in the background of the stage, it genuinely feels like being in a world dominated by the BL, another feature in its favor is the duration, the fact that it is so short allows you to better enter the game and participate in the absurdity.

As I said, this series is very niche and although I do not deny that it can be enjoyed by all audiences, I think that if you are not a fan of BL, understanding some jokes or colloquial situations could be not so funny, sometimes this is what you need a production that don't take yourself too seriously, but still strive to deliver a quality product.

Another thing, do not try to run away, sooner or later the BL will catch you in its clutches, ufff... I will know.

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Anit-BL

What will happened if you realize that you are living in a novel? All of us have dream about it no matter if it’s a BL, Henti, Superhero, etc. But this new show brings a new light of many people, including myself, about the consequences of been in one, especially if you didn’t have any options or power to pick the novel. I honestly was wandering how they will start with this BL, well, antibl. The introduction is very clear with many funny scenes that we are all familiar with. It’s so hilarious that it feels like this show is making fun of how expected things can be in a manga or any bl novel. And we all have thought about it of; how cool would it be if somehow, we get transported to a novel.

We find ourselves following Inukai Atsuhiro (the Mob = extra character in a movie, or any show) in his everyday routine of anitbl and how he strategies in order to fight the world! Yes, it’s him against the BL world.

The most important question that I have about this BL or Anti-Bl is, how is he the only one that knows he is on a BL world?

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A comedy parody of the BL tropes but with a twist!

I tried not to include spoilers but if I did sorry.

So when this manga series got announced as a drama I was very suprised yet exicted to see the outcome. The manga is pretty much a gag parody making fun out of all of the BL manga tropes so how would it translate into live action.

Postives

The direction, production and casting for side couples and extra casting is A++++. Director Miki Koichiro (of pornographer fame) has bought this BL world to life. The side couples and even the god damn extras are like in a real life version of a BL manga. I just love watching all the extras and side couples interacting in this world.

This drama is god damn funny, the manga made me laugh but the over the top acting from the main character mob is funny. He makes these faces like he's a villian trying to be straight.

Negative

While most fans will REALLY LIKE the ending, a manga reader like me has slightly mixed feelings towards it and I hate cliffhangers.

One thing I'll say that I have mixed feelings is that ending. I may understand that the drama version of mob is more weak willed to be more nicer and less cold then the manga version. But the ending pretty much changed the whole meaning of the title

But on the other hand the big plot twist for the drama is heart warming and it will please the BL drama viewers

IF the producers want to do a sequal/follow up then I am all in for it but maybe change the title.

But I hate that cliffhanger! I think fans will agree this with at least.

Overall

If BL drama fans want to take a break from emo/sad BL and want to laugh from the BL tropes they often see in these dramas. There's eye candy of so many guys loving other guys. It's god damn funny to boot with a ending that most fans will love. It really needs a follow up/sequal because a cliffhanger ending is bad.

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Maybe I will fall in love without noticing....

What Airplane! did for disaster flicks...What Scary Movie did for scary movies, this witty Japanese confection does for the BL genre. Whether you translate the Japanese title as "Absolute BL" or as "A Man Who Defies the World of BL," this first-rate parody sends up the tricks of the trade. From enemies-to-lovers to secret crushes to falling into the arms of a drop-dead gorgeous guy who ambles past at precisely the right moment some other gorgeous guy needs to be caught, nearly every trope ever touted (or complained about) in a BL series finds its way into this project.

Indeed, the premise of the production is itself one of those tropes. If you've ever come away from a BL marveling that nearly every male character with screen time turns out to be gay, this story pokes its finger right into that wound: the protagonist one day realizes he's a side character ("mobu") in a BL world where all the men around him keep falling into love with one another--a fate he ardently wishes to avoid. He naturally reads every BL novel he can find so that he can identify and recognize stereotypical situations before they sweep him into a same-sex relationship. This mobu is terrified of becoming a main character so recognizing the tropes is paramount. For example, declining an invitation from the handsome latecomer to a karaoke gathering--"want to get out of here?"--is a must because that scenario would inevitably lead to a coupling. Later, he steps over a passed out (and winsome) man on the street because proffering aid to the stricken would, in a BL world, surely lead to romance. Amusingly, many of our mobu's efforts to sidestep a BL fate result in the side characters becoming couples instead. As with any well-constructed parody, one would probably require multiple re-watches to spot every gag stuffed into the story.

Many reviewers refer to the show as a "series," probably because the production's internal structure is divided into about 8 chapters which last about 15 minutes each. Since that essentially equals the runtime of a full-length movie, I prefer to think of Absolute BL as a one-off, unified work. Indeed, Absolute BL can easily be consumed in a single sitting. (All chapters aired together, so a serial presentation it never was.) Each of the eight vignettes sends up a different characteristic of the BL genre. The program is well acted, and the side characters who keep falling for each other embody clear genre stereotypes without ever trending into mockery. Absolute BL is an absolutely fabulous parody made by and for those who enjoy the genre. In fact, the last spoken line of dialog is squarely aimed at BL fans who constantly beg for more: "Don't miss the Season 2....[dramatic pause] if there is one."

I have to close this review by giving special commendation to the "theme song," which itself both sends-up and honors TV theme songs. This one is soooooo cheesy, it goes all the way past cringey and circles back around to charming. The cheese begins with the cast's wardrobe for the song, culled from the cheesiest fashion decade of the 20th century--yes, the 1970s. If the wardrobe was a startling--but effective--choice, having the cast members sing the song apes not only many OST music videos from actual series but also in some ways parodies the ubiquity of boy bands. Even the lyrics take a swipe at BL cliches, as two of the singers have lyrics that assert "Sometimes I fall in love with someone" and "maybe I will fall in love without noticing." Surely, (don't call me Shirley!), nothing is more absolutely BL than characters falling in love without even noticing.

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Based on the manga of the same name, A World That Definitely Becomes BL VS A Man Who Definitely Doesn't Want to Be in BL is about exactly what it says on the tin. A meta commentary on Boys' Love works, wherein every character is somehow gay and gorgeous, Mob exists as a character who is always in the background and has no intention of getting in on the action. Even someone who may not be 100% familiar with the tropes that are highlighted in this short run series is bound to enjoy the comedy of watching Mob carefully rearrange his life so that he can avoid being alone with cute boys, or helping cute boys up from the sidewalk drunk, or helping someone to fall in love with him. In his attempts to avoid all of the BL tropes Mob forgets that he is, in fact, a BL trope.

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“But I’m not worried about my virginity, because I’m just a side character.”

Absolute BL AKA Zettai BL ni Naru Sekai vs Zettai BL ni Naritakunai Otoko AKA A Man Who Defies The World of BL

IS HILARIOUS.

No, like, really! It’s great.

It’s Japan making fun of us, but also itself for having started this absolute dumpster fire of joy that is BL. It’s truly a thing of parody gold. Gah, it’s so good.

Basically Mob has figured out he’s a side character (extra AKA mobu) in the BL world (along with his family), so he doesn’t mind being trapped in a BL universe because he figures he’s never going to get his own story. He likes being ignored and isn’t gay. Only then his younger brother (played by Goto Yutaro from Cherry Magic) gets a confession from his BFF. Mob realized that the BL world is trending towards the trope of “the ordinary bottom” and now he’s at risk.

Which of course means he going to turn into a tsundere uke but one that is actually totally aware of what he’s doing.

He must defy the BL world!

So he buys a ton of yaoi and starts researching all the tropes so he can avoid them. But now, he’s reading yaoi all the time. So he’s kinda into it and… You know the drill? It’s one of those. The more he tries to avoid an inevitable future fate the more he does to bring that fate about, even hurry it along. Or does he? Maybe that’s also a play on us and him.

So this show is also joking about fandom’s propensity to fall in love with side characters, even if those characters have very little personality and screen time. Mob is trying so hard not to become the main character, but of course, we are all watching him already BE the main character. Which he also has to be aware of, because he’s talking to us about it.

It’s so meta. This glorious self aware reluctant hero trope. Breaking the 4th wall constantly, almost defiantly.

Honestly the 70s dancing intro song alone made me cry with laughter.

The very last line is a master class in how to lampoon a genre.

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A funny Parody with some romantic twists

This is the first Satire of the BL, as far as i know, and especially the first two Episodes are funny as hell. There are so many creative Ideas here, which are playing with the typicall BL-Tropes. (Keyword Roses )
The End was predictable but still worked well and a second season could be happen.

But if you expecting great emotions and Butterflies, this is not your Cup of Tea.
I also wished that the Series would include more Episodes, cause some of the Sidecouples are looking very promising.

All in all, I’ve you had enough of the great heartbreaking Dramas,this is a good break before watching the next big thing.

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CAN'T WAIT FOR SEASON 2!

I really really enjoyed this, if you've watched Extra-Ordinary You and enjoyed it I feel you would enjoy this as well. There are some spoilers in this review, so read at your own risk, I will warn you when there's a spoiler so you can skip it.

It's about this guy who gains awareness of the world he lives in and realizes that he lives in a BL world. 90% of all the guys are gay and he hopes that he is that 10% who isn't. So he literally tries his hardest to make sure that he doesn't fall victim to the plot of the BL world.

It was really funny watching him try to dodge every cliche bl plot you can think off and succeed.

*SPOILERS*
However you get the idea that he might not be an extra like he had hoped, based on how the last episode went I would say he probably gained awareness about a month ago.
This is why he thought that his character would be an extra when in in reality his story was brewing.
All the boys he came across and successfully avoided were never meant to be his anyways. So while he was an extra(or dare I say catalyst) in the other couples love stories, he was a main character in another's life. It was interesting seeing him kind of fall in love with this really cute guy, his body, mind,heart, and mouth literally betrayed him lol, but I loved it.

*END OF SPOILER*

I hope they make a season 2 of it, it was such a great watch, funny, romantic, cliche bl love stories, and a Plot twist.
I'm really interested in seeing how the next season will be tackled based off it's ending.

Rewatch value is a 10/10.

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I thought this series would be the same as Why R U, but it turns out that the quality of this series is much much much better.

The concept that offered by this series is quite unique to me, even though the plot is quite awkward and honestly I can read how this series will end eventually lol

However, the director seems to want us having a wider imagination about the ending of this series, They presented a bunch of characters that we thought would last till the end but turned out they just passing by for 1 or 2 episodes. ?

I really hope there will be 2nd season of this series!

In Indonesian:
Saya kira series ini akan sama seperti Why R U, namun ternyata kualitas series ini jauh lebih baik dari series tersebut.

Konsep yang ditawarkan dari series ini cukup unik buat saya, walaupun secara plot memang cukup awkward dan dapat terbaca bagaimana serial ini akan berakhir.

Akan tetapi sang sutradara sepertinya ingin kita berimajinasi lebih luas terhadap ending serial ini, kita disuguhkan beberapa karakter yang kita duga akan bertahan lama namun ternyata hanya sekedar numpang lewat saja.

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