Utsukushii Kare (2021)

WATCH until the END

I was about the give up at episode one, but for some reason, I didn't and I AM SO very happy I didn't. At first, this series is concerning a love story between a stalker and a bully, but once both points of view are examined you realize two things. Thing one: the two main characters may be meant for one another as they are like dualities of one another. Thing two: they are both kind of crazy. What starts off as a sketchy love story where you don't know who to feel bad for becomes a beautiful tale of accepting people and loving them for who they are.

Spoiler:



There is a concerning mock mass shooting scene that may be a trigger or just a bit uncomfortable.

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Great subject for a BL

Great subject for a BL. It does boarder on being abusive at times but i found it more challenging than abusive.

For sure Hira ended up with the wrong person. I am so impressed that so many Asian BL's and other drams have a love interest stand aside such that the one they love are happy with who they supposedly really want. Very honorable and it changes me a little every time I see it happen.

Now it's time for me to back up. So Kiyoi does demand that Hira loves him as a person and not a god. That was great. I really didn't see that coming. Then the last scene they are joking about it??? I think they should have buried it and left it for a more powerful ending.

Best scene was the reconciliation of all the scenes as a flash back. Bravo.

My Complaints are are good ones. The story and other characters could have been developed more and the ending could have shown more of how Hira adapted and became a real partner for Kiyoi.

Congrats to all for making this series!

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truly matched each other's freaks

I'm conflicted writing this review because I loved this drama not because of the story itself but because of how unintentionally funny this is.

So the story is about a guy with a stalkerish tendency who falls in love with a guy whose insecurity is almost as intense as his ego. Both of them can't properly talk which makes an absolutely hillarious series to me.

The love story itself feels very juvenile and really does give you secondhand embarassment. However, for me the secondhand embarassment quickly turned into comedic gold. Everytime either one of them does something insanely stupid, I literally fall out of my seat laughing. Please do watch if you're needing a laugh.

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Complex, fascinating characters

10/18/2022
Rating: 9.0

Pairing Type: quiet, shy mc x popular, tsundere ml; stuttering mc; bullied mc (not severe); obsessive mc

Tropes: school life; time-skip (midway through); high school; college; acting; obsession; second lead syndrome

Triggers: bullying (ie teasing, no severe physical abuse); toxic relationship; ideations of mass shooting (nothing graphic but a gun is depicted)

Heat level: 2/5 (behind closed doors); characters are intimate but love scenes are behind closed doors

Re-watch: will likely not rewatch

I can’t believe I didn’t watch this just because some of the comments people left scared me off. This was surprisingly really well done.

I should note, the lead’s relationship is not healthy. Someone commented that this is controversial without anything controversial actually happening and it is very accurate.

Both characters are flawed individuals. Kiyoi is narcissistic, manipulative and selfish. Beyond Hira’s stutter, he’s obsessive and puts Kiyoi on a pedestal. A perfect combination for an absolutely toxic relationship.

I thought the episode in Kiyoi’s POV was necessary and well done. We see how he first becomes interested in Hira’s devotion to him and how he manipulates Hira because of these feelings. However, as his own feelings grow, he wants Hira to see him as a person rather than an ideal. Like wow, the psychology of these characters is really well written. You can also tell, to some extent, that Kiyoi is mutually obsessed with Hira in his own way.

It’s not healthy, but it is fascinating.

Totally got second lead syndrome. Hira’s secondary love interest never had a chance but damn was he lovely and damn did he make me cry.

These two people would definitely be better off without each other, which is why I probably won’t be watching this again. But I really did feel like this story was well crafted with complex and interesting leads. Would recommend.

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Reseña sencilla

Yo no sabia que esperar de esta serie y aun asi ya habiéndola acabado no se que decir, creo que es una serie complicada y mas que la serie me refiero a los protagonistas.
Me gustaron los protas pero siento que ambos tienen muchos problemas en su interior, y en general siento que nomas los conocemos por encima.
Hira es esta persona que a lo que se entiende nunca ha tenido verdaderos amigos o incluso no ha tenido, siempre se hace menos en cualquier momento y ps como el dice quiere ser invisible.
Kiyoi siento que de los dos el es mas complicado por su actitud, se rodea de gente para no sentirse solo aun cuando sabe que nomas lo están utilizando, pero indirectamente le gusta esa atención pq ps se nos dice que el desde pequeño ha estado solo (se siente abandonado).
Si se me hacia bn wtf cuando le dice cosas a Hira, pero ps se lo dice pq indirectamente le gusta y por alguna razón a Hira tmb o algo asi pero entonces a Kiyoi le gustaba la atención pero le gustaba en especifico la de Hira pq desde un 1er momento Hira fue honesto? o se lo dijo sin tapujos que era hermoso.
No se la vd que ando confundido si algo me queda claro es que les hizo pero demasiada falta el comunicarse las cosas claramente y digamos que para Hira no estaban en igualdad de condiciones pq Kiyoi era lo supremo (lo mas perfecto el punto máximo) y el nd y Kiyoi por lo que se ve eso le molestaba.

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Unique, Painful & Brilliant

A film is not written to protect the audience from unpleasant paths to love. Utsukushii Kare intends to drag you through an unpleasant, and dysfunctional relationship, which I would argue, honestly reflects the often screwed up nature of first love.

The brilliance (but also risky) in this work is in how it's structured, only letting us in Hira's world to start, and then surprising you by bringing you into Kiyoi's world to bring the story together. The result is, yes, an at times uncomfortable watch, but ultimately achieving beautiful moments.

All of this to say, watch this series. Withstand the tough stuff, and remember, characters must be flawed. By the end you'll get what's being shared here, and I think, most will enjoy it. Thanks.

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What A Beautiful Set Of Bois

Had no idea what I was jumping into with this one. I've had mixed reactions to Japanese BL's. Loved ones like "Cherry Magic", "Love On The Line" and "The Novelist" , but sometimes they get quite repetitive. As well as now really showing the leads dynamic very well, aka they don't have much chemistry. Well this show definitely was a pleasant surprise!

First things first. I really like the animation aesthetics in this. They really added to the storytelling, it also made me think of "Heartstopper". I love how our main character Hira is so shy and awkward. He really is one of the most awkward main characters in a BL I've ever seen and that's saying something! So high praise to the actor. Though one plot device with the character I didn't like. I understand the violence symbolism of the gun motif was him expressing his inner thoughts and feelings. However, it was still too much lol. I live in America, that sh** is too serious.

Kiyoi's development with Hira is interesting. I saw little nuances of him liking him back from the start. Sticking up for him, the little smiles and wanting to just be around him. So I could tell something was up from the beginning, which is a good thing. It shouldn't just be completely one sided infatuation. I love that ep 5 is completely dedicated to Kiyoi and his backstory. We saw everything from his POV too now which is what I wanted. I also love seeing Hira kicking booty in this episode! We got to see our shy boy screaming and I loved it. At first I thought their first kiss seemed so out of left field, but if this is how Kiyoi has been feeling this entire time. Totally makes sense now. Boy is in love and the jealous type! I was frustrated thinking Kiyoi needed to stop being so chill or acting chill about everything. However ep 5 on explained this very well and I understood where he was coming from in his reservations.

Moving on. The intro of Koyami (our official love triangle boy) was interesting. I really like him and he clearly likes Hira a lot. So I felt conflicted. But because the love Hira has for Kiyoi I knew the switch up could never be. However, all I'm saying is but THE TINY CAKE Hira got himmmm. So sweet! The final talk between Hira and Koyami hurt my heart, but it was really well done. Koyami is genuinely also a good person, like he wants Hira to be happy, Koyami FOR THE WIN. It was nice to see the other love interest not be shady for a change. We got our happy ending and I hope Koyami gets a boo too! He deserves it.

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very toxic

this show has a lot of cute moments and i think the actors have good chemistry, but it is really tough to ignore the very toxic nature of their relationship. i understand that shows are not real life and they can explore an aspect of toxicity without people actually having that in their relationships, but it crosses a line and becomes hard to watch at points. i think if at some point the character fundamentally learned to change their view, this would receive a higher rating. unfortunately the sequels only doubled down on the toxic parts so take that into consideration. with all that said, I would not mind seeing these actors in completely new story.

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