#JAPANESE BL MINI SERIES

[madeinjapan-thailand-blbambeyond]

MADE IN JAPAN

OKURA TAKATO

HYUGA WATARU

[bl-bam-beyond]

KIMI TO NARA KOI WO SHITE MITE MO (2023, JAPAN)

Episode 4 (The Penultimate Episode)

The day after a confession. This show is giving me nostalgia for the brillance that was OLD FASHION CUPCAKE. Sure they are in high school but the maturity of this series is exceptional.

Ryuji (HYUGA WATARU) received a love confession from a boy, a boy he likes as a friend knowing that friend is gay and not letting that be a barrier for friendship but instead providing a safe space for a boy afraid to fall in love because of past experience.

Amane (OKURA TAKATO) chose honesty in confessing and with it's aftermath. Heart on the line...again.

Ryuji however was allowed to be confused but thoughtful. It wasn't an instant let's date but he was open. He, like Amane responded in truth and with that respect. Respect for Amane.

A date for a firework festival and the finale of this Japanese Series...like OLD FASHION CUPCAKE I want more. How will this series end? A kiss (probably not but one never knows) but will Amane end up dating Ryuji (absolutely) We'll see.

P.S: I love how Ryuji was like..how did we use to talk. That Love Confession and following confusion really made him think.

@pose4photoml @lutawolf

[gunsatthaphan]

~ Monthly BL Breakdown: March 2024 ~ 

🌦️ Happy April!!! 🐝

Disclaimer: ALL shows can be streamed here or here, as well as on Youtube and other platforms. For more info on where to watch what, check out this post! 

New breakdowns are coming at the end of every month - feel free to add stuff! -> previous breakdowns

What came out this month? (green = seen/currently watching)

🌟 Love is Better the Second Time Around - March 5th (Japan) 

🌟 Deep Night - March 7th (Thailand) 

🌟 Your Tie is Crooked - March 11th (Japan/Thailand)

🌟 Close Friend 3: Soju Bomb! - March 13th (Thailand)

🌟 Kiseki Chapter 2 - March 17th (Thailand)

🌟 Two Worlds - March 21st (Thailand) ✅

🌟 High Demand - March 23rd (Thailand) 

🌟 Be Your Star - March 23rd (Thailand)

🌟 Jazz For Two - March 26th (South Korea)

🌟 The Star - March 28th (Thailand) 

🌟 Please Teach Me - March 29th (South Korea)

🌟 Only Boo! - March 31st (Thailand) ✅

Monthly likes/dislikes

❣️ ø

👎🏻 ø

New series & movie announcements

🎥 Babanbabanban Vampire (manga adaption) - Coming 2025 (Japan)

🎥 My Lovely Enemy - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 My Dear Daddy (starring Fluke Pusit) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Battle of the Writers (starring TutorYim) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Meet You at the Blossom - Date TBA (Taiwan/Thailand)

🎥 Silent House - Date TBA (China)

🎥 This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans - Coming July 5th (Thailand)

🎥 What the Nong - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Night Owl - Date TBA (China)

🎥 จาฤกรติชา (novel adaption) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 GG Precinct - Date TBA (Taiwan)

🎥 Sangmin & Dinneaw (Thai/Korean collaboration) - Date TBA (Thailand/South Korea)

🎥 Let's Eat Together 2 (sequel movie) - Coming June 2024 (Japan)

🎥 Global Examination - Date TBA (Taiwan)

🎥 Yaoi Academy - Date TBA (Thailand)

Other news from the BL world

❗️ Actor Jes Jespipat was announced as the replacement for Build Jakapan in the upcoming Be On Cloud BL 4 Minutes. B. previously withdrew from the project after a defamation lawsuit involving him and his ex girlfriend in 2023. The project is now in production and will likely air towards the end of the year.

❗️ Actor Maiake Kandis announced his withdrawal from the upcoming BL Red Peafowl. He was originally cast as one of the leads, being paired with Dollar Patchara. He later came forward saying his statement was fake news and that he is in fact not withdrawing. He also said he does not know if or when the production will start.

❗️ Former GMMTV actor Fluke Pusit (The Shipper, The Warp Effect) was announced as the lead actor in the upcoming BL Your Dear Daddy. He will star alongside Poonpun Jitaboon, an air date is unknown.

❗️ Domundi actors TutorYim (Cutie Pie, Middlemans Love) were announced as the leads in the upcoming BL Battle of the Writers. The show will be produced by Hydroindus Entertainment and is based on the Chinese novel "The Great Battle of Games". The full cast was announced on March 9th; an airdate as well as further information on the show is unknown.

❗️ Lay Talay and Perth Nakhun (My Engineer) reunited for a mini series called Your Tie is Crooked, consisting of 3 episodes à 2 minutes. It was released on the Japanese streaming platform TVer on March 11th.

❗️ The premiere of the upcoming BL Wuju Bakery has been postponed to September. It was originally scheduled to air in March, though due to an increase of the episode length and general production upscaling, the original air date is no longer realizable, according to the production.

❗️ Change 2561 (Pit Babe) announced an upcoming original BL called This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans. Sailub and Pon (AlanJeff in PB) will star as the lead couple, alongside GarfieldBenz and others. A first trailer was released on March 20th.

❗️ Actor Yoon Phusanu revealed that he has left his management under Y Entertainment, following a dispute about his appearance in the 2023 Thai BL For Him. In a press conference he stated that the production cut his part completely and refused to pay him in the process. Main actors Dew N. and Tor A. later disclosed that they also encountered the issue of not receiving payment for their work from the company, along with accusations of se*ual assault from members of the production team. In an official statement Y Entertainment clarified they would transfer the actor's salaries as soon as possible.

❗️ The GMMTV BL Cherry Magic reached more than 1.7 million tweets for the final episode and a total of over 9 Million tweets for all 12 episodes, making it the gmmtv show with the most Twitter interaction in the history of the company.

❗️ The upcoming Korean remake of the Norwegian teen web series SKAM is officially in production. A short teaser was released on March 28th, revealing the title of the project: Fragile. An airdate, as well as a cast and further information is unknown.

Upcoming series & movies for April

👉🏻 Love is Like a Cat - April 1st (South Korea / Thailand)

👉🏻 We Are - April 3rd (Thailand)

👉🏻 Memory in the Letter - April 6th (Thailand)

👉🏻 Living With Him - April 11th (Japan)

👉🏻 Gray Shelter - April 11th (South Korea)

👉🏻 At 25:00 in Akasaka - April 18th (Japan)

👉🏻 Boys Be Brave - April 19th (South Korea)

👉🏻 With You I Bloom - April 24th (Japan)

👉🏻 My Stand-In - April 26th (Thailand)

👉🏻 Knock Knock Boys - April TBA (Thailand)

👉🏻 GMMTV2024 Part 2 (lineup event) - April TBA (Thailand)

[absolutebl]

So I just watched 『8.2秒の法則』 (Rule of 8.2 Seconds, I think?) It's a cute Japanese mini bl series about Amani, who I think just really wants a boyfriend at this point lol. He tries to fix any boys's problems and make them fall in love with him by baking lol.

It's really short, but it's quirky plus he's gets these interesting daydreams when baking... His imagination just runs WILD with these boys he just met.

I saw it last year when it came out, it's all kinds of adorable.

[kinosansart]

Torchwood Jack and Ianto general doodles

Oh yeah I am back into Torchwood. I think the reason might be been that I recently bought season 2 boxset in Japanese during my Tokyo trip.

I think back then I was too scared/insecure about my artwork not matching the likeness of the actors. But now I am drawing fanart of other live action BL dramas like Sepakoi and Zettai BL and even some Kamen Rider fanart. I think WHY THE HELL NOT?!

Torchwood is a series important to me, I grew up on it. I am acutally NOT a Dr who fan at all.

So I am going to draw some colored comics/doodles basied on my favourite couple: Jack and Ianto.

They have been maybe the earilest gay couple that I was invested in way before BL dramas.

So here is how I am going to draw them, maybe the only change I will do is Jack's hair color because it's a similar color to Ianto's. I know both John and Gareth have the same color/shade of blue eyes but I decided Jack will have a lighter shade of blue compaired to Ianto's.

I MISS THESE TWO! But listening to the Big finish audio dramas/radio dramas I realised that I REALLY LOVE THESE TWO TOGETHER.

Speaking of Audio dramas

Snice I have been listening non stop to Torchwood audio dramas lately. I want to cover them with some doodle comics because they run in my head as I listen to them.

Update: House of the dead is complete with 26 pages of doodles lol, I really WANT TO COMMIT and do the other audio dramas as well. That's the goal of this mini project/dumb idea of mine.

Wish me luck lol.

[afabstract]

'BL Drama no Shuen ni Narimashita' Review

Famous for an ad he shot as a kid, Aoyanagi Hajime lands a lead role in a BL drama with rising star Akafuji Yuichiro. However, when the two start off on the wrong foot, a comedy of misunderstandings ensues.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4 out of 5. Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram) This show is so trope-y, and sully; its climactic scene almost had me rolling on the floor with laughter. So, for a romantic-comedy adapted from a manga of the same name by Suzuri Machi, ‘BL Drama no Shuen ni Narimashita’ is a great pick for its genre! Directed by Kumasaka Izuru, the Japanese mini-series stars Abe Alan and Akutsu…

[wolffyluna]

I am considering hosting a virtual birthday observed party on Sun 2 July, 8am AEST (which is Sat 1 July, 3pm San Francisco Time.) Reply if you'd be interested in attending.

I'm still currently trying to decide what activity to do. An impromptu poll, so you can vote on more than one thing.

📖 do a pirate poetry night. (People read short poems of their choice. Piracy unnecessary.)

📺 watch something together. What that is depends on what I can access and get to play ball with screensharing software, but I'm think of either Yin-Yang Master (a xianxia action movie) or Old Fashion Cupcake (2hr BL office romance mini series)

🎮 play a short visual novel together, likely We Know The Devil (queer teens at protestant nightmare logic summer camp) or A Year Of Springs (slice of life about a Japanese trans woman)

[namtanlovesfilm]

Any thoughts on the current competition between Japan/Korea/Thailand when it comes to bl.

Seems like Thailand is getting steamier to differentiate themselves. Are the other 2 nations catching up? Should Gmmtv be worried? Can the others compete despite having more conservative cultures?

I'm gonna be honest, I didn't even know there a competition? like sorry but no one is on thailand's level in terms of bl, simply bc thailand is able to capitalize on popular shows & popular ships in a way korea & japan don't. the closest thing japan does is giving shows like ossan's love & cherry magic movie sequels, but that is nothing on the level on insuring longevity of a pairing like thailand does. for kbls, they're popular but don't have any legitimacy in korea & also don't capitalize their fans’ attention besides the series. also thailand has been producing bl series for the longest & has by far the most daring bl series of the 3 countries, while korean bls are only allowed to be mini series with quite simple plots & japanese bls all have the same office or high school setting. sooooo... as much as people wanna claim a competition, thailand has been unmatched so far & I doubt they will stop being so in the next few years, as they have recognized the power of bl on a global scale, and every other country hasn't.

xxx

[thebroccolination]

Key, have you ever heard of a japanese bl called "Takara-kun to Amagi-kun?"

Vaguely! I know it’s one of the Johnny’s BL series. (I still can’t believe I’m typing something like that with over a decade of Johnny’s fandom behind me. Incredible.)

I haven’t seen many Japanese BLs! Apart from the mini series “his” that led to perfect 10/10 movie of my heart “his”, I haven’t seen a BL out of Japan that really impressed me. Cherry Maho was great, but it didn’t gut me in the heart the way a lot of Thai series have.

(Part of what I love about the movie “his” is that they don’t shy away from sex or physical affection, and I really appreciated that level of authenticity. A lot of Japanese BLs are playing things a little too pure for my taste.)

But! There are some Japanese BLs I want to watch and series like MSP prove how much you can do with a high school setting, so I’m open to it!

What did you like about it, Anon?

[bibimbinge]

June 2024 watchlist update

I've been keeping track with Notion and this is the first time I actually see the numbers

23 NEW Thai BLs

rewatched 4 Thai BLs

7 NEW japanese BLs

2 NEW Korean BLs

rewatched 1 Korean BL

........ do I need to get a life....... ????

to think that theres more than a handful of long-form bl that isnt just mini-series or side character crumbs or ultra sad/traumatic plots... AND THERES A WHOLE LOT MORE PROJECTS COMING OUT IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR?????? might just tear up a little

[madeinjapan-thailand-blbambeyond]

MADE IN JAPAN

HYUGA WATARU

OKURA TAKATO

[bl-bam-beyond]

HYUGA WATARU

OKURA TAKATO

[txxnou]

ahhh thanks for the tag @waitmyturtles ☺️

favourite color : brown/beige shades (i particularly like it in articles of clothing) as well as purple hehe

currently reading : i actually have a bad habit of starting a lot of mangas and then stopping it in order to read another one bc i get distracted a lot 😅. but the last ones i've read that were more predominant for me would be "super no ura de yani suu futari" which is a cute age gap romance that's actually handled pretty well. i also recently read the first few chapters of "the reincarnated princess and the genius young lady" in lieu of the recent anime. i actually started reading it when there were only about three chapters of the manga and then forgot about it up until the anime anouncement came up. also reread this one chapter for volume three of "our-not-so-lonely planet travel guide" wherein it showed how the main leads met in the first place and it was so heartwarming 🥹

last song : "solanin" by asian kung-fu generation. the last thing i read for 2022 was the manga "solanin" and this song was actually based off the actual song in the manga itself which the author wrote the lyrics for. it's been playing on repeat whilst i'm typing this

last series : season one of "the pornographer/the novelist", whichever one you want to call it. it's actually quite different from most j-bl i've seen as it's not the usual fluffy,light romance i tend to gravitate towards to but it was still very much an interesting watch. it is very much a nsfw type of show so there's that and the relationship in this one isn't supposed to be romantic as it's mostly driven by lust and the main leads are mostly put in these certain situations so you can see how they deal with it personally. also it would be best if you check the trigger warnings for this one as well before you watch it just in case

last movie : the last movie i watched would be "until rainbow dawn" which is a japanese movie that revolves around two deaf women in a relationship and the other deaf lgbtqia+ people they meet in a gay bar specifically for deaf people. what i love about this film is they casted actual real deaf people for it and it was also very interesting watching a film that was mostly silent. i think these sort of silent films would be best watched when i'm experiencing sensory overload as the fact that it's mostly quiet will help in days where i need respite from the outside world's sounds. it'd be nice to see more films like it

currently working on : not much tbh i've mostly been just helping around in my mom's mini store and i guess i've mostly been working on being more kind and understanding of myself most especially on the days i feel my lowest

i mostly really lurk here so i don't have anyone to tag but if you see this and you're interested in doing it consider yourself tagged

TAG GAME POST WOOP WOOP (thanks, @gillianthecat – HAPPY NEW YEAR! <3)

Favorite Color: Pine freaking green, baby. My dream car will be this color. 

Currently Reading: I am a little scared and embarrassed to say this, but it’s kind of a New Year’s resolution and I have a feeling that @the-nihongo-adventure is going to be very happy about this, so I’ll reveal it here: “Japanese From Zero 1.” I’m literally going to spend all of 15-30 minutes a day (if I can even afford those minutes) taking notes, sub-section by sub-section. I’d like to be semi-proficient in Japanese by the time my not-even-two-year-old daughter is in her teens, to be able to take her on a girls trip to Japan. I’m literally only learning vowel sounds at the moment. 

I’m also very slowly reading “The Beauty of Everyday Things” by Yanagi Soetsu, on the creation of the field of critical thinking on Japanese folk crafts (mingei). I have “Convenience Store Woman” by Murata Sayaka on my list, another recommendation from the incredible @the-nihongo-adventure!

Last Song: “Antiquities” by Friday Night Plans, aka Masumi. She covered “Plastic Love” a few years ago and I discovered her through the Spotify algorithm while going down a haruno rabbithole (haruno is SOOOO GOOOD, please listen to “Cash Out,” which he did with brb. SO GOOD!)

Last Series: Semantic Error – review coming tomorrow! I start The Director Who Invited Me to Dinner and Bad Buddy this week!

Last Movie: I’m not sure that Ichigeki counts – it was a very recent NHK Japanese New Year’s historical drama with a lot of comedy in it that featured a wonderfully himbo Machida Keita. It was an hour and a half-ish, does that count as a movie? If not, then I believe my last movie was Cherry Magic! 

I REALLY want to see Broker by Hirokazu Koreeda, which is actually playing in my city at this moment.

Currently Working On: I’m currently working on being less discombobulated after the holidays. I’m getting used to getting less sleep again, all the household chores and balancing work, life, and fun. But with that being said, I believe my priorities are my New Year’s resolutions – to TRY to be less stressed out, to get more sleep, to leave my nails alone (dang it), and omg, to begin learning Japanese. I gotta be kind to myself while doing all of it.

Okay, tags! I usually only tag the utter darling @the-nihongo-adventure in these because ILY (consider yourself tagged, lol!), but I’ve noticed a few wonderful folks appearing in my likes lately, and I really appreciate y’all, so I’d like to get to know you better! NO PRESSURE AT ALL! @thewayofsubtext @solitaryandwandering @nieves-de-sugui @amerain-k @emmrberks @lingering-sunrise @somewhatavidreader (editing to add @tm-trx, hi!)

[heretherebedork]

Win’s ever changing forehead cut is a source of amusement to me.

[tytangfei]

Jina's dramas awards 2021!

Late by 1 day but here it is!! I got to start many dramas this year but only some kept my attention for the entire time. Here are my favorites of 2021! (Check out my favs from 2020!)

As usual, these are mostly Chinese dramas and they're typically historical or period costume, non-modern dramas (although I do have a category for modern dramas).

best overall drama:

the long ballad (I literally finished this in 3 days and every episode had me in a rollercoaster of emotions and even dramatic entrances made me cackle!! Everything was solid from soundtrack to cinematography to acting.)

most delightful/fun drama:

queen of attack (just. This little mini, low budget series that was supposed to generate little buzz and make tiny money really went and did more. Full of classic tropes, the fresh couple made it work so good that it even received a 2nd season!!)

most impactful drama:

killer and healer (it came to me when I needed it the most back in March; I literally even re-learned Adobe Premiere so that I could create FOUR videos for it. Definitely not perfect but grabbed my heart and soul completely.)

most unexpected drama (aka the dark horse):

the imperial coroner (full of fairly new actors and seemingly typical characters, this drama took the world with its strong political plot and refreshing likeable and logical characters; the romance isn't overdone--some may say it's even a bit underdone--but when it happens, it's so so good.)

Miss the dragon (I saw all the bad reviews and first reactions, I know. But damn it, I still enjoyed every second of it. It's melodramatic and tragic and I loved it.)

drama with the best soundtrack:

ancient love poetry (literally has some of the top OST singers in the business like Mao Buyi. It's great. My fav is "Perseverance" where I can still recall that scene of her father's death; so beautifully well done and tragic.)

best costume/design/set drama:

song of youth (no matter how the ending was, this drama had great costumes. Even saw a post about how everything was pretty accurate to the times.)

favorite modern drama:

once we get married & unforgettable love (the chemistry just worked!! Also funnily enough...both are contract marriage dramas lmaooo I guess I have a type!)

favorite drama aired from any year & watched in 2021:

go princess go (2015) (what an iconic drama; no other drama could ever.)

let's shake it (2017) (my beloved zheng yecheng's drama that was a bit wacky but full of comedy and heart. Love it so much.)

drama with a soft spot in my heart:

not a chinese drama but Cherry Kiss (Japanese drama, BL) is everything and my heart believes in love & good because of it.

favorite currently-watching drama:

none this year sadly, I've been a bit busy.

favorite scene from a drama: (I couldn’t choose....)

ancient love poetry episode 41: gu jun’s death/sacrifice for his daughter. the swelling music, the tearful tragic goodbye. If I want to cry, I watch this scene.

also, if i want my heart to ache above love, I watch song of youth episode 37 about two minor characters’ separation due to their different social classes--with her being carried away in the bridal carriage while he watches and walks along tearfully--and she sees him!!!!!!!

the imperial coroner episode 1: chu chu unknowingly doing a test on xiao jinyu and jing yi laughing and choking on his tea. this whole scene makes me laugh every damn time, especially jing yi enjoying every second of it.

That's all for me! What were your favorites of 2021 and why? feel free to hit me up and let me know!

[tanenigiri]

Review #15 - Cherry Magic (Volumes 1, 2, and 3)

Japanese title: 30歳まで童貞だと魔法使いになれるらしい (30-sai made Dotei Da to Mahotsukai ni Nareru rashii)

Story and art: Yuu Toyota

English publisher: Square Enix

Number of volumes: 5 in English, 10 in Japanese (ongoing)

Apparently, life and love begin at 30.

(This review contains story spoilers.)

Going into this mini-project, I realized that “slice-of-life BL” isn’t as all-encompassing of a description of the works I’m covering as I thought it would be. One of the series I’ve already posted reviews of, Our Dreams at Dusk, doesn’t really fit into the typical BL classification, as while it has some BL elements, it’s more about the exploration of sexuality and LGBT dynamics rather than the romance. I used the “LGBT manga” tag for its reviews, and a few of the other series I’ll be covering later this month also fall into this area where they’re just “BL-adjacent” - they’re more accurately described as manga that delve into LGBT themes. I really enjoyed reading them and writing about them, so I’m more than happy to extend that “slice-of-life BL” description into works that aren’t necessarily BL.

And then there’s Cherry Magic, which breaks the convention of the other half of this project’s description - I don’t think it counts as slice-of-life at all since its central plot point involves something magical. When he turned 30, Adachi was suddenly granted the power of being able to read people’s minds whenever he comes into physical contact with them, and this turns out to be a result of him still being a virgin. Because of this power, he ends up finding out that Kurosawa, one of his workmates who’s popular in the office for his good looks and overall great personality, has a huge crush on him. The story then follows Kurosawa’s attempts to romance Adachi as well as the latter’s mostly hilarious reactions to it as someone with no past romantic experiences to work with.

Admittedly, I was initially turned off by the whole virginity aspect of the premise, as I thought this was going to be one of those stories that would ridicule Adachi for his inexperience. Thankfully that wasn’t the case, as while there were a few scenes that do touch upon this in these first three volumes - with the biggest one being a flashback - majority of the story approaches the topic by focusing on Adachi’s own insecurities rather than what other people think of him. I think that’s a great call, as it turns the story from Adachi’s journey of losing his virginity to Adachi’s journey of accepting himself for who he is, which also encompasses his views and insecurities about being in a relationship - and with another man at that.

And who he is is a really kind-hearted guy, which he himself doesn’t seem to realize. These first three volumes do a great job in showing this, with a bonus chapter even revealing that it’s this kind-heartedness that ultimately made Kurosawa fall for Adachi. But I think my favorite depiction of it is whenever it involves Rokkaku, one of the office’s newer hires. In a company trip that takes place in Volume 2, Rokkaku takes the seat next to Adachi in the bus, and he’s introduced as a life-of-the-party type of guy, which subsequently means that the closed off Adachi has a hard time getting along with him. Thanks to his power, Adachi finds out that Rokkaku is doing this to hide the fact that he’s feeling roadsick, and Adachi gives him medicine to help out.

We see another instance of this in Volume 3, when Rokkaku sleeps over with Adachi and Kurosawa in the former’s home. Adachi notices Rokkaku’s dexterity, and the younger officemate reveals that he was part of a dance club in school. When asked if he still dances, Rokkaku said that he had to let go of the hobby because of his job, but Adachi once again finds out the truth through his powers - Rokkaku hasn’t actually let go and dreams of being able to dance professionally again. Adachi doesn’t even think twice about encouraging him to pick up his hobby, which gives Rokkaku the idea to contact his old clubmates.

There are a few other reasons why I wanted to highlight these two events aside from showing Adachi’s kind-heartedness. The first is how both of these are only made possible because of Adachi’s power, which up to this point he’s mostly seen as a curse. In quite a number of instances across these three volumes, his power gives him the tools to help another person, but I think these two instances with Rokkaku do a better job in showing that there’s more to his power than just complicating his love life. But I do think that limiting these situations to just a few times per volume was a good call, as it could easily go down the route of Adachi taking advantage of this power to move up the ranks. Presenting these scenarios in between all of the times where Adachi’s power comes up because of Kurosawa’s affections is not only a nice way to give the story a breather, but it’s a more effective way of showing the reader that there’s more to Adachi’s character than this awkward and lonesome guy.

The second is how Kurosawa reacts to these interactions with Rokkaku, which is a good segueway to one other thing I wanted to talk about in this review. From the start of the story, Kurosawa is depicted as the ideal and perfect guy, as he not only has the looks, but he’s known to be the ace in the office’s sales department, and he’s also shown to be very friendly to pretty much all of his workmates. This is, of course, used as a setup for a deeper breakdown of his character, where we find some insecurity in how he thinks he’s only good for his looks and how he feels like he has to always maintain his front on being the cool and collected one. It leads to one of my favorite scenes in Volume 2, where Adachi realizes this after hearing his thoughts and internalizes that Kurosawa isn’t this perfect unreachable deity but is just as human as he is.

But Kurosawa’s humanity is made more apparent with his crush - or, rather, obsession - with Adachi. Aside from his thoughts about Adachi being quite intense, Kurosawa is shown to be the jealous type, and it’s in these two instances with Rokkaku where he makes it the most apparent. In the first, he finds a way to switch places with Rokkaku so that he can sit next to Adachi in the bus. In the second, when Adachi talks to him about Rokkaku and calls him "cute" for having such an out-there dream, Kurosawa is visibly shaken and gets very touchy with Adachi, who hears all of his jealous thoughts on the matter.

At first, I found it a bit worrying that they wanted to focus on this side of Kurosawa, but I think the story does a good job when it brings it up again in the context of Adachi thinking about Kurosawa’s confession in Volume 3. Aside from the usual hang-ups about both of them being guys, Adachi first goes through all of the things he finds alarming about Kurosawa - his jealousy, his possessiveness, his wild thoughts - and truly considers them before giving his answer. It even almost convinces him to reject Kurosawa, but he’s ultimately unable to deny that what he feels for him is much stronger than normal, and Adachi eventually figures out that he’s actually reciprocating Kurosawa’s feelings.

That’s where Volume 3 ends, and it’s a really interesting note to end on, since not only does it put them at the start of their relationship, but it also brings up several issues that both of them have to work through - not to mention the fact that Adachi has yet to tell Kurosawa about his power. While I initially had my misgivings, Cherry Magic turned out to be a great read so far, as it’s able to mix its humor with a very good character study in Adachi. His magical power might be the main draw of the story, but his character development is what sold it for me.

Random thoughts I couldn’t fit elsewhere:

My favorite chapter in these three volumes is the one where Adachi and Kurosawa are in the harbor taking photos of ships. It’s here where Kurosawa actually tells Adachi that he’s a very kind person - and it’s pretty apparent that this is the first time someone has ever said that to him - but it’s how Adachi reacts to it that really makes this scene work for me. He starts with his usual self-deprecation, even going as far as saying that he’s a “depressing person” to be around and admits that he closes off other people because of how he sees himself. But he turns that around and says that spending time with Kurosawa is what made him more confident and open around others, which of course catches Kurosawa off guard. Not only is it a great role reversal - Kurosawa is the one who’s rendered speechless by Adachi’s actions this time around - it also does a great job in contextualizing the relationship from Adachi’s point of view beyond his insecurities.

I have to bring up Fujisaki, one of Adachi and Kurosawa's officemates who does quite a bit in Volume 2. But, of course, what I want to point out is how, in Volume 3, she’s revealed to be a fujoshi who’s noticed what’s going on between Kurosawa and Adachi. I am 100% onboard having a character like this in the series as I know it’ll result in some hilarious reactions and dialogue, and I hope she finds out soon that her fantasies are closer to reality than she thinks.

These three volumes also have bonus chapters that feature Tsuge, Adachi’s friend from college who also ends up getting the mind-reading power, and Minato, a deliveryman who Tsuge ends up falling for. In the same vein as Hirano and Kagiura as well as Umino and Takenaka, I’ve ended up being just as invested in these two as I am of the main pair, as their dynamic might be simpler but is just as hilarious to watch. How they bond over the cat is really nice, and with Volume 3 setting up a connection between Minato and the main story - he was part of Rokkaku’s dance club - I can’t wait to see how their two stories intersect.

Thanks for reading! Cherry Magic is quite different from a lot of the other BL manga I’m covering for this project - and it’s not just because of it not being slice-of-life - but I appreciated it for its mix of humor and introspection so I wanted to include it. I have one more review lined up for the next two volumes, which I’ll post later this month.