Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko - The Lesbian Office RomCom You Needed
Blatant flirting, hilarious misunderstandings, and lesbian shenanigans aplenty - this show is funny, over-dramatic, and most of all gay as hell. Here's my review! Spoiler-free version first, and a more detailed spoiler-y version under the cut. I hope you enjoy!
A quick summary:
Overall: 9/10, you should absolutely watch this!
Genre: RomCom, with some serious elements and a heartfelt exploration of sexuality
Watch if you are looking for... : A silly and fun time, a happy ending, misunderstandings, and character development. Highly recommended to watch this with your partner(s) or your sapphic friends!
Watch out for... : Although the tone of the show is mostly comedic, it contains discussion & depiction of homophobia at the workplace and past trauma relating to that
Where to watch: Official TL on GagaOOLala, or Fansubs by @furritsubs (highly recommended!)
"Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko" (Ayaka-chan wa Hiroko-senpai ni Koishiteru) is a Jdrama adaption of a manga by the same title. The series premiered this year July 2024 and has wrapped up a short while ago, with a total runtime of 8 episodes of 24 minutes each.
The title of the show already says all; the plot is simple: Junior staff member Ayaka is head-over-heels for Hiroko, her senior at the company she works at. And she has decided to go on the offensive.
There are many obstacles in Ayaka's way: first of all, Hiroko is 13 years older than her (they are 23 and 36), and her superior at the workplace. Hiroko is beloved by both her superiors as well as her staff, so Ayaka's love for her is just one of many. And no matter how blatantly she ups her advances (and girl, she is BOLD), Hiroko is 100% convinced that all the flirting is just misplaced, straight-woman obliviousness.
The irony of it all is that Ayaka is absolutely barking up the right tree, because Hiroko is a lesbian, but has been firmly in the closet at work - something that she has no plans on changing. Her professional life and her personal must stay completely separate, at all cost. The only place she can truly be herself is the lesbian bar she's been a regular at for years.
^ Me when I'm a lesbian disaster doing insane mental gymnastics
However, "giving up" is not in Ayaka's vocabulary. As her seduction attempts keep escalating and being misunderstood, Hiroko's hard exterior begins to crumble bit by bit. Can Hiroko finally overcome her rigid ways, and let herself fall for someone?
Although the show is first and foremost a comedy, both Ayaka and Hiroko as characters are handled really well. They have their own problems, insecurities, reservations about the other, and both have a simple but great arc over the course of the series. Ayaka is discovering her sexuality, something she had never even considered before falling for Hiroko. What does being in love with a woman mean for her future? And Hiroko, who is already very confident in her sexuality, is confronted by her past trauma, and the fact that she's still not ready to come out despite the changing times. And while being undercover has saved her career in the past, it has also made her feel alone and isolated. She likes Ayaka back, but can't allow her true colors to show.
Something that I find very hard to achieve with comedy shows is the switch between funny and serious, and I think that Ayahiro manages this very well. Both of our main characters feel grounded enough in reality that when they get emotional, it feels relatable and sincere. For a silly show like this, striking a balance like that is crucial, and save for a few pacing issues in the later half of the show (that I honestly didn't mind at all), I think the show totally nails it. Ayahiro is not a realistic show, but it contains elements of reality that made me connect to it, despite all the insane shenanigans that go on. And because of that the show made me laugh and cry as much as it did, often in the same episode. It works, and Kudos to the writers (and actors!) for that.
Speaking of actors, one thing I must mention is that the show is very well made. The actors (especially Mori Kanna as Hiroko is the standout for me, she has a natural charisma and gay swagger) do a fantastic job, the leads' chemistry is great. The production overall has some real money behind it, with lots of changing sets that all look great and have been crafted with care. Ayaka's outfits are absolute KILLER, she is giving insane femme energy. The show also looks very pretty, the color graders turn that saturation up to 100 and it fits Ayaka's rose-tinted world well.
That's it for the spoiler-less part, I'll now get into specific characters and plot points with full spoilers up to the end of the series under the cut. If you don't want to get spoiled, I hope the review until now made you want to watch the show for yourself! I hope you enjoy!
First of all I need to disclaim that I have not read the original manga that she show is based on, so I can't compare the series to its original and how the plot is written there. I do intend to read it (I hope it gets localized to German so I can support the official release, but I might check out the English Official TL anyway before that) but for now, I will only judge the series as is.
Ayaka: Our protagonist is a femme fatale, in... another meaning of the word, I guess. She is a disaster, bad at pretty much everything she does except not giving up. Once she has set her mind to something, she will get it done. That leads her to often be inconsiderate and unable to see what others around her are feeling, which goes mostly for her best friend Risa, but also for Hiroko, whose feelings she also fails to consider even when pursuing her. Ayaka has to learn the hard way that her naivete is hurting others, and herself. She hasn't really thought her advances through, simply acting on instinct. But as the series goes on, she takes her feelings and her newly discovered sexuality seriously, and grows comfortable with calling herself a lesbian. She is also unashamedly horny, like, Oh My God, this girl is trying to get laid so bad. This is hilarious and refreshing to see, and although her seduction attempts are often played as comedic, it doesn't feel like she is being ridiculed for her sexuality by the show. Ayaka often crosses boundaries (physical and emotional) with Hiroko, both out of naivite and in deliberate attempts to seduce her. To me this was never truly infuriating, even though sometimes she really did go too far, but for me it always kept in tone with the comedy of the show. Even when Ayaka finally comes out in front of the entire office, she makes it clear that she doesn't want Hiroko to do the same if she's not ready.
Hiroko: Our deuteragonist is probably my favourite character in the show, and I think she's very relatable and well done. As an older lesbian, she's got plenty of experience, having even earned the title of "The Ace" in her lesbian friend circle for being a talented womanizer. But a traumatic experience of losing her last partner due to being found out at the workplace has changed her. She's afraid to get attached, she's unable to let people get close to her true self. So when Ayaka is fighting tooth and nail to get to her, Hiroko is caught in conflict between her feelings of attraction and her past trauma. She does everything in her power to dismiss Ayaka's advances to protect herself, and later when she learns that Ayaka is in fact not straight (duh), she still turns her down to protect Ayaka's (and her own) career. Hiroko is a bit of a conservative - something she's also called out for in her lesbian friend circle - she believes that coming out at work is impossible and irresponsible. And you know, I get it. Not only does she have personal bad experiences with exactly that, it's also not unreasonable to think it would be a bad idea to hook up with your junior of 13 years. Like, I get it girl. Hiroko is clearly attracted to Ayaka, not just physically but also emotionally, because Ayaka is everything Hiroko wants to be but can't. And that leads to Hiroko constantly underestimating Ayaka, even treating her like a child. She thinks Ayaka is not really thinking the gravity of her actions through, and she gets called out for that and has to overcome it. In the end, Hiroko ends up being a character that needs time, and needs to unlearn a whole bunch of shitty behaviour, something the show clearly also shows is being worked on and that Ayaka also respects (more on that later).
Risa: Easily the character I struggled with the most, Ayaka's best friend Risa is complicated. She's very observant but also shy, and secretly harbors a crush on Ayaka. Quietly struggling with her sexuality, she only decides to come out when she realises that Ayaka's feelings for Hiroko are serious. Oh, it's messy! She confesses to Ayaka, who in turn has to struggle with her feelings for someone else, but also not wanting to lose her closest confidant. And to her credit, Risa takes the rejection quite gracefully and continues to support Ayaka in her pursuit of Hiroko. However, Risa also outs Hiroko against her will to Ayaka, which... is just a shitty thing to do, even though she just wanted to help her friend. Good motive, still murder. After the conflict between Ayaka and Risa is resolved, Risa just kind of... is around, quietly worrying in her corner and kind of (in my opinion) overstepping her boundaries with Hiroko. I don't dislike Risa, but I thought her character was not done super well in parts, and although I understand the complicated situation she herself is in, the show doesn't really let her grow as much as the other characters. Anyway, good for her for bagging the hottest chick at the lesbian bar, though. Good for her!
The "break-up": The story's conflict comes to a peak when Hiroko finally realises there is only one way to shut this all down. She needs to fulfill Ayaka's desire, and then turn her down, once and for all. But Hiroko at this point still thinks Ayaka is immature and hasn't really thought her actions through. Ayaka sheepishly asks for a kiss, so Hiroko kisses her. "Now you've achieved everything you wanted." We're done, you can give up on me and this childish crush you have on me. And most importantly, I can let you go, too.
Not realising that Ayaka wants much more. She wants a real relationship, she wants the kiss, sex, real emotions, she wants to see Hiroko's true self too. She wants a partnership.
The Finale: With the encouragement of her peers, Ayaka finds the courage to express her feelings to Hiroko one last time. And she finds just the right words to finally get through to her. Hiroko realises how much of an ass she's been all this time, how she ended up hurting the girl she loves and herself by denying herself happiness. This whole scene was so well done (Kudos to Kato Shiho as Ayaka, this is probably her best scene in the entire show), brother I cried so hard. And finally Hiroko can say what she should have a long time ago: "I'm sorry."
One year later: In the show's worst case of bad pacing, we immediately cut from their tearful reunion to "one year later", lol. I don't mind the sudden jump too much, but maybe a bit of a slower fade-out would have softened the blow, because I think a few people probably found this very jarring xD not too bad for me. I was actually positively surprised that we actually get to see the aftermath, see how their relationship has developed a year into it.
I've seen a few people complain about this "no-sex scene" (lol) and I just want to add my two cents. I actually really like how this scene played out, for two reasons.
Reason 1 is that it's just very much in-character for Hiroko. We've seen her struggle back-and-forth with the intimacy Ayaka wanted from her for the past 7.5 episodes, and her own internalised homophobia and constant fear of "crossing the line". She's a traumatized person, and it makes total sense to me that even one year into the relationship, she's still struggling with sexual intimacy. Sure, a whole year is a long time not having sex with your partner (even though you both clearly wanted to from day 1) but like... it makes sense for Hiroko. She's still working through the past 10+ years of repression. I do understand how this scene can be interpreted as "the show is afraid to show them being horny and sexy together, they're cowards for making Hiroko so obsessed with Ayaka's "purity" etc" and like, yes, that is a totally valid interpretation, but IMO also a quite bad faith one.
"I'm happy to know you feel that way. Which is why, could you please wait a little more, just until I sort my feelings out?"
"What?"
"I want to cherish you, Ayaka."
"Right."
"I'm sorry for everything, Ayaka."
"For everything?"
"In the end, it seems like I still haven't came out yet. I understand that I'm making you endure something when you don't have to. But… I do want to be with you, and I want to keep my job. I'm really sorry for making you put up with my selfishness."
^ Like, that is the conversation that follows. It's not just about sex for Hiroko, that kind of intimacy holds a deeper meaning to her and she's just not ready for it yet, and trying to sincerely tell her partner that. And when Ayaka reaffirms her willingness to be patient in this scene and is respectful of Hiroko's choice, Hiroko realizes that she's being a stupid coward, and finally makes a decision...
... to come out in front of the whole office, who's been gossiping about their relationship the whole year anyway.
And that is the end of the show!
So really, Hiroko did manage to overcome her fears in the end, and it took her a whole year into a healthy relationship to do so. And I think that is honestly much more realistic than some people would like to believe. Is the smooch in front of the whole office silly and cheesy and over-dramatic? Of course, but that's the entire show so far. And if you think that kiss-and-dip is dumb then I can't help you, I think you just don't like fun.
Oh yeah, and my reason 2 why I thought that no-sex scene was done well is because it's just funny. Ayaka has been DTF since minute 1 of the show, and her still being unable to get it this far into it is just funny. I would have loved a little nod to them finally getting down at the very, very end, but eh, I can live with it like this. They've conquered the emotional hurdles, I'm certain they will cross that other bridge when they get there on their own time.
Conclusion: "Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko" is a great and incredibly funny lesbian show that touched me emotionally much more than I thought it would. It made me cry several times, the production and acting quality positively surprised me, and honestly deserves my Nr 2 spot of favourite Lesbian JDrama after Tsukutabe (which is a 10/10 show) for now. I really hope this type of show gets imitators, adapting relatively short stories into mini-series with great quality. I appreciate the more adult tone of this series, its shameless comedy while still being able to hit serious beats with real emotion. From what I've seen of the BTS, the actors and staff also handled the subject matter with respect and care and had a lot of fun making the show. I don't think a season 2 is needed, but I do hope that the series can inspire more similar works. I love Ayaka and Hiroko, and I'm so happy they got their happy ending, and by God, I hope they have the best sex ever in their beautiful lesbian future. God bless.
That's it from me, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this show as much as I did! Hopefully see you soon!
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Some fluffy jaytim please? 🥺
Using this as an excuse to posted a belated wip wednesday. My jaytim text au has hit 12k, I’m kms.
*
« tim
i mean. yes? my condolences but youre like the biggest softie i know
Jay »
Excuse me?
« tim
oh bud. lol
Jay »
I am not?
« tim
ok :)
except you kind of are. and thats including dick even
Jay »
The fuck
« tim
this cant possibly come as a shock to you
it is your whole thing
Jay »
My whole
WHat ? It is not. Wtf. My whole thing is like
Fucking people up and shit
Red hood?? Bang bang fuck you batman and so on?
« tim
well that was a great you impression
so kudos for that
and ill grant that im drawing from a limited pool
so, to be fair, compared to the average person or panda rehabilitator youre maybe not the biggest marshmallow around
is that seriously how you spell marshmallow? i could’ve sworn it was marshmellow. anyway
compared to the people i know?
i have terrible news.
Jay »
Fuck you. Superman. Superman Junior.
The little one. Not the one who hates my guts
« tim
?? kon doesnt hate your guts??
Jay »
No he does.
I know bc of the time he looked me in the eyes and said “Hey dude, I hate your guts.”
« tim
he likes to joke
Jay »
And then he said “I am not joking. If you ever hurt Rob again I will make a soup in your stupid crime hat with your intestines.”
« tim
jesus christ?
Jay »
Yeah it honestly kind of stung. My helmet isnt that stupid.
Cloneboys cool though.
I’m glad you have someone like that in your corner.
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you said u read ao3 fics! what are your f1 recs?
ahhh!!!!! this is the best question you could have ever asked me like ever i love you so much. i’ve been dying to talk abt this for a hot minute. i opened myself up to any sort of ship mostly because i cared more abt the fic quality then the ship you know? kinda glad i did it because my fav ones are not necessarily ships i am a fan of. it’s really long so i put it under a read more!!
okay so number one has to be the fic that was my first fav f1 fic. this is steal the air out of my lungs (make me feel it). now this has a lot of elements that i love. guy who’s in his own head vs other guy who’s also in his own head but pretends he isn’t. also idk why but i’m always a sucker for a good medical au and this one fucking delivers!!! another maxiel fic i read was three rounds and a sound which has coffee shop owner daniel w/ stressed out student max. a lot of introspection but it’s also unfolding while the romance is. idk i just love this. it’s so good. last maxiel fic is come on, star boy which is a alt universe where daniel is the american guy he always wanted to be and max is the new transfer to his small town’s football team. it isn’t just incredibly written but everyone feels so real and vivid. i can visually see this in my mind everytime i read it. i listened to a lot of ethel cain while reading so that helped. i love this so much and the brocedes in the background?? you’ll never get away from the sound of the woman that loves youuu 🗣️
i’m not really a landoscar girl, i’m gonna be honest. however, where i am going is right where i am, is just incredible. alt universe where the drivers live on a street version of stars hollow? brocedes that influence everything even though they’re long over? charles being insane over max? pierre hating on esteban every second that is possible (i was laughing every time he would just cuss his ass out unprovoked) and annoying george being their street’s version of gilmore girls’ taylor?? what more do u need in ur life?? also oscar in this fic is just my dream man. i think a croissant from him would fix me. actually i read a lot of this author’s landoscar fics and they’re so cute i was sending kudos as much as i can. like already home! just want to bite them both and put them in my pocket. they’re so obviously in love i want to shake them down and scream and smoosh them together. lawyer!oscar i love you. check out their profile!! incredible writer :)))
i’m also not a galex truther but the two of us, in sympathy is so cute!! rich boy!george with broke junior doctor!alex. george attempting to court alex and just absolutely failing. i love it. they’re such a mess i need them in my life. also this loscar future fic is so intense but incredible. i’m really bad at describing but i binged it on my train home and i was really glad i did - i promised to forget you now.
the reason i even got into f1 aka brocedes. this fic i think was one of the first i read. on the faultline which is just amazing. i can’t recommend it enough. read it if u can. another fav is a brocedes threesome with their toxic fucking each other via proxy aka new money, and it’s all cash. cute brocedes!! nico thinks lewis is his sworn enemy but everyone knows otherwise. roseberg’s vs haminkton. this was so cute and funny. cause why was nico saying lewis, the owner of a tattoo shop was stealing business from him… when he owns a florists… he’s so dramatic i want to tuck him in my pocket. this job will take my sole has the same premise but they’re both shoe shops which makes a lot more sense. i just love stupid rivalries and dramatic nico.
now back to my sweethearts, the lights of my life, the fires of my heart - sewis. all of these fics have past brocedes just for context. every tongue should confess talks about religion and queer identity in such a nuanced and delicate way? i adored this fic. transmotion which is another alt universe with fashion designer!lewis and footballer!sebastian both figuring out their careers, themselves and their relationship. maybe together we can get somewhere - this is an mpreg fic which usually isn’t for me but it’s about seb and lewis going on a road trip for an abortion and it’s so good. honestly the ending line of ‘it’s a good feeling, to know that sebastian’s outstretched hand is right there.’ it just stuck with me. i loved it. the numbering at bethlehem which is thee sewis fic to me. professor au?? this was made for me. like perfectly moulded. everything about this is art. i could do a full essay on this fic. just read it, it’s incredible. just amazing. sebastian as the child prodigy who has nowhere else to climb?? i love them both in this fic so much!!! tnab sewis get behind me!! i’m gonna protect u!!
okay i’m sorry this is so long. i just love art. i love writing. i just love the work these authors’ have spent putting together these masterpieces for free!! check them out!! leave kudos!! comment!! <3
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Let's Talk About: Fantasy High Junior Year and Rock the Boat
Who knew the opening minutes with Ally hijacking the intro would lead to Brennan quitting just before the episode ends? I guess we did. We were told. By Ally's before-the-season featurette, and by the episode description. We were told.
Almonds almost took out Brennan before Ally could. We got a little ghost with hairy feet--showing hole! And then we got the wrong graphic at the end? I think?
And now Zac's the dungeon master.
The biggest thing I learned from this episode? How dim the lights that are on Brennan have to be, just so he doesn't wash out. Like, look at Zacky in that photo. The lighting team is truly amazing at their work, just to be able to balance Brennan out with the rest of the cast.
But joke's aside--
WHAT AN EPISODE!
The Intrepid Heroes are one hundred percent some of the best players of tabletop-roleplaying in the business. And not just because they're making us laugh--it's because they're able to deliver some outstanding storytelling alongside the jokes!
Yes, a lot of kudos goes to Brennan too. For his amazing DM-ing. But the cast? A standing ovation for the lot of them. Even just Ally pointing out how Gorgug and Kristen being the first of the Bad Kids to die--and being in direct line of fire with the dragons? Accidental narrative drama! (Edited to add: It was Gorgug who remembered they died, and Kristen—looking at all the dragons surrounding then—who said it could happen again still.)
Fabian having invested so much on his popularity track pays off. Riz and Eugenia being an amazing team, Siobhan and Ally giving outstanding support, and Fig (and Emily!) finally getting over their cursed rolls--it was all so brilliant. Blimey!
Gorgug was the MVP of this fight though. Zac's rolls and Gorgug's stats truly kept the Bad Kids afloat. And Brennan asking Zac to roll for things Gorgug was concentrating on gave me the loudest laugh of the episode. Because the only thing he was concentrating on: was staying alive!
And, please, talented artists out there. Let's make a music video for Fight in the Sky by Fig and the Cig Figs. Using vulture footage taken with GoPros.
I don't have much else to say. Next week looks even more wild. And Murph is now the Expert of the Cocked Dice.
Oh, and "Shoot Grandma and gas it."
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"Sooooo, guess who went to college and forgot to pack her hrt? Oops. I know, I've been gone a while (everyone who guessed exactly what I did, kudos!) and finally I'm OK talking about it because it worked out suuuuper well tbh. As many of you know I started transitioning back in junior high, I was on blockers and started estrogen in high school. My mom prepared all my meds. I went to college and was so excited to join a sorority and live the college dream of being a sorority girl! Lots of parties, lots of drinking, lots of sex! All day every day.... between the occasional lesson. Maybe! But after a few months I noticed things were really off. I tried not to overthink it, but eventually realized the huge mistake I made.
Since my mom prepared my hormones I barely thought about it. She told me to take them in the morning and night. Without home, without her, the routine stopped existing. Soooo, yeah. There I was looking sexy, my huge boobs ready to be ravaged by all kinds of guys and girls.... And I loved it! For the first two months I chalked my heightened libido to the new experience of college and had sex constantly! But before long my body started to change. My voice started cracking. My cock grew like six inches, it was insane! And by month three my facial hair came in. My body was just soooo eager to become male.
My sorority sisters thankfully saw this happen loads of times. Every year there's some perfectly passing trans girl sporting HH-Cup tits or bigger who forgets her meds and winds up detransitioning. Like clockwork. I protested and said I just needed to go back on them, get my script refilled. I called my mom and she laughed, saying she threw it out because she figured I didn't want it anymore. That being a girl mustn't be that important to me after all. I panicked, asking the nurse on campus that day. She said what's done is done. I was in male puberty. I asked about blockers and she laughed too, telling me my body was giving me a very clear signal about who I was supposed to be. She said blockers would stunt my new puberty but it would always be in motion now. My voice, my facial hair, all of this was unavoidable at this point, it'd worsen even on blockers or estrogen. She recommended I fully detrans for a year, then see if I want to retransition after all the changes.....
By the end of that year all I wanted was my boobs removed. I used to love having big tits but now they only made me dysphoric. And they were growing hair so that didn't help. I hit the gym, got really buff, was obviously kicked out of the sorority for being male, then joined the frat. Finally! I totally accepted I was male. No more shyly discussing sex and going out in embarrassing dresses with my boobs hanging out. With other guys I could talk about my darkest, most perverse fantasies as we worked out and they'd just call it hot as fuck, not judge me as some silly perverted fakegirl. Instead of getting fucked and passed around like a cheap slut, now I was fucking pregnant girls with huge asses bloated up by partying and a diet of only beer and pizza. It was pure bliss getting to mount and fuck all these gorgeous girls I used to be so jealous of. Now they were beneath me and the rest of the frat. They weren't goals or anything to aspire to, they were drunken fuckmeat with a womb full of kids to slap around.
My favorite part is when I encounter a fakegirl and start fucking her estrogen-fattened ass. I'll pump her cock and tell her right in her ear how much I want to see her detrans, how much I want to pump her full of T and see her girly body become a man's like it's meant to be. I tell them this and their knees all buckle. They can be the prettiest, most passing trans girl on the planet, with huge breasts and a gorgeous face. If I'm pumping her ass telling her how much I want to forcibly detransition her she'll get hard as iron and moan so loud out of nowhere, her body shaking. She'll always tell me to keep going, to tell her how badly she needs to accept reality and be a boy. All fakegirls fantasize about detransing. In fact, what I've learned is the most beautiful trans girls that pass the best, started gender affirming care the youngest, and have the sexiest feminine bodies, secretly fantasize about detransing the most..... I miiiight have convinced about six girls to detrans just this year alone so far, with my cock pumping their ass, and my hand jerking their cock..... Leaving behind my hrt was the best mistake I ever made. So happy my family didn't bother calling me and just happily let me detrans obliviously on my own. ❤️"
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