#the pornographer: playback

[waitmyturtles]

CW: MAJOR SPOILER ALERTS FOR THE MOVIE “THE PORNOGRAPHER: PLAYBACK.” LONG POST!

I feel like there’s been something humming in the wind lately around the franchise of The Novelist/The Pornographer. We’ve seen a cameo by the incomparable Izuka Kenta in Candy Color Paradox, Yoshida Munehiro is about to cameo in The End of the World, With You, and The Novelist’s Twitter account has been buzzing with news about new DVDs and theater showings of the last installment of the franchise, The Pornographer: Playback. Miki Koichiro, the screenwriter and director of the franchise, has TWO shows out at the moment, the aforementioned TEOTWWY, as well the sessy-sessy Raise de wa Chanto Shimasu, the three seasons of which I am dying to watch as soon as there’s a solidly bad season of QL sometime in the future (which seems like will never happen in my lifetime, bless all these amazing QLs for coming out every season!). Couple all of this with recent reviews of the OG Novelist and Mood Indigo series by the fabulous @gillianthecat (here) and @respectthepetty (here), and I was happily reminded of good times of watching all of these parts way way back when I first discovered QL/BL in 2019/20. 

When the amazing @lurkingshan commented on a stray thoughts post by @bengiyo that she had seen The Pornographer: Playback, I was VERY intrigued. With HUGE thanks and big ups to @lurkingshan, I watched it over the weekend, and here are my thoughts! I’m going to put up a break to keep y’all from getting spoiled if you want to avoid it.

First off, let’s make sure we know what all the installments are, and that we’ve watched what we’ve needed to get to the movie. We have:

1) 2018 -- The Novelist: the original meeting between student Kuzumi Haruhiko and adult author Kijima Rio

2) 2019 -- Mood Indigo: a prequel depicting the sexual engagements between Kijima Rio and his classmate, Kido Shirou 

3) 2021 -- The Pornographer: Spring Life: a very short vignette set 2 1/2 years after Kuzumi and Kijima first met. They’re now in a long-distance relationship, and Kuzumi visits Kijima in the countryside at Kijima’s sister’s house, where he’s living as he continues to write.

(The first three works are all available on Viki.)

So I was BEYOND THRILLED to get to watch the movie and see all of this wrap up. If most of y’all only watched up to Mood Indigo, you saw Kijima re-meet with Kuzumi. Kuzumi, at that time, was just becoming a successful employee in the advertising business. 

Spring Life hints that things are still going well for Kuzumi, and that he was looking forward to spending a summer break with his long-distance boyfriend. Most notably, the piece ends with Kuzumi jumping from honorifics, by asking Kijima if he (Kuzumi) could call Kijima “Rio-san,” which we know indicates intimacy. Kijima’s like, whatever you’d like, and the smile on Kuzumi’s face takes up the whole screen, it seems.

So then we finally get to The Pornographer: Playback, which begins during the same summer break. Continuing with the theme and mood that I like to call melosexual (the music alone of this franchise is SO INTENSE, let alone the heaty sex scenes), the guys head to a love hotel and do their thang. At the end of the night, as they’re getting dressed, Kijima finds a business card in Kuzumi’s wallet for a hostess club that Kuzumi is forced to go to with work colleagues. 

Without divulging a tremendous amount more about the plot at this moment, the movie is basically structured around the push-and-pull of Kijima’s inability to move authentically closer to people -- not just Kuzumi, but also his sister, who Kijima disappoints repeatedly by backing out of family events. 

Kijima’s essentially paralyzed by fear and insecurity that he is a terrible person -- one that is not worthy of love. His sister is so overwhelmingly angry about it that she essentially kicks him out of the house, and blames their mother for never calling him out on his namby-pamby bullshit (at least, that’s in her eyes). At another point in the movie, he frustrates Kuzumi so much that Kuzumi walks out on the relationship and heads back to Tokyo, a surprising move for the otherwise always-devoted younger companion. 

It takes a serious scolding by a hospitalized and flirtatious owner of a karaoke snack bar (you read that right) for Kijima to get his damn head back on straight and fight for his relationship with Kuzumi. (And, HILARIOUSLY, I was cackling -- in the process of this, Kijima has KIDO -- KIDO OF ALL PEOPLE -- call Kuzumi on Kijima’s behalf, to get Kuzumi to talk to Kijima to reconcile. KIJIMA used KIDO to call KUZUMI. Lord.)

Okay, so what I’m really getting at here is that the movie showed that the whole franchise was missing two KEY elements that the first three parts did not have: comedy and authentic emotional connection. There was actually a little comedy in this! Besides the whole Kido thing (which I’ll get back to in a minute), there were a couple of bumbling moments that were designed to elicit some lightness, mostly with the snack bar owner, a flighty gal with a lovely son who tries to hook up with takes Kijima under her wing.

About the other element: we FINALLY, FINALLY SAW KIJIMA SHOWING SOME EMOTION ABOUT SOMETHING. He really regretted letting things go to shit with Kuzumi. Kuzumi called Kijima out for wasting Kuzumi’s time to leave work in Tokyo and visit the countryside. Kuzumi felt like Kijima wasn’t taking him seriously, and was constantly pulling back. I mean -- Kijima was living away from Kuzumi.... for what, exactly? It’s not ever clearly explained. And Kuzumi got angry and left.

This is a great time to mention the excellent post by @emotionallychargedtowel on pursuer-distancer dyads, because the Kijima-Kuzumi push-and-pull in this movie perfectly defined this dyad dance. When Kuzumi got fed the fuck up and pulled way back -- Kijima finally stepped into his emotion and owned his desire to be with Kuzumi. 

Honestly, in the first three installments of this franchise -- I felt like Kijima really didn’t talk too much. I felt like he was far more defined by his brooding, his letting the winds take him to where he was at any given moment, ragingly sexual and lonely all at once. He simmered -- he was flinty, defensive, and used his sexual energy to dominate and burn the emotional energy all around himself. 

The movie showed a TOTALLY different side of him. To me, the movie showed that his relationship with Kuzumi, long distance as it was, HAD a softening impact on him -- even to the point that Kijima dropped everything he was up to in the countryside to head to Tokyo and fight for the relationship. Kijima needed to be rendered totally alone, one last time, to come to realize that the connection he had with Kuzumi was worth fighting for.

And, yes, in the process of it, he brought back Kido in the mix -- which was also seriously poignant. 

REALLY SERIOUS SPOILER HERE, y’all, especially if you love/hate/gaaahh that awful devil, Kido!

. . . . . .

Kido asks Kijima if they could have ever had the same kind of relationship as Kijima is fighting for with Kuzumi! AAAAAHHHH! AND! AND! KIJIMA SAYS, no way. We’re too similar.

WHICH IS TOTALLY TRUE! They’re both self-indulgent, selfish assholes! I mean, after that insane sex scene in Mood Indigo, Kido just fucking LEFT -- he just LEFT, and GOT MARRIED, and HAD A KID, and was like, peace the fuck out, I can’t actually be my honest queer self with you, Kijima, because I think that’s actually abnormal (oh, Kido, you internally messed up piece of shit, AAAHHH). 

Whereas, as beautifully analyzed in @respectthepetty‘s review, Kuzumi represents honesty and openness -- the kind of traits that Kijima doesn’t have, but is aspiring to, in order to be with Kuzumi. AAAHHH. 

I was seriously like, WHOA, WHAT AM I WATCHING HERE, at that moment. AND, AND? At the end of that scene? Kido wishes Kijima good luck. And says: “You better keep Kuzumi-kun. He’s a valuable asset.” Of course, what a Kido thing to say -- that humans are assets, commodities. But -- he sends Kijima off with good wishes. 

And then.

Kijima reunites with Kuzumi. He called Kuzumi by Kuzumi’s name, Haruhiko. AND -- holy shit, y’all, my mind was blown. He tells Kuzumi that he loves Kuzumi by saying ichiban aishiteru.

I tell you, I was FLOORED. All throughout the movie, I’m like, “dang, Kijima keeps talking and talking, and I just don’t remember him TALKING all that much before in the other three series.”

And then he DROPS the ichiban aishiteru! And I think BOTH me AND Kuzumi are BOTH LIKE, WHAT THE DAMN, DUDE!

I’ve spoiled a LOT, but I won’t say more after this, except to say the following:

The ending was one of the happiest, LOVELIEST endings of a drama/movie I’ve seen in QL. Oh. my. god. Talk about SATISFYING. EVERY. CHECKBOX. MARKED. Takezai Terunosuke and Izuka Kenta were MAGNIFICENT. I had SERIOUS tears. They got in everything -- they got the heat, they got in FAMILY, LOTS OF FAMILY, GORGEOUS shots, FEELINGS. ALL OF IT. 

@bengiyo made an excellent point recently in one of his reviews of TEOTWWY that it seems like Japan lately has only been doing high heat in stories about death. It’s an accurate point: all of the pieces of The Novelist came out well before TEOTWWY and Eternal Yesterday, the two most recent shows about death that had heaty elements. I kind of wonder about something. I wonder if other directors and screenwriters are like.... The Novelist did it the best. We can’t mess with that standard. 

Because -- Takezai’s and Izuka’s acting in those scenes is BEYOND EXCELLENT. It was NECESSARILY EXCELLENT to end this franchise on such a warm, happy, COMPLETE high note. 

Now that I can look back on all four parts of the whole franchise, what Miki Koichiro did for us by way of Kijima was to show the whole-scale growth of a man vis à vis love. This guy, Kijima -- a brilliant writer who was influenced by a sexually provocative teacher, someone who was left inexplicably behind by a tormented, internally homophobic lover/benefactor -- felt he was deserving of nothing. And then he found his something in Kuzumi. He nearly destroyed the relationship, multiple times. And as he fell and slipped while climbing the hill of happiness, he was able to get a stronger and stronger grip each time he tried harder. And he was supported by people around him, including family and random friends, to give him lift. 

This movie was a lot more straightforward than I had honestly expected. I 100% expected more of the melosexualness of the first three parts of the series. Instead, what I got was a WHOLESOME (I can’t believe I’m using that word, but it’s true!), complete, and uplifting story of a man finding his true happiness in his lover, his companion, his chosen family. All of it certainly laced with heat, for sure, but also very deep, very convincing love. 

It was utterly fabulous. It might be too emotional, maybe too family-oriented for some who preferred the dark heat of the previous installments. But Playback, in my eyes, was a perfect closing note for a man who honestly deserved happiness after the work, and the SELF-CHANGE he put in, to get love in the first place. If you are a fan of this whole series, and can get your hands on the movie, I beg you to watch it, even just for one of the best happy endings you’ll ever see in QLs.

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

Rose Watches OJBL The Novelist: Playback (2021)

[ql-of-all-time-bracket]

QL of All Time - Round 2: The Pornographer Series (2018-2021) vs Old Fashion Cupcake (2022)

[bengiyo]

I am requesting a ship twofer: Rio and Kido and Rio and Haruhiko

Ah yes, let's discuss The Novelist again.

Plainly: Rio and Haruhiko would not happen without Rio and Kido, but there's no way for Rio and Kido to work out. Kido is selfish and a coward, and Haruhiko is alarmingly devoted.

When you watch the Novelist for the first time you think Rio is some sort of mastermind, but he's not. He's just a fucked up gay man trolling a college kid because he was bored and lonely. We don't really understand why he is this way, but we know something is wrong with him, and we're certain Kido has something to do with it.

Then we go to Mood Indigo and realize that so much of what's wrong with Rio now is that Kido wouldn't let him remain repressed. Rio was clearly struggling before he ran into Kido again, but Kido brought him into the world of erotica and made him learn from a huge perv. Then Kido got way too horny about it and showed he knew a whole lot more about gay sex than I was expecting from him.

Kido is a mess. He thinks he wants to commit to Rio, but he values the appearance of normalcy so much. He's also selfish in that he always makes others feel like they're the reason he made some sort of big sacrifice. He lets Rio blow him so Rio can get a good job. He moves in with Rio to help with rent. He stays in erotica publishing to honor Rio. He's a liar! He let Rio blow him because he wanted to get his dick sucked. He continued living with Rio because he wasn't into the girl who wanted him to be a normie. He stayed in erotica because he likes it, but he likes making people feel beholden to him more than anything. I'm not a fan of this man! I was so glad when Rio went back to Haruhiko at the end of Mood Indigo.

One of the smartest things they did with this series was give these guys time. We got to see Haruhiko age out of school and take on the work of a salaryman even as Rio left the city to try to continue writing. I love Pornographer: Playback because so much of it revolves around Rio grappling with the fact that every time he looks back he finds Haruhiko right there even when Rio is being so mean.

I think I like Haruhiko because Rio woke something in him and Haruhiko loved it. It makes him happier. It seemed to give him purpose. Rio flounders constantly because being gay and smart makes him feel so different and separate from the world. Kido made him feel worse about it. He made Rio feel desirable, but then actively didn't choose him. He even has the nerve to get sad about it! Haruhiko, however, is so into Rio that he blew this man in a car because they hadn't seen each other in a while.

I really do love Rio and Haruhiko a lot, because every creative needs a devoted simp to ground them in reality. I hope Kido finds meaning and purpose in being a husband and a father, because he cannot be anything sustainable to Rio.

Send Me a Ship and I'll Share My Thoughts About Them

[yaoi-reading]

Zoku Pornographer Playback

[rifki16]

Love is Better the Second Time Around the Finale

Picture credit : Love is Better the Second Time Around Promotional Twitter account | https://x.com/koi_nido/status/1777532279985668281?s=46

I think I want to have a new tradition in adding a tagline or summary of my analysis immediately underneath the title, for this one is a rushed hollow sweet cake finale.

Of course, spoilers ahead!

During the 5th episode, @respectthepetty told me that some of Tumblr BL watchers deemed the episode was too rush, and filled with unnecessary plotlines. Well, if they were disappointed by the pace of the last episode, I bet you my bottom dollar that they will be less amused by the finale. Although, I still think that the episode is sweet – of course that’s my emotional part of the brain talking, not the rational one.

In terms of the plotline, I have several huge plot holes which you, my dear reader(s) might maybe find an answer which can help me love this episode even more.

Okay, Hiro and Takashi broke up. Then, Takashi sent flowers to Hiro’s workplace. Sure, still heard of, not that out-of-character for Takashi. Hiro became buried deep in his own “sad boy house” dirt. You know what, as I have written in the analysis of episode 5, great plotline, I have never seen it in a Japanese BL work before. But then, after Shiraishi “slipped” his tongue, during a conversation which I really could not foresee happening between love enemies, and told Hiro that Takashi was at his family’s place. Huh? My confusion is wouldn’t Takashi family’s place be the first place that Hiro would go or check on after they broke up and Hiro found out that Takashi already emptied out his place? Takashi and Hiro broke up right after Takashi’s sister came to Takashi’s place with Hiro present and told them both that Takashi was needed at his family’s place – an event which Hiro was made like such an outsider. This is not The Pornographer: the Film (2021), in which Rio left his place with no explanations and left Kuzumi without any explanations and Kuzumi was practically going door to door with his suitcase trying to find that s.o.b. Takashi is from a very well-off family. He wouldn’t go to a brothel-café-Karaoke joint to just avoid Hiro or recuperate from his breakup. You know what I forgive – give the writers some leaps into faith on the events preceding Shiraishi telling Hiro that Takashi at his family place: the fact that somehow Hiro broke his depression – sad cycle and actually took an initiative and went to Takashi’s place, that then pushed him to take even riskier steps which was contacting Shiraishi or, even the fact that Shiraishi somehow entertained the question that Hiro asked not only through some faceless email, but actually having a meeting with Hiro and ended up having the slip of the tongue moment. I mean I know that Shiraishi has the cut-throat personality inside him, the fact that he did not tell Takashi about the deadline in episode 3. Sure, let’s take another leap right, maybe, the fact that Shiraishi said during the meeting with Hiro that he has conceded his loss to Hiro, maybe he wouldn’t just do something shady like sending Hiro into a wild goose chase or something but still. It’s just that we didn’t know more of Shiraishi’s motivations. Okay, we know that he fell for Takashi, one-sidedly, but is he then a type of the ex-unrequited lover who will support his lover no matter what or not? Okay now I’m dwelling into something that I have promised I would take a leap for.

Okay sure, Takashi finally confronted his mother about being abandoned. Takashi’s colours are now more understood right? He needed to conceal himself from the world because once when he did, his mother shunned him off, hence why he “did not soak his pillow in his tears” when Hiro and himself broke up, hence why every time Takashi did some grand gestures or even said some sappy lovey-dovey thing to Hiro, Hiro always felt like he was in the uncanny valley: something was not right. Takashi might say or do the right things, but Hiro always had, in mine opinion, gut feeling that Takashi-san was not sincere, which was why Hiro-kun kept questioning his love to him. Sure, I accept the line of logic, and the late dot connections which made me kept questioning what was wrong with Takashi’s actions that made Hiro kept pressing Takashi on his sincerity. But then, Takashi had the confrontational conversation with Kyosuke and they conversed well about how Kyosuke leaked a picture of Takashi or was it Hiro – I do not dare to take a look at that scene at all. Props to the writers for emphasizing what Kyosuke did was a criminal act, regardless of the intention. Takashi then explained why he bet on Hiro for not coming. Takashi’s words were: “I didn’t think that our relationship would have worked”. My confusion is this why on god’s phallic dick did Kyosuke conclude that statement by calling Hiro and telling him that Takashi loved him? Huh? Was Kyosuke just being a rascal? Again, Kyosuke CALLED Hiro! Not the other way around. Maybe it was just the way that Takashi delivered the line? That Kyosuke knew it was just a broken guy [Takashi] telling himself what he thought he needed to hear to just feel a little bit better. Maybe the call was to indicate how close Kyosuke was to Takashi, that he knew when Takashi was lying to himself – even when he didn’t know that he was doing it. You see how many leaps into faith which I took to make those rationalizations?

Before moving to the other confusion – plot hole, let me gloat. I WAS NOT WRONG BIATCHHH. Hiro did not know the bet from some overhearing unseen scene. It was Kyosuke ACTIVELY undermining his own relative’s relationship. My brain itch was justified. Also, huge side note, where is the queer struggle pov in Kyosuke’s pov? I mean, okay, what was exactly Kyosuke’s motivation in not making Takashi left by agitating – blackmailing Hiro? Kyosuke liked Takashi, okay. But why outed Takashi? Wouldn’t it be better to just poison’s Takashi’s perspective on Hiro so that you could have Takashi all for yourself without making him be disowned and ergo making him far away from you? Sure, let us assume that Kyosuke never intended to out Takashi and that it was just a huge negative externality that he never wanted. Still tho, there are other BETTER ways in making Takashi all for yourself. Let’s move away from this pivot, because I have a bigger bunion that I want to excise.

Okay, Hiro went to Takashi’s family place. Okay, I accept that Hiro’s determinism in meeting his lover was the thing that made Takashi changed his mind from “… wouldn’t have worked” to confessing and telling his mother that he wanted to spend his entire life with him. I tweeted that this mental leap of Takashi was confusing – but now I accept that maybe it was Hiro’s daring and just mind-boggling action that made the mental leap. Sure, okay I accept it. This may be a cultural confusion Why didn’t Takashi just leave his family’s place? His first conversation, in the episode, with his mother was just not connecting at all – as I tweeted: all she needed was to accept that Takashi has a husband she might actually have a business successor – why did he stay then? Was the basement scene just a scene of Takashi preparing to go home? Are we not allowed to leave the hostess’ place if we have not been dismissed by her? Or was it just a plot device in making Takashi and Hiro actually met at the family’s place so that Hiro could say all of those brave things in front of Takashi’s mother? Yabai.

Side note: I have also tweeted about how I hated that Cherry Magic the Anime didn’t have the Kurosawa and Adachi’s meeting each other parents’ scene. However, seeing my Hiro, my precious Hiro, saying all of those sentences – not about being the troublemaker, like bro, it was not your fault – in front of Takashi’s mother, AS WELL AS, the lake mouth scene which really had numerous resemblances with Kurosawa-Adachi’s exchange of the rings during the beach live-action film scene, I think it really compensated my disappointment. 😊

With all the rationalization left, all that’s left is how proud I am of these two characters. I’m so proud that Takashi now can lift his mask and actually be true to his husband, yes I’m calling them husbands despite the absence of a wedding scene. I’m so happy that my Hiro was so brave in making steps so that Takashi doesn’t see him as an “outsider” anymore. I will miss this couple so much.

Japanese media companies now have a responsibility of not tangling us, fudanshi – fujoshi and all BL fans, with a meager 6-episode run. Heck we have proven again and again to be a huge driving force for a show’s popularity. How many times have this show, this show alone, become the most popular show on certain platforms, like come on!. This 6-episode trick is really taking and sucking all of the qualities away. I mean, I will meet these media execs halfway, I can accept a 12-episode run, but they might not be ready to make a 24-episode run like American media used to make in the past, or even a 10-episode run with one hour each episode format like Turn to Me Mukai-Kun. Come on, I’m so fed up seeing the quality of my beloved BL work(s) being tarnished and seeing the great couple blossoming before my eyes taken away too soon.

[twig-tea]

For the BL trope ask game: 8, 9 and 10

Whew, coming out swinging! Ok here we go.

8. May/December

There really are not a lot of these where the age gap is truly significant. My actual favourite BL couple with an age gap where their ages are part of the conflict they face is The Pornographer/The Novelist though I acknowledge their age gap is probably not enough to fully be considered May/December. Rio becoming a mentor for Haruhiko does add to the May/December aspects so I'm just going to commit lol.

The concerns around their age gap came up in the sequel short more than the original series, but they definitely started their relationship in the original series at different life stages and it was one of the things that caused Rio to run from Haruhiko in the first place. To my memory there are some funny reversals in this one because Haruhiko gets his life together faster than Rio does but that means even as Haruhiko gets older they remain at different life stages and it continues to be a source of conflict.

Also just going to say, for anyone looking for old man yaoi, there is also a bonus fantasy/nightmare imagination scenario that Haruhiko pictures between Rio and his mentor that takes place in Continued Spring Life (though I would not call Rio's relationship with his mentor a romance!).

[NGL my favourite truly May/December romancecin BL is Choko and Maru from Ossan's Love and Ossan's Love Returns in which Choko is older than Maru's mother and it is a major source of conflict between her and her new mother in law until they find common ground.]

9. Fake Dating

I know I'm pretty alone in this, but YYY is one of my faves and it is actually a perfect example of the fake dating trope. For those who never saw this show, the central plot is that Nott and Pun are pretending to date in order to be allowed to stay in their apartment (the landlord loves BL). There are constant misunderstandings, pining, and it's compounded by the fact that one is also in a BGP with a different guy. There are real stakes tied to their fake dating, and the faking of the relationship becomes painful to the point that they become willing to risk those stakes (getting kicked out) rather than continuing to fake it. This show is absolutely wild and a LOT of nonsense happens, but the core is a pretty standard execution of this trope! And I love it a lot.

10. Bodyguard

I'm going to include censored projects in this because my ultimate favourite in this trope is Sleuth of Ming Dynasty. Zhou is at points of the story assigned to be a literal guard for Tang Fan, but he also just does it anyway off the clock because that's who he is. This show, to my mind, hits all of the important beats related to a bodyguard tripe including the person being protected balking at the protection and sacrificing himself so that his protector is not hurt (as well as at other times and being entirely blasé about his own safety because he trusted Zhou to protect him and had full faith he would).

Link to the original ask game post!

[thethera-rossa]

[cinematiqque]

[twozerozerone]

Thinking about kijima finally calling kuzumi Haruhiko

[ql-of-all-time-bracket]

QL of All Time - Round 3 (Loser's Bracket): Love in the Air (2022) vs The Pornographer Series (2018-2021)

[bengiyo]

The Novelist: Playback (2021) Stray Thoughts

We've watched The Novelist, Mood Indigo, and Spring Life. Let's watch these two try to survive long distance.

Yes, please recap for the people who maybe got dragged to a theater for this.

No car BJ? So glad I watched Spring Life already.

Oh, we're getting a bed scene. I forgive them.

Finally, we're talking about insertion and then immediately going to realistic angles. Good job, BL.

I like the way the age gap is playing into how Rio handles his disappointment that Kuzumi frequents sex clubs with his senior.

Oh, I like that we're getting more interactions with Kamuuda.

Rio's sister is always punking him.

"People who are happy have no need for art or literature," is such a cynical read.

Wow, there is a lot of resentment here.

Oh shit, this woman took out his writing hand. That's ironic. I am amused.

Oh my goodness, are we going to make an even younger boy write for him??

Never have I been happier that a boy was illiterate.

No man is immune to Kijima's sexual energy if he turns it on them it seems.

OR WOMAN, IT SEEMS!

Poor Kuzumi. Rio is a hard man to love.

Oh lord he got this boy doing the writing now. Goddammit.

Oh good Kuzumi is here. Please fix this.

I'm so glad Kuzumi caught him with the boy.

HE REALLY SAID THAT HE ACTUALLY HURT HIS HAND THIS TIME!! 🤣

Is this the first time Rio has said his given name?

I love this woman.

Oh, please don't slow zoom onto just Haruhiko to tell me that they're not going to make it.

Oh, I shouldn't have gotten attached to Haruko.

Interesting. I suppose they did foreshadow that Haruko is popular with men.

I'm going wild over the cinematography of Rio's pacing during this fight. Incredible acting from both of them in this long take. Rio can be such a jerk.

Did Rio never recognize the crazy in Haruhiko's eyes? It was the first thing I noticed about him.

Japanese characters are so good at staying still and pretending to sleep when someone looms over them.

I just love Japanese filmmaking. I love trusting actors to act and I love the composition of these shots.

"It's not about being tough. You become tough when someone is important to you." Come through, Haruko!!!

I'm fond of Shizuo.

I'm glad Kuzumi didn't answer his phone and Kijima has to take the leap of going to Tokyo without reassurance.

Kido, you have a daughter. Why ask that question?

Finally a forthright, vulnerable apology and confession from Rio.

I love that these two always kiss like maniacs.

I just love trains.

Families are difficult, but Rio is still loved.

Hands only, baby!!

Y'all awfully vocal for hands only.

The moon is beautiful tonight.

Wow these two have incredible blissed-out faces.

Oh, Rio. I felt that wall breaking. Goddamn Takezai Terunosuke is good.

"Is there really such a life without loneliness?" is a great rebuttal to Rio's cynical view.

Aww, she smiled for her brother.

I'm so glad things ended well for Haruko and Shizuo as well.

Final Verdict: 10, If You Are Male and Queer Please Watch This Franchise Immediately. I'm giving this movie a 10 for the way the entire franchise has been the most satisfying experience I've had in BL in a really long time. I keep begging for realistic approaches to male-male intimacy and relationships, and this franchise hits it constantly. Rio is layers of bullshit hiding an incredible loneliness and sense of worthlessness, and it was so satisfying to see him claw his way out of that because he found someone else who finally connected to him. It's been a really long time since I felt this good about going back to something I skipped over for one reason over another, and I can say confidently that I fully trust @lurkingshan recommendations. If you are gay and feeling a bit displaced in BL, please watch this, and then ping her, me, @harurio @ginnymoonbeam or @waitmyturtles. I promise it will be worth your time.

[hadesoftheladies]

it's infuriating how women belittle the impact femininity has on girls. like it was horrible in the 2000s when girls and women were being made fun of for being bulimic, fat or anorexic on tv. when their illness was a fetish. but now the insane consumerism of apps like tiktok and instagram have really just BALLOONED the standards to a completely unachievable degree. like y'all think 12 year olds and 16 year olds are just watching women doing their cute lip-looks but it is 100% increasing their self-monitoring. they are checking filters, mirrors, constantly contorting their faces and then editing them to an unnatural degree on capcut before uploading. they then watch the playback and its featuring a total stranger who's a slightly hotter version of them. divorcing them further from themselves.

their cortisol levels are insane. they are the demographic suffering the MOST mentally from social media. the constant self-policing they have to do (even in their own minds when the camera is off bc they can't shake the feeling of being watched) has definitely inflated their anxiety levels. coupled with the misogynistic abuse and predatory stalking? more body dysmorphia, gender dysphoria, etc. add diet misinformation, and you've got a recipe for another dead girl in the next five years.

just for some women to say how happy they are they grew out of their tomboy phase and matured into a "real woman" AKA an insanely expensive misogynistic and pornographic caricature of womanhood.

these girls immune systems are being ROYALLY damaged not just by constant stress but by chemicals they shouldn't even be using. women are literally KILLING these girls. and we need to take fucking responsibility.

[absolutebl]

Hey. Ty very much for your posts. As a woman in my 30s I got hypnotised by the beauty of the novelists and was wondering if you had similar high heat intense recommendations (also watched the samurai one "taboo"), bi or mlm with older leads and non fluffy storylines.. Moody atmospheric and venomous is my weak spot

Moody, atmospheric & venomous BL

Like, the Novelist? really?

AKA Pornographer movie series AKA The Novelist, Mood Indigo, Pornographer Playback (Japan 2018-2020) - emotional manipulation, cheating, obsession, seduction, May/December, kink, touch of necrophilia, explicit.   

Okay I got one right off the bat: seek ye....

The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese

AKA Kyuso wa Chizu no Yume wo Miru (Japan 2020) - obsession, cheating, breakup, reunion, then break up again, explicit, mature characters. 

Now let me think about some more:

high heat

intense

non fluffy

older leads

The last one is a doozy, so I'm not gonna use it as a qualifier. BL is most, well, about "boys" not men.

Some others that might work for you but don't meet all your criteria:

Your Name Engraved Herein (Taiwan 2020 Netflix) - this movie is fantastic but it is also seriously depressing, it’s a self acceptance journey, but if you wanna wallow in high quality acting and serious gay drama, this’ll do it. 

Innocent (Taiwan 2021 GaGa) - mental health, childhood trauma, actually kinda sweet. 

The Eighth Sense (Korea 2023 Viki - This isn’t in the KBL bubble, there’s sharp edges and lots of triggers. For a KBL the darkness of the content left me feeling unsettled but it's really damn good.

My Personal Weatherman AKA Taikan Yoho (Japan 2023 Gaga) - Basically: boys who fell in love in college end up living together but both are so repressed they actually don't realize they're in love. They're hot, young, in love, and total idiots.

I Feel You Linger in the Air (Thai 2023 grey or YT) - IFYLITA is an exquisite BL, elegant and classy… from Thailand which normally doesn't even try for classy. The main couple (both as a pair and individuals) were excellent, it gets hot more that explicit, but it does have sharp edges.

Tokyo in April is AKA Shigatsu no Tokyo wa (Japan 2023 Viki) - Two young men with a shared tragic past reunite and fall in love all over again, but the past will not stop hunting them. It’s Japan in full on soft focus which means it gets emo, abusive, and chewy. These two characters are giving parts of their souls away in a desperate attempt to shape themselves to the expectations they have of each other it's heavy and cutting.

Moonlight Chicken (Thai 2023) - I enjoyed this complicated little show, even though it’s spectacularly messy gay with lots of shrapnel and authentic pain. EarthMix turn in their most compelling performance to date.

Bed Friend (Thai 2023 IQIYI) - Office frienamies transition a flaming hot one night stand into a f-buddy relationship that is built on a puppy/cat dynamic (and kinks into it at one point). Our puppy is loyal, smitten, and protective with endlessly longing eyes, while our cat is snarky, prickly, and deeply damaged (ALL THE TRIGGERS). NetJames give lovely high-heat with excellent chemistry and tuned-in performances of surprising depth.

Big Dragon (Thai 2022 Gaga) - This is a decent execution of true enemies to lovers, these two spy on and bully each other, exploring darker themes and self worth issues. The way the leads transition between anger, resentment, titillation, and flirting (and the way, with kinksters, this can all be the same thing) is really well done. A pairing that proved itself to be a lot more sophisticated than I expected with excellent chemistry, but something went askew around plot, directing, and ending. Still if you're in it for the sexy, go to, they did.

My Beautiful Man AKA Utsukushii Kare (Japan 2021 Gaga - One of the most Japanese BLs to release in the last decade, as weird and as messed up as any 2000′s yaoi: emo af and hella warped, entirely true to itself with no attempt made to modify its POV for modern sensibilities or current BL fandom. It used seriously old school problematic and kinky tropes, like whipping boy, for a truly uncompromising piece that also manages to hit up themes of communication, consent, and self acceptance. It’s a wonderful BL but uniquely dirty and harsh, in the best possible way - Japanese cinema, uncompromising.

End of the World With You

Junjou: Pure Heart

The Egoist

No thoughts on those three, not my thing.

You also might consider some of the stuff on this list:

Hope that gives you some options!

[scarefox]

Sometimes I feel like, the way people talk about japanese BL, half the BL fandom forgot / doesn't know that "The Pornographer" series exists. But to be fair it kind of was ahead of its time?

It's mature, with flawed, struggling characters, very spicy. One of the best jBLs imo. In terms of plot, cinematography, acting and chemistry. But you need to have a heart for weird, struggling artist characters.

It has 2 seasons and 3 movies / specials.

"Kuzumi Haruhiko is an university student. One day, he causes a bicycle accident. The accident causes novelist Kijima Rio to break his arm. Kuzumi doesn't have insurance or money to pay Kijima for his injury. Kijima then asks Kuzumi to transcribe a story he is writing. Kuzumi is surprised to learn the story is obscene." (Kijima is a porn novelist)

Watch order:

Pornographer: The Novelist (season 1)

Pornographer: Mood Indigo (season 2 prequel, contains spoiler for s1 that's why I rec to watch it after s1, which is also how it aired)

Pornographer: Spring Life (sequel short movie)

Pornographer: Playback (sequel movie)

Pornographer: Continued Spring Life (sequel short epilogue)

It's on GagaOOLala... except for Playback... well that's dumb.

(but yall know where to find stuff)