Skip to main content

Living With Him (Japanese Series)

By Golu
Living with Him is a slice-of-life, slow burn romance that focuses on the palpable, growing tension between the male leads as they grapple with their feelings. There isn’t anything too complex about the plot itself beyond the emotional. But it still feels a little dragged out despite it being only 8 episodes of 23 minutes each. Sure the series is about positive messaging, no OTT drama and a really warm story with very charming leads, but how I wished that either they finished sooner or had more to say, because at various points it did feel out stretched for no reason.

Kazuhiro and Ryota are childhood best friends who attended the same elementary school. Over time they sorta lost touch but the families are still close. So when it's time to go to university, their moms come up withe the idea of them sharing a flat together. Kazuhiro had become a popular baseball player but because of an injury had to leave that world. He is also handsome and gets lot of female proposals but he politely declines everyone leading to speculation that maybe he already likes someone else. Ryota, on the other hand, is more simple, does household chores, cooks and be close knit with his mother and 2 younger sisters. While they rekindle their friendship, Kazuhiro eventually tells Ryoto that h likes him, But Ryoto is not sure and he needs to confronts his own emotions and insecurities. He doesn't think he is good enough for this friend who likely deserves better. The duo go through situations where the interactions are minimum where each of them, in their own way, struggles with their feelings. Kazuhiro tries to avoid his friend since he feels he has made the situation awkward by confessing his feelings and meanwhile Ryoto takes time to realize and accept what he feels for his friend but now starts to believe that maybe has. Made a mistake. Unnecessary angst delays some time, before we get a final very happy ending.

Living With Him is a comfortable watch that allows viewers to discover the security Kazuhito finds in Ryota and the self-assurance Ryota finds in Kazuhito alongside them. There is not a whole lot happening here , to be honest. Their exchanges are low-key, like eating meals in their shared apartment, playing board games in the bedroom, or meeting with family and friends. The show, in its own subtle ways, explores what these two young men feel for each other while finding themselves. In Kazuhito’s case, love grew from the care and wisdom he saw in Ryota, the greatness he felt from him even when Ryota didn’t see it in himself. For Ryota, love forms from the realization that he not only loves Kazuhito but also feels special because of Kazuhito. It manages to invest the heart in its journey, making every moment on screen endearing; except that for me, after a while, it starts to feel repetitive and that is my only issue with this otherwise endearing show. The two leads also do a decent job of their part and share a good chemistry together. The side two friends add a good fun relief. Overall, the show is straight forward, focusing on sentimental and emotional side rather than making a complex BL story. With a nice happy ending, this is a decent addition, but it could hav been more. (7/10)
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Shortest Distance is Round 3: Fallen Flowers

By Golu
Continuing with the weird trilogy of "The Shortest Distance", I am so glad that finally I am done with part 3 and won't have to deal with this again in future. Thankfully, as of now the makers have not announced any further parts; which will save all of us on this earth from the embarrassment of watching this in near future. After the first 10 minutes are used in sort of recapping bits of first two parts, the story moves forward. Haruto is now starting to have feelings for Ruka, the mysterious pole dancer from second part. In a fit of rage, Ruka ends up killing the goat man and to save him and Haruto, Shibahara asks them to go underground. Meanwhile Shibahara continues the search for Seiya (the guy who had cut off Haruto's penis). It turns out Seiya is now also taking care of the original club owner from part 1. Both of them were released after they had informed Shibahara of Aoyama's secret location. Shibahara tortures Seiya's boyfriend leading to Seiya killin...
5 comments
Read more

Sei no Gekiyaku (Japanese) [Dangerous Drugs of Sex]

By Golu
Every person has their own unique way of dealing with loss. This film is as much a psychological thriller as it is a soft porn BDSM portrayal of two young men that makes the film overall horrifying as well as humane. It is really hard to describe the genre of this film in one word. Its important not that the film has some really disturbing scenes so if you go into seeing this film, please proceed with caution. Although any sexual non-consensual activity is not ok, this film has its won strange way of showing that suicide is not the only solution to all life's problems. Makoto is a regular office goer, who just finds out that his girlfriend is probably cheating on him. ON top of it, his parents sudden death coming back from a trip that he forced them to take, he gets completely dejected and decides to commit suicide. Unknown to him, he is saved by mysterious man Yoda Ryoji, and he wakes up finding himself tied up in leather and belts in a very BDSM setting. This mysterious saver soo...
3 comments
Read more

One Summer Night (Korean)

By Golu
I really wanted to like this film but for non native speakers, these movie leaves a lot to be understood and the way scenes were unfolding in front of me, I wasn't sure many times what was really going on. The story had potential button getting any back story on any of the characters limited my ability to empathize with any of these actors. Film starts with two North Korea military guys Yong Joon and Jae Sung having sex and they are caught red handed and they run. Three years later we see Yong Joon in Seoul leading a very mundane and poor life. He has a boyfriend Tae-Kyu, who is a weird guy. He is carefree, doesn't do any work and is completely emotional and financially dependent on Young Joon. In fact, even Yong Joon will go to any lengths to protect him , fend for him and taking care of him to the extent of even taking up prostitution. Suddenly one day Jae Sung appears in their life again. His motivation is not clear but it is obvious he wants Yong Joon back in his life, who ...
Post a Comment
Read more