A Man Who Defies the World of BL is a very peculiar drama with an unusual sense of humour, something silly, campy. It slips my mind but I have seen at least one more Japanese film/series with odd style of humor where the main protagonist also breaks the fourth wall. Told in an anthology format, each mini episode has a self-contained story that gently makes fun of the BL phenomenon. There are 4 episodes with 8 disconnected stories lasting about 2 hours.
Our lead Mobu realizes that he lives in a BL world with unusually good looking guys around him and most couples. He likes girls so he keeps avoiding to meet gaze with boys to avoid someone hitting on him. He is also trying to protect his younger brother in this situation. There is no main story as such but we see series of funny hilarious scenes and situations where our lead Mobu is trying to avoid any awkward situation. We see stereotypes like 2 guys bumping into each other and falling in love, two guys hooking up after a bad group date, a boy saving another from tripping in school canteen. Mobu likes to believe he is just an "extra" in this world and is trying to make sure he doesn't become the main cast. Although Mob claims to have an aversion to the Boys Love genre, he is also seemingly obsessed with it. He even reads tons of BL manga as part of his “research”. Each day, Mob devises outlandish strategies that will minimize his chances of encountering BL tropes in life. And as you would expect, by the end Mobu can't help but be approached by an equally simple yet charming guy who eventually makes Mobu falling love for him.
The series is unabashedly cliched, but you are guaranteed to laugh at the ways in which some of these tropes play out. I want to believe a lot of this maybe something more believable to folks who are regular manga readers. The opening song which is there in every episode is an experience in itself. The musical of this gloriously over-the-top, 70s style disco number is so catchy. You will love it. This is not anti gay at all. It's just a satirical take on BL genre, just celebrating BL. With his exaggerated reactions, he maximizes the comedic value out of each outrageous scenario. This actor does an excellent job at maintaining his high, nearly frantic energy from start to finish. Sadly, there is no other actor that gets any prominence of any sort so its hard to comment on any of that. Also, at some point the series does loose steam. What started off really well ends up being a series of random events without making it a coherent story. Some jokes fall flat but most land fine. But, for a silly, no brainer show which can bring smile on your face is not the worse thing to watch in today's times. (6.5/10)
Comments
If you want another crazy japanese style hilarious BL, can I absolutely recommend Ossan's Love. The first season is sooo good (even my husband liked it, and that's a lot to say!)
And again, about the intro of this series. It was soooooooo wet done. Funny yet very addictive