Finished watching the last episode of Kieta Hatsukoi aka. My Love Mix-Up today. This series started off very strong for me, with great casting and a good story set-up. However the ending was kinda anticlimactic for me and a bit disappointing.

Story: Let’s talk about the story. The relationship between the two leads start off as a mix-up when Ida sees his name on an eraser that belongs to a student named Aoki who sits behind him in class. The eraser actually belongs to the girl named Hashimoto but Ida believes Aoki has a thing for him because of the eraser. This mix-up starts a romance between the two but not really. It felt like the two leads were never really lovers but just good friends. I couldn’t feel that connection between them that lovers should have. I know this was more of coming of age thingy but even when they were confessing their love or asking each other out on dates, it felt like they were just asking a good buddy where they would eat or what they were gonna do to kill time. Like most Chinese bromance series, My Love Mix-Up didn’t have that “intimate moment” that actual BLs usually do. So basically I’d categorize this series as a bromance series and not a BL. Cherry Magic, Japan’s another hit BL also didn’t have any kissing scenes between the two leads but somehow they made it clear that it was a BL series and not just another bromance trap. So I give the story 6/10

Acting/Cast: I loved the cast and their acting was great. The leads and the support characters were 10/10 in the looks department and well as the acting. It was a pleasure just to look at the cast even though the story had a fallout by the end.

Music: The series had good music too. The songs “Secret Touch” and “My First Love” are very catchy and fitting for the series. It’s also cool that Meguro Ren who played Ida was singing the song “Secret Touch” with his band and Michieda Shinsuke who plays Aoki, sang “My First Love” with his group. So 8/10 for the music.

Rewatch Value: Unfortunately, I would not be watching this series again. It wasn’t a bad series and I can tell that it’s very popular in the BL community at the moment. However the level of intimacy that I expect in a BL was not present in this one. 5/10 for rewatch value.

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I have always been a fan of the Japanese BL series. However this year has been a disappointing year when it comes to Japanese BLs. That being said, My Beautiful Man is probably one of the best BLs released this year.

Story: It is a typical nerd meets a popular guy setup but as the story progresses, we come to realise that the story has much more depth to it. The first episode doesn’t do a lot to captivate the audience however, after you get to the second episode, things start to get interesting. The first four episodes are narrated from the pov of Hira and it shows the internal delima he had to go through for loving Kiyoi secretly for so many years. The last two episodes are from the pov of Kiyoi and it reveals how Kiyoi also had feelings for Hira all those years. Though the setup was very simple, the story really managed to captivate me. 9/10 for story.

Acting/Cast: Yusei Yagi as So Kiyoi and Riku Hagiwara as Kazunari Hira were splendid in their roles. They really sold their characters and anyone who manages to make me tear up even a little has my utmost respect. This series didn’t have other major characters and because of this they were really able to focus on the leads more. 9/10 for acting and cast.

Music: The songs "Follow" by ROCE and "Caramel" by Mosawo are both catchy tunes however I would have liked it more if they also had a song that was more melancholic in nature as the entire series gives that vibe of sadness. However the songs that were featured were both great. 7/10

Rewatch Value: I would definitely watch this series again in the future. I feel like I’ll remember this for years to come and would occasionally watch it just for that nostalgic feeling we all crave for. 9/10

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