Utsukushii Kare (2021)

A story that causes controversial overreaction by viewers without doing anything controversial

This is my first time writing a drama review because I was usually a silent viewer but this drama was so interesting that I ended up feeling the need to write one despite this is not a language I speak.

Story:

When I first read the synopsis, I thought that It must be one of those lazy shoujo/BL story that used to be popular with trope like bully x victim cheesy high school romance which usually end with bully kept enjoying the bullying while the victim just submit to them after awhile because they can’t fight back. It started with two kids with troubles of their own who seemed like it will end up in a bad relationship but the story turned out different the more I watched. It was about calling out their deep rooted issues until they are ready to face it together and touched on topics like communication, idolatry, consent and first love. Because of first episode alone I feel like these characters have more behind what they are showing on facade so I chose to look for the source material and found the audio drama adaptation which is close to the original Novel. I LOVE IT. I was anxious and anticipated to see how the drama which only have 2 and half hours run time overall would be able to adapt such complicated story accurately.

Characters:

They started like one of those boring flat characters, an obsessive introvert boy and his crush who’s the opposite. However, what you will realize is that, the story is being told in first person point of view, which mean for the over half of the drama you will hear from this boy Hira about his life and his obsession over his crush. From his point of view, me and the other viewers are sympathized with him and feel the anger toward the crush who seems like bland untouchable character but we are so wrong when the narration switched to Kiyoi, the popular boy, to be the one telling the story from his eyes which to be honest, more realistic view than Hira’s. It told you the complexity of both characters and WHY there was misunderstanding between them because even we, as the third person who watch them, also misunderstood them. Worth noting that this story might not have much of them as romantic partners but more like HOW they became a couple because this is only adapted from 1st book of the novel trilogy.

A lot of people’s reaction to this drama was a shallow view and criticism on the story and characters without looking closer and reflecting. The word “Toxic” and “Abusive” wouldn’t be what I would call their romance, I would say they are two teenagers with their own issue who found comfort in each other but miscommunication happened, loneliness and bad timing didn’t help either.

Rewatch value: HELL YEAH this is the only romance drama that I suggest rewatching because trust me, every rewatch will give you new details you didn’t notice before and that should thank to awesome and attentive production team as well as the young actors who surprisingly are good at portraying complex story and characters with such a short limit of time.

I believe drama-only fans won’t find it anything special but this drama put a lot of effort in including favorite lines and hidden detail from its source material so the rewatch value is MUCH higher for fans who love the novel and audio drama version.

However, I would suggest everyone to give it a try and watch for yourself. This is a good story but probably not for everyone, especially those who refuse to open their mind.

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