Utsukushii Kare Season 2 (2023)

Cute... but toxic?

Honestly, I was happy when it was announced that we will have a second season of Utsukushii Kare as I really enjoyed the first season. I believe that it is one of the best japanese bl series that we have up until today.

CHARACTERS

In the series we follow the story of Kiyoi and Hira and their relationship. Hira (Hagiwara Riku) is now a senior university student and is still obsessed with Kiyoi, while Kiyoi (Yagi Yusei) is working hard with his acting career and is making small steps towards his goals. Both have the same master/slave relationship. Kiyoi is still shy towards Hira and his only way of coping with those feelings is to talk harshly to the other person (e.g. “You are gross”) or physically hurt him; while Hira is still following Kiyoi everywhere he goes and as the time goes by he is severely obsessed with the other person.

Kazuki (Takano Akira) is also a recurring character in this season who is doing his internship and is also the president at the photography club at the university. We can see that he and Hira have a friendly relationship and Kazuki even helps the other person with getting a part-time job. Even though it seems like Kazuki still has feelings for Hira, he doesn’t make any move on the other person; instead, he takes the role of the supporting friend. Moreover, we are introduced to a new character Anna (Nimura Sawa) who is a popular actress that works in the same company as Kiyoi. She and Kiyoi seem to be getting closer as they are experiencing similar love issues.

PLOT

The main plot of this series is the relationship between Kiyoi and Hira who are now living together. It is not stated in the series, but if we take into account that in the first season Hira was a second year (?) and now, he is a senior in university, they have been in a relationship for 2 or 3 years now. Kiyoi is working hard towards his ultimate goal on becoming an actor. On the other hand, Hira is still following Kiyoi whenever he goes and on his free time, he is watching the drama and special episodes that his boyfriend took part in. However, he is struck by reality when he sees that people around him are getting a job and they are working hard for their dreams.
Overthinking, overanalyzing, and not expressing themselves bring them in a tight spot. In the four episodes we see their attempts to adapt into the new environment and grow in their relationship.

MY OPINION

Honestly, this is a drama that is worth watching. It is a good continuation of the first season. However, if I must admit as I was watching the series, I was thinking that their relationship is toxic. Since they are together for some years now, I thought they would have already grown and become more confident in their relationship but in the drama, we see that Hira still considers himself lower than Kiyoi. I don’t know… I think that I am not fond with this approach.

I am not against when we see them act jealous and shy towards each other though. For example, in the first episode we see Kiyoi getting jealous when a girl hits on Hira. We have seen something similar on season 1 with Kazuki and Hira, but now Kiyoi stood his ground and showed to Hira his jealous side. I am onboard with this type of behavior. It’s cute. Kiyoi is self-aware that he likes Hira and is not afraid to act jealous in front of him.
My issue comes with Hira. I think that he hasn’t grown at all while they were together, and his life revolves only around Kiyoi. I do understand that Hira believes that there is a huge difference between them and that’s why he still addresses Kiyoi as a “King”, but shouldn’t he grow out of it?

Moreover, even though Hira tries to play the victim all the time by bringing this high wall between him and Kiyoi, I still feel that the one who has it worse is Kiyoi. Hira’s misunderstandings and misinterpretation of Kiyoi’s feelings and actions are very painful for Kiyoi. Even in season 1, even though he doesn’t say it verbally, I got the feeling that Kiyoi liked Hira more than Hira liked Kiyoi. Even though we are always seeing Hira going after Kiyoi, I still think that the one who feels more in this relationship is Kiyoi.

I don’t know how to explain it simpler or if you get what I mean. But, in episode 3 when the two people were talking about Hira’s parents, you could clearly see the fear, anxiousness, and nervousness of Kiyoi – but Hira, instead of making the other person in front of him feel more relaxed, said that Kiyoi will never meet his parents so there is no reason to worry about it. I just feel that Hira’s stupidness hurts Kiyoi a lot. He did the same thing in season 1. Instead of working together with Kiyoi, Hira still stays behind him and whenever Kiyoi wants to take a step forward Hira holds them back. When Kiyoi said “You prefer unrequired love, right? Then just stay there (…) I’m sorry that I like you”, I felt sad… Hira isn’t worthy of Kiyoi’s love.

But don’t get me wrong… It takes two to tango… Hira is not the only at fault! Kiyoi is at fault as well. The dynamics of this couple is not good. In one hand we have Hira who misunderstands everything and who believes that if he Kiyoi’s wishes would come true then the other person will never leave him. While, on the other hand we have Kiyoi who doesn’t speak his mind but at the same time is seeking his forever from Hira. How did they even manage to be together? Communication is key for every relationship and in this case, it doesn’t exist… However, we see Kiyoi making small steps and expressing his feelings to the other person, but Hira doesn’t receive the message and we have Kiyoi being sad and mad by himself…

Am I thinking too much regarding the relationship of two fictional characters? Yes, yes I am! What are your opinions? Is Hira’s behavior expected after all these years?

Anyway, this is a good drama to watch, SO WATCH IT! BYE!

P.S. In both seasons we have only seen a jealous Kiyoi. I would love to see a jealous Hira as well. But not from Hira the Fan, but rather from Hira the Boyfriend. I am assuming that as things are right now Hira will never get jealous of Kiyoi – not because he doesn’t like him, but because he would think that he is not a place to be jealous of Kiyoi. I hope that in the movie we will see an actively jealous Hira the Boyfriend and claim his boyfriend from the predators ?

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How Creepy!

The second season of Utsukushii Kare is an exceptional drama that left a lasting impression on me. The series features the talented actors Hagiwara Riku and Yagi Yusei, who portray the characters Hira Kazunari and Kiyoi Sou with a great deal of nuance and complexity.

One of the standout aspects of the drama is its unique take on the power dynamic between the two main characters. Initially, their relationship appears to be one-sided, with Kiyoi holding all the power. However, as the series progresses, it becomes clear that there is much more to their dynamic than meets the eye.

The line "How creepy!" is so frequently used that I lost count. At first, it was so off-putting to me hearing Kiyoi "insult" Hira. However, as the series progresses, this line takes on a deeper meaning and becomes a symbol of the characters' growth and development. It is a testament to the strength of the writing and acting that a seemingly simple phrase can evoke such complex emotions.

The last episode of the series beautifully showcases the growth and maturity in the characters' love for each other. It is a touching moment that underscores the depth of their relationship and the series wrapped it up with a good, I really mean it, good scene. The subtle shift in expression from worship to pure desire is honestly such an iconic moment for me.

Overall, IMHO Utsukushii Kare Season 2 is a standout drama in the BL genre and one of the best in its history. The only downside is that this series is too short! But with exceptional performances from its lead actors, a unique power dynamic between its characters, and a beautiful story of love and growth, this series is sure to be one of the best BL series for a long, long time.

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"We're moving forward albeit slowly. We're standing side by side."

When I found out I was getting a Season 2 of Utsukushi Kare S2 I was over the moon. Seriously, I literally squeeled! I missed my boys so much and it was a joy watching these 4 extra episodes although I wish we had more. But, I digress.
I love how the writers kept this realistic in both story and characters. Both Kiyoi and Hira are still pretty much the same but have also changed quite a bit. Kiyoi is more confident in himself. He's also more content & secure in showing his feelings for Hira. He's even mastered a way to get Hira to listen to him when he wants him to love himself more. It's a cute method, pretty much old "nasty" Kiyoi but with good intensions. Hira, although his character development is not as obvious it is there. He can see that he needs to get better and that he's stuck in the same place. While before, he refused to even acknowledge those problems. Let's face it the type of self-worth and mental health issues he has are not going to go away overnight. He needs help, I wish it came in a professional way, but he gets the second-best way: in a mentor that's been there and can be the light he needs to get better. With Kiyoi's love being the guiding force, I have no doubt that with hard work and hopefully therapy his issues will be able to go away. And there is where the title of my review comes in.
To be honest, I'm glad the writers didn't give Hira a magical cure because that is just not realistic, it's gonna take time. Sure, I would have liked more happiness and intimacy but that's not who Hira and Kiyoi are. Their love is strong and getting stronger every day, no matter the issues. I can't wait to see what the next chapter brings for Hira and Kiyoi in Eternal.
Hagiwara and Yagi brought their a game especially in the big confrontation scene in ep 3. They are so good at what they do. And it was obvious how happy they were to be working together again. There was this sense of happiness in all their scenes together. Made this even more of a joy to watch. Chemistry? 10+
I'm giving this a 10 because I loved everything about it. Even when the story may have seemed repetitive, it was important to be told that way. I'm gonna be rewatching this and S1 over and over until I can watch the movie. Highly recommended of course.

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A good sequel, left me wanting even more

The first season had a beautiful cover this season has a beautiful intro (the cover is ok too) that I actually watched for some reason, which I otherwise avoid. , It is also really good depiction of how frustrating it can be to be in love with a person with extremely low self esteem plus a bunch of other stuff...

This was yet again way way to short and less entertaining than the first season as our former jerk is no longer a jerk but more frustrating in an interesting kind of way... While the first season had this fun opposites attract, oddly entertaining openly jerk and creepy obsessed misfit to lover type deal... Surrounded by 1000 misunderstandings. In this season we get to listen to the boys inner thoughts, frustrations and miscommunication that leads to frustration type of deal.

The self awareness of the past has become more of a aware meets oblivious guy. Mr aware former jerk still has his issues with himself but has come a long way since the first season and tries to figure out how to approach mr oblivious low self esteem and get him to understand that he is not in a one sided love.... One would have thought living together, sleeping in the same bed and so on would have been enough for the guy to get a hint... but nee not this guy.

And well while mr oblivious (and others like him) may think they are being considerate towards their partners not wanting to overstep or take to much space. This type of behaviour is actually called out as hurtful in the most beautiful way. But it also had me thinking about dynamics, power and the less talked about pros of being submissive and happy to worship someone else, as well as the burden of being worshiped... Showing us some nuance instead of a pink and blue world..

I really love the character development that Mr Jerk of the past had towards becoming this open and aware guy, trying to change, trying to be honest about his feelings while still staying cool and a bit mysterious. He had some really good lines and was just a pleasure to watch. And while season one made me want to protect mr oblivious season 2 made me want to protect mr aware instead, and yes I love that about this show that it can make both the viewers and characters develop and see things from different angles in so little time. It is actually pretty impressive.

There are pretty pictures, a lovely moon and of course the yes the yellow rubber duck is indeed back too.

All in all a good sequel, that was way to short and shows a rare story that needed to be told.

P.S. I am sorry if non of this makes any sense it is Friday afternoon and I have had a long week...

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Love and Misunderstandings

Utsukushii Kare Season 2 delivers on a strong follow-up to the first season that pulled me in and has yet to ever let me go. We follow Kiyoi and Hira as they navigate the beginning stages of their relationship. It's very evident that they share a true love together but some of the same issues that took place in the first season come up in this season (and rightfully so because people don't change overnight). Kiyoi is still not the best at voicing how he truly feels and instead resorting to a more feisty approach, while Hira has fallen back into the mentality that Kiyoi is a king that should be served. There's also the issue of Kiyoi moving up in his career while Hira is struggling to find a foothold and transition into a career that would suit him like photography. Kiyoi just wants to be loved as Hira's equal partner but Hira fails to see that at this point. All of those issues come to a head in this season and are addressed as a part of the healing process that's needed in order for them to move forward together as a couple and live happily ever after.

PROS:

— NATURAL FLOW FROM SEASON ONE: The fundamental characters of who Kiyoi and Hira are don't deviate from last season. I for one, love to see that the traits, quirks, and interests that made them who they were in the first season are not totally forgotten in this second season

—STORY: The fact that they can tell an interesting story with all of the nuances included in such a short amount of time is applaudable for me. If it were me working on the show, it would literally take me at least 16 or more episodes to say all that I wanted to lmao. The reason I loved season 1 so much was because upon rewatching it multiple times, you start to pick up on new things each time and it's the same with this season.

—CHEMISTRY: The chemistry between the leads is never lacking. You can tell that the characters love one another despite their misunderstandings and the actors do such a great job of playing these two quirky and lovable characters. I want to shout out Yagi Yusei for his scene at the end of episode 3. It truly moved me.

—CINEMATOGRAPHY: Lastly, I just want to say that I love the cinematography, sets, locations, and color grading of Utsukushii Kare. They always make me feel at home and comfortable. It's just such a nice show to look at visually.

NOT SO LOVES:

—NUMBER OF EPISODES & RUN TIME: IT'S TOO SHORT!!! I WANT MORE!!! At least we are getting a whole movie in the future but still I can never get enough of this show.


All in all, this show is definitely worth the watch and it’s one of the best Japanese BL’s I have seen!

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Perfectly Imperfect……..

Honestly could just put both of these seasons on a loop and drool over these two characters! They are both achingly beautiful to look at and combined with their quirky?twisted?damaged? (Very hard to define….) personalities you just see something different in both of them every time you watch them.
Wonderfully written, produced and acted , even when its sad i still have a little smile in me somewhere, its the genre that Japanese do so much better than any other country, the sensitivity and depth of characters they create just get to and hits your soul.
beautiful in every way.
Enjoy…..again and again …………..

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It's nice to be reunited with Kiyoi and Hira once again.

The main thing I want to say is that this drama is self-aware. Season 1 was weird to some people because Hira has this sort of reverse god complex which he projected onto Kiyoi. But at the end of the day, we all know Hira's feelings and opinions towards Kiyoi aren't necessarily the best. Hira has created this parasocial relationship towards Kiyoi in the same way people do towards celebrities, despite actually knowing him. Kiyoi explains it perfectly in the end of episode 3 by saying Hira prefers unrequited love. Hira views Kiyoi as a God, without considering the fact that Kiyoi has his own feelings and likes Hira back. However, Hira is insecure in himself to realise Kiyoi could actually like him. All Kiyoi wants is to feel equal. We saw this in season 1, and despite everything, they were able to be together, but this is only lasting so long in season 2.

Also, I feel like the acting has gotten even better. And I love the opening - both the song and the graphics.

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Misunderstood as cute, just toxic.

When I read some reviews and comments, saying how the drama wasn't for everyone and how the relationship between Hira and Kiyoi would grow and evolve, I thought that maybe it was an interesting series to watch, but they're all wrong.

Hira is obsessed with Kiyoi, he's handsome and I can understand that it called his attention, but other than that, he's just fantasizing about how much Kiyoi meant for him, he "decides" then to serve him (he's just being bullied).
Hira doesn't have a personality or other interests, he doesn't talk. He likes taking pictures but it isn't explored as much.
He even got a friend and seems to have a possibility to grow as a character but he doesn't.

Kiyoi is a narcissist. He notices how Hira sees him and decides to bully him, to "see", how much Hira liked him. I think that premise is just absurd. They make Hira run errands, buy them sodas, lunch, go to his house because they know he will not say no to them, and even make him go to a restaurant to form in line and serve their table.

If this wasn't bad enough, Kiyoi even hits Hira, he pushes him to the ground, he raises his voice at him, kicks his leg, kicks thing near him and they get at risk to get injured, this is not love. Love doesn't hurt, love doesn't bully you, never.
Hira and Kiyoi never talk. Kiyoi tells him all the time that he's disgusting, that he's gross, and even tell that to others when they ask him about Hira. Even if it "evolves" and they try to portrait is as cute and as a form of Kiyoi to hide his feelings, it isn't good.

3 episodes are narrated by Hira and 2 by Kiyoi, even if understanding a little bit of Kiyoi point of view is interesting, this doesn't justify him, he had no reason to bully, no reason to hit. Some comments said that he had a pressure for looking manly, but that wasn't portrayed at all, even in his artistic background and friends homosexuality seemed okay.

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a different kind of love story

Overall: fans of season 1 will enjoy season 2 as it has the same vibe (it's not a fluffy romcom). 4 episodes about 20 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala and Viki.

Content Warnings: shove/kick/hit, suicidal thoughts, manhandling

What I Liked:
- recap at the beginning
- the intro/song
- domestic bliss moments
- acting
- character styling
- really liked the last episode and wish we would have seen more of this earlier
- relationship between Kiyoi and the actress
- the parallel with photography/that conversation with the photographer was nicely done in the final episode
- production value

Room For Improvement:
- the descriptions of this series and the series itself position that it happens over a year from where we left off in season 1. However, Hira and Kiyoi's interactions don't feel like two people who are an established couple. It very much feels like we left off at the end of season 1.
- I struggle with their character flaws/this plot isn't really my thing but I think the acting is very good and it is nice to see flawed characters

note: I struggle with Kiyoi calling Hira gross and disgusting. I've heard that that word in Japanese can be translated as several different words including creepy. So I wonder if it's more like Kiyoi calling a weirdo, but kind of more in an affectionate way and not in a negative way...

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a breath of fresh air

Absolutely loved the story! I am a huge fan of such characters where both of them are head over heels for each other <3 Both the boys were a delight to watch especially Kiyoi-he is really handsome The story takes time to develop but if you love the Japanese way of production then you will enjoy each episode. I didn't skip a single second which in itself says a lot about how good this series was!

If you were once a shy person who fell head over heels for someone and just couldn't confess then my friend this one is for you
Be ready to jog some memories with this beautiful story

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kink components, established relationship, cohabitation, miscommunication, celebrity romance

These two have such a great DS dynamic. Only Hira would apologize for banging and wanting to bang his own bf, but do it anyway. Talk about a service top with a humiliation fetish. Sheesh. The masochism is strong with this one. (Since I do not deal with humiliation fetishists well, the cringe factor got to me a little.) Still, pouty jealous Kiyoi is the cutest. [One flaw: The photographer dude should have been played by Kenta. Just a little joke.]

All in all, this second season didn’t blow me away the way the first season did, it was quieter and more uniform in its narrative and messaging - thus more predictable.

The basic relationship misunderstanding remained the same as Season 1 - all about value and self worth and how that’s assessed. The result is a performance that is a dialogue between imposter syndrome and a parasocial relationship. If these two only had the language and framework of BDSM to understand each other than they would, but they don’t so the story is us watching them suffer for it. But that’s part of the fun. Part of their fun too, I think, as if the fighting and misunderstanding is just another one of their many kinks.

An engaging and solid second installment, that was so consistent, I’m ended up keeping the rating consistent too.

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