My Beautiful Man: A Review

SUMMARY: My Beautiful Man the series is a 6-episode (24 mins each) series that tells the story of Hira and Kiyoi, a follower and his idol. Hira is at the bottom of his class, awkward and unpopular, but his mundane life changes when he meets Kiyoi, a charismatic and cool boy in his class. From then on, both their lives change. Hira worshipped Kiyoi like a God and was content with doing whatever Kiyoi wanted, something that Kiyoi took advantage of.

(WARNING: review contains spoilers)

From the synopsis alone you can already tell that there's going to be a stalker-sense relationship dynamic between these two. My original expectation was that the series would be on the dark side of Japanese BL dramas, and I was half right. It's not your typical romantic comedy, but it isn't the usual traumatizing drama either. My Beautiful Man showed great story-telling between two broken characters that found what they needed in each other, and that's what makes it beautiful.

character relationship

Kiyoi and Hira had a unique relationship that you don't often see in other BL dramas. Of course, there have been obsessive characters like Hira before, but what makes their relationship a level above is how Kiyoi himself appreciates Hira's stalker-like characteristics. They compliment each other this way.

Both our main characters have psychological issues that stem from their childhood. Hira has been a distinguished person since he was young, but due to his differences, he was boxed out from other children, worsening his difficulty in communication. Meanwhile, Kiyoi had been neglected by his family, giving him a desire to have everyone's attention on him (hence the reason why he wanted to be an idol)

They are two people who feel like they are broken, but it just so happens that the piece they needed to complete themselves as each other. Hira worshipped Kiyoi like a God because he was everything he wasn't; charismatic and popular. Kiyoi was also the only one who entertained him. For Kiyoi, Hira was someone who looked at him with devotion in his eyes, the attention that he wanted. A worshipper and the worshipped.

They have what they need, whether it be good or bad. In a way, they are each other's other half, and I love how the drama goes about expressing their dynamics through the episodes. So far, they're one of my favorite unique couples. Definitely not something you see every day!

Acting & chemistry

Chemistry is really important when it comes to pairs in dramas because actors can be good at acting, but if they don't have chemistry with each other it will end up awkward either way-- BUT... BUT... Kiyoi and Hira's actors had chemistry I didn't expect.

At first, I looked at Hira's acting as sort of bland, but if you think about it that's what is expected from his character. His character is supposed to be awkward and, in a way, creepy. The actor achieved that. For Kiyoi, I think his acting is my favorite. It was just enough. Yeah, just right. The best part though was when they acted together.

There wasn't a lot of skinship in the show, but the tension between the characters was intense. A simple stare, a touch of the hand, would have you standing from your chair, and I think the fact that they didn't have so much skinship intensified that feeling. When they look at each other it had you covering your mouth in anticipation.

That's just how I'd describe it. The two actors did very well portraying the characters of Hira and Kiyoi, and if ever they have another BL drama I would definitely watch it as well.

plot & story-telling

The series only consists of 6 episodes and each episode was 24 minutes long. Sounds short, right? You'd expect things to be rushed, but it wasn't! Surprisingly, My Beautiful Man was very nicely paced. They told the characters' stories so wonderfully in a short span of time. It covered everything, like how they proceeded with life and, most importantly, their relationship.

When it comes to love stories, of course, we should take into account how their love story comes to be, but quite often writers tend to neglect the development of their relationship dynamics. There should be a difference from beginning to end. That's what makes readers stay and feel like it was worth staying.

Hira started out as a follower, but he ended up with Kiyoi despite his expectations. Kiyoi as well thought he'd only see Hira as a follower (but guess who bottomed LMAO), but the end changed everything. The story-telling did well in tackling how they realized their feelings. The last episode was the cherry on top.

There was a time skip in the middle, and usually, I don't like time skips because sometimes they botch the story up. Thankfully though, the time skip did very well in accommodating the development of their relationship. It served its purpose.

I also like how Kiyoi had his own POV shown. Originally we had Hira in the first half and it portrayed the basic relationship they had according to the synopsis. However, Kiyoi having his POV shown after the time skip was a good touch because we've already seen Hira, but what about Kiyoi? The fact that he had his realizations after the time skip makes the POV change more meaningful. It did a good job when it came to story-telling.

My Beautiful Man is definitely one of my favorite Japanese BL dramas of 2021 (may even be my favorite). I thought I was getting a creepy stalker drama (because honestly Japanese dramas are either crack or trauma), but I got a whole lot more. I got understanding. I got lessons. I got character development and acceptance. Basically, if you want a love story where two people find healing in themselves, My Beautiful Man is the right way to go!

Go ahead and watch it right on GagaOOLala.