Utsukushii Kare - Tumblr Posts

Hagiwara Riku as HIRA & Yagi Yusei as KIYOI 美しい彼2 (2023),dir. Sakai Mai

Utsukushii Kare  + textposts (3/?)

Utsukushii Kare  + textposts (2/?)

I will stay with Kiyoi forever. He is the ultimate King... No, actually, he is my, only my, beautiful man.

Kiyoi

There is something about the way Kiyoi has always been independent, aggressive, and often following the "I don't need anyone" archetype . This shows that he doesn't know what healthy relationships look like or why they matter. He never had anyone he felt he could rely on. He did not even want his friends to know what his dream was or that he took the idol thing seriously. He did not have anyone he thought would be his support if he failed and most likely assumed he would lose the artificial friendships that he did have if he showed his real self to them. His whole demeaner screams lonely, hurt, and scared.

Kiyoi has always been so sure that nobody is around him for any reason other than to use him. He does not think anyone takes him seriously. He doesn't trust that anyone could ever be sincere. That is why when Hira comes into the picture, he doesn't trust him. He seems to see it as a way to go from being used to using someone. He never truly accepted that Hira truly just wanted to be around him because of him. This is most likely why they parted ways like they did.

This has been on my mind because of the development we see later on. It becomes even more clear that Kiyoi does not want to be aggressive or the one to make the choice. He has always wanted someone to prove they take him seriously, that they want him, that they love him unconditionally.

We see Kiyoi struggle to open up and communicate and how hard it is for him. We see his tendency to flee when he is scared or hurt. We see there communication suffer because of misunderstandings. But most of all we see them fight for each other even well fighting against each other.

This leads me into the bathtub scene. Kiyoi is no longer this mean aggressive man that we once saw but instead someone who is quietly asking Hira to give him more physical attention. This is a big deal because we start out with him physically throwing Hira to the ground but now we are here.

I am leaving so so so so much out but this show really took over my brain and I don't have anyone to talk to about it. Its been a while since I watched it and these scenes still live rent free in my head.

If Takara’s Treasure got another season and a movie to flesh out their story more, it might be a true contender for knocking My Beautiful Man off the #1 spot for my favorite bl. But since we only have one season, it will rest gently in my top 5.

Utsukushii Kare really had people doubting on the first episode but then came out swinging HARD proving itself to be one of the greatest BL Japan has ever put out

How can you.. someone like me.. I wish I knew! It makes no sense. Even though you were the one who said you liked me..and your eyes always on me…and you kissing me…and still? … Do you have any idea how I felt when you changed your number on me?! Kiyoi…. Don’t touch me! Are you fucking kidding me with this! You can go to hell! I… I love you so much I can’t bear it. You’re like a god to me and I.. I can never reach you. I…. I’m not a god. Kiyoi… I … Can I touch you? if your touch is going to be the same as always, then I don’t want it.

Utsukushii Kare ep. 6

MBM: Eternal scenes that I felt in my [redacted]

Don't you ever have thoughts like that?

Utsukushii Kare master post

With Utsukushii Kare: Eternal becoming available on streaming in Japan and rumors of international streaming distribution on the horizon, I thought this might be a good time to do a roundup post of all of my meta writing on the series so far. There's quite a bit of it. Between the complexity of the psychological themes in this series and my capacity for hyperfocus, I ended up with a lot to say.

Watch this space! I have a draft I've been working on for a while that I'll probably divide up into a few posts and it's nearing completion now, so I expect to have more to add in the near future. In case it doesn't go without saying, this post is subject to change as I continue to post on this topic.

Utsukushii Kare through the lens of pursuer-distancer dynamics and related psychological concepts:

The pursuer-distancer dyad & how it applies to the world of BL - a primer on this psychological concept and how it applies to BL generally, with a brief reference to how this concept applies to Utsukare (also touches on Semantic Error and talks in detail about an example from To My Star 2). This one isn't super focused on Utsukushii Kare but is pretty de rigeur for understanding my UK posts on this topic.

Paradoxical roles; or, I think I finally figured out the pursuer-distancer dynamic in Utsukushii Kare - This post comes after some of the posts listed below but I recommend reading it first as this is really where (I think) I cracked the code on this aspect of the story.

Pursuer-distancer roles & attachment style in Utsukushii Kare, Part 1: Hira - In-depth discussion of Hira's role in the pursuer-distancer dyad, his attachment style, and his personality

Pursuer-distancer roles and attachment style in Utsukushii Kare Part 2: Kiyoi - In-depth discussion of Kiyoi's role in the pursuer-distancer dyad, his attachment style, and his personality

Re-evaluating pursuing & distancing in Utsukushii Kare season 1 - super detailed post working out my thoughts about pursuing and distancing in season 1

On the way Sakai Mai (the series' director) uses seme left, uke right framing and its significance in BL and other Japanese media:

Using an example from the s2e1 with the girl who hits on Hira at a party (via a reblog of a gifset from @nanons)

On the way Sakai flips Hira's and Kiyoi's position in the frame in two versions of the same scene and what it tells us about its significance

How the persistent/cute trope plays out in Utsukushii Kare season 2, plus related overanalyses of the big season 2 finale kiss:

The persistent and the cute (how "persistent" and "cute" are code words with specific meanings in BL/yaoi/other drama and manga genres/Japanese culture more broadly)

Analyzing the season 2 finale kiss in light of seme left/uke right framing and the persistent/cute trope (in a reblog of a gif post by @nanons)

Reblogging @bl-bracket to lobby for the season 2 finale kiss, with more overanalysis

Fragrance nerd discussion:

This bittersweet fragrance - on the significance of osmanthus/tea olive in Utsukushii Kare season 2, with additional information on the possible significance of the fragrance of osmanthus and perfumes that are either osmanthus soliflores or feature prominent osmanthus notes

Posts on specific season 2 episodes:

initial thoughts about S2e1

S2e1 rundown

Additional (informal) thoughts on s2e1

Hira's incongruous/misaligned affect at the end of s2e1

S2e2 rundown

on S2e2, including pursuer-distancer dynamics and seme left, uke right

Utsukushii Kare S2E4: “face me straight on” (mostly discussing relationship dynamics pointed out in topic-specific metas)

mutuals do this

the way utsukare quite literally opens with hira not being able to say he "likes" something, and being unable to find something that he finds really amazing to take photos of, and what changes everything and sets the stage for the story is hira finding someone that truly amazes him. takes away his breath. woke up the sleeping heart of kazunari hira

i hold myself back from corn-plating utsukare by saying things like "did you notice the blue bucket in this scene :]" but like i have watched s1 like twenty times so

when hira first lays eyes on kiyoi and is completely mesmerized in a way he never thought possible,

kiyoi looks back at him.

and he's watching him, even when hira isn't.

he was always just as in love with hira, just as immediately intrigued by him. because they were the two loneliest people in the classroom, the two who could now never stop looking at each other.

hira just didn't see it.

i often think about this part of hira's high school life. after he beat up shirota. thinking about when he asks kiyoi if he's scared of him in the novel (because his classmates are. since he "suddenly" snapped and beat someone up) and kiyoi simply. isn't. of course he isn't. it made him fall for hira, instead.

man, it really is the turning point for how kiyoi percieves hira imo. it's when the uncertainly looking to see if he can trust hira morphs into something else. he knows, now

hirakiyo soulmate au where they have what their soulmate will call them as a nickname on their wrists, and kiyoi has always had "king" as a soulmark whereas hira has always had "stalker" on his wrist

something that was left out of the drama that i always think about is what hira says during the climactic scene of s1. i think so often about what hira says here, because it really sheds a light on why he thinks the way he does

well, the drama takes out the parts that show formerly passively suicidal hira. did you know he used to "tie a towel to a doorknob" to practice feelin the sensation of killing himself? and that kiyoi responds with "..." at him mentioning this?

kiyoi "i'm NOT going to ask for his number again" sou

^ he asked for his number again

the finger scene (you know the one) fucking KILLS ME. the tension. the way kiyoi is just so heartbroken by how hira just. has no idea how he feels and lives inside of his fantasies. . . . . . . . i am going to die. the way hira just thinks it's impossible kiyoi could like him back