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Contrast (Japanese Series)

By Golu
This is basically a high school BL where two guys who have nothing going on in common somehow end up getting really close to each other, and that's kind of the whole point of the title too. There's barely any drama or fluff packed in here, it stays pretty straightforward the whole way through. A little bit of friction pops up here and there, but it's nothing compared to what you'd normally get in this kind of show. Runtime wise you're looking at 8 episodes, each one sitting around 25-30 minutes. The two guys carrying the story are Akira and Kanata, and funny enough they knew each other's faces way before they ever knew each other's names. Kanata's the type everyone likes, always got people around him, popular guy, but there's this distance to him that people can't quite place. Turns out he had an injury that ended his football days, and that's what pushed him into being more withdrawn, and it only got worse once his younger brother got picked...
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Contrast (Japanese Series)

By Golu

This is basically a high school BL where two guys who have nothing going on in common somehow end up getting really close to each other, and that's kind of the whole point of the title too. There's barely any drama or fluff packed in here, it stays pretty straightforward the whole way through. A little bit of friction pops up here and there, but it's nothing compared to what you'd normally get in this kind of show. Runtime wise you're looking at 8 episodes, each one sitting around 25-30 minutes.

The two guys carrying the story are Akira and Kanata, and funny enough they knew each other's faces way before they ever knew each other's names. Kanata's the type everyone likes, always got people around him, popular guy, but there's this distance to him that people can't quite place. Turns out he had an injury that ended his football days, and that's what pushed him into being more withdrawn, and it only got worse once his younger brother got picked up by a pro soccer team. Akira's the opposite, he's quiet and keeps himself to himself. Their paths actually meet on this staircase that leads up to the school terrace, and that becomes their spot, where their bond builds and they end up telling each other things neither would dare say to anyone else. Somewhere along those quiet moments together, feelings start creeping in that go beyond friendship, but neither one wants to actually say it out loud, and honestly there's a real reason for that hesitation. Akira had liked a guy before, his best friend actually, and when he confessed his feelings, that friend just went cold and stopped speaking to him, which crushed him. Later on though, his brother's best friend comes into the picture, also gay, and the two of them end up building something that's both emotional and physical in a way that actually feels healthy for both of them. When Akira opens up to this guy about Kanata, the guy pushes him to be brave and just tell Kanata how he feels, pointing out that whatever he has going with him isn't built to last anyway. Meanwhile Kanata's busy getting back into football with his friends cheering him on, but he's completely in the dark about where Akira's head is at emotionally. Eventually Akira lays his whole past out for Kanata, and Kanata's response is that everyone's got a past, what matters to him is the future he could have with Akira.

Both of these guys are at that age where confidence is shaky at best, so their own insecurities end up being their biggest enemy. Kanata shows up in Akira's life in a way he didn't see coming, and that starts patching up the damage from before, but it also brings back that fear that history's going to repeat itself. Akira's got to work through everything he's carrying, and Kanata's stuck dealing with feelings he never expected to have. After going back and forth with all of it, they both finally choose to stop avoiding each other and actually deal with what's between them. One thing I really appreciated is that Akira's sexuality isn't some mystery or slow reveal, he's just gay from the jump, no games around it. His whole thing with his brother's friend makes sense too, it's not random, they're both leaning on each other physically because they're each dealing with loneliness in their own way. The romance between the two leads takes its time to build, and honestly their friendship feels a bit stiff at the start, but once they actually start opening up to each other it clicks into place. On paper these two really shouldn't work together, and that's exactly what makes watching them fall for each other so satisfying, it's that whole opposites attract thing playing out.

That said, even with everything working in its favor, this show isn't bringing anything new to the table. It's the same story we've seen a hundred times, two people who seem totally mismatched slowly falling for each other, just dressed up with different names and different backstories but the same bones underneath. Honestly at this point I feel like we've had enough of this exact setup and it's time for something that actually breaks the mold. The cast does fine with what they're given and they look the part, but the writing and the plot are what hold it back from really sticking with you. (5.5/10)

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