It is I, Luna, once again coming to you with a post focused on Boys Love. Why, you might ask yourself, do I always end up writing our posts on BL? Well my friends, I sit on a throne of secrets–just kidding. Perhaps one Niji Night I will go into why, but for now, I’m going to use all my knowledge of BL tropes to actually tell you why the live-action, The Man Who Defies the World of BL, is actually a freaking masterpiece in my mind.
The Man Who Defies the World of BL, as I said above is a live-action Japanese drama that is actually based off of a manga of the same name. Since I have not read this manga, I cannot speak to how good the adaption is, nor can I speak to how good the original manga was. But what I can say is that the decision to make this into a live-action is 100% worth it in my opinion. The reason is that this story is about essentially a college-aged guy who realizes he is living in a world of Boy’s Love. What does that mean? It literally means that everything around him pretty much turns into the plot of a boy’s love story. There are some background characters that don’t end up in BL scenarios–a lot of MOB characters are the ones ending up in straight relationships, and all the main character wants is to avoid the world of BL by remaining a MOB–even when his friends and acquaintances fall in love around him.
Now, hearing the premise, I was a bit iffy because it sounded like it could very easily end up being offensive or just not humorous at all. Luckily, it manages to avoid both of these things strangely. I think this is because he actually doesn’t care if the people around him are getting into relationships–he just doesn’t want to be in the relationship himself. He wants to be able to fade into the background–he doesn’t want to conform to the world. While yes, there are moments where his thoughts do seem rather homophobic in relation to himself and his family, he also is one of the biggest supporters of other relationships. See, the main character often finds himself falling into tropes where he sees red flags (or rather green flags) go up in BL storylines and when he does he immediately tries to find a way to stop them from happening to him. He does this by completely ruining a conversation, or more likely–by getting another boy to fall into the part of the trope as well and therefore become the one in the relationship. And it’s just so funny to watch as a seasoned BL watcher, because you can just feel when he’s about to fall into a trope–and then he does. But when he does fall into the trope, he does a really good job of explaining the trope to the audience. Obviously for him it’s a self-defense mechanism to remind himself what the trope is so he can put the breaks on it, but functionally it works to cue in the unseasoned BL watcher to what’s happening.
Now, being a live-action, the real humor actually comes from the actors. Because the boys falling in love are SO serious. Like there are some really good BL stories in this, but then the protagonist has the funniest reactions in comparison. His actor is SO over the top in how he jolts when a boy catches him or grazes his hand. He’ll like panic internally–his eyes get dramatically wide, his face just makes these insane expressions. This actor literally feels like an animated character. He’s incredible. I think because he’s not afraid to make his face ugly as he scrunches it up. He really brings the humor.
Now, one of the best parts of this show is that despite the protagonist avoiding BL scenarios, he obviously ends up in one. With a character that is plotted in an earlier episode and then comes back at the end. He tries so hard to avoid catching feelings, but he starts to fall for the other guy–so much that you don’t know if he’s going to fall to the trope or stay strong and continue being a MOB. It’s very well orchestrated. Highlights for some of the other relationships in this show include a meet-cute in the cafeteria, the protagonist’s younger brother who falls in love with his best friend, and the delinquent and the honor student. I also really like how these relationships don’t get entirely sidelined–they come back briefly and carry on bits of their stories sometimes. It’s so good.
This show also breaks the fourth wall in the wildest way. There’s this character named Mayama that I couldn’t get a vibe on when I first saw him. Was he part of a BL trope? We were trying to figure it out. Was he going to be the one to end up with the protagonist? No. No, instead he was actually breaking the fourth wall the entire time by being a manga artist. A manga artist who just so happens to draw some pretty eerily similar scenarios to what is happening in the world. Is it a cheap gag? Kinda but it’s hilarious. I love Mayama so much. He’s the real puppetmaster behind the protagonist’s long, drawn-out love story.
Now, the last thing I want to highlight about this show is that it manages to toe this very delicate line between poking fun at the genre of boys love while also managing to tell cute BL stories. It has those moments that are totally over the top: with flower screen tones and bright lights as the boys fall in love, and it also has the narrative emotional moments that sure–literally might last a moment but are still there. I’ve never quite seen something play with this balance so expertly. Because even though it is slap-your-knee hilarious at times, it never feels TOO silly. Which is always good because it could’ve just made BL the butt of the joke and that would’ve felt so inappropriate. Having an actual BL story wrapped into the plot–meaning the one starring the protagonist–it really kind of solidifies that even though its poking fun at the genre, it’s also taking it seriously and trying to show the beautiful quirkiness of these stories and this kind of love.
Overall, The Man Who Defies the World of BL is truly, truly amazing and entertaining. It’s got great actors, a great story, is extremely educational in terms of Boys Love tropes–it’s just, really outstanding for a show I thought I’d hate. It even takes the problematic trope of an unwilling protagonist that flips their narrative into something lighthearted and humorous. The show has such cute and pure romances. It’s just–I don’t know. It’s an interesting commentary on the genre of boys love as a whole. And while, admittedly, it’s still somewhat problematic, it’s also a very informative and entertaining show.
Stay weebtastic,
xoxo
Luna
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