#issei x mamocchi

[waitmyturtles]

In the midst of today’s GMMTV excitement, I bring you a distraction meta: Kabe Koji, the finale. IT WAS LOVELY. 

What drew me into the show originally was the conceit of the plight of a doujin -- how were the writers of this show going to design the love journey of someone who essentially draws intimate (VERY INTIMATE) manga?

And where they took this show! Episode seven’s revelations of self-hatred. The finale’s revelation of the sympathetic journalist. TSUBASA COMING THROUGH (WHAT?! TSUBASA?). Yamada giving Mamocchi the one final push (YAMADA, THE REAL MVP, THE REALSIES). The taped-up photo at the end. Issei in the apron. 

For a short series, this show was seriously complicated. When I saw Tsubasa coming through for Issei, I realized that I had forgotten the story of Tsubasa’s brother, and how that episode pushed Tsubasa himself to become a great idol -- for the sake of someone else.

And the same with Issei. He became an idol for the sake of someone else. He knew he couldn’t win Mamocchi in high school -- so Issei pushed himself to become a success to remain in Mamocchi’s eyes, somehow, even while not knowing how devoted Mamocchi was to Issei. Issei naively pushed through -- because, I think, naiveté was all that Issei had, as someone who had grown up in such a traumatized household. 

I’m just gushing out thoughts here at the moment, but another twist I loved was the manly tits doujinshi character (did he have a name?!), asking Mamocchi why his life and love were so complicated. I really liked this motif -- while doujinshis are almost always centered around sex and/or intimacy, the ways in which it gets there can be very real and very complicated (that’s a GREAT overgeneralization, by the way, as there are very risqué and controversial doujinshis out there, topics on which I’m not going to touch). But, generally speaking, you know what the doujinshis will be getting at. For the manly tits guy to be asking Mamocchi -- what’s up? -- I think was a useful indication that the world was telling Mamocchi, you are making your love too complicated and inaccessible. You can let go, safely, and find your intimacy with the person who CLEARLY loves you, if you’re willing to find it and see it for what it is.

In this instance, for the sake of development, I liked that there was a time jump. I don’t think enough time was spent on demonstrating that Mamocchi was coming out of his social bubble after the time jump, but the signs were there, even with Mamocchi going to the convention afterparty. Mamocchi needed to slowly start coming out of his shell to recognize, as Yamada was reminding him -- that he could have, and deserve, happiness. 

And this might take me another post, but I feel like there was something really twisted, deep, lovely, and complicated about Issei’s journey, too. While I called him naive earlier, I wonder out loud if what we saw in this episode was a kind of growth, moving forward, moving backwards, protecting Mamocchi, maybe even protecting himself -- all because we know that Issei was traumatized as a child and used his smile to hide his feelings, to protect himself, and to protect others around him from what he was experiencing.

I think Issei needed to come out of his shell, too. We think he had already been out of it, with the way he was coming onto Mamocchi throughout the series. But I think his reading Mamocchi’s final doujinshi was the kind of emotional confirmation that Issei HIMSELF needed to make his final case to Mamocchi. Mamocchi revealed his true feelings in that last doujinshi. He was honest with himself, with the world, with his heart. There was nothing he was hiding anymore.

I think Issei needed to see that to feel safe in HIS love for Mamocchi, and to prepare to make a final confession that would win Mamocchi over. Issei had grown up in a household of hidden hatred, simmering anger, hidden feelings. However, Issei is a character that wears his heart on his sleeve. That’s the way he needed to express love -- and he needed Mamocchi to confirm it, in Mamocchi’s own way, so that Issei could cross the bridge and wrap Mamocchi into a relationship.

Man, I am GOING TO MISS THIS SHOW. Japanese BLs this year have SLAYYYYYYYED ME. SLAYED ME. I did not know what to expect out of Kabe Koji, but this show was UTTERLY FABULOUS. Issei and Mamocchi -- I’m going to miss you guys so much. 

#kabe koji #kabe koji nekoyashiki kun desires to be recognized #kabe-koji-nekoyashiki-kun desires to be recognized #issei x mamocchi #mamocchi x issei #matsuoka koudai #nakao masaki

[alleycvm]

I do not think Tsubasa was a bully in school. Tsubasa being a bully would be lazy writing. I feel like Tsubasa has these reactions just before he turns on his tough exterior acting as a defense mechanism only Issei can see through, i.e. we can see Tsubasa reacting to the lady Issei brought at the end of the episode.

I believe the photos in the article look somewhat staged - I do understand this is a show and everyone is acting. However, my initial thought was he did get into a fight with this student, but not because he was bullying him. My original idea was the kid he had pinned to the wall was a bully, but I am not really sold on the kid being a bully. If I had to think of an reason, I would say the kid was someone close to Tsubasa allowing himself to give up and Tsubasa - being Tsubasa - attempted to "motivate/push" the boy like he does his group members. I just had a passing thought about the boy in the photo possibly bullying Tsubasa and this is a photo of Tsubasa finally standing up for himself - I am thinking the kid triggered Tsubasa into getting violent.

I think Tsubasa isn't a bully because:

Issei likes/adores him. As we can see from Issei's interaction with the reporter, Issei seems clueless but is very aware and thoughtful.

Tsubasa just accepted and announced he was a bully too quickly and easily. At his level of stardom, he could easily fight off these accusations.

Tsubasa's acceptance of the article felt like no one would believe him otherwise.

Tsubasa refuses to explain the context of the photo further.

Tsubasa attempts to escape to his safe space (gym).

Tsubasa looks hurt and heartbroken when he sees the antis outside the window.

These are all just fun speculations I am making. I am excited to see how it all plays out next week. I leave this to you scary Issei!

#kabe koji nekoyashiki kun desires to be recognized #kabe koji #quick thoughts #theories #matsuoka koudai #kodai matsuoka #nakao masaki #masaki nakao #toshiki tateishi #tsubasa yahiro #issei kazama #mamoru nekoyashiki #mamocchi #issei x mamocchi

[connorjesup]

Doujin isn't suppose to be created for an ulterior motive. I know that already. It's a place to create what you want, how you want. I know that well and clear.

+ bonus; Yamada Koharu being a Big Mood™

#kabe koji nekoyashiki kun desires to be recognized #kabe koji #kabekojiedit #jdramaedit #lgbtedit #matsuoka koudai #nakao masaki #nekoyashiki mamoru #kazama issei #yahagi honoka #yamada koharu #show: kabe koji #kabe koji spoilers #issei x mamoru #my gif #yooooooooo i am begging you to fucking watch this fucking show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! y'all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #i need mamocchi to STOP with the 'his love is not like that' nonsense asap!!!!! #next week also!!!!!!! sigh!!!!!!!!!! baby boy you need to OPEN YOUR EYES!!!!!!!!!! #anyway me and the 6 people watching it going insane over it that's what's UP

[respectthepetty]

I love Kabe-Koji!

I love it. I love it. I love it. I love it. I love it. I love it. I love it. I love it.

*whispers* I love it.

Episode 6 started in black and white with Mamoru talking about how he thought he had to be ashamed of being gay and how he needed to hide it; then, he found a place where he realized he didn't have to hide who he was and color came into his life...

*I'm crying*

But now he feels like he is losing that place, and he is OPEN and honest about his struggle

So his friends show up to support him in various ways and them just being there for him and reminding him that he has support and has friends who like that he draws men's tits and has a shrine dedicated to a pop idol makes him smile in the smallest way

He's not anywhere close to being over his depression, but he has support. He has people who love him just the way he is not despite it. He can be his authentic gay self. He can be quiet and wear black because the people around him bring the loudness and color.

He wants a place to be free and where people will like and accept him. He is so worried about being liked that he misses that he is LOVED!

He doesn't realize that he can be different and still be loved even outside of his special place.

But Issei is going to show him.

This potential serial killer is going to show our Mamocchi that he deserves to be loved how ever he needs to be loved. Issei is going to show Mamocchi that even when he isn't at his best, what's important is he keeps trying.

*bawling on the floor in a fetal position*

I LOVE THIS SHOW!

#kabe koji #kabe koji nekoyashiki kun desires to be recognized #mamoru x issei #mamocchi deserves to be loved not liked #I love this show #episode 6

[waitmyturtles]

Oh my god, Kabe Koji. THIS SHOW. OH MY GOD.

“I hate myself for being like this.”

Who are the geniuses behind this show??

Before the ending, Mamocchi’s last part of his monologue to Yamada, something I was wondering was -- why didn’t Issei ask Mamocchi WHY Mamocchi was feeling the way he was feeling? Why didn’t Issei ask Mamocchi -- why and how am I causing you pain?

But now I wonder, having literally just wrapped the episode, if Issei actually knows what Mamocchi is going through. I’m not sure, but I think so -- especially since Yamada ran to Issei before to express her concern over Mamocchi.

I’m kicking myself because I should have realized that the entire storyline was based off of Mamocchi’s self-hatred for being gay, but to see it so laid out bare in the way they filmed it -- this was just gorgeous and painful.

Mamocchi can’t stand being treated kindly by Issei because he can’t be kind to himself. He knows that Issei’s smile is full of pain and not entirely sincere; he feels that when Issei says “like” that it’s not entirely genuine, and that feeds into Mamocchi’s self-hatred and insecurity.

I knew this show would go DEEP, but this is really well done and messy and DEEP.

I WISH THIS SHOW HAD MORE EPISODES. I CANNOT BELIEVE IT’S ENDING NEXT WEEK, SOB.

And I’m gonna follow Matsuoka Koudai after this, because he was BRILLIANT in this episode.

Kabe Koji, MY LOVE. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS SHOW, DON’T END!

#kabe koji #kabe koji nekoyashiki kun desires to be recognized #kabe-koji-nekoyashiki-kun desires to be recognized #issei x mamocchi #mamocchi x issei #matsuoka koudai #nakao masaki

[waitmyturtles]

AAAHHH, KABE KOJI, I LOVE YOU SOOOO MUCH! 

Thank you, episode six, for giving us so much more context than we’ve had the past few episodes! Man, when I say slow burn on this show, it is really a sloooowww burn, but waiting for six episodes to get more insight into Mamocchi was worth it. 

First off, inspired by @respectthepetty‘s posts on colors in Big Dragon and Between Us: I am now paying attention to when Mamocchi is wearing black vs. white, and what his moods are when he’s wearing white. And it was interesting to see the mind image of Issei coming out in his white suit when Mamocchi was imagining the wall of the manga convention moving farther and farther away from him. 

But now I’m also connecting this color comparison to a few other moments in the show:

1) Moments when Mamocchi is wearing black vs. white during the intro song, but more importantly,

2) The fact that (SPOILERS!) the first scene of episode six was in dimmed black and white while Mamocchi reveals that he’s gay.

Oh goddamn. To be able to plunge so deeply into Mamocchi’s mood and heart so almost openly in this episode felt like a bit of a relief. And to see his friends, his small community, KNOWING that he’d be depressed because he’s not on the wall. Come thru, homies! I love the nurturing meaning of food given to Mamocchi -- just the simple message that this human being is wonderful and worth taking care of. 

And when Mamocchi gets the little lift from Issei! Gah. “He gave me the little push on the back.” Issei’s seeing all sorts of ways to be motivated to work in Shiny Smile, from Tsubasa’s almost-bullying, to Issei’s own inner drive to succeed for Mamocchi’s sake. I think Issei’s trying to give unto Mamocchi the kind of motivation that he (Issei) would actually like to get from those that surround him. 

Let’s see where this paparazzi storyline goes, but I love how Issei is so weird and positive about it. I LOVE food bribes, they make so much sense.

And Yamada = real MVP. 

I might have to re-watch this episode this week -- I feel like I missed a bunch, but I’m just in a rush to get words down because this show is so freaking well done.

#kabe koji #kabe koji nekoyashiki kun desires to be recognized #kabe-koji-nekoyashiki-kun desires to be recognized #mamocchi x issei #issei x mamocchi

[waitmyturtles]

Just a couple quick follow-ups/realizations I had about the last episode of Kabe Koji.

First off, I believe this was the first episode that didn’t have any of the manga animations that usually surround Mamocchi. Of course, this episode focused heavily on Tsubasa and Shiny Smile, and the story of Tsubasa’s brother, as well as the concert filming. Perhaps we’ll see the animations again in the next episode as we go back to Mamocchi and the manga convention, but -- I thought that the decision to NOT animate Mamocchi’s inner thoughts at the time he was at the concert was interesting, and as well when he showed Yamada his new manga. 

I’m trying to wrap my head around why that is, and what the animations brought to the last episodes. Certainly a slight feeling of levity and emphasis, but I also wonder, by pulling back on the animations for this episode, whether or not us viewers are being told that we might be exiting a world of fantasy into a world of real developing feelings, especially on Mamocchi’s end. As he comes out of his shell, his cave of protection with the manga that he had previously drawn, into a new world of new ideas, of new manga, and of new feelings for Issei -- if those animations were an inner crutch for Mamocchi to lean on, that we’re being told that he’s considering putting those crutches down to live out something new in his life. 

I really like the subtlety of that decision, and that represents a lot of what I love about this show. The slow burn is SO subtle. I don’t even think that “love” is the right word to use for what’s happening, except that Mamocchi’s inner thoughts was translated as “love” when he was watching the concert. Anyway, that’s one reason why I’m excited for seeing where the show goes.

Also, I love the deliberate nature of focusing this episode not just on Shiny Smile, but specifically on a character that is NOT Issei or Mamocchi. Tsubasa’s growth as a person, his development of maturity, his being pushed into being an idol by an adoring brother who couldn’t enjoy the same fate -- I think Tsubasa’s story of growth and change is meant to indicate that, hey, Issei and Mamocchi, you two can grow and change, too. And I love how stubborn Issei is. He’s SUCH a sneakily written character. He’s so over the top with his behavior, his gilded smiles and jumps for joy, that he’s hiding a very sophisticated perspective that he has on how he wants to be a great idol, love the person he loves, and live the life he wants to live. 

And we know that that’s complicated, because he has a very complicated background, so there’s also self-discovery that’s happening -- but all in the context of how he’s dealing with his trauma through smiles. I wonder if what we’re seeing with Issei is that for the first time in his life, he’s seeing something traumatic happening in front of him, and he’s much more confident in knowing how to manage the problems he’s facing. I think that was indicated by the sudden speech he made after Tsubasa spoke at the concert. 

God, I love this show. I’m getting the sense that we viewers are being teased by realizations that are a lot deeper than we see on the surface, and I hope I’m right, because I can’t stop thinking about what’s happening!

#kabe koji #kabe-koji-nekoyashiki-kun desires to be recognized #kabe koji nekoyashiki kun desires to be recognized #issei x mamocchi #mamocchi x issei #i'm really looking forward to seeing what happens at the manga convention next week #i want to see what issei pulls #and fuck the paparazzi why do you want to take down shiny smile so much #tsubasa's redemption was great to watch

[waitmyturtles]

Oh my gosh, one more thought (!) on Kabe Koji, both on the last episode and the series as a whole:

Issei has known for a good chunk of his life that he’s in love with Mamocchi, and has known since high school. Couple that with the childhood trauma he went through with his parents. 

Do we think his parents know about his sexuality? Were his smiles a way of either hiding his own truth from them, and/or from himself, or were his smiles a way of dealing with his family actually knowing about his sexuality?

In other words: besides his processing/withholding/dealing with family trauma external to himself, he also has his internal struggles, and we don’t know yet if his sexuality is something that he’s necessarily intentionally hiding -- from his family, from Shiny Smile, from the paps. 

Mamocchi, in high school, suggests to Issei to become an idol. But, other than that, we know very little about who Issei was as a teenager. He was popular, it seems, for sure, leveraging his smiles with his classmates. Mamocchi noted during Issei’s high school confession that they could never be equals. 

But then, Mamocchi only knew about Issei’s true family situation well into adulthood from his mother. So, during high school -- what exactly was Issei hiding, and how did he do it? And, how did he SURVIVE doing it (because that pressure had to have been hard to deal with, right?).

Meaning, at least to me -- god damn, Issei is SO intricate and complicated! He might be playing a very, very long game with his career to become a top idol. He could be risking it by flirting and approaching Mamocchi so boldly. Maybe he can’t bear the weight of waiting anymore to find out if Mamocchi can reciprocate. (Especially if shedding that weight helps him deal with the pain of his past.) But these are risks that, clearly, he’s willing to take to make Mamocchi a closer part of his life. 

This show! Give me more! Moooooore. (But at this slow pace, because I really like this slow pace. I like how confusing and weird and intriguing it is.)

#kabe koji #kabe-koji-nekoyashiki-kun desires to be recognized #kabe koji nekoyashiki kun desires to be recognized #issei x mamocchi #mamocchi x issei #everytime i think about this show i fall more and more for issei #the idol set-up is so over the top that i think it's meant as an intentional distraction from understanding issei more deeply #but now i might be just conspiracy theorizing

[waitmyturtles]

Quick thoughts on two ongoing shows!

1) Kabe Koji -- man, could I fall in love with this show more? It’s such a UNIQUE slow burn, and I love where it’s taking me. I have no idea, literally no idea, what to expect of it. Issei is SUCH an off-the-wall, stereotypical idol character with this simmering, kind of angry-seeming, driven, maybe even confrontational (?) side of defying what’s expected to be typical behavior of himself and around him. I love it. This show is really taking its time with creating what I think could be a new BL dynamic. 

And Mamocchi beginning to acknowledge his feelings, almost, too! And Mamocchi facing a brand-new challenge next week away from the wall. I have that narrator’s voice in my head asking myself: “WILL MAMOCCHI BE RECOGNIZED AWAY FROM THE WALL?!” But I really wonder. And obviously, Issei has something great in store. Squee. These episodes are too damn short for what is obviously an incredibly interesting story.

2) Big Dragon -- I picked this up after a brief conferral with the lovely @freakyfreakz (of our shared Cupcake obsession, hi!), and I let curiosity get the best of me. I’m leaning on @respectthepetty‘s analyses of this show to try to better and more deeply understand this show. Unfortunately, I’m concerned (what a word, ha) about the acting, particularly Yai/Isbanky -- the man’s beautiful, but I’m not sure the long gazes into nothingness as you remember your lines are quite working all the time, my dear. And I also saw some posts about the sound editing, and totally agree, I am straining while trying to hear what’s being said.

But that being said, honestly -- I’m intrigued by the plot, and there’s clearly a dom/sub storyline that needs to be more fully expanded. The jump to tenderness between Mangkorn and Yai was just a little touch jarring, but also done cutely, so that’s forgiven. And also, I just really like that there’s this undercurrent that all four of the guys -- Mangkorn, Yai, Park, and Pong -- are kind of ditzy and dumb and make silly decisions. Like, Mangkorn. Just text Yai. Don’t only call from your new number. You also can chat on LINE, that’s a key feature of the program. 

I am now particularly curious about the Mangkorn storyline, and like I said with my Eclipse posts -- we always, always and forever, need to see acceptance by parents as much as we can in BL, and I’m glad we’re seeing it from at least one parent. Mangkorn is weighed down by a dominant father and big expectations. I need to dive more heavily into the tag to better understand the mythical relationship between dragon and tiger so that I can catch more references. As cray as this show is (especially that first episode, DAMN), this is a light-to-medium watch that I will not mind following live, and it’ll allow me to leverage Live Like a Girl and Silent as two doramas that take away most of my fully concentrated headspace for the immediate time-being. 

#kabe koji #kabe-koji-nekoyashiki-kun desires to be recognized #kabe koji nekoyashiki kun desires to be recognized #issei x mamocchi #mamocchi x issei #big dragon #mangkorn x yai #yai x mangkorn

[waitmyturtles]

Alright, taking a breather from my Eclipse posts to handle a couple things! (Long post!)

1) New ep of Kabe Koji: LOVELY. Ooooooh, the sloooooooowww burn. Mamocchi’s emotion at touching Issei and inspiring him. Issei’s slow growth into leadership and determination. These characters are taking their time with showing their facets. I’m really loving it. 

2) Japanese Twitter (and English Twitter reporting on doramas) have noted that the show Silent is quite popular right now in Japan, so I’m picking it up on Viki. Watched the first episode last night, and it is just lovely, reflective of a lot of what I like about doramas and Japanese literature. The pace is very much akin to Shinya Shokudo -- it takes its time with telling its story. It focuses on a young woman who is about to move in with her boyfriend, a high school friend. But she runs into another high school classmate -- her ex-boyfriend, who had suddenly dumped her after graduation. While she thought she had been dumped for another woman, her ex-boyfriend had actually lost his hearing. I’m only through episode one, and there are three on Viki so far, but I’m going to dive into this -- I feel like the pace and storyline are super calming, and the acting is wonderful so far. The lead actress is Kawaguchi Haruna, who I haven’t watched before, but she’s splendid. 

I’m so appreciating the increase in dramas that feature characters with disabilities in lead or prominent roles -- Drive My Car, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, and now (for me) Silent. I’m only through episode one, but it seems like this art is being respectfully and deeply done. It’s a nice foil to the intensity of The Eclipse, and I think I’m picking up Big Dragon once The Eclipse is over, so considering how insane Big Dragon looks, I’ll need a calmer dorama to balance things out!

3) OMG, I am FINALLY publishing this review: Three Star Bar in Nishi Ogikubo, yay!

I finished this cute mid-season 2021 dorama much later than I expected; I started it last month, and had to pause while my partner had COVID. But this six-episode series was otherwise a quick watch. I’m going to offer some gentle criticism, but this show did help me cross another dorama off my Machida Keita rabbithole list. 

The show focused on three former high school classmates, now adults, who take over the bar of the deceased grandfather of one of the classmates. The bar focuses on classic cocktails and only serves canned food (somewhat of a common occurrence in shows about food in Japan). Machida as Amamiya is a former salaryman; Fujiwara Kisetsu as Nakauchi is a former high-end chef who transforms the canned foods into unique dishes, and Morisaki Win as Kobayashi is a struggling author and current owner of the bar.

So I think that this dorama would have actually been slightly better if it had been a fall or early winter dorama, which sounds kinda of weird, but hear me out: the three main actors are all amazing in their own right -- we’ve seen them in other works that totally showcased their acting chops. 

[Having now watched a couple Machida works, and with more on my list, I’m really getting convinced that Cherry Magic was his prime acting showcase of his career so far. Watching Teppachi! was fine, shrugs, and Super Rich is going along (Akaso Eiji outacts Machida in Super Rich), but those shows aren’t challenging, or like, dramatic. Live Like a Girl, Alice in Borderland, that taiga he was in, and probably some movies I’m missing, may prove me wrong, but I gotta watch them first before I judge. I think we were deeply spoiled by the actual quality of the filming and writing of CM, regardless of its BL status, for both Machida and Akaso.]

Anyway, I think that if Three Star Bar were a fall or early winter show, it may have been written with a little more depth -- instead, I think it served as a mid-season quick filler for MBS. I think the three guys (sparkles sparkles, they were all cast together for a reason) were ultimately underutilized, and the customer focal points of each episode were slightly weak and hyperbolized. There was a lot of potential -- the dorama was sweet, but the writing was on the edge of something much more complicated and interesting that didn’t quite get there.

I wrote earlier that episode two punched me in the gut -- it was an episode about an actress-turned-mother who was struggling with balancing her career and raising her child. Lord, can I relate. 

So I think that episode could have really gone places! Japan has deeply entrenched issues with supporting career women who become mothers. I think the episode documented the actress’s struggles well. But the guys were left to respond kind of with....not a lot. The actress’s husband comes to the bar and says, “we’ll manage.” Like, cool, but give us more. What I wanted to see was how the husband would compromise himself and his family’s structure to accommodate his wife’s career -- it wouldn’t have taken too much more writing to get to that point. Or the guys talking about their own views of this problem more deeply. 

I think I’m being critical enough of this show because the potential for human revelations in the context of being alone in a quiet bar are so high. I’m working out in my head a separate meditation on the beauty of eating and drinking alone, and how Japan handles this so beautifully in their many shows about the topic. I really wanted Three Star Bar to join those ranks, but ultimately, the dorama was designed to tell a different story. 

For the sake of that different story -- getting three cute classmates together to figure out their early mid-life crises as a team -- it was a sweet show, especially the last episode, with an ex-pat coming back home to Japan to discover her father’s life in the old bar with Kobayashi’s grandfather. I truly do love shows that showcase food and cocktails, and honestly, I think Machida as a bartender did the best he could with what he was given from a writing perspective. 

And Amamiya’s and Kobayashi’s life revelations at the end were satisfying. Amamiya’s character was written as a little milquetoast, but -- the guy clearly need to move away from society’s demands that he turn into a run-of-the-mill salaryman. By finding his life in the bar and living creatively, Amamiya took a risk that a man like himself would have otherwise likely struggled to accept. The true winner of this show, in my opinion, was Morisaki Win as Kobayashi. His Kobayashi was the perfect brooding foil to Amamiya’s cheerfulness, and I think Kobayashi’s revelatory story of conquering writer’s block did nail what a quiet bar inspires -- aloneness can oftentimes bring light to darkness.

I would recommend this as a quick watch! If you LOVE shows about people sitting at bars and working out their very deep issues, Shinya Shokudo is the dorama for that; but Three Star Bar is perfect for a fast binge. AND, SWEETLY: two cute future BL cameos are in this, with Nishigaki Sho as a young Amamiya, and Matsuoka Koudai from beloved Kabe Koji as a fellow chef. Nishigaki playing a young Amamiya was particularly cute and made me giggle; I wonder what Minato Akira/Rokkaku would have thought. 

#three star bar in nishi ogikubo #machida keita #morisaki win #fujiwara kisetsu #nishigaki sho #matsuoka koudai #silent #kawaguchi haruna #meguro ren #kabe koji #kabe-koji-nekoyashiki-kun desires to be recognized #kabe koji nekoyashiki kun desires to be recognized #issei x mamocchi #mamocchi x issei

[respectthepetty]

Wait a darn minute?!

Mamocchi is upset because he doesn't think Issei loves him the way he loves Issei.

He thinks Issei likes him, like...a friend.

He thinks Issei wouldn't be bothered being photographed with him because he thinks Issei sees them as friends

While Mamocchi would be bothered by it because it would imply Issei is gay and ruin his career

Issei has told Mamocchi that he loves him

Issei has told Mamocchi that he likes him

But Mamocchi questions Issei

Because, to him, a nice guy like Issei likes and loves everyone and everything. To him, Issei likes him the same way he likes everyone, and that's why Mamocchi is so upset

ISSEI LOVES YOU, MAMOCCHI!

HE LOVES YOU!!!!!!

#kabe koji #kabe koji nekoyashiki kun desires to be recognized #he doesn't like you #he LOVES you #mamoru x issei #mamocchi deserves to be loved not liked

[connorjesup]

Remember how we use to talk at night like this, in high school? Yeah, you one-sidedly did. Even so, you always kept me company. That made me a happy guy.

Kabe Koji Nekoyashiki Kun Desires To Be Recognized | EP 03    

#kabe koji nekoyashiki kun desires to be recognized #kabekojiedit #lgbtedit #jdramaedit #kabe koji #nakao masaki #matsuoka koudai #nekoyashiki mamoru #kazama issei #issei x mamoru #show: kabe koji #kabe koji spoilers #my gif #everything during this scene im sorry but you cannot be normal about them #the music the way he says mamocchi? worried cause he doesn't reply the way he was his safe place AND happy place back then like hello??????? #those two are just so chef's kiss i wanna scream actually

[respectthepetty]

You put a bridge between them?! A bridge?! The symbol of connection, unity, conquering fears, progress, and communication. YOU PUT THAT BETWEEN THEM while Mamocchi is breaking his and Issei's hearts?!

Japan, you ruthless bastard!

THIS! This is the vibe I'm writing about! This episode!

Mamocchi is constantly questioning the value of his existence, and the hatred he feels towards himself is always present, in every second and every interaction.

I was truly worried something was going to happen as he sat there in the dark dazed and pondering his worth surrounded by what he deems as failures talking to Yamada.

To be helpless to his feelings, but also be useless when Yamada hears her friend in pain on the other side of the door. To know that all that anger and hatred he has is directed towards himself .

Our girl changed her entire being to help her friend but it hurt so much to see her that way which only emphasized how serious the situation was.

There was this lingering feeling of sadness even when in the happiest moments because Mamocchi could never step out into the light with Issei, not fully, because he didn't think he deserved it.

YET THEY BOTH LOVE EACH OTHER!

Japan, you make me so damn sad.

*whispers through sobs* I 'like' you

#kabe koji #kabe koji nekoyashiki kun desires to be recognized #this is so sad #it'll be okay right? #it has to be #episode 7 #mamoru x issei #mamocchi deserves to be loved not liked