Eternal Yesterday – 永遠の昨日 stars Komiya Rio and Inoue Sora. It’s the latest live-action adaptation from Japan that features a dark BL theme. “Life and death, sex and adolescence mixed together, [a unique] definition of adolescent BL.” That quote in itself is a hint as to the heart-wrenching nature of this upcoming BL.

Where to watch Eternal Yesterday?

Viki released this BL drama on 21 October 2022- Episode 1 (and succeeding episodes). GagaOOLala also features this Japanese BL drama – Episode 1 (and until Episode 8).

You need to upgrade your GagaOOLala account to watch. Viki’s access depends on the region you are located, but you may use a VPN service.

Eternal Yesterday
The main cast of ‘Eternal Yesterday’ (From left): Inoue Sora and Komiya Rio | KADOKAWA

Background

Blazing hot from the heels of 3 recently-released BL mini-series, Eternal Yesterday promises to be an engaging tale of two boys who developed feelings for each other. To air on the 20th of October (8 episodes), it follows Mr. Unlucky, Senpai, This Can’t Be Love!, and Takara-kun to Amagi-kun.

This BL manga is author Yuuri Eda’s masterpiece. According to ScreenOnline Japan, the author praises the transition from novel to film. She adds that the core part of the story remains in the live-action adaptation.

Raves for Dir. Kobayashi

Today, Japanese entertainment portals are abuzz with the news, specifically about the series director:

The director and scriptwriter have won the 55th Japan Film Directors Association Newcomer Award and the New Director Award at the 29th Japan Film Critics Awards. Dir. Kobayashi, who spins the sparkle of youth from a unique perspective, vividly depicts the heartrending love story of two high school boys.

TVLife Japan

Teaser | Trailer

Teaser trailer: Eternal Yesterday | Kadokawa, MBS

Synopsis

Eternal Yesterday is about two young guys. One is Koichi (Komiya Rio), cheerful and famous in his class. The other is Mitsuru (Inoue Sora), who is talented and not good at socializing. The two high school students feel a strong attraction to each other due to their opposite personalities. One morning, Koichi is hit by a truck in front of Mitsuru. Koichi got up on the spot and smiled. He was indeed still “alive. But then his classmates gradually began to forget about Koichi’s existence. A youth love story that you “can’t help but cry”.

Latest Dramatic Scenes

The latest photos show plenty of ‘devastatingly’ difficult emotions but are expressed quite well by the actors.

Cast of Characters

Komiya Rio (19) plays Yamada Koichi: TV Life Japan and did an interview where Komiya described his initial preparation for the role. He said:

“I prepared to play Yamada Koichi by reading the source material, and in all honesty, I was moved to tears while reading. I was affected by the sheer emotions expressed in the story about these two young high school students. I want to give my character a sense of reality.”

Rio is now the undisputed BL Prince from Japan. He plays lead roles in the horror BL movie Grand Guignol, and in this series. He is also part of Takara-kun to Amagi-kun, as one of the supporting characters.

Inoue Sora (24) portrays Aomi Mitsuru: Japanese entertainment portal Sponichi features Inoue as Kadokawa | MBS launches the series into high gear:

“I feel like there is a real need to convey both feelings of joy and pain. To portray my character – Aomi Mitsuru – to the audience I have to act with a particular amount of passion and express both positive and negative feelings. I was 40% happy, and 60% anxious, because it is my first lead role.”

Sora has been doing Japanese TV drama since 2020 and has about a dozen shows to his credit. Eternal Yesterday is his first main role in a series. He also did a short film entitled Blue Around Blue (2022), playing the main character.

Review

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Komiya Rio has adopted a new persona in Eternal Yesterday. While his role as Tanaka in Takara kun to Amagi kun calls for a slightly mischievous character who is also brutally frank and honest, his role as Yamada Koichi calls for the same sort of vibes, yet he does it differently. It’s in his eyes, where you get to see acting maturity. He portrays two similar characters in two BL series, yet he made them appear separate and distinct.

First time watching Inoue Sora. He’s playing the reserved, but intellectual Aomi Mitsuru. Dir. Kobayashi made sure the boys act with distinct personalities. The actors’ dynamics are slow-burn, yet you can see how it progresses into a blossoming friendship. Until tragedy arrives.

While this is an 8-episode series, the initial episode has covered a lot of ground already. It teases the audience to watch out for more, and there is certainly a lot to look forward to.

  • Dir. Kobayashi admits the series has become personal. He has become emotional while filming certain scenes;
  • Komiya Rio playing a ‘corpse’ incorporates a number of emotions – he has become weird, lonely, passionate, and even horny but there is a tendency to be sweet and romantic. Rio is one of the best Japanese actors doing BL right this minute!
  • Inoue Sora plays in a very nonchalant manner, first revealing he has been in love with Rio’s character all along. The picnic scene is particularly poignant and sweet;
  • This series is better than Takara kun to Amagin kun in terms of acting, direction, and overall production values. It tackles some serious issues like death, familial relationships, friendships, and much more.

Eternal Yesterday deals with delicate subject matters such as death, familial separation, and rejection. Dir. Kobayashi never gave in to over-dramatic narratives or play with viewers’ emotions. The scenes were matter-of-fact yet they can be emotional – heartwarming, sentimental, controversial – take your pick.

It’s one of the saddest, yet most memorable BL series I’ve seen in many years.

Cover - Eternal Yesterday, a Japanese BL series

This is a continuous coverage of the BL series Eternal Yesterday. Casting news or any updates we’ll be sure to add as soon as they are available.

Photo Credits: ©Yuuri Eda/Yoko Tanji/KADOKAWA | ©Eternal Yesterday Production Committee

Recommendations

We highly recommend the Japanese BL drama (that is more than BL) entitled More Than Words from Amazon Prime. As a hint, you may want to read about He’s Coming to Me. It has a similar ‘feel’ to this drama.

Korean Boys Love Series & Gay Films [2022 Edition]

10 Recommended Boys Love & Romance (Western BL Edition) Part 1/2