From the producers of the highly acclaimed Pornographer comes a new Apocalyptic romantic BL drama entitled The End of the World, With You. Directed by Miki Koichiro, it stars Seto Toshiki and Nakata Keisuke.
This BL drama is also known as Our Micro End, with the Japanese title of 僕らのミクロな終末.
Where to Watch The End of the World, With You?
You can watch this BL series at GagaOOLala, the link to episode 1 is here. The series is also streamed at Viki. It’s highly recommended to use a VPN especially when watching BL series. There are streaming sites like NetFlix, Viki, GagaOOLala, iQIYI, Hulu, Viu, and many others that may limit broadcast reach due to copyright and other legal stuff. A VPN is safe, reliable, and legal.
Synopsis
One day, the shocking news that “the earth will be destroyed in 10 days due to the fall of a huge meteorite” is broadcast on TV. The main character, Masumi Nishina, spent his days as a salaryman with no purpose in life. He decided to visit his alma mater’s university library to spend his remaining days quietly. There, he happens to meet a man named Ritsu Kusakabe. Masumi, who was betrayed and severely hurt by him in college, never wanted to see him again, but Ritsu invites Masumi to spend the last time with him until the end.
Naturally, Masumi refuses. However, as if seeing through Masumi’s terrified heart at the tragic end of the meteorite, Ritsu says, along with certain conditions, “I will give you medicine that will make you die easily.” Eventually, the two head to Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture for a certain purpose, and by facing each other’s pain and wounds, the distance between their minds and bodies is shortened again.
modelpress article with edits.
Review
I’ve decided to subscribe to Gaga OO Lala again due to this series. I felt that it had something new to offer, and my hunch is right. While apocalyptic shows are nothing new to me, the story touched a nerve. Since this series was somewhat reminiscent of my boyhood experience, when I was heartbroken over a love affair (that never materialized), I felt a personal connection to it. So I can feel sorry for Masumi, who was played by the handsome Seto Toshiki in such a heartbreaking way.
The bitterness Masumi exhibits is so relatable and so real that it pains me.
I have no idea how other viewers felt but the sex scenes were shockingly natural and in-your-face. I can understand his aggressive nature seeing the jerk who did it to him way back. And that’s ten years already. Talk about holding a grudge and it’s justified, in my opinion.
Nakata Keisuke, a fashion model turned actor, was good at playing the jerk, and the way he delivered the calculating and heartless dialogue cut like a knife.
Episodes 1-3 were great stuff! If this continues, I might add this series to my Top 25 BL series of all time. Indeed, the series was consistent until the end.
Episode 4 is a major highlight of the series. Our handsome jerk has a heart and I no longer wonder why Masumi is still in love with him. They shared a lot of great memories. While that hateful falling out remains an important part of their relationship, the good memories felt so much worth a reunion. Or at least a reconsideration. After all, there are only a few days left to live.
Revelations, transitions, and showdowns all take place in episodes five through eight. The tale veered away from the main couple, Masumi and Ritsu, for a while, but I thought the scenes with the secondary characters built suspense for the main couple. The time for the devastation to occur is anti-climax to me having to bear witness to what I expected would have happened to the lovers, and they were lovers after all. The dialogue between Ritsu and Meguru’s idol-sister Madoka remains a notable scene where Maguru says that with all intentions, it was a guy Ritsu fell in love with the hardest. Ultimately, it proves that Masumi’s feelings are reciprocated.
Series director Miki Koichiro – who previously wrote and helmed the live-action Given, as well as, topnotch drama series like Pornographer, Mood Indigo, and A Man Who Defies the World of BL – did a particularly awesome job steering this series into another hit.
Cast of Characters
Seto Toshiki has been active as an actor since 2014. He’s doing both supporting and main roles in Japanese TV dramas. He plays Kamen Rider Brave and is one of the leads in the BL series, Senpai, I’m in Love!
As Masumi Nishina, he portrays an office worker who never fully recovered from a past relationship. He never had a purpose in life after that. Because of the world’s impending destruction, he decided to spend his last days in his alma mater’s library and read books.
I celebrated my birthday during the shoot. They sang ‘happy birthday to me and I felt honored by the gesture. We have to endure the frosty winter and there were scenes by the river that was quite memorable as well. I also thought my character is quite naive, but has a pure heart and suffers a lot due to his past experience.
Nakata Keisuke is a model and actor. Like Seto, he’s also been quite active in doing Japanese TV dramas since 2016. He plays the lead role as a young male fashion model in Cecile Boys (2017) and The End Of The World, With You is his first BL role.
Kusakabe Ritsu is a young man who is quite popular and hates being dependent on other people. He never cares about what others may think of it. He likes to be free from any commitments.
A fusion of human drama and a little sci-fi. As I was reading, I was so worried about the next development that I finished reading it in no time. There are laughter and tears. Although it was the first genre I read, I was more and more fascinated by the world of Miku. After all, I was honestly worried about whether I could do the scene where the two intertwined with each other, and what would happen. Also, Ritsu is really cool, so I honestly thought I would be okay!
Gallery
Comment from the author Marukido Maki
When I heard about it, I thought to myself, “Are you serious?” It may have been more surprising than when I had the work “Pornographer” made into a live-action film. It’s a story with a slightly different taste in BL, but I’m really looking forward to seeing how Director Miki, the cast, and the staff will express it!
Recommendations
There are plenty of engaging Japanese BL to choose from, including My Beautiful Man, More Than Words, and Eternal Yesterday.
An old-timer BL fan way back in 2007. I started out loving BL after watching the Takumi-kun series from Japan, went on collecting BL manga, and watched old BL anime such as Junjou Romantica and the likes. Love of Siam allow me to transition into Thai, while Amphetamine gave me glimpses of Taiwanese BL magic. I love to write reviews and I’m one of the administrators of Psycho Weird.
Let us know what you think!