{Watch Party Wed. #1-BL} I Cannot Reach You Episodes 1-2
Hello, Internet, and good mornight to you all!
My name is Taffryne, shoppekeeper of Midnight on Memory Lane, and it is my absolute delight to welcome you to the BL portion of this week's inaugural Watch Party Wednesday!
'Tis a pleasure to meet you here for part two!
As the title says, this post is about the first two episodes of the Japanese-BL drama, I Cannot Reach You. I've finished both episodes (as well as the Episode 3 preview), thusly, I humbly present my thoughts for your enjoyment and consideration. Accordingly, please mind the spoilers ahead.
Since this is the first post regarding this show, allow me to present you with the relevant synopsis and background information:
I Cannot Reach You
Drama Type: Japanese BL
Source: Adapted from the manga "君には届かない" by Mika (みか)
Season: aired Sep 2023 - Nov 2023 on Tuesdays
Main Cast: Maeda Kentaro (前田拳太郎) and Kashiwagi Haru (柏木悠)
Platform: Viki with English Subtitles
Duration: 8 Episodes at ~20min/each
Plot Summary: "Childhood best friends. Two halves of a whole. The cool, smart one who’s good at almost everything, and his average, dorky friend who struggles to do anything right—Yamato and Kakeru. Always by the other’s side, but not together in the way they truly want to be. No matter how hard they try, their hearts cannot reach each other…"
MDL Link: Click here!
Disclaimer: I apologize if there are any crucial cultural notes or nuances that I misunderstand or fail to recognize. I, unfortunately, must trust the accuracy of the translated subtitles to represent the story and characters.
Trigger Warnings: Mentioned Medical Issues Regarding Parent
Episode 1
I Cannot Reach You originally caught my attention because it comes highly recommended as a super fluffy and wholesome J-BL. Based on this first episode (and ignoring that Viki has it marked as Rated R for some reason), I already see why. Asahiya Kakeru and Ohara Yamato from the moment they're on screen just possess this innate sweetness towards each other that epitomizes childhood friendship. Here's a shoutout to the popsicle-based indirect kith. I really like their "opposites" attract dynamic they've got going and I'm eager to see it shine through different portrayals. They've started off showing it humourously, but I wonder if it'll ever get more onto the angsty or jealousy side of things. It's tropey (why is there always a "I followed my unrequited crush here, because that's a great idea" group date???), but the tropes are light enough to fade into the background and lets us focus on what's happening between Yamato and Kakeru.
I don't have much to say about Yamato for now, but I'm definitely intrigued to see how his shades of personality come forward as the series progresses. "Dad in a coma" trauma which leads into "becoming the parent sibling" definitely has a bigger part to play in the future. That said, he's already being so earnest in his attempts to "reach" Kakeru whether it's a half-finished confession or very choice sentences. I was admittedly surprised by that because I'm used to a show of this type taking at least 3 episodes to get to attempted confessions. However, he's most certainly still a victim of interrupted moments. It does make me wonder what his "true" confession will look like; I'm quite keen to see it.
Moving on to Kakeru, my word, this boy is panicking. Given that he's set-up to be the more ditzy-archetype, I'm so happy that we're not subjected to 3 hours worth of anomaly-level density. The bowling pin sound when Yamato's words "clicked" was especially charming. I actually have it in my notes as "WAIT, DID IT CLICK??? DID Mr. Childhood Friend REGISTER HIS WORDS, OHHH???". The fact that he doesn't brush it off (to be fair, how could he) and instead immediately barrels into panicking is adorable. That said, this boy better slap himself in the face and read the writing on the walls because how do you just tell someone "If I were a girl, this situation would definitely have sparks flying" just because you're bandaging their probably-not-even-sprained wrist?! Furthermore, he has the audacity to keep the plush that Yamato won him from the crane game EVEN THOUGH A) that's the one the girl wanted and B) Kakeru was specifically trying to win it for aforementioned girl. I get it, those crane games are yen-pits (one time my friend and I lost about 3000 yen trying to get a dang beaver looking thing until we ran out of coins); but, surely he can't think this all is coming from nowhere, right??? I cannot wait to see him spiral more into the depths of "oh my god, I like-like my best friend like that".
My favourite quotes from this episode are 1) during the flashback where Kakeru says to Yamato, "Then, if you ever need to cry, call for me. I'll share half of your sadness" and 2) Kakeru's "It's not that I really want a girlfriend...I just want to find someone special, just for me". The former is because, oh my goodness, is that not one of the most kind and sweet things you've ever heard from someone. Just full out "we can be sad together" and I think that sentiment is something so vulnerably beautiful to offer to someone. The latter makes the cut because its both on-the-nose-bl-edition and it's a sentiment I relate to on an incredible level (the just wanting someone special bit).
Finally, I'd like to pay respects to the adorable mouse(?) origami(?) hanging on the nurse's room door at 12:02 because it's absolutely precious!!! Additionally, 28 POINTS OUT OF 100 ON AN ASSIGNMENT, ASAHIYA?!?!
Episode 2
Oh boy, Episode 2 certainly delivered on the panic I was looking forward to from Yamato and Kakeru. First off, both of them absolutely suck at pulling any kind of poker-face. Kakeru's issue is his panic is far too obvious because going chill-freak out for 5 seconds-chill again is not an effective cover strategy. Especially when that culminates in both defending your totally-not-crush's honour and awkward tension. Your lack of poker-face is further exposed when you panic spill your orange juice onto the carpet because your totally-not-crush hasn't looked at you yet which made you pull their face close to yours. For Yamato, I'll admit, I was slightly concerned we were going to go the route of "I can't handle these emotions, so I'm going to become a closed-off asshole to deal with it". Thankfully, he's just socially blunt with a sweet spot for Kakeru. While I did have a legitimate "wtf is your problem???" at him saying "Either way...it's not your place to butt in" after Kakeru literally just burst onto the rooftop to stop a confession from happening, I am happy he got hit in his own feels by the "best friends forever" promise.
I don't have much to say about Yamato's sister for now. She's only gotten maybe 1 or 2 combined minutes of screentime so far, but something tells me she'll play a bigger role in that "knows more about their feelings than they do" way. Her jab about the "sibling sharing rule" while her brother is so clearly in his jealousy feels was clever whether she meant it or not. Now, if Yamato could stop vague-posting about Kakeru in conversations, maybe he too could also know more about his feelings than he does.
Their Mario Kart not-date-playdate sequence was the right level of "UGH YOU IDIOTS!!!". It's always fun to feel the need to yell at your screen with a good old fashioned "OH, HE SAID IT! WAIT, NO, YOU COWARD! AH, WAIT, NOW HE SAID THE THING! NO, DAMNITTT!!!!". Well, I enjoy it at least. Frustration isn't the most fun of sentiments, but at least it can be done right. I feel so bad for that carpet though; It looks like it's a throw-type, so maybe it can be washed but, agh, that thing is gonna smell like orange juice for years and they better be quick or the pile is going to get all sticky (blegh).
I cannot believe Kakeru is aware enough to admit that Yamato likes him and recognize that he's scared of what could happen to their friendship whether it's true or not; YET ALSO, is the boy trying to play jailbreak against his own feelings for Yamato (need I mention the failed rooftop confession busting again?) while holding nighttime therapy sessions WITH THE PLUSH YAMATO WON FOR HIM. I know that he has to go through introspection and realization and all that jazz, but I would like to alter my original statement involving his density. He's incredibly perceptive of others, but roughly half-blind when it comes to himself. That's the only way I can explain him acting ignorant to his own crush yet clocking his fear about said crush. I wonder just what'll happen when he gets full 20/20 vision towards his feelings.
Episode 3 Preview
"Your feelings for him are spilling out" Oh...I cannot wait for his friend to call him out on his buffoonery.
I hope you've been able to watch and enjoy the show for yourself! If you haven't, that's okay too. My thoughts are here to keep you updated in the meantime. This blog post has gotten long enough, hasn't it? There's still one last one to get posted before I'm out of nighttime and into tomorrow, so I'll cap this one here and hope to see you in the next!
May we meet again when the clock strikes 12:00!