where did you watch the drama??
Dramacool or onetouch tv (type in the Japanese name for this one)
To be honest, I’m disappointed they didn’t add the bullying. It was supposed to show the exact cycle you talked about. We were introduced to the three roles in their class: bullies, victims, and bystanders. Knowing heechan didn’t feel worthy of being anything outside of his father’s footsteps made him also a bully, but secretly a bystander since he didn’t actually do anything to the victim. Jinhyuk and Heechan both being bystanders gave them consequences that made them inherently understand that they had to change
idk i just liked how the “abused become the abuser” cycle is portrayed here, and how heechan managed to break the cycle
i understand that showing awareness and putting focus on the actual domestic abuse is important, but i think also showing the actual effect it has on the abused and how they can remove themself from the cycle. how being saved by someone else isn’t enough, but also taking the initiative to change yourself is the key — which is shown here in both jinhyuk and heechan
I understand what you're saying. I felt ok with them not including the bullying bcuz it was a project taken under Japan.. and in Japan "delinquents" is more common for them in high school and this was portrayed by seme. So to me it felt like that was their way of replacing the bully theme and adding their own color (delinquent) in the drama.
The three roles you mentioned; aggressors, victims & bystanders it also didnt rly need the bullying to portray these..the domestic abuse was enough to depict the 3 roles. Aggressors being seme's father, victim being the seme and bystander being jinhyuk; there were 2 scenes were uke was a bystander while witnessing the abuse. One was when he first found out about heechan getting beaten and 2nd was when they were watching the movie at seme's house and the father burst into the house and uke had to run away..he wanted to do something about it but didnt due to fear of all the complications that will arise once he called the police..him being interrogated..his parents having to be called in bcuz what happened etc...So I feel that the director choosing to just have the domestic violence centered in the drama was enough to not only depict the 3 roles we know of but to also raise awareness of an issue we've dont always see as "common" bcuz bullying is something we always know that happens in school and the audience are more than familiar with it..but DV is not always touched on.. bcuz it's such a sensitive topic and triggering for others too. And like I mentioned in my og post there's more to what meets the eyes..bcuz we dont always know when someone is being abused..it just goes unnoticed until someone discovers it..
And the actual effect it has on the abused you pointed out was when we see seme wanting to be a better man than his father..to never choose violence..to never raise his hand and hit someone..this was shown in both versions. How the abused got out of this cycle was due to the ongoing circumstances that happened around him. Seme crossing path with uke made him slowly start opening his eyes of wanting to be better man..one of the reasons was bcuz he realized his feelings towards uke and the last straw that liberated him from this vicious cycle was the death of his dad..his life took a turn right then..I must say a better more positive turn bcuz he was able to pursue his passion..work hard to study and go to college to be proud of himself when he meets jinhyuk again. Heechan even said so himself that it was all bcuz of jinhyuk that he is where he is now..just meeting this one person was the key to changing himself. This encounter and friendship with jinhyuk gave him so much strength and resilience that he wouldnt even have had if he had stayed within that fake circle of friends he had in his old high school. He was able to take all this initiative bcuz of one special person and this was brilliant portrayed in both versions. Like they say sometimes all it takes is just one person and we can see that through the progress of their pure relationship.
But again everyone has different opinions and that was just me explaining my take on why the bullying theme wasn't added in the drama and I can understand why the director chose to omit it.
I watched the drama and just finished reading the manhwa. I liked both versions but I def have a soft spot for the drama one. The live adaptation was well done and the story was nicely executed. I especially liked the fact that in the drama they touched on the letter he left in the DVD and expanded on how uke wrote an entire novel as a response to seme's letter. And how uke's novel was then turned into a movie that seme wanted to make as his final project before graduation..that was heartwarming that they didnt forget to add it in the drama. In the manhwa..the letter was never mentioned again after uke had read it..and it was forgotten just like that..I thought it was quite a pity..
Another change was that the bullying wasnt included in the drama..which I felt was the right choice..instead they shifted the focus on seme's domestic violence issue that happened. The drama depicted real life struggles of DV..that was quite triggering but this also raised awareness about how common this problem is and how there's more to what meets the eyes; you never know when someone is being abused and they never ask for help..its a vicious cycle and hard to get out of unless you have someone you can rely on. The drama showed exactly that..the uke was a light to the seme during his most challenging time. I'm not saying the manhwa didnt show this either but just pointing out that the drama chose to focus on DV instead of the bullying.
It was quite a solid choice imo.
Overall..bcuz of how they managed to tie all this up all nicely in the drama..I fell for the live adaptation and it'll have a special place in my heart. The casting was perfect. The acting and chemistry..the tension..everything was natural..not cheesy nor cringe and also the longing and yearning..it was so much more in depth..its no wonder ppl said they bawled their eyes out watching the drama..including myself. Def a great bl story.