BLCD: Kuchibiru de Kowasareru (Kamiya Hiroshi x Nojima Kenji)

Title: Kuchibiru de Kowasareru 唇で壊される。 (25/08/2009)

Pairings:
Kamiya Hiroshi x Nojima Kenji 神谷浩史 x 野島健児

Rating: Recommended

Quick Summary: [There are some spoilers but no ending-spoilers ^^]
When university student, Canna Yuzuki (Nojima Kenji) and Oka Tomochika’s (Kamiya Hiroshi) eyes met, it was love at first sight.

Chika caught Yuzuki’s eye at a night club and the two had a brush with each other when he accidentally burnt Yuzuki with his cigarette. Chika apologises and kisses the burnt area on Yuzuki’s shoulder. Yuzuki is shocked by the unexpected gesture but pretends to be unfazed. As fate would have it, Yuzuki’s best friend, Igarashi Ryouya happens to be Chika’s acquaintance. Yuzuki thought that it is the last he would see of him after they parted ways, but the two meet again at the bar where Ryouya works at and the night ended with Yuzuki following Chika home.

Although Yuzuki is incredibly drawn to Chika, he tries to tread carefully, holding back his intense attraction to the younger man. He was badly hurt by his first love three years ago. It was an older man, Tsukasa who taught him that love is a game and the moment either party puts his real feelings into it, it becomes boring and the game ends. Since then, Yuzuki has learnt to play love games with all his pursuers and has never gone deeper with anyone of them physically or mentally. But this time, Yuzuki seems to have met his match in Chika…

Chika is very gentle and has a disarming friendliness towards everyone he meets. His body language often creates the impression of attraction. He never refuses anyone, male or female who wants to become his lover when he is single. However Chika’s relationships always end soon after they started. Yuzuki is hesitant about revealing his feelings for Chika and thinks that once he confesses, Chika would probably get tired of him quickly. But Ryouya explains that Chika is not a player who is frivolous with love. He thinks it is a miracle that Chika’s involvement with Yuzuki has lasted so long and encourages Yuzuki to make up his mind and get together with Chika before somebody snatches him away. Shaken by this piece of advice, but afraid of losing in the game of love, Yuzuki agonises over his feelings.

With the sudden appearance of a girl named Maina who seems to be too familiar with Chika, Yuzuki succumbs to his insecurities. Chika is the only person after Tsukasa that Yuzuki wants to give everything to right now. However Chika rejects him, saying, “Sex is something I can only have with my lover.”

Devastated, Yuzuki finally realises that much as he tries to act tough by playing the field with many admirers, he has never really recovered from his experience with Tsukasa. Tsukasa taught him that kisses are just a greeting gesture and do not mean anything more but Yuzuki’s heart hurt then. He now understands why his heart feels the same pain he felt with Tsukasa when Chika kisses him.

Adding to the complicated mix, the return of the older man, Tsukasa. Will Yuzuki and Chika overcome their own crippling pasts and future challenges to stay together in the end?

Based on a novel by Tachibana Benio 橘紅緒.

Comments:

Ah~ how often do we get to hear our beloved Kamiyan in a seme role? It is so rare that he himself also commented about it in the cast talk lol~ XD Throughout his BL career till now, he has so far voiced only around 13 or so seme roles in BL drama… (I’ve not included his handful of BL game seme roles, but in fact some of the BL dramas were also based on BL games.)

I haven’t listened to all his other seme dramas yet… yes yes, I really should listen to Reload (リロード Apr 2008) soon *_* cos that’s probably his most famous seme-role with Ono Daisuke recorded after their insanely popular Dear Girl Stories radio show (but I’m honestly not too fond of OnoD’s uke… *hides from his fangirls*). Anyway this is the first Kamiyan-seme drama that I’ve listened to and really really liked (^///^) I re-listened to this drama many times and I still enjoy it very much.

Both Kamiyan and Nojiken are awesome with their portrayals of these two repressive characters. On one hand we have a character who is extremely lonely and insecure but subconsciously looking for love in any and everyone who comes his way, and another who is hurt before and afraid to give his love fully.

There are a number subtle misunderstandings between various characters in the story which you may miss if you’re not paying attention, so do find time to listen to the drama undisturbed ^^ This story is generally retrospective, with flashbacks mainly from Yuzuki’s point-of-view about Tsukasa and many thoughts and internalised struggles he feels. The depth and vulnerability which Nojiken injects into Yuzuki with his voice is quietly moving. I especially love the way Nojiken’s voice wavers as he conveys the insecurities of his character. He is definitely one of my absolute favourite seiyuus in BL drama since discovering him in Doushite mo Furetakunai (どうしても触れたくない Mar 2009) Well, that’s for another overdue review in my mental list ^^ And Kamiyan’s voice is such a joy to listen to, I feel so happy I can cry (T_T)

I love the way the drama is directed and the intimacy I feel when I listen to it, especially during the scenes between Yuzuki and Chika. Also, the music is lovely, whether it is the non-intrusive piano piece or the calming acoustic guitar during the quieter and calmer moments in the story. They play a supportive but important role in bringing forth the atmosphere of these scenes.

And if you love good H-scenes as much as I do, you’ll be pleased to know that this drama has very delicious sounding kisses <3 bed-ruffling noises and other realistic and natural sound effects.

When Nojiken whispers Chika’s name in a slightly quivering, hungry and breathless voice during the H-scenes gaaa~ it is so sexy! And their chemistry is just…. seamless. It’s really hard to believe they’re not really having sex and are just standing there across each other, facing their microphones and readng out from their scripts. ^^;;; These seiyuus never fail to amaze me. Their interaction and the way they speak to each other somehow makes me feel really close to them. I realise too that I sometimes hold my breath during their H-scenes… ah~ I wonder why (^///^)

The use of sound effects to indicate a flashback can be quite jarring to the ears at times but the main gripe I have with the drama is the casting of a female seiyuu with a super high-pitched voice as Maina. It’ll probably pierce your ears when you listen to it for the first time and getting used to it isn’t easy -_-;;; but our boys are just too good not to enjoy over and over again :)

Catalog: CPCD-1121 (CD seems to be only available from Comi-comi ^^also includes an exclusive FUNBOOK tokuten!)