A 2023 Japanese BL drama about a young gay high schooler who has given up on love moves to a new school, only to meet a guy who is just his type. And like, the greenest flag ever.
You can watch the trailer here.
Country: Japan
Local Title: 君となら恋をしてみても
Year Released: 2023
Number of Episodes: 5
Genre: High School BL
Main Actors:
Okura Takato as Kaido Amane
Hyuga Wataru as Yamasuge Ryuji
Pre-Recap Information:
If It’s With You is a lovely 5 episode based on a manga 君となら恋をしてみても by 窪田マル. Right now it appears to be ongoing but not available for retail in English.
The story follows Amane and Ryouji, two High School boys, in Enoshima, which is a little island not too far from Tokyo.
This series has a few things going for it:
- Both our main characters are sweet, kind people with realistic backgrounds so it’s a feel-good show with some depth
- We’re not in Tokyo! Enoshima is beautiful and you feel transported as you watch the actors in various locations
- One of our main characters, Amane, is gay and he knows it from the start and it’s an important part of his story
- At 5 episodes of 20 minutes each, it’s about movie length so great for when you want a quick watch
I would say the main drawback is the short length means it’s a simple story, so not good for when you want a real complicated story that puts you through the wringer.
It’s also a High School story will all the associated tropes, but here they are all done excellently. If I had to pick just one High School BL to take to a desert Island it would be a hard choice between this show and My Love Mix-Up. There’s also a lot of similar couple dynamics with that show, with Amane and Aoki (MLMU) both inclined to try and fix things with laughter while Ryouji and Ida (MLMU) are thoughtful and serious. If It’s With You is definitely the more sincere, less silly show of the two.
The healing dynamics remind me a lot of Our Dining Table, though in this case the more obviously wounded character is the more extroverted one. Amane and Yutaka (ODT) both have a fragile quality to them while Ryouji and Minoru (ODT) have a comforting solidness to them.
So if you liked those shows, if you like sweet romance with a little healing, if you don’t mind a High School romance with all it’s tropes, I think this show is well worth a watch.
