A 2021 BL jdrama about a group of high school kids who, thanks to one eraser, end up in a tangle of confusion over who likes who.

My Love Mix-Up! is currently available in the US on Viki.

Country: Japan 
Local Title: 消えた初恋
Year Released: 2021
Number of Episodes: 10
Genre: BL

Main Actors:

Michieda Shunsuke as Aoki Sota
Meguro Ren as Ida Kousuke
Fukumoto Riko as Hashimoto Mio
Suzuki Jin as Aida Hayato

Pre-Recap Thoughts:

I watched this show when it aired and, by virtue of coming out a month before Utsukushii Kare/My Beautiful Man, it’s the first Japanese BL that really captured my heart.

I would put those two dramas together on a diagram at the far opposite ends from each other, both representing the best of Japanese High School BL. Both feature strong characters and situations, but while My Beautiful Man is the king of dark, twisted love, My Love Mix-Up gets to rule over the sunny, optimistic side of things. I adore both.

Our two leads in this drama are also opposites, though in a different way. Aoki is an energetic ball of feelings who would chase his own tail if he were a puppy. Meanwhile,Ida is a slow, still pond that needs to let things sink down to the depths before he starts to understand his feelings. It never comes up specifically, but Aoki seems to be bi/pansexual while Ida seems like he’s on the asexual spectrum. Along with the oblivious Akkun and earnest Hashimoto, they make up my fantasy of a high school friend group of inclusive, thoughtful, kind people.

The drama is based on a manga series, and I like how they lean into the absurd, exaggerated characters and humor. The story sticks pretty close to the first few books. Most of the series is already available in English on Amazon.

Random Notes:

Note on the title: The Japanese title is “消えた初恋” (kieta hatsukoi) which more literally translates to “my lost first love/my vanishing first love”. I think it refers to how Aoki’s first love gets wiped out by an eraser (as well as other spoilery things). “My Love Mix-Up!” doesn’t really do it for me as a title, but the more literal translations do sound more like melodramas, so I can see why they didn’t use them.

Another random note: Both our leads Meguro Ren and Michieda Shunsuke are singers in different groups and have songs in the OST. As I know nothing about nearly any kind of pop, Japanese or otherwise, that is all I can confidently share.

Recaps and Thoughts:

Final Mostly Non-Spoilery Thoughts:

Another show that is easy to recommend and holds up well on rewatch. While it touches on LGBTQ+ issues, it doesn’t go deep and remains light-hearted and fun the whole way through.

Ida might be best boyfriend material but Aoki is the character I relate to the most. He’s an anxious mess but he’s also caring, sweet, mostly intelligent, and not always unfounded in his worries. I love that he is never encouraged to change, only to stand up for himself and pursue his own happiness. 

As someone who hated the oppressive, appearances-obsessed, rigid conformity that was High School, I’m all for a show about unique and quirky teenagers figuring out what they want for themselves.