Smells Like Green Spirit Live Action Review

Drama: Smells Like Green Spirit

Network: MBS, TVK

Actors: Araki Towa, Sono Shunta, Abe Alan, Fujimoto Kodai

Duration: 30 min.

The song “smells like teen spirit” by Nirvana is a song without official interpretation. It is up to the listeners to interpret it, it will mean whatever means to you, and this is where this story came about. Based on the manga of the same name Smells like Green spirit seems like Saburō Nagai, the mangaka, own take on the song, a coming of age revolution of LGBTQ+ people set in the 90s somewhere in Japanese countryside.

Growing up in the countryside of a conservative country like Japan, everyone has an eye on you, people will expect you to conform to their social norms. Mishima, the protagonist in this drama, while never coming out is obviously gay and everyone knows it. He was bullied at school for acting feminine and people from their town make fun of him, but he never rattled; he was confident for who he is. One day on the rooftop he finds the lipstick he had lost before and now in the hands of Kirino Makoto, one of his bullies. Kirino was about to put on the lipstick that Mishima used on his own lips. This is the story of these two young boys looking for a place they can really be themselves.

If there was bromance then this is gaymance, two gay friends comforting each other while struggling to find their safe haven in the land where a lot of opinionated eyes and at the time where words describing what they are are not yet created. Fast paced, teen angst, coming of age is the best way I can describe this drama with rock music that was inspired from the songs by Nirvana. The tone often shifts from comedy to serious, the comedy maybe hit or miss but the social commentary is on point. Acting is decent most of the time, Araki Towa (First Love: Hatsukoi, Crime Family) is believable as a gay comfortable with her own skin, people may criticize his passiveness but I think that is in character. Abe Alan (I Became the Lead in a BL Drama, Sayonara, High School) who plays the villain role while very convincing kind of overacts or maybe I just don't like how the character is written as a very one dimensional cartoonish character.

I don't watch BL(boys love genres) . I don't think I am part of their target market but stories exploring the human condition are what interest me the most. This is not a BL drama but a coming of age story of people who just happen to be gay, LGBT themed is the right way to call it.