A masked boy who hides everything and a guy who hides nothing become roommates in the new Japanese BL “Hold on, Harutora-Kun,” and it isn’t long before feelings enter the picture. For a genre that has a way of stretching out its milestones, you might be caught off guard by how many things happen in the premiere episodes.  

Warning: spoilers from episodes 1 and 2!

Kishida Sui (Nakagawa Tsubasa) is a high school sophomore who keeps a mask on nearly 24/7 to survive dorm life, which hasn’t been friendly to him. Ostracized and constantly jabbed at by the guys in his dorm for being gay, Sui has gotten used to hiding every real feeling he has.

The dorm has quite literally become Sui’s personal prison; he can’t even go enjoy the group bath because of the looks he’d get from the guys who know about him. His bright, bubbly persona is hiding a guy who’s hurting behind the closed doors of his room.

Sui simply can’t be himself around others when his new roommate, Kurobe Harutora (Sakuragi Masaya), comes into his life. Harutora is completely different from everyone else Sui knows at school. He shows up with unfiltered sincerity, surprising honesty, and seemingly no interest in being subtle about it. In Sui’s very own words, Harutora is “serious, kind, and a little bit quirky,” and he’s spot on.

A freshman wanting to join the basketball team, Harutora makes an adorable first impression when he presents a gift and a nervous self-introduction to Sui, who enters the dorm a little taken aback. It’s a huge contrast to the anxiety and darkness that Sui was emanating outside the dorm as he hesitated to open the door.

With tryouts coming up, Harutora asks Sui to come along while he trains as the motivation he needs. Whether that’s entirely true or he secretly just wants to spend more time with Sui is up for debate. As they spend more time together, Sui seems to be getting more comfortable, but watchful eyes are all around, and trouble is definitely lurking.

That trouble comes soon enough when two dorm guys happen to walk in on Sui and Harutora standing close together. It’s all a misunderstanding, but they immediately take it as an opportunity to make fun of Sui and tell Harutora that Sui likes guys. This moment makes it crystal-clear why Sui feels the need to distance himself from other guys at the dorm.

In response, Sui goes on the defensive to spare Harutora from being targeted by the guys. He laughs it off, saying that Harutora isn’t his type; in fact, he likes “party people.” And Harutora walks off, looking uncomfortable and distressed.

Considering his old roommate did the exact same thing, Sui fears Harutora will leave him without so much as a goodbye because he’s gay. But this serious moment, which was frankly hard to see poor Sui go through, actually leads to a hilarious and surprising outcome.

Instead of coming back to his dorm with Harutora gone, he finds Harutora and a surprise party. The reason Harutora set up the party is that he got caught up in the fact that Sui said he likes party people. Thinking about it now, this is totally the way Harutora would react. Harutora’s genuineness and silly way of being sincere will truly reignite your hope in people and the world.

The impromptu party comes to a quick end, though, because Harutora gives Sui an unplanned first kiss, which comes as a surprise to Sui and apparently to Harutora himself. It looked like Harutora didn’t know what to do with himself after finding out Sui also likes guys. Based on how he reacted during their first meeting, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Harutora’s feelings for Sui have been brewing since day one.

This is when the mixed signals and the whole “are we just friends or something more?” energy starts creeping in. Harutora might be honest and sincere, but he’s not always the easiest to read, and he’s just a young guy trying to figure out his own feelings too.

Sui has been protecting himself for a long time, so taking off his mask and accepting that someone else could sincerely like him isn’t going to be easy. He might be able to open up in the comfort of his room, but what about in the real world, which isn’t so kind and accepting? The guys in the dorm certainly haven’t shown any signs of redemption yet, and the only person who’s actually been kind to Sui so far is Harutora.

If the kiss in the first episode came as a surprise, then the confessions that come in episode two are a second blow. At any point in the first episodes, you may find yourself wondering if you accidentally skipped a part, but you surely did not. For acting so shy around each other, these two move fast. In many shows, especially Japanese high school BLs, you usually have to wait a good chunk of episodes and lots of back and forth before any progress happens between the leads, but not here.

The big question that the premiere leaves watchers with is whether Harutora will really be able to “hold on.” Harutora is so eager to get closer to Sui, in more ways than one, but Sui has a lot of growth to go through because he’s been hurt so many times before. What Sui needs are baby steps, but does Harutora have it in him to take things slow?

It’s already clear this story is going to be a lesson in loving and accepting yourself, even when others don’t. That’s probably a lesson everyone can benefit from, whether they need it or someone they know needs it. The dynamic of an eager and earnest freshman who can’t hold back his feelings and a closed-off, timid older student who’s made a habit of hiding is also just an excellent BL setup.

Start watching “Hold on, Harutora-Kun” now:

Watch Now

Asya’s a BL-biased Soompi writer with a love of K-pop and all types of Asian dramas. Some of her favorite shows are “Psychopath Diary,” “Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice but to Kiss!,” “Light On Me,” “The Untamed,” “Go Go Squid!,” and “Cherry Magic!“

Currently watching: “After Moving Seats, The Boy Behind Me Has A Crush On Me,” “A Bona Fide Killer,” “Mr. Kill,” “Popular Serizawa Acts Weird Around Me,” “Hold On, Harutora-Kun,” “Connecting to You,” “Match Point,” “Don’t Be Too Emotional,” “Be My Player Two,” and “Nour.”
Looking forward to:  “Love Scandal,” “Magic Lover,” “Mr. Fanboy,” and “The Love Matter.”