📺 Watch Life In Smokey BlueEpisode 6 on GagaOOLala (🌏 except Taiwan, Japan & Korea), FOD & TVer (Japan)
⏰ New episode every Tuesday 8:30 AM (GMT+8)
🌐 Visit the Official Drama Webpage
Twitter: @dramaDiVE_ytv | Instagram & TikTok: @dramadiveplus_ytv
☆ STARRING ☆ Kouhei Takeda as Sakutaro Azuma Kento Shibuya as Shizuka Kuji
Takeshi Masu as Yoshiharu Kuji
Mayumi Asaka as Yoshimi Azuma
Ryuto Yamamoto (ICEx) as Tamaki Morimoto
Mayu Sakuma as Fumiko Morimoto
Koutaro Tanaka as Minoru Kuji
Haruna Iikubo as Hazuki Kuji
Kazuma Sano as Yasuyuki Tajimi
Shun Aoi as Masora Takeichi
YOUNG DAIS as Shinichiro Nukita
Asuka Kurosawa as Tomoka Hara
☆ STAFF ☆
Directed by Natsuki Takahashi (Jack o’ Frost, When It Rains, It Pours), Ere Nakada
Screenplay by Mari Hiraki (I Cannot Reach You, When It Rains, It Pours), Erika Aoki
Music by Tomohide Harada (One Room Angel, Mr. Mitsuya’s Planned Feeding)
☆
SYNOPSIS (GagaOOLala):
Sakutaro Azuma, once a top-performing salesman, now struggles with his career. One night at a gay bar, he nearly finds himself in danger–until he is rescued by his former colleague, Shizuka Kuji. Eight years after their last encounter, Kuji reappears in his life. His sharp tongue remains unchanged, but now he has long hair and works as a translator. As two men who once competed fiercely in the workplace reunite, the one-night connection they buried eight years ago begins to resurface...
☆ Starring BL fan-favorite Kohei Takeda and acclaimed actor Kento Shibuya bringing a mature romance to life
☆ Adapted from Kamome Hamada's million-hit manga, directed by Natsuki Takahashi (When It Rains, It Pours)--a new masterpiece of adult BL
☆
Opening Theme 🎵 「最大幸福度」(“Maximum Happiness”) by Hina Aoki Spotify | Youtube MV
Ending Theme 🎵 “Black out” by CROWN HEAD Spotify | YouTube
The BL manga series “Smoke Blue no Ame nochi Hare” (Sunshine After Smoke Blue Rain) by Kamome Hamada is available in Japanese via Comic Fleur.
Posting half an hour early coz the past 18 hours or so has been WILD here in the Philippines. Watching Life In Smokey Blue's quiet slice of life vibes would be perfect.
Also hope everyone has someone who'll carry them home when they're bone tired 🥰
I, too have gone newsless since late 2024; now feeling abashed to be reminded that there are worse places to be than my temporarily 🤞benighted country. Sending caring to OP.
Yes, it also was for me in 2024 that I did not want to follow it anymore.
Before that I was a newsjunkie. Always, the whole day. It began when I was 10 and started to read newspapers, magazine and on tv. Now? I don't care. I did not know for instance that there was a new gouvernement in the country I live in and the one I grew up.
The beauty of this drama is overwhelming. The fate of the house saddens me so... all the time knowing that it's all fiction. Sigh. And Sakutaro's whole speech about Kuji growing old in this multigenerational home was both beautifully written and performed. Life in Smokey Blue is hitting hard.
Oh, and one time, my mother made banana bread, and she also put raisins in it. Kuji is right. It's awful.
While raisins ruin banana bread, I'm intrigued by the combination sweet potato and apple. The recipe Shizuka cooked is apparently a traditional side dish. It seems to be a nostalgic autumn flavor pairing in Japan that has led to recipes like sweet potato apple pie.
Unlike other fruit pies, the filling is fully cooked before baking. The mashed sweet potato is spread on the bottom crust to protect it from getting soggy from the juicy apple filling.
NGL, I am intrigued by the sweet potato-apple pie. I don't know how it's gonna taste, but, on their own, both sweet potato pie and apple pie are great.
Okay. Just watched the video, and it looks tryable. Of course, I'll have to ask my mother to prepare the pastry for me (hers is perfection, while mine is like a shoe sole (yeah, I failed! I ain't ashamed!!!) I wonder what the best apples are, tho'. The green Granny Smiths should be good for this.
Granny Smiths don't hold their shape as well as the red ones in the video - but I'm not sure which exact variety they did use.
Yay for having a mum who makes great pastry, I just buy mine...
I honestly don't know much about apples - have to be told what to get - but I guess I'll figure it out. I'm certain that if I ask Gemini what to get, I'll find out in no time flat.
I haven't read it - in fact, I haven't even seen a trailer or read a synopsis. I went into this blind, so the whole journey is new and wonderful to me. I am awed by the entire experience.
So happy you were brought into this wonderful world of Azuma and Kuji. But if you enjoy it for what your wrote, I definitely can recommend the manga to you.
I'll wait until it ends before looking into that. Thanks for the recommendation. Still, I wanna go all the way through without spoiling the magic of the series.
Now to hunt it down... found it on Amazon in German, French, Japanese, and Italian. Where's the English edition? 🤷♂️
Totally understand with the spoiling. I still recommend starting the manga from the beginning (and then maybe rewatch haha), because you will grasp all the fine lines and what’s going on in between the series even more. Also manga character Azuma is a bit edgier (which I even like more, besides him being acted out amazingly).
Oh yeah true, I am German and forgot that there is no English version - I don’t understand why and hope it will come out after the live action. Meanwhile you can find a fan translation online of the first 5 volumes :).
This is my way of watching shows and movies. I read the title of the show, saw the actor from Old Fashioned Cupcake and knew that this was going to be good. I am now regretting starting this show because I must wait until next week to know what happens to Kuji and Saku 😫😫
I’ve been so busy that I fell behind but I finally got caught up. This show is reminding me how much we need mature BLs too. Everything feels intentional and you can tell the actors are experienced.
I'm curious how it's doing in Japan vs. the world? because I think on Gaga it's never reached upper ranks? 🤔🥺
I agree we need more mature stories because there tends to be a majority of school/college bls and it's a nice change of pace watching stories about adults a little older...
❣️😎just wondering kuji spent most of his life in that house and both brothers have different memories of their father he took care of his dad in that house until he died and yet it was not left to him is it tradition that the eldest gets the house yet his bro does not have the same regard for the house that has been passed thru generations he wants to build a new one in its place🧐that’s so sad😟only azuma who got to live in that house with kuji understands how much it meant to him🤔are they going their separate ways now hope not😎❣️
Besides being the eldest, Minoru also inherited the house because he has a wife and kid. The land is part of generational wealth that was always intended to be passed down within the family. Shizuka doesn't have any children of his own to justify a claim to the house.
Traditionally, it is the eldest child's responsibility to care for the aging parent. That responsibility was forced upon Shizuka, because Minoru was living in Boston with his wife and kid. However, that was just a cover for Minoru's ill feelings towards their father.
The man passed away two years ago, but Minoru struggles to let go of their father playing favorites when they were kids. I doubt he could endure living under the same roof as that man. As a result, Shizuka had to make sacrifices for peace within the Kuji family.
So, by the pace we are going, the first 5 volumes of the manga will be covered and we will have a really romantic closing episode at the onsen with a love confession. Since the manga is up to volume 9, we hopefully will get a second episode at some point. The manga is my very favorite, but I am very pleased how they adapted it, so I obviously don’t want it to end.
I'm the same.. I love this manga and I'm very happy with how the drama's turning out. They managed to stay really close to the original (ok.. they might not have to decrease the amount of kissing and sex scenes that much, haha) and also the actors are doing an amazing job ❤️
I know, you are my fellow manga veteran 💕. And haha yes, I was wondering why we already finished volume 3 but then I remembered all the missing sex scenes (I mean I don’t consider them even as smut, because they are so intimate showing where their relationship is at). And yes, the drama captures the essence and spirit of the manga really really well. Also the actors doing an amazing job brining their own interpretation of the manga character to life. As someone who really sees lot of myself in Azuma, I just find the JBL version less edgy than the manga version - I guess part of it also gets lost in between the lines because they are obviously doing it more PG13. So I am wondering how they will do the whole „I only will sleep with you from now on, Kuji“-scene, since I believe that a vital step in their relationship development and until now the series makes them look rather conventional lovey-dovey while manga Azuma is a huge anxious-avoidant and does keep his distance.
I knew it we have talked before😁 I have to admit I read way too much manga so I get excited when I have an opportunity to chat about it.
Now that you mention it, the missing intimate scenes may be the reason why some people (who haven't read the manga) perceive this drama as too uneventful because they've been robbed of witnessing the passionate side of Azuma and Kuji's relationship and so they can't see it as something deeper and progressing beyond friendship.
As for Azuma's edginess I think I know what you mean. For example I was surprised when manga Azuma admitted sleeping with doctors to encrease his sales which is something I can't quite imagine drama Azuma doing 🤭 Even though it's definitely in Kouhei Takeda's ability to make him more cheeky if they wanted.
I hope we get to see the moment when Kuji rushes to escort Azuma for their onsen trip and they basicaly come out before Hara-san, that's such a good scene ❤️
Haha, I totally understand, I get excited talking especially about this manga as well - so nice to chat with you again 😌.
And yeah, that’s why I keep recommending reading the manga, because while the series does an amazing job conveying the feeling of the manga with beautiful aesthetic film shots, I feel their connection, character development etc. def is far deeper in the manga. Part of it for me being the missing „edginess“ part. Your example with sleeping with the doctors is perfect. Also if you remember, in this episode, manga-Azuma was reflecting what he would be with his sex-drive being taken away since he desmisses a one-night-stand and then drunk-calls Kuji instead. It seems minor, but it runs so deep actually. Azuma is in my eyes probably due to the early loss of his father (and some other background also depicted in the manga) such an anxious-avoidant when it comes to love and that’s why their relationship develops kinda slowly, but means even so much more, because Kuji gives him all the space he needs and they find their own pace. And that’s why I love the manga, because it’s not just simply romantic tropes and storytelling, but depicting a complex human relationship especially after your 20ies, when everyone brings their baggage (or a lot of relationships start to break because of those unsolved issues).
And I agree, it’s def in Kouhei Takeda to be able to act that out, both actors do an amazing job in my opinion and have such golf chemistry. I think it’s just a conscious decision to make the series a bit more light for main-stream.
P.S.: And yes, the Hara scene is so heart-warming. I can’t wait for it, also this will mean the series will come to an end. Hara-san is by the way also casted so perfectly, she looks exactly how the manga character in my opinion haha.
I am not promoting any pirate sites, I am sorry. Normally I wouldn’t even recommend a fan translation, if there was an official English translation. But use a searching machine and you will find the fan translation very easily.
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u/nana-shi-74 My Personal Weatherman 21d ago
Posting half an hour early coz the past 18 hours or so has been WILD here in the Philippines. Watching Life In Smokey Blue's quiet slice of life vibes would be perfect.
Also hope everyone has someone who'll carry them home when they're bone tired 🥰