is a

Japanese television drama , also called or J-drama, are television programs that are a staple of Television in Japan, Japanese television and are broadcast daily. Format All major Television networks, TV networks in Japan produce a variety of Drama (genre), drama serie ...

produced by

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as , and better known as , is a Japanese television station serving the Kanto region as the flagship station of the All-Nippon News Network. It is owned-and-operated by the a subsidiary of , itself controlled by ...

. The series follows Soichi Haruta, a romantically unsuccessful office worker whose male boss and roommate confess their romantic feelings for him. Noted as one of the first Japanese television dramas in the

boys' love , also known by its abbreviation , is a genre of fictional media originating in Japan that depicts Homoeroticism, homoerotic relationships between male characters. It is typically created by women for a female audience, distinguishing it fro ...

(male-male romance) genre, ''Ossan's Love'' was initially released as a single-episode

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of en ...

in 2016, which was adapted into a seven-episode television series in 2018. A feature film sequel to the television series, ''Ossan's Love: Love or Dead'', was released in 2019; a second season of the television series titled ''Ossan's Love: In the Sky'' aired that same year. A new season titled ''Ossan's Love Returns'' aired on January 5, 2024, with Tanaka, Yoshida, and Hayashi reprising their roles.

Synopsis

Soichi Haruta, a single 33-year-old man, has been unsuccessful in getting a girlfriend. One day, he discovers his boss, Kurosawa, secretly collects images of him and learns that Kurosawa is deeply in love with him. Unsettled by Kurosawa's bold confession and romantic pursuits, Haruta seeks advice from his friends, discovering in the process that his male co-worker is also in love with him. Caught in a love triangle, Haruta navigates through his feelings for his two love interests.

Cast and characters

; : ; : :Kurosawa is the manager of Haruta's department and is in love with him. ; : :Maki is Haruta's 25-year-old roommate who works in the same company under the design department. He is in love with Haruta and becomes protective after discovering Kurosawa is in love with him. In the original 2016 television special, the character was named and was portrayed by

Motoki Ochiai is a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than 40 films since 2001. Selected filmography Films Television References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ochiai, Motoki 1990 births Living people Japanese male television actors Japanese m ...

Production

''Ossan's Love'' was inspired by producer experience of being looked after by a female friend while in college, and her desire to explore the subject of romantic relationships between co-workers. Scriptwriter noted that rather than writing the series as a '' moe'' love affair between men, he instead framed it as a romantic drama that merely features men instead of a male-female couple; consequently, ''Ossan's Love'' specifically avoids

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

or other

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

-related issues. While ''Ossan's Love'' is an original work, Tokuo has noted both ''shōnen'' and ''shōjo'' manga as among its influences, particularly ''

Marmalade Boy is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Wataru Yoshizumi. It was published in Shueisha's ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Ribon'' from May 1992 to October 1995 and collected in eight ''tankōbon'' volumes. The series was adapt ...

''. The series was heavily marketed through

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

; "Musashi's Room", an

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

account featuring in-character posts from Musashi Kurosawa, became widely popular and gained more followers than the series' official account. ''Ossan's Love'' was first broadcast as an hour-long

on December 30, 2016, as the third part of

's series. The program starred

Kei Tanaka is a Japanese actor. Personal life On August 31, 2011, Tanaka married former actress Sakura, his co-star in the television drama ''Massugu na Otoko.'' Their agencies also announced that the two were expecting their first child, as Sakura was alr ...

as Soichi Haruta, Kōtarō Yoshida as Musashi Kurosawa,

as Yukiya Hasegawa, and

Sae Miyazawa is a Japanese actress, television personality and former singer, signed under the entertainment agency Horipro. She is best known for her affiliations with AKB48 and its various sister- and subgroups. Between 2006 and 2016, she was a part of the ...

as Asuka Minato. Following positive response from the special, TV Asahi created a 7-episode television series based on the original television special, which was broadcast in 2018. The 2018 series appeared on TV Asahi's programming block. Tanaka and Yoshida reprised their roles, while

Kento Hayashi is a Japanese actor. He has appeared in more than 30 films since 2007. Selected filmography Film Television Awards and nominations References External links Official Website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayashi, Kento 1990 births Living pe ...

and

Rio Uchida is a Japanese actress and gravure idol who is affiliated with LesPros Entertainment. She is best known for her role as Kiriko Shijima, the main heroine of the Kamen Rider series ''Kamen Rider Drive''. Biography Uchida debuted in April 2010. I ...

replaced Ochiai and Miyazawa, including characters that were in their original roles. On January 22, 2019, TV Asahi announced that it would produce a second season of ''Ossan's Love'' for release in 2019. The second season, ''Ossan's Love: In the Sky'', is a re-imagining of the series that retains Haruta and Kurosawa's characters, as well as the

love triangle A love triangle is a scenario or circumstance, usually depicted as a rivalry, in which two people are pursuing or involved in a romantic relationship with one person, or in which one person in a romantic relationship with someone is simultaneo ...

plot, but is set in an airport and is not connected to the first season's narrative.

Episodes

Television special (2016)

Season 1 (2018)

Season 2: ''In the Sky'' (2019)

Other media

Film

A film sequel to season 1 of the television drama, ', was released in theaters nationwide on August 23, 2019. In its opening weekend the film sold 239,000 tickets, for a box office gross of ¥343 million. The film grossed a total of ¥2.65 billion, making it the twelfth highest-grossing Japanese film released in 2019. Several cheer screenings were held throughout the theatrical run.

Manga

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

adaptation of ''Ossan's Love'' illustrated by Umebachi Yamanaka was serialized in the

manga magazine are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics an ...

Be Love ''Be Love'' is a Japanese monthly (bimonthly May 1982 – 2018) manga magazine targeting women published by Kodansha. It debuted in September 1980. It is one of the leading manga magazines for adult women, the second of its kind (the first being ...

'' from 2018 to 2020. The series was collected into four volumes published by

Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...

Remake

A Cantonese-language remake of the first season produced in Hong Kong was first announced in February 2021. The remake stars

Mirror A mirror, also known as a looking glass, is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror forms an image of whatever is in front of it, which is then focused through the lens of the eye or a camera ...

members

Edan Lui Edan Lui Cheuk-on ( zh, t=呂爵安; born 21 January 1997), is a Hong Kong people, Hong Kong singer, actor, presenter, and a member of the Hong Kong boy group Mirror (group), Mirror. Apart from his group activities, Edan made his solo debut in ...

and

Anson Lo Anson Lo Hon-ting (; born 7 July 1995) is a Hong Kong singer, dancer and actor. In 2018, Anson Lo made his debut as a member of the Hong Kong boy group Mirror. Anson Lo made his solo debut in February 2020 with his first single "A Lifelong Mis ...

, as well as

Kenny Wong Wong Tak-bun (born 30 April 1963), known internationally as Kenny Wong, is a Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million r ...

. It was later broadcast in Hong Kong on

ViuTV ViuTV is a Cantonese language Generalist channel, general entertainment television channel in Hong Kong operated by HK Television Entertainment (HKTVE), whose parent company PCCW also operates the IPTV platform Now TV (Hong Kong), Now TV and the ...

beginning June 28, 2021. Episodes 7 to 15 had new content that was not present in the original Japanese version. A Thai television drama remake that was aired from January 9 and ends on March 24, 2025 consists of 12 episodes. It stars

Pirapat Watthanasetsiri Pirapat Watthanasetsiri (; born 23 February 1994), nicknamed Earth (), is a Thai actor affiliated with GMMTV. He is known for his main roles in ''Water Boyy: The Series'' (2017) and ''Kiss Me Again (TV series), Kiss Me Again'' (2018). He gained ...

Sahaphap Wongratch Sahaphap Wongratch (; born 22 July 1998), nicknamed Mix (), is a Thai actor, singer, and model affiliated with GMMTV. He gained prominence for his leading role as Tian in the critically acclaimed series '' A Tale of Thousand Stars'' (2021). He f ...

and Shahkrit Yamnam. This drama is now available for streaming on Viu and

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

Reception

Critical reception

''Ossan's Love'' was credited as one of the series that brought interest to the boys' love genre to mainstream audiences outside of anime and manga fans, and was praised in Japan and Hong Kong for its positive portrayal of same-sex couples. The series' popularity is noted as influencing the production of live-action television dramas and films featuring male-male romance, such as ' (2018) on

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...

, ''

What Did You Eat Yesterday? is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fumi Yoshinaga. The slice of life series focuses on the relationship between Shiro Kakei and Kenji Yabuki, a middle-aged gay couple living in Tokyo, Japan. The manga has been serialized ...

'' (2019) on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! is a Japanese boys' love (BL) manga series by Yuu Toyota. A live-action television drama adaptation aired from October 9 to December 24, 2020, on TV Tokyo's programming block, which enjoyed high ratings during its broadcast. A sequel to t ...

'' (2020) on TV Tokyo, and the live-action film adaptation of ''

The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Setona Mizushiro. ''The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese'' was serialized in the manga magazine ''Judy'' from 2005 to 2006. The book was followed up with a one-volume sequel titled . A ...

'' (2020). James Marsh from the ''

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remaine ...

'' gave ''Ossan's Love: Love or Dead'' a score of 3 out of 5 stars. The official guidebook for the first season sold 100,000 physical copies within its first week of sales. During its second week of sales, it sold an additional 56,000 physical copies and became the best-selling official guidebook for a television drama since the 2011 television series ''

Ikemen desu ne is a Japanese television drama series starring Miori Takimoto, Yuta Tamamori, Taisuke Fujigaya, and Hikaru Yaotome that aired on TBS Television (Japan) from July 15 to September 23, 2011. It is a remake of '' You're Beautiful'' starring Jang ...

''.

Awards

, - , rowspan="17" , 2018 , rowspan="2" , , Best Drama , ''Ossan's Love'' , , , - , Best Supporting Actor , Kōtarō Yoshida , , , - , rowspan="5" ,

Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix The Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix is an award given by the Nikkan Sports newspaper to Japanese television dramas. The award is determined by viewer votes. The 14th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix was canceled due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake an ...

, Best Series , ''Ossan's Love'' , , , - , Best Actor ,

, , , - , Best Supporting Actor ,

, , , - , Best Supporting Actress ,

Nene Otsuka is a Japanese actress. She starred in Masahiro Kobayashi's film '' Bashing'', which was screened in competition at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. Career Otuska has appeared in films such as Hirokazu Koreeda's '' I Wish'' and Yoshihiro Nakamur ...

, , , - , rowspan="7" , , Best Series , ''Ossan's Love'' , , , - , Best Actor ,

, , , - , Best Supporting Actor , Kōtarō Yoshida , , , - , Best Supporting Actor ,

, , , - , Best Screenplay , , , , - , Best Director , Toichiro Ruto, Daisuke Yamamoto, Yuki Saito , , , - , Special Award , "Musashi's Room" (tie-in

account) , , , - , rowspan="3" ,

Tokyo Drama Awards Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Grand Prix , ''Ossan's Love'' , , , - , Best Actor ,

, , , - , Best Supporting Actor , Kōtarō Yoshida , , , - , rowspan="7" , 2019 , , Grand Prize , ''Ossan's Love'' , , , - , rowspan="2" ,

Elan d'or Awards The are awards presented annually by the All Nippon Producers Association (ANPA) in Japan to recognize achievements in domestic motion pictures and television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving im ...

, New Face Award ,

, , , - , Producer Award Encouragement Award , Yumiko Miwa, Sayuri Kijima, Yuki Jinba, Chizuko Matsuno , , , - , rowspan="4" ,

(Spring Drama) , Best Series , ''Ossan's Love'' , , , - , Best Actor ,

, , , - , Best Supporting Actor ,

, , , - , Best Supporting Actress ,

, , , -

References

External links

*
''Ossan's Love: In the Sky'' official website
{{Be Love Japanese drama television series 2010s LGBTQ-related drama television series 2016 in Japanese television 2018 in Japanese television 2010s Japanese films 2016 Japanese television series debuts Japanese LGBTQ-related drama television series Japanese boys' love television series Josei manga Kodansha manga TV Asahi television dramas