“I love you” aren’t easy words to say. For many, expressing emotion through actions is much easier than putting emotion into words, especially when misunderstandings and miscommunication have colored how you feel about relationships.

In the Japanese BL Love is Better the Second Time Around, adapted from the manga series Koi wo Surunara Nidome ga Joto by Kinoshita Keiko, Hasegawa Makoto and Furuya Robin takes center stage as Miyata Akihiro and Iwanaga Takashi, two men on the verge of starting over after being torn apart in their youth over a misunderstanding.

Short and full of desire, Love is Better the Second Time Around finds editor Miyata Akihiro being forced to confront his first love when he is assigned to university professor Iwanaga Takashi, a confident, suave man he’d once loved enough to elope with. A man who Miyata believed played with his feelings.

A lot happens in six episodes, from ex-lovers to family discord to learning to accept that the past isn’t always what it seems. And yet, my favorite thing about Love is Better the Second Time Around is how well it portrays emotional weakness. Those who seem strong on the outside are sometimes less strong than they appear. And those who seem weak aren’t always weak.

From the beginning, Miyata seems to need protection, from his past to his heart to his feelings. But outside of the hurt feelings Miyata has to work through from his past relationship with Iwanaga, it isn’t Miyata who needs the most emotional support in the series. It’s the stalwart Iwanaga, a man who hides how he feels to protect the man he truly loves and, in so doing, protect his heart.

And that’s where the true power of Love is Better the Second Time Around lies for me: Iwanaga’s weaknesses. Through these weaknesses, Miyata discovers the strength he needs to reach out to Iwanaga and offer him his heart and support. Through the cracks in Iwanaga’s veneer, Miyata finds the peace to say, “I love you.”

While this review may be hard to follow if you haven’t seen the series, it’s even harder to put into words without delving into the key reason this series shines. The chemistry between the leads and the equal desire to protect each other created an emotional investment that enthralled me.

And that won me over.

For a series in which love grows as much out of weakness as it does strength, check out Love is Better the Second Time Around now on Gagaoolala. It’s a second-chance romance worth watching.

Rating- 4 out of 5