“If I wait for someone else to validate my existence, it will mean that I’m shortchanging myself.” – Zanele Muholi

Adapted from the manga series “Smells Like Green Spirit” (スメルズライクグリーンスピリット) by Nagai Saburo (永井三郎), the show is set in the 1990s era where homophobia wasn’t any less prevalent than it is now. In the midst of a school setting, we have “Coming Of Age” storyline which retraces how transgenders were hugely perceived. The ridicule coupled with rampant bullying made their existence rather difficult. There were many who succumbed to this pressure while few daring ones choose to live their life fearlessly. This story belongs to one such brave persona, Mishima Futoshi. The subtleties of this character are portrayed so boldly by Araki Towa, that you want to celebrate their independence and freedom. MBS is engaging in stories that are intrinsically interwoven with the dynamics of the queer community. They are thought-provoking, mindful and also captivating. One man’s struggle against societal prejudices becomes the crux of this storyline. From the way you dress to the way you behave, society judges you on everything; but who are they to judge others & are their opinions that important?

“Smells Like Green Spirit” answers these questions with a honesty and sincerity that is worth exploring!

Araki Towa as Mishima Futoshi

As the long haired beauty in his class, Mishima is bullied by his classmates, Kirino & Yumeno alongside their loyal lackeys. Being born in the countryside doesn’t help his situation, he is a loner and his neighborhood is annoyingly nosy. The reason why he is continously bullied is because he is seemingly gay. In reality, Mishima does like guys, so he does not resist their bullying, and instead, finds solace in secretly cross-dressing. Every night, he tries different shades of lipsticks that he covertly steals from his mother’s dressing table. Until, one day, on the rooftop of the school, Mishima finds the lipstick he had lost before in the hands of Kirino, as he was about to put on the lipstick that Mishima used on his own lips. It doesn’t take long for Mishima to figure out that Kirono resembles him; he also has urges that he hides well. They soon settle into an unlikely routine which charts their journey from being enemies to becoming each other’s staunch support. The storyline breeds on their friendship, in which they both find solace & comfort. Unfortunately, their new teacher Yanagida gets enamored with Mishima and tries to sexually assault him. Araki Towa excels in his portrayal of Mishima; the longing and yearning to burst out of his shell and explore his sexuality are evident. Araki embodies the pain and trauma that Mishima experiences after Yanagida assaults him. This was one of the strongest portrayals of a queer character in a long time. I also want to applaud Sakai Wakana who plays Mishima’s mother; she never questions him and wholeheartedly accepts his sexuality. It was satisfying watching him wear his mother’s dresses while she swooned over his good looks. Mishima recognizing his as dream as a beautiful drag queen in future was one of the biggest joys of watching this show!

Sono Shunta as Kirino Makoto

Sono’s rendition of Kirino will tug at your heartstrings; as the second most important character in this show, his story is unbearably painful. Bought up in household with an adulterous father, Kirino has to bear the brunt of his mother’s idealistic upbringing. Rather, frail and sick, his mother is depressed and as such, levies her hopes and aspirations on her only son. Using her health condition as an excuse, she keeps Kirino under tight control. Seemingly suffocated and frustrated, Kirino leads a fake life where he hides his sexuality and inner voice to please her. That is, until Mishima catches him applying his lipstick and they became fast friends. Despite bullying him in the past, Kirino has been subtly protecting Mishima from his lackeys. As they grow closer, they share their dreams on the rooftop during their lunchtime. Kirino aspires to go to Thailand because it is a gay haven. Their closeness is ultimately viewed as an act of gayness by his neighbors who spread rumors about them. Enraged by his mother’s callous attitude, Kirino escapes to Tokyo with Mishima. However, he is forced to return when his mother falls sick. Leaving his dreams and desires behind, Kirino gives up on his friendship with Mishima and returns home to live the fake life that his mother envisions. I empathized with him, felt his pain & cried alongside him.

Fujimoto Kodai as Yumeno Taro

A bully by disguise, Yumeno is attracted to Mishima. He hides his attraction under the pretense of bullying him; until, he sees Kirino and Mishima get closer as friends, his real feelings don’t surface. He only accepts his affections for Mishima after seeing him in danger. Later, Yumeno follows him religiously every day as he returns home from school. His excuses are pretty flimsy and Mishima soon discovers that Yumeno intends to safeguard him. As they hug and get closer, Yumeno kisses Mishima. His feelings are muddled when he realizes that even though Mishima looks feminine, he isn’t. He runs away and avoids Mishima for a while. Their nosy neighbors spread rumors about Yumeno and Mishima too, which causes an uproar at his house. Yumeno’s mother helps him clear the confusion, so he could sort out his feelings- love is beyond gender and it could never be wrong. His mother’s positive opinion gives him the courage to confess to Mishima. Years later, they are living together in Tokyo where Yumeno is a regular office worker and still very much in love with Mishima.

Abe Alan as Yanagida

This is Abe Alan’s second act as a BL actor, after having starred in “I Became the Lead in a BL Drama: Crank up Edition”. Yanagida is an intern teacher at Mishima’s school; he transfers thereafter getting divorced because his ex-wife discovers his true sexuality. Like Kirino, he has been hiding his gay nature for most of his life; to please his parents and to abide by societal obligations, he gets married. Unfortunately, the marriage doesn’t last long. When he transfers to the countryside, he is instantly enamored with Mishima. He secretly observes Mishima who is a loner; using the excuse of detention, he tries to get closer to Mishima. Yanagida turns out to be a repressed pedophile when he kidnaps Mishima and tries to assault him. Fortunately, Yumeno & Kirino arrive on time and save him. After getting reprimanded by them for his disgusting act, Yanagida resigns and disappears. Abe Alan’s portrayal of Yanagida was astonishingly shocking; Yanagida has been repressing his true nature for so long, that it turned him evil.

Is it a Worthwhile Watch

Two beautiful souls who believed that they could live a life of freedom and independence were trampled upon!

Mishima and Kirino’s friendship was the most defining point of this storyline. They yearned for recognition and wanted to be free of societal shackles. While Mishima was able to achieve this dream because he found support in his mother and boyfriend, Kirino wasn’t that lucky. There are many other Kirino’s existing in today’s world who have to hide their true nature, because they are afraid of societal rebuttal and rebuke. You can’t help but feel sorry for them. Everyone should have the right to live their life, as they want to!

The only downside to watching this show is that you have to rely on fan subbers, because it isn’t available on international platforms yet.

Rating- 4.5 out of 5