Japanese Drama - Glass Heart

Hello

안녕하세요

(Annyeonghaseyo)

こんにちは

(Konnichiwa)

你好

(Ni Hao)

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Glass Heart is a 2025 Japanese drama based on the novel Glass Heart by Mio Wakagi.

The series was written by Mari Okada and Tomoko Akutsu, and directed by Kohtaro Goto and Kensaku Kakimoto.

The series was released on Netflix on July 31st, with 10 episodes.

Main Cast:

Takeru Satoh as Naoki Fujitani

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Yu Miyazaki as Akane Saijo

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Keita Machida as Sho Takaoka

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Jun Shison as Kazushi Sakamoto

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Supporting Cast:

Masaki Suda as Toya Shinzaki

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Reini as Mahiro Arisugawa

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Erika Karata as Miyako Kai

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Pistol Takehara as Genji Kamiyama

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Naohito Fujiki as Ichidai Isagi

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Akari Takaishi as Yukino Sakurai

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You as Momoko Saijo

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Miku Uehara as Eiko

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Hazuki Shimizu as Haruna Shinzaki

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Kokoro Morita as Toya Shinzaki's Fan

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As this is a drama based around a band, it's only fair that I share with you the amazing songs that feature in each episode.

Matrix - TENBLANK

Tokyo Shuffle

旋律と結晶 (Crystalline Echo) - TENBLANK

Tokyo Shuffle

約束のうた (Unbroken) - TENBLANK

Tokyo Shuffle

Lucky Me - TENBLANK

Tokyo Shuffle

シトラス (Citrus) - TENBLANK

치아

Play Out Loud - TENBLANK

하루가사집 [歌詞集]

Chasing Blurry Lines - TENBLANK

하루가사집 [歌詞集]

君とうたう歌 (A Song For Us To Sing) - TENBLANK (Feat. Yukino Sakurai)

하루가사집 [歌詞集]

永遠前夜 (Forever Eve) - TENBLANK

佐藤 健 / Satoh Takeru

Glass Heart - TENBLANK

佐藤 健 / Satoh Takeru

Akane Saijo is a university student  and plays the drums in a band. Suddenly she gets unfairly kicked out of the band.

Genius musician Naoki Fujitani becomes aware of Akane Saijo and asks her to join his new band TENBLANK.

The band members in his band includes guitarist Sho Takaoka and pianist Kazushi Sakamoto.

Meanwhile, there is a rival band that vocalist Toya Shinzaki belongs to.

Netflix Philippines

Seeing 2 of the names for this drama, and reading the info, and seeing the trailer. I knew that it was a drama I wanted to get my teeth into. I knew it would be a drama that interested me and I wasn't wrong. I absolutely love this drama, it's definitely one of my favourite Japanese dramas, as well as overall drama.

The casting is amazing, they all were amazing in their roles, the story and plot is really good and really well told.

I love that even though this drama is a romance drama it focuses more on the band and the music, which for me gives a more developed love story as we see the relationship grow.

For me TENBLANK is up there with my favourite fictional groups with Given, the music is amazing and knowing that they all played their instruments, made this drama so much more breathtaking and enjoyable.

I absolutely loved Takeru Satoh as Naoki Fujitani. I've only ever watched him play Kenshin in the Rurouni Kenshin live-action films, and I feel like this role put him on a whole other level for me. He was amazing in his role and I love the fact that he sung all the songs too. I wasn't aware that he was able to sing. His character is a perfectionist and wants things to go his way, and when it doesn't, he doesn't stop, until he's got that 100% perfection.

I really liked Yu Miyazaki as Akane Saijo. she brought a naivety to the drama and her character, she really made her believable. I love that when she first gets rejected she dye's her hair a different colour, which probably every woman does when they're moving on from a heartbreak etc. I love that even though her character seems naive, she's still strong and independant and keeps fighting for what she wants no matter what or who tries to bring her down.

I loved Keita Machida as Sho Takaoka. I've seen him in a few things including Alice in Borderland and the High & Low film series. I think this role is definitely my favourite so far. There were times that I made some BL jokes between Sho and Naoki, but you could see how close they were and how much they valued their friendship and their talents. I think Sho was someone in the band that anyone could turn to for help an guidance, even when it all seemed to be breaking down.

I really liked Jun Shison as Kazushi Sakamoto, this is my first drama of his and I have to say, what better drama to start with. He really give me 2nd male lead syndrome. He's a character that knows he's talented but wanted to be the best of the best, you could also tell that he wanted Naoki's approval.

Masaki Suda was amazing as Toya Shinzaki. He's the typical rival and is just as talented as Naoki, but has had to work harder to get to where he is. He comes across as someone who is cold and will get what they want, any way that they want, but we see that he has a warmer and softer side to him.

Reini was really good as Mahiro Arisugawa. While we don't really get much from him, we can see that he really respects Toya. It made me think at times that he had deeper feelings towards him, but I think it's more that he has respect from his as a musician, as well as a friend.

I really liked Erika Karata as Miyako Kai, for me her character was definitely unpredictable. There were definitely times that I felt for her, but it was nice to see her character development towards the end.

I liked Pistol Takehara as Genji Kamiyama, I really liked him as TENBLANK's new manager, as he was the total opposite to Kai. In that he kept them grounded and together, he helped each one of them.

Naohito Fujiki was really good as Ichidai Isagi. He's your typical bad guy. He's in power and will do anything and everything to keep himself at the top and in power. He uses his power to keep his artists with him, and to try and bring Naoki back on his side. Be prepared for no character development, his character is one that never changes and you can tell he has no desire to change who he is.

I loved Akari Takaishi as Yukino Sakurai. I went into this drama thinking she was the love rival and would do anything to make Naoki hers. We see some real character development with her and we see that her relationships change. Hers and Akane's relationship really screams woman protecting woman, rather than them bringing each other down.

I don't think I will ever stop recommending this drama, I've been constantly listening to the bands music, and I'm insanely jealous of Japan getting fanmeet's with them, as well as them performing with One Ok Rock, who I see in October. I think that shows how amazing this drama is.

I won't get over how amazing the cast is and how well they worked together to bring this story to life. It's definitely made me want to read the novel and get more in to the series.

Have you watched Glass Heart?

Were you a fan of the cast?

Did you enjoy the plot?

Let me know in the comments below.

See you soon!

안녕

(Annyeong)

さようなら

(Sayonara)

再见

(ZaiJian)

Bye

Given

Hello

안녕하세요

(Annyeonghaseyo)

こんにちは

(Konnichiwa)

你好

(Ni Hao)

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Given is an anime adaptation of the manga of the same name by Natsuki Kizu, with the anime adaptation being written by Yuniko Ayana and directed by Hikaru Yamaguchi.

The series started airing on the 11th of July 2019, and concluded on the 19th of September 2019.

The first season contains 11 episodes.

Main Characters:

Ritsuka Uenoyama is voiced by Yuuma Uchida

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Mafuyu Sato is voiced by Shogo Yano

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Haruki Nakayama is voiced by Masatomo Nakazawa

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Akihiko Kaji is voiced by Takuya Eguchi

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Supporting Characters:

Yuki Yoshida is voiced by Yuuki Shin

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Yayoi Uenoyama is voiced by Yuu Shimamura

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Ugetsu Murata is voiced by Shintaro Asanuma

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Hiiragi Kashima is voiced by Fumiya Imai

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Shizusumi Yagi is voiced by Taito Ban

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Kasai is voiced by Ayaka Asai

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Yatake Koji is voiced by Ryouta Takeuchi

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The anime adaptation is produced by Lerche and was announced during a Fuji TV press conference, on the 14th of March 2019.

The series aired on Noitamina, making Given the first BL series to air on Noitamina.

The series was also syndicated by Crunchyroll, which simulcast the series worldwide outside of Asia. In Southeast Asia, the series was released on WeTV on the 18th of May 2021.

Mafuyu voice actor Shogo Yano sang on the original songs "Marutsuke" and "Fuyu no hanashi (A Winter Story)" for the show.

Kizuato - Centimillimental

Wooby

Marutsuke - Given

iwee

Session - Given

Crunchyroll Collection

Fuyu no hanashi (A Winter Story)

iwee

Fuyu no hanashi (A Winter Story)

Crunchyroll Collection

Tightly clutching his Gibson guitar, Mafuyu Sato steps out of his dark apartment to begin another day og his high school life. While taking a nap in a quiet spot on the gymnasium staircase, he has a chance encounter with fellow student Ritsuka Uenoyama, who berates him for letting his guitar's strings rust and break. Noticing Uenoyama's knowledge of the instrument, Sato pleads for him to fix it and to tach him how to play. Uenoyama eventually agrees and invites him to sit in on a jam session with his two bandmates: bassist Haruki Nakayama and drummer Akihiko Kaji.

Sato's voice is strikingly beautiful, filling Uenoyama with the determination to make Sato the lead singer of the band. Though reticent at first, Sato takes the offer after an emotional meeting with an old friend. With the support of his new friends, Sato must not only learn how to play guitar, but also come to terms with the mysterious circumstances that led him to be it's owner.

crown of elm

How I've never come across this anime being a lover of BL anime, manga and drama's. I'll never know, I only came across it because I was looking at popular BL manga's online and Given came up in a lot of articles. The I had a nosey on Crunchyroll to see if the anime was available for me to watch and it's now the reason that I am now back to being a premium member, it brought back my love for anime.

I had already seen some clips online but seeing more into the backstory of the characters, especially Mafuyu, made this series more heartbreaking to watch, especially when he finally sung the lyrics he'd written. You can tell he blames himself for what happened in his past and you can tell he really struggles with letting others in because he's afraid he'll be left alone again. Even now when I listen to the song he sings, I get a little tearful.

I love that Given touches on subjects that people try to ignore like suicide, mental health and sexuality, especially when it comes to the male population.

I love how different the characters are and I especially love the Given members, each of them have their own struggles, but are all willing to help one another and I loved seeing how each character developed and grew, especially when it came to Mafuyu and his friends from his past.

I highly recommend this anime and it's definitely a series that I want to collect both the anime series and the manga volumes and for me it's right up there as one of my favourite series' not only as a BL but overall. I could easily and happily watch it on repeat everyday, it's a show that you would never get bored of.

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Have you watched the Given anime series?

Were you a fan of the anime?

Have you read the manga?

Do you have any favourite characters?

Let me know in the comments below.

See you soon!

안녕

(Annyeong)

さようなら

(Sayonara)

再见

(ZaiJian)

Bye