Man Catfishes Other Man In-Person by Cross-Dressing
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Warning:
This review will contain spoilers for the manga and anime series Beautiful Things. While the manga may vary slightly from all other forms of media, it may have similar story elements and could be considered spoilers.
Content Warning: There may be references to false identity, gossiping, manipulation, breakups, attempted rape, drugging, violence, homomisia, faking a disability, toxic work environment, self-deprecation, possible depression, mentions of car accidents, PTSD, ableism, excessive drinking, dubcon/noncon, theft, and obsession, as they appear in the manga.
Synopsis:
Matsuoka is praised for his hard work, but he makes it look easy. Unfortunately, this leads many people to assume that everything he has achieved is merely a result of his easy success, making him feel as if his hard work is all for naught. All of his frustration has to have somewhere to go, and that is in his choice of hobby: cross-dressing. When he broke up with his last girlfriend, Matsuoka decided to try on her clothes on a whim, and to his surprise, he found it was pretty freeing. Over time, he has become so skilled at it that many people admire him whenever he goes out. The illusion and how easily he tricks others is what makes it all fun, and it has other bonuses, as one of his clients ends up hitting on him while Matsuoka’s out and about.
Seeing this as a great opportunity to find out more about his client, Matsuoka agrees to go out for a drink with him. Unfortunately, this leads to him waking up, half-undressed in a hotel room, with his client raging that Matsuoka has tricked him. After a brief tussle, Matsuoka runs out of the hotel room and out into the street, where it is pouring rain. Shoeless, injured, and frightened, he hides away in an alley, ignored by everyone, and swearing he’ll never cross-dress again. But then, a stranger approaches him, offers Matsuoka his shoes, and even hails a taxi for him. The kindness is overwhelming, but Matsuoka has no clue who this kind man is.
That is, until he sees him at work. As it turns out, this kind man is Hirosue, a coworker in another department. They’re strangers, except for this brief moment they had out in the rain while Matsuoka was dressed as a woman. Wanting to pay Hirosue back for his kindness, Matsuoka dresses up and takes on the identity of Eto Yoko, and even pretends to be mute. He hopes this is the first and last time he has to interact with Hirosue like this, but Hirosue has fallen for Eto Yoko at first sight. Matsuoka, won over by Hirosue, decides to continue communicating with him via email.
Matsuoka is steadily falling for Hirosue, but Hirosue is in love with Eto Yoko. Is there a chance for Matsuoka to win Hirosue over as himself? Or is this ruse fated to end in tragedy for everyone?
Review:
The art in this is super rough. I was really looking forward to it, as the cover is simplistic and lovely, but I found the art within the volume itself to be much rougher and very inconsistent. I also hate the design change Matsuoka undergoes. It’s supposed to be a semi-glow up, as he changes his appearance to move on from the horrible end he had with Hirosue. But this couldn’t be further from a glow up. He looks like the corporate anime villain to me, which is unfortunate. Hirosue also doesn’t look good in many of his panels, which just leaves everything feeling unpolished. It’s not my favorite style, for sure.
This one is a tough one to review, and not just because of the art.. The ending is not where I typically like to begin when discussing a story, but it’s probably one of the main reasons it’s hard for me to discuss this title. While this does have romantic elements and does focus on the relationship between two men, it’s really hard to call it a romance. Why? Because they don’t end up together, at least not definitively. There is a ton of discourse online regarding what makes a romance. Does there have to be a happily ever after? I don’t personally think so, but I can totally understand why someone would be disappointed when they buy a romance only to find that the couple they’re following never end up together. If that is what you expect from your romance stories, this is a definite no-go.
However, I think the ending does work concerning what the story is trying to convey. Immediately, we’re presented with two people who couldn’t be more different if they tried. Matsuoka is extroverted, well-liked at work, skilled at his job, overly forward at times, and is portrayed as a liar. On the contrary, Hirosue is painfully introverted, disliked, perceived as being bad at his job, and refuses to speak his mind, yet he is portrayed as an exceedingly good person. The irony lies in the difference between Matsuoka being a liar and Hirosue, who might not lie but refuses to express his feelings. This leads to many moments where Matsuoka is forced to lie because otherwise nothing would be said, and Matsuoka is forced to be the bad guy again and again. It’s a powerful realization that sometimes wanting to be honest but unwilling to speak the truth can be more painful and more harmful than being a liar.
It’s all very powerful, but with this being a single-volume title, it hammers you with all of this drama and pain. It’s honestly a challenging read because it’s a never-ending stream of painful choices, painful words, horrible misunderstandings, and the like. We even see Matsuoka and Hirosue dating women while they’re trying to work through their issues. It all adds another horrific and sad layer to this story that might make it hard to stomach. It certainly will make you feel things, but are they things you want to read in your BL? I’m not so sure, in this case.
Results:
This is a tough one to recommend. As a drama, I think there are none that do it better, as this is packed with drama. However, as a romance, I’m just not sure it sets out to do what it needs to do. I was ultimately very disappointed in the ending, and I really wanted more. If you don’t mind a bittersweet ending and a never-ending stream of drama, then I can’t imagine a better title. However, if you want a definitive ending, good or bad, stay far, far away from this one. I personally don’t recommend it.
Have you read Beautiful Things? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!
