Imagine being in love with someone who is secretly in love with you back — and neither of you ever finding out. For eight whole years. That is the cruel, delicious premise of Ao to Midori, the boys-love manga by Roji that just got the announcement every BL fan has been waiting for: a live-action television series, debuting October 5.
The news dropped on Saturday through the show’s new official website, alongside the full cast reveal — and for fans of the manga, the casting is dangerously close to perfect.
Naoya Kusakawa and Hidekazu Chinen Lead the Cast
Naoya Kusakawa will play Midori Yamamura, while Hidekazu Chinen takes on Ao Hayama. The pair are the heart of a story that has built a devoted following since the manga’s first volume landed in August 2023 from publisher France Shoin — with the second volume following on May 28 via Printemps Shuppan.
Behind the camera, the staff lineup is stacked with live-action veterans. Nao Nomura (known for the live-action Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko series) directs alongside Hitomi Kitagawa and Saki Michimoto, with Ayumi Shimo writing the scripts. If you have seen Nomura’s work on Ayaka, you already know exactly the kind of tender, quietly devastating tone this adaptation is aiming for.
A Plot That Hurts So Good: “Mutual Unrequited Love”
Here is what makes Ao to Midori different from your average BL: Ao is the golden boy — great at sports, great at school, so innocent that his classmates call him “baby.” Midori is head over heels for him but physically unable to be honest about it. The result is what fans call “mutual unrequited love”: two people who love each other while both believing the feeling is one-sided.
The story follows them through high school, where they are both trapped by the framework of “normalcy,” and then across the next eight years as they grow into working adults and slowly — painfully — edge closer together. It is a slow-burn built on missed signals, swallowed confessions, and the kind of tension that makes you want to scream at the screen.
Where and When to Watch
The series premieres on BS Asahi on October 5 at 11:24 p.m. JST and on TV Kanagawa the same night at 11:30 p.m., with HBC, RKB Mainichi Broadcasting, and CBC TV joining in from October 8. International viewers get some relief: the show streams on Lemino starting October 5 at 10:00 a.m., and on TVer after the BS Asahi broadcast.
Roji Is Quietly Becoming the Queen of BL Live-Action
This is not Roji’s first ride on the live-action train. Her previous series Countdown to Yes already made the jump to live-action television back in January. English readers can keep up through Animate International, which publishes both Ao to Midori and Roji’s All About My Two Dads in English.
The announcement lands right in the middle of Japan’s live-action adaptation boom — from BL hits like Yukino Sonoyama’s Bless heading to Amazon Prime to genre-bending projects like the live-action Blue Lock movie and the live-action Look Back. Manga-to-screen adaptations are no longer a gamble — they are the safest bet in Japanese entertainment right now.
With a cast this well-matched, a director who understands aching romance, and a premise that is equal parts frustrating and irresistible, Ao to Midori is shaping up to be the BL drama of the season. October 5 cannot come soon enough.
What Do You Think?
Are you excited for the Ao to Midori live-action? Do Naoya Kusakawa and Hidekazu Chinen fit your mental image of Ao and Midori? And how long can you survive a “mutual unrequited love” slow-burn before screaming at the characters to just talk to each other? Drop your thoughts in the comments!
