I just thought that The-Angry-Arguing-Pinning-Each-Other-To-The-Table-Scene from Bloody Monday 2 kinda reminds me of that fight of HaruTake where they ended up yelling “I love you!” to each other.

I find it interesting and kinda funny how in the West (or outside Japan in general) it seems to be Haruma>Takeru, when in JPN it’s Takeru>Haruma.

Fact is though that Takeru ranks higher in japanese entertainment biz.

Oh well whatever I love both, separately or as an item :>

Whenever people see someone they like, the pupils of their eyes dilate and grow larger and thus the eyes look brighter.

From HT in NY dvd, if you look closely (ie zoooooom) at Takeru’s eyes, you can see his pupils are rather large.

Follow the cut for my analysis of the relationship of these two.

Btw please share thoughts if you have some!

I wrote this because I  wanted so share my thougts about the relationship between two japanese actors and best friends Miura Haruma (21) and Sato Takeru (22) from the talent agency called AMUSE.

Please note that the writer of this :

1.) Is a psychology major with good grades and observation skills

2.) Has good knowledge of japanese language and culture (this is essential for understanding the behaviour of japanese people, obviously)

3.) Has been following the careers of Miura and Sato for some 5 years now.

4.) is not native english speaker, so please try to live with possible typos.

They’re a bit like Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, Takeru and Haruma.

There is this obvious tension between them where both are obviously very much attracted to each other. But the situation is not simple.

To be honest I find Takeru to be somewhat aromantic, if not even (p)a(n)/demisexual. He himself has stated that he’d be perfectly fine with never finding love. This alone is a heavy statement coming from a japanese idol. As some of you know, love and romance are important to japanese teenager girls (this alone is worth an essay so let’s not get too deep into it..) In short they WANT to hear their idols talk about dates and gifts and well, just romantic stuff in general. “What’s your type?” is the most asked question from actors/musicians of their age. This means they’re pressured about the topic, and they HAVE to have somekind of an answer ready to give when asked. It’s a routine, and fans seem to think way too much into this. This is why that comment when Takeru said that he doesn’t think too much about love and such caught my attention. It was unusual, just like Takeru himself is in japanese entertainment business. To me it also looks like all this love-talk is getting on Takeru’s nerves. He gets a bit aggressive and the tone in his voice lowers and he speaks faster, as if just wanting to get the thing over and done with.  Haruma then again wants to find “the one”. But when it comes to gender, I don’t see him as gay or bisexual, I think it’s just Takeru that intrigues him. Sometimes his own actions around Takeru seem to caught him by surprise and he gets embarassed for a moment.

Just comparing and analyzing their behaviour tells a lot. For example when they’re acting versus when they’re being themselves or when they’re together in public versus when they’re alone or with other people in public.

Let’s take Takeru for example. The guy is an amazing actor. He’s exceptional. He’s very calm and polite on set, maybe even a bit shy and reserved. The same goes for his behavior in public events like tv interviews and such. I find him being rather introvert too. This is because Seto Koji is an introvert and when the two of them met…well, it was just like two introverts meeting. Kind of awkward. It was difficult situation because Seto is older but Takeru was in senpai-position work-wise, so they didn’t know how to act and neither had the courage to break the ice at first. Then again, when Takeru is with other people, like with rest of the AMUSE kids, he keeps the somewhat reserved character but gives it a little funny/comical twist. He doesn’t go fooling around like, say, Dori (Sakurada, H&T’s kouhai from the same agency) does, but he’s part of the group and other kids look up to him. He really likes the boys in his agency, but hasn’t revealed his true character to many of them. In fact, I think Haruma is the only one who really knows what Takeru is really like. Dori is close to Takeru too, but their relationship is still really different from what Takeru and Haruma have.

Haruma then again is even more reserved around guys of his age. Don’t take this the wrong way though. I think the guys look up to him even more than they look up to Takeru, in some ways. I mean these two are the shining stars of AMUSE, and thus have a special position within the group (again, the senpai-kouhai hierarchy is important in japanese society and that needs to be emphasized here). In general Haruma seems to be all polite and perfect son-in-law kind of person, and that’s exactly the image he keeps up in public too. To be honest I don’t think it’s much of an act either, his eyes just seem too honest. His reactions are always so immediate and pure that sometimes I wonder whether he’s capable of lying at all. He’s also way more comfortable around girls than Takeru is. Whereas Haruma knows how to act around females (again, this is complex topic in Japan and we’re not going to get deep into it), Takeru just doesn’t seem to care about the opposite sex that much. Or, at all. His behaviour doesn’t seem to change no matter if he’s talking to old men or young women. The same goes for acting. Have you noticed how Haruma gets roles where he has affairs and girlfriends and stuff, when Takeru then again rarely has anything to do with girls. This is why I was eager to watch Q10, the idea of Takeru in romantic relationship with a girl (or well a robot….) was amusing. Even more so when the setting was Sato Takeru x Maeda Atsuko, both being the official numero uno sweethearts of the nation. And well, the drama was interesting and actually boosted my suspicions of Takeru’s sexuality. He just seemed to be so much more comfortable with the guys, Kaku Kento (old friend) and Ikematsu Sosuke (calm and reliable, easily approacable male type) while Atsuko didn’t seem to cause any burst of emotion in him. There was absolutely no flirt coming from Takeru’s side and his behaviour around Atsuko was exactly the same as it would’ve been with any other female actress or male actor. If Haruma would have been put into his position, I believe the situation would’ve been dramatically different.

Neither Haruma or Takeru are all touchy-feely with their peers. This is kinda interesting, since it’s really common for japanese guys of their age to satisfy their need for closeness by getting close to other guys. (This is more complex matter, but let’s not get to it now.) Then again, keep in mind that showing affection between couples in public is not exactly common in Japan. Romantic stuff is considered private and they’re not nearly as open and expressive as western people when it comes to showing affection anyway.

But when they’re together, they’re both almost like completely different people.

It’s common knowledge that being able to protect is the most important factor for men when it comes to romantic relationships. This is also exactly what has caught my eye when it comes to Takeru and Haruma. Haruma has this need to protect Takeru. He pretty much turns into a boyfriend when they’re together. When they walk, he constantly pays attention to Takeru. In interviews he follows Takeru’s pace and helps him out if they’re in tight spot. Take their trip to NY for example. Haruma’s body language told me more than thousand words there. Obviously there’s the fact that they’re alone in foreign country so they search for comfort from each other, but there’s more to this. Haruma walks either right next to Takeru or just a bit behind him and makes sure he’s safe while letting Takeru do his thing. While he pays attention to Takeru’s presence and observes him, he also takes care that Takeru won’t step out of the pedestrian street or slip etc. (This is typical for japanese couples, wagamama [selfish-ish] girl and supportive guy.) Not to mention this obvious adoring gaze he has when he looks at Takeru. Whenever people see someone they like, the pupils of their eyes dilate and grow larger and thus the eyes look brighter. It’s all these micro facial expressions that make things interesting, for example their smiles are wider, last longer and fade slower when it’s about each other. I don’t know what it is exactly about Takeru that intriques Haruma so much, but I have a hunch that it’s the fact that Takeru is so very different from your usual 22 year old japanese guy (this is exactly where I think they’re like Holmes and Watson). Also the way they talk about each other is worth mentioning. They don’t seem to mind talking about each other at all. Takeru is always a bit flustered (almost like he’s thinking of certain events or something) when talking about Haruma. The radical change that happens in his behavior when the topic suddenly changes from say, work to Haruma is always so adorable. His eyes lit up. And this is worth mentioning because Takeru is usually rather reserved and not easily shaken. This goes for both of them actually. They’re really relaxed around each other and don’t mind the physical touch. Their private space gets smaller around the other and the number of random contacts such as arms or legs brushing against each other increases. One of the key points is that they’re comfortable with touching the other’s face. For Takeru to let someone touch his lips so casually is rather odd. They also have the habit of getting closer to each other and closing the distance between them when things get intense or the conversation gets deeper. It’s also always Haruma who puts his arm around Takeru, so their position in the relationship is kind of obvious; Haruma being the masculine one and Takeru the feminine one.

But what are they then, exactly? Just friends or more than that?

I think they’re not really sure themselves. Because the attraction sure is there. They seem to like drinking together, apparently at Haruma’s place. According to Haruma Takeru gets kind of narcissistic (apparently meaning that he’s more aware of his beauty or something) when he gets drunk, while he himself gets kinder and more observant. I believe there have been more or less awkward situations in private during moments like these. This thing they have going on might be harder to understand for Haruma, since he does have this desire for dating and getting a girlfriend and getting married etc. But since he’s obviously so into this being called Sato Takeru, I also do believe that he wouldn’t mind touching his lips with other than fingers, if Takeru only wanted so and asked for it, especially in a little drunken state.