After Moving Seats, the Boy Behind Me Has a Crush on Me – Series Review

Mayama is a quiet high school student at an all-boys school. Sadly, he doesn't have many friends. Mayama used to get bullied, which has affected his confidence when socializing with others. Most of the time, he keeps to himself and tries not to bother anyone. Despite his shyness, Mayama has a compassionate side. He believes in small gestures of kindness, even if it's something as simple as letting another student have the last piece of bread.

Mayama used to sit in the middle of the classroom, surrounded by noisier and more outgoing classmates. One day, the homeroom teacher announced that everyone would be switching seats. They decided the new arrangement by random draw. Mayama's new seat is the second-to-last desk at the back of the room, right next to the window. Sitting behind him is Asamiya, a cool and handsome classmate. When Asamiya passes a worksheet to Mayama, there's a handwritten note at the bottom of the page. Mayama is shocked by what it says. "I like you." Asamiya has casually dropped a love confession into the middle of class.

At first, Mayama has no clue what's happening. He doesn't believe the confession could be meant for him because the two boys aren't even close. Instead, Mayama comes up with another explanation. He thinks Asamiya wanted to give the note to Ms. Komori, their homeroom teacher. Mayama stares at the confession in horror as he thinks about all the scandalous implications. Feeling self-conscious, Asamiya suddenly grabs the worksheet and erases what he wrote. Poor Mayama is now even more confused than before.

Later, Asamiya joins Mayama on the school stairwell. He clarifies that the love confession really was meant for Mayama. However, Mayama thinks there must be some kind of misunderstanding. Why would this popular boy ever take an interest in him? Back in class, Asamiya passes him another paper with sticky notes. This time, Asamiya has written down what he likes about Mayama. His reasons include Mayama's bed hair, his hunched posture, and the fact that he never prioritizes himself.

After reading the sticky notes, Mayama misunderstands the situation again. He focuses only on the negative traits and assumes Asamiya must be mocking him. Mayama thinks this entire love confession is some kind of cruel prank. His self-esteem is so low that even a compliment sounds suspicious. Asamiya clarifies what he actually meant. He likes Mayama's bed hair and bad posture. He also admires the way Mayama puts other people before himself. After hearing all these compliments, Mayama still feels awkward and has doubts about the confession. He decides that Asamiya must only "like" him as a friend.

Asamiya notices that Mayama seems overwhelmed. He decides to change his approach. Instead of flirting with him, Asamiya gets Mayama to hang out with him and his friends. Mayama meets Sakaki and Tsunekawa, two of Asamiya's closest buddies. They quickly welcome him into their social circle. For a chronic loner like Mayama, he enjoys spending time with his new friends and becomes more comfortable around them. Yet, the romantic tension between Mayama and Asamiya remains unresolved. Both boys are still unsure about how the other person feels.

Did I enjoy After Moving Seats, the Boy Behind Me Has a Crush on Me? Yeah, I did. It reminds me of last year's popular BL drama, School Trip: Joined a Group I'm Not Close To. Besides their long titles, both are cozy love stories packed with silly moments. Cute boys confess their feelings! They have funny misunderstandings! The plot is simple, so you never have to think too hard. Many fans (including me!) enjoy the romantic fluff. BL studios have picked up on our taste and keep making these sweet high school romcoms.  

I'm a sucker for cute BL series, but even I have my limits. The formula is getting stale. Once again, we have an awkward teen drowning in insecurities. Of course, his love interest is the cool school heartthrob. How many times have we seen these character archetypes before? The stories may change a few details or swap out the uniforms, but they're built from the same tropes. Japan has found its equivalent of the engineering student epidemic in Thai BL dramas. Now, Japanese BL wants to pair every shy kid with the most popular boy in class. After Moving Seats didn't create the trend, but its lack of originality makes the story feel basic.

Early on, Asamiya checks every box on my toxic BL boyfriend bingo card. When he tells Mayama to cover up his body, I'm like, shut up! Then he creeps into Mayama's physical boundaries. I'm like, stay away from him! The final straw comes when Asamiya gets jealous because Mayama talks to other guys. Oh, I'm glad Mayama tells him off. "You can't restrict who I talk to!" The story shows these red flags as a part of Asamiya's long-term character arc. He learns to be a gentleman. Even so, my opinion of him has suffered. Every time he acts weird, I give him the side-eye.

BL Watcher has a soft spot for nervous introverts, so of course I adore Mayama's character. I feel bad for his insecurities. I can relate to his overthinking. While I'm rooting for Mayama, he takes forever to figure out his feelings. I understand why he's cautious about dating, but his indecision drives me nuts. Make up your mind! We need an RSVP on the love confession! His actor (Eito Konishi) overdoes his expressions a bit, but his performance is still a decent effort. He fidgets a lot, widens his eyes in shock, and adds little quirks to make himself appear more fragile.

For a while, I thought After Moving Seats, the Boy Behind Me Has a Crush on Me was destined to be a mediocre BL drama. But then, the last few episodes changed my mind. Once the couple starts dating, their relationship scenes become more enjoyable. I like their heart-to-heart chat in Episode 6. They communicate, apologize for their mistakes, open up about their insecurities, and clear the air. Good for them! Of course, Episode 7 gives me the elevator scene. Oh, I ate that up. Watching them flirt so naturally and share such a sweet kiss puts butterflies in my stomach.

My favourite episode is the finale. The story gets everything right, finding a good balance between heartwarming chats and lovey-dovey fluff. The couple's final kiss is also juicy. Oh damn! Their mouth-to-mouth chemistry gives this review a huge boost. As the romance finds its groove, I'm annoyed that the series took so long to get here. We could've trimmed the relationship nonsense at the start and focused more on the couple's dating life. But hey, better late than never. The romance improves enough in the second half that I finish this BL drama with positive feelings.