Giving Back to the BL Genre! Behind the Scenes of KADOKAWA's Live-action BL Drama Studio "Tunku"

Interview by Ichibo Harada @ HEW

Riding the wave of live-action BL titles' evergrowing popularity both in and outside Japan, KADOKAWA has launched the BL drama production studio Tunku. Its first show, Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice but to Kiss! was broadcast on MBS's new drama slot, Drama Shower, while Senpai, This Can't Be Love! is currently airing.

This first-ever BL drama studio is the legacy of producer Kaoru Azuma's long-lasting love of the genre. What's the story behind Tunku's birth? And what does it take for a title to be seamlessly adapted to live-action? We asked all this and more to Azuma themselves!

>>Tunku's Official Channel (in Japanese)<<

The BL boom was just too good to pass up

── Thank you for your time today. Have you been working in KADOKAWA's BL-related departments for a long time now?

Not really. I only started working at KADOKAWA three years ago. Before then, I was mainly working in advertising for entertainment. When I joined the company, I started this studio to see if I could take on some projects from a marketing perspective, and Tunku was my first experience working with boys' love... although I've always been a fan.

── I see! So you're fond of the genre yourself.

Yes. I've been a fan of BL since I was a student, so I was also familiar with KADOKAWA and would think of it as a company that's been publishing many BL masterpieces over the years. With the Ossan's Love boom of 2018, the genre spread to the masses. I joined the company partly out of ambition, because I didn't want to let the worldwide live-action BL craze slip away: something had to be done!

── How did you come up with the idea of a drama production studio dedicated to boys' love?

I asked myself: how can we keep creating works with a focus on the BL genre? And I decided to establish a studio. This concept of subgenre branding is very familiar to BL lovers.

── Indeed, going through the trouble of creating a studio suggests your intention to produce several live-action BL dramas. The name Tunku is also quite evocative, isn't it?

I wanted something that'd convey the idea of a heart-throbbing good time. And what sound does the heart make when it beats very loud? Tunk! So I went with Tunku (translator's note: the final U is silent in Japanese). My coworkers were like, "What's that supposed to mean?" (laughs)

Featuring good works regardless of the publisher

── Was it easy to get KADOKAWA's approval for your BL studio idea?

The company's always been dealing with boys' love and everyone was already familiar with BL culture, so the response was positive: they were happy to find an employee who had the knowledge and desire to take on the challenge. So it wasn't hard at all to get everyone on board. Although a BL production studio would be nothing without a station to broadcast the dramas, so we must thank MBS for their interest and for engaging with our project.

Creating Tunku gave me the chance to realize how the prejudice against the BL genre has greatly dwindled. Until recently there were almost no BL dramas on regular TV channels, but with so many hit works coming out one after the other, many people have started regarding BL content as pretty normal. At this point, they'd be more weirded out by the lack thereof.

── Why did you pick Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice but to Kiss! as your first series?

Since the studio was established by KADOKAWA, you might think that Tunku would only use KADOKAWA's original BL works, but that's not the case. Mr. Unlucky was published by Libre. I'd like to feature good works regardless of the publisher. I've always been keeping an eye on Libre's magazine B-BOY P!, because I felt that many of the titles were relatively easy to pick up, even for BL beginners.

The reason we chose Mr. Unlucky among the works featured in B-BOY P! lies in its comedic elements. I had a clear vision of how an actor would look like performing as the two-faced protagonist, Kota. I wanted Tunku's first work to be a romantic comedy, and Mr. Unlucky fits the description perfectly.

Mr. Unlucky is a love comedy following Kota, a guy plagued by bad luck who soon finds the perfect antidote against his misfortune: the extremely lucky Naoya! You can also read the manga on pixiv Comic.

>>Read the original work on pixiv Comic<<

── Your second series, Senpai, This Can't Be Love! is also a romantic comedy. Are you sure you're not focusing only on rom-coms for your live-action adaptations?

Boys' love comes in many different shapes. From light and happy works catering to a larger audience to deeper works that are mostly appreciated by hardcore fans, I think variation is essential to allow people with different tastes to enjoy the genre.

Although we're still in the process of exploring what makes Tunku unique, I believe that our strength resides ー rather than in the characteristics of the works we handle ー in the fact that we're a drama studio for BL fans, established by KADOKAWA, a long-time BL manga publisher.

That's why we intend to produce each work upon careful consideration of what BL fans will want to see in a live-action BL.

Senpai, This Can't Be Love! is a love story about a senior and his junior working in the same office.

>>Read the original work on pixiv Comic<<

── What was the reaction to Tunku's works?

We've been getting many different responses, including from outside Japan. Mr. Unlucky, whose last episode aired in June, was especially appreciated by viewers in their teens. When I read tweets like, "I found a Mr. Unlucky buddy in class!" I can't help but smile. Young viewers are the generation that will grow up to be BL lovers, and as far as I can tell from social media, this drama was the first BL drama for many of them. We wish to make good use of mainstream media like live-action drama shows to increase the number of BL fans and give back to the genre.

Focusing on how good the actors look together

── Some actors and members of the staff had probably never worked with boys' love before. As a producer, do you give them any instructions?

I usually cover the basics of the genre: who the target audience is, who's an uke and who's a seme... One of the characteristics of Tunku is that the producers are oftentimes long-time BL fans. Anyway, I never have much to say: everyone on set simply regards BL as one of many genres.

── So they don't dumb it down to just being about two guys making out.

That's right. They actively ask me questions, like what makes BL fans swoon, which tells me they're putting a lot of love into what they do.

── What are you mindful of when casting?

Casting is a fundamental step in any drama production, not only in boys' love. The members of the staff always have a hard time deciding what's good and what isn't. Of course, characters should look similar to their manga counterparts, but I don't think that good visuals necessarily equal good casting. What matters is to pinpoint what the main selling point is for each character ー for example, in the case of Mr. Unlucky's Kota, his two distinct personalities. Also, instead of considering each character by themselves, we have to make sure that the actors look good together, and are well-balanced. This is especially difficult in the BL genre, where the height difference and the overall vibe of the cast are also part of what makes the audience fall in love.

The unlucky Kota is a comical, two-sided character. The gap between him and the handsome Naoya is just perfect!

── You're right. In this genre, whether the characters look good together really matters.

Yeah, BL is all about the characters. They should be able to get the story going just by being together.

── So how did you decide on the casting of Senpai, This Can't Be Love!?

Yanase's character's not only good-looking but also a CG creator who's commanding the attention of the entire industry. Shuichiro Naito was just perfect to play such an incredibly charming character convincingly. Toshiki Seto, on the other hand, is very good at conveying Kaneda's passionate feelings for Yanase with his moody gaze. Naito and Seto get along very well on set; they communicate with each other all the time, and their relationship shows through the show as well.

The sharp-gazed Kaneda and the soft-spoken Yanase. A drama-worthy pair!

Works that let you expand on the story are easier to adapt

── What kind of manga is best suited for live-action adaptations?

Realistically speaking, one of the main requirements is that it should translate well in three dimensions. Casting characters with unworldly facial features can be challenging, and setting up a set that strays away from contemporary Japan is expensive. It wouldn't be totally impossible to make a live-action like that, but it'd be quite an ordeal.

Another determining factor is the number of elements that can be used to expand on the story. For example, when it comes to BL, having something that contributes to the main story before the two get together will make it much easier to create a serial show.

── I see. In Mr. Unlucky love meets school life, while in Senpai, This Can't Be Love! love is tied to the workplace. In both cases, the story revolves around multiple axes.

The couple's love story is certainly the central aspect, but charming sub-characters and events can make the show feel more lively and expansive. However, there's no reason why a BL work revolving uniquely around two characters couldn't be made into a live-action show, and we at Tunku would like to take on that challenge someday.

Shinta Harekawa, the original author of Senpai, This Can't Be Love!, actually has real-life connections to CG creators, whom she interviewed as she was working on the manga. This allows the audience to enjoy the title both as a rom-com and as a story about work. Another point that worked in favor of Senpai, This Can't Be Love's live-action adaptation is Kaneda's character. He's pretty unique, a kuudere that's also a bit of a tsundere: if he grows too attached to someone, he ends up giving them the cold shoulder instead. Then there's Yanase, his senior coworker: at first glance, he's just amazing, but he hides a dark side. I had a feeling that the interaction between them would look great in a live-action drama.

── Just as you said earlier, they get the story going just by being together!

Considering original projects based on the feedback of fans

── MBS's Drama Shower is a limited one-year program. Will Tunku meet the same fate?

Tunku's studio was created with the intent to contribute to the live-action BL culture for many years to come, so unless the company says otherwise (laughs), we'd like to keep it going!

── What are Tunku's goals for the future?

GMMTV in Thailand, which produced 2gether: The Series, showcases its annual BL-drama lineup in advance, which always gets the fans all riled up. One of my dreams is to also be able to announce Tunku's up-and-coming productions for the year!

It'd also be interesting to create original projects based on fans' requests. We're still considering how to make that happen, but we could for example partner up with BL authors and create new titles. I'd also like to work with a broader range of original BL works to meet the tastes of all kinds of fans.

── Mr. Unlucky was broadcast and streamed abroad, wasn't it? With the unstopping production of live-action BL dramas in Thailand and South Korea, we're looking forward to what Tunku has in store!

As the cradle of many BL manga, I believe Japan still has a lot of room for growth when it comes to live-action BL. Through Tunku, I'd like to give back to the boys' love culture as a whole.

── In a way, Tunku can be considered a cultural promotion project, right?

That's right! (laughs) We're determined to keep the flame of BL burning and even add fuel to the fire.