Nagisa Furuya’s BL manga The Summer of You is officially moving into live-action drama territory, and we finally know who will be carrying the two lead roles.
The series will star Tomoya Oku as Wataru Toda and Kazuto Mokudai as Chiharu Saeki. If those names sound familiar, toku fans may have already seen Oku in Kamen Rider Revice, while Mokudai appeared in Kamen Rider Geats. So yes, there is a bit of Kamen Rider crossover energy here — which honestly makes the casting more interesting for SEA viewers who follow Japanese TV beyond just anime.
Behind the camera, the drama is being directed by Kozue Sasaki, known for the live-action Sugar Dog Life, and Takashi Haga, who worked on the live-action At 25:00 in Akasaka. Scripts are handled by Yō Saitō, while Erina Koyama is composing the music. Koyama’s recent credits include live-action projects such as Kowloon Generic Romance and Sugar Dog Life.
For the Japan rollout, The Summer of You will stream early and exclusively on U-NEXT from June 24. After that, it will premiere on TV Tokyo’s Drama NEXT block on July 1.
For Malaysian and SEA fans, the big question is simple: where can we actually watch it legally? For now, the announced streaming plan is Japan-focused, with U-NEXT getting the advance release. There is no SEA platform detail in the current announcement, so fans here may need to wait and see whether any regional streamer picks it up later. That matters because Japanese live-action BL has been getting more attention across Southeast Asia, especially among viewers who already follow manga, J-drama, and adaptation culture together.
The original manga ran in Ichijinsha’s gateau magazine from 2017 to 2019. Ichijinsha released the first compiled volume, titled Kimi wa Natsu no Naka or My Summer of You, in 2017. A limited edition second volume, Kimi to Natsu no Naka or My Summer With You, followed in 2019. Two more limited edition volumes of Kimi to Natsu no Naka were later released in 2022 and July 2025.
English-language readers are not left out either. Kodansha USA Publishing has released the manga in English, while Manga Planet added the title to its catalogue in 2023. That gives international fans a cleaner way to catch up on the source material before the drama starts airing in Japan.
This kind of adaptation is worth watching because BL live-action dramas can either capture the quiet emotional pull of the manga or flatten everything into soft-focus vibes only. With directors who already have live-action romance and BL-adjacent experience, The Summer of You has a decent shot at understanding what fans actually want: chemistry, restraint, and characters who feel human rather than just aesthetic.
No SEA release has been announced yet, but if you are into Japanese BL, manga-to-drama adaptations, or just want to see how another gateau title translates to screen, this one should be on your radar.
Source: Anime News Network