Cosmetic Playlover

is a Japanese manga series by Sachi Narashima. It is serialized in the monthly boys' love manga magazine ''Magazine Be × Boy'' since December 7, 2017. In addition, two spin-offs, ''Bitterness Playlover'' and ''Twilight Playlover'', are also serialized in ''Magazine Be × Boy''. A live-action television drama adaptation premiered on Fuji TV on August 6, 2024, and ran for 8 episodes.

Plot

Natsume Mamiya and Touma Sahashi work as department store beauty consultants for the cosmetics brand Romy Feerique, where they are known as the "two princes". However, Natsume is constantly annoyed with Touma for not taking his job seriously despite his potential. One day, Touma discovers that Natsume is gay and decides to use his secret to get closer to him. After the two begin dating, they navigate through a myriad of obstacles in their relationship, such as rivals, misunderstandings, and their long-distance relationship once Touma begins working as a make-up artist for Romy Feerique's French headquarters.

In addition to Natsume and Sahashi, there are two side stories focusing on the relationships of other characters in the story: ''Bitterness Playlover'', which focuses on Keigo Kakizaki (Natsume's acquaintance) and Yukito Saionji's (Touma's high school senior) relationship; and ''Twilight Playlover'', which focuses on Atsushi Nanjo and Iori Kosaka's (Nanjo's high school classmate) relationship.

Characters

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:Natsume is an earnest, hard-working beauty consultant. He is described as "pure-hearted". In volume 3, he is promoted to manager of his store.
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:Touma is Natsume's junior co-worker who also works as a beauty consultant. He is a former model, but he quit after his senior co-workers staged a dating rumor out of jealousy for his competence. Touma is a talented and highly skilled beauty consultant, but he tends to be nonchalant. He is described as having a "cheeky and cool" personality. After he begins dating Natsume, he becomes a possessive yet doting boyfriend. Later in the series, Touma trains to become a make-up artist for Romy Feerique.
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:Nanjo is a make-up assistant from the Kansai region. He immediately becomes attracted to Natsume and irritates Touma, but he acts as a big brother figure to them. He is the main character of the side story ''Twilight Playlover''.
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:Tanouchi is a former beauty consultant who currently works in the sales department of Romy Feerique. He was the person who inspired Natsume to become a beauty consultant and is his first love.
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:Tenma is Touma's estranged older brother.
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:Harada is the manager of Romy Feerique. In volume 3, she is transferred to Romy Feerique's brand headquarters.
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:Aizawa is the sub-manager at Romy Feerique.
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:Harukawa is a new employee in the sales department and is Natsume and Touma's junior. While eager to work, he is very clumsy. He falls in love with Natsume, but he also supports Natsume and Touma's relationship.
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:Kakizaki is a beauty consultant from a different brand. He resents Natsume and accuses him of stealing a customer in the past, which resulted in Natsume transferring locations. Kakizaki later becomes one of the main characters in the spin-off ''Bitterness Playlover'', where, four years after losing a customer to Natsume, it is revealed that he has become a concierge for the Miharu Department Store. Kakizaki struggles with his low self-esteem in hitting his sales quota and pleasing his father. When Yukito becomes one of his clients, Kakizaki eventually realizes he returns Yukito's feelings for him.
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:Risa is a famous model and the brand muse for Romy Feerique. She is from the same talent agency as Touma when he used to work as a model. Her real name is .
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:Emma is the top make-up artist for Romy Feerique and works for the flagship store in Paris, France. In addition to French, she is fluent in Japanese, having lived in Japan from her childhood up to when she was in fourth grade. She is married to a Japanese man and has a daughter named Alice. Emma sees potential in Touma and invites him to train with her in Paris.
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:Saionji is one of the main characters in the spin-off ''Bitterness Playlover''. He is Touma's senior from high school. He is from a wealthy family known for their winery and owns his own label, Yukito. He is eccentric and enjoys teasing people's weak points. Saionji is in love with Kakizaki and hires him as a concierge.
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:Kosaka is one of the main characters in the spin-off ''Twilight Playlover''. He is Nanjo's classmate from high school in Osaka and is in love with him.

Media

Manga

''Cosmetic Playlover'' is written and illustrated by Sachi Narashima. It is serialized in the monthly boys' love manga magazine ''Magazine Be × Boy'' since the January 2018 issue released on December 7, 2017. The chapters were later released in eight bound volumes by Libre under the BBC Deluxe imprint.

The manga is licensed in English by Animate International and distributed digitally. The English version also includes the limited edition comic booklets from Animate and digital bonus comics.

Narashima created the concept of ''Cosmetic Playlover'' after hearing from a beauty consultant friend mention that there were men who also worked as beauty consultants. A challenge she faced in drawing the series was drawing make-up products, which she soon got used to.

''Cosmetic Playlover''

Spin-offs

Aside from ''Cosmetic Playlover'', Narashima wrote and illustrated two other side stories focusing on other characters in the series. ''Bitterness Playlover'' is serialized on a yearly basis in ''Magazine Be × Boy'' since the August 2018 issue released on July 6, 2018, and published as extra side stories in the main ''Cosmetic Playlover'' volumes. ''Twilight Playlover'' was serialized in ''Magazine Be × Boy'' from the November 2020 issue released on October 7, 2020 to the August 2021 issue released on July 7, 2021.

Audio drama

A series of audio dramas adapting the manga was released onto CD by Marine Entertainment. The first volume was released on November 26, 2021. The second volume was released on May 31, 2024.

Television drama

A live-action television drama adaptation of ''Cosmetic Playlover'' was announced on July 1, 2024. It was broadcast on Fuji TV since August 6, 2024 with a total of 8 episodes. Fuji TV On Demand, the channel's online streaming service, is also releasing two episodes per week with uncut content. The series is directed by Takehiro Shindō, with in charge of the script and in charge of music. The drama adaptation is produced by NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan. The theme song is "Wagamama Only Mine" by Urashimasakatasen, of which the CD jacket illustration was also provided by Sachi Narashima. It was streamed internationally outside of Japan and South Korea through GagaOOLala.

The series stars So Okuno as Natsume and as Touma. Additional cast members include member as Nanjo, as Tenma, as Harada, as Aizawa, and Tomoki Yonemura as Harukawa.

Episodes

Reception

''Cosmetic Playlover'' won the 2021 Digital Comic Award by Comic CMoa in the BL category. In 2024, the series sold a consecutive total of over 1 million physical copies.

Notes

References

External links

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{{Digital Comic Awards

2017 manga
2024 Japanese television series debuts
2020s Japanese LGBTQ-related television series
Beauty and cosmetics in anime and manga
Fuji Television dramas
Japanese boys' love television series
Japanese television dramas based on manga
Josei manga
Romance anime and manga
Yaoi anime and manga