Are Dai Nakai and Shun Nakanishi from "Boyfriend" still in a relationship?
Spoilers ahead for all episodes of The Boyfriend. When college student Dai Nakai and musician Shun Nakanishi met on the Netflix reality show The Boyfriend, sparks immediately flew. In this groundbreaking Japanese dating series, queer men develop deep friendships and dating potential while living together in a green house; 23-year-old Dai and Shun were one of the most popular (and sometimes controversial) couples on "The Boyfriend," and the series' cast They immediately gained a lot of attention. Now that the series finale is available on Netflix, fans are wondering if the two could officially be dating in the real world. Here's what we know about Dai and Shun's relationship after filming.
From day one at the Green House, Dai made his interest in Shun clear. On the first night, he wrote an anonymous letter expressing his interest in Shun, and Dai received three letters himself, but said he would be excited to receive one from Shun. However, Shun showed no interest in any of the men and said in his testimony that none of them were his type. Still, Dai showed interest throughout the first episode. He chose to learn to make coffee at Shun's side the next day, hugged Shun goodbye when Shun left early to have dinner with friends on his birthday, and told his friends about Shun.
Dai continued to try to get close to Shun after they began working in pairs at the coffee shop, and Shun noticed Dai's interest, but the musician was wary. Shun noted that Dai was sincere and kind, but when he happened to see Dai's nudes on Dai's cell phone, he sensed a red light. He said in episode 2 that he had dated a player before and feared that Dai would, and when Alan Takahashi, who had dated Dai before, came into the house, things got awkward. Still, it was clear that Shun was interested in Dai.
Shun and Dai continued to get to know each other over the next few days, with Shun opening up about his childhood growing up in a group home as an orphan; the two had their first private date in episode 4, when a trip to the zoo surprisingly caught Shun's attention. In his testimony, Shun admitted that he noticed that Dai was more active and more like a golden retriever, whereas he was more reserved, and Shun was concerned that their personalities might not match each other. Shun did not choose to have a sleepover date with Dai in episode 5, but instead wanted to start over as friends, and a depressed Dai agreed.
Things changed when Ikuo, a 22-year-old restaurant industry employee, entered the house in episode 6. Ikuo and Dai immediately hit it off as friends, and Dai admitted that Ikuo looked a lot like his ex-boyfriend. Shun was upset because he thought Dai had a quick change of heart and told Dai that he was upset that Dai's words and actions did not match up in Episode 7. Dai's response to this was excitement that Shun was being more upfront about his feelings for him. After this, Shun seemed to get better at communicating his feelings. The next day, when Shun did not volunteer to work with Dai at the coffee truck, he and Dai argued again, but Shun eventually admitted that he was worn out and apologized to Dai.
In episode 8, three Green House couples paired up for their final private date of the season, and Dai and Shun went on an overnight date. The very sweet night brought them closer together, as they shared their thoughts on having children with each other. Shun had been reluctant to make physical contact during the season, but that night he made his move and finally kissed Dai.
In episode 9, Dai and Shun had another argument. Shun was upset that Dai did not wear his T-shirt. At this point, Dai was quite irritated and even told Shun that he took him for granted and that he did not want him to think that (he) would come back every time something happened to him. "However, Shun admitted that he was very sensitive to things that others might consider trivial and compared Dai to his ex-boyfriend who always wore shirts. Dai understood Shun and promised to address such concerns in the future. As usual, Dai still liked Shun, and admitted as much when Ikuo confessed to him, softly turning down the 22-year-old.
On the last day of the cast at the Green House, the men chose to leave the house with their partners or alone. Shun and Dai decided to leave the house together, and after a tearful goodbye to their friends, they had one last emotional conversation on the beach. Shun reflected on their time together and admitted that he had been wary of Dai at first. Previously, Shun said that he had learned not to judge people based on preconceived notions while at the Green House and that he needed time to accept that Dai's feelings were not shallow. In a sweet moment, Shun told Dai that he was in love with her, and Dai returned the compliment. The final scene of the season showed the new couple walking hand in hand, saying that they wanted to spend every day together from now on.
As of the day of the "Boyfriend" finale, neither Dai nor Shun mentioned their relationship status, instead sharing snapshots of their days together on Instagram (including a cover of Shun's song). However, fans suspect that some of the boyfriend-inspired content may suggest that the two may still be dating; Redditors have noticed that the two have "liked" and "favorite" the #DaiShun edit on TikTok.
Fortunately, Netflix Japan has confirmed that "Boyfriend" will air a reunion special on August 3. Dai and Shun will likely give viewers a long-awaited update at that time.
.
Comments