In 2024, Netflix’s The Boyfriend was unleashed upon the waking world, to the delight of LGBTQ+ people across Japan and across the globe. In it, we met many personalities, and had the joy of watching love — and sometimes fights — unfold.
One of the most popular figures in the show, admired not only for his looks, but also for his maturity despite his youth, was Alan Takahashi. Japan Gay Guide was lucky enough to sit down with him for an interview to discuss his time since the show, and his life before.
You can see the first part of the interview here.
Who is Alan Takahashi?
Known for his appearance on The Boyfriend, Alan has since gone on to become almost a symbol as one of the faces of LGBTQ+ men in Japan. Today, as well as being an influencer, he travels around the world attending queer events and promoting self-acceptance. What is the origin of this phenomenon?
Born in Brazil to Brazilian and Japanese parents, Alan was raised in Japan since the age of two. His experience as someone of mixed-race in Japan could sometimes make things difficult for him.
“I was raised in Japan my entire life, but I don’t look stereotypically Japanese,” he says. “I grew up in a society where being different meant being bad. In elementary and middle school, I suffered bullying, and even though I hated being alone, I was afraid to make friends.”
Nevertheless, despite his difficulties, including taking time out of school due to the suffering he was enduring, once he entered high school, he made the conscious decision to make changes to become more confident and more in control of himself.
“In class, I started raising my hand and loudly shouting, ‘excuse me!’ whenever I had a question about what the teacher was writing on the board. Some people were shocked, but it led to me making new discoveries and experiencing new happiness.”
This is a part of his philosophy as a whole: that trying new things is not only enjoyable in and of itself, but leads to development as a person.
“It’s good not to always be in your comfort zone. A comfort zone can be important, but if you become too comfortable, then eventually you will never leave.”
Growing in the Green Room
When Alan first walked into the Green Room, in the second episode of The Boyfriend, he instantly caused a bit of a stir, as he had previously been involved with one of the other cast members. However, he soon proved to be less of a fire starter, and more of a radiator, calmly and kindly mediating the occasional disputes that others had. This warmth was something that he not only wanted to show, but also received during his time in the house.
“Throughout the show, I not only felt a lot of kindness, but I was also reminded of the importance of being kind,” he says. “You should infuse the essence of kindness into what you think and what you feel.”
Despite initial concerns about how The Boyfriend might be perceived, as Japan’s first gay reality show, he soon discovered that, in addition to opening the door to a number of new opportunities, but also helped him to bridge the gap between what he sees as his personal life and his public life.
“My personal life feels a lot more connected to my work now,” he explains. “If my work is about communication, then communicating what I think and feel is important. The Boyfriend was the catalyst to my being able to express these thoughts and feelings.”
Inspired and Inspirational
When he was younger, Alan was inspired by Naomi Watanabe, a plus-sized model and talent who is known for her outgoing personality just as much as her body shape.
“She would go on TV and dance, and shake her ass,” he recalls. “In Japan it’s ‘best’ to be thin, but she didn’t care. That strength gave me courage: the strength to say, ‘I’m fine as I am’.”
After he shot to worldwide fame following his time on the show, Alan found that he, in turn, had gone on to become an inspiration to a new generation of LGBTQ+ youth… and that his learning was not completed yet.
“After The Boyfriend, I met all sorts of people, and got all sorts of love,” he says. “But when someone said to me, ‘thank you for giving me the courage to be myself’, I realised for the first time, what it meant to be myself.”
Today, Alan can be considered to be a communicator to queer youth. One of the things that he is most clear about is the importance of taking care of oneself. In Japan, considering oneself before others can sometimes be perceived as what might be called “selfish” in English, but Alan doesn’t see it that way.
“Being LGBTQ+ is not about being self-centered, but about being true to yourself. I will support this idea until the day I die,” he says. “Being yourself and being selfish can overlap, sure. But when I look at things through the lens of kindness, instead I only see self-care.”
It is this dichotomy, perhaps more than anything else, that defines Alan today. Despite a difficult youth, he has transformed into someone who is not unwilling to listen, but is unwilling to surrender who he is to others, just because it might be more convenient for society.
“After hardships, some become strong, but only to protect themselves. Others become kind and work for the happiness of others, but at the expense of their own happiness,” he says.
“I think I’ve found a happy middle.”
Click here to watch the first part of the interview.
