Hey Sensei, Don't You Know?

A superb fluff story that has a different dynamic than most romances.

Honestly, it saddens me to see this series get so much hate. Please, please don't watch if you aren't into fluff - because this series is VERY fluffy. There is so much to like about this show.

Pros:
- Our main protagonist may be innocent and naive, but not in an overly done, obnoxious way in my opinion. She doesn't say things she doesn't mean to say out loud or that would cause trouble, and she isn't slow to catch on to things happening around her. She doesn't create a fuss. And she does seem to grow in confidence thanks to Riichi's reasurances. And despite her reoccurring insecurities, she was never indecisive. And I LOVE that.

- While in real-life some people may not be able to handle how our leads' relationship works, you have to consider that this is what works for them, in this moment. Riichi understands Hanai very very well - because he's been in those shoes before. And even though Hanai has been working on manga for years, her career is just starting to boom - so of course she is going to be extremely busy right now, and riding the wave of her dreams coming true. And besides, they both seem legitimately entranced and inspired by each other working hard at their dreams - and that's something that I hope we all want (even if the show might take it too far at times).

- I love how her real life inspired her art, and in turn her changing art propelled her towards her dreams - while at the same time allowing for her to really connect with her real-life. Even her assistants commented about how eventually she wouldn't binge eat sweets and then go to bed after her deadline, instead she'd rush out to see Riichi. I don't think she was in the relationship just to inspire her work, indeed - she didn't seem aware of all the ways that her work has changed. Nor do I think the scenes where inspiration strikes were unrealistic or to callously placed (this coming from a writer myself).

- The (instantly predictable) plot conflict was handled in a very mature, decisive, and quick fashion from all parties. And the aftermath never lingered. As should ALWAYS be the case with a fluff story.

- The story was told in a really effective dual-perspective view. We got both sides of the story for all of the major scenes. And since the series was short, this didn't wind up feeling repetitive. Plus, it allowed us to really just enjoy the story/fluffiness, without wondering what the other side is thinking.

Cons:
- Riichi, baby, you need better/more compliments. You cycled through 3 (cute, cool, and beautiful) the entire series. It did start to feel tiring, and based on dialogue alone, shallow. Hanai isn't much better with her compliments either. So the dialogue could've use a bit of work to bring more depth.

- I would've liked to have seen another time jump where we see Hanai having an even better grasp of work-life balance. But as it stands, I think we got a really solid hint that that's the direction we're going in at the end.

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This must be an ongoing manga meaning the drama probably ended in the middle of the manga.

Anyways....

Male Lead - good looking, sweet, devoted and dedicated though not sure these are all positives in his character. I like that he is honest with his feelings, he is truly proud of his girlfriend. Straightforward, no pretending that he doesn't know that the other girl likes him and tells her straight out that he is in love with this girlfriend.

Female Lead - annoying dedicated to her job that she comes off as being insensitive, there is no balance at all. She just drops Richii whenever she gets a call from work (and he is also soooo annoyingly understanding!) I mean really she reads his messages but does not even acknowledge them. Yes she is sweet when she finds the time for him.

One thing that this drama was good for, there were no misunderstandings - if they are jealous they say so!

This was a short drama good for watching during my lunch breaks, since you don't really need to concentrate on the story too much.

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Disclaimer: I have not seen the manga.
I agree with the majority that it should have been longer either the episodes or the show itself; I felt incomplete after watching the drama.
I loved the fact that they showed both mains POV of the events that took place! Yes you will see scenes you just watched BUT I liked seeing how the others felt about certain situations. We get to see both sides of their story and their lives.

STORY: Overall I did enjoy the drama but as a more casual watch. The potential was there but given we only got 6 episodes that were only 30 minutes each I feel as though we didn’t get much of a story. At times where it got cute it turned boring. I felt no connection to the female lead at all like and I’m sure it wasn’t the actress’s fault but more so the story. The story was THERE but the execution was poor. There wasn’t much angst/drama tans when there was it was solved almost automatically. The side characters had no depth or story to them which was disappointing because I would have loved to seen more of them. Also, both leads jobs we’re supposedly important to them but we mostly saw the female leads job.

ACTING: The actors did the best the could with the script given to them. The lead male actor was giving all he could and I appreciate the effort. The supporting actors definitely were given the short end of the stick given there was no background to their characters and they were literally there for scenery.

MUSIC: Nothing was memorable. That’s just it.

REWATCH: Honestly, I would probably rewatch but only when I have absolutely nothing better to do. It’s not something I want to immediately go back to and if I do rewatch it will be just for the male lead and his character.

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What HAPPENED here?

I'm not gonna lie, I started watching this because Eiji Akaso had a major role, and he got my attention after I watched "Cherry Magic". I love his acting, but in "Nee sensei, shiranai no?" it feels like he doesn't quite get to spread his wings. As for the female lead... not much going for her either, sadly. The story is wild, doesn't make sense, is far too rushed, and makes it feel like the FL is forced into the relationship, that she's forced to do things she doesn't want to do. It also feels like Akaso's characters sort of 'forces' himself onto her, like when he says "I've been patient and I waited out here all night for you" and that's why he should be allowed to hug her and come inside her apartment. Really creepy. She should've gone back inside and locked the door with him still on the outside, and that's me talking as a fan of Akaso.

The relationship between these two is very unbalanced, and the series makes it seem like it's okay for things to be this way. In fiction, sure, it might fly. But let me tell you, a relationship like this would NEVER work out long-term in real life. One person works their arse off all the time and they never get to see each other, and when they DO get to see each other, the one person who works all the time is stressed out and/or exhausted from work, and the other person then has to take care of their partner and patiently wait to get some attention and to actually spend time with their partner. Wow, nope.

All in all, I would advise anyone looking for a cutesy romance drama to look elsewhere. Sure, it has these things in it, but things like their heavily unbalanced relationship and the forced, unnatural nature of said relationship to begin with, overshadow the cutesy stuff, in the end, and makes for a very strange and sometimes uncomfortable watch.

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Easy watch, but that's about it

Let me say I am probably not the target audience for this manga-turned-drama series, but I was looking for something romantic to watch. I had watched another series that was so good, I stuck onto the genre. However, this one didn't really hit high notes for me.

I only kept watching this series for Eiji Akaso - truly the only character that you kinda enjoy because he works so hard as the stylist that he is, but he also is nurturing and does his boyfriend role really well. I wasn't crazy about the lead actress, or the supporting roles.

The series definitely felt choppy, but that's probably because it follows the actual manga. So, wasn't convinced of the story going so fast. Didn't feel much character development either. It's a good series that you can finish in a day or two, but it won't make your heart race and kinda leaves you hanging in a lot of scenes. You won't miss out if you don't happen to watch this though.

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If "So fluffy I'ma die" had a visual adaption for the phrase, this would be it.

Truth be told, this is a difficult show to review. As a huge romance/shoujo fan, I'd say this is great. It's fluffy, there's conflict, but there's not an annoying extended period of misunderstanding for the second female. That said, maybe it's the story-- or maybe it's the short adaptation, but it's very hard to find a natural lead of progression of when the two main leads actually get interested in each other. All of actors in general seem to still be a little stiff (major rookie energy), although it plays well in favor of the leads as they have very cute--but beginning of a relationship level energy. They match the hardworking and cool tone of the characters they're portraying. The actors in general make this show worth the watch, but I'm not sure if I'd rate this highly in terms of interest or rewatch value. It's hard to get immersed, except for the occasional heart-stopping phrases. I'm not sure how well it matches the original content, but I think it has great room for improvement if it had either developed the relationship between the main couple, or had a bit more practice for chemistry between the other characters.

Tl;dr I enjoyed it for my fluff heart, but it is admittedly a bit bland due to the pacing.

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Sensei Never Knew!!!

I'm always a fan of Eiji Akaso, enjoying everything he's done in the past. To no fault of him, this was a difficult series to get through. The two protagonists really have zero chemistry from the very beginning, and that never changes.
Riichi may in fact be the most understanding boyfriend that ever existed, but unfortunately he falls head over heels for someone that doesn't have a clue about relationships. Ao Hanai is the most inconsiderate, self absorbed person you'll ever see. So unappreciative toward everything her boyfriend does for her, and yet he stays with her, continuing to bend over backwards to accommodate her in every way.
When it first began, you kind of feel that the mission of Riichi would be to teach Ao how to change her ways, how to be a more loving individual ... but that never happens. I had my hopes up right till the end of the final episode. Unfortunately, the series ends without any improvement on her part. She walked all over him right up until the roll of the credits. It was very disappointing.
Again, nothing against Eiji Akaso. He played his part extremely well. Looking forward to his next project.

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A good refreshing drama...!

Its light fluffy drama which doesnt have much story plot except of ML and FL meeting and falling in love...as its 6 episodes ranging 30 mins...you can understand that there wont be much story content.

If you want to take a break from heavy voltage drama and watch some fluffy romance drama then this drama might be perfect match for you. It neither stretched much or made it too fast...yes its a fast jdrama but not that fast...also how having a first relationship person who is kinda introvert meets a extrovert and their finding their paths joined and all in relationship is all about in this drama.Rather than finding loopholes , just view this drama to clear your head from the heavy drama....it will help you or just view it just like that. You wont be bored.

Acting done by the actor/actresses is amazing....I need to say FL pulled of her character very well. They had one english song and its so good to listen that song.

Its a nice fluffy romantic light weight drama....just 6 episodes , it will be worth of your time! I hope you all enjoy!

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Short and sweet romance, but little bit annoying FL

Personally this kind of drama has just hit the right tone for me, as I was in the best mood to watch this kind of show. It is not very fast paced, full of sweetness, the music adds to the mood as well.
I think that what (or who) I liked the most about this show was definitely Riichi. Omg, so sweet, romantic guy, full of unconditional love, always waiting for Hanai no matter what. I think Eiji Akaso is really handsome, I should watch more dramas with him and I really felt in love with his adorable voice.
But the main character of Hanai Ao was sometimes so annoying! Girl, you should be happy with a boyfriend like that, caressing him, cherishing him, doing whatever he wants. But no! She irritated me so much when he was so sweet to her and she was constantly stopping him, falling asleep, asking him to leave or completely forgetting about his existence. But the thing is they understand each other, so I suppose they are ok with it.
I really liked the thing that they were showing the same scenes from the point of view of both main characters. This is something I am missing in some dramas very much!
If you want to see some heartwarming love story, especially with a sweet romantic guy, you should definitely watch it, but I hope you won't be annoyed with th FL.

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Worthwhile Watch

Have to give them props to have made this out of a handful of manga chapters. Watched it purely for Fumika Baba, and it was worth the time. I, personally felt that she did a good job of portraying the introverted, shy mangaka who doesn't have a lot of experience with dealing stuff that comes easy to others.

Although, I feel it could've been expanded and shown properly, for eg. the rivalry with Nanase chan, the assistant kun's confession, relationship with Kiritani-san and Riichi and Hana's individual past stories, how they ended up the way they are today..

Not to mention, there a couple of moments which could've been made a lot more dramatic. Really wish more was there, but alas. Considering the source material, imo, this was a good one.

It can't be helped, for what it's worth, it was a decent show.

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