An Incurable Case of Love

I gave the series a second chance after 4 years.

Story:

Nothing New Under the Sun, a funny and routine Japanese romance. It includes ALL possible tropes (serious car accident, one partner being ill and the other taking care of them, love triangle, stalker, one of the partners needing to study abroad, the shared futon forcing them to get closer, amusement park, the infamous ice cream accident, everything, everything, everything).

It is very reminiscent of the series "They Kiss Again" with the clumsy, unintelligent woman who makes mistakes and falls in love with an intelligent, apathetic, and even somewhat mean doctor. In the end, after much persistence and tireless efforts, she captures his heart.
Is it possible to capture the heart of someone out of our league? It is only possible in Asian movies.

Christian and educational aspect seen in Japanese series, and it is evident here as well. This worked well up to episode 6, combining humor and excitement, butterflies in the stomach, and tears, as it is still a hospital drama and something always happens.

As you grow older, you realize that the figure of the Virgin Mary( FL) represents the qualities that will bring you love and blessings in life. On the other hand, as you age, it becomes increasingly difficult to accept this figure because you discover your own flaws and your inability to be like the Virgin Mary, even when you try very hard. This can create frustration, and it’s intriguing to think about how the average Japanese person feels when this is constantly imposed on them. It's not easy. On the other hand, you can't judge it because a person (at least a normal one) aspires to this highest good.

Actors:

The actors are excellent, the main actor less so; he has moments where he feels like a manga character more than necessary, but later he loosens up.
The lead actress is excellent.
They have electrifying chemistry and are very compatible in the intimate scenes; it is noticeable to the extent that it is hard to understand why because it's a very handsome guy and a cute and average girl, not feminine, very unkempt. She very much resembles the actress Yoon Eun Hye at the beginning of her career, especially her smile, but the Korean actress was really attractive and appealing, she had something very feminine about her. In contrast, the Japanese actress is not attractive at all, and her clothing is not appealing either. But it's also something beyond that makes her physically less attractive. This is not accidental and comes up in one of their scenes.

Music:

The music is excellent, very invested and beautiful in various scenes; it works great. Towards the end, less so, and this happens a lot when they start overusing the main song just to play it.

Can you rewatch it? Yes, you can.
I think only their intimate scenes are worth rewatching because they are both full of passion and humor.

What doesn't work as well?

The endless collection of tropes and the continuous educational series that goes on and on, reaching the point where it becomes tedious and you have to skip scenes, until it really becomes a bit tiresome, which is a shame because until episode 6, it kept the flame alive. But from episode 7, there were scenes that should have been skipped, especially the car accident and the long study trip. It wasn't executed gracefully enough to watch like at the beginning. This series is not timeless; it also does not feature anything special except for the cute moments between them. I don't think they are capable of breaking out of their tropes, but still, I think that if there are already tropes, they should have added more lightness.

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Not a Great Drama, But a Really Enjoyable One

The Main character imo is BAKA (Idiot). The ML has absolutely zero romantic skills, yet the actor carries the role with so much charisma that it somehow works. What could have easily become an annoying character instead becomes entertaining because of how well the actor leans into that awkwardness and charm.

The female lead also does a great job portraying her character. I did find quite a few aspects of her personality a bit annoying at times, but the actress really commits to the role and sells the character well. Even when the writing makes her frustrating, the performance keeps her likable enough.

One thing I didn’t love was how love-driven the story was from the start. I wish the drama had taken a bit more time building things before jumping straight into that dynamic.

That said, the chemistry between the leads is really strong. A lot of it comes from the male lead’s screen presence — he creates this constant tension that makes their interactions fun to watch.

The show definitely has its fair share of cringe scenes, but strangely that’s part of its charm. It’s a refreshing drama that moves quickly and gets straight to the point, which works well given its short runtime.

The second couple, however, adds almost nothing. Their storyline felt unnecessary, and I honestly think the drama would have been stronger if it had focused more on developing the main couple’s relationship instead.

Is this a rational or particularly well-written J-drama? Not really. The writing can be pretty “meh.” But despite that, I still found it very enjoyable and genuinely funny.

I also wouldn’t really classify it as a medical drama — the hospital setting feels more like a backdrop for the romance.

For a 10-episode series, it works well as a quick watch. That said, I actually think it could have been even better as a longer drama, with more time to develop the characters and the romance properly.

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Cheesy drama without a great story development

I would recommend if you like cute and heart-fluttering rom-coms; cheesy dramas but dislike extensive dramatic plot twists. It is a guilty pleasure watch for sure.

What I liked: Takeru Satoh's charm, the wholesome vibe of the show.
What I disliked: lack of character development for everyone; weird progression tempo of the story.

You would have to be a fan of rom-coms to enjoy it, and even then, you aren't most likely satisfied with the show. I felt like 10 episodes were too few for the show to progress normally and give this really aching slow-burn feel. The ending was rushed and packed with unnecessary content, and I enjoyed the middle episodes a lot more. I read the manga this show was based on after and the adaptation of the script is quite bad. Manga had multiple layers of character development (even though it was also quite short) and the leads were actually believable as real human beings. Would rewatch it only for Takeru Satoh, who played his part well (at least how well the script allowed him to).

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Sure it's old-fashioned and full of cliches, but sometimes that's exactly what you need . . . .

When 'Demon' doctor Tendou Kairi is about to be too overbearing, and callous for words, he all of a sudden does or says something incredibly romantic, kind or protective. This addictive formula creates an enjoyable 10 episode series. There is a lot of screen time between the leads, creating emotional and physical chemistry. This romance was fully fleshed out compared to series double the length.

Yes, there is a large age gap (I'm guessing about 10 years), a power dynamics issue (he's one of the lead doctors in her department, and whilst she is technically managed by the head nurse, he has a lot of power over her workload), and an experience issue (he has romantic and sexual relationship experience, she does not). But, I actually never felt like a boundary was crossed in practice. He never removed her from work or put her on work based on their romantic relationship, jealousies etc., he didn't pressure her into sex.

In the end, you get to feel the vicarious thrill of your first romance being the best romance with a man you think is attractive, competent, wealthy and powerful, and willing to change and give it all up for you. It's exactly what an old-school shoujo should do, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

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A charming series with a few problematic aspects

I started watching An Incurable Case of Love because of the actor playing the main role, after his performance in Glass Heart. I don’t think this will be the last series I watch with him, because he’s really great :D and I’ll definitely follow his future projects.

As for the series itself… it’s a sweet and charming story about the innocent, initially platonic love of a young girl for a doctor who fascinates her. It’s really love mixed with fascination, maybe even a kind of idol-like admiration. Overall, the idea of being fascinated by an older, experienced doctor is understandable, but I do have a few issues with this series, and I think the age difference is actually the smallest problem here.

Maybe I’ll start with the fact that the main character’s behavior doesn’t match that of a 22-year-old, but rather a teenager, which, from what I’ve seen, other commenters have also pointed out. Some of her behaviors are very childish. The second issue is that three men fall in love with her at the same time. I get the whole rivalry thing and all, but without offending our heroine—how is that even possible? Two middle-aged men plus a millionaire all fall in love with a young, not particularly sharp nurse. Of course, she is sweet and charming, kind and empathetic, but she is also childish, not very perceptive, makes mistakes she shouldn’t be making as a trained nurse, and overall the whole millionaire subplot seems quite unnecessary to me. Similarly, I find it unconvincing that she was the one sent for overseas training—like, why exactly? What was the selection process? Maybe I missed something?

And finally, my biggest issue with this series, the cherry on top:
Who would want—or react with a smile—if their loved one called them a donkey? Even at the altar? Was this mistranslated? It’s constantly either “donkey” or “blockhead,” used at work, then thrown around as a joke, and in the end said to his future wife? What kind of relationship is that, where one person treats the other in such a patronizing way? Of course, I understand it’s a series and not real life, but what I value in series is a reflection of reality. If a 22-year-old falls in love with a 33-year-old doctor and, completely blinded by love, marries him, then after 10 years, when she matures, she’ll be a completely different woman… It’s strange that a grown man is attracted to a girl with such childish and immature behavior.

So, I rate it—perhaps a bit generously—an 8.

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First Ever Jdrama

Hmm... Sooo this drama I will say i cringed through it and it was corny but it did grow on me. There are some issues between the ML and FL's relationship that bother me which is why I'm kinda like conflicted about this show. I enjoyed the plot this was a pretty light watch nothing too intense honestly if you need something to just mindlessly watch. I don't like the "kawaii" type moments this show had it made me curl my toes and the FL just coming off so desperate in the beginning just the whole insta love bothers me. But when they finally had cute moments I accepted it more. Now I know the ML is supposed to be cold and rude sure whatever but even when they got together the "baka" calling was getting on my nerves. I was seriously like why is he even with her if he's just constantly going to degrade this girl lmao. The ending though was cute so hopefully he stops that nonsense. Besides that I didn't really care for the other couples they felt so quick as well I mean this show is literally 10 eps and we got like two other formed couples somehow. Also not gonna lie the ML's coworker who fell in love with the FL made more sense to me romance wise and he treated her so sweetly but its whatever.

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nice garbage

I went in knowing this would be good in the way that taco bell is good: actually really bad if you think about it, but fun at the time. I think my expectations were in the right place and I found it a mostly enjoyable distraction, and it did actually get a little bit better as the episodes went on.

It had ever shoujo troupe in the book, so much so I started a note in my phone to track which troupes I thought they would use and I had a 75% prediction accuracy. There's a place in the world for silly little shows like this, and I respect it. Two years from now I'll completely forget this thing even existed, and that's okay.

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A Pleasant Surprise, Indeed.

I've been in an Asian drama SLUMP for the better part of a year now. Yes, I think it's been at least a year where I haven't been able to get back on the horse with Asian dramas (as a whole), so to speak. I've been jumping from country to country trying to find a drama to pull me out of this slump and nothing worked. However, something compelled me to start watching this. As time progressed, it took me until the middle of the first episode to realize that I'd watched this before. Rather, I'd began watching this once upon a time and I dropped it shortly after. For some strange reason, reading the synopsis and title did nothing to jog my memory. I think I dropped it maybe around episode 2 or 3. I can't remember which.

Anyway, I almost dropped it AGAIN but something told me to skip to episode 6 and start watching from there and that was the single best thing I could have done for this drama. For anyone reading this review in 2025, watch the first episode for some background information but I'd suggest you skip right to episode 5 or 6 for things to really start getting interesting. Unfortunately, the first few episodes of this drama are incredibly DIFFICULT to watch in a painfully awkward way. Then again, if you're someone who has experience watching J Dramas, then you'd be fine with the ridiculousness often found in these types of dramas. If you're not, then you might not like it. J Dramas can be an acquired taste in many different ways and you have to acquire a taste for it. So yes, the first few episodes are 'cringy.' However, once you push through those few episodes, you will enjoy yourself. The unique advantage of J Dramas is the average runtime/length of them. They're short and sweet; you won't have to sit through tens of episodes before you get to the good stuff.

Now, Sakura and Tendo are our main couple. It's hard to conceptualize this couple because they don't fit the typical mold of a lead couple in a drama. There's an age gap. Not necessarily a creepy one, but it does exist. Tendo is your typical tsundere type, so he's going to be quite stone-faced for the majority of the drama. I know some people are into that, so you may enjoy it. But for the people who are not, he's like that most of the time so there's your warning. Their chemistry is slightly nonexistent but existent, if that makes sense. If Tendo wasn't a tsundere type, I think the chemistry would have been a lot more felt. But because his character is a tsundere, it's difficult to figure out if he even likes her or not. There are kisses. But there's always the question of - are you kissing her because you like her and it's what you want to do or are you kissing her to indulge her because you know that she likes you? It definitely affects the chemistry in a big way, in my opinion. Also, Sakura is very very immature. She's the cutesy, childish female lead that most of us are familiar with in this market. Typically, I don't like those types of characters but she experienced a LOT of growth and character development over the course of this drama. We watch her grow and make decisions that are suitable for a fully grown adult. The actress? OMG! She's GOOD. The actress is so good; she will make you cry and I commend her for that.

Also, there are SO MANY love triangles/squares going on outside of the main couple that will make you want to rip your hair out. Unfortunately, I skipped all the scenes with the side characters because I couldn't be bothered to invest any time in that strange game of musical chairs. You can skip those scenes and not miss a single thing. And yes, some of those side characters are interested in each of the lead characters but it's all unrequited/one-sided. The leads only have eyes for each other. It does get annoying watching the side characters chase them despite knowing this, but those scenes are totally skippable.

Again, there won't be many romantic moments between the leads until the last few episodes. But hey, it comes with the territory of a tsundere ML. I didn't expect to like this drama that much honestly because both leads are prime examples of my least favorite character tropes. I'm not a fan of tsundere male leads or cutesy, immature female leads but here I am singing this drama's praises in spite of that. Amazing work from the actors!

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