Love is Phantom (2021)

From 0 to 100 real quick!

Just finished this and I was left confused.
They legit kiss as strangers, and then the next day they are in love and dating like they've known each other for decades.
If the romance had any realistic progression whatsoever, it would be very normal for the main couple to share such an intense love for one another..but no.

Just a heads up, there is a 16-year age gap between the ML and FL. Although, that didn't bother me since they were both adults.

I guess my advice would be: If you want to watch this, don't try to make sense of what is happening.

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Short, spicy, and unique

The one thing I like about Jdrama’s is how different they are from all the other Asian dramas out there. I’m getting a little burned out on kdramas because they’re all starting to look the same. I’m so tired of waiting 10 plus episodes for the first kiss, seeing jealous second leads sabotaging the main leads, getting frustrated over silly misunderstandings that would never happen in real life, and enduring unnecessary angst. This drama was the total opposite of that. The main leads kiss on the first episode, and boy was it a kiss! There are no jealous obsessed second leads, no unnecessary angst, and the main couple actually talk to each other about their problems. It was so refreshing!

Kei (the male lead) is called the phantom because he never seems to leave work and can be seen all over the building both during the daytime and nighttime, almost like a ghost. He seems to be drifting through life without much purpose or concern for his health, often forgetting to eat and sleep. He tells Momo (the female lead) that he pushes himself like that because it’s the only way he knows how to keep himself going. He’s very lonely and no one seems to notice or care that he’s not taking care of himself. But Momo’s concern for his welfare touches him. And he’s instantly drawn to her kind sweet personality. He’s a very bold take charge type of guy that becomes very loving and protective of Momo.

Momo is a very simple sweet girl with a heart of gold. She is probably one of the most shy naive characters I've ever seen, especially with the opposite sex. But her genuine concern for others touches everyone around her. She’s hardworking and quite loyal too.

The romance in this drama was done really well. The kissing scenes are quite steamy and numerous. And if you’re easily offended at bed scenes then you should skip this drama because they spend a lot of time kissing, cuddling, and doing other stuff (ahem, cough cough) in the bedroom. He’s very straightforward and aggressive and even though she’s a shy virgin she makes it clear that she’s fallen for him. They are a super sweet couple with amazing chemistry.

The storyline doesn’t have much to it. There’s a mysterious aura about the male lead and his past that I found interesting, but other than that it didn’t really have much depth. But what made me give it such high marks was because it was so unique. Even though the male lead sees the female lead, who is now his girlfriend, embrace another man and even feed him a bite of cake, he doesn’t flip out with jealousy or misunderstand the situation. He actually understands her naive actions and trusts her. And the female lead trusts the male lead too. Imagine that! They actually trust each other without jumping to conclusions and misunderstanding things. It was refreshing to see a drama where the main leads had a healthy relationship.

Okay so let’s talk about what I didn’t like. I took off a full point because most of the other characters were just there to move the story along. There were no other couples and we really didn’t get to know any of the side characters or their stories. The entire dramas focus was on the main leads and no one else. I would have loved to get to know the male leads best friend Fukami a little better. I also took a half point off because we never got to see the female leads backstory. There were no family or friends or info on her past. The only people in her life were her coworkers and they didn’t seem super close to her. It would have been nice if she had a best friend she was super close to that could have filled us in on her past.

Overall I’d say this is one of the better Jdrama’s I’ve watched. It’s short, super sweet, spicy, and refreshingly unique. I loved how a good deal of the drama was filmed in low lighting that set this dark shadowy mysterious mood. It wasn’t a masterpiece by any means, but I enjoyed how light sweet and refreshing it was. Don’t miss out on this hidden gem.

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