Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!

I am grateful to the spell, as it brought us together.

I'm sorry, it may be a little long, but thanks for reading and writing to it. I apologize in advance for any misspellings.
Well, you guys! Our beloved series Cherry Magic has come to an end. Kurosawa and Adachi's story of happy ending - ended.. What can I say. As I see it, opinions are divided over the final episode. Some people are satisfied, and some people expected more than that.
My opinion, when I watched it all, I was a little disappointed, because a lot of people were waiting for the long-awaited kiss, weren't we? Furthermore, I thought the episode was a little premature, perhaps because of the limited playing time and too quickly they moved beyond the questions of 11.ep.. which still hurts. And what was the guarantee that they'd run into each other on top of the Anton building when they didn't talk after the breakup? ... It's a little confusing. Maybe I got a little disillusioned at first and disappointed... This episode was not thoroughly built.. I asked myself: Is that all?! Meg what it is that the side couple gives two weak visible kisses, our main couple gives a barely A kiss at the last minute.. And the elevator closes. And then I slept, and I thought...
I'm a little disappointed because I know adachi has a first in his life: relationship, love, kiss, sex. The question of the latter two things could have been addressed more carefully in how Adachi lives it, because it is a milestone in a person's life. Furthermore, kurosawa's (7!) year-old unbroken love is ripe.. It could have been a little more emotional after being together, the mood or they could have started "sex" the night before and had the kiss or the "engagement" the night before. How romantic it would have been. Anyway, i'm sorry.
But all in all, I'm not completely dissatisfied, since we got sweet moments during the series (forehead kisses, hugs, almost kissing, love look, smile, tears, happiness, confession, lap-carrying, caring, respect, hand-holding walking) and a lot of lessons and a sincere pure love, beautiful character development, especially from Adachi, who finally decides what's important to him. And, of course, a lot of nice happy scenes. It's a great friendship between Adachi and Tsuge to support each other back and forth. I appreciate that, as Tsuge put Adachi in his place. I loved this series also because there was no negative character (maybe only Keita, Minato's ex-lover). Everyone supported each other at some level.
We got finally a cute bed scene as well. (adachi, Kurosawa). And.. Adachi eventually lost his magic and virginity. And an "elevator" - KISS, which finally happens, but they don't let us look deeper, they left it to our imaginations. .. That it was arranged this way on purpose or the strict rules, agency, contract, respect, who knows. I don't think the reason really matters, because as I watched the Tsuge and Minato couple, they even though they give me two weak kisses, it's also essentially worthless, at least to me, because I haven't seen much progress in their relationship. They were cute, but that's all, but they got through it too fast. And they almost didn't attract my attention.. (but I liked Tsuge very much by himself, very fain and funny, I laughed about it a lot). So.. I figured it out. Any way you look at it. Even if episode 12 is a little hasty and incomplete and doesn't meet everyone's needs, I'm finally satisfied because this series warmed my heart, and the boys (Adachi-Eiji Akaso, Kurosawa - Keita Machida) really gave it their all, the chemistry was amazing. And as you can see, they loved working together. And I also realized that they didn't really need a "fulfilled" kiss and romantic "sex" and excessive intimacy (bed scene) because that's how it was nice how they closed it, as they finally kissed each other with the door closing, and they both proved to me that their love was huge and unforgettable! This series teaches you that you can't be in a shell for the rest of your life, especially when a person who loves you because you're you, and you do have to trust yourself, even if you don't succeed at first. I trust season two because there's not enough of them. I'd like to see more Kurodachi! Adachi and Kurosawa be happy!
I wish you all a happy holiday! Thank you if you've read it all along. I want your opinion.

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A Quiet Rewatch That Belongs to Machida Keita Alone

I came back to this series on a rewatch, and funny enough, it landed a bit differently the second time around. A couple of years ago it barely registered — no “wow” factor, very sweet, almost too sweet, and honestly a bit forgettable. Part of that is probably on me: BL as a genre isn’t really my natural habitat. I tend to lean more towards bromance with some narrative backbone — crime, legal, office politics — something with a bit more grit. Pure romance, especially when it tips into the saccharine, can feel slightly artificial to me.

That said, the rewatch had a clear agenda: Machida Keita. And here the series absolutely delivers. What struck me most is how understated his acting is. There’s a particular softness in his gaze — a kind of quiet, attentive tenderness you usually associate with how people look at someone they genuinely care about. It never feels forced. If anything, he carries the emotional credibility of the whole story on his shoulders, and makes it look effortless.

The issue, for me, lies elsewhere — I found myself struggling with Akaso Eiji’s performance. He’s clearly a good-looking actor, very easy on the eye, and there’s nothing overtly “wrong” with what he’s doing — and yet something feels slightly off. A bit stiff, a bit overly constructed. It might be an acting choice, or even a directing decision about how “shyness” should read on screen, but the body language and facial expressions didn’t quite ring true for me. I had a similar reaction to him in Super Rich, so perhaps it’s just a mismatch with my personal viewing preferences.

As for the chemistry — interestingly uneven. Machida seems capable of generating chemistry with just about anyone; he’s that kind of actor. Here, though, it felt somewhat one-sided. I wasn’t fully convinced by the dynamic as a whole, even if individual moments worked.

Still, I wouldn’t dismiss the series. What it does rather well is portray a surprisingly healthy emotional dynamic. Machida’s character is composed, emotionally regulated, respectful of boundaries — in short, an adult. There’s a grounded quality to the relationship that’s actually quite refreshing, especially within a genre that often leans into heightened emotions and idealisation.

So, if you’re in the mood for a quiet, low-stakes romance and, more importantly, if you appreciate Machida Keita’s brand of subtle, introspective acting, this is an easy, pleasant watch.

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A story of true love for EVERYONE, straight or gay; great script - and voila! well acted too

Super cute, realistic, and very funny story of true love. A true rom-com.

A rare jdrama that has good acting.
The script is great. This is a story of true love as it is in real life, to normal nice people. It is sexy in good taste, it is caring without soapy, it is very very very GENUINE and realistic and HEALTHY. It does not have false prudishness like most straight kdramas have, and it does not have overdone lewdness and twisted sexuality - esp. associating s.x with violence and games - like so many BL dramas have.

>>>> I recommend this drama to anyone - straight or not, young or old, first timers or married for 100 yrs. <<<<<

The drama shows what true love looks like, acts like and thinks like......

A super cute story of true love. So different than most BL dramas which honestly are too lewd or playing games. This drama too has a very common plot of a convinced gay male who runs into a closeted gay male and kinda shocks him and cajoles him into it, however, it lacks the sexualization and predatory feeling that so many BL dramas have. This drama is UNIVERSAL, you could play it with straight ppl too.

The plot is actually a mimic on the common straight plot from kdramas - a popular charmer suave guy falls in love with a clumzy insecure not-popular shy loser chick who is KIND good person. In the straight context, this plot is super sexist. The female is the dumb one and the male is the smart one who runs her life bc she is so incompetent she cannot survive on her own. Such dramas glorify the man as the "higher" one.

In this gay drama, the main protagonist is an insecrure clumzy unpopular shy target of love.
But how it is done is so ... well done. It does not put anyone down, nor does it make the "more suave" person more "interesting" or "higher" in status

I would encourage everyone to read the review that is on the top o MDL reviews, by TsangYang. It says it all :) I just filled in some holes.

This drama reminds me of BL kdrama Heesu from Class 2 which talks about two gay male high schoolers in love and one of them getting out of the closet. Heesu drama also has positive female models and does not portray life as "planet inhabited by gay males" as most BL dramas do. Hessu drama is balanced, just like this drama.

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Simple fluffy cute romance

I love this coz this drama is simple n cute without too many unwanted twists🙃..the actors did a great job in portraying their character. I hate dramas with complicated love triangle so i felt happy as this drama was simple loveline bw the male leads.🥰.If u look 4 intimate scenes then you wont get 🤗but for a fluffy romance go 4 this 😉
I hope it had music ..thats disappointing. For one watch this drama is ok but for rewatch i don't think so..personal opinion 😇
I hope they have another drama together..
And for the second couple..i really love their character..i felt that they had less scenes and i was anticipating 4 their scenes..but no luck .i also felt that female support role was unnecessary. Atleast she should have given more clear storyline
Altogether it was an ok drama

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More than a BL Fantasy series

Honestly, I dropped this series after 2 episodes 2 years ago. I felt exhausted with Adachi character. Rewatching it this time taught me a huge lesson: It will not always be fireworks at first but given the opportunity and time, it may not just be fireworks but dancing beautiful colors along with it.
Best part I love about this series is how it didn't end in just their romance story but it included dealing with their filial responsibilities. I love the bravenes of Adachi of wanting their parents' blessings and fighting for it.
The animation for this is slightly different in few areas but I like it the same. Still turned out satisfying to watch. I did flinch a bit couple of times for the overreaction in some scenes that is typical of Japanese series.
Overall, I will recommend this series and don't stop there. Watch the movie because it has a lot more to offer.

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More than meets the eye

I had 0 expectations with this one. The title isn't really helping and the premise is a bit...strange. However, I was, for the most part, pleasantly surprised.

I don't know the manga this was based on, but this adaptation really smoothed a lot of edges of what "regular BL content" is mostly like. They took a story that could have been yet another one of those, and gave it a lot of heart, polishing some (not all) of the problematic aspects of storylines that play in the edge between representation and fanservice.

The main relationship is devoid of a lot of the toxic tropes you normally get, not only in BL content, but in romantic dramas in general. The premise of the lead being able to read thoughts makes it so that the situation could have gone into a serious dub-con territory and it never did. The relationship progresses in a natural, interesting way and the mind-reading assists in telling the story, rather than provoke unnecessary complications.

The absolute gem for me in this one was the first ever canon aroace character I've seen in a jdrama. I've found ace and aroace characters in manga before (few and far between) but this is the first time that, not only I see one in a jdrama, they are also confirmed by the writing team. I won't spoil which character this is, so I'll remain ambiguous with my description, but it's not one of the two mains, it's a side-character. Not only are they iconic, they're also depicted as loving, caring and a fantastic friend, and that's the kind of aroace representation I want.

My only issue with the drama was the side couple. It made me kinda uncomfortable, I'm not gonna lie. Minato (Goto Yutaro) looked incredibly young and Masato (Asaka Kodai) looked even older than he is. I'm glad Minato wasn't supposed to be a teen, and that at least the actor was older than he seemed, but I couldn't help feeling pretty uncomfortable with their development, especially since they had more physical scenes than the lead couple, albeit nothing major.

All in all, I wanted to leave a review because 1) I was super close to not watching this at all, based on the marketing and title and 2) it has an aroace character and pretty good handle of relationships, for the most part. I'm glad I gave it a chance.

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One of the best Jdramas I’ve watched!

I’ve watched a lot of japanese dramas in the past, but Cherry Magic definitely is the one I will be a fan of for a long time. The story is simple but in a good way, as there aren’t any confusing plot points. The two main characters are great and it’s heartwarming to see their relationship improve and fix, unlike a lot of other dramas. I find a lot of jdramas (even BL) have toxic and unhealthy representations.
The music wasn’t overwhelming or underwhelming, it was simple enough to compliment the show. Personally, the music wasn’t a big part of the main plot so didn’t pay attention to it too much.
One of the main points is the two male leads! Their acting exceeded my expectations. They seemed to have chemistry, even off screen. I really look forward to seeing a season two, although there’s no plan yet. I just want to see Kurosawa and Adachi be happy!! I’m a big fan of Kurosawa’s actor (Keita Machida) he’s amazing. He’s been in many other movies and shows and is very versatile. So if you’ve been disappointed by Jdramas you’ve been watching, please watch this one! It’s super refreshing and nice to watch.

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Kurosawa, the perfect man

Honestly one of the main reasons I love this so much is Kurosawa. Let's give this man a round of applause.
So, he is probably the sweetest and least problematic man I have ever seen in any show ever. The way he regards Adashi and appreciates him when Adashi thought that he wasn't noticed by anyone just makes me so happy. Even his thoughts are all pure. If this was a real story you know Adashi would have caught him thinking something dirty from time to time but I think he respects Adashi so much that his mind just doesn't go there. He worries constantly about making Adashi uncomfortable by being too close.
I've become used to seeing certain things in BLs. Sexual assault, physical intimidation, sexism, so much more. Things like this make me sick and have ruined good shows for me like Why R U. While watching this I was just waiting for him to do something that would annoy me but there was nothing, nothing at all. We need to hold our BLs to a higher standard; hell, we need to hold MEN to a higher standard. The way Kurosawa behaves with Adashi should be the bare minimum.
Thank you Japan for allowing me to see what the perfect man looks like. He can:
1) control himself and keep it in his pants.
2) respect his partner fully and never push their boundaries.
3) read his partner's discomfort from their expression and body language when they seem unable to answer yes or no.
Kurosawa, sweetest man ever. I think I will be fantasizing about meeting a man like him for the rest of my life.
As for everything else: I liked the story, it was a weird but unique idea and was well done. However, I didn't care for the second couple; I thought they were an unnecessary addition. The acting was good as well. I especially liked Adashi's actor, he was really good at being this puppy faced gay panicking baby. Lol. The music was fine. And rewatch value, I would watch this again and again. Such a good BL. Hope everyone gives it a chance.

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Cute Cherry's

I greatly enjoyed watching. And I feel I have an appreciation for how the two gifted characters think and react internally when hearing someone elses thoughts. I have to say the lead charachter and secondary minor leads reaction to being overwhelmed perplexed me (when they hear something through the gift or have a moment of excitement or perhaps initimate). I think I just felt their responses or emotions while real their method of reaction was too much. occasionally, I could feel myself starting to cringe but thats with any movie or show with unneccessary and continual overreactions.

I think while good I will give a rating of 8 as it had some depth, but if it had a little more and creativity with the relationships, there problems and with relationship building beyond the generic I would give a better score. Definitwly worth a watch. No time is wasted enjoying this sweet dish of a show.

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Emotional Depth and Beyond Expectations

It was very hot, enjoyable, and (especially in the first half) rich in passion. The BL series exceeded my expectations. The quality of Japanese BL series in recent times surprises me. I highly recommend it. It was emotional, but the pace was not slow. It had a very appropriate flow.

The lack of focus on the fantasy part was odd. I loved how Adachi's emotions and thoughts were portrayed so beautifully, realistically, and logically. At one point I could only watch Adachi; he could carry the story alone.

In fact, at the end of the series, it seemed like Adachi was with Kurosawa to spare himself from the sorrow of not being loved. After all, his exploration of his gay identity happened entirely because of Kurosawa's intense love for him. I wonder if Kurosawa were a woman, would Adachi have agreed? Probably yes :D. Again, Kurosawa won, and that didn't come as a surprise :)

I didn't like the storytelling of our second couple. It started with great potential but turned out to be empty and developed too quickly. There was no chemistry between them and our author's behaviour was too exaggerated for his age. While the writer's tough and mature side was excellent, falling in love in two days and the absurdities in their actions were very nonsensical. I couldn't feel the love.

Lastly, Adachi's decrease in confidence in the second half saddened me. Adachi should have been cool, silent, and aloof because Kurosawa was outgoing, talkative, and social. They were a beautiful contrast to each other. However, when Adachi became insecure towards the end, it made me wonder why the boy was so fixated on him.
And in my opinion, the reason they presented was insufficient for falling in love with someone lacking self-confidence. If Adachi were confident but cold, distant, and introverted, then the given reason would have been sufficient.

And please, I'll cry, but we NEVER GOT A SINGLE KISS. Well, even if we did, it probably would have been just a touch of lips, but I would have been okay with that, knowingly. 😣😫

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