And It Did Not Quite Reach Me
It is so well written and so well produced and has such adorable moments, I just wondered why I was not more moved by it. And ironically, who captured my heart were two individuals that were supporting characters, both showing more personality and more gravitas than the two main actors. In addition, with the theme of this story having been done so frequently, it has lost its mojo, so to speak because it just did not stand out enough. The friends-to-lovers-in-high-school is so overdone, that there is nothing creative about the premise anymore. I was only entertained at the beginning and at the end of this saga. I loved the two supporting characters the most as they gave this story a sense of purpose and direction and they filled the middle of this story. However, the theme of this story has become too trite to be interesting anymore. I really wanted to like this series more. Sigh.You can read my full review of this series at BLBliss.com
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The Must Watch Young Love Story
I normally steer away from school romances, but this one took me by surprise with its chemistry and I have since rewatched it 3X. Outstanding production, pacing, direction and acting. The two male leads, while fairly new in their acting careers, display maturity and natural talent well beyond many peers. Haru in particular is extraordinary for his first acting role at age 18, and promises to be both a well regarded comic and serious actor in the decade to come. Maeda showcases a full range of intensity from anguish to complete joy, constantly a sheer delight to watch, and this reviewer believes he is destined to become one of Japan's Thinking Actors, akin to Satoh Takeru or Watanabe Ken.Special mention for Leo Matsumoto, who elevates key scenes and adds depth to his support role and Itakura Toshiyuki who brightens the show with humour, as the teacher who relishes handing out detention to bright but lazy students.
Music: Fast paced, lively soundtrack and a gentle acoustic score that lifts the beautiful moments, based on J-pop and performed at times in carefully curated half and quarter tempo. Keep the Shazam nearby and you'll have some wonderful additions for your Spotty!
Translating manga faithfully to live drama is always tricky and there are a couple of overused tropes but the entire series, just 2.5 hours, makes for magical viewing. Enjoy.
Well done Netflix Asia, for promoting this series and please keep syndicating the fantastic Japanese content.
Thank you for reading! Follow to be notified of future reviews! ~ Fumiyawagi
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This review may contain spoilers
The plot was a very standard best friends to lovers kind of story. We follow two high school boys, Ashiya Kakeru and Ohara Yamato, that have been friends since they were little, we see how their relationship changes, as they starts to struggle with his feelings for each other. They have this black cat and golden retriever dynamics. Yamato is the calmer one, the more reserved and not so friendly one. Kakeru is the more outgoing one, the more approachable and more hyperactive one.
Yamato falls first, he had been in love with Kakeru for years but never dared to confess his feelings as he didn’t want to risk losing what the two had, as such, he believes that as long as Kakeru is happy then he, as his friend, would be too. But as Kakeru starts to show interest in dating, Yamato starts to struggle with feelings of jealousy. Kakeru remains oblivious to those feelings until it basically hit him in the face. He was always convinced the two could only be friends, however now he was forced to face the possibility.
They embodied the feelings, uncertainty, clumsiness and beauty of young love. They casted these two perfectly and it’s almost like they jumped out from the pages of the manga. Both main leads fit and played the role perfectly! I was even a little surprised that Maeda Kentaro took on this role, as he has already starred in a few dramas and doesn’t actually need the BL hype. There is something about Japanese drama's 'awkward' acting that makes the scenes authentic. This is how we are in real life, and the way they talked to each other makes you really feel like you are watching something more real.
I also loved Hisaka Yui’s character, he was such a supportive friend to Yamato, he was the best wingman for sure and it was overall just a very good portrayal of a healthy friendship, at times he seemed to know everything, he was like the master you go to for answers in the martial art stories.
Yamato’s sister as well, her character was also another very supportive character that helped both main characters come to terms with what they were feeling at times, her character was truly very well written. The rest of the friend group was also very good overall.
When it comes to the visuals of the series, many scenes were too bright to the point of slightly blurring out the details and the faces. Some cuts between the scenes were also a bit confusing. There was also an overwhelming amount of slow-motion scenes. It just felt a bit excessive. The soundtrack was good with a very catchy ending song (which was maybe used a bit too much but that I enjoyed nevertheless each time it was played). The production value of the show was pretty good as well with some nice school moments very well captured. The actor who played the teacher was very good, I could not hold my laugh back whenever he showed up to scold Kakeru for his bad grades.
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Romance entre amigos de infância gays
Amei como eh mostrado que o Yamato sempre soube o que sentia, mas quando sente ciumes ou é correspondido ele não sabe lidar, como o Kakeru entendeu que o Yamato gostava dele e percebeu que tava tudo bem gostar de volta, tudo tão leve e bonito, um dorama fofinho. Além de mostrar que a Mikoto aceitou o irmão de primeira, porque amor de verdade eh issoAlém de ser extremamente rapidinho de ver, fácil de entender e bem distribuído! Eles fizeram história com apenas 2h e pouco e um sonho! Se o dorama foi bom assim, nem imagino o mangá!! No aguardo da segunda temporada!!!
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Nice adaption of the Manga
I love the manga, so certainly I love the Drama, too.The story is simple but i like it.
I really understand people who say the story is boring. Don't expect any major twists and turns. But it's still a story that makes you a little excited to see when what you want will happen.
I like the acting performance of all the actors. You can see how they strive and how they think about the implementation.
The Drama is a nice adaptation from the manga und worth to see, including the OST :-)
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Uma história simples que entregou tudo!
Na verdade assisti esse em 2023, mas só vim fazer uma resenha hoje. Também enrolei pra assistir, fiquei um tempão esperando mas decidi ver quando saiu na Netflix. Assim que assisti fiquei apaixonada, vi tudo de uma vez.Pensa num bl bom de assistir, esse bl é i can't reach you. A série traz um romance colegial muito reconfortante de acompanhar, sobre um garoto apaixonado por seu melhor amigo de infância. A história simples mas muito bem desenvolvida.
Vemos a relação deles evoluir aos poucos. Ambos temem perder a relação de amizade que construíram ao longo dos anos, e por isso não conseguem expressar bem as emoções complexas que sentem. De um lado temos Yamato, que se vê cada vez mais ansioso com seus sentimentos, e do outro temos Kakeru, tentando compreender o que realmente sente pelo melhor amigo.
Tudo é muito típico de um romance adolescente. Assistimos os personagens passando por todas as fases do primeiro amor, desde as inseguranças, a falta de comunicação que termina num grande acúmulo de tensão, as reações exageradas (o famoso gay panic), e também muitos momentos delicados e carinhosos. Tudo isso me fez vibrar com cada pequena interação do casal.
O drama dos personagens muito palpável, realmente dá pra sentir o desespero emocional deles. Senti muito isso principalmente com o Yamato, tinha momentos que eu ficava completamente vidrada nele pensando "meu Deus, esse menino vai ter um ataque". A atuação dos atores contribuiu muito pra isso, todos foram muito bem e me cativaram demais.
Acho que vale muito a pena assistir. A execução foi tão boa que transformou um enredo simples em uma obra que se destaca entre os clichês. Muito divertida e rápida de assistir, eu recomendo demais. Com certeza vou rever em algum momento.
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Ladies and Gentlemen - Them
Watch out for this new BL sensation. Featuring:- Two softest, cutest, nicest leads
- The first male lead is shy but sweet and true to his feelings, yet will give you whiplash and nostalgia regarding every crush
you've ever had in the past
- The second male lead is surprisingly more aware of his surroundings than all drama leads put together. There is
obliviousness but the sheer fact that it is much less than usual is so refreshing, it'll have you cheering on the scared, funny idiot
- A highschooler wise beyond his and his friends' ages combined, who is a well-meaning bestie we all deserve
- Another high school bestie who unintentionally tries to ruin every possible thing
- An emo sweet sister
- Additional side characters who are, thankfully, not horrible people
A sloooooow highschool friends-to-lovers story that burns oh so good. Take me back to the good old days for Yamato and Kakeru have all my heart and memories and I wish them nothing but the best. They healed the memories of my unrequited crush. I just want to wrap these two in a bubblewrap and protect them from all possible harm. My cutie pookies <3
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This review may contain spoilers
Poor acting and story that hinder its potential
My biggest issue with this drama is the acting. The actor who performed Yamato is quite awkward to make me be invested in the plot. The other guy who performed Kakeru is better but I just googled him and he is so young!In terms of story pacing, I think it is quite draggy and seeing how Yamato not acknowledging his feelings in the beginning with not great acting is quite painful to watch. It got better at the later half where both ML began to acknowledge the feelings with one another.
Another problem I have with the plot is there were too many ??? moments like Yamato getting sick and had temporary amnesia? What was that about? And the two ML could have just confess in Yamato house but the writer(s) decide to add another scene in school for the confession? It’s just weird writing… overall, while their interactions are cute for the two leads but I think there are better BL to invest your time.
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Hooked - Light and Heartwarming
I'm shocked by how I was really hooked on this series. I guess I just really prefer stories with a light and heartwarming storyline. I really love the chemistry between the main leads. But I also have to give praise to the side characters who also brought good acting to the show.However, I'm a bit saddened by one specific scene. I'm referring to Episode 6, (SPOILER!!!!!) when Yamato tried to force himself on Kakeru. Kakeru told Yamato that he's lacking and messing up most of the time they are together ("Someone like me doesn't have the right to fall in love with you. I have nothing to offer."). And then Yamato brought up the fact that for him, that is not the case, because no matter what Kakeru does, Yamato still likes and treasures him. Furthermore, Yamato forces himself on Kakeru, not just a single time, since Kakeru said no immediately the first time, but Yamato still proceeds to kiss and caress Kakeru. Stopping only until Kakeru said no in a scared and shocked manner.
I'm just a little bit sad that the story between the main leads lacked the "consent" factor when it comes to their intimacy. Yamato will be the superior BL main character if somehow "consent" is included for him as a whole.
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Nothing New
Pretty basic BL story—two childhood best friends fall in love in high school.Was a little bit annoyed at the overuse of tropes in this—mainly the thing where someone's about to confess something or say something important, and then all of a sudden they get interrupted. At first it was fine, but then it felt like it was happening almost every episode lol.
The romance was cute, although it was a little plain and once again, very tropey. This show is just really formulaic, and I can't really find anything particularly special about it when compared to other BL's (or romance dramas in general).
The production was pretty alright, but not quite as good as I was hoping from a show that was hosted on Netflix. I really liked all the actors—the main characters were great, but I also really liked the one blondish wingman guy, and Yamato's sister.
Overall, it was alright, but brought nothing new to the table for me—fine, but pretty forgettable.
The Hi-Fi Un!corn song was good though.
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Cute
This was a cute drama about two chilhood friends coming to terms with the fact that their feelings evolved into love.I love the fact that Hosaka Yui and Toyama Akane saw what happened and pushed them in the right way.
This drama had beautifull music. The acting was good, not spectaculair. Chemistry was also good.
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Endearing easy watch
While this series as a whole does nothing new it ended up being one of my favorite things to watch in 2023. I think what sets it apart is the sincerity of the acting. The leads have great chemistry that shines throughout the series, I especially enjoyed the more tender moments of touches and hugs, Japanese shows really struggle with these kind of moments and they usually end up feeling too stiff and unnatural.The highlight of the show for me personally was Haru's (Kakeru) expressions and physically comedy, it's incredibly funny without going over the top. I found the character very endearing and human, so while the show definitely relies heavily on tropes it didn't impact my enjoyment and I found it a very smooth watch with no bad parts.
I would recommend this is to pretty much anyone who like fluffy romance, I can't speak to the subtitle issues some had since I watched it in Japanese, hopefully one of the streaming services for English speaking viewers picks this up at some point.
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