Ossan's Love Returns (2024)

Harumaki para siempre.

Como fan de esta saga desde 2020, tenía altas expectativas acerca de esta segunda temporada aun sabiendo loo mal ejecutada que estuvo Ossan's Love: In the Sky. Sin embargo, igual me llevé una sorpresa gratificante porque en solo nueve episodios le dieron un cierre a todas las cuestiones de los personajes secundarios, a la par de que nos introdujeron una nueva historia (Izumi y Kiku) y vimos el crecimiento de HaruMaki como matrimonio.

En principio me asustaba que Kurosawa otra vez quisiera interferir en la relación de ellos dos, pero verlo convertirse en el padre que siempre fue para Haruta y que de verdad hiciese todo lo que pudiese para conseguir la felicidad de ellos me alegró muchísimo. Después de Haruta, Kurosawa tiene el mejor corazón de todos.

Mi única queja es que, en mi opinión, Kiku e Izumi no debieron terminar juntos. Kiku se pasó los últimos años yendo detrás de Izumi aún cuando este estaba con el otro, se caló todo el duelo y desde inicio a fin siempre Izumi lo ponía de lado. Él debería sanar antes de estar con alguien que sea mucho mejor que Izumi. Pero bueno, si él es feliz...

Esta serie se merece un mejor review, pero esto es todo lo que puedo hacer por ahora. Con todo mi corazón, quiero agradecer a los actores, productores, guionistas y a todas las personas involucradas en esta serie. Por nueve semanas me hicieron sentir que el 2024 valía la pena y le trajeron color a mis fines de semana.

Harumaki para siempre <3

Read More

The peak of gay romcoms! The most influential JBL came back better than ever!

Ossan’s Love (2018), arguably the most successful Japanese BL, is a favorite of mine. It kind of suffers from being made in 2018 and that made me a bit reluctant when I heard it was getting a sequel season 5 years later; Could it live up to today’s standard? Or will it drag on and fall into that 2018 humor?

Well, thankfully, OLR has moved with the times and served one of the most poignant examples of a sequel surpassing the first season. Everything is praiseworthy in this new season. The characters are so much more lovable, the conflicts as silly or as serious they are get resolved fairly quickly, respecting that all the characters are adults who can, more or less, communicate and solve their issues. I can also see the influence of post-OL BLs in this, especially the focus on domesticity. Haruta and Maki’s relationship progress is adorable to watch and there wasn’t a moment I would change between them. Izumi and Kikunosuke initially felt too random of an addition of characters but by the end of the show I grew to appreciate them. Kurosawa this season was much more likable as well. The slice of life aspect is not dull, not even for one moment because of its comedy and occasional drama. I also still think OL’s has the best female cast out of most if not all BL, even if they’re not the focus a lot. Chizu and Choko are a delight to watch every time and even in their limited screentime they feel fleshed out.

Production quality is also much higher this season and it’s so nice to see the change it was able to make after its success. Keeping Sukima Switch for the new theme song was a great nod to the first season’s theme song. The final episode was so satisfactory that I don’t even feel like complaining about how sad I am to let go of this show. Even if you didn’t like S1 a lot you should watch this as I can confidently say it’s one of the most wholesome, well written romantic shows you can find.

Read More