Love Is Better the Second Time Around

Complete package but not totally my type

Categorize this show as an ordinary one especially since I am having a hard time deciding whether I liked it or not. They have the angst, the growth and connection of the romance, the appeal from the cast, the amazing setup of soundtracks, and a nice sequence of the stories from the beginning until the end. Yet, it is not my cup of tea and I am certain that people out there might enjoy this show to their fullest. But, I was hoping as well that despite not my preference in a romantic genre, it’s their job to make things work for everyone.

Aloha is so cute in this series with his sassy and bitchy attitude. However, Makoto devours this show with his excellence in delivering the perfect blend of emotions and charms. The intimate scenes were the best element in the drama; hot, sexy, and fulfilling. As expected with Japanese productions, they always took a lot of effort to create pleasant and arousing scenes for their characters. But not to the point of overly doing it, that mostly happens in Thai BL shows.

The story is dramatic in a good way in that it tackles reconnection and attempting to succeed on the second try. It was a good plot for two grown adults and how they face up against hindrances in their mature ages. It was cool to see them nourish their romance with a happy ending.

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a chance that will dictate the rest of life

The live rivalries were too much for me as if seemed when 1 decided to give up the next came up so seemed like everyone was taking turns. Now the past incident, I found heartwarming as it really captured high school romance and what first love truly is.

The acting I felt everyone was a bit over the top when trying to achieve their goals as manipulative behaviour was being used and they had no consequences for them.

I don't quite believe the first rival just giving up as they've known each other for a while and know him quite deeply. The second one is more believable as if makes sense he was going nowhere

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Pretty good, could be better

i enjoyed this drama, it was relatively light and nicely done. the main couple’s casting was good, too. they’re both beautiful. i liked the dynamic between them, their banter felt pretty natural and their scenes together didn’t feel forced, though i have few things i didn’t like.

i felt like the story would have been more naturally paced had there been more episodes, but i know bl dramas outside of thailand aren’t quite there yet.

despite miyata liking takashi deep down, it felt like miyata came around to admitting he liked takashi ahead of the plot a bit and he discarded that girlfriend rather quickly, too. she was more of the token girl that gets dumped for the boy, no real characterization on her part. could have done without that. but he played hard to get with takashi, then all of a sudden he warmed up and went all in and they sleep together, but the scene was still noticeablely chaste (i’ll forgive this since miyazaki says it’s his first time) and that push and pull felt a bit odd to me, especially in a limited time frame and especially because i felt like for two people who were once lovers and haven’t seen each other in over a decade, i expected a bit more passion and fire but idk. i also felt two love rivals in such a short amount of episodes was unnecessary and the second love rival was rather random, too.

we actually got more kisses between miyata and takashi than i expected going into it, but that being said, they were far more chaste than they should have been for two men in their 30s. not that we needed NC scenes left and right, but a few kisses more than the “press and hold” would’ve made sense. i mean, i’ve seen some pretty passionate scenes in japanese series, i know they can do it. but overall, it was a decent series and still worth the watch.

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It's alright.

The story is kinda cute I guess. I'm glad Miyata stood up for himself I honestly am. Iwanaga should've properly told him what was wrong and his problems instead of trying to keep it all to himself. I truly don't even know if I liked this or not I'm kinda 50/50 about this whole ting. The chemistry and tension between the actors were good I loved it, but there was hardly any character development and it all seemed too rushed which makes sense we got 6 episodes and all are 20 minutes long. The kisses.... oh they were terrible. they kissed a lot and I truly wanted them to stop kissing I didn't want to see another kiss between the two it was just that bad. The nc scenes were good I don't know why their nc scenes are amazing but not their kissing. The last two episodes disappointed me and the ending of the last episode was cute. It's adorable at best but I don't have high hopes of rewatching this at all.

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Not your average Japanese BL

What would you do if you met a previous love interest after 14 years, when the original affair had ended abruptly in confusion?

The storytelling in this drama alternates between current time (main characters in their 30s) and when they were high school students . Thankfully, they used two different sets of actors for the two time periods which works really well. The current time and flashbacks are meant to gradually explain the history to the viewer and clear up misunderstandings for the characters themselves.

Like many Japanese dramas, the focus is on personal growth / new understanding, not on visible action. While there are distracting side plots that seem to hint at "action", these are only there to challenge Miyata's perceptions/thinking. Miyata seems mired in a mental fog of the past, gradually gaining some mental clarity.

If Miyata's growth happened gradually through the 6-episode series, I might have rated this a 10. While BL in general, trades on extended misunderstandings, and Japanese BL in particular excels at presenting the impacts of the lack of clear communication, the resolution of the misunderstandings in this drama seem uneven and mostly occur quickly in the last episode. However, this unevenness is offset by the subtle comparison between inner and outer strengths/weaknesses of both Miyata and Takashi that adds another dimension to the drama.

Also note worthy is a certain bluntness in the dialog in situations where it wouldn't normally be expected. The spoken Japanese in this drama is mostly normal polite Japanese, yet there are a few times where characters say completely unexpected (and rude) things. Miyata sometimes uses more formal business Japanese as way of distancing, sometimes excessively (sarcasm) which signals his brokenness (and is hurtful to Takashi). While Japanese dramas can have insulating or rude language, it is usually direct, not using bitter sarcasm.

Also note worthy is while showing more "intimacy" than most, the physical intimacy exists to focus on what is happening internally/emotionally for Miyata and Takashi and does not read as fan service.

I don't think this is the masterpiece that "The Novelist" (Pornographer manga) is, but it does seem to carve out a unique place among Japanese BL.

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I LOVE THIS SHOW

Love is Better The Second Time Around is a Japanese BL and, as the title suggests, this is not starting at the beginning but it is starting when two people who were former lovers were forced to meet again by the circumstances. Miyata is working as an editor in a news journal and they have a new writer that they like before he is a professor and he is providing good rates for them. He met him and he learned that it is Takashi who broke his heart when they were younger. He was in love with him but the story was short lived because he learned that Takashi had a bet with one of his closest friend that he will elope with him and he was hurt by this so he decided to not elope with him. This misunderstanding ruined their relationship and they finally got to speak about it when they were adult and this is where their new story begins. This is a good story but it had some interesting choices in between that might not have resulted to a strong finale for story. We got to see them already in love with each other but Miyata is fighting hard to not fall in love with him because he was extremely heartbroken with what happened and he is truly hurt. His main storyline is focused on not falling in love while the main storyline of Takashi is finally facing his mother who did not really accepted who he is. I actually like the stories of these characters because what they are facing are things that we can easily relate to and familiar with. There are so many people who are experiencing the same things that they are experiencing so seeing that it will soon be okay or that it might not never be can still be comforting because they can at least see that you will still find a way to fall in love with someone who will actually love you no matter what. The greatest flaw of the show is that it felt it ended when it is peaking which is what is my problem with Japanese BLs. They are changing the game but they are still quite short and they do not always get to tell the entire story that they want to be. There is so much potential for these two characters because they are so lovable. Personally, I understand the pain of Miyata especially knowing how he really put himself in this relationship and the fact that he might experience that kind of heartbreak again can truly be scary. I get why he is so afraid. At the same time, I get why he is so in love with him. Takashi is super handsome. I will admit that when that guy smiles, my heart flutters. He is a good partner. They are actually good partners here and they did not try to overcomplicate things and faced them up front so we got a really good story out of it which is truly beautiful to see. I wished that there could be so much more of these two but I am still happy with what we got.

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Both Esoteric and Bittersweet

Certainly, the story is not unique. It is the story of two high school boys who fell in love then, but circumstances did not permit them to follow-up with their relationship then. Time did not diminish the feelings but only created a valley of forgetting one another. The series is so short that it does not allow for any type of character development and frankly this type of story is getting ‘old’ and worn out. The series is so short that it does not allow for any type of character development and frankly this type of story is getting ‘old’ and worn out. Overall, this is a good series. Well-acted and sincere. Screenplay needed tightening up as I found the relationship when they reconnect not dynamic enough and a bit perplexing. But it is an entertaining series. It is simply enjoyable and refreshing to watch. Overall, this is a good series. Well-acted and sincere. Screenplay needed tightening up as I found the relationship when they reconnect not dynamic enough and a bit perplexing. But it is an entertaining series. It is simply enjoyable and refreshing to watch. Overall, this is a good series. Well-acted and sincere. Screenplay needed tightening up as I found the relationship when they reconnect not dynamic enough and a bit perplexing. But it is an entertaining series. It is simply enjoyable and refreshing to watch.

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