more than just romance
This is a story about Sugihara Kohei, who has hearing problems, and his coincidental meeting with Sagawa Taichi, a cheerful and loud guy who completely changes his life and fills his loneliness and insecurity.I don't feel like I'm watching a BL series with this one. The romance isn't the main focus or highlight. Instead, the series aims to raise public awareness about disabilities, showing the importance of sympathy and empathy. Learning sign language has always been my dream. This is a VERY WONDERFUL STORYLINE. Both main characters play their roles perfectly, and I love their chemistry. The scenes are well-organized and placed thoughtfully. I also like how it shows other characters without overshadowing the main ones.
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Slow Burn Romance That’s Totally Worth It!!
This series kept popping up in my recommendations, and it’s honestly so good. Lately, I’ve been dropping shows because of toxic relationships, weak plots, bad acting, or too many sex scenes, but this one? It hits differently.The acting, cinematography, music, dialogue, storyline, chemistry—everything was on point. I love how they tackled the topic of hearing loss and how people who lose their hearing later in life face different challenges compared to those born deaf. I also really liked how they portrayed Taichi’s insecurity about not having a clear path in life like his friends, and how he eventually finds his own passion.
The story is definitely a slow burn, but it’s done so well because the acting is top-tier. Even in the quiet moments where they’re just staring at each other, you can *feel* the tension, like the dialogue is happening without words. I loved how they resolved conflicts, like when Kohei avoids Taichi or when Taichi explains why he loves hamburg steak. The only real miscommunication happens when they confess their feelings, but it still works.
While some people didn’t like Maya’s character, I actually think she added a lot to the story.
My only issue is how episodes 1-11 take their time with the slow burn, but then the ending—where Kohei finally confesses—felt rushed. I was like, "Wait, that’s it?" I was hoping for something more dramatic.
Overall, this was an amazing watch. I loved everything about it, and it was absolutely worth it.
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Modern Issues, Fresh Perspective
This one really deserves a sequel so we see how the MLs progress in the future. Am now planning to read the manga as it apparently ends differently. A heartwarming, fast paced, realistic perspective on living with, or loving, different ability, and the people who do not judge others as "less". Good to see acceptance woven throughout the ensemble cast and across the script. Also very realistic in that often PWD will retreat from social situations that cause difficulty or inconvenience for others. Some very lovely scenes of modern campus life and friendship, realistic male conversations and positive older role models such as Grandpa. The 12 episodes are short and will fly by. Highly Recommended!Was this review helpful to you?
Kobayashi Toranosuke's acting deserves an Oscar.
I owe respect and gratitude to everyone who participated in the making of the film.
I hope that there will be a sequel to this movie later and that the two main characters will appear together in other movies.
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Who knew romance could be shown this way
This beautiful show, perfect for the summer, encompasses all kinds of love. It takes a good script and amazing actors to show what emotional intimacy is, and this show has done that perfectly. While watching, I often wondered how I never realised that romance can be shown through words of pure affection paired with facial expressions that these actors pulled off.Speaking of actors, all the supporting casts did a phenomenal job, not one character was useless to the story, not one character took up anymore screen time than needed.
As with almost all BLs, the ending did feel a bit rushed and I wish there was a bit more time given to it, but the post credit scene really took the cake and made me tear up.
I would recommend this show 100%, especially for Nakazawa Motoki's (Kohei's) smile -- it is just so calming <3
All in all, a perfect slice of life which cools your heart in the heat of the summer.
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you will feel all the emotions with this one
really love this show it’s dealing with all the issues of friendship love disability judgment love hate jealousy etc. Kohei seems like a really lovely guy who just suffered from a terrible tragedy and is trying to navigate his new life as best as he can. Taichi is not only helping Kohei live among the “hearing” helping him with school work and becoming his friend there is also their romantic relationship, plus Kohei is struggling with his own issues of working to survive plus school all after being abandoned by his own parents. I’m hoping that in the end they can become each others safe zones and we get a happy ending for themWas this review helpful to you?
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Definitely better than the 2017 movie.
I placed spoilers at the end of this review.This was such a charming and heartwarming series with a well written script. It did a great job introducing the characters and explaining their backstories. I also think this goes beyond the usual BL storyline. However, you should skip it if you are looking for hardcore romantic scenes. The romance in this series is more subtle with a nice even pace. The only character I found hard to like was Okami Maya, but I think her character added an important part to the story. The cast was awesome and did a great job with their characters. There were only two exceptions to this. The cinematography was great, but had some shacky camera work at times. As for editing, my only complaint is the flash forward and back was a little confusing because they were not clearly marked/indicated.
Random Note:
Although the 2017 movie (Silhouette of Your Voice) adaptation of the manga was cute, everything felt very rushed with an almost nonexistent BL storyline. I actually wrote in my movie notes that this would have been better if it was a series.
The similarities between the series and the 2017 movie storyline ends after episode 5. Episode 6 picks up where the movie ends.
******Spoiler Alert******
Although I’m still salty about the trick camera angle kiss, I still preferred it than the kiss in the movie. This is probably an unpopular opinion, but don’t incorporate a kissing scene if the actors are not going to do it properly.
The only other complaint is the hug at the end looked very awkward.
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Very Demure!
I just finish the series and I am please. I have not read the manga but, from what I hear they matched everything to the T.I'll admit this is not a serie that I would rewatch at least not right now. I felt like some aspects were rushed and some of the characters lack story time. However, the actors were amazing. No doubt in their talent.
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This review may contain spoilers
I initially gave this drama a score of 8.5, but in the end, I lowered it to 8, mainly because of the slow pace in the second half. In reality, it's not the slowness itself that's the problem, but rather the broadcast format. With 25-minute episodes released once a week, it took 12 weeks to get the full story. This long wait made the progression feel endless, especially with such short episodes. It wasn’t 25-minute episodes twice a week or even one-hour episodes once a week. This format made the story seem much slower than it actually was.Objectively speaking, the series only lasts six hours in total, which isn't too much time to develop a relationship. In most dramas, it takes at least six hours for the characters to become a couple. However, here, it really is a genuine romantic relationship, but it's told from a slice-of-life perspective, focusing on the challenges of dealing with illness. It’s a different approach compared to more traditional romances, which often emphasize physical closeness or dramatic twists.
The 12-week wait made the viewing experience more difficult, but the real issue lies in the broadcast format, not the story's pacing. I think it's time to move away from this kind of weekly release for such short episodes.
As for the final episode, the confession was truly touching. Kohei’s struggle to believe it made the scene even more emotional. However, the final hug left me unsatisfied: it lacked romance and didn’t have the emotional depth one would expect. Learning that a simple additional chapter could have given us a more romantic kiss only heightens the disappointment.
I completely disagree with those who claim this is a bromance rather than a BL (Boy’s Love). A bromance, by definition, is a friendly relationship without romantic feelings. Here, romantic feelings are clearly expressed several times. Yes, it’s a realistic drama, a slice-of-life story mainly dealing with hearing issues, but that doesn’t make it any less of a romance. It’s a sweet and subtle romance, but since when does a BL need to include kisses or explicit scenes to be classified as such? That’s neither necessary nor enough to define a love story.
As for the actors, I really liked their chemistry. Their relationship was timid, yes, but genuinely sweet. Their performances were convincing, and the music, both the opening and closing tracks, were fantastic. The series also does an excellent job of handling misunderstandings, especially when Kohei experiences hearing loss or tinnitus.
Maya, though annoying for much of the series, becomes more likeable towards the end. However, it has to be said that she single-handedly ruined three entire episodes.
I would have liked to see more physical closeness between the characters, but that’s typical of Japanese productions. By "closeness," I don't mean kisses or explicit scenes, but more affectionate gestures: hugs, tender moments. These touches of softness could have made their relationship feel even more romantic.
I’m still undecided between giving it an 8.5 to encourage this type of romance, which tackles rarely represented illnesses and disorders, or an 8, which better reflects my personal viewing experience. Either way, this drama tells a beautiful story that, despite its flaws, is worth watching.
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I had high hopes for this series
Before I jump into this, I’m just gonna say that I really did enjoy this drama and it was an entertaining watch. There was not a single episode that felt too boring for me either.I’m gonna start with the good things:
The actors/acting of everyone - This story’s acting felt so genuine practically the whole time. Just by the way the leads looked at each other conveyed so many emotions without them saying a word. Something about this factor made the series more compelling and realistic (I’ll talk more on realism in a sec).
The plot - The premise of the story was very good! I really liked how the characters disabilities were portrayed. Not once did it occur to me that these actors can in fact hear because the way both Kohei and Maya acted was so convincing.
Now, here’s where things kinda fell off for me:
What romance? - Come on now, the faked camera angle?! I thought Japan was progressing and yet the actors can’t kiss? I know in the manga the kiss wasn’t exactly shown, but that’s because it’s a damn manga, not a TV series lol! I’m sorry but the actors could not convince me that they were really in love with each other.. not with that awkward hug scene too 😭. They looked more like close friends who cared about each other rather than lovers (just my opinion though)
Next, yes the plot was good, but I’m a bit confused. Like wasn’t Kohei’s hearing declining? Why did it suddenly stop declining? I was really interested to know what was happening to him, but everything seemed to lead up to nothing since I still don’t understand.
I wished they had given more clarity on Kohei’s situation.
Either way, it was still a decent series and I would recommend!
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Pretty faithful adaptation
"I Hear the Sunspot" is one of my all time favorite manga series. It's one of the hard to find BLs that has a complex storyline carried out across multiple volumes where many are just about characters that meet and seemingly fall in love (and lust) within seconds of meeting each other. This adaptation wasn't entirely faithful in my opinion, but that was partially due to limited story time and the romance aspect is pretty much a slow burn that never quite catches fire. However, I think it's pretty clear how Taichi and Kohei feel about each other.Taichi is one of my all time favorite manga characters. He's so passionate, unashamed, protective, and brave. He does his best to understand others and is always looking to make sure no one feels excluded. I think the actor playing him did a pretty great job. I don't know if it was an intentional choice or just the actor's interpretation of Taichi's voice being loud and easy to discern, but I thought he also tried to mimic some of the grandfather's cadence. If intentional, I think that was a pretty cool touch to the character.
Kohei's actor did a great job, as well. Kohei is more of an internal character in the manga and I thought the actor conveyed that well. I wished we'd gotten to include more of the HoH characters he encounters in the manga, but we did get Maya. She's a character that it took some time for me to warm up to in the manga. Unfortunately, some of her development wasn't included in this adaptation with the time limitation, but I am glad they dug into some of her background.
I'm sad we didn't get Ryu or more of Chiba's story. Chiba is one of my favorite characters in this series, but again, time crunch. I really loved the story development between him and Taichi and I really, really, hope that, unlike my favorite live action BL My Love Mix Up/Kieta Hatsukoi, maybe this one can get a second season some how? Maybe? Pretty, pretty please! This adaptation barely scratched the surface of all the story Kohei and Taichi have together.
The romance aspect of his adaptation was not as overt as you'd see in some other BLs. Even Kieta Hatsukoi focused on that aspect more. I don't know if this sort of side step was the actors' comfort level or the production deciding to focus more on the story about a hearing person learning how they can be more mindful of the hearing impaired, but I can imagine someone looking for a BL that's more of a romance might not be super thrilled with how the romance was handled here.
I felt like the runtimes were a bit padded at times with SO many flashbacks, sometimes to moments that literally happened like five minutes prior. It didn't fully take away from my enjoyment, but it was a bit unnecessary at times.
Having watched the film, I personally prefer this drama a lot more. The chemistry between the characters was more developed, the pacing made a lot more sense for the progression of their relationship, and I enjoyed these versions of Kohei and Taichi more.
As a big fan of the manga, I enjoyed this and will be rewatching it. At the same time, I hope they somehow get a second season where the romance is more of a prominent story beat.
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I HATED THE MAYA GIRL
There is so much that is "could've been" in this drama, It was beautiful but not satisfied with how it went through, when I was watching it I felt like this is just teasing me or keeping me waiting for my thirst to satisfy and yet in the end what I was expecting was not given to me.I really loved the character Kouhei and Taichi , they were so bright and lovely people but I did not liked the story, their misunderstanding started from the episode 1 up to the last episode , I feel really bad with how their story was written. The part about understading people with low hearing capacity was good and such an eye opener but I felt like THAT in the story gave more confusion to confused characters.
Adding the girl Maya , she was so annoying I didn't think she was needed at the story , coz she just added confusion and misunderstanding to our boys, I usually don't get annoyed at girls that hinders on BL's that I have watched , but this was the first time I hated g a girl in a BL drama ! HAHAHA , I really wanted to go inside the story and remove that MAYA .. and she turned out to be the neice of Taichi's Boss , what a small world
Kouhei and Taichi together made me feel really good, them together was such a heart warming and it felt really good and the rest was annoying.
There was no romance here only maybe at the last episode when the boys FINALLY able to confess their feelings grrr HAHAH it was annoying that they have been misunderstanding each other all those times, but the rest, it was so dry and the fact that there was no kiss .. waaaa .. why did they even do BL 😵💫
So yeah basically only Kouhei and Taichi colored this drama but the rest was annoying, bad writting of story , and just made my BL heart got thirsty ..
Not gonna re watch this .. I hated that MAYA girl
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