Soul Mate

A unique type of love - don't give up on this drama!

I don't know where to start to be honest..Let's talk about my expectations before I watched Soul Mate.
Well, I guess I thought this would just be a bl like every other bl.
A sweet love with a few more realistic aspects than other bls.
But I think Soul Mate didn't turn out the way I thought it would.
But not in a bad way ; In my opinion the series had a great beginning. As someone who speaks German I was fascinated by how much effort they not only put into the environment but also these little extras only German speakers understood as they spoke German or when there were German things being said in the background.
As the story continued it got better, tho at one point I didn't wanna watch it anymore.. Not because the series, acting or story weren't good, but because it got kinda emotional.
But I continued watching the drama and I'd recommend watching Soul Mate UNTIL the very end. Trust me. Maybe it won't be your cup of tea, but there's a plot which might change your opinion about this drama.
Yes, it was emotional. But to be honest I learned a lot from this series.
That dreams don't always go as planned. Or that reality sometimes has other plans for us. But also that we should NEVER give up nor lose hope. And the most beautiful part is: Never in my life have I ever watched a series/movie about such a type of love. Where the main lead was ready to sacrifice literally everything if it meant his favourite person would be "happy".
It wasn't a romantic kind of love most people would probably expect, but a psychological, emotional bond and love.
I'm truly feeling so many things right now.
Soul Mate is a masterpiece and I definitely think people should give it a try!!

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Something id missing...

What I liked: the wonderful love story between the protagonists, or rather, the love they have for each other, the kind of love that forces you to devote yourself to the other more than to yourself, truly heartbreaking; Jo Han's character, very intense and dramatic; Jo Han's relationship with Ryu's parents: love is love is love. What I didn't like: from the beginning, it's unclear when J and R actually decide to be together. I understand that it's a stylistic choice to never show the intimacy between the two, but it felt so excessive, forced and censored: the series shows the worst of the violence, drama, moral and physical misery... and in turn reduces the narrative of the love story to a story without passion and physical closeness: I don't accept that. Ryu: I think they shortened the script too much, they didn't tell us enough about him, I'm still longing to know more about him... And then there's too much bad luck for just three characters: in this sense, I think the story is too heavy and unrealistic. I know that bad luck is very clear, but perhaps it was too much for just eight episodes. Perhaps this is the flaw in general: they shortened too much, so many things that needed to be told, shown, explained.

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Definitely Better Than It's Overall Reviews

After the first few minutes, this series goes into a direction I wasn't expecting, but soon you realize the main idea of the story. It actually doesn't seem possible the two protagonists have any chemistry in becoming "Soul Mates", but somehow that becomes very believable as you get deeper into the drama.
I think the main problem for negative reviews, this is not a BL, at least not in the physical sense. This is a bromance of two people that become unlikely best friends, and they both happen to be closeted gay. If you're tuning in to see a standard BL storyline, with your usual antagonists getting in the way of the two people in love, you definitely will be disappointed. It does take all the way to episode 5 to show the strong bond these two main characters have toward each other. The most powerful scene of the series takes place in this episode. It's several minutes you won't forget, each covered in mud and rain!!
I must say, though, the series loses points starting toward the end of episode 7 and throughout the final 40 minutes.
Without giving it away, it didn't seem to work for me. It's not that it's a sad and depressing outcome, I mean that's life sometimes. What failed for me was the way episode 8 led up to the final few minutes. The acting was great. Hayato Isomura & Taec Yeon were perfectly cast and both gave powerful performances. I just wish there was a better intro of the final few minutes.
Overall, a very good series.

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best series I have ever watched

I think this is the best series I have ever watched. It tells such a beautiful and deeply moving story, while also balancing humor and stunning cinematography. The use of flashbacks is absolutely brilliant. The director truly deserves an award for this work.
The chemistry between the two main characters feels completely natural and incredibly convincing, as if they were genuinely in love with each other. They must have had so much fun during filming, and you can see that in the behind-the-scenes videos on YouTube. For example, the filming of the bar scene on the evening after Johan arrives in Tokyo is absolutely hilarious.
I have never rewatched a series as many times as this one. Seriously, I have watched it eight times in the past three weeks alone, and some scenes even more often. I have also never cried so much because of a series. The story affects me very deeply. The filming locations are beautiful as well. The bridge in Berlin, the Friedrichsbrücke, serves as a symbol of their connection—a bridge between two cultures, crossing a bridge toward a major life change, or standing at a crossroads, which Johan literally does. The series is filled with symbolism that becomes even more meaningful and impressive with every rewatch. There are so many small details that you simply do not notice the first time. It is absolutely worth watching again. Though I must admit, I tend to skip the second half of Episode 7—it is just too heartbreaking.
At times, the drama hits you like a bulldozer, yet the performances of the two leads remain remarkably subtle. They can express more with a single facial expression than most actors can with pages of dialogue. It is astonishing. Perhaps because there are so few explicit scenes, the series relies heavily on their acting talent—and they showcase that talent magnificently. And honestly, would we ever have had these two outstanding actors in the series if they had been required to perform explicit scenes?
One of the things I find most beautiful and appealing about the series is precisely the absence of explicit scenes. It leaves plenty of room for the viewer’s imagination. At the same time, many things are hinted at in very subtle ways. You know their relationship goes much deeper and that there is more happening beneath the surface. I find that subtlety—and sometimes ambiguity—absolutely masterful. Sadly, many gay people in this world still have to communicate in subtle ways and express themselves indirectly because they cannot always be completely open about who they are, at least not in the way people often can in countries such as the Netherlands.
It is the little details that make the series so special: the Korean language book for beginners, the drawing Johan made of Ryu, the way they talk to each other on the phone, and the way Ryu smiles and says, “You must be very muscular by now,” when Johan has just completed his military service. The way Ryu looks at Johan while he is sleeping during his first visit. Or the way Johan jokingly asks Ryu whether two years of military service feels long or short. It is similar to Johan teasing Ryu by saying he is only staying in Japan for two nights during his first visit and asking whether Ryu is sad about it. In the bathhouse, Johan says he is grateful—grateful for everything that happened that day—and Ryu, sounding slightly nervous, asks, “What are you talking about?” Moments like these are wonderfully subtle. Of course they are gay. Johan is a regular visitor to a gay café, and Ryu certainly does not simply enter a relationship and move in with him for no reason. Ryu expresses it perfectly in the church, the Trinitatiskirche, when he says, “I am afraid when someone likes me.” Running away after Arata’s confession was his problem, and throughout the series he learns to overcome it. At the station, Berlin-Lichtenberg station, Johan tells Ryu, “I am just like you.” It is a beautiful line because it carries multiple meanings, touching on both the soul and the theme of running away.
And of course, the most beautiful moment of all comes at the end, when they say to each other, “Saranghae” and “Aishiteru” — “I love you.”
An absolutely wonderful series. I highly recommend watching it more than once

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Subjective opinion.

Subjective opinion. The series is depressing. What is the message of the series? What did the creators want to tell their viewers? Is fate merciless? Even if you try your best, you can't escape fate?

Why did the writers deprive Yohan of literally everything: his parents (they died), his profession (he quit boxing), his country (he had to leave Korea), his health (an incurable disease), his life (the chance to live to old age), and even the joys of physical intimacy (why doesn't the series' hero have a need for physical intimacy at age 30 or so)? Thank goodness they didn't add any physical deformities to the hero (such as facial scars and the like) (sarcasm).

Yes, of course, I understand that not all series have to have a happy ending. But surely there must be bright, happy moments in the life of a hero with such a difficult fate?

I understand, of course, that happiness can be "quiet" (not always noticeable). But why the hell? Why are misfortunes so "loud and noticeable" in this series? I understand that by burdening Yohan with all the world's troubles and misfortunes, the writers used the most common technique to reveal the depth of his character. Yohan overcomes difficulties, demonstrating fortitude, resilience, and the ability to transform. In order to what? To die? Authors, are you serious? Where (in what way) do you think the viewer should get something positive?

What was I supposed to conclude after watching this series? Life sucks? I love it when movies with unhappy endings leave a bittersweet aftertaste, like love experienced. But unfortunately for me this did not happen.

P.S. I would characterize the relationship between the main characters as friendship. If it were otherwise, physical intimacy between them would be inevitable. The characters in the series are around 30 years old (the peak of sexual activity). If not at 30 with a loved one, then with whom should one have intimacy, and at what age?

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Could be better

I’d been waiting for the series Soulmate ever since it was announced, especially because of Taecyeon’s involvement. I was really curious how they would approach the relationship between two men in this case — considering it’s a Japan + Korea and streaming on mainstream Netflix. And honestly, I’m not surprised by the way this story was presented.

The fact that there are no romantic scenes in the series isn’t the issue for me. Feelings can be expressed in a hundred different ways. But I’m not sure I’m convinced by the idea that they wanted to portray a “pure” kind of love between the two characters. I know BL relationships are often overly sexualized and that romantic scenes sometimes add nothing to the plot, but here, honestly, one lingering look and one brief touch of hands would’ve been enough.

I don’t really buy the argument that they simply wanted to show the purity of this relationship. In my opinion, in mainstream Asian cinema the real reason is still fear of how this kind of relationship will be received, so it gets reduced to bromance instead. I’d genuinely like to read opinions from people who see it differently and why, because maybe I’m missing another perspective.

Personally, I think we should find some kind of middle ground between excessive sexualization and completely avoiding the subject of intimacy. Are we really supposed to believe that two young people wouldn’t want any deeper physical closeness over the course of years? That’s hard for me to believe.

The story also has a few plot holes, but I’m not that bothered by them since I understand this is just a fragment of several years of the characters’ lives. The ending, in my opinion, could’ve been better.

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A better title for it would be: "Implausible Fantasy"

It started out quite interesting, but at some point, they completely ruined it, leaving behind a trail of inconsistencies, nonsense, and sheer frivolity in how it handles tragedy. It is a superficial series that tried to cover too much ground and fell completely short. It attempts to sustain the concept of "soulmates" solely through phone calls, completely omitting any realism or human desire between the characters, while dismissing issues as grave as a pregnant woman's grief or an attempted suicide as mere cheap ploys to advance the plot. A pretentious, poorly structured, and perfectly forgettable proposal.

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MEU MAIS NOVO "E SE"

eu cresci lendo e vendo obras japonesas queer então eu sou extremamente familiarizada a obras que abordam o sentimento de ser queer numa sociedade heteronormativa sem se aprofundar muito na parte do romance (mas não só japonesas já vi de outras nacionalidades também claro)

ao no flag é assim
shimaname tasogare é assim
inclusive um filme chamado soulmate também é assim (que eu sinceramente acho que foi da onde tiraram a ideia dessa série)
e muitas outras são

por isso eu não vou chamar isso aqui de bromance igual muitas outras pessoas tão fazendo
pq essa série apesar de tudo fez os personagens serem de fato gays
não foi um bait de fato
MAS eu entendo da onde vem o sentimento de frustração
pq eu acho que o roteiro e a direção foram muito mais covardes aqui do que conceituais

eles botaram um idol muito famoso pra interpretar um papel lgbt e eu acho que isso fez eles nerfarem muita coisa
pelo menos eu acho que o motivo foi esse
e se foi mesmo eu espero que o taecyeon pegue outro papel lgbt com mais liberdade pra explorar mais o universo pq eu genuinamente achei ele um bom ator e gostaria de ver ele em mais projetos assim

enfim o que quero dizer é que não precisava nem de beijo
poderiam ter colocado eles de mãos dadas
poderiam fazer cena onde eles se encaram profundamente
poderiam fazer eles verbalizarem em voz alta a sexualidade deles (ou só mais coisas sobre a relação deles)
poderiam colocar eles vivendo experiências queer que não fossem sofridas nem tem relação com romance, tipo uma cena do johan se divertindo no bar gay que ele costumava frequentar com outras pessoas lgbts (sinceramente acho que só de fazer esse ponto aqui seria perfeito, uma coisa meio love in the big city)
poderiam ter pelo menos dado a entender que eles dormiam na mesma cama saca

dá vc ser sutil mas enviar sinais fortes e inquestionáveis
mas eles nerfaram muita coisa que ajudaria a enriquecer o relacionamento deles
e isso é frustrante pq venderam a série como focada no romance né
faz sentido as pessoas ficarem com raiva
passa mesmo a impressão de queerbaiting

fora que essa falta de intimidade no relacionamento deles (na vdd não só deles pq até o casal hetero que literalmente teve um filho junto não teve cenas onde vc via eles sendo próximos assim) faz os acontecimentos trágicos serem menos impactantes e mais forçados

eu acho que eles deveriam ter vendido a série como found family
que é no que a série foca mais sabe
aquilo de construir uma família não convencional, com pessoas que se reuniram por acaso e que tão se virando pra fazer dar certo
eu acho que as pessoas apreciariam mais se fosse assim

e eu acho uma pena pq eu gostei bastante, tanto que assisti a série e uma vez assim e dormi em seguida pq fiquei triste pensando no final e tal
a cinematografia é ótima inclusive
fora que eu gosto de histórias found family
e os protas são genuinamente fofos um com o outro (😭)
mas poderia ter gostado MUITO mais se eles tivessem entregado mais
pq tinha (bastante) espaço pra mais aqui e isso é realmente frustrante

enfim eu acho que é mais um "e se" pra mim ficar pensando...

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Bem triste

estava esperando essa obra desde o ano passado e eu estava esperando um romance com um pouquinho mais BEM pouquinho de melodrama e entregaram uma depressão! cada ep uma lição, uma sofrência diferente! assisti e quando comecei, já vi que ia ser bem triste e continuei. cada história foi bem contada e explicada, e toda hora eu me prendia na história e focava nela! eu achei esse mais um bromance doq um bl na minha opn! n queria q o Johan tivesse aquela doença 😭 eles dizendo "eu te amo" na língua deles foi tudo! as osts são perfeitas! ele é bem triste mas eu acho q vale apena vc assistir! atuaram dms!!! eu esperava mais porém é um 8.5!

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un vent de fraîcheur

Que dire de Soulmate… c’est une histoire vraiment touchante. Tout n’est pas parfait : j’ai notamment trouvé que le passage avec Arata manquait de clarté, et il reste encore plusieurs zones d’ombre.
On reste sur un drame assez classique, du déjà-vu, mais malgré ça, l’émotion fonctionne. On ressent profondément l’amour entre Ryu et Jo Han, même sans réelle proximité physique entre eux, et ça, c’est assez fort.
Quant au final… je n’ai pas les mots. J’ai pleuré à plusieurs reprises devant cette série, et la conclusion j’en reste sans voix.

BL ou pas ? À chacun de se faire son propre avis selon ses critères.

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Soul Mate feelings and emotional healing

Soul Mate is a very delicate, melancholic, and deeply emotional drama, more focused on feelings and emotional healing than on the classic romance full of fanservice or dramatic twists.

The story follows Ryu, a former hockey player haunted by guilt, and Johan, a Korean boxer who is just as broken by life. Their meeting in Berlin becomes the beginning of a bond that spans years, distance, and personal trauma.

One of the drama’s strongest points is its atmosphere: silences, glances, and small everyday gestures build a relationship that feels authentic and deeply human. It’s not a loud or fast-paced series; it has a contemplative and often painful rhythm, but that is exactly what makes it so powerful.

The performances by Hayato Isomura and Ok Taecyeon are probably the highlight of the show. They manage to convey vulnerability, loneliness, and affection even without long dialogues. Johan, in particular, is a character who stands out because of how tough he appears on the outside while being incredibly fragile inside.

The supporting characters are also well written, especially Arata and Sumiko, who add emotional depth to the story instead of simply existing as side characters.

Soul Mate focuses much more on emotional connection and the idea of two souls finding each other.

Overall, it’s a drama that stays with you. It leaves behind a mix of sadness, comfort, and nostalgia. More than just a love story, it feels like a story about broken people learning how to keep living through each other.

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Eu sei que é um drama, mas tinha que ser tão dramático?

Confesso que estava esperando algo diferente, mas ainda assim não tiro a beleza dessa obra. É triste? Sim. Por isso sugiro que preparem os lenços. Eu particularmente gosto de obras que me emocionem, mesmo que para isso tenha que derramar várias lágrimas.
Eu gostei bastante da história, da atuação dos atores, dos cenários... Tudo foi tão realista, tão sentimental.
O vídeo que o Johan gravou no final foi o que mais me emocionou. Ele conta como a vida deles (dele e da irmã) se tornou difícil depois que a mãe morreu, e como o Ryu foi o conforto na vida dele depois que se conheceram.
É uma obra que vale a pena ser apreciada. Porém, acho que eu não aguentaria reassistir.

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