Arabashiri (2025)

Look at all these tall drinks of water (literally)

I really only watched this for Itsuki, so I can say I'm satisfied because I got what I came for. This drama also has a fun premise, and my highest points are for the cast because I think they did a great job embodying the sakes they were supposed to be. I loved the stylish image clips that would play whenever someone drank them (Takato holding a random pineapple 👍), and their interactions with each other and Gin were cute. This is definitely the best styling I've ever seen for Nishiyama Jun lol. So if you want to see a bunch of ikemen being a little silly, this is the one for you!

That being said, unlike Red Blue, which had somewhat of an engaging story while also having Makoto and a slew of other good-looking guys in it, Arabashiri is just kinda boring. With the exception of the makgeolli segment in ep 8 which I enjoyed, none of the stories introduced in each ep were particularly interesting, and I especially didn't care for the overarching plot about Gin and his mother. It would've been cool to learn more about Japanese sake or the different breweries and food pairings, but they don't really focus on this as much besides a few tidbits here and there. It runs long at 12 episodes for seemingly no particular reason - it starts to drag, and I feel like doing only eight eps would've done a lot to help with that. I also think Itsuki could use a bit more work on his emotional acting, although he still did a fairly good job for his first lead role (besides Prince of Legend lol).

Overall, a fine watch if you're a completionist Rampage fan like me or just looking for something light and full of hot guys, but don't expect much substance beyond that.

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