Felt like an express train to a light-hearted romance with family turbulence shaking up the journey!
This drama comes in a small package, but it's filled to the brim with classic J-drama flavors like families, quiet vengeance, the self-discovery and the courage to push back. It doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, but it turns it with enough skill to keep things rolling.The pace of the story was fast, maybe a bit too fast for my liking. Things moved along quickly that some plot points and emotional moments didn’t have time to really land. I kind of had to fill in some of the gaps myself as a viewer and move on. There is some character growth, but it’s not deep since the drama doesn’t have a lot of time to unpack everyone’s backstory. Still, it never felt boring.
While that keeps it moving, it also feels a little rushed in parts especially the ending. I am all here for tying all the knots neatly at the end but they pushed too much under the rug in a blink. The antagonists were forgiven a bit too quickly with little to no redemption arcs considering how their selfish decisions affected so many lives.
The romance is subtle, not one of those where the passion between the leads overwhelms everything, but rather one that lingers. I genuinely believed that they liked each other, despite the dramatic beginning of their relationship.
Communication is present, at least for the most part and misunderstandings don't drag on unnecessarily.
Acting across the board was decent. Suzuki Jin can act and I hope he gets better and more complex roles to explore in future. Konno Ayaka also did a good job but at times it felt a bit over the top but considering the nature of her character, it is understandable.
Overall, this was an enjoyable one-time watch. While it has its flaws, particularly with pacing and character depth, it still delivers as an entertaining love story. I would recommend it if you are in the mood for something short and light, rather than something deep or intense.
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Nothing out of the ordinary can still leave you satisfied
I got positively surprised. Don't expect the unexpected with this and you might be, too. It's a short drama going through quite a lot of clichéd plot in a rather short amount of time, ticking a lot of the standard J-drama boxes. But although it has nothing unique to it, it's still worth watching for several highlights, including the perspectives on family, revenge and standing up for yourself.Let me start in reverse: The ending was wrapped up pretty nicely despite being a bit rushed and I didn't expect to feel the amount of satisfaction I do now that I finished watching. We get a few life lessons, nothing new, but definitely heartwarming. We also get to see character development, although due to lack of time it was a bit rushed. There's barely any angst, issues are resolved quickly and the drama is more on the calm side. Let me use the word rushed for the last time to say that the overall pace was steady, but fast, and didn't allow for everything to actually mend together. You will have to do that yourself.
Other than that, the FL is calm and chooses her words wisely, which makes it a bit harder to relate to her. But it also becomes pretty obvious that she's a genuinely good person, making you root for her happiness nonetheless. ML and especially his reasoning is a bit...over the top at times, I'll be blaming them having to cut things short. But his character development and self-reflection did show after all.
Chemistry-wise I personally didn't feel it, but in typical Japanese drama manner they had both of them act reserved with one another throughout the relationship which makes it hard to actually judge. I found their overall relationship believable enough without the chemistry.
Almost all characters felt rather one-dimensional and I would have loved a deeper insight into each person's reasoning behind their actions, but it is very rare of such short dramas to accomplish that so I'm not deducting points here.
The acting isn't overly great, but believable enough to follow along with the story. It's not a highly emotional plot anyways, although I bet many viewers wished it was.
All in all, this is not a grand love story but rather a quick breeze through drama clichés, topped with a couple nice words and wrapped up to leave you satisfied enough to not regret watching. Before watching the last two episodes, I would have rated this a 6.5, but I expected a lot more unneccessary drama resolved last-minute and got a nice wrap-up with some wise words instead, so 7.5 it is.
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Expressionless, did they even try?
This drama has an okay, seen before slightly rushed story... Incorporating Playboy boy friend, revenge, misunderstanding, evil mother (in law), evil coworker etc. Giving us some classics like splashing coffee and forced time apart.The female lead has an expressionless charm, making me wonder what she is hiding about 80% of her screen time, part of me is impressed another just feels numb, as the kissing/implied sex scenes completely lack any sign of sparks. There really is no chemistry involved what so ever and her expressions are as dry as the dessert....
The male leads have their charms and nice smiles, but over all just fall flat.
That said it is an easy binge ant there is some kind of charm to watching something where you keep wondering if this lack of expression i part of the story or just due to bad direction/acting.
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This review may contain spoilers
In the beginning it was good.FL and ML chemistry was also good. But in ep 6 i was kinda disappointing. Don't know why in Jdrama FL Don't know how to draw a Proper line with other man when she already have a bf. I have seen the same thing in other jdrama too.they are so vocal less, dont have any courage to say NO.This thing Very annoying to me. Maybe thats why Didn't enjoy it properly. Otherwise its not that bad.
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as cliche as it can be..
if you watched any Japanese office drama , you already saw this one.our female protagonist get cheated on by her Shitty boyfriend. she is devastated but her office superior comes around to rescue her and asks her to fake a relationship in order to put at bay his demanding mother and take revenge on the female boyfriend.
pretty classic stuff nothing groundbreaking... even thou they tried to twist the narrative. the superior is not trying to help his subordinate but... drumssssass... he is trying to takes revenge on her because in high school they were friend and she rejected his feelings for her.
this lasted like the blink of an eye. they get together immediately.
the second half of the drama is about the male lead mother trying to separate the two .
why do I watch these kind of dramas you ask? I watch them to practice some Japanese listening but being a short web drama is no excuse to be this cliche or sloppy.
"semantic error" is a short web drama as well but it made so well you cannot end up enjoying it.
this drama here is filled of cliche, no interesting characters, no intriguing dynamics.
don't watch and save you some time.
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Too short for everything to fully develop.
Subjective Gut Rating: 7.25Reading the synopsis of this drama, it seems like a simple rom-com. I wasn’t expecting it to be earth-shatteringly amazing, but just enough to give me some cute and fluffy scenes. Seeking revenge by pretending to be a fake couple sounds like my cup of tea.
As expected for the first 5-6 episodes, the drama is meeting my low expectations. The main leads are likable. The female lead is the typical quiet Japanese girl, but she’s not the pushover type that irritates me. The male lead is not a jerk but is actually caring. In typical Japanese fashion, their romance happens at lightning speed. I was hoping for a little more push-and-pull and have the chemistry brews and sizzles for a little longer. But there’s no time for that!
Unfortunately, the last couple episodes destroy these happy feelings. Instead of a romantic comedy, it becomes a melodrama with family issues. The drama nose dives from a feel-good/cute vibe into melo territory, and there’s just not enough time to give the family drama the proper development.
With each episode lasting less than 20 mins if you take away the opening and ending credit, this drama tries to tackle too much. Luckily, the acting is not bad and there are more than just fish kisses. It’s just not enough for me to give it a higher rating.
Completed: 6/15/2025 - Review #591
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A Tale of Hearts, Growth, and Overbearing Mothers
From start to finish, this drama kept me hooked.There wasn’t a single dull moment or any dragging scenes that made me wonder what was coming next. Each episode pulled me deeper into the story, unfolding beautifully with every turn.
I really enjoyed watching the main leads grow — both the ML and FL had such believable character development that made their journey feel genuine and heartfelt.
If I had to point out one flaw, it would be the mothers of both leads. They were far too controlling and stubborn in their beliefs, always convinced their way was the only right one. Their overbearing nature stifled the freedom their children needed to truly blossom and live their own lives.
As for the romance — the chemistry was definitely there, but the kissing scene could’ve used a little more passion, and their first intimate moment together deserved more emotional depth and tenderness.
Overall, though, it was a wonderful ride from beginning to end — satisfying, engaging, and full of heart
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Background Noise.
I particularly did not dislike this one, neither did I like it.For a story that spans only eight episodes, I was not able to emotionally connect with any of the characters; not to mention, the storyline was a very typical one.
The leading actors gave it their all for bringing the characters to life, but sadly, the story got plain boring after the first half -- Maika was somewhat overemotional at times, particularly during the last two episodes, but the story didn't give me a reason to feel for her. And the flashbacks to the past were from Satori Shun's point of view; which did not give much purchase for Maika's feelings. Though, I did like how the drama highlighted the ways in which the parents' influence shaped the characters.
It had plenty of potential, but the idea of what the scriptwriter wanted to convey just didn't get through to me. 6.5/10 because it was not terrible, yet I'm sure that I'll forget about this one very soon.
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Premise sounded promising but too short to deliver any meaningful content
Review6/10 is my rating and I think I am being generous because I did like the premise, the couple was cute together and I think it was a good attempt. The problem is Revenge Lovers: tries to cram a full-blown revenge + second-chance romance + corporate intrigue + surprise family drama story into only 8 episodes of ~25–30 minutes each and with recaps and a long intro it is only about 20 minutes of original content per episode so only about 160 minutes total which is not even three hours. Which is about the length of some movies.
So. the revenge part is over almost before it starts. Which makes the title and even the synopsis a little misleading. He entices her into the fake relationship, they do the one big public humiliation scene with the ex, and then… poof, revenge complete. So, it you plan to watch it to get some big revenge drama "fix" this is not it. Then there is the other part of their agreement, the “psycho fiancée” (Reina) which also is over almost before it starts. His fiancé shows up, acts unhinged for literally one episode, gets dumped off-screen, and is never heard from again. Same with the ex-boyfriend—he gets publicly shamed once and basically disappears. Because everything is so rushed, none of the emotional beats land. There’s no slow burn of him actually tormenting her, no real satisfaction when the side villains get theirs, and no time to process any aspects of their emotional connection. I would not recommend it to anyone looking for a good, well developed and enjoyable story. I was not even all that attached to the characters. Maybe if you read a webtoon and wanted to see the live, but other than that I can't think of others that would want something that has more problems than pluses. I would not watch it again and will not recommend it to others.
Spoilers
My daughter who reads way more Webtoons than I have said this is the general pattern when you see such a short series adapted from a webtoon. That it is going to be rushed and ultimately sorely lacking. And it was true of this. Things would just happen, some big reveal and you would be like "did I miss something?" and no you didn't. The premise and plot could have easily supported a 12 or even 16-episode script, but since they only had budget for 8, so their solution must have been to just omit background stories, build-up, all the things that would have helped it cling together and make sense. It was like watching something and hitting a 10 second skip periodically. In general, as I understand it, it suffers from the current Japanese streaming-drama disease: super short seasons + too many tropes they feel obligated to check off and not enough screen time to fully develop and unspool anything. When you only have 8 half-length episodes, something has to give, and in this case it was coherence, believability and emotional payoff.
If you want a Japanese revenge romance that actually commits to the revenge and has room to breathe, people usually point to older classics like Hana Yori Dango or Boys Over Flowers* (longer seasons) or the Korean version of the same story. Modern short-form J-dramas almost always pull this same bait-and-switch. It pulls viewers in with an interesting cast and promising premise but then produces a series that is whirlwind fast and holier than swiss cheese.
Synopsis
This is a quick 8-episode Japanese rom-com (approx. 24 minutes per episode) that dives straight into a messy workplace betrayal. Maika has been with her boyfriend, Narimitsu for three years and is waiting for him to ask her to marry him at any time. She is absolutely crushed when she finds out that, instead of a proposal, her boyfriend of three years is cheating on her. On the heels of her finding out about the infidelity, Shun, a handsome new CEO comes to the company. And he immediately seems enamored of Maika. After a couple of encounters where Maika is clearly distraught seeing her ex become engaged to a fellow office worker, Shun proposes a deal to Maika that will benefit both of them. They become a couple for Maika to get revenge on her sleezy ex and for Shun to get out of an arranged marriage. The story comes from Ryo Morita and Chika nada's manga Fukushu Kareshi: Dekiai Shacho no Kao ni wa Ura ga Aru. What starts as a simple ruse to get revenge and to get Shun out of an arranged marriage, quickly becomes something more.
Major Characters:
- Hattori Maika (Konno Ayaka): A resilient but freshly crushed staffer at a hotel management company, navigating the sting of her colleague's infidelity by jumping into a high-stakes fake romance that forces her to reclaim her spark.
- Satori Shun (Suzuki Jin): The polished, secretive new CEO of the Bird Left hotel chain, a reluctant heir dodging a suffocating arranged marriage by orchestrating a sham relationship that peels back his guarded layers one reluctant smile at a time.
- Matobe Narimitsu (Kondo Shori): Maika's charming but utterly duplicitous coworker and ex, whose casual cheating unleashes the revenge engine and keeps stirring the pot with his smarmy opportunism.
- Saionji Yuria (Tomite Ami): The scheming office interloper locked in Matobe's affair, whose manipulative maneuvers crank up the jealousy and corporate catfights, pushing Maika to evolve from victim to victor.
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I’ve seen fanfiction better written than this
The beggining was promising, and I liked how they got straight to the point, but it felt kinda rushed. And the characters? Oh god! The only likable person is the ML, seeing he’s kind and caring. But the FL? A door has more attitude than her. Watching her scenes was frustrating.The only reason I watched all the way through it’s because it’s short, but I kinda feel like I wasted some time here.
Also, the romance was pretty lame, and they’re chemistry was lacking passion and stuff like that. Even that scene where they’re in bed together isn’t entertaining, it FEELS like I watching a show, a made up romance, and not something real.
So yeah, only gave this a few stars because it cured my boredom for a few hours
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short and painless
i love the fl actress. i love her soft voice and her quiet demeanor. however, i wish they would cast her into something else for once. its like she is playing the same character over and over and over. i believe she is a good actress. but apparently the only emotion the director can bring out of her is depressed tortured sad puppy. maybe even as bad as cold fish. i mean come on, you haven’t seen your bf in a while, he just acted super cute, hugs you and you star into the abyss stiff without emotional reaction. especially when the partner is that hot. i mean daaaamn! he is so cute in his behavior and his confessions and she just stares and nothing. a cold and dead has more emotional range. the story was good. the fiance was off her rockers and could be the daughter of the ml mother. what a truly horrible person. i usually always hope for reunion and all but that b needs to be pushed off a cliff. all in all it’s a cute little drama. might rewatchbit if I’m bored and need a happy ending. i hope they will cast the fl in different roles and i hope to see the ml again. and the dimples of that brother….omg! why does nobody talk about that?! the dimples alone are worth watching this 😍Was this review helpful to you?
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Wattpad Romance but questionable takes
I went to the show expecting a wattpad romance and this IS what I got, but I still had a few things that rubbed me off in a way that I can't rate it higher even when I watched it without expectations.1. Both the leads are almost thirty (29 i believe to be exact) and yet their behaviour is so immature and frustrating. for eg,
a. Male Lead wants to take revenge from Female Lead. why? well as a kid he was overweight, the FL treated him like a friend instead of bullying him and when he asked her out she said they weren't a good match. yep. That's it. This almost 30yo wants revenge over that. (and the way the drama wants to justify it later does nothing to what an alarming thought process he has -- in the last episode he says "in next 12 years too, i would be here supporting you" and all i could think was who fucking knows brother, maybe youd think she didnt treat you correct and would demand revenge over it)
b. FL has absolutely no personality and i know plane janes are the first requirement for a wattpad romance but MY GOD WOMAN DO SOMETHING, ANYTHING, OTHER THAN LOOKING TROUBLED and/or telling yourself/others how ML saved you.
2. The 2ML literally sexually assaults her - hugs her without her consent twice, things that should call office HR but it is all brushed off and he gets a redemption arc ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!
3. Apart from the FL, it feels like every woman was a b*tch, no other word to explain their roles - the FL's mother, the ML's mother, the ex's gf, the ML's fiancee. Such weird writing choices because how is every woman bad in this universe (or irrelevant) other than the FL? Did the FL even have female friends?
4. Also, yes I questioned the writing choice to make women villains, but in a contradictory point I would also like to express my hate for how many asian dramas, including this one, just excuse abusive parents under the "oh they just want good for you" carpet. the parents never apologise, the children are just expected to understand -- and pulling this trick in the last 15 mins of the show? DERANGED.
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