Fukushu Kareshi: Dekiai Shacho no Kao ni wa Ura ga Aru

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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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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Too short for everything to fully develop.

Subjective Gut Rating: 7.25

Reading 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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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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Drama frettoloso che ripropone superficialmente spunti presi in prestito da altre serie

Vedere questo drama è stato come prendere un Freccia Rossa per una tratta e una destinazione già noti. Il "già visto" ingrana la marcia e si concentra notevolmente, inserendo a raffica spunti di varia derivazione che si susseguono negli otto, brevi episodi quasi senza continuità e senza mai approfondirli decentemente.
E così abbiamo un accenno alle recentissime "Marry my husband" (il collega-fidanzato che tradisce la protagonista con un'altra collega) e a "Ikinari Kon" (la protagonista con il cuore infranto trova immediato supporto nell'aitante capo con il quale finge una relazione che fa invidia ai due colleghi traditori). La storia passata del protagonista ricorda a tratti "My dearest nemesis" (la nostra donzella inizialmente non lo riconosce ma lui da adolescente le si era già dichiarato e prontamente era stato rifiutato, ora torna nelle vesti di fascinoso capo ma si lamenta di essere ancora invisibile ai suoi occhi). Altro passaggio che sa tanto di preso in prestito, stavolta dal coreano "King the Land", è l'improvviso e imprevisto viaggio d'affari che porta il protagonista lontano così che, approfittando della sua momentanea assenza, la protagonista venga spedita in una filiale lontana dalla famiglia di lui, contraria alla loro relazione. Questo drama rappresenta insomma una sorta di collage che richiamano chiaramente altre serie, ma con il difetto aggiuntivo di essere state riproposte male e in modo frettoloso: ogni questione citata viene dopo poco risolta per passare poi allo "spunto" successivo.
Rispetto al cast, il livello della recitazione è accettabile se consideriamo che sono tutti giovani attori alle prese con i loro primi ruoli importanti.
Una serie, questa, che non sarebbe stato un problema non avere.

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