Learning to Love

I Should've Watched This Sooner

Were it not for those last 2 episodes, I think I'd have rated this higher.

I think if someone went into this hoping for a lot of romance, they'd be disappointed. Most of this story is spent navigating the issues the characters face to find their way to the love (and lives) they want/deserve, rather than on their romance.

Watching them navigate those issues is what made me binge the first 9 episodes. Only to be disappointed by the 3rd-act breakup scene. I say this about both romance books and romantic movies & TV shows, we don't always need the 3rd-act breakup. More often than not, like in this case, it disrupts the fantastic momentum of a story that the reader/viewer is invested in.

The Characters
👩🏻‍🏫Manami - I saw her jump into the sea in the 1st like 2 minutes of the show and got immediately invested. I thoroughly enjoyed her growth throughout the series. She starts very timid, passive, and clumsy — I'm still confused by why she was constantly stumbling on air — and slowly grows into a more confident version of herself. Able to make her own decisions and mistakes and own them. In the latter episodes, she rarely stumbles, so perhaps that was to signify a growth in her confidence? Or maybe I'm just reading too much into things🤔

Her personality is largely shaped by her upbringing. On one hand, her mother is passive and suffers in silence. On the other hand, her dad is a very sexist, misogynistic, and controlling father, who constantly speaks down to her mother both in private and in front of others. I hated that man.

Manami is the good girl. Never stepping a toe out of line (you know, aside from the whole stalking her ex and yeeting herself into the sea thing). She does everything right and is soft spoken, kinda like her mother. But she's clearly bursting at the seams, and the chance meeting with Kaoru slowly helps her break out of her shell.

Had Kaoru not come into her life, I think she'd have become another version of her mother — angrily chewing basil leaves at the sink whenever her overbearing husband did or said anything hurtful.

🕺🏻Kaoru - I knew he was the main lead, but I did not like him for perhaps 6 or 7 episodes. During this time, he remains very much a 'host' and doesn't show any prospects as a love interest. At least not one that Manami deserved. However, his backstory shows you how life has shaped him into the smooth-talking asshole that he is.

His dyslexia has crippled his life outside the club, and his mother is — as Kaoru calls her— a tick who's constantly sucking him dry to feed her 2nd deadbeat baby daddy. His insecurity over the fact that he can neither read nor write, coupled with the need to make money to feed the never ending blackhole that is his mother, pushes him to ignore what he and Manami could be.

Luckily, as the story progresses, Manami's steadfast belief in him and her assurance that he is not stupid help him try to see himself as more than. More than just a host with nothing else to give to the world. More than the dumb kid that everyone, including his mother, insulted and were frustared by. More than a pretty face. His character growth was beautiful to watch, especially once we started spending less time at the host club. He is truly a pure soul who wants someone to see him, value him, and be more.

Unfortunately, this is tainted by the 3rd act break-up. I know he was frustrated by the exam, but him bodily throwing Manami and her bag out of his house left a bad taste in my mouth. It reminded me too much of how Manami's father treated her mother, and that's just.... Ew.

The two also get back together at the very end of the show, without a proper conversation or anything. I'd have loved to have spent more time with them as a couple rather than those scenes of them away from each other.


🌸🌸PS. Something that made me uncomfortable(?) with Manami and Kaoru's relationship is how she reacted when teaching him. She used this baby voice and reacted like one would when teaching a baby. Like I expect that behaviour when teaching someone like Yuki, Kaoru's brother. He's a literal child, unlike Kaoru.
I understand that there's a 12-year age difference between the two, and that Kaoru was rather insecure about his inability to read. Kaouru is also a golden retriever personality who thrives under praise. However, he's an adult. The baby voice and overthe top rections when he got something right were not needed IMO. It made things weird.


🧑🏻‍🏫Sakura - I wish the story gave us more about his life and experience with love in Japanese society. He mentions to Manami that he's gay and that's why he has a lens into society's view of 'forbidden/taboo relationships'. This story focuses on the 'taboo' of Manami and Kaoru's relationship, which has to overcome their age-gap, social standing and financial differences, as well as the fact that Kaoru works as a host. However, I wish we had gotten a mini side story or something about him.

👴🏻Manami's father - He got a sort of redemption arc. I didn't think he deserved one. That's all I have to say about that

🪴Manami's mother - When she smacked her husband with a ladle on the back of his head, I stood and clapped. I'm happy that she eventually got a life outside the house (coz of the new job). I'm sad that she never went through with the divorce.

💼Kawahara - The story tells us that he eventually fell for her, and that's why he let her go. I, unfortunately, did not see this love they tried telling us about. When exactly did this love bloom? In the middle of all the stalking and the telling on her to her father? Let's not forget that he only wanted her because of who her dad was and what the union could do for his career. Plus, the cheating in the beginning. The man was literally planning to keep his side chick after the two were married! I just....🤦🏾‍♀️

🏫The School - I was flabbergasted by how this school was run. Maybe it's a difference between Japan and my country, but...
1. How is it a teacher's responsibility to go fetch a girl from the red light district? Isn't that the parents' job? Or at least people in the parents' direct employ? Like a domestic worker or a driver, perhaps?

2. When that one girl made Manami fall and hurt her head, and then everyone laughed, I was just...*mouth to the floor*. They would have murdered us if we ever did that. Maybe not the school, but a combination of the school and parents. We don't act like that where I'm from

3. Why does a school dictate a teacher's love life? I think, unless the situation directly affects the running of classes or the school in general, I've never heard of principals or parents telling a teacher who they can or cannot date or interact with. And I say this as someone who went to an all-girls Catholic high school where we had mass EVERY Thursday.

4. I also fail to understand the need to call Manami back to the school—after they forced her to resign—, only to have the girls insult her

All in all, I think it was a rather well-paced story that unfortunately faltered in the end. I am a fan of noona dramas, so this was a delight to watch. Despite the few issues pointed out, I enjoyed the progression of the story, the characters, and the relationship between Manami and Kaoru. It was a nice slow burn that tackles societal issues that many age-gap romances face

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Warm, oddball drama.

There was something warm and compulsive about this oddball drama featuring two dorky misfits. Everything about them was mismatched and yet, even though I had to suspend my disbelief a fair bit, I still wanted to engage with their relationship. It was an examination of breaking the shells in which we live which have been formed by other people’s opinions of us and society’s attitude towards our social standing. The imposition which we suffer as children, take on as truth and carry into adulthood. It’s an old well worn theme, but here it received a refreshing twist.

Don’t be mistaken into thinking there is a lot of social commentary, because of the setting in a host club. It’s primarily a romance drama that explores character development with a bit of social reflection thrown in. The performances are good from the leads, although I felt that Kimura Fumino as Ogawa Manami was a little too earnest at times, which leant a little too far into the patronising. But this quirky drama scrapes through with an 8, mainly for the originality of its setting.

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Beautifully well crafted

It was so nice to see that writers can still put effort into crafting a josei drama, after seeing a series of very underwhelming ones. The female lead acts her age and even if she's less in experienced in romance, she's not just constantly flustered and like a child around the male lead and the age gap is evident in reactions and other instances. They have a wonderful dynamic, great supporting characters, especially their friends and while it does feel like their love progressed quickly, it doesn't take away from the fact that this is a genuinely enjoyable slice of life romance and I look forward to watching the last three episodes.

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Love in the Wake of Weakness

The storyline was excellent — heartfelt, deep, and full of quiet lessons. It’s about a young man who works at a host club and a teacher who slowly learn not only to love each other but also to love themselves.

The male lead’s character really stood out to me. He struggles with dyslexia, yet hides it behind charm, humor, and smooth talk — especially around the women who visit the club. There’s something both sad and admirable about that mask he wears.

The female lead, on the other hand, comes across as a bit too innocent at times, which did frustrate me here and there. But then I reminded myself — this is Japanese culture, and her quiet restraint reflects that. She’s not weak, just shaped by her world.

Now, the father — what a piece of work. Overbearing, controlling, and completely self-absorbed. Everything he claims to do for his daughter is really just to make himself feel good. The mother seems fragile at first, but when she finally reaches her breaking point, she becomes stronger than anyone expected. Her journey was one of my favorite parts — she doesn’t just ask for a divorce; she reclaims her voice.

The second male and female lead also add layers to the story, giving it more heart and balance. And I wish the screenwriter had explored more of the backstory between the male lead’s mother and the host club owner — their past love had real potential to deepen the story even further.

Overall, Learning to Love is a beautiful drama about growth born from weakness — how even in brokenness, people can find the courage to change and love again.

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Unfortunately, never got onboard as much as I wanted with the romance

This age gap love story between a young host and a teacher who became his tutor had everything to seduce me. I enjoyed the first half of it with the focus on learning and the night life topic providing a very griping context for the romance. I found fascinating the Kanji writing and learning issues discussion. I found interesting the way the characters were built : deeply flawed and mostly unlikable because it was understandable given their background. I also liked the OST overall and the production value, even if there were some awkward editing with abrupt fade to black between scenes.

However, I never managed to get fully onboard with their romance. I believed in the tutoring relationship and found it even very touching. However I was never convinced by the romantic chemistry. I think it is part linked to poor casting of the two main characters as well as storytelling. Indeed, they never showcased real intimacy between the main leads as their relationship remained very pure, which given the respective age and job of both characters felt strange. In addition to not offering satisfying romance opportunities to the couple, the scenario also derailed quite a bit as it provided to the antagonists too quick change of heart and undeserved redemption.

I am left to ponder if another casting for the main actor and actress would have helped in making the romance more palatable and the relationship feel more passionate despite the flaws in the scenario. Here some of their scenes felt very fake and lacking in the more romantic as well as more angsty moments.

I would not recommend this to people as I feel there are better "older woman/younger man romance" out there. Maybe with another cast and without the scenario derailing in an over the top way, I would be less severe with my criticism of the series.

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A compelling age-gap drama.

I'm a big fan of age-gap noona romances, so I was excited to watch this drama. After now completing it, I would say that I found it an enjoyable but flawed drama. In my judgement, it deserves a higher MDL score than what it currently has (7.8), but it certainly isn't the masterpiece that some reviewers suggest that it is.
I found the story to be quite compelling and I really wanted to know where it was heading. I found the character of Ogawa Manami to be entirely believable, but the character of Takamori Taiga less so. Some of the support characters were just walking stereotypes - especially Manami's father (the evil mysoginistic psychologically abusive parent) and her fiancé (the cheating manipulative scheming controlling partner). The later transitions of these two characters from pieces of shit to supportive, upstanding citizens was far too sudden and consequently not really believable. Also, neither of them "earned" their redemptions - they just decided to stop being evil. For some reason, writers struggle to write compelling and emotionally rewarding redemption arcs for characters, which is a shame.
The production was generally of a high standard, but the editing was weird. At times it seemed like random scenes were just shown one after the other, separated by an annoyingly long blackscreen trying to soften the jarring caused by the editing decisions.
One thing that Japanese dramas often get wrong in my opinion is the balance between angst and feel good moments, and this drama suffered from that imbalance. Too much angst, and too few happy, feel-good moments for my taste.
The ending was much less satisying that it could have been. It seemed rushed, and it was disappointing that the writers chose to have Taiga regress so much after we watched such character growth from him. After watching him physically throw Manami out of his room, my advice to her is to leave him. He's immature and volatile. He's also indifferent to her feelings, something that she should be warey of after seeing her sexist father belittle and ignore her mother for years. I love Noona romances, but I NEED the younger male to have (or develop) the maturity to deserve to be with the older woman. In my judgement, Taiga didn't do this and unless he grows up a LOT and quickly, their relationship has little chance of lasting.
My score: 8.5/10

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Addictive and fantastic

I decided to watch this drama when it was announced because I wanted to see my baby Raul, I've been following him since he was little and I feel like a proud parent watching this lil cutie grows taller and taller.

Now the story was also nice and i was surprised I loved it that much, but tbh I totally forgot about it for a while and then started it on a whim.

It's very addictive, once I started it I couldn't stop and binge watched the whole thing in a couple of days, it definitely deserves more hype.

Story was amazing and the cast and characters were great, the only thing I didn't like was how they stretched the end, it could be ended with less episodes and it would still be great, besides they didn't even solve his problem with his mother nor did we learn who is his father and why did he end up like that...
Also the very last scene was unnecessary, too dramatic and sad out of no where which messed up the balanced mood of the drama.

Acting was great, I loved all the characters, even the overbearing and dominating father, I could understand his actions to some extent even if I completely disagree with him.
The only character I hated was the ML mother, she was a bit too much.

I wish the FL best friend got a partner, she had good chemistry with 2 characters (won't say who cause spoilers) but I understand they wanted to focus on the leads relationship more and I liked that.

I would recommend this drama because it really deserves more recognition ~~

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Think of the most unlikely pairing and this jdorama has it

This is probably one of the best romance jdoramas I have seen in 20 years. (My favorite, "Long Vacation" with Takuya Kimura came out 30 years ago, followed by "Hana Yori Dango" which came out nearly 20 years ago. "Bandage" with Jin Akanishi came out in 2010.) Now, we have "Ai no, Gakko." which ranks up there with the best romance jdoramas and will turn the actor (Raul) who played the male lead Kaoru/Taiga into a once-in-a-generation, household name.

From start to finish, the story, production value and acting are top notch AND it's an original screenplay (not a manga adaptation)!

STORY: "Ai no Gakko" is a slice of life jdrama modern day romance about 2 common tropes: forbidden love and opposites attract- this time between a straitlaced, serious sheltered older female teacher and a flamboyant, worldly, playful, younger male host. The two main leads inhabit worlds that couldn't be farther apart from each other, yet remarkably, and, against all odds and societal taboos (e.g., host bar/teacher relations), they are drawn to each other and connect in a way that seems to work. Kudos to the author and production studio for keeping the story nuanced and realistic (for the most part) in spite of an unbelievable premise and to the actors for playing off each other and making their characters likable. Surprisingly, there few plotholes or loose ends (except for Kaoru's search for his dad, which is heartbreaking). Caveat that although it is a love story, it contains darker and mature themes of emotional manipulation, psychological abuse/control and violence. The ending felt a bit rushed as they had to make cuts to the story due to time constraints. I don't know that Kaoru has grown from their last breakup to be able to resolve his inner demons to truly be able to stay with Manami, I think his love letter to Manami is meant to show his acknowledgement of what she means to him upon further reflection.

PRODUCTION VALUE: The editing and cinematography were movie caliber. The cuts are not all seamless however, and the fade to black between scenes is noticeable and a bit annoying. Everything in the story and "set" is meticulously and intentionally planned. Even the way the words "Ai no, Gakko." are written changes as the ML learns to write the kanji, until the last episode, when he is able to write the strokes correctly. Even the misplaced comma and period in the title is explained as he sees it as a metaphor for their relationship. The author and production also place special value on props such as pens, books, scraps of letters, hats, and umbrellas, all which became important symbols of their relationship later in the story. Even the lighting and character hair styling and clothes are used to convey the mood and stage of their relationship (Notably Manami's hair starts in a bun and unravels as she starts to spend more time with Taiga and he teaches her to loosen up.)

ACTING/CHARACTERS: The FL, played by Fumino Kimura, is thoroughly believable as a teacher who really wants to be liked by her students and do right by them but doesn't seem to know how. She starts out meek and becomes the stronger of the two leads towards the end. The ML is played by Raul, a relative newcomer to acting, who is a revelation and his ability to go from sleek, sleazy Kaoru to fun-loving, goofy Taiga really shine to where I don't know whether he's being himself or acting. He proves to be an excellent foil to Manami's staid personality and teaches her how to freely live, highlighting how sheltered she is. He initially tries to take advantage of her naivete but has a change of heart when he is moved by the fact that she still wants to help him learn to read & write. And for anyone wondering what he sees in her, it turns out Taiga is a boy who, like the FL, also has a heart of gold, made cynical by his dyslexia and traumatizing upbringing and family circumstances. She makes him feel seen and feel supported, even when he doubts himself and is able to help him remove the beliefs that shackled him.

The characters all have incredibly well layered backstories and come with their own, sometimes troubled past and associated baggage. However, each character is trying to survive their past trauma the best they can and explain their own motivations for their actions clearly and directly which is unusual for Jdorama and makes the characters feel real and sympathetic (even if some of them do horrible things to themselves or others). Some redeem themselves in the end, including her fiancé, her dad and his mom - all of whom end up rooting for the leads to be together. In fact, I found all the main and side characters (and their storylines) relatable and as a result, likeable.

Interestingly, as an outgoing, smarmy, confident host who has no problem saying "I love you" to his customers, the character of Taiga has a LOT of trouble voicing his feelings for Manami. He is so afraid of showing any vulnerability that he can only tell her he loves her when she is distracted and not listening to him. Instead, he uses his body language to express his love for her: he grasps for her fingers, grabs her hands, steals her food, pretends to fall asleep on her shoulder and on her sleeping bag while holding her hand, and hugs her from behind, He says he can't kiss her because his lips are tainted by the 100 women he's kissed, yet when Manami tries to kiss him, he can't stop himself from kissing her over and over. He treasures the pencil she gifted him and takes her hat which he often looks at to remind himself of her. That said, I did find his goofiness a bit over the top and cringy at times but it made him a memorable character as I've never seen a Japanese actor behave like him.

DIRECTING: I heard the director spent 2 months having the leads rehearse and get comfortable becoming their characters and was open to them ad-libbing some of their lines (as long as it was something their characters would say). This results in scenes that make you feel like you are looking at a documentary (compared to other jdoramas) for its natural rapport and seemingly unscripted dialogue (probably because it is!). This is apparent in the beach scenes which are groundbreaking in jdorama because it feels like they're responding in the moment to each other and having real conversations instead of reciting lines from a script. I read the novelization and while the core dialogue stays mostly the same, much of the dialogue is ad libbed e.g., convo when they are trying to catch the bus, in the restaurant where Taiga asks if Manami wants to change him, when they are trying on hats. Taiga's actions at the beach were also changed to seem more natural (he appears on the train just before it departs, reappears to Manami on the beach and not in the restaurant, they hold hands only after they kiss, etc.)

The series holds up very well under rewatch. Episodes 5 (starting with his confession), 6 (first date), 8 (when he takes care of her after she faints) and the last Episode are my favorites to rewatch.

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Blurred lines can be hard to read

This is an interesting story, that brings out a whole lot of aspects making me feel very uncomfortable most of the time as well as thinking what the h*** did that person just say? And trying to figure out how this alines with my personal morals. To be honset I have issues with the leads relationship the age gap 12 years is a real age gap and though he is not under age the whole tutor student part as well as the way she treats him at times like a child other times like a love interest really makes me uncomfortable while at the sam time she has a lot of good to say and parts of me love both of them, as well as their chemistry. So I guess it is complicated in a confusing way.

There are a lot of awful just awful characters in this, and the way they talk about hosts, host addiction and power relations makes me guess what yes very, very uncomfortable.

That said the drama is interesting, it kept my attention and told a slightly different story then the usual age gap, boy falls for his teacher... Definitely worth a watch just prepare for moral corruption and ambiguity...

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