1
1
This review may contain spoilers
Although I Love You, and You? — When “Cute” Is Not Enough
This is one of those dramas people describe as “soft” and “cute.” But while watching Although I Love You, and You?, I felt strangely disconnected—like I was looking at a romance through glass instead of living inside it. I didn’t hate this drama. But I didn’t believe it either. And that is the real disappointment.
A Couple Without Gravity
The story asks us to fall in love with a pairing that, on paper, should be emotionally compelling. In the manga, Soga Hisashi is described as someone with striking eyes, quiet charm, and emotional weight—a man shaped by divorce and loneliness. On screen, Nishiyama Jun never truly carries that inner life. His performance feels flat, his presence too light for a character meant to hold emotional scars. Matsumoto Sakae, nearly 26 in the story, is portrayed by Kan Hideyoshi, who was only 21 at the time and visually reads much younger. Of the two, he is closer to the original character, but the age and emotional imbalance between them weakens the realism of their connection. Instead of tension, the relationship feels weightless. Scenes meant to feel intimate pass by without impact. I was watching a romance, but I never felt it in my chest.
A Story That Feels Edited Rather Than Told
It is impossible not to feel the compression. The series rushes through emotional turning points, trimming entire layers of complexity to fit the episode count. The side stories—especially the exes—should have added emotional depth and contrast. Instead, they feel unfinished, like sketches without color. There is no time to understand the emotional damage left behind, no space for the characters’ contradictions to breathe. Rather than exploring the moral grey areas of love, the drama simplifies them. You are told who is “wrong,” but never fully shown why. And without that emotional context, the story loses its emotional truth.
Why “Cute” Wasn’t Enough for Me
Online, many viewers describe this series as comforting and adorable. I understand why—it is visually gentle, tonally soft, and emotionally safe. But for me, that safety became a wall. Romance should feel like a risk. Like exposure. Like something that could hurt. Here, it never does.
Final Thought
Although I Love You, and You? is not bad. It is simply too careful. It chooses sweetness over sincerity, and in doing so, it forgets that love (real love) is rarely painless. That is why, when the final episode ended, I felt nothing pulling me back. And that is why I won’t return to it.
A Couple Without Gravity
The story asks us to fall in love with a pairing that, on paper, should be emotionally compelling. In the manga, Soga Hisashi is described as someone with striking eyes, quiet charm, and emotional weight—a man shaped by divorce and loneliness. On screen, Nishiyama Jun never truly carries that inner life. His performance feels flat, his presence too light for a character meant to hold emotional scars. Matsumoto Sakae, nearly 26 in the story, is portrayed by Kan Hideyoshi, who was only 21 at the time and visually reads much younger. Of the two, he is closer to the original character, but the age and emotional imbalance between them weakens the realism of their connection. Instead of tension, the relationship feels weightless. Scenes meant to feel intimate pass by without impact. I was watching a romance, but I never felt it in my chest.
A Story That Feels Edited Rather Than Told
It is impossible not to feel the compression. The series rushes through emotional turning points, trimming entire layers of complexity to fit the episode count. The side stories—especially the exes—should have added emotional depth and contrast. Instead, they feel unfinished, like sketches without color. There is no time to understand the emotional damage left behind, no space for the characters’ contradictions to breathe. Rather than exploring the moral grey areas of love, the drama simplifies them. You are told who is “wrong,” but never fully shown why. And without that emotional context, the story loses its emotional truth.
Why “Cute” Wasn’t Enough for Me
Online, many viewers describe this series as comforting and adorable. I understand why—it is visually gentle, tonally soft, and emotionally safe. But for me, that safety became a wall. Romance should feel like a risk. Like exposure. Like something that could hurt. Here, it never does.
Final Thought
Although I Love You, and You? is not bad. It is simply too careful. It chooses sweetness over sincerity, and in doing so, it forgets that love (real love) is rarely painless. That is why, when the final episode ended, I felt nothing pulling me back. And that is why I won’t return to it.
Was this review helpful to you?
