Hilarious: Captures Japanese Humor
I freaking loved this show. I went into it knowing nothing other than the main premise, a girl pretending to be a boy at an all boys school. Gave me mild "Twelfth Night" and "She's the Man" vibes from the premise, so I had to give it a shot.It was absolutely worth it. I think someone who doesn't understand Japanese culture would struggle to enjoy this show because it was chock full of cultural references and specific scenario humor. I enjoyed every minute of it. The show was a riot.
At the end, I wished they'd been able to make a second season or something because I was so invested in the characters. I still think that the second main male lead was a better fit for the FMC, but I tend to always think that when I watch these kinds of shows. I somehow wind up disliking the main pairing for whatever reason.
This show is definitely worth watching at least once in your life.
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Confused About the Genre
The music is good, but I honestly feel like there is too much music. It's kind of the whole point of the story, but at a certain point the story itself started to drag because of the music. I think this overall could've been tightened in the script and fit into eight episodes instead of ten. It was quite long, and I struggled with motivation to finish the series after hitting episode 6. It was exhausting to think about investing four more hours of my life into the show.It's a good watch, but at the same time I'm hesitant to recommend it. It feels like the labels for it should be more along the lines of tragedy rather than romance. It didn't feel like a romance at all, and even though the story ended on what people would call a "hopeful" note, it wasn't what I was expecting from the story at all. I have a lot of wishes for how I would've written the story, but it's obviously not mine to do that. I wish it would've been more upfront about the actual storyline. Perhaps I misunderstood something when watching the trailer.
The acting and music is phenomenal. I will be adding the music to my playlists, but I'm still just so confused about the main idea of the show. What was it trying to achieve?
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The Show Can't Decide What It Wants to Be
Overall, the show seems confused about what genre it wants to be, and that causes the ultimate downfall of the show itself. It's marketed as a gritty thriller where a serial killer is targeting a single friend group full of generally terrible people, and Jade's brother Jay is among them. When the new inspector, Kamin, arrives and takes over the case, he initially butts heads with Jade. This sets up the romantic plotline of the show, but the pacing is inconsistent and choices often don't make sense. The way the plot resolves is ultimately unsatisfying, and I feel no investment in the main characters. It’s possible to have a romance inside of a thriller story like the basis for this one, but this is so poorly executed because it was clear they didn’t know if they wanted to write a romcom BL or a gritty crime thriller.The characters are initially given a deadline for wrapping up the serial killer case because of media attention, but that later vanishes entirely as they fully blow past the deadline with no consequences. Jade is almost completely unconcerned about Jay because his focus is taken up so entirely by trying to romance Kamin. The show fails to balance the tension of the serial killer's revenge on the friend group with the romantic elements often leaning toward romance far too often which places the whole basis for the plot in jeopardy. The cuts between scenes are incredibly awkward, and the after credits often includes extra “romantic” scenes between the main couple that often left me feeling more awkward than happy for the couple. It was often so jarring and opposite from the ending to the episode, that it would cause confusion about the timeline, as many of them were from scene that happened much earlier in the episode, or just gave me an icky feeling about the whole show.
The friend group who was caught up in the murders as well seemed to have so little care for the fact their friends were all being killed. They would discuss that they were “scared,” but I never saw that taking shape. They were constantly fighting against helping the police, and I understand they all had shady backgrounds that would get them arrested if they revealed the truth, but you are being investigated for murder! Tell them everything, you idiots. Jade and Kamin’s overall lack of interest in the serial killer case was what really killed it. They spent so much time trying to romance each other rather than doing their jobs that I didn’t feel happy when they “won” at the end. Several people in the comments on the main show page noted how a lot time was spent filming the actors staring off into nothing, and I agree. It wasn’t a plot device. I think a good portion of this show was for the purpose of making the actors look attractive to the audience. “Here’s this guy who looks like a model! Stare at him. Revel in his beauty. Isn’t he so gorgeous running into danger? Isn’t he so pretty kissing this other guy?” I honestly was not expecting a romantic comedy from the marketing of the show, and I was often messaging a friend saying, “Just focus on the murder! There are several people dead!”
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