Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!
17 people found this review helpful
Go Watch This
Signed up to specially write a review for this deserving Series!//Long One//
Honestly how do I even begin? Yes, I have been a fan of BL/YAOI for over a year now and from Movies/Series to Manga/Novels I have watched and read every other one possible and while there were so many of them which became my favourite but this particular series right here...man it just has to be a magical one to be able to hook me up so bad on it right from the very first episode!
I am in no way trying to criticize any other BL series or the concept but honestly it was getting kind of repetitive for the same old College/Uni themed BL dramas following a smiliar plot line. You gotta give Japan the credits here for taking BL dramas on a whole new road and man what a wonderful road at that.
Even when we are only 3 episodes in, Cherry Magic has stolen my heart completely. The actors are just so good and their chemistry is evident right from their very first interaction. After just reading the synopsis I did feel that it was going to be a little cringy and cliché but I was so wrong. While the story line and some parts does have that immature (in a cute way) moments but they not being there would rather make the series loose it's essence. Also for some reason I highly believe that either the two leads share some similarities with their own personalities and their respective characters or it's just that they are two phenomenal actors. You can get a pretty good idea of what Kurosawa's personality is like right in the 15 minutes of the first episode, even when he is somewhat deemed as the 'Mr. Popular' the way his interactions are with his colleagues as well as with Adachi just let's you know he is that ideal personality every one dreams to date/be with...hats off to Machida for executing the role so flawlessly.
And then comes our Angel Adachi...gosh just three words here NEED TO PROTECT! His character is overflowing with adorableness, the poor boy was minding his own business when suddenly he is bestowed with the magic! He really is just too sweet in every episode and the way it's shown how he doesn't entirely dive in nor does he entirely retreat from the situation he is put in is so great because if they would have chosen either of the two then that would again somewhat follow the old school plot line. The dilemma is real and with the help of his magic he is trying his best to come to a decision.
Lastly, all I want to say is I have been someone who although loves to appreciate good talent wouldn't necessarily be so hooked on it to the point of gushing about it non-stop but I guess everything has it's firsts and Cheery Magic is my first time of fangirling on a series non-stop. I have never been so eagerly awaiting for the next episodes of any series but I just can't seem to wait for Kurosawa and Adachi to continue with getting to know each other and fall in love in the rest of the episodes. I can already feel my upcoming heart break when the final episode would be airedTT
Wow I wrote a damn essay! Well folks...y'all just need to go and watch and experience this amazing series for yourself!
Was this review helpful to you?
Okay I can see why the rating is stuck in the 8s and not a solid 9/more
Let me start off by saying that I am halfway through the series & it has been...well...pleasantly entertaining, but I can see now why the ratings are still lingering between 8 pointers than a 9 - because until the first 10 episodes I clearly had misgivings on why this series wasn't rated a perfect 9.5 or above.Now onto the actual review ~ The story starts off very strong with turmoil befalling immediately and a great pace pickup since the initial episodes. Yet, soon we can see a perfect Mary Sue formation of our MFC/MC (Main Female Character/Main Character). Now, I am someone who hates storys which try to combine the depiction of realism with idealism - I believe that stories should either find a good balance if they decide to do so or then lean toward only one strongly and there are sparingly few stories I've come across which has managed to do so correctly. Evidently so, until the first 10 episodes, I thought to have found another rare gem that understood this concept and used a perfect balance of idealism to realism portrayal ratio. Our MFC having started off as a strong Mary Sue was balanced out by everything around her which was a potrayal of very realistic depiction of human nature additionally the idealistic nature of MFC made a bit sense as implied in the story that she wasn't brought up traditionally but had already been travelling all over since childhood with her Grandpa earning her greater deal of exposure to various things already at an young age so her head strong nature and quick thinking had some supportive back up. On the other side as the story begins, we could also see how each women in the household deals in their own ways when hardships befalls them, I liked how each character was fleshed out (even the supposed maids of the household) during this period and you could already understand/relate to each one with their mistakes and their growth all seemed so relatable and logical that it was the peak highlight of the story, making one so hooked that you couldn't stop watching.
Yet, as the story progresses the level of hardships also increases in their intensity, this is where the disconnect in balance started for me (while I enjoyed the Mary Sue idealism of our MFC in the beginning as I understand it's dramatic & entertainment purpose) as things started to get more complicated the MFC still seemed to handle it with similar demure as she did the lesser complex ones - what I mean is, things never in the slightest perpetuated her, and if just to go soley by her reaction to the issues, one wouldn't even understand how some situations were more precarious than the other. What made more sense is rather the reaction of other characters to the same situations, only through them one might be able to understand their gravity. The MFC is the one to always resolve a situation but soon it started to feel like all she had to do is preach some idealism knowledge and give out equally idealistic solution which logically you'd understand wasn't really possible or was something rather needing very serious planning/support - and as other characters start dealing and growing through each situation - our MFC waits in the background and when everyone has their own growth, steps in and woosh'es her magic wand and voila! everything is resolved! Its already halfway through the story and there's not one situation yet which has really stumped the MFC, nor do we get to really see her loose her composure. I've noticed this might've been also an acting flaw, as for me, the actress who plays the MFC very much looks most of the time to be "acting" so it furthers her disconnect with the role. What rather has kept me hooked now are actually all the other characters, in each arc I am more excited to see how all the others would face the situation and grow in their own ways more through it. Looking back you can see a big difference in all the other characters, how they were when it all started, and how through circumstances they've all grown and grown close to eachother as one family, while (for me) the MFC has actually become a rather background character because I honestly see no difference in her nor do I really understand her character and the vagueness is only contributed by the fact that it feels like she can do anything and everything making it so unrelatable that you just have to accept it without trying to find a logic to it, a stark contrast to all the other characters who have been growing at their own pace and have very relatable and complex characteristics that everything about their response to a situation fall perfectly within the bounds of their own flaws and strengths. In this case the MFC truly seems boundless as with no real limiting flaws her possibility seem infinite. Another greater reason for the disconnect is that until now all the situations that this family has faced along with the MFC are so relatable, authentic and reasonable that as a viewer you deeply can relate to each of those issues and also understand the varied graveness and the possible need of a complex solution and so when that issue is solved by our magic welder MFC it literally becomes the case of strong start and low finish. Also the MFC literally looks like someone who has these amazing innovative business ideas stored in her mind and is just reciting them out at needed intervals - the production greatly missed out on opportunities of showing those "aha!" moments which could've salvaged some authenticity to her but again this can be also seen as an acting flaw, as improve of such scenes could highly benifit to the characterisation.
Now coming to the romance line in the story, I am not sure if the Male Lead (ML) really is otherwise good at acting and this role was just not it for him cuz honestly he needs to work a bit more on his acting of serious scenes, his light hearted ones are okay and seem a bit natural but other times where he has to be dead serious (which is quite a lot given his character) I legit felt like he was all along trying to suppress his laughter and to not burst out laughing the very next second...idk why but that's the best discription I have for how his acting seemed then. Now for the Romance part let me say firstly that I understand that this drama's focus isn't on the Romance line but rather plot, main characters and family and Romance seems secondary to all of them which seems like a breath of fresh air in the initial episodes but as there is still some emphasis and plot driven by the Romance line it should've been rather made more authentic because until now all the scenarios seems so idealistically forced that after the whole Grandma's letter exchange with Empress Dowager it almost feels ridiculous. The fact was, I was also very impressed initially how the romantic line didn't follow the same ol' damsel in distress and a strong important ML pairing but that the ML let the MFC suffer but did how much ever he could within his power and didn't outright help her from the get go because why should he jeopardize his whole life for someone he just saw once - ahem unlike so many other dramas. I really did like how his intensity of wanting to help her above and beyond only naturally came after they started to interact more and form some friendship and then romantic feelings. Yet, as I said the way they could even do that/the situations that let them have this chance felt so unauthentic that it in itself kinda ruined the whole naturally falling in love vibe and impacted the authenticity of their romantic chemistry for me. The situations relating to the ML are so forced that even his own arc seems a bit faded and unnecessary compared to what the our Main family is dealing with - not to sound unsympathetic but honestly, the constant change of focus to his arc when it doesn't even really contribute to the main story is almost irritating. I understand his arc is needed to fledge out his character but I mean he is another Mary Sue in the story so...was it really needed when anyways no growth was to be shown there? Also the ML when he revealed his true identity (very important) and instead of a having a bit of anger or misgivings the MFC just was literally okay with it and also gave some wise preaching like some old saint about it which honestly felt really annoying.
Lastly, this one is a bit humorous for me, but the most ridiculous imbalance of realism and idealism for me in this story is the timeline! And they had a perfect measuring clock for checking on the timeline through a character itself! The MFC's sister in law! who was pregnant from the very start of their turmoil situation until ep. 22 - if this already doesn't tell you enough let me break it down for y'all. Considering the gestation period in this era was the same as now (9 months) and let's for the sake consider that she was pregnant right from the very day of when the MFC's family is banished by the emperor - then from there on the Family first goes to the outskirts where there is a - "supposedly rundown" house. There they manage to tackle initial issues of settling in, then trying to make money by initial business, now here they also start paying their maids as employees along with all the other members, then they slowly start another business of supplying sweets to restaurants which already we know (since its mentioned) first is offered for free of cost for 3 months! and then starts with payments, after all of which our MFC saves enough money to buy a new house in thier town again - small (but not really) and then manages to start their own academy of teaching for her niece and nephews then buys few shops and opens her own shop for selling sweets and some crafty apples for now. All of this and only after they settle down comfortably with few more bigger problems being tackled does finally the sister is law gives birth... meaning all this happened in a matter of 9 months which although seems long enough time yet compared to everything its very unrealistically compressed - unless it was actually that easy to earn such lum-sum wealth in such a short time in olden days and since we are stuck in such a greedy money grabbing capitalistic era my brains cannot comprehend such leaps and bounds of progress in prosperity over such an short interval. Either way I still think 9 months for all this to happen is still too short.
All in all, if now the other half of this drama negates all these above points I shall gladly reedit my ratings and opinions but I am not sure if I would religiously from here out continue watching as my interest has dimmed but for now if I do continue then its to see which of my other characters have the most amazing development and the side couples funny and light romantic build up. So far I really like Aunty Xia Jin E's charcter and am most excited to see her go through all this until the end (hope she doesn't d*e 💀). Until then thank you for reading my review!
Was this review helpful to you?
Get ready for a Rollercoaster!
Watched it on someone's recommendation in the comment section for another series and while I am very happy to have found this masterpiece (because come'on let's be honest...this series can be the Saviour of the Thai BL dramas) I have this foreboding feeling in my heart that after the last episode airs I am going to go to bed with snot and tears.I was honestly awed after watching the very first episode and while the leads do need a little more experience in terms of portraying those little nooks and crannies of precise emotions but somehow the overall set environment, cinematography, music, storyline and most of all the genuineness of the actors absorbing you in their world makes up for it over and above. Honestly this is the first time I have seen such an amazing production with details towards each little aspect...I never thought a drama in the very first episode could give you the feeling of watching a wholesome movie.
This drama has the potential to become an escape from reality and make one truly experience the story.
I have rewatched the trailer for nearly 5 times now, to try and catch some hints and the overall feel of the series and unfortunately I feel that it will be heading towards a bittersweet ending (worst pain of all). So now all I can do is pray and hope that I am proven wrong & it's instead an happy ending.
There is another Series I am obsessed with currently & it overall follows a very bubbly, happy and adorable vibe while this series kind of almost contradicts those completely (TT) & to make it worse I can't seem to wait for neither of the two series's new episodes...ugggh how am I going to deal two drastically opposite emotions on every weekend now!?
Was this review helpful to you?
