231
466
15
1
5
10
21
1
28
3
18
6
1
9
49
1
15
4
3
10
9
4
9
26
18
35
37
A melt in your mouth romance… served with a side of questionable therapy!
Japan just gets food dramas in a way no one else does. Romantic Anonymous is one of them, revolving around Artisanal chocolates. It is a story of Sosuke, a germaphobe, who takes over Le Sauveur (a chocolate shop) and meets Lee He Na, who battles her own fear of social anxiety. If I look at it with a rose coloured lens, it does scratch that itch, but the psychological part of phobia/ trauma and how it was dealt with was highly unrealistic, especially the character of the therapist Irene.
Starting with the positives, I enjoyed the journey of leads- both individually and romantically. Even though their phobias are different- one is a germaphobe and the other can't make eye contact. Yet somehow they became a safe space for each other, growing softly as they each broke out of their shells.The main strength of their bond lies in the fact that they understand each other's silence better than most couples understand words. I loved how tender and careful their relationship felt.
I did feel the pacing dipped in between, but it did pick up in the later episodes. Also, having only eight episodes really helped cut out the fillers and kept the story from feeling stretched.
Another thing that worked in favour of the drama was the beautiful cinematography and the atmospheric setting. It was very scenic, especially all the wide outdoor shots of nature, plus the chocolate making process was filmed and portrayed beautifully. The overall aesthetics felt very warm.
What didn't work for me or should I say who didn't work for me, was Miss psychologist Irene. She was definitely the weakest link out of all 4 main characters. She is a professional yet rarely she behaves like one. I was astonished at her lack of boundaries and how somehow she had this tendency to insert herself into situations where she should be standing 500 m apart, observing from a safe distance from a professional standpoint. I am not saying she is malicious, just poorly written.
And her love line with Hiro was controversial as well. There wasn't enough organic tension between them. It felt forced or like an afterthought. Maybe it was because I couldn't get the conflict of roles out of my head, because Hiro was connected to both the leads and she was their therapist, muddying boundaries.
This could have worked better with her being a just a friend or anything other than a therapist.
Acting wise, this was my first time seeing Oguri Shun and he definitely has left a good impression on me. Han Hyo Joo also did a decent job. This was a Japanese-Korean collaboration and somehow I didn't feel she was out of place or anything. Akanishi Jin came with an insane face card, and though I didn't enjoy his character as much as I thought I would, his acting was nice too. I share the same thought for Nakamura Yuri as Irene.
Overall, this was a good one-time sweet treat from a romance perspective. I would recommend it if you enjoy gentle and slow-burn romance with some fine-dining chocolate aesthetics. It's not perfect but far better than romcoms I have watched recently.
Starting with the positives, I enjoyed the journey of leads- both individually and romantically. Even though their phobias are different- one is a germaphobe and the other can't make eye contact. Yet somehow they became a safe space for each other, growing softly as they each broke out of their shells.The main strength of their bond lies in the fact that they understand each other's silence better than most couples understand words. I loved how tender and careful their relationship felt.
I did feel the pacing dipped in between, but it did pick up in the later episodes. Also, having only eight episodes really helped cut out the fillers and kept the story from feeling stretched.
Another thing that worked in favour of the drama was the beautiful cinematography and the atmospheric setting. It was very scenic, especially all the wide outdoor shots of nature, plus the chocolate making process was filmed and portrayed beautifully. The overall aesthetics felt very warm.
What didn't work for me or should I say who didn't work for me, was Miss psychologist Irene. She was definitely the weakest link out of all 4 main characters. She is a professional yet rarely she behaves like one. I was astonished at her lack of boundaries and how somehow she had this tendency to insert herself into situations where she should be standing 500 m apart, observing from a safe distance from a professional standpoint. I am not saying she is malicious, just poorly written.
And her love line with Hiro was controversial as well. There wasn't enough organic tension between them. It felt forced or like an afterthought. Maybe it was because I couldn't get the conflict of roles out of my head, because Hiro was connected to both the leads and she was their therapist, muddying boundaries.
This could have worked better with her being a just a friend or anything other than a therapist.
Acting wise, this was my first time seeing Oguri Shun and he definitely has left a good impression on me. Han Hyo Joo also did a decent job. This was a Japanese-Korean collaboration and somehow I didn't feel she was out of place or anything. Akanishi Jin came with an insane face card, and though I didn't enjoy his character as much as I thought I would, his acting was nice too. I share the same thought for Nakamura Yuri as Irene.
Overall, this was a good one-time sweet treat from a romance perspective. I would recommend it if you enjoy gentle and slow-burn romance with some fine-dining chocolate aesthetics. It's not perfect but far better than romcoms I have watched recently.
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