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Falling in Love with a Rival — A Huge Disappointment for Fans of the Novel
I was incredibly excited when I heard that one of my favourite BL novels was being adapted. Finding good BL stories isn't easy, and seeing one finally reach the screen felt like something special. Unfortunately, after watching Falling in Love with a Rival, I couldn't hide my disappointment.
My biggest problem is how little it resembles the novel.
The original story isn't just about revenge or comedy. It's about two people who slowly discover feelings they never expected to have. The romance develops naturally, and that's what makes it so interesting. Here, most of that emotional journey disappears. The adaptation feels rushed, simplified, and often disconnected from what made the novel so memorable in the first place. Instead of feeling like I was watching the story I loved, it felt like I was watching a very loose summary of it.
The acting doesn't help either.
None of the performances are terrible, but very few scenes feel emotionally convincing. The chemistry between the leads never reaches the level needed to make me believe the relationship, which is a serious problem for a romance. Several emotional moments that should have been powerful simply pass by without leaving much of an impression.
The production is also clearly limited. With such short episodes, the story barely has time to introduce the characters before moving on to the next plot point. Everything happens so quickly that it's difficult to become emotionally invested. Rather than adapting the novel, it often feels like it's skipping from one important scene to another without allowing any of them to breathe.
Despite all that, I can't completely dislike the series.
Simply seeing a BL novel adapted into a television drama still feels exciting. There aren't many opportunities to watch stories like this, and I genuinely hope productions such as this encourage more creators to bring BL novels to the screen. Even if this adaptation didn't satisfy me, I still want the genre to continue growing.
Final Thought
Falling in Love with a Rival isn't the adaptation I was hoping for. As someone who loved the novel, I found it far too rushed and far too different from the original story. I'm happy that BL novels are finally beginning to appear on screen, but this one deserved much more care than it received. I just hope the next adaptation remembers what made the original so special in the first place.
My biggest problem is how little it resembles the novel.
The original story isn't just about revenge or comedy. It's about two people who slowly discover feelings they never expected to have. The romance develops naturally, and that's what makes it so interesting. Here, most of that emotional journey disappears. The adaptation feels rushed, simplified, and often disconnected from what made the novel so memorable in the first place. Instead of feeling like I was watching the story I loved, it felt like I was watching a very loose summary of it.
The acting doesn't help either.
None of the performances are terrible, but very few scenes feel emotionally convincing. The chemistry between the leads never reaches the level needed to make me believe the relationship, which is a serious problem for a romance. Several emotional moments that should have been powerful simply pass by without leaving much of an impression.
The production is also clearly limited. With such short episodes, the story barely has time to introduce the characters before moving on to the next plot point. Everything happens so quickly that it's difficult to become emotionally invested. Rather than adapting the novel, it often feels like it's skipping from one important scene to another without allowing any of them to breathe.
Despite all that, I can't completely dislike the series.
Simply seeing a BL novel adapted into a television drama still feels exciting. There aren't many opportunities to watch stories like this, and I genuinely hope productions such as this encourage more creators to bring BL novels to the screen. Even if this adaptation didn't satisfy me, I still want the genre to continue growing.
Final Thought
Falling in Love with a Rival isn't the adaptation I was hoping for. As someone who loved the novel, I found it far too rushed and far too different from the original story. I'm happy that BL novels are finally beginning to appear on screen, but this one deserved much more care than it received. I just hope the next adaptation remembers what made the original so special in the first place.
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