18
16
2
1
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5
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2
Overall lighthearted and very charming
This is a lighthearted watch which can sometimes appear to be a bit silly and shallow, but I found it incredibly charming and the characters very endearing. While it is not remarkably deep, it has some good messages, plays with gender stereotypes and conformity, and avoided some of my most disliked tropes in romances.
Before watching this series, I had only seen a clip of a cross-dressing* young man telling a young woman that she doesn’t need make-up, which was enough to get me interested. I loved it from the first episode on and the series continued to put a smile on my face throughout the following episodes. While it might sometimes seem a bit silly with some over the top acting, the characters are actually often quite mature and had some great conversations. I found especially the main characters, who both had their insecurities, and their friendship, but also the supporting characters really likeable.
This avoided some of my biggest annoyances in romance dramas: possessiveness, extreme jealousy, dragged out stupid misunderstandings... instead we got nice characters who are able to communicate.
What I am also not a fan of are makeovers in romcoms, as they usually showcase (at least in my opinion) that a person (usually the woman) needs to get attractive enough and adhere enough to the beauty standards to finally be desirable by a man and only then can she be happy, but they did not go down that route here.
And I usually prefer female characters to be… well, less clueless and naive, but Haruka was in certain situations so straightforward and loyal, that I still really liked her.
Some nit-picky things:
You learn very little about the characters outside of their relationships to each other if it is not relevant for the plot, e. g. I have no idea what Haruka studies as it is never mentioned, nor do I know what Kurotaki does besides working part-time at that restaurant.
And don't expect great kisses, they were quite bad. I don't need characters in a romance to constantly snog, but these dead fish kisses without moving their lips just look weird and uncomfortable. However, I was so charmed by everything else, I was able to mostly look past that here.
This is easy to binge-watch (and easy to rewatch which I have already done) and if you enjoy a slightly silly and lighthearted romcom with throughout likeable characters that also has a bit to say about gender stereotypes, I can highly recommend this.
*I don't necessarily like the term cross-dressing because I believe clothes have no gender and everyone can and should wear whatever they like, but I am aware that in most societies certain types of clothes are often associated with a specific gender, and this drama is advertised with a cross-dressing-tag which is why I use the term in my review.
Before watching this series, I had only seen a clip of a cross-dressing* young man telling a young woman that she doesn’t need make-up, which was enough to get me interested. I loved it from the first episode on and the series continued to put a smile on my face throughout the following episodes. While it might sometimes seem a bit silly with some over the top acting, the characters are actually often quite mature and had some great conversations. I found especially the main characters, who both had their insecurities, and their friendship, but also the supporting characters really likeable.
This avoided some of my biggest annoyances in romance dramas: possessiveness, extreme jealousy, dragged out stupid misunderstandings... instead we got nice characters who are able to communicate.
What I am also not a fan of are makeovers in romcoms, as they usually showcase (at least in my opinion) that a person (usually the woman) needs to get attractive enough and adhere enough to the beauty standards to finally be desirable by a man and only then can she be happy, but they did not go down that route here.
And I usually prefer female characters to be… well, less clueless and naive, but Haruka was in certain situations so straightforward and loyal, that I still really liked her.
Some nit-picky things:
You learn very little about the characters outside of their relationships to each other if it is not relevant for the plot, e. g. I have no idea what Haruka studies as it is never mentioned, nor do I know what Kurotaki does besides working part-time at that restaurant.
And don't expect great kisses, they were quite bad. I don't need characters in a romance to constantly snog, but these dead fish kisses without moving their lips just look weird and uncomfortable. However, I was so charmed by everything else, I was able to mostly look past that here.
This is easy to binge-watch (and easy to rewatch which I have already done) and if you enjoy a slightly silly and lighthearted romcom with throughout likeable characters that also has a bit to say about gender stereotypes, I can highly recommend this.
*I don't necessarily like the term cross-dressing because I believe clothes have no gender and everyone can and should wear whatever they like, but I am aware that in most societies certain types of clothes are often associated with a specific gender, and this drama is advertised with a cross-dressing-tag which is why I use the term in my review.
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