This review may contain spoilers
An interesting depiction of grief, love, and yearning for yesterdays long gone
I never thought that a first love type of high school "BL" story with a supernatural twist about a "living corpse" boyfriend could make me cry like this one did.
POSITIVES (for me):
• Both main leads' 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 enough. The director and actors knew what they were doing. The emotional scenes were able to pierce my heart and give me an unexplainable feeling of pain. In short they were able to make me empathize to the characters and the experience they were going through.
•𝗡𝗼 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗟 𝘂𝗸𝗲/𝘀𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗼𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲𝘀. Despite being set in highschool, there's no naive, pure uke or a super popular heartthrob seme. The uke(?) is cold and distant but not unlikable or boring, and his character makes sense bc of his upbringing. The seme(?) is a bit of a typical friendly, more optimistic character but in a realistic way.
- Tho the leads have opposite personalities, they kinda balanced and positively influenced each other so their attraction made sense (opposites attract as they say).
• Despite not having very big impacts on the story, some 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴. I especially liked their friends (the pres, vice pres, and psychic classmate) as well as Koichi's family and wished to see more of them.
• 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸. Every time I hear that piano bgm i can't help but feel a sting in my chest. The opening and endings songs also suit the story well despite having a more "upbeat" sound (i love me some misleading OPs and EDs, very anime-like lol).
• Despite the emotional theme, it 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗮 or telenovela-ish way of presenting the story. No fillers, no unnecessary conflicts or present time misunderstandings, no unnecessary characters that hinder the couple, etc.
- Because of this, it managed to have a 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗾𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲.
• 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 that weren't too confusing or "trying too hard to be deep".
• Cinematography is not grand but fits the vibe of the story.
• It's not a surprise or last minute tradedy type ending bc as early as the first episode our lovely white truck of doom makes an appearance and throughout the rest of the drama there's a somber mood so I already knew how it was gonna end (and I 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿). So if you're not a fan of "bad endings" then I suggest rethink before watching instead of later complaining that it was "too depressing".
LESS POSITIVE/MIXED FEELINGS (and some personal gripes):
• Depending on how much suspension of disbelief you have, 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀 may affect your immersion as a big amount is needed here. Some details of the accident or Koichi's "living corspe" condition were confusing, unrealistic, or weren't completely explained (i won't go into details bc I'm confused myself but im sure more hypercritical or sharp minded viewers won't help but notice them).
- However, bc I didn't want to spoil my experience and immersion, I just excused the unexplainable stuff as supernatural logic lol.
• Depending on your preferences, you may find the drama to 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 "𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰" 𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀.
There's no such things as lovey-dovey cuddling or cute dating scenes. There also weren't enough scenes of the leads' dating period prior to the incident. Honestly I didn't mind much as the overall vibe of the drama wasn't meant to be sweet and romantic and it wasn't just a love story after all.
• It 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝘀𝗹𝗼𝘄-𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗱 and uneventful for some (or maybe even boring) as there weren't much big or dramatic occurrences. We also spend a lot of time on the main character's thought process and recollection of the events.
• Production values are not grand or exceptional, but they were appropriate enough for the setting and story.
• Rewatch value may be on the lower side, unless you want to experience the suffering again. Personally I may rewatch whenever I want to have a good cry lol.
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
Despite not being perfect, I settled with a score of 10 mostly due to personal bias and this show's emotional impact on me (it reawakened my crybaby side and even got my rotten brain to do some thinking lol). I won't call it the best BL I've seen but it's definitely one of the most memorable among Japanese BLs. It reminded me once again that losing a loved one is an inevitable reality which, like Mitchan, all of us may have to face one day. And just like him I believe the pain, longing and desire to hold on will not be easy to face but our beautiful memories of those yesterdays can become our strength in facing new tomorrows.
POSITIVES (for me):
• Both main leads' 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 enough. The director and actors knew what they were doing. The emotional scenes were able to pierce my heart and give me an unexplainable feeling of pain. In short they were able to make me empathize to the characters and the experience they were going through.
•𝗡𝗼 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗟 𝘂𝗸𝗲/𝘀𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗼𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲𝘀. Despite being set in highschool, there's no naive, pure uke or a super popular heartthrob seme. The uke(?) is cold and distant but not unlikable or boring, and his character makes sense bc of his upbringing. The seme(?) is a bit of a typical friendly, more optimistic character but in a realistic way.
- Tho the leads have opposite personalities, they kinda balanced and positively influenced each other so their attraction made sense (opposites attract as they say).
• Despite not having very big impacts on the story, some 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴. I especially liked their friends (the pres, vice pres, and psychic classmate) as well as Koichi's family and wished to see more of them.
• 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸. Every time I hear that piano bgm i can't help but feel a sting in my chest. The opening and endings songs also suit the story well despite having a more "upbeat" sound (i love me some misleading OPs and EDs, very anime-like lol).
• Despite the emotional theme, it 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗮 or telenovela-ish way of presenting the story. No fillers, no unnecessary conflicts or present time misunderstandings, no unnecessary characters that hinder the couple, etc.
- Because of this, it managed to have a 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗾𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲.
• 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 that weren't too confusing or "trying too hard to be deep".
• Cinematography is not grand but fits the vibe of the story.
• It's not a surprise or last minute tradedy type ending bc as early as the first episode our lovely white truck of doom makes an appearance and throughout the rest of the drama there's a somber mood so I already knew how it was gonna end (and I 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿). So if you're not a fan of "bad endings" then I suggest rethink before watching instead of later complaining that it was "too depressing".
LESS POSITIVE/MIXED FEELINGS (and some personal gripes):
• Depending on how much suspension of disbelief you have, 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀 may affect your immersion as a big amount is needed here. Some details of the accident or Koichi's "living corspe" condition were confusing, unrealistic, or weren't completely explained (i won't go into details bc I'm confused myself but im sure more hypercritical or sharp minded viewers won't help but notice them).
- However, bc I didn't want to spoil my experience and immersion, I just excused the unexplainable stuff as supernatural logic lol.
• Depending on your preferences, you may find the drama to 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 "𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰" 𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀.
There's no such things as lovey-dovey cuddling or cute dating scenes. There also weren't enough scenes of the leads' dating period prior to the incident. Honestly I didn't mind much as the overall vibe of the drama wasn't meant to be sweet and romantic and it wasn't just a love story after all.
• It 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝘀𝗹𝗼𝘄-𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗱 and uneventful for some (or maybe even boring) as there weren't much big or dramatic occurrences. We also spend a lot of time on the main character's thought process and recollection of the events.
• Production values are not grand or exceptional, but they were appropriate enough for the setting and story.
• Rewatch value may be on the lower side, unless you want to experience the suffering again. Personally I may rewatch whenever I want to have a good cry lol.
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
Despite not being perfect, I settled with a score of 10 mostly due to personal bias and this show's emotional impact on me (it reawakened my crybaby side and even got my rotten brain to do some thinking lol). I won't call it the best BL I've seen but it's definitely one of the most memorable among Japanese BLs. It reminded me once again that losing a loved one is an inevitable reality which, like Mitchan, all of us may have to face one day. And just like him I believe the pain, longing and desire to hold on will not be easy to face but our beautiful memories of those yesterdays can become our strength in facing new tomorrows.
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