Agreed. It has its share of its problems but I'd still rewatch it over and over again just because it brings me…
Oh thanks for the heads up on Volume 2. Will have to look for it and read ASAP.
I hope the series gets a sequel. Yusuke and Ryosuke seem to have started building up a following because of this show, so hopefully it’s enough to greenlight a sequel. I’d love to see more fleshing out especially of Shinomiya background.
Also, between Shinomiya, Kurosawa (Cherry Magic), and Ida (My Love Mix-Up) - Japanese BL is really winning the game in terms of having “green flag” (as opposed to red flag / toxic) semes in their shows. It shows you can create compelling / interesting characters without going into toxic tropes (which to be fair, also has their place in BL lol). Quite a breath of fresh air.
While admittedly the characters probably did not get to be as 3D as, say, the Cherry Magic boys - it still held up pretty well despite some occasional clunky story-telling.
I think this clunkiness was caused by the short manga story being adapted and stretched across 8 episodes - we got way too many repetitive flashbacks to prior events already depicted and repetitive VO trains of thought, especially from Kouta. A lot of the explanations came from “tell, not show” as opposed to “show, not tell.”
The series could probably have either been tightened to 5 or 6 episodes - or else, if 8 episodes were a must, then use the extra time to flesh out the characters more beyond “telling, not showing.” Add scenes or situations that perhaps gave stronger insight into Naoya’s character (since most of this came too late).
Flashbacks worked well when we got a glimpse of Kouta’s past and Naoya’s past. Not so much when they were used to keep on showing events we’ve seen in prior episodes over and over (though I think it was good use in the last episode to contextualize their first meetings).
And also, ultimately, the girls sub-plot could have been cut out (they weren’t in the manga, and on the show, nothing happened with them of value). Their screentime could have been used for the main story and more character development.
The hostage situation, which wasn’t in the manga, was also pretty random and somewhat weird, though I guess amusing in a way when we learn of the robber’s motivation. I suppose it was meant to show Kouta reflecting on his life and happiness with Naoya, but perhaps there could have been a diffferent way to have done that. But then, also perhaps they needed something more “climactic” than the manga - but then this hostage situation was fixed within a few minutes so it lacked the oomph.
So yes, there were some episodes and sequences that were essentially “padding” to give us eight episodes.
Also, still no actual kiss except the first episode? Are the actors contracted to only do one kiss and they used it at the start? LOL kidding. I suppose that’s more than what we got from Kurosawa and Adachi in Cherry Magic 😆
THAT SAID, I still loved it. I may have some criticisms, but these issues never made the series bad for me. While it might not be Cherry Magic, it still holds up pretty well on its own merits, and I would watch this again and again.
Despite the lack of a kiss on the lips, that ending still remains to be one of the sweetest and cutest endings I’ve seen: it was a good rendering of the manga’s ending.
I hope both the manga and the series get a sequel.
I just realized the 7 Great men were all in "In Family we Trust", wow just wow. I only remember Tangmo, Vier,…
The 7 plus the two others in IFWT (Tor and Ryu) were all part of the boy band 9x9 during these years. The closing theme OST of GMA was actually sung by 9x9 and occasionally performed by them during appearances and tours before the group broke up.
While the prior 2 episodes (4 and 5) could have been tighter and better-paced compared to the first 3 episodes, episode 6 got the entire thing back on track soooo very well.
As I had already read the manga and so understand the story itself is pretty bare bones - my only main recommendation for this to have been better productionwise was maybe keep it to 6 episodes instead of 8. It could probably even have fit into 4 or 5 episodes - unless they really expanded more scenes and/or character development moments (the opening flashback of episode 6 would have been a good example).
To be fair also, in the manga we don’t really get to see a lot of Shinomiya’s POV - so it looks like they’ve been faithful to that and the reason why he generally seems to be an enigma. Hopefully there will be a sequel (both manga and series) diving deeper into Shinomiya’s background and psyche and what it’s like having so much good luck (we’ve seen bits and pieces but not enough to really make the character be fully realized - just enough right now to know the character, but not intimately),.
In any case, this is back to shaping up and being on track as my second favorite Japanese BL after Cherry Magic, and I can’t wait for the last 2 episodes to see if this is retained.
Also, does anyone know where we can find a Shinomiya for ourselves? Asking for a friend. 😆
Actually, if they will follow the manga, yes he does keep everything in, but he’s actually a huge pessimist and an unhappy boy because of his bad luck. He’s holding all his anger/depression/pessimism in, and to cover that up, he pretends to be super perky and super happy.
So far they’ve stuck very close to the manga while adding some scenes and/or extending scenes, so hopefully the remainder of the season will follow a similar approach. The manga was indeed bare bones.
Maybe I missed it but I don't recall Fukuhara being wary of Shinomiya because he's male. It's always been more…
Since they are pretty faithful to the manga, which I recently read (and the trailer for next ep also indicates more faithfulness to the manga),then the next few episodes will get back on track in terms of character development and plot progress.
His face is already one of the prettiest in Japan BL dramaland together with kurasawa from Cherry Magic (look…
To be fair, Yusuke is already turning 26 this year so he’s not as young as the character, and he’s been part of the band lol for about seven years where he does a lot of dancing, so I guess that’swhy he has a pretty defined body. And yes he so could be Keita’s younger brother.
I know they’re entirely different series/worlds, but now in my head canon, I for myself place this and Cherry Magic in the same universe: whatever forces were giving Adachi mind-reading powers are the same forces responsible for the luck situations of Shinomiya and Fukuhara. LOL
I have to say that this series uses music better than just about any other one I've watched. That scene between…
GMM has really done Pluem (and Chimon) a huge disservice by constantly relegating them to support roles.
Happy Birthday, where Pluem got an actual acting nomination in the Asian TV Awards, as well as The Gifted (for Chimon) and Our Skyy: InSun were more than enough to prove to GMM that these two are amongst their best actors and poised to be leading men.
They nixed Pluem’s Devil Sister in 2020 (understandable due to the pandemic) but gave it to Win Metawin instead for next year. They’ve given Chimon a secondary (if not tertiary) support role in The Player.
They were so poised for leading men role after Our Skyy and all the fanmeets in 2019, but for some reason seem to have all but forgotten them in favor of a host of so-so newbies on the GMMTV roster.
Can someone help to explain to me what happened to the guy’s daughter before her death? I am confused with the…
If I recall correctly, it looks like she had a seizure, and a resident administered medication (in the absence of YO’s mother), but it didn’t work. I think what they were trying to explain was that (and I may be misremembering) the resident did administer what was expected, but the kid’s body still reacted negatively to the medication.
Basically, I think the point they were making was that no one was really at fault here, it was an unexpected and unfortunate reaction of the kid to the medication.
Endings were more or less as expected, though it felt more sedate that I anticipated. Perhaps this is a good thing…
Yes. I thought the same. They let the driver off the hook in an earlier episode already, didn’t they? The one YO’s mother kept on going to at the hospital.
If Mr. Yu’s statement is accurate, it looks like the said driver may or may not be fully off the hook. It still was an accident but looks like it could be manslaughter. Although that said, it’s unclear what happened after he hit YO. Given the driver ended up in the hospital, looks like the car also crashed after hitting YO. The driver being in the hospital implies he may have tried to swerve after realizing he hit YO.
And if the light was red for pedestrians and green for cars, then legally (depending of course on Korea laws), the driver may possibly not be liable at all.
As for YO, I give him a “pass” for this one. He was instinctively recoiling away from Mr. Yu, whom he had a bad encounter with earlier that day and thus instinctively tried to keep distance, and in that split second he forgot he was at a crosswalk and stepped accidentally into incoming traffic. His reflexes simply weren’t fast enough to do the same thing with the car since his reflexes had just made him recoil from Mr. Yu.
Final episode spoilers below for those who’ve seen it.
Endings were more or less as expected, though it felt more sedate that I anticipated. Perhaps this is a good thing though I feel it could have been more.
Few questions that linger:
1. Assuming Mr. Yu is not lying, why does it seem like he’s (legally) liable for YO’s death? What consequences were he expecting? Ultimately, and the dashcam probably would show this, it was still an accident. Mr. Yu never pushed YO, YO just got startled when Mr. Yu called to approach him and wanting to talk to him, and YO instinctively stepped away (because of their encounter that day) and into the road.
That said, I suppose they never said he would be jailed, but he seems to be acting like he was directly responsible. Feelings of guilt and remorse, I understand, but is he legally liable for what happened? Especially if the dashcam would show he never really pushed YO?
2. So… why is Mario still lingering? What unfinished business does he still have? It doesn’t look like he went the way of YO even after having closure regarding Su Jin.
3. The ending was expected (I mean, it was probably a given), but I guess they do open it up for another season if needed.
I hope the series gets a sequel. Yusuke and Ryosuke seem to have started building up a following because of this show, so hopefully it’s enough to greenlight a sequel. I’d love to see more fleshing out especially of Shinomiya background.
Also, between Shinomiya, Kurosawa (Cherry Magic), and Ida (My Love Mix-Up) - Japanese BL is really winning the game in terms of having “green flag” (as opposed to red flag / toxic) semes in their shows. It shows you can create compelling / interesting characters without going into toxic tropes (which to be fair, also has their place in BL lol). Quite a breath of fresh air.
While admittedly the characters probably did not get to be as 3D as, say, the Cherry Magic boys - it still held up pretty well despite some occasional clunky story-telling.
I think this clunkiness was caused by the short manga story being adapted and stretched across 8 episodes - we got way too many repetitive flashbacks to prior events already depicted and repetitive VO trains of thought, especially from Kouta. A lot of the explanations came from “tell, not show” as opposed to “show, not tell.”
The series could probably have either been tightened to 5 or 6 episodes - or else, if 8 episodes were a must, then use the extra time to flesh out the characters more beyond “telling, not showing.” Add scenes or situations that perhaps gave stronger insight into Naoya’s character (since most of this came too late).
Flashbacks worked well when we got a glimpse of Kouta’s past and Naoya’s past. Not so much when they were used to keep on showing events we’ve seen in prior episodes over and over (though I think it was good use in the last episode to contextualize their first meetings).
And also, ultimately, the girls sub-plot could have been cut out (they weren’t in the manga, and on the show, nothing happened with them of value). Their screentime could have been used for the main story and more character development.
The hostage situation, which wasn’t in the manga, was also pretty random and somewhat weird, though I guess amusing in a way when we learn of the robber’s motivation. I suppose it was meant to show Kouta reflecting on his life and happiness with Naoya, but perhaps there could have been a diffferent way to have done that. But then, also perhaps they needed something more “climactic” than the manga - but then this hostage situation was fixed within a few minutes so it lacked the oomph.
So yes, there were some episodes and sequences that were essentially “padding” to give us eight episodes.
Also, still no actual kiss except the first episode? Are the actors contracted to only do one kiss and they used it at the start? LOL kidding. I suppose that’s more than what we got from Kurosawa and Adachi in Cherry Magic 😆
THAT SAID, I still loved it. I may have some criticisms, but these issues never made the series bad for me. While it might not be Cherry Magic, it still holds up pretty well on its own merits, and I would watch this again and again.
Despite the lack of a kiss on the lips, that ending still remains to be one of the sweetest and cutest endings I’ve seen: it was a good rendering of the manga’s ending.
I hope both the manga and the series get a sequel.
But yes, their first names Ryosuke and Yusuke are indeed similar too.
As I had already read the manga and so understand the story itself is pretty bare bones - my only main recommendation for this to have been better productionwise was maybe keep it to 6 episodes instead of 8. It could probably even have fit into 4 or 5 episodes - unless they really expanded more scenes and/or character development moments (the opening flashback of episode 6 would have been a good example).
To be fair also, in the manga we don’t really get to see a lot of Shinomiya’s POV - so it looks like they’ve been faithful to that and the reason why he generally seems to be an enigma. Hopefully there will be a sequel (both manga and series) diving deeper into Shinomiya’s background and psyche and what it’s like having so much good luck (we’ve seen bits and pieces but not enough to really make the character be fully realized - just enough right now to know the character, but not intimately),.
In any case, this is back to shaping up and being on track as my second favorite Japanese BL after Cherry Magic, and I can’t wait for the last 2 episodes to see if this is retained.
Also, does anyone know where we can find a Shinomiya for ourselves? Asking for a friend. 😆
Fukuhara’s bad luck would make him encounter the person he wants to avoid the most.
Shinomiya’s good luck would make him encounter the person he wants to see the most. LOL.
Fukuhara just had no chance in this game of luck 😂
I know they’re entirely different series/worlds, but now in my head canon, I for myself place this and Cherry Magic in the same universe: whatever forces were giving Adachi mind-reading powers are the same forces responsible for the luck situations of Shinomiya and Fukuhara. LOL
Happy Birthday, where Pluem got an actual acting nomination in the Asian TV Awards, as well as The Gifted (for Chimon) and Our Skyy: InSun were more than enough to prove to GMM that these two are amongst their best actors and poised to be leading men.
They nixed Pluem’s Devil Sister in 2020 (understandable due to the pandemic) but gave it to Win Metawin instead for next year. They’ve given Chimon a secondary (if not tertiary) support role in The Player.
They were so poised for leading men role after Our Skyy and all the fanmeets in 2019, but for some reason seem to have all but forgotten them in favor of a host of so-so newbies on the GMMTV roster.
Basically, I think the point they were making was that no one was really at fault here, it was an unexpected and unfortunate reaction of the kid to the medication.
This is how I understood it.
If Mr. Yu’s statement is accurate, it looks like the said driver may or may not be fully off the hook. It still was an accident but looks like it could be manslaughter. Although that said, it’s unclear what happened after he hit YO. Given the driver ended up in the hospital, looks like the car also crashed after hitting YO. The driver being in the hospital implies he may have tried to swerve after realizing he hit YO.
And if the light was red for pedestrians and green for cars, then legally (depending of course on Korea laws), the driver may possibly not be liable at all.
As for YO, I give him a “pass” for this one. He was instinctively recoiling away from Mr. Yu, whom he had a bad encounter with earlier that day and thus instinctively tried to keep distance, and in that split second he forgot he was at a crosswalk and stepped accidentally into incoming traffic. His reflexes simply weren’t fast enough to do the same thing with the car since his reflexes had just made him recoil from Mr. Yu.
Few questions that linger:
1. Assuming Mr. Yu is not lying, why does it seem like he’s (legally) liable for YO’s death? What consequences were he expecting? Ultimately, and the dashcam probably would show this, it was still an accident. Mr. Yu never pushed YO, YO just got startled when Mr. Yu called to approach him and wanting to talk to him, and YO instinctively stepped away (because of their encounter that day) and into the road.
That said, I suppose they never said he would be jailed, but he seems to be acting like he was directly responsible. Feelings of guilt and remorse, I understand, but is he legally liable for what happened? Especially if the dashcam would show he never really pushed YO?
2. So… why is Mario still lingering? What unfinished business does he still have? It doesn’t look like he went the way of YO even after having closure regarding Su Jin.
3. The ending was expected (I mean, it was probably a given), but I guess they do open it up for another season if needed.