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i remember the cmjp screenwriter (erika yoshida i owe you my life) saying she took into account how some actions of the manga characters would be kind of weird to replicate into an adaptation that involves real people and it was very wise of her and it showed in the drama. on the other hand we have cmth determined to make kurosawa a bigger weirdo than he already is in the manga.

i think the main problem with cherry magic th and its pacing is that it has so much time that even the source material cant fill. i mean, logically yeah, 12 volumes is just right for 12 episodes of 40-50 minutes. the thing is, both the cherry magic manga and the cherry magic og jdrama are quite short.

the manga has super short chapters. that was ideal for cherry magic jp that only had 20 minutes to work with (and way less chapters available). however, cherry magic th seems to want to approach a similar pace but in this case it feels like it's dragging because it's done in 40 minutes instead. it's a bit more tiring to watch kurodachi's earlier back and forth and it's also resulted in a lot of poor writing choices, mainly characterwise.

cherry magic anime that is currently airing is going with the same pace as this one! the difference? the anime does it in 20 minutes! im not saying cmth needs to rush or anything but i think it would have been smarter to have some things done faster

im starting to lose hope on this being another great adaptation tbh which is very sad because every cm adaptation so far has been very good. i will watch it to the end but the writing is starting to get very bad... i currently consider it a 7.5 but i hope maybe the next few episodes change my mind? i was really looking forward to their established relationship episodes because i thought they would make me change my mind but ep7 was not a good start

cmth you were doing so good... you are doing so good with jinta and min and rock and really most side characters.... you were doing so good so why would you pull this shit in this episode.... complete mischracterisation of both achi and karan to lead to a confession? it doesn't feel earned. kurosawa's jealousy is the main motivator to him but here it's framed almost as the only reason. achi treated him unrealistically badly this episode, especially with the food stall and all. he had to rush to work, sure but then didnt even look apologetic and then forgot him for like an hour so he can have fun with everyone else. yeah sure. and i didnt like how they used events that happen after they get together: tsuge visiting the workplace and being touchy with adachi and kurosawa getting jealous actually happens After they get together and it's making kurosawa question why Adachi is so comfortable around his friend (who he thinks also has a crush on Adachi) and not him, his boyfriend (leading to SPOILER adachi confessing about the magic). it was quite an important moment so idk why they would turn it into a gag just to show karan being possessive once again (jdrama did this too and i also disliked it but at least it was after they got together). not to mention a PUBLIC confession? yeah, no, they'd both rather die. though they keep ending the episode one way and then in the next go back a few seconds (i.e ep2) but idk how much they can do with achi already being ON the boat

yeah i've seen that, just op mentioned the mangaka "working closely and approving what they liked" so i was curious if that was ever mentioned because from my information she was hardly involved

when did they mention they worked with the mangaka? just curious because i thought she didn't have that much involvement (iirc she wasn't even informed about the initial announcement back in 2022 until last minute)

this is for my manga people so spoilers for that:
next episode's arcs are right before the confession in the original (adachi getting sick + thinking fujisaki has a crush on him). i think we might get karan confessing at the end of ep4 ending at a cliffhanger but then another 40 minute episode for achi to respond would drag it out imo. i wonder if we're getting kurosawa's sister in this version since in the manga she appears right as adachi gets sick....

there is one major flaw with this adaptation... it's making me too invested in the side characters!!!!
in all seriousness though, it keeps getting better each episode. i love how the company trip was depicted from start to finish. the bath scene was hilarious. loved karan's speech about achi. tsuge buying 10 boxes of noodles so he won't have to order or go out to eat is such a #student moment. duj and tanaka are such scene stealers i know they're comic relief but they're being too good at it!

also this episode confirmed my suspicions that gmmtv gained the rights for both the manga and the jdrama because the pai storyline, even though altered, was a jdrama original. which makes me think it's kind of weird they probably can make her aroace but decided not to..... well it was nice to see they added the jdrama's message with pai telling off her ex. though seeing someone with jan's body type being referred to as fat took 10 years off my life

im still a bit iffy with the characterizations though. i know a lot of changes are so the characters make sense in the country's context but sometimes achi feels too out of character. i guess they're afraid the character will come off as too harsh if he's a bit more gloomy like adachi? anda (chinese radio drama) was also in a different cultural context but didn't have these major changes. karan bothered me a little in ep2 too but everything was (more than) fine by ep3.

waiting 2 weeks for the next episode is hell but the preview looks so promising. ngl i thought those scenes in the trailer from ep4 would definitely be post-getting together karanachi but apparently not! i really think (and hope) this adaptation is going to shine in their post-getting together episodes...

Yes the manga are but I guess the IP itself for adaptations goes through AKATSUKI? I have no idea how copyright works but AKATSUKI is also credited along with Square Enix during the credits

Let's just hope they act quick enough... CM JDrama's success was so unexpected that we only got official international streaming like 3 episodes before the finale...

Apparently the CM IP is under AKATSUKI which also has the rights to F4... So I guess we can hope for Viki release?

I watch a lot of Japanese media and I know they're crazy strict about copyright and stuff. CMTH itself had copyright issues that didn't allow them to air a pilot trailer for MONTHS. How is this an issue AGAIN suddenly after TWO episodes have already aired? I don't even know who to blame. Did GMM not double check or something? Did the Jpn distributor change their mind last minute?

when i said i wanted to watch this and feel the same way i felt when i was watching the jdrama i didn't mean i wanted to get the full experience of inaccessible episodes...

is it true that there's a possibility the show will have to go on a 2 week break because of christmas programms? because stopping next week will be BRUTAL

yep that's exactly what i meant! honestly i find the idea of the umbrella more romantic (and the detail about karan willing to get wet) and more logical (i mean really how long does it take to wrap a scarf around someone?!) but i felt like the scene went by too fast.

I will agree that ITSAY is peak

OK first of all, nowhere did I say or imply that I’m holding the jdrama as the golden standard. I like Cherry Magic as a whole. I’ve listened to both its Japanese and Chinese radio drama multiple times and I’ve read the manga up to the untranslated volumes numerous times. Nowhere in my comment did I say the Jdrama is the standard, I do love it more than any other show but it has some flaws as well especially as far as manga accuracy goes. Also nobody started hyping up the japanese version ‘out of nowhere’ when the thai one was announced, CM is one of the most beloved BLs internationally since 2020 of course people would be reluctant to see it be remade so soon. I also don’t agree with people who judge CMTH before watching it. I get the point of it being a new adaptation and all but manga adaptations are open to criticism as far as accuracy goes all the time so I don’t see why CMTH should be exempt. Especially since my main critique was related to the characters and the way they act.
I personally find fanservice unnecessary because I watch TV shows as TV shows, I don’t care enough to speculate about what actors do and don't do outside their roles. I understand that’s how the Thai BL industry works but as a fan of Cherry Magic I can criticize how that gets in the way of how the story is sold to me. Me not watching it for Taynew means absolutely nothing when I’m watching it for the plot.
Also why even bring up I Told Sunset About You? It’s a completely different genre from Cherry Magic, you can’t compare them just because they’re both BL. But if you want to play that game there’s a reason it has the exact same score as the Japanese Cherry Magic drama on here; they are both beloved shows. I really don’t understand why you got so defensive over me saying I felt the last part was a bit off (in my opinion) when overall I said pretty positive things about the episode. If you think I am biased about the JDrama (again, I am a fan of the ENTIRE franchise and I will probably enjoy CMTH too) I can say the same about you and Taynew. If you can be mad I don’t appreciate your faves enough I can be mad that you’re not appreciating my favorite story enough.

that was just a little jokey joke about how familiar i am with his character

eh i honestly think you could call the jdrama the 'original' cherry magic simply because it's what popularized it. the thai show isn't shy about taking inspiration from it either. and seeing how gmmtv started the copyright process a little while the jdrama ended it's more than fair to assume that the jdrama has always been the blueprint... and without the jdrama the manga wouldn't be long enough for a new series soooo

Upon rewatching EP1 here's some of my thoughts as someone who's familiar with all 4 variations of the story:

Cherry Magic Thailand chooses the Jdrama route where we first meet Achi without his powers. It was nice to see the difference in culture immediately; from Achi’s living conditions to means of transport. Though I thought having Achi immediately lament on his life choices 2 minutes in was maybeeeee too quick.

It’s very interesting that Rock/Rokkaku here is introduced as Achi’s subordinate and their whole first interaction, with Achi feeling awkward that despite their big age difference he hardly holds a senior position over him, which in turn further proves Achi’s averageness. Plus, having Rock approach and get attached to Achi is going to rationalize an aspect of Karan’s jealousy which I am very excited to see. I liked the flashback montage about how different Karan and Achi’s progress in the workplace was. It gives the viewers a better idea of Achi’s mix of jealousy and admiration towards Karan and it’s also a first look into Achi’s feelings of inferiority that will eventually become an obstacle to his and Karan’s relationship.I also like how in the most recent flashback you can see Karan kind of burnt out, which should be around the time he falls (or has already fallen) for Achi.

*BTW Karan here is supposed to have won employee of the year 7 years in a row (from the FIRST year he joined) and honestly I find that less realistic than I found jdrama Kurosawa being in love with Adachi for 7 years

Besides that, however, I found some other scenes unnecessary and very exposition-y, even for a pilot episode. For example, learning about Achi’s trauma regarding romantic relationships should have come up later imo.

Unlike other adaptations this one didn’t really feel the need to excessively point out Karan’s popularity among women, which is a very vital plot point later on; I am not really big fan of that trope so I found it kind of refreshing; and it will come sooner or later.

I am VERY interested in Pai and Dujdao. Big fan of adding another relevant female character and one who is nice to Achi, at that! Pai is leaning to Fujisaki’s more extroverted and mischievous side while I think Dujdao has some of Fujisaki’s qualities as well but her role is more equivalent to a nicer Urabe-san or Achi’s very own Asahina-senpai. Side note, the implication that Pai-Dujdao are some kind of cupids that help Karan seduce Achi is a concept I can 100% get behind. It also seems like the boss will be a recurring character so maybe he’s the Asahina? Anyway, the character department has me invested.

And speaking of characters - Jinta! JInta is…a character who is… not Tsuge. A lot of people are not fans of Tsuge, especially Jdrama Tsuge. But well I don’t know if the solution is to completely change him? He looks and acts way younger which is very contradictory to his role in the manga; Especially to his relationship with Minato. But, I won’t judge too hard yet since they haven’t even interacted on screen. The udon backstory is an AMAZING detail and the GREATEST introduction of the side couple in any version of the story.

So. Nothing is going to top the jdrama elevator scene and every adaptation is going to have to make peace with that. The lighting work during Kurosawa’s imagination in the office was a work of art and Achi’s (and Rock’s later) reaction was hilarious. The sound effects also got me a few times ngl.

Part 4 however…disappointed me. First off they replace the scarf scene with a way less emotionally charged umbrella scene. To which I ask, do you know how hard it is to make an umbrella scene seem so unromantic? And then we have Karan asking Achi to stay over and BEFORE Achi agrees, he reads Karan’s mind and his wild imagination. And then…agrees? The entire gag of the scene relies on Achi agreeing BEFORE he sees all that stuff and then immediately regretting it. Having him regret it after the fact is … pointless? I also found it very abrupt to jump to domestic life scenarios fantasies from the get-go when in all other version’s Karan is just contend with Achi being at his place (with his designated pyjamas). He’s a horny bastard in general, I am not denying the mole scene earlier but I felt like the domestic fantasies being shown so early on was a bit fanservice-y for the Taynew fans? (As someone who doesn’t gaf about these men outside their roles and as someone who knows Kurosawa personally this is what it felt like to me.) Karan's smirk was precious though hehe.