They really had me in the first half
Echoing the comments that said this went rapidly downhill, around episode 8. I was super disappointed because I was enjoying myself so much - it's surprisingly high quality for an MBS drama, I thought the dynamic between the two leads was relatively fresh, the mystery had intrigue, and this is by far the best styling I've seen for Yagi Yusei imo.
I didn't watch the Korean version, so I can't say how well it holds up as an adaptation, but I imagine it suffered a lot trying to condense twenty 60min long episodes into twelve 30min eps, because everything was way too rushed in the end. The romance had no real build-up, the mystery was unfulfilling, the motivations for all the characters were poorly fleshed out. I usually appreciate how Japanese adaptations of Korean dramas are able to trim the fat and keep the story concise, but it didn't work in this case. Too many characters, too many things going on. It's a shame since I also liked Kusakawa Takuya and Morita Kokoro here, but they barely matter to the plot. And I know they establish at the beginning that he has a thing for her, but tell me why I thought there might be some kind of twist that Takuya's character liked Yusei's character all along.... Maybe I'm just too influenced by those two actors' previous works, but I swear the vibe was there!! Ijima Ku was another highlight in the cast - a relatively new face for me, and I think he did well with what he was given, all things considered.
Overall, I give this a pass because I cannot overstate how much I was giggling and kicking my feet at Yagi Yusei in the first half (tbh the second half is worth watching for the kiss scene in ep 10 alone) and while it was ultimately disappointing, it had enough going for it to hold my attention to the end.
I didn't watch the Korean version, so I can't say how well it holds up as an adaptation, but I imagine it suffered a lot trying to condense twenty 60min long episodes into twelve 30min eps, because everything was way too rushed in the end. The romance had no real build-up, the mystery was unfulfilling, the motivations for all the characters were poorly fleshed out. I usually appreciate how Japanese adaptations of Korean dramas are able to trim the fat and keep the story concise, but it didn't work in this case. Too many characters, too many things going on. It's a shame since I also liked Kusakawa Takuya and Morita Kokoro here, but they barely matter to the plot. And I know they establish at the beginning that he has a thing for her, but tell me why I thought there might be some kind of twist that Takuya's character liked Yusei's character all along.... Maybe I'm just too influenced by those two actors' previous works, but I swear the vibe was there!! Ijima Ku was another highlight in the cast - a relatively new face for me, and I think he did well with what he was given, all things considered.
Overall, I give this a pass because I cannot overstate how much I was giggling and kicking my feet at Yagi Yusei in the first half (tbh the second half is worth watching for the kiss scene in ep 10 alone) and while it was ultimately disappointing, it had enough going for it to hold my attention to the end.
Was this review helpful to you?
