This is fine as it goes. But was it just me, or was the pacing and the editing quite off? (My Japanese is good enough to watch this, but not good enough to catch all the nuance -- so I'm not sure.)
I agree 100%. It repackages the story, but I'm not seeing the chemistry in episode 2. Nozue was "role playing"…
Thank you! Chemistry is everything. In countries like Sweden & France, they spend several days just doing "chemistry reads" to find the right actors for a romantic couple. I'm not asking a low budget JBL to do that. But you should either have brilliant writing, or stars with the charisma to carry the romance through. OFC had both; this, I don't think, has either; though I would climb Shoji Kohei like an oak tree in an instant.
I would love a winsome tone (l'm thinking of Heart-LiMing storyline in Moonlight Chicken -- let's not speak of the others), but that requires more than stuffed toys and food porn, you know?
And yes, that list... If I were Tanaka, and I saw that list, I would not want to date Suzume. Would you? If his list started out with: getting railed to death by a tall hunk of meat, then we'll be talking...
I'm sorry. There is no comparison here between this show and Old Fashion Cupcake. OFC was stupendously written, aimed at adults, with few clichés, no infantile internal monologues, and pullulating sexual desire. It was revolutionary in what it did with BL.
This show is fine as it goes. But it is pedestrian, far from well written, with an unfathomably clueless 39-year-old man (whose toy obsession and self-pity alone would put me off, but to each their own), and all the sexual chemistry of putting wet clothes out on a rainy day. In OFC, we knew why Nozue is the way he is, and it is not because he's clueless or hopeless. Age steals upon him as it does all of us, and he mistakes routine for life. And we know why Togawa was drawn to him: because Nozue is profoundly smart and socially savvy. We learn all of this in the first 10 minutes of OFC. Here... oh sod it.
I suppose the writers of OFC realised that, when you adapt a manga, there is no need to keep its aesthetic or eccentricities on film, a different medium. Most JBLs have yet to realise this.
OK...so I've finished it. It's not a bad drama. That being said, I do NOT agree with the behavior of 'Sorn' but…
True. Real physical intimacy scares a lot of BL viewers.
To be fair, I called it porn too in this instance -- and I'm a gay man -- but entirely ironically, and because P'Sorn lends itself to so many puns that my silly, horny brain can't ignore. Normally, I'd be angry at anyone who just dismisses gay intimacy as porn. But here, I appropriated it as a term of praise: simply because gay intimacy is so rare in BLs, and it seemed interesting to turn the word on its head (at least in my review). But the point you make is entirely true.
This is the best review of a series I have ever read! If you are not already, you should 100% be in the writing…
Thank you so much for your kind words! It is you who has made my day -- and your words are balm to a writer (which is indeed what I am). Hope you have a lovely day!
10 
4 
3 
1 
https://kisskh.at/profile/sasameyuki1950/review/426632
I wonder how much of this show will cover it. But then, I'm not sure I want to stay to find out either.
If there are any BL producers out here, give me a job! :)
Also, what is it with JBLs and school rooftops?
I would love a winsome tone (l'm thinking of Heart-LiMing storyline in Moonlight Chicken -- let's not speak of the others), but that requires more than stuffed toys and food porn, you know?
And yes, that list... If I were Tanaka, and I saw that list, I would not want to date Suzume. Would you? If his list started out with: getting railed to death by a tall hunk of meat, then we'll be talking...
One point in its favour. The tall one does use the word "gay". So points to that.
This show is fine as it goes. But it is pedestrian, far from well written, with an unfathomably clueless 39-year-old man (whose toy obsession and self-pity alone would put me off, but to each their own), and all the sexual chemistry of putting wet clothes out on a rainy day. In OFC, we knew why Nozue is the way he is, and it is not because he's clueless or hopeless. Age steals upon him as it does all of us, and he mistakes routine for life. And we know why Togawa was drawn to him: because Nozue is profoundly smart and socially savvy. We learn all of this in the first 10 minutes of OFC. Here... oh sod it.
I suppose the writers of OFC realised that, when you adapt a manga, there is no need to keep its aesthetic or eccentricities on film, a different medium. Most JBLs have yet to realise this.
To be fair, I called it porn too in this instance -- and I'm a gay man -- but entirely ironically, and because P'Sorn lends itself to so many puns that my silly, horny brain can't ignore. Normally, I'd be angry at anyone who just dismisses gay intimacy as porn. But here, I appropriated it as a term of praise: simply because gay intimacy is so rare in BLs, and it seemed interesting to turn the word on its head (at least in my review). But the point you make is entirely true.