sindrandi_

Number of times, I wanted to reach through my screen, pick Amane up and hug him tightly: infinite!
What kind of sorcery is this loveable and adorable human. I was in his corner and ready to defend him with my life from the moment, he appeared. Well played, Okura Takato!

I came directly from "A Breeze of Love" to this, and even if it's unfair to compare the two, I was still surprised by how much "Kimi to Nara Koi...." accomplishes in less time. Both are simple stories, both are flawed, but "Kimi to Nara Koi..." feels way more fleshed out. The character growth and "stakes" for the ML's are more clearly defined too.

When Amane asked Ryuji that question on the beach, and we saw, how Ryuji had spent his summer, it hit me so hard (in a good way), I had to take a short break to watch something ridiculous on Youtube. The cinematography, dialogue, acting, story and score came together perfectly in those scenes. Japanese productions really tug at the heartstrings in a way others can't easily pull off or duplicate.

I want to check in on these two again. I hope, they keep their promise.

Ep. 8. Well, I cried.
Also, the preview of that island looked insane.

How far I've come. Had this been one of my first Jdramas, I'd have been so done exactly 6.32 minutes into the first episode. But thanks to my old pal Minato-san, my tolerance level for "limbs flailing & shouty line deliveries" is now practically limitless.

Whether this show works or not rides heavily on Toki. It took me half an episode to get comfortable with him, but now I enjoy his "going through all major emotions in 15 second intervals" quite a lot. He's loveable, way too much and very funny. I can't believe, I'm only realizing now, the actor played Ichinose Eiji in Kimi no Hana ni Naru. Only one of my fave 2022-shows.

But anyway, I cannot stress enough, how appreciative I am of watching a cast of predominantly regular looking humans. Most of them (minus a couple, who appear to have been held back. A lot.) actually look like they belong in that school. I also like how they address the size of the age gap without "addressing it" especially in the way students talk to Sahara. The cinematography in the more quiet and serious scenes is surprisingly remarkable. Very promising for later (possibly?) angsty episodes.

3 episodes in this is all very paint-by-numbers, familiar and easy-breezy, but I'm enjoying it so far. This comment section, though, is wild with some heavy and very ill-fitting terms being unfairly attached to this story.

Wait, Woongki?! Woongki! 😲🥹
This one better air.

He's not part of season 1, but his agency confirmed earlier this year, he'll be part of season 2.

Whoever got the idea of pairing up Kian with Dex needs an award. Pani Bottle completes the trio nicely, making me almost forget how much I miss the 4 idiots, but Dex and Kian has quickly become my duo of the year. While I like Si Eon, I'm kind of hoping, he won't join the trip until at the end, because Kian, Pani Bottle and Dex just....work. They give each other space to be different, and most importantly, Dex and Pani Bottle let Kian be Kian. What a great show.

While I enjoyed season 1, season 2 was a homerun. The combo of Kian, Dex and Pani Bottle was superior. Their personalities complemented each other so well, and I think an important difference between season 1 and 2 and Kian/Lee Si Eon vs Kian/Dex is, that Dex completely let Kian be Kian. Maybe it's due to Dex being younger than Lee Si Eon and a new acquaintance, but the whole dynamic of this season 2 trio just worked. The Kian/Dex pairing was funny, wholesome and touching. I'm so pleased to see, they're bringing all three of them back together for another season. Also, a big shoutout to Simon Dominic as a panelist. I love his reactions to and interactions with Kian.

Oh, I hear you. My resolve to wait and binge lasted around 5 minutes.

I just came from the fluffiest of KBL's to this and had to watch the first episode twice, before my brain was fully acclimated to the shift in production, acting, dialogue and overall vibe.

Only two episodes in, but....wow.
Leave it to Japan to give us these shows, where you instantly sense, you need to pay attention, because the quietness and subtleties may hide important clues to understanding, what this story is really about. I started theorizing minutes into the first episode, while simultaneously preparing myself to be possibly emotionally wrecked. I see the tags, but I already don't really care, whether or not this is a romantic story. I just know, I'm intrigued and completely sold on their dynamic.

Big shout-out to the acting of Nishimura Takuya and Uesugi Shuhei. I'm very impressed. And while they're obviously both very handsome, I have to say, it's nice watching a show once in a while, where I'm not just gawking at otherworldly beautiful model/idol-like people, but someone a bit more relatable/realistic. It frees up brain power to notice and appreciate those subtleties.

My only problem now is deciding on whether or not the best strategy is to keep watching or wait for it to end, so I can binge. Btw. the OST. Hello?!

I swear, if this ends up being a Duty After School pt. 2 deal where I tune in, only to have the show slap me across my clown face in the first episode, I'll come for the person, who updated the cast list.

Same! 😂 I’ll have to rewatch it, because I laughed really hard twice during the final episode. Both times due to an offbeat unexpected line. I can only remember the husband line now, but it was also next level funny. His delivery too. 🌟

"Let's try to use our words a bit more". The irony. Best damn line in the show. 😂😂
The husband didn't have a lot of screentime, but he sure was memorable.
I'm so going to steal that line for later use.

Ah, I just realized, the Reddit post, you're linking to, is about the same Tumblr blog, TamzinMillemni and I were writing about in our comment here. Thanks for the heads up, though. A very interesting read.

I think, you're referencing the same Tumblr post, I stumbled across yesterday. I was like you, thinking I had a pretty firm handle on their relationship dynamics, but now I have to rewatch the whole series with these extra nuances and interpretations. Especially since one of the things I really like about this series is the overall sense of it not wasting time on uneccessary scenes and dialogue. At least with this rewatch to look forward to, I'm not as sad about the show ending, as I was yesterday.

To be honest, when I read your comment about having watched everything from 2020-23, I thought that was a bit....intense. Well, the joke's on me, because I've literally binged almost everything too now. I'm currently watching the episodes, I skipped, because I thought they wouldn't interest me. I never thought, it could be this relaxing and entertaining watching celebrities doing the most uneventful, normal things. I've even lost track of my regular drama watching, because I'm too busy with this show.

I love this show! 😂🌞🌞

Welcome down here in the hole.

I just watched the Ahn Bo Hyun (🫶!) episodes last night. I didn't know Kim Ji Hoon was on it, but definitely going there next. I'm aware, Lee Junho episodes exist, but I can't deal with all of his shirtlessness and cat cuddling right now.
I recommend the Namkoong Min episodes. I loved, how goofy and clowny he was. Oh, and the Kim Young Kwang episode. He was so adorably shy.

Basically, I've stopped fighting this. Bye life hours. 🤣🤣

Oh, definitely. I love the current gang too. The idiots were extra special though. But the captain got married, so that chapter had to close. I miss Henry. He was absolutely nothing like I'd imagined.😂 😂

I think Kian84 is my fave member. Besides being one of the idiots, his segments are so real and relatable. I just watched the older episodes 295-296, where that hot furniture designer guy, helps Kian84 with his new house. The house was practically a health hazard, and Henry was visibly horrified by seeing one of his co-hosts living like that. I love, how they show the not so flashy, shiny sides too. So there's a good mix of living situations. Definitely my new relaxing, comfort show.

Me: I'm not into variety shows.
Finds out Key and Minho are in the show. Casually checks out episode 449.
I swear, these three men clowning around on the Han River is some of the most fun I've had watching a show this year. The entire scene of them being dragged and tossed around on that inflated pangpang thing completely took me out. 😂😂😂

It wasn't until I got to the episodes with the idiots & their captain, that I discovered the true hightlight of this series. What a perfect mix of personalities. 👏

The way episode 8 just came out of nowhere and emotionally both hugged & wrecked me.
While 12 episodes may be just right, I want to stay in this world with these characters longer.
This drama is missing the "healing" tag.

I've only watched two dramas of his, but I agree, he has a lot of charm. It's the eyes too. Those are some expressive, soulful eyes. I don't know, how many leading romantic roles, he's had before, but he can definitely carry that kind of role. I read an interview, where he talked about his role in this show and how it was one of the darker ones, he'd taken on so far. But this is not dark in the way, I'd imagined going in. I love the FL here too.