237
599
129
10
9
12
10
3
10
18
6
9
1
2
10
19
4
4
3
1
2
3
4
1
1
2
4
9
12
30
When Self-Reliance Meets Shameless Flirting.
Proper noona romance. The age gap is decently big - enough to potentially cause problems, but not big enough to make the romance feel weird. What’s more? The characters actually acted their age and certain external conflicts were the results of their past experiences and the maturity levels.
One thing I for sure enjoyed a lot was the male lead who gets caught in his own trap. I adore how they handled him falling in love. Initially I kept questioning his motives - is he just using her for peace of mind at work? Was it love at first sight? Is he flirting just to have fun and from pure curiosity, or are his feelings deeper? I knew he was interested, but how much? And the performance? Perfection. I love when we can actually see the attraction in the characters’ eyes, even if the character himself is not aware of it yet.
Then we had the female lead, who was far more reserved - she was burned once, and preferred single stress free life. I like how she was not completely clueless about everything that is going on between her and Katsuragi Yukino - it was less about her denying he likes her, and more about her hesitation to allow herself to be in a relationship. I appreciated how in that aspect the dynamics between leads felt more mature and realistic.
We know Katsuragi Yukino has been in relationships, so if they tried to sell her as a character that is clueless about romance, it would not work. Rather than that they centered the story and the conflict on her self-reliance that she struggled to let go - being alone felt more comforting and comfortable and she was not sure she wanted to and was ready to change.
Sadly, I do not think Nakamura Anne did as much of a good job acting wise. She aced the majority of the scenes, but I feel she struggles with conveying fear - the moments where she should feel scared, whatever the reasons were, just did not land.
All that said, the chemistry between the leads was great. Mizuki shamelessly flirting and Yukino keeping her guard, but also going along with it to not blow their cover, while mentally probably wanting to strangle Mizuki was fun to witness. What’s more, from the start Yukino had the door to her heart closed, but not locked so while she was hesitant, she was not completely opposed to the idea of starting something with Mizuki. That created fun interactions that did not make me feel like Mizuki was pushing himself onto her without her consent.
Them kisses though… With how flirty and confident Mizuki was, and with Yukino who we knew had past experiences (so the “first kiss, don’t know what I am doing” excuse does not work) I do not understand these utterly disappointing kisses. Of course they could have been worse, they did not go fill “frozen surprised fish”, but in the context of the drama and the characters personalities, this just did not sit right with me.
As for the plot outside the romance: the drama added unnecessary spice concerning Mizuki’s family dynamics. At first it served as an outlet to verbalize Mizuki’s internal dialogue and doubts, allowing me to understand the character more. But then unexpectedly another element was added that existed purely to create mediocre chaos that led to nowhere.
For the production, one aspect I truly appreciated was the styling that was in fact age appropriate. Male lead dressed like a typical guy in his mid 20s, the female lead dressed like a typical officer worker in her mid 30s. What dramas sometimes try to do is make the age gap less apparent with the outfits by either dressing male leads into mature fits, or female leads into trendy outfits that were clearly targeted for someone 10 years younger.
Overall, it was fun and a light watch. It was not groundbreaking, it did not try to be more than it set out to be in episode 1 - entertaining rom-com.
One thing I for sure enjoyed a lot was the male lead who gets caught in his own trap. I adore how they handled him falling in love. Initially I kept questioning his motives - is he just using her for peace of mind at work? Was it love at first sight? Is he flirting just to have fun and from pure curiosity, or are his feelings deeper? I knew he was interested, but how much? And the performance? Perfection. I love when we can actually see the attraction in the characters’ eyes, even if the character himself is not aware of it yet.
Then we had the female lead, who was far more reserved - she was burned once, and preferred single stress free life. I like how she was not completely clueless about everything that is going on between her and Katsuragi Yukino - it was less about her denying he likes her, and more about her hesitation to allow herself to be in a relationship. I appreciated how in that aspect the dynamics between leads felt more mature and realistic.
We know Katsuragi Yukino has been in relationships, so if they tried to sell her as a character that is clueless about romance, it would not work. Rather than that they centered the story and the conflict on her self-reliance that she struggled to let go - being alone felt more comforting and comfortable and she was not sure she wanted to and was ready to change.
Sadly, I do not think Nakamura Anne did as much of a good job acting wise. She aced the majority of the scenes, but I feel she struggles with conveying fear - the moments where she should feel scared, whatever the reasons were, just did not land.
All that said, the chemistry between the leads was great. Mizuki shamelessly flirting and Yukino keeping her guard, but also going along with it to not blow their cover, while mentally probably wanting to strangle Mizuki was fun to witness. What’s more, from the start Yukino had the door to her heart closed, but not locked so while she was hesitant, she was not completely opposed to the idea of starting something with Mizuki. That created fun interactions that did not make me feel like Mizuki was pushing himself onto her without her consent.
Them kisses though… With how flirty and confident Mizuki was, and with Yukino who we knew had past experiences (so the “first kiss, don’t know what I am doing” excuse does not work) I do not understand these utterly disappointing kisses. Of course they could have been worse, they did not go fill “frozen surprised fish”, but in the context of the drama and the characters personalities, this just did not sit right with me.
As for the plot outside the romance: the drama added unnecessary spice concerning Mizuki’s family dynamics. At first it served as an outlet to verbalize Mizuki’s internal dialogue and doubts, allowing me to understand the character more. But then unexpectedly another element was added that existed purely to create mediocre chaos that led to nowhere.
For the production, one aspect I truly appreciated was the styling that was in fact age appropriate. Male lead dressed like a typical guy in his mid 20s, the female lead dressed like a typical officer worker in her mid 30s. What dramas sometimes try to do is make the age gap less apparent with the outfits by either dressing male leads into mature fits, or female leads into trendy outfits that were clearly targeted for someone 10 years younger.
Overall, it was fun and a light watch. It was not groundbreaking, it did not try to be more than it set out to be in episode 1 - entertaining rom-com.
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