Kate

Almost worked, but not quite right. The characters were fun, the set up was interesting, the chemistry did sparkle a few times, but why do I feel so unsatisfied with what I’ve got?

What I enjoyed was the curse of extremes - I liked how they presented both bad luck and good fortune as potential sources of negativity and isolation. On one hand Fukuhara Kota kept to himself, because he was afraid of affecting others with misfortune. On the other hand Naoya struggled with creating deep connections with people after countless bad experiences of being exploited because of his good luck.

The grass is never greener on the other side, it’s green where it’s taken care of. It was great to witness how the characters slowly come to that conclusion. They learned how to change perspectives as a way of dealing with their circumstances. Instead of running away from potential issues, they focused on the positive outcomes they previously neglected.

When I think about the characters as individuals though, Fukuhara Kota was quite confusing. Technically they told me he built a fake personality as a way to protect himself, but I don’t think they were truly clear about what aspects of how he acts were fake and what was real. The drama opened with him approaching Naoya with the “fake”, but later when he shows his true self, it’s not really much different - he still is bubbly, overexcited about certain things… The only difference is how he lets himself explore and present frustration which he was more likely to conceal before. That said, I did adore the inside voice commentary Kota kept giving whenever something he disliked happened, but he still wanted to play fake nice about it.

Then we have Shinomiya Naoya lacking some depth. I wish they dived deeper into his insecurities concerning his good luck and how he kept being used by people around him. We did not really get much of it and he was a bit too perfect for me liking. Patient, caring, nice - I cannot even name any flaw in the character. And the flaws are what makes them feel real.

The romance was surprisingly the weakest part. Kota was so hyperactive and animated it was hard to truly get into his chemistry with more laid back Naoya - they did not keep the tension between the characters, always breaking it with some overexaggerated reactions from Kota. While I did enjoy the few looks of adoration Naoya delivered, overall there was something missing… I feel like many scenes did not use the full potential of the set up presented and it was always somehow half-baked.

I did like all the performances, be it from the main cast or the supporting one. Even with limited screentime and their stories not being shown, Naoya’s friends did feel like distinctive individuals.

Overall, this was an extremely fun and fast watch that I will equally extremely fast forget.