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Romance Drama Chemistry Is A Must
Unfortunately, they failed to build that chemistry between the main couple. It is mainly because of the male lead poor acting ability and performance. He also doesn’t have the look and charisma on an equal level with the female lead.Chemistry is very important in romance drama.
This is another of those series that I was rooting where the second male lead gets the girl. LMX has that conflicted, dark but oh so sexy. The actor did a good job portraying his character and he is also quite charming.
Disregard the plot holes, it is a decent drama. OST is very nice especially the ending song.
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Totally underrated urban professional life romance revenge and crime story
It had me sitting up over here in Europe every night, combing the net for the next airing of new episodes.Although it took some getting used to the FL squeeky voice I do love the main couple and found them convincing since episode one.
The couple fights huge social gaps. This drama actually shows a piece of how some of the working class people in China live. The expectances they face. From their families and friends. The shallowness they are met with when it comes to money high society people.
Wang Ju An, heir to a share of a group called Ansheng is called back to China to be Anshengs new CEO at Shanghai.
He faces internal and external oponents, has to clean up and rationalise overcome company structures, eliminate devious employees.... and accidentally meets the woman he falls in love with.
Su Mo, a uni graduate who messed up her own brilliant carreer opportunities by taking the blame for her former boyfriend's cheating in exams, can only make ends meet as a sales person at a dress shop. When she loses that job she applies at Ansheng. And finds herself rejected at first.
As she is upright she faces Wang Ju An and explains. But neither humiliates herself. Nor ask for extra favors. Impressed - nobody dares to stand up to him- (which he neeeds so badly!) he hires her. And that's how it all begins.
Bad acting, other reviews say. WHAT bad acting? It's Vengo Gao at his best. Sporty, nonchalant refined society man... so convincing. Foil fencing like a mad devil! Jumping the carpet in 3 leaps just to mark a point. Competitive, bold, secretive, scheming... vulnerable, loving, protective... it's all there.
The rest of the cast is not less convincing. FL stands her ground when CEO is being "emotionally stupid". She gets his feet back to the ground. And stands by her miserable beaten and framed man, when he is at his lowest.
They are toooo ollld... reviers say!
"Crap they are!" I say. To be a CEO at a huge company it takes a certain age. The Cdramas China is so used to with teenage CEO's and giggeling secretaries are much, but neither interesting, nor convincing. Nor real.
"The Outsider" shows mature actors, cinvincing characters... who sometimes do act foolishly. But WHO of us... doesn't do that every now and then?
I like the lead couples interactions. Second leads are funny oposites. Until tragedy hits. Wang Jian is starred in such an endearing manner... everybody would like to have a little brother like him. Developing from lazy beans into determined young man. Deeply in love with the brainer cousin of Su Mo.
I loved this drama. Do give it a try. To see Vengo Gao have mimics, smirking, sneering, being shy, being coy, being angy, menacing, concentrated, cooking, fencing, DANCING, (yes, he dances!), tearing up, (yes, he is emotional here, showing the entire bandwith of emotions involved with the grandezza of a great actor), going down on one knee, is already worth it all.
The way the actors are being dressed was great. Wang Ju An can wear anything, from that needle stripe business suit to his fencing outfit... and last but not least that sand colored outfit with those matching Chelsey boots... he wears them all to perfection. Cudos to Vengo Gao being an international Haute Couture model.
To me this is a "watch and repeat". Definitely.
♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
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This review may contain spoilers
It Rained, It Poured & They Sent Emails
Yes, YES, cheating is wrong, but, I’ve never been this happy to see two people cheat. My arse was up at 5am refreshing the app, waiting. That being said, Hagiwara is genuinely a good person. Sei, whether consciously or not, built his own hell. Fujisawa, well, I can’t believe he was the sperm that won the race, and Kaori’, oh Kaori, that woman’s audacity needs to be studied.OMG the way my heart dropped in the finale when the credits were rolling and Hagiwara deleted Sei's contact. Tears of anger were about to fall before I hovered the mouse and saw there was a bit more left. I would have accepted it, but also cried buckets. Thank you bl gods.
Listen, this drama was one of the most realistic, mature, honest portray of relationships and sex our side of the community ever got. It’s relationship in its rawest form. Unfiltered, and in some cases, very relatable. I started this cuz I liked the title and the poster. I’m glad I added it, cuz we’re only two months into the year and I can confidently say this is one of the best bls of the year.
Look, I know most of us cheered when that taxi stopped in the rain and those two booked a hotel room and did stuff like rabbits. But, let’s be honest, that cheating scene was no cheating scene, it was a love scene. Instead of hot and fast, we got a raw and slow moment that showed their venerability. Everything from Sei’s assurance to Hagiwara’s tears when he finally felt that connection with someone he so craved was done so beautifully. I was speechless of how real and emotional that whole scene was. It brought me way down from my ‘yaaay cheat, cheat, cheat’ chant. I understood the calmness of it, they both needed it after everything.
I love how they got to know each other through their emails. Here they’re finding their soulmates through emails, and me, I put every email I don't recognise in spam without reading. Sorry, soulmate, perhaps in our next life you’d learn to call or text. In the scene when they finally figured out they'd been talking to each other, I was stressed!!! Legit, I put the episode on pause cuz I was scared of their reactions. The air I let out when they acted matured about it and then continued to connect in real life. I love these two so much.
The finale made me hate being a rational person who can be objective. Before that conversation between Fujisawa and Sei, I hated Fujisawa with the burning passion of the sun, but then he started explaining, and I'm forced to understand him. Do I forgive him? hell no, but now I get why he did the things he did, and I'm vexed. Everything from his obsessions to his guilt made me understand his character and I hated it, cuz I wanted to leave the drama hating him 1000 percent, but now it's like 999. Cuz, his reasons doesn't excuse what he did. We will not rationalise abuse. And during that conversation I was glad Sei let him go, but him implying they'd have worked if Fujisawa ignored his morals was... well it is what is it, I suppose.
Anyway, I'm happy for the finale. Glad things were explained and we got to understand where everyone was coming from. Hagiwara reconnecting Sei with his friend while keeping away made me love him more. I’m happy our two leads took that time to sort out what they needed to, figured out their feelings, and then found each other in the rain. Happy tears y'all, happy tears. Such an amazing show, I'm sad it ended after just 7 episodes, I need a special.
PLOT:
This was good. Relationship comes in all forms with lots of problems and I'm glad we got to see this side of it. It's not all sunshine and rainbows, and sometimes we get stuck with people we care about but might not necessarily be the best for us. This was the something different I was waiting for. Emotions were high, and it made me think a lot, so I enjoyed each episode.
Anyway, below is my rant of the characters from episodes 1-6 with no knowledge of the last episode.
CHARACTERS REVIEW EPISODE 1-6
HAGIWARA KAZUAKI: This man was one of the good ones. No, I’m not excusing/forgetting what he did. No matter how you look at it, Hagiwara did cheat on his girlfriend. Still, he was a character deserving of happiness. Look at some of the facts:
Although Hagiwara wanted intimacy he never forced Kaori. He didn’t even get angry at her, and it was after Kaori’s pregnant friend snitched and he confirmed that Kaori didn’t want him that he turned to Sei. Even Kaori was surprised he didn’t trash-talk her in their emails.
Hagiwara is a gentleman. During that cheating… love making scene… when Sei asked him about his first time, that amazing specimen said he didn’t want to talk about the girl's privacy. But of course, there his girlfriend was, announcing his business to the world. The disrespect. Frankly, I’m shocked it took Hagiwara that long to cheat.
The reason I was happy to see Hagiwara cheat on Kaori was because, Hagiwara seemed like the kind who liked to feel an emotional connection with their partners, and Kaori was with him for a long time, so she knew, so for her to deny him that level of intimacy was just cruel, especially when she knew she was never gonna let him touch her again.
I wasn’t surprised he went all in when found that connection with Sei. In that scene when he was crying behind that glass door, asking if he was alone in his feelings, I was right there with him. And when he said, 'you’ve got your secret now,’ I sobbed with him. Glad he didn’t open the door cuz he wouldn’t have been able to let Sei go. My man loves too easily and opened and it hurt seeing him so broken.
NAKARAI SEI: Like Hagiwara said in that hotel room to Sei, “I don’t know if you are brave or cowardly.” Depending on the stand you take, Sei’s character was both. He had me feeling bad for him, and also wanting to slap him with a rubber chicken out of anger.
Sei was brave enough to cheat with Fujisawa, and to looked Fujisawa in the eyes and admit it when he got caught. No, but that whole scene had me rolling, yelling, ‘yes, tell him!’
Fujisawa: “You got a call from your side-piece. He got caught. His girlfriend ran away with his phone.”
Sei: Ah, the cat is out of the bag, oh well.
Fujisawa: So you cheated on me? Slept with another guy?
Sei: Yep, I cheated. I did it, I super done did it. We did it like rabbits, all day and night.
Hahaha no filter whatsoever and he didn’t stutter once. I was so happy when Fujisawa was yelling and demanding answers he straight up said, "Yes, I would have sex with anyone, it could have been anyone, but not you, not today, not here." I clapped, because here’s a man who had wanted Fujisawa for so long but was saying no to him now.
I’ve been wondering if Sei knew he was in an emotionally abusive relationship, or he was too close to see it. In Fujisawa defence, he already made himself clear where he stood when it came to intimacy. Which means Sei stayed in that relationship because he'd hoped Fujisawa would change his mind. Which brings me to my statement of him being the cost of his own pain. Why stay with someone you know can never give you what you want?
Did Sei truly, really, ever loved Fujisawa or did he stay with him out of loyalty? I think Sei mistook appreciation for love. He was happy for the kindness Fujisawa showed him during his parents’ death, and mistook that kindness for love and let that mfker isolated him for selfish reasons.
I felt sad and anger on Sei’s behalf for what that mouth breather Fujisawa did to him, but also at Sei when he apologised the next day like he did something wrong, and was considering quitting his job and moving away with him. Like????
Was Sei afraid to leave because he believed he wouldn’t find better? Hagiwara already confessed to him so he knew there was someone out there who wanted him, so that couldn’t have been it. Or was he scared of losing the security and familiarity that Fujisawa provided? Scared of starting over? Scared of Fujisawa thinking he was ungrateful after what he did for him? Whatever it was, it made him apologize, even had him lying to Hagiwara and trying to hide his injury, which made me angry at him.
“If you cry later, blame it on me,” Hagiwara said while I was shaking my head in judgement at Sei, because dude what the hell? You know how Hagiwara feels about you, you’ve admitted to feeling the same, so what is keeping you? Loyalty, understanding? Blame?
I realised Sei apologised to Fujisawa because he felt he was to blame. That some of the faults was his for cheating, but I’m still so angry, because he did not deserve what happened to him, and he did not have to rationalize that whole event at all. But then again, sometimes we are so close to the problem we don’t see it ourselves, and as outsiders it’s very easy to blame the victim. Still, I wished I was inside the screen, so I could shake him until he came to his senses.
FUJISAWA KAZUAKI: Dude vexed me. This guy hated everything, literally when Sei kept listing things Fujisawa didn’t like, I was like, ‘honey, please, save your voice, tell us the things he does like.’ I felt so bad seeing Sei beg him again and again for intimacy.
Sure, on Fujisawa’s part, he already made his stand clear, so some of the fault was on Sei. I thought Fujisawa was asexual or like sex was just one of the things he hated cuz he’s personality was hating stuff, but it turned out he was just a psycho. I don’t even think he was jealous that Sei turned to Hagiwara for intimacy. It was more like he was angry someone took something he thought was his, which is why he hurt Sei the way he did.
That scene where Sei was begging Fujisawa, telling him to stop hurting him because they couldn’t return to what they were made me sad and angry at the same time. Because Fujisawa, that fker had the nerves to reply. “What did we have?”
Exactly, they had nothing, nothing at all. Then the next day, his arse out there talking about I’m sorry, and I didn’t mean to hurt you. Bish he begged you to stop sooooo many effing times! In hindsight we should have known he was a psycho when he pressed into Sei’s injured nail and made it worse. Plus, he hated everything, like dude, how about hating air, stopping to take it and letting us have some peace? huh?
The nerve of him to even be surprised that Sei cheated in the end. What did he think was gonna happen when he wouldn’t even let Sei take care of himself in his presence? Literally, their whole relationship came off as roommates who tolerated each other, nothing more.
MIZUTANI KAORI: Some people really have all the effing audacity and this girl could sell hers. Not only did she get into a relationship with someone knowing after a while she’d no longer want sex with them, but she also went around telling people about not giving her sweet boyfriend any.
Look, I’m all for the sisterhood protecting one another, and Kaori’s friend straight up telling Hagiwara that she knew they weren’t having sex cuz Kaori said she hated when he acted masculine… #Sidenote: dafug does that even mean? does she not want him to appear/look like a man?? Woman if you feel this way then get one of those silicons and put it back in the closet after you are done using it, cuz you clearly don’t want a man.
Anyway, the point is, I’m all for the sisterhood, but I'm glad that the friend snitched, cuz she was also going through similar problems with her husband and wanted to warn him to save himself.
During that breakup scene at the cafe, I was behind my TV thinking of all the ways I could throw that coffee on Kaori’s head. Talking about you were with a man so I can’t forgive you, it would be unbearable to touch you. Thank God Hagiwara clocked her like, ‘wasn’t it already unbearable for you?’ She wasn’t even touching him, and now she’s like I can’t do it. Do what? You were not doing anything to begin with.
Sure, after she explained herself, it’s obvious she have some problems with intimacy and perhaps her sexuality. What I don’t understand is why she got into a long-term relationship. Woman if repulsion and nausea are how you always feel after being with a man a couple of times, then honey you don’t need a live-in-boyfriend you need tinder, get in and get out, don’t go and give someone’s son blue balls cuz you physically can’t bring yourself to be intimate with them.
Then she went on and said, ‘did you get with the next man you saw cuz I didn’t allowed you?.’ Allowed?? Once again, good job on Hagiwara for putting her in place like, ‘woman, I'm not a pet, not your dog to be allowed stuff.’ At least she did one thing right, letting Hagiwara have the satisfaction of telling her he found someone else and they should break up. Sure, she walked away feeling like she won and was in the right, that she did nothing wrong and Hagiwara broke up with her after he cheated, but I’m still so very happy Hagiwara told her what she wanted to hear. It showed he no longer cared how she took the whole thing, he was free and that was all that mattered.
And what in the dramatic arse thing was that, running away with his phone, and then shipping it to him via mail. Lol.
##End of rant##
Anyway, Hagiwara and Sei were going through it with their partners and I’m glad they found happiness together. They were each other’s missing pieces. I knew they would not be able to walk after their one night. Loved that last scene in the rain in the finale.
This series was one of the best bls I've watched in a long while, and I'd highly recommend it to everyone. I wish to see more work from the two leads, they were amazing in their roles. Hagiwara and Sei are going to stay with me for a long time.
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It's Gwanhee's Inferno
The worst season so far. There were no games, no real challenges, no cooking or any other meaningful activities. The participants were not genuinely interested in anyone else but themselves. Most of the girls and guys have no personality whatsoever. Gwanhee being an exception although I really disliked how much screen time he had. However, now that the show is over it makes sense that they have focused so much on him - the others are so one-dimensional. Like someone mentioned in the comments, without him you wouldn't have a show and no one would be watching it. I also think the producers did him dirty - I doubt he is such a POS like they made him out to be. It's just that they had nothing else to work with.It was frustrating to watch nothing happen. All they did was talk, talk, talk. Drama and more drama that became so messy and lead nowhere. The ending was predictable because there was no challenge. The contestants did not manage to develop any sort of bonds with others in the group, especially not with the ones they claimed to like.
The whole show lacked substance because of how shallow most people seemed to be. I also have a feeling there were some major budget cuts for this show or it is just that people involved did not want to get their hands dirty. Literally.
Don't waste your time on this.
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This should have been a movie.
Fast-forwarded liberally through the last few episodes. I didn't hate it, just that it was heading toward an inevitable ending. The side stories weren't all that interesting to me. The ending was handled nicely and as others have mentioned was bittersweet. Although it was weird that she went so far away looking for a 4 leaf clover.Was this review helpful to you?
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The drama was very promising especially at the beginning. As a lot of rom-com dramas begin, the main leads met bickering at each other. Both the main leads in the present and past met that way. But apart from episode 1 and 40, we don't see the characters in the present time. The story focused on the characters in the past but what sucked was that Luo Fu Sheng, the hero, did not win the heroine's heart till towards the middle of the drama and the drama instead focused on the side characters. When they finally got together there, were hardly any lovey dovey scenes because the story then focus on the family feud and when that was solved, the Japanese spy invaded the story. At the end, Luo Fu Sheng died and so we're back to the present time. In less than an episode, the main leads of the present time fell in love, separated, reunited and decided to get married. So much characters development for the side characters but no character development for the present couple. Seriously, what's wrong with the writer/s? I know Chinese dramas tend to have bad or sad ending but at least they'd usually have some logic to the story. Zhu Yi Long acting as Luo Fu Sheng was just perfect. Too bad the storyline sucked. If you're a fan of Zhu Yi Long then watching this drama is definitely worth it since you can gawk at him playing the charismatic bad boy that is often times cute and adorable and at times badass. The soundtrack is good as well, since there's one sung by Zhu Yi Long. Was this review helpful to you?
Story: 9/10: The story isn't really that unique, but what bumped it up for me was that it was based off of a true story and most of the events in the movie actually happened. During the entire movie, there was not one moment where I was bored, thus the high rating.
Acting/Cast: 10/10: The cast was absolutely perfect. They all did a great job.
Music: 8/10: There wasn't that much music in the movie, but sometimes(and in this case) the phrase 'less is more' comes into play.
Rewatch Value: 5/10: I don't rewatch movies or dramas. However, I can see myself rewatching this with a friend or family member.
Overall: 10/10: I wouldn't change one thing about this movie. It was perfect and I hope to see more films like this.
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Toxic relationships
I really don't like the male lead.Honestly I think their relationship is abusive and toxic. He says mean things to her, treats her like trash, and then he regrets it and is sweet to her for a couple episodes... than he is back again being abusive. It's the classical abusive relationship.
I hope girls (and guys) who watch dramas like this do not think that this kind of relationship is ok, because it's not. Also the bullying is bad. The friendships depicted in this drama are completely mercenary, people will only like or do things based on what they will be able to gain from the female lead.
This whole drama was wrong for me. I like the actors, Kris Fan is one of my favorites ("where the Lost Ones Go" is one of my favorite dramas) however the characters on this drama are terrible people and bad example for youngsters. Don't treat your friendships frivolously, be kind, don't be a bully, love your significant other, respect people around you... it's not that hard.
I was honestly hoping for a light hearted drama, but I got one full of angst, chauvinistic behavior and victim blaming.
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you have only but yourself to blame
The average of the episodes is 8.6. And I rounded down because that's what I do. In the half-day it took me to watch this show, the overall rating went from 6.8 to 6.7. I won't reflect on what that says about the show. This show met my pretty high expectations. Relatively high; it's a Thai drama; how high can they really get? I have been waiting for this show to fully come out, like I have been checking in on my plan to watch every day because I refuse to look when the episodes actually come out. I didn't even wait for it to come out on YouTube; I watched this bitch on Daily Motion. I was pretty content with this. At no point in this show did I stop watching and wait a few days because I was disappointed. Justice for my boys, Kim and Kamol; they did them wrong in this show. Day has anger management issues that he needs to work out, but he can't. Itt has panic attacks because of his man and his issues. People say the acting was bad, but I am going to be honest and say it wasn't. Of course it could have been better, but that's the case for most shows and everything. Everything can be better because we have unrealistically high expectations for everything. Itts actor, Frank, I want to say, did a killer job. Like, actually, he killed his role with the voice cracks; the changes in his voice in certain scenes ate me up. They were toxic, and I hate myself for it, but I ate them all up. Like every second of it. Jealousy is bad, and I know it because it means you don't trust your partner, but I ate it up.The handjob scene was killer; I loved that. Also, I love awful blowjob scenes, so i ate the shower scene up. The abuse was crazy, bro. If I had a dollar for every time I flipped Day off, I would be a millionaire.
Going on to my boys, I can't even remember their names: the guy with the sexy eye brows and pouty lips, and the tall, scary mother fucker with the skinny nose. Let me look at the names. Mac and Nan. They were giving my boys Vegas and Pete a run for their money. I was reading comments on YouTube shorts before the show, and people were like, "Damn, they are more toxic than Vegas and Pete". And I was like, "No way. You can't even match their energy." I was so wrong. So very wrong. These two are crazy; they should have gotten more screen time, but at the same time, I don't think I could have handled that. Nan has Mac come to the party, and I'm like, okay, we are going to see the splashing a beverage on his face scene and them making out, and then we can just go on. Nope. You never saw edits of the scene before that. He puts the chain on him—okay, normal, not really, but okay. and when Mac goes to talk to Day and Itt, and then when he winds up for the punch, this bitch yanks him back by the chain. I had to take a 15-minute break. That was crazy. He yelled when he got pulled back and started clawing at the chain. It was crazy. Theres a difference between holding some hostage in your home and holding some hostage and bringing them outside and yanking them like they are your fucking dog bro.
My favorite scene was Night and Gear making out at Day's goofy ass party thing. It was so out of character for them to be together and so needed. This show didn't disappoint me, and I'm glad. Don't read ratings or descriptions and only go in based on three clips, and you won't be disappointed. It was good and fun. Okay, now I am watching Moonlight Chicken. Would recommend, actually. Okay bye!
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Show was OK but the Grandma redemption arch killed it for me
So my rating is based on one thing only, and that is the Grandmother of the ML. They gave her redemption arch in the last episode. After her whole life of hatred and one sentence from the secretary poof we´re good now.NO! NO! and NO!!!!!
this person abused the ML since he was a child. A CHILD!!!! of what 8-9 years??? she constantly reminded him that he is NOTHING. That he has no right to mourn or miss his parents! When he behaved as a normal 15yr old (went to meet the FL) she BURNED all his stuff that he had left of his parents!!!!!
That is abuse of unredeemable level.
And the secretary said that he endured it because he wanted her aknowledgement. WTF!!!! maybe when he was older but at the young age im sure he endure it because he had nowhere to go, noone to talk to.
The show was MID at best for me, I was expecting something different, but that´s me problem, not the show problem (I would propaby give it 7/10).
I loved the ML, he was such a cutie. I was MEH on the FL.
Most I loved the second ML. Open and straightforward manly man. And props to the atress that played the grandma because man, she made me hate her.
That said, NOTHING can exuse this part of the story. There is toxic behavior and then there is this. She did not need a redemption arch, nor she deserved one.
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Our female protagonist is a colorful character to put it lightly. She is dressed like a 90's rapper: tacky, flashy, over the top, all with matching pimp rings to tie it together. While I had no problem with this (even though her hair looked like a hat most of the time), I did have an issue with how she dominated everything when she could have been easily discarded. Let's be honest the female lead should have been disbarred the first or second episode. From blackmail to illegally obtaining documentation/information, our main lead has no issues with getting down and dirty(even if it is far-fetched) .
The story begins to step into hella-far-fetched territory during EP 4. The writers poorly try to keep the two leads together by giving them cases to somehow connect them. It drags, and the punches become expected after EP 5. You sit back and say "here he/she(main leads) come." Predictability isn't a bad thing, but when the story relies on intellect and twist it becomes boring. The main male lead always fumbling when he encounters her took away from his character. He should have been ruthless, hard, not easily shaken, and witty. But since he wasn't during those forced encounters, he became weak as an overall lead. Overall I finished..... But like a $15.00 buffet with mediocre food, I got my moneys worth eating all I could, why not I am already here. But I wouldn't go back for a second time even if i was offered the chance.
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2-Storyline/plot : They even changed the original manga story and didn't follow it plus it was short that i couldn't get the time to fully focus on it.
3-Acting/Cast : the female lead was totally an unforgivable choice, she ruined Kotoko's image in my mind for a while, she's so annoying that i end up not feeling sorry for her when Naoki treats her bad. The rest of the cast wasn't bad and i believe that the lead male was good.
4-Music : Fair enough
5-Rewatch value : people who liked it will rewatch others won't: it's as simple as that.
6-The ending : It was kind of rushed; it happened so quickly but it's not a bad ending.
7-Overall: I was kind of disappointed in this drama adaptation, it doesn't suit the huge size of Itazura na kiss. I believe that out of the 3 other dramas adaptations the japanese version was the worst yet seing Itazura na kiss's story all over again totally worth watching so no regrets.
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Slow road to nowhere
As others have written, a very slow pace to this one, but that was not a problem. The plot line with the eldest sister i felt was forced and uninteresting. The brother's storyline was better but I really didn't need it. The problem being, those two storylines took away from the really interesting story of Gu and the youngest sister. They had good chemistry and their scenes kept me engaged even when painfully slow. In the end, I couldn't handle the lack of closure this drama provided. I understand the reason for it, but it left me frustrated and unhappy. A good open ended drama I think gives you a good feel for how things could turn out or lets you know it doesn't really matter. At the end of this, I'm not sure if Gu is dead in a alleyway tomorrow or married with kids in 5 years...Was this review helpful to you?
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A very cute and funny BL drama let down by the writing
I am really torn about writing this review. Mostly when I decide to invest myself in watching a drama series, I mostly do so baised on the original source material. I love the original manga by Hare Shinta, the art is beautiful and it tells a simple tale of romance, burnout and finding support and love which is told from the viewpoint of the seme, which for BL tales still rare for myself to come across.So when I saw the announcement of the drama version I was beyond excited. I was keen to see this manga converted into drama .
The result was not what I expected, but still I find this drama series very charming. I personally love this drama but I still see the flaws that this drama version has that annoys many other viewers.
Story: Yanase Jun is a talented and well respected CG artist that has worked in Canada in the past. Now working in Max pictures he has to tutor a new employee Kaneda Yuki. However Kaneda seems to be quite a cold and distance person that Yanase finds hard to get along with. What Yanase doesn’t know is that Kaneda is a big admirer of Yanase. One day after a welcoming drinking party Yanase sees a side of Kaneda he wasn’t expecting and from there their relationship slowly changes.
Casting/acting: The casting is basically THE BEST thing I will say about this series. I will say this a thousand times but Naito Syuichiro was BORN to play as Yanase, I don’t think the producers could have found a perfect being like him to play Yanase. Naito is the eye candy, the main feature of this drama series. I couldn’t take my eyes off of Naito as Yanase, he’s so attractive but he’s a great actor. Naito is the one that understands Yanase because Yanase is Naito, in the 1st half when you don’t know anything about Yanase. Naito can just emote feelings through his face and eyes alone. This series introduced me to Naito Syuichiro that I am thankful for this drama series existing.
I can’t ignore Seto Toshiki as well, because he is the other half of the couple and Naito wouldn’t have been able to carry this drama series alone without Seto. At first I was unsure about Seto casting of Kaneda but Seto won me over with his acting. The 1st half of the drama focuses a lot on Kaneda and Seto proves that he can be cute, emotional and shows the various sides of Kaneda that I didn’t know about. The combination of Naito and Seto is magical and I am thankful for this series to exist just for these two to meet and act alongside each other. I am going to be sad that this series might be the only one to see these two interact and act together in.
Music: Sadly I think the music and OST is very forgettable for myself. I don’t really like the opening theme as catchy as is, because it’s a very cheesy opening. The ending theme song is better and the clever use of hands to show the difference in distance. But the OST for the drama is ok at best, it works to suit the various emotions in scenes.
Directing: I really like it, unlike most Japanese dramas where they have this odd “yellow filter” applied to it. The lighting for this series feels bright and natural. The directing is very professional and slick. Some of the sharp camera turns and cuts I really like from this series.
Negatives: Whoever was in charge of the writing for this drama fire them and never let them write for another drama series ever again! The writing for this drama IS NOT GOOD. It is easily the source of why there’s so many flaws and loop holes and why manga fans like me are so torn over this drama. It’s such a mess of poor drama writing.
The original material exists for the writers to base the drama around, I’ve never seen such disrespect and disregard to source material that it makes me ANGRY as a manga fan.
I am so sad to what the writers did to Kaneda’s character. In the manga Kaneda did admire Yanase but he did it respectfully, only collecting magazines of him and silently parsing/admiring Yanase in his mind. Never did I think Kaneda as “creepy” in the manga. Yet the writers thought it would be a good idea to introduce unnecessary characterization to him such as owning a “shrine”, talking down on himself comparing himself as a mortal against his god and then introducing very weird and odd fetish daydreams he has about Yanase. All of these additional features the drama puts on Kaneda just makes the viewers see Kaneda as an odd and creepy worshipper. It doesn’t make it better that the writers convey Kaneda’s feelings as “unsure” making him seem like he’s NOT an adult and rather a high schooler who just found his 1st crush. It’s such a shame because Seto is such a good actor.
It’s even sadder that we DON’T GET TO EVEN SEE AND HEAR more of Yanase’s character until episode six which I find so funny and sad that the same time. Is he is main character of this series of is it Kaneda? The drama can’t decide honestly. I did like the slight changes the drama makes to Yanase compared to the manga, mostly being less touchy and forceful and shows a more innocent and maiden like personality to him. Which I find a bit odd, honestly. But it showed this really cute side of Naito so I can’t complain that much. I like the addition of the “10 things I want to do with Kaneda” it was hella cute and innocent development for drama Yanase. Maybe too innocent for my liking LOL.
I could go on with the errors of adding un-necessary additions from the drama like Benji and long distance separations. But honestly this review as gone on for too long.
Postives: AT LEAST the drama ended in a good way. I really liked the ending to this drama series, everything felt connected and complete. Directing and production is really good. Naito and Seto are amazing as their characters or not (their behind the scenes and making of videos are so fun to watch).
Overall: Senpai, this can’t be love is a cute office romance about the slow burn romance between a senior and junior in a CG work environment. The main leads are so attractive and act together well with great chemistry. However it is dragged out by the questionable script writing. If you are willing to put behind these questionable writing there is a cute light-hearted BL story to enjoy here.
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