Coffee & Vanilla (2019)

this is kind of a rant. i hope no one feels hurt by it:')

This drama has no storyline. I have no problem with fast-paced romance, (even though I prefer the slow-burn one because you can feel connected with the characters as indivuals and feel the sexual tension, intensity slowly) but it has to be well executed for me, as a viewer to feel it. I watched this drama to the end to find a storyline which was non-existent in Coffee and Vanilla.

The characters had nothing special about them that would make me feel something about them, except that they are supposed to be attractive. A character having a pretty face doesn't mean anything if they are not well-written. The female lead always have the same "surprised pikachu face" expression throughout if not all, then most of the drama.

However I was worried about the female lead as I thought that this drama had a thriller or psychology trope. But when I was surprised to know that it wasn't, I thought that this was a healing romance because I had a strong feeling that the male lead was abused by his mother which he was, but it was kind of normalised(?).

Nevertheless, in the start, I sincerely believed that the male lead had something wrong with him like there was something off with him. (Well, there was. He was a manipulating, possesive jerk who is a big red flag) but I thought it was something related to the non-existence plot of Coffee and Vanilla. But there wasn't. They treated his character as if he is the perfect guy or something.

Coffee and Vanilla's characters had zero personality, zero chemistry and zero development. And their reactions to a very extreme situation or to an awful incident like sexual assualt was too light that I wasn't able to feel the connection with the characters and their feelings felt like nothing to me as they were too unrealistic to a point where I couldn't empathasize with them.

The supporting characters had no life apart from harming the fl and ml's already harmed relationship, praising the fl or the ml and falling in love with the fl or the ml only to fall out of love in like less than one week.

Won't be talking about the love triangle. It's pretty much only there to make the ml jealous or something and to give the ml and fl a reason to make out:')

A lot of reviewers here are either praising the so-called intimate moments or calling those moments robotic and not intense at all. Honestly, I never noticed their expressions when they were making-out. Maybe, I was used to the male lead's "i am so hot, so lemme give y'all an eye-smile" expression and the fl's "lemme pretend i am a surprised pikachu" expression that I could never notice it:')
However, when the 2nd ml and the 2nd fl made out, i was like, "what the hell, gal?" Why would someone make out with their longtime best friend's sexual assaulter knowing that they sexually assualted their friend?

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LITERALLY SAID SPEED

Ok. This is my first Japanese Drama so I don't know if they are supposed to act like this but I am just going, to be honest. If you guys know plz reply.

First I am going to talk about the good things before the bad. The actors are good looking and the main characters are so sweet. That's it.

Now the bad parts:
- THIS DRAMA IS FASTER THAN EMINEM RAPPING. Like, when I watched the first episode, I just sat there and was like: What in mother's good earth was that. HELLO PEOPLE!!! THEY DID THE YOU-KNOW-WHAT IN THE FIRST EPISODE AND THEY DATED JUST LIKE THAT!

- Some of the things just genuinely didn't make sense. First, the ML is a CEO. Cool right? Then, out of nowhere, he goes on a date with the FL BFF. Later, two love triangles happen and finished within 2 seconds. Boom! Now he's a host and his mom pretends to be sick. WTH?

- Lastly, the drama said that the ML had a dark past. But what was it? I don't see a dark past. Did I just get catfished?

Overall, I cringed, complained and had butterflies. I would recommend this drama who just wants something direct, basic and fast. Sometimes, we just need those types of dramas.

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Manga was better, but it’s an ok PG version.

This is one of those things where I love the book, manga in this case, but not the drama series. First off, they didn’t match up the characters looks with the manga. Second, they rushed so many things to that I was like predicting the way the story was flowing, example it’s like reading 50 shades of grey and watching the movie right after and getting the PG version. Because it was so rushed it felt like the ML had more passion than the FL. Which in the book she is naive and air headed but not to the point of annoyance. This was like she was being forced and I ain’t into that kinda thing. And they make such a big deal about his “dark past” but honestly that’s the only “drama” in here and SPOILER it’s not that big of a deal. Everything else that could add to the story line was pushed way down. She has some slight growth personality wise in the manga as well so that also helps keep you interested in that version. Production was good, as well as the music but I would prefer a stronger pairing to really resemble the manga for a better feel of lovey/steamy atmosphere. Because let’s be honest, that is what it’s all about for this particular show. Overall Rating was a 3.5... I watched it and it didn’t make me love or hate it. Just made me wish I was reading the book version instead.

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This drama was so unbearably skippable

- The relationship was severely rushed, therefore there was no deep connection to the couple, which makes viewers want to root for them.
- There were two separate love triangles that were implied, both being swept under the rug very easily and quickly making it a waste of time.
- The FL's personality was unbearable, she had no backbone and real personality other than being "cute". There are multiple men that are in "love" with the FL for no reason and it makes her character worst.
- There were basically more kiss scenes than speaking lines, leaving no room for a story whatsoever
- Any trials they had in their relationship lasted not even half an episode there was nothing that made the viewers want to root for the couple

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Only watched because of Sakurada Dori

Honestly, this drama is trash and should be in the bin. The female lead is so gullible and has no power. The male lead is so toxic and just unbearable(not the actor). It has been only a month or two since they met in the drama and the ml wants everyone to know that she will be mine forever. I completed it because I don't like dropping dramas but I should have done that with this one. There are so many scenes where she is sexually assaulted and it was unbearable to watch. Every episode had an intimate scene between the main couple and I just questioned myself that is it necessary? Go ahead and watch at your own risk.

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Don't expect much character development when watching this. Hopefully, in the manga the plot and characters were more thought-out. The main female lead seems to find herself in multiple love triangles and/or situations where she is forcibly being pinned down, kissed or needs to rescued by her savior (older bf). Her role is to play an extremely vulnerable, naive, inexperienced, young pretty girl but her innocence at times could be viewed as borderline stupidity. There was one scene where she tells him, "I realized that I am useless without you." I literally laughed. How did she make it this far in life on her own or to college? I get she may feel a bit insecure. She is younger than the main male lead who is confident, experienced and owns his own business. But, I do feel they should have given her just a tad bit of a back bone. Anything to bring a little bit of life/spice to her role. Surprisingly, expect a few toned down 50 shades of Grey scenes which are extremely rare in asian dramas. This probably has some content for a more mature audience since there may be a few scenes some may find triggering. It is short enough that it is easy to watch if you'd like to give it a try.

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Usually i enjoy types of shows that include mature genres and romance, however with the exception of this show, i don't know why, but it makes me feel dissatisfied throughout the day after watching it (this might seem like an over exaggeration).

Firstly, the relationship is just way too unrealistic and straightforward: this attractive man discovers this young woman and LITERALLY falls in love at first sight, committing everything to her after knowing her for just a few days, it just seems to easy and there isn't really an exciting build up, they just dive right in after the first date. It'd be nice to feel somewhat invested in the characters, but the main girl especially is just so unlikeable. She literally has no personality, nothing interesting about her. The 2 mains just seem a bit ~too~ devoted to each other after dating for such a short period of time that i can't take it seriously lol. Some scenes that were meant to be touching were just straight up funny. I mean it IS based on a manga so i guess that's understandable.

Some of the lines are also really cheesy and stereotypical. The antagonist says things like "when i see something i want, i'll make sure i get it" (referring to the girl). Clearly they treat the girl like an object or possession but i guess it really does kinda portray japanese culture though huh.. But regarding the plot, it just really isn't interesting at all: 'CEO businessman is afraid his rival will steal his girl' - and that's it.

Anyways this show just seems like a less inappropriate roleplay porno spread out into a tv whole series. And although i like my romances, this one just doesn't do it for me. I feel like i'd enjoy it as a manga but not a tv show. This review might seem like i'm shitting on this show but i swear im notttt, it really isnt THAT bad but it's still watchable.

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If you like a quick paced romance, or your a fan of Sakurada Dori, go for it!

So this is a quick paced romance drama, like really REALLY quick paced. I'm talking about a kiss in the first ep that's intentional. So I watched this for Sakurada Dori, if your not a fan of him, you might find the drama slightly....weird. Although I may not like characters like the FL, the actors and actresses did a GREAT job of portraying the characters.
The music didn't really stick out to me, but it was not bad. It was slightly calming and fit for the drama.
I wouldn't rewatch the drama, but i certainly did have a pretty good time watching it for the first time.
Now lets talk about the story, honestly, if your expecting a huge plot twist or something, this is not the drama for you. This is a lighthearted drama, though it is fast and short. Nothing is really draggy, so if you have no paitience like me, you might enjoy it. Now, I gave the story an 8 because it was a little too fast and short. I dont think the story was too complete and so, I wanted to see more of it.
Conclusion: If you aren't a fan of Sakurada Dori, this may not be the drama for you. (btw if your a fan of alice in borderland, you can see some niragi in the character Fukami Hiroto XD
This was my first review, please dont judge it so much. Ty for spending your time reading this!

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TOTALLY NOT WORTH WATCHING

I don't like dropping on dramas so that's why I've finished it.
But to be honest I totally hated this drama. The reason I started watching was because of Dori Sakurada who by the way is a very great actor.
Unfortunatelly the plot was so flat it was hard to watch. I wasn't really focusing on this show because it was too cringy for me and I love cringe so you can imagine that it was really bad.
Main female lead has the worst charakter development if any. I assume producers wanted to show her as cute and sweet univercity student but it went totally wrong way. For me she was like a 5 years old who is just learning abiut the world and don't know anything about it.
Thanks to producers that this show is so short because that is one of two adventages. The second is Dori Sakurada.

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... The female lead had NO backbone whatsoever and just let ANYone use her as a doormat, it was extremely frustrating. Dori looked great in this but it wasn't enough to save this drama because... what was that. It was only 24 min/10 episodes and yet this was an excruciating watch. Everything went so fast: them meeting, him saying "I love you" and them having sex all in the FIRST episode??? HELLO?? I was flabbergasted to say the least. The fmc's best friend was kind of weird tbh and the fact that she got together with the guy who sexually assaulted her friend is a red flag in itself, not gonna lie. I would never recommend no rewatch this. Not even for funsies.

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Despite my initial excitement, the show failed to captivate my attention and ultimately bored me to death. However, despite my lack of enthusiasm, I somehow managed to push through and finish the entire series.

While I can appreciate the effort that went into creating this show, I cannot say that I would recommend it to others or even consider watching it again myself. The storyline lacked depth and failed to evoke any real emotion or investment from me as a viewer.

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Know what to expect.

I loved this story, BUT its not for everyone.

I'm not an expert but I think this is based on shoujo/josei manga. The FL is innocent and pretty and the ML is successful, attractive and somewhat dominant. If you don't like these kind of characters, then this show isn't for you. If you're second or third wave feminist this show is probably not for you either.

Personally, I like these kind of stories. It's fantasy, without the fantasy, and it's OTT. Every male in the FL's vicinity falls head over heals for her and she is mostly unaware of her charms. The ML is the perfect boyfriend and is almost too pretty to be real.

If you like this kind of manga/anime. give it a shot. If not, give it a wide berth because it WILL irritate you.

100% re-watch value.

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