Pure Serotonin in this Fantasy BL
So far, I love the overall direction of this fluffy and supernatural BL. With its lighthearted combination of romance, fantasy, and comedy, it's hard not to feel happy after watching!This first ep has several twists and surprises, so I can hope that the rest of the series goes beyond a traditional storyline. I can already feel the main leads' chemistry and am dying to see more of them. Also, in many aspects, it reminds me of Zettai BL ni Naru Sekai and Cherry Magic, both of which are amazing Japanese BLs in these similar genres. If you love these and other supernatural romcoms, I recommend you start this!
Was this review helpful to you?
Our luck sometimes takes us to strange and wonderful places
This quirky little tale starts off with Fukuhara discovering that his susceptibility towards misfortune can be averted when he’s in the presence of Shinomiya. Thrilled with his sudden turn of good luck, Fukuhara blurts “please be with me” in a moment of impulsiveness.This hilarious little misunderstanding is what sets the entire series in motion, and while ridiculous and fantastical, endears itself towards you after a while.
While Fukuhara’s initial reason for approaching Shinomiya may have been self-centred, enough self-awareness is woven into Fukuhara’s character as he is able to contemplate the morality of his decisions. The off-kilter, often exaggerated behaviour of Fukuhara also bears striking resemblances to Aoki from Kieta Hatsukoi, who also overthinks interactions and approaches relationships with the same levels of awkwardness.
Shinomiya’s sincerity and magnetism (he is after all, a real cutie) is what makes him so likeable. Blessed with all the good luck in the world, Shinomiya gladly shares the spoils of his good fortune with the people around him, even if this means that he’s an easy target for fake friends looking to use him.
Wary about forming deep relationships with others, Fukuhara was probably the first person he actually chose to love – a significant point explaining why, unlike with his exes, Shinomiya actually fought to keep Fukuhara by his side.
I would have wanted to see more of Shinomiya learning how to put himself first, and Fukuhara learning to embrace his feelings and love someone authentically. However, for 8 episodes, it’s expected that character development would be somewhat limited.
Full review here: https://asianblreviews.wordpress.com/2022/06/11/mr-unlucky-has-no-choice-but-to-kiss-bl/
Was this review helpful to you?
1This review may contain spoilers
Cute, Funny, And Fun With One Secure-Attachment Lead.
jpny01's review says things well. I'll add:GENERAL SPOILERS included below.
I liked how Naoya was comfortable with his sexuality; it was never brought up, it just... was. His actions were consistently green flags and he had a very secure attachment style. After the first episode, he was also good at asking or waiting for consent for physical intimacy (unfortunately, the writers kept him and us waiting).
I loved how Kota told Naoya the truth fairly early on and by his own choice. It wasn't by forced circumstance; he did so because he genuinely felt bad and thought that it was the right thing to do. That is so rare and I was so glad the writers didn't follow the usual clichés with that plotline.
The writers did, however, use the inane cliche of one of the romantic partners resisting affection because it made them feel awkward all the way the to the end. At least it wasn't disgust, but still, that made it drop a full star for me because their relationship arc didn't feel truly satisfying. Even just cuddling with smiles at the end would have been more heart-warming than the peck on the cheek followed by a tickle fight.
The series made me laugh outloud a lot, the actors were good, both leads had good comedic sense, especially the one playing Kota, they had good chemistry, there were good messages without being preachy, and the whole thing was engaging and cute and fun. I can see rewatching this again at some point.
I would have given a 10/10 through Ep 6, then the rehashing of the same internal questions and conflicts in Ep 7& 8 lowered my rating to a 9/10. Though I was glad to see Kota and Naoya talking things out, it didn't actually make their relationship progress at all, which was weird to me. So that ffrustration and the relatively unsatisfying, clichéd ending (more bromance than romance) brought my rating down to 8/10.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Enjoyable simple romance that make you feel butterflies
Reading the manga first, I watched the drama prepared myself to not take it too serious and just enjoy the comedy and that’s what I got so i was satisfied with it. Despite the fact that it came from the same TV that made “My beautiful man”, I know it will be a whole different genre and I hope everyone would watch it and don’t expect complexity and deep plot. The drama has very fun concept of super unlucky guy dating and balancing with super lucky guy and they are both head over heels for each other which makes you grin all by yourself watching them every episode. There’s not much ‘drama’ and headache from the plot, just two silly guys awkwardly love each other from an accidental relationship.My only complaint is the overused filter that kinda ruined the cinematography and the structure of this drama where they kept repeating same structure every episodes which made everything too predictable and the overused flashback was getting boring. It didn’t bother me too much though because I’m here to see Kouta and Naoya and I’m happy with what I got.
Was this review helpful to you?
opposites attract, accidental relationship, cohabitation
Mr Chronically Unlucky (another adorable chaos muffin) and Mr Always Lucky end up dating after they meet at uni orientation. It’s JAPAN yet they kissed in the first episode. What freaky alt-reality did I enter into? That’s all they kiss tho, over which I was a touch disappointed (I know). Still I spent far too much of my time with this show biting my knuckles and squealing “THEY’RE SO CUTE!” Amusing story: I paused mid the most tooth-achingly adorable first date in the entire universe and Viki was like “something missing?” and I was like “MY HEART YOU BASTARDS” It is very slapstick Japanese style comedic (light) BL reminds me a bit of Kieta Hatsukoi or Cherry Magic. So if you like that style of BL you’ll adore this show.Was this review helpful to you?
Quirky but Sad
I think this is supposed to sort of be a rom-com and parts of it are quite funny. The Japanese have a real eye for self-depreciating humor in the first person. And the physical comedy that goes with that. Unquestionably the two main protagonists are quite quirky and real misfits, which made them very likeable. The first half is much better than the second half. The last half just turned into a silly cat-and-mouse game of playing with emotions with neither one wanting to make any type of a commitment to have a relationship. I found that patently silly and absurd. I was very disappointed overall with this series and found it to be formulaic. In the end, I found them to be way more sad figures than happy ones. Ironically.Was this review helpful to you?
"The Glass is Either Half-Full or Half-Empty."
My title describes exactly how I felt while watching this short mini-drama. What stood out to me the most are definitely the characters who have very distinct and unique personalities. Despite the very fantasy like synopsis and the strange title, the drama doesn't spend much time exploring them. Heck, the kiss in the title is almost hyperbolic as it doesn't have any significant effect on the plot.Kouta, an unlucky college junior, gets a chance to escape his bad luck after running into Naoya, a naturally born lucky King, who is also the campus's sweetheart. A slight misunderstanding of semantics ends up with both of them dating. Kouta, who is initially uninterested in the dating aspect, slowly begins to get to know Naoya (and himself) better along the way.
Kouta, whose eyes we see the story through, is a gem. I loved how he had feelings and emotional outbursts and an actual personality which somehow made him real. I could relate to how and why he reacted in certain ways, including his dilemma of maintaining friendships, yet keeping himself aloof from emotional attachments. The actor who played him definitely did an excellent job portraying this multi-faceted character.
Naoya was almost manga like, right down to his looks. He was a genuinely honest and nice male lead who attemped his best to be nice to everyone.
Also, Anna, Mika, the Senpai and Naoya's friends were a few constant characters that despite not being important, made the drama lively.
The little bits of Psychology lessons and advices from the characters that were inserted in the episodes were enlightening. The drama was definitely not the surface fluff I usually enjoy -- it did focus on the perspectives of two vastly different characters and their views.
The pacing of the show seemed off during a few episodes. Although every bit of it gave me warm fuzzies, I couldn't shake off the feeling that something was just missing.
But, it gave me a breath of fresh air after two months of extreme stress. So, I'll rate this a solid 7.5/10.
Was this review helpful to you?
Really good with a little too much discomfort.
One decent actor doesn’t make up for a really bad actor and a story line that makes you severely uncomfortable. I’m hella queer too. It made me uncomfortable as a queer person. Queerness was never mentioned but kuta shuddered all the time at the thought of liking a guy. He had to always force himself. And forcing yourself to be “gay” is just like a gay person forcing themselves to be straight.it made me sick. Naoya’s really bad acting made it exponentially worse. But I do love Japanese bl. I love how noya was so respectful of his boundaries and wishes. There was just so so so much potential. That’sa huge part of why I’m grading it so harshlyWas this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Weird premise, really good show
At first I watched episode one and then I stopped watching the show for a couple weeks. I randomly picked it back up and I’m glad I did. Overall I thought it was a really good show. It was very sweet and fluffy with a lot of good messages and kota and naoya definitely had a good relationship. Some of kota’s actions were very embarrassing to witness but I still loved his character. Naoya is very much a green flag and really cares about kota from the very start despite majorly reading signals wrong. I think they definitely casted the right people, especially for kota. I think the one falling point was end of ep. 7 and beginning of ep. 8. There was a HUGE plot twist that I didn’t really think made any sense. All of a sudden kota gets held hostage in his own house by a lady who comes to his door with a gun wearing a helmet. The whole things on the news and no one try’s to help him. The entire 15 hours he’s being held hostage he’s thinking about the people and experiences he appreciates most. Eventually naoya sees the news and goes to rescue kota. The lady holding kota hostage falls in love with naoya at first sight becuase she says he looks like her first love and then naoya and robber have a heart to heart about how she’s better than this and she confesses that she robbed a bank and then held kota hostage cause she wanted more money to spend on idols. after she gets arrested naoya offers to let kota move in cause he’s worried about his safety and kota basically says its no big deal and he gets bad luck like this all the time. Whole ridiculous side plot aside, great show, you should watch it.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Acquaintances to friends through panic
Kota has always had bad luck. At the university he notices Naoya who seems to have extraordinarily good luck. Moreover when Kota is next to him his bad luck disappears. So one day he approaches Naoya with an offer of friendship but it is badly phrased and Naoya accepts to be his boyfriend. From that moment on, Kota is in eternal panic mode, jumpy and incapable to deal with the consequences.I usually drop manga adaptation when they look too much like an anime and not enough like a live drama. I dropped this one halfway through the second episode (when he got all wrapped in yarn!!) but chose to pick it up in order to complete a challenge.
And let me tell you what a challenge it's been to finish this drama.
Kota is a very unlikable character. Immature and silly. He was formed by his relentless bad luck from childhood so he avoids having friends. Pretending to be interested in Naoya is too much for his feeble character: he misunderstands Naoya's every word and action. We are privy to his innermost thoughts as he is narrating it but what we get is panic. His every reaction is panic. His every thought is panic. He is jumpy, hugging the walls and trying to keep low profile. (though his very attempts to be invisible are so conspicuous! go figure!). He is afraid of contact and he does not know or want to respond to Naoya's affections. He's a typical victorian virgin. In 21st century! I found Kota extremely annoying. Even his evolution towards the end, is not really convincing: I think he cares for Naoya but more like a friend than a lover.
Naoya, on the other hand, had been blessed with good luck he decided to use for good, be nice to people but, just like Kota, he never really got close to someone. Until one day he sees Kota smiling and falls for him. I could believe that. Someone's sunny smile can make a person happy. Is it love? Probably on Naoya's part since he already knew he was attracted to men. He was so deeply taken that he chose to ignore Kota strange 'manga anime) behaviour.
Their relationship is more of a bromance than a bl romance. Kota is never, not even in the end, at ease with physical closeness.
So the romance is really not good. What is good here are some side characters: group of gossiping girls Kota listens into, psychology classes in an open circular classroom (well done stage manager!), Naoya's friends who are underused. What is surprisingly missing here are a number of tropes (childhood relationship, crazy ex etc.) which makes this a rather refreshing watch.
I was right to drop this initially and only the actor laying Naoya made me go through this annoying show. Sato Yusuke is a very talented actor who managed to portray the happy exterieur and the sad interior feelings of Naoya with a smile and a look. Amazing acting skills! The other actors are not worth mentioning because they do very little acting just by standing there and I do not want to talk about Sota Ryosuke. Actually I should, because he brought to life the most annoying character in BL since Kieta Hatsukoi. If he was supposed to be so annoying, then well done Sota. If not, well, it is a problem!
The story centers on these two characters and nothing exists outside of them: family or the society in general it is a moment in time in a microcosme where there is no prejudice!
Was this review helpful to you?
Funny and cute
Kouta was just sooo funny man all his thoughts he wud think out loud were hilarious and the unlucky things he went through were just so ridiculously funny.Nayao was so cute too he was patient and caring but only a dream for someone to actually exist like that. It wasnt really cringey more funny and cute and no like inappropriate scenes almost friendly type of drama.
Its short and enough for their story.
Definitely a drama not of a common production mainly due to koutas acting the Drama was 90% better.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Lovable Characters are the Strength of this Bromance
It's a simple plot but the characters are likable and engaging. Naoya (Sato Yusuke) plays a strong lead as a guy who has no baggage about liking guys --- Kota (Sota Ryosuke), in this case. Kota is "questioning" his same sex attraction, and this is fine but his character is just a little too slapstick -- and that's the main failing of this drama, it can't seem to find the right tone. Is it a serious drama or a farce? Thankfully the Naoya character keeps us grounded for most of the series. [Update, 2 years later] So I just watched the whole series again, 2 years later, and my initial thoughts are the same. Noya's character is one of the most realistic gay characters I've ever seen in cinema. None of the kissing scenes work. I think these BL dramas try too hard to force same-sex romance into the story. A bromance between two guys is sufficiently dramatic and, since this is a Japanese movie, they could have gone to an onsen to establish their level of intimacy. The conclusion is the typical BL cop-out: to never suggest actual sex. That's why I think they should just aim for bromance because the audince never gets the implied payoff. And, for that matter, any kind of simulated sex scene in movies, gay or straight, is so cringe that I usually skip through that part. I don't think filmmakers grasp there is a vast audience of men who have no interest in women and would prefer to co-habitate with a male best friend who shares similar interests with no romantic baggage.Was this review helpful to you?
