Cherry Magic (2023)

I am spellbound by their magic!!

"Cherry Magic" is a series that has captivated my heart from its opening scenes to the closing credits, weaving a spell that I simply can't resist. The characters, the office vibes, their chemistry, and that slight touch of magic – it's got everything that makes my heart skip a beat.

Warning: Spoilers ahead!!!

It is set up in an office premises. It starts with Achi talking about him turning 30 and how a standard life of 30 year old should be, only to confess that his life lacks all those elements. But to his surprise, he gains magical power of reading people's mind and that's where everything begins. Achi, he is clumsy, under confident and at the same time innocent, extremely adorable and kind but also relatable. Damn I can definitely see why Karan is so whipped for him- I mean who wouldn't be?

Then we have Karan, he is confident, achiever and has the standard 30 year old life according to Achi. But more than that he is whipped for Achi. He is a walking green flag. He has a secret crush on him and he finds everything that Achi does adorable and I don't blame him because I ain't any different. They both are adorable and so is their chemistry. Damn their interactions, subtle touches, glances, those inner monologues, those visions from Karan's imagination, those kisses, those moments, everything, I loved and enjoyed everything.

Let's talk about the real magic of "Cherry Magic" - those lines and moments that hit you right in the feels. Like the line, 'Sometimes I even feel relieved that in a world where I seem to fade into the background, Karan always sees me.' I mean, can we take a moment to appreciate the beauty of this!! And it's not just the words; it's the way they play it out. As Achi looks at Karan when Karan is passing by his seat in the bus, he remembers all the moments with Karan. More so the moment, in the retreat, when he thought no one would want to pair up with him and he just aimlessly, without looking backward, walks backward and collides with Karan's front. Their eyes lock, Karan smiles and the question, "Do you want to pair up with me?" unfolds like a fairytale. Sounds cliche I know but trust me, that moment felt so magical. I was legit smitten by this scene and it's not just a one time thing. I have so many favorite lines and moments- be it that rooftop moments or the beach moment or the pre Loi krathong festival moments or those read my mind moments or those absolutely heart melting video calls. This series is like my happy pill. I have so many favorite moments and whenever I go back to watching it, I am instantly happy.

Talking about the supporting characters, first and foremost I love Pai. She is so cute, charismatic and moreover I feel her. Aaaaahhhh my heart!!! Also, her chemistry with Rock is so adorable. Rock is kind of talkative, funny and cheerful guy and he is whipped for Pai and I am too. Moreover, their confession scene was so so cute. Moving on to Min and Jinta, I love them no less. Jinta, he is a really funny guy. He also gains the magical power of reading minds and the way he was freaking out about it and trying to avoid people's touch, it's hilarious. Moreover, the cat's thoughts really cracks me. And the confession scene of Min and Jinta, it had me rolling and blushing. They are so adorable.

Also, the ost Loudest love, oh my god I absolutely love it. I have been listening to it on loop. To top it, the ost 'Everything is magic' is Achi's pov and 'Voice within' is Karan's pov , both the mvs are connected and it's so adorable plus ear pleasing. I am absolutely smitten by them.

Highly Highly Highly Recommended!!!!

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Disappointing.

I guess I had high expectations for this series, the original Cherry Magic is one of my favorites. The first few episodes aren't bad, and I had hope. Sadly, I was disappointed. The acting was not terrible, but not great. The acting and plot was just a little exaggerated and cheesy. There seemed to be a lot of filler plots and scenes. Like what was the random "no office dating" drama thrown in? It got dismissed almost immediately and served no real purpose. Or the employees of the new branch running away to play soccer, what did that sub plot do? Nothing I can think of.
They took away the asexual character and made a third pair that was not needed. I actually think that was what made me the most frustrated. I loved that in the original. And I hoped all the way until the end that maybe Pai would say to Rock that she just wasn't interested in another relationship. But no. Also, the whole last episode seemed very rushed, suddenly we're at a wedding? Honestly, the more I think about it, the less I like it.

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Wow, that was boring!

I might get a lot of hate for saying this, but the Thai version was so boring.

I have already watched the Japanese version of this series and I liked it very much. The reason why I believe that the Thai version is boring, is because they tried to adapt the whole series in a thai environment and honestly I don't think that it worked out.

In my personal opinion, when you have a ship like TayNew, casting them for this type of series is wrong. I don't know if I am too mean, but I just believe that these roles didn't match their BL aura. Give them something like Dark Blue Kiss. Hell yeah! That's something that they can, 100%, pull off. Casting them for roles that are too shy or quiet, it's just something that I am not a fan of.

I don't know how to further explain why I found it so boring. Maybe it's because I had higher expectations of a series that we would have again TayNew as the main leads, and it had to be this series. I personally believe, that there were other actors that could have been a better fit for this series, but here we are.

Well, that's it. Bye!

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adorable adaptation

Overall: the first episodes really wowed me with honoring the source material/Japanese series but putting its own Thai touch on it. There were a few items I wish had been done differently but a solid romcom that I enjoyed. 12 episodes about 45 minutes each. Airing on VIU with English subtitles (you need a VPN first set to Thailand and then click on the link) https://www.viu.com/ott/th/en/vod/2281332/Cherry-Magic-30-ยังซิง

Content Warnings: harassment, manhandling, body shaming, non con recording, vomiting, homophobia

What I Liked
- good reference to the manga
- sweet/cute moments
- funny parts
- good kissing/intimacy
- Achi and Karan had some solid communication and cleared up misunderstandings relatively quickly
- Achi's parents
- Karan's sister talking to their parents
- production value

Room For Improvement
- though I looked forward to the increased runtime, it ended up dragging a little at certain points
- happy they avoided the episode 11 curse but that was a stupid "plan"
- similar to the manga (but dissimilar to the Japanese live action) Karan was too grabby a few times with Achi
- space sound they sometimes had when Achi heard inner thoughts
- cat looked very well fed/taken care of for a stray cat
- did the dancer's hair change color at times? (continuity error?)
- disappointed with Pai's character, she gave an awesome empowerment speech towards the beginning of the series and then they had her go a very familiar route
- the m/m couple needed more screentime/development shown
- overt product placement is a negative as compared to the Japanese series but I didn't take off points for product placements as it funds series
- GMMTV should have released that statement right when they removed the first 2 episodes from YouTube at the end of December instead of 3 months later admitting that it was their fault for the lack of international release (did not take off points from my review)

(updated April 6th 2024 after GMMTV's official statement) https://twitter.com/GMMTV/status/1776414522393391494
International Release: on December 20th 2023 after 2 episodes aired on YouTube internationally, GMMTV stated that it could no longer air Cherry Magic internationally. It then aired on VIU to those in Thailand (had English subtitles). Finally 3 months later GMMTV release an official statement saying that due to their mistake with the contract they cannot air the series outside of Thailand and are working on copyright and licensing for every country. Let this be a lesson to all production companies to clearly state in your contract international streaming rights.

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Everything is magic?

Uhmmm, no! Not really! Not even close! Unfortunately!

I waited for this version with a bated breath. Japanese Cherry Magic was one of the first BLs I watched after discovering the fascinating world of BLs a couple of years ago. It had left me with a ridiculously happy smile and butterflies. Moreover, I've been a fan of Tay and New since Dark Blue Kiss, enjoyed immensely their non bl dramas and was thrilled to bits when I found out they were going to do a thai version of Cherry Magic.

But...there is a big BUT here! I've spent two years now, watching a lot of BLs and have honed in my likes and dislikes, realizing that loving dramas, indiscriminately and without criticism, are the thing of the past. If I were to watch the original today, I probably would not have the same impression! Now days, I like what the majority of watchers hate!

Therefore, (you see where I'm going to with this long introduction, right?) Cherry Magic, the thai way, did not manage to win me over or, better said, put me under its spell! Everything was not magic but out of synch!

Achi, a 30 yr old virgin, with low self-esteem, shy, kind and innocent, scared of other people and absolutely frightened of intimacy of any kind! So we were shown an adult man, trembling in fear, confused, completely oblivious of other people's feelings and indecisive trying to please everyone and thus being left behind. Karan is his complete opposite: successful, competent and handsome in addition to being kind and observant. He's had a crush on Achi for 7 years.
Question 1: why did it take him 7 years to try to make a move on Achi? Answer: ????????
Achi was never really aware of Karan: he admired him as a coworker but nothing more. When he gains this magic power of hearing other people's thoughts and finds out that Karan is in love with him, he becomes more attentive which manifests in him getting even more nervous and jumpy, a real scaredy-cat! Karan never really makes a move but keeps watching Achi and just staying put in his unrequited love. Why someone, so confident and successful professionally, is a total loser in his private life? It is so much out of character for Karan!
Question 2: does Achi really fall in love with Karan?
The ability to hear Karan, gives Achi the unexpected knowledge and he realizes that Karan had been particularly attentive to his needs without him ever noticing it! How dense can someone be? So, from this point on there are two schools of thought : mine and everyone else's. Everyone else thinks that Achi falls in love with Karan from that moment. I beg to differ! Achi is suddenly aware of all the attention Karan has been bestowing upon him which makes him very uncomfortable: he is jumpy, shakes a lot. He feels indebted to Karan so he convinces himself that he is in love but his attitude does not follow. We see him being evasive and shirk any form of closeness, he unwittingly retreats every time Karan comes close to him. When Karan confesses and they start dating, they seem like a couple of old friend not lovers going around. Achi is obviously grateful to Karan for his love, attention and help but in love? I don't think so! Episodes 8 & 9 are a cringefest: it took me two days to finish them by watching in 10min instalments: that is just about the maximum quantity of cringe I can bear at once! This whole love story was unconvincing and lacklustre! Yes, Achi kisses him first but even that seems like obligation, something that he needs to do, does not want to but has to do! Even on their wedding night, when Karan is being so attentive and lovey dovey, Achi is still jumpy and evasive, not knowing what to do with himself (and it is not like it is their first night together!)...Mostly, when they are together, they come across as friends not lovers.

What about the other characters? The second couple are Min and Jinta (Achi's friend, a writer and another 30 yr old virgin!) who seems to have a split personality: usually he is a normal ordinary adult except when he is around Min and becomes a blubbering fool with grotesque mimicry and incoherent dialogue. Kudos to the actor for managing transitions smoothly! Another couple are Rock and Pai, Achi's office coworkers. Pai is a fujoshi (less said is the better) but is also kind, helpful and smart. And finally, there are a couple of bosses, funny, fun and surprisingly supportive. The actor playing the japanese boss, was amazing in pulling off the accent!

This was a fluffy romcom definitely too fluffy for my taste. Unfortunately, it was also too unconvincing (putting aside the fantasy element), there was no chemistry between the leads and the writing could have been better. I have not read the manga and I saw the japanese version ages ago so I am not comparing this drama with anything. Still it failed to convince me, I was mostly bored and annoyed!

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This show couldn't match the japanese charm and acting

Again a dispointing GMM-TV commercial with some BL show inbetween.
No elegance in the characters, all is very smooth and plain.
Reading some of the reviews, it looks like people do like shallow shows with outstanding production value.

Why we did need a third couple, I have no idea, but when u write superficial scripts, you need to fill the time with something. I also don't like BL actors playing hetero in a BL even when he and his "girl" were the best characters of all, which is sad for a BL, "Jinta" was stupidly over-acted because it's a thai "comedy" and the rest of them did not leave a mark.

Some fluffy scenes don't make a good BL, This show is highly overrated, but you could have watched a worse show. Still, I would recommand to watch the japanese version and you won't miss anything if you skipped the thai version.

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Sometimes a Little Bit of Magic Wouldn't Hurt

Writing this review took longer than expected, but I'm eager to share my thoughts on "Cherry Magic," a delightful adaptation of the original Japanese series with a unique Thai twist. This was my first exposure to TayNew, and their dynamic chemistry significantly enhanced my viewing experience. The series skillfully balances the essence of the original narrative with culturally specific elements that resonate with a new audience. The blend of magical realism, engaging character development, and local flavour makes "Cherry Magic" not just enjoyable but also a memorable introduction to the talents of TayNew. It's a heartwarming and entertaining series that effectively captivates and entertains.

Story-wise, the series shines by delving into themes of personal growth and empathy. Achi initially grapples with the overwhelming implications of his newfound mind-reading ability, which complicates his interactions and intensifies his feelings of isolation. Yet, as he navigates this unique gift, he gains insights into others' lives that foster greater understanding and connection. The evolving dynamics, notably between Achi and Karan, are a standout aspect. Their transition from colleagues to something deeper is delicately portrayed with a blend of humour and tenderness. Achi's accidental discovery of Karan's feelings challenges his views on love and intimacy, prompting him to confront his barriers. Additionally, the series nicely explores supporting characters, each contributing their struggles and triumphs, thereby enriching the narrative with diverse perspectives on love and relationships.

The characters in the series surpassed my expectations, particularly Tay (Karan) and New (Achi), who, with their extensive industry experience, delivered outstanding performances and remarkable chemistry. Their interactions were a highlight, characterized by solid communication and the resolution of misunderstandings. Junior (Jinta) and Mark (Min), portraying the secondary couple, underwent an adorable relationship progression that added depth to the storyline. I found their expanded screen time compared to the Japanese version to be a welcome development, although I did notice some inconsistencies, such as Mark's hair colour changes during dance scenes. Sing (Rock) and Jan (Pai) showcased a compelling evolution in their relationship from start to finish, with their chemistry leaving a lasting impact. I'm hopeful for a second chance for them to explore their connection further as a pair.

Looking back, I might have been a bit too generous with my rating, but I still believe in my judgment. "Cherry Magic" holds its own compared to the Japanese version, although there are aspects I wish could have been improved. Still, it's not just your average rom-com. It delves into love, friendship, and personal growth with depth and sincerity—the mix of magic and relatable real-life experiences results in a captivating and heartwarming narrative. I urge you to try and see the magic for yourself. It can turn everyday moments into something unique and spark your imagination. And with that, I wrap up my last series review for 2023.

Achi (New), an average employee at a stationery company, leads a single and uneventful life. Upon reaching the age of thirty, he discovers a surprising ability to read people's minds through physical contact. Faced with this newfound power, Achi tries to avoid contact with others. Still, his efforts take an unexpected turn when he accidentally reads the thoughts of Karan (Tay), his handsome and flawless colleague. To his astonishment, Achi learns that the generous and always-smiling Karan has developed romantic feelings for him. To prevent complications, Achi maintains distance from Karan's emotions.

"Love can start from the little moments that impress you. Before you know it, you've already caught feelings."

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A faithful manga adaptation? More like a visually appealing, badly written AU

Cherry Magic is a simple love story that in its less than 6 years of existence has reached incredible amounts of success; the existence of this show is proof of it. With 5 adaptations out at the moment, unfortunately, this is by far the weakest one.

I will preface this by saying I did have an initial prejudice when this show was announced; the “fixed pairing” culture of Thai BL shows makes no sense to me and considering the acting quality of the show was what got me into Cherry Magic in the first place, I was worried it wouldn’t live up with a casting made so…cashgrabing-ly?. However, when the official pilot dropped I was 100% aboard the CMTH ship; especially at the promise of a longer adaptation, more faithful to the manga which was by now 2 times the length of when the JDrama first aired.

Well, to my displeasure, this version did not deliver on any of its promises. The first few episodes were great but as the show went on the writing quality went downhill. First of all there is no way this version is more faithful to the manga than it is to the jdrama. The director did not take interest (since 2021!!) in this story from the manga, let’s be honest. Scenes original to the Jdrama were used in this version. But I’ll come back to that later.

The writing of this show is childish. Which is ironic because it’s currently the spiciest adaptation.

CM is an overwhelmingly positive manga but that doesn’t mean the characters themselves are saints.

Achi is 10 times kinder and nicer than his original version. He has an entire support system in his workplace that isn’t afraid to show him affection. His social skills are fine for the most part. He is almost immediately accepting of Karan’s crush on him. I’m sorry but what is exactly his problem in this adaptation then? That he got rejected once? And as the show progresses he never gets over his passiveness as opposed to his manga counterpart. He does one or two things but it’s not convincing.

Karan on the other hand is a totally creepier version of Kurosawa in this one. I know I shouldn’t linger on small cringy details but the personalized gifts amongst his other behaviours were really too much. Achi being so accepting of it, almost basking in it from the get-go, and just occasionally getting nervous was so boring and out of character.

I don’t want to focus on side characters too much but I will give this adaptation that JintaMin were a delight to watch; a lot of times more than the main couple.

Pai and Rock is probably the second worst thing this adaptation has done; a fanservice ship made so fujoshi could self insert themselves about a guy who’ll accept them for who they are. They had already taken several scenes from the Jdrama so idk why they didn’t keep Pai aroace; straight representation for fujoshi matter I guess. Dujdao was a fun addition to the cast.

This show is a big WHY to me. Why did they have to follow the JDrama and the basic BL drama formula which resulted in such a bad pace? Despite what the JDrama will have you believe, Cherry Magic is a fairly fast paced story. For God’s sake the 20 minute anime is going at the same (and actually faster!) pace than this 40 minute show and God only knows how much this adaptation would have benefitted from that. Why promise a more faithful adaptation to the manga when the JDrama influence is as clear as day?

The high production and longer runtime might have tricked people into overlooking its awful writing but I will not fold. Episode 8 was probably the worst original plot to be written into an adaptation in the history of adaptations and it further proves to me that whoever worked on the script did not understand the original characters and the series’ charm one bit. For one, that precious runtime could be used for a lot of skipped manga moments; but of course not, because, again, clearly the source material is not the manga…

I seriously felt insulted at the way my favourite plot points were handled. It’s like they were afraid to let any negative emotion or any serious situation/problem linger in more than one scene, like I was watching a kid’s show where by the end of the episode everything was magically fine, without the stakes being that high in the first place.
There’s a difference between being a down to earth, sweet show that has clever writing and equally clever characters that resolve their conflicts and a constant stream of sugar and everything nice. After some point, it doesn't feel earned.

It's not horrible unredeemable garbage. It's overrated for sure and it's nowhere near the quality of other adaptations (despite arguably having the MOST resources) but what did it well, it did very well. The intimacy scenes were well shot, well acted. The cute affectionate moments between Karan and Achi were cute and believable and delightful when they weren't overridden by cringe. When they were faithful to the manga, i.e. EP6, their high quality production elevated the story. But that's literally it.

I understand that the characters had to be changed to fit the cultural context, this is CM's second foreign adaptation so I'm familiar with localization of the characters. But these changes resulted in a shallower version of the characters, giving me nothing to root for other than the show to reach its end

Spoilers for things I found extremely annoying

(EP1)Achi is supposed to accept Karan's offer to stay other BEFORE seeing his wild fantasies. Having him accept AFTER is contrary to his character.

(EP2) Achi's ear is embroidered on the pyjama shirt? And he's not freaking terrified about it? GMMTV surely you could have come up with a better merch idea

(EP4) Once again following the JDrama and the manga and missing the point of Fujisaki's character; You cannot mix the two different versions of Fujisaki. In the manga, she is a fujoshi, admiring Kurosawa and Adachi from afar, making scenarios just to pass time without ever making them uncomfortable. In the JDrama she is their friend. Her being their shipper (to the point she has them as her lockscreen, unashamed) and their close friend is just weird.

(EP5)The whole fiasco of Karan getting jealous of Achi and Jinta being all touchy in the office is supposed to happen after they start dating and cause Karan to get jealous of the fact Achi is never as open with him as he is with Jinta (and that leads to the magic reveal). To use that scene in an episode where he already got (rightfully) jealous 12 other times was dumb.

(EP7) Karan shows up at 5am. Instead of having the original scene where Adachi asks Kurosawa to help him pick out clothes little creep Karan forces a gift on Achi. Of course. He brings socially anxious Achi to meet his friend on the first date. And instead of keeping the iconic moment of Adachi intiating the second date to make up for it, Achi once again has no agency. Gives him the ugliest merchbait necklace known to man. GMM count your days

(EP8) Karan is willing to risk getting sexually assaulted to prove his love for Achi to their boss. Achi is as passive about it as he possibly can. Are we serious?

(EP9) The transfer is changed from one year (manga) to one month. One month and Achi feels like their relationship will fall apart. Can we please be serious just for once

(EP10) Achi is going away for a month but they have to train living apart instead of valuing their last week together. Kurosawa would have punched Karan in the face for that. And also Karan being outside in his car everyday was totally not creepy. Seriously.

(EP11) No matter how much you try to force the hetero ship you're not convincing me. Also just sucked the charisma out of Rock's character.

(EP12) Karin steps up to convince her mother to accept Karan's relationship with Achi. This is quite literally one of Adachi's most important moments in the manga and I cannot understand why it had to go to Karin.

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Falls slightly outside my personal preferences

GMMTV's production quality shines through in the cinematography and colour grading of the series, but the plot falls short with its simplistic and predictable nature. The clear-cut plotlines introduced separately result in a lack of anticipation and cohesion, making it difficult to fully immerse yourself in the story.
While the main couple shows some good chemistry, their story lacks depth and substance, hindering true emotional investment in their relationship. The cringey moments of the second couple overshadow any potential for genuine connection, while the initial charm of the third couple quickly fades.
The show's Japanese origin is noticable in many unrealistic scenes that detract from the viewing experience, and despite the interesting concept of mind reading, the story fails to fully capitalize on this unique element.
Although the twist of both Karan and Achi proposing simultaneously was a refreshing moment, the unnecessary wedding theme added to the overall feeling of a lackluster conclusion for each couple. With the second couple getting engaged and the third couple starting to officially date, the series felt more like a checklist of obligatory relationship resolutions rather than natural progressions. Overall, the final episodes of the series felt like a chore to get through.

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Thai remake did well yet somehow lost the magic from the major changes they did

Kurosawa and Adachi are some of the few fictional characters that I have grown attached to and always had a special place in my heart. I’ve been gearing up with excitement since the moment that GMMTV announced that a remake of the hit-iconic Cherry Magic, the live-action adaptation from the manga with the same name, is on the way. Most especially this is the comeback series of Tay and New as the main couple in a BL show. I trusted them to give justice to my well-beloved KuroDachi.

The Japanese version set the high so high that it pains me not to enjoy this remake version. I was even more disappointed that they turned Pai’s character into someone who ended up being with Rock, in which the Japanese version was introduced to Fujisaki as someone who is not interested in any love-romance in her life which was a very rare personality of a character.

Don’t get me wrong, the overall production quality from this remake was good enough but still lacked the same magic effect that I felt from the Japanese adaptation, the manga, and the anime that is currently airing right now. Too many additional scenes were added from the Thai remake yet not fully effective to get me to giggle in love with their impact. I feel like I can fully enjoy this one if I haven’t watched any of the previous adaptations of the popular Cherry Magic: 30 Years of Virginity Can Make You A Wizard?!

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LOVED THIS SO MUCH

The fact that I almost didn't watch this because it was so hard for me to find a platform where this was available is crazy. This is one of my favorite bls ever and definitely a comfort series that I will rewatch. I have never watched the Japanese version but after watching the Thai version I definitely want to because I completely fell in love with this series and characters, Karan especially. Karan has to be the greenest flag out of every bl character and as a green flag lover I enjoyed him so much. Especially the scene where they were dared to kiss but he saw that Achi was uncomfortable and didn't do it, something as simple as that goes a far way, showing how respectful he was of Achi's boundaries (some bl characters should learn from him.) I'm not sure if it's because I was so into the main couple but I didn't really care about the side couples.

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Exceeded my expectations

As a drooling fanboy of the Japanese version (and still am), I watched this while expecting it to fail. I was wrong. Here are my pros and cons:
This could h
PROS

STORY. The story is, of course, wonderful, which is what made me such a fan of the Japanese version. But, in some ways, the Thai version was better. For one (and this is a BIG one), the MC actually kissed, and several times! That was SO much needed in the Japanese version, as opposed to two wonderful actors who made it seem clear that "we're not actually gay, okay?" Blecch.

ROCK/WHAT'S HER NAME. Sorry, I've already forgotten her name. I realize that the female counterpart in the JP version was asexual, and that's fine. But I appreciated the straight couple here. They were adorable.

EXTRA INFO. I liked that Achi/Karan had real interactions with both of the families, which was missing in the Japanese version.

TAY. He really brought it. I appreciated how he made Karan/Kurosawa an even more deep character than what was shown in the JP version. He even cried.

CONS

ACHI. New did a respectable job here. But I missed the comical Adachi from the Japanese version.

LACK OF COMEDY. More lighthearted moments, please.

After the HUGE success of the Japanese version, this could have been a complete fail. It was not. And, in many ways, it improved on the earlier version. Kudos to Cherry Magic Thailand!

10/10 for me.

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