This review may contain spoilers
Did i read the same manga that the screenwriter ??
First i'm totally aware what "adapted a writed material" means ! Chnage need to make for the viewers to clearly watch what was written beforehandSo here my title and question : Did the screenwriter had read the same manga as me ? Because except their job, the place and theirs names so many change had make that the story doesn't even respect the essence of the manga
Surely the manga wasn't full of angst and more a slowburning love story but here to create something they think was more attractable for the audience they add dramas : exes, stupids break up, intrusive coworker
At some point they make the exploit to bring down one of the main character to the point he had less screentime and interesing story than the created side character !!!
Because let me be clear here : Sakae ex lover doesn't appear in the manga, not even sure he was mentioned ! Same with Soga ex wife she is only mentioned to explain why Soga is low self-esteem (because she want kid and Soga is sterile)
I really don't understand how you read a manga with likeable character and you make the exploit to write a serie where none of them is likeable anymore ?
I understand the need to adapt sometimes the serie is even better that the book (Not me for example) but sadly not here
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started off well but cliched plot elements led it astray (watch suggestions)
Overall: I initially gave this a 9.5 because it was a peak Japanese romcom. However, cliched writing really let this series down. 10 episodes about 20 minutes each. The series is based on a manga which I haven't read and I'm reviewing the series based on its own merits. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/3947/although-i-love-you-and-you-2024-e01Content Warnings: manipulation
Watch Suggestions
- watch episodes 1-3
- end episode 4 at 22 minutes
- start episode 5 at 19:20
- watch episode 6 30 seconds to 1:30
- watch episode 7 11:02-11:40 and 17:30 to 21:55
- watch episode 8
- watch episode 9 until 15:50
- start episode 10 at 18 minutes
What I Liked
- funny parts
- sweet moments
- Sakae's friend
- restaurant regulars
- Soga's non cliched female coworker
- worked on their communication in episode 8 and Soga said what he wanted at the end of that episode
Room For Improvement
- confusing start, wasn't sure if that was a flash forward or flashback until they explained a little more later in the episode
- very cliched writing, spent way too much time on the ex, Sakae is shown as knowing what he wants until he suddenly doesn't, poor communication trope
- the comedy music was funny at first but it was overused
- thin plot stretched out over 10 episodes (needed to be 6 episodes instead), way too much time spent on side characters instead of developing the main couple
- what they pretended to do in episode 9 was stupid, the train ride is less than 3 hours, it wasn't as big of a deal as they made it seem
- 2nd couple came out of nowhere in episode 10, rather they had developed this couple instead of all the love rival nonsense
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This review may contain spoilers
I was promised food..
This may be one of my lowest rated J BLs. Sucks when something promising turns out that way. Nevermind that it was riddled with clichés like the returning ex, subpar communication, break ups over silly reasons just to reconcile, no, the biggest problem I had with this was somehow none of the above.It was the leads. I still can't figure out why they liked each other, except for a small love at first sight moment. What came after was a cute beginning which then dove into the cliché landfill, only to come out with underdeveloped characters and an underwhelming relationship. It certainly didn't help that one of the male leads was so hot and cold, he was sure of what he wanted, until he wasn't.
Now all of this could have been slightly salvaged, if they had chemical. IF. They did for a while, too bad it was just in the last couple of episodes. It's a jump from not being able to understand why they like each other to believing they do, and it just didn't work.
I'm not really angry about the lack of food, (although it would have helped the rating) because there were tiny moments I guess. It sucks though, because I can appreciate a good love at first sight story, but they didn't quite nail it here.
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This review may contain spoilers
I am disappointed by the drama. I've seen it, and I won't watch it again!
Some people said "it's so cute", but I cant even feel them as a couple. Soga Hisashi, a divorce employee who is supposed to be very cute with beautiful eyes. That how he was in the manga. But here, we have Nishiyama Jun not only doesn't look like the character. Matsumoto Sakae is also supposed to be nearly 26, but Kan Hideyoshi is just 21 and look very young. But out of the two, he was the best to fit the character.And we can also see how much they've cut to fit the number of episodes. They've changed the story a bit, but the didn't even finish the side stories. The exes stories could have been more dramatic. Or, at least, with more feelings. But even that I couldn't feel it. It's more like you don't like the character because he's the one who did wrong, but the complexity of their relationship could have been clearer from the start, showing the flows of Matsumoto.
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Why i didn't really liked it
For me this Japanese BL wasn't really for me...At first i was into it but the more i watched all the episodes the more i was less and less into it. Im not saying that the actors weren't acting well that's the opposite they did act pretty well in my opinion but the only reason i didn't really liked it is because i didn't really find the story really logical, i was most of the time lost because i didn't understood a thing of what was happening do yeah it was difficult for me to keep watching the entire series without getting bored or lost at a point. But overall its not the worst Japanese BL i watched in like 6years..
Things to know is that probably some people will do like it of course but for me it didn't suit my taste.
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Not a fun watch
Soga is a bit too much of a straight edge, wet blanket type character. Since he's less of a POV character than Sakae (who's not the strongest-willed either), I found it hard to sympathize with him. With a different approach, Soga's insecurity could have been relatable, but as it stands he's just annoying. I also don't really buy that he's actually attracted to Sakae or men in general. As a result, I'm with the other viewers who ended up rooting for Mizuki (almost out of spite lol). At least his back-and-forth with Sakae was engaging. Or maybe that's just me liking drama.Overall, nothing terribly offensive… just a very mediocre miscommunication/opposites attract story with a character whose personality dragged down what could have been a passably entertaining show. If you squint, you might even see the potential in there somewhere. After all, it's admirable that Soga and Sakae both look for a better suited partner than either of their exes, but I remain unconvinced that they found that in each other. And the food aspect was nice, I guess? Speaking of which, I wish (J)BL actors were allowed to eat…
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This review may contain spoilers
Quite a Disappointment
Love is an unpredictable journey that leaves a lot up to chance and complicated individual human emotions. We don’t choose who we fall in love with. Sometimes that leads to heartbreak. Other times, it leads to joy and healing.Adapted from the manga Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka by Chiba Ryoko, the new Japanese BL Although I Love You, and You? tells the story of two men who find healing and new beginnings inside a love that takes them both by surprise. It follows Matsumoto Sakae (Kan Hideyoshi), a straightforward restaurant owner in Osaka, and Soga Hisashi (Nishiyama Jun), a shy, reserved office worker who instantly connect at Sakae’s restaurant before falling into a friendship that blooms into love.
Read the complete article here-
https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/03/19/although-i-love-you-and-you-series-review-ep-3-to-10/
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This review may contain spoilers
That's why I dropped (my opnion)
"Although I Love You and You" was a title that seemed to hang on cute discovery and happy end, but it wasn't. Suddenly the connections started to get (gratitously) deep and show us adult life traumas, don't get me wrong it was powerful to show off great characters, but they aren't.As Sakae exposes his love for Soga, the only thing he does is start to feel jealous about someone who isn't even his partner, it seems like he hasn't real intention to think or give any answer, which made me at least very upset.
They still run in circles and show how it would be better if Sakae finds someone else or just gives up on Soga, but he doesn't do anything.
If they wanted to show how difficult is for an adult around 30 to start a relationship, they failed. Not by making Soga confused, or making Sakae wait, just because they didn't show any concern about being together or being left behind like what happened in the series.
Don't matter if you have great actors and songs, you can't catch people if you hide your protagonist's feelings.
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A Series That Spins Its Wheels
This series looks and feels good, superficially. It had all the earmarks of being a very good story but fell so flat as the story progressed. It seemed to lack an ending that wanted to make a definitive statement; so, it chose to go cute. The series is just too short to develop any meaningful characters, which is a serious problem. It tried to be light fluff with a serious matter which I wish they would have treated with solemnity. Also, quit treating gayness with kit gloves. If you are going to show two men trying to be in love, give us something that shows that. It languished so much.Was this review helpful to you?
Mediocre
Didn’t expect much from this drama since the reviews weren’t the best and the ratings aren’t high. But overall this show is mediocre, the story is mediocre, the acting is mediocre, the chemistry is mediocre, everything is just mediocre. I wasn’t very entertained and lowkey forced myself to finish this series because I had like 2-3 episodes left but I considered dropping, there’s nothing special about this show and it’s even cringe and embarrassing at times. This is common in shows/BL’s, mainly Japanese ones but like this show doesn’t do a good job at compensating us for the cringe/embarrassing moments so it just adds to how bad it is. It felt like I was watching 2 teens try to have a adult/mature relationship but failing miserably, I can’t believe these are adults who are prob in their late 20s/ early 30s. Soga was so unbelievably annoying, his cringe personality and annoying way of speaking, the stops he would take in every micro phrase he would say drove me nuts, and the shy behavior was so annoying too omg. Sakae was more bearable, he had his cringe moments but he had a better personality than Soga. Overall this show is just something you would watch if you had nothing else to do/watch, you won’t gain anything from watching and it’s overall basic and just your “typical” love story.Was this review helpful to you?
Better Ways To Enjoy Your Time!
as i say in most all of my reviews:remember reviews are only good for the person that wrote them. we all have different perspectives and interests, so what i say here may be the complete opposite of what you see when you view the series.
that said, and to keep this short, i was not fond of the script or the actors. the only reason i completed this show is simply because i started it and I didn't intend to do that. it was a complete accident.
i enjoyed the music. the ex was annoying. the kiss scenes were awkward. the actors tried to work with what they had, but it was an uphill battle from the start. the female work friend was hilarious to me.
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Unnecessary changes of source material
First of all, I’m not strictly someone who demand that ALL show shall follow the source material because there are cases where the show did better than the manga/novel and that was awesome. However, this show, this DAMN show managed to pissed me off so much that I had to drop it so I don’t have to talk badly of it further because it had one actor who I like and always wanted to see in a BL or any drama.I really had to praise them for their ability to adapt a manga where the characters and relationship was likable and healing into a drama where everyone EVERYONE was unlikable and annoying. Too much changes, too much rewriting just to stretch a one vol manga into 10 ep drama with their lazy writing because if someone’s first thought of making a drama longer was to add the evil ex plot to ruin an already healing and good relationship in the manga then they should’ve been stopped in the writing room already.
The main couple’s chemistry was bland as hell and it wasn’t because the ex was sexier or because they had kiss scene first but not even sex can save their chemistry. Sakae is played by an actor I like but he’s unbearable and has no backbone letting his ex ruins everything.
Yeah I will stop here because I dropped it and probably only hear about it from the people who still watch it to the end. Maybe I will pick it up again one day.
Wish the best luck to you guys.
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