Growth in youth is often painful, and while love makes it bearable, sometimes it isn't enough

I took one look at the cover photo and synopsis for this show and knew I would love it. I went in pretty much blind and rewatched it twice as it was airing, solely because I couldn't get enough of what I would describe as an immaculately done piece of art. This show carried so much potential and executed it at every point possible.

First, I want to emphasize how much of my heart and soul this drama took. From beginning to end, I could not truly predict anything regarding Minase and Hirukawa's relationship, even down to if they were going to be together at the end of the show. On so many different levels this show represented pure craftsmanship to me. From the cinematography to the storyline, everything I would personally say was done with so much intention, detail, and care that I truly hope it is appreciated by others for the beautiful tale it walks its audience through.

Secondly, the only honest criticism I have is that there were a couple of scenes (literally only twice) where I struggled to believe the "sad" vibe due to the acting appearing a little too strong or inauthentic. Please note that it was very minimal and did not change my view of the show at all because, in the grand scheme of the plotline, I still think it was written with great skill and purpose.

Similar to the series "My Beautiful Man", we get to view both the pureness of a first love and the uncertainty that is often felt by those trying to identify if who they love is "right" because it's "different." Yet, in an important difference to the aforementioned show, this series takes the depth of this love and shoves it into a container carrying much more serious trauma, and then proceeds to shake it up with a whole lot of "I have no way to know how to express love because I've never seen a proper example." There are scenes in here that may be triggering for some. It's not dark like "Happy of the End" dark, but any audience member should be aware this series is not here to waltz you through a peaceful and easy-on-the-stomach love story. It's real, imperfect, and at times, depressing to witness.

On a lighter note, if you're into the trope of "He fell first, but he fell harder," you'll get just as much of a sucker punch to the gut as I did, because my God, the yearning will just yank on your heartstrings. Bonus points too if you get to see episode 11 that I had no clue was coming. The tension in that was WILD and some scenes threw me for a serious loop because of how unprepared I was to see grown Haruki and Jin who were fully aware of their feelings now acting on them impulsively and without reservation. It was more spicy than I was expecting lol.

Overall, a show I'd highly recommend, and a series that I think even the more experienced watcher will appreciate.

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A baddie who will put you in your place

Unfortunately, I thought I already reviewed this only to be cleaning my watch list and find out I did not. That being said, I'm lacking some details as I finished it over two months ago, but I do remember the plot being good, and thoroughly captivating. There is a little bit of romance, but this is definitely crime/fantasy-centered, and I love that the main character is an angry, judging woman, it just emanates such boss energy. While I appreciated Bitna's growth throughout the show, it was nice to see a female character that wasn't easily deceived, dumb, or constantly blinded by her feelings.

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Grumpy x Sunshine!

Okay, bear with me, this show wasn't bad, it just was not to my taste. I watched it more as a "time killer" show when doing laundry or something. The plot is just simple and the romance is a bit hard to believe at some points, but I truly think there were many good scenes, and the romance aspects were definitely better the last half. On the other hand, the action scenes were, well, hard to believe, but that sometimes happens it seems in the BL world (definitely talking about "Pit Babe" and sigh, maybe even a little "Jack and Joker," please don't kill me) Outside of those details though, I think this is a wonderful starter BL, that has a touch of Japanese humor I can see folks not understanding if this is their first run-in with Jdramas.

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Now, before I hear from everyone for harping on this show, no one should be able to look at this series (in either country's iteration) and say this is quality television. That being said, it should be made known I waited for this series to come out excitedly and watched it every Monday, so it's not that I hated it, I just am aware it's not one of the best out there.

I knew this show would be tricky to simplify into a Japanese series because even in its Thai adaptation, it was already pressed for time since it was two love stories in one series, inherently losing any extra room for depth or detail at 13 episodes total, or about 6.5 per couple. Now imagine 13 episodes at around 40-45 minutes a piece squished into 8 episodes at 20-25 minutes a piece. There is no way physically possible to incorporate what details were even included in the 13-episode version, let alone tell any other storyline besides the surface-level one. All this being said, I still hold Love in the Air near and dear to my heart and enjoyed what I could from this version of it.

Considering I had first seen Nagumo Shoma in At 25:00 in Akasaka as a side lead, it was nice to recognize a character from their previous work, and I think for what this show demanded, he delivered what was realistic. The same goes for Hamaya, Suzuki, and Nagatsuma's characters. Similar to my viewing of the Thai version, while I prefer Arashi and Rei as a couple (Payu/Rain), I continued to prefer the acting and storyline of Fuma and Kai (Prapai/Sky). Now, after noticing this in both shows, I truly feel that this means the problem of the acting lies not in the actors themselves, but in the writing in which they are instructed to depict. I'm going to take the hate and say most likely, MAME is not the greatest of writers, although this may be simply because I've never read the original novel, so again, take my opinion with however much salt you like.

I will also say that the Japanese version of the special episode had me seriously confused. While I think ironically the NC scenes were done better and easier to believe, I struggled to keep up with what the hell was actually going on, and I presumably should have known at least the general idea given I saw the Thai special episode! SPOILER While it gave me a good giggle to see Boss and Fort make a guest appearance, I was watching each scene they were in asking myself "What is the point of them here, like, there is no reason other than shock value and screentime requirements for them to show up." END SPOILER

Aside from the relatively cringey plot, iffy acting, and speed of the show due to time, I can see this being loved by those who are looking for a simple, easy, and straightforward watch. While I wouldn't necessarily recommend this, it's not like bottom of the barrel bad, and if you are going to watch it, watch it before the Thai version, and early on in your BL consumption lifetime.

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Added this drama to my watchlist based off a TikTok edit I'd seen, was not disappointed. I was pleasantly surprised to see this show coming in at the 24-episode mark, as I am notorious for struggling to finish Cdramas. Ironically, I still took a couple of months' pause on this show at the 18-episode mark, not realizing it was about to pick up big time. Half of a point went missing for the ending because IMO, it ends in a way that doesn't make sense. I doubt a season 2 of this is coming, and if they did, possible areas to continue the plotline scare me because I know they'd most likely just make me mad, but again, personal opinions.

While this isn't technically solely a romance storyline, I appreciated the balance between action, mystery, and romance. I do feel like it was relatively paced well for the genre it is as a wuxia, although I agree with other reviews of this show stating you need to be okay with having a lot of loose ends that don't get tied up via showing and more telling in an exposition style until the last few episodes. I personally didn't mind it, but I can understand that particular aspect may be bothersome to some folk.

Sidenote: I knew this was Esther Lu, what I shockingly went the ENTIRE show without knowing is that the ML was Zhang Ling He, who also played alongside Esther in Love Between Fairy and Devil, just as the side ML *laughs nervously.* I wasn't expecting that, and frankly felt bad afterward when I found out. Plus, it lost some of the shock value of why these two had relatively decent chemistry, although the first few episodes truly may make you struggle to see it. Also, I am so mad about Gong Shangjue and Shangguan Qian's storyline. I loved it, because my gosh the TENSION. But, it was so confusing, and while that may have been on purpose, gosh was I livid when I saw her *SPOILER* leave at the end scotch-free after telling him she was pregnant after ACTIVELY PLANNING HIS MURDER?!? Like girl I was rooting for you because I thought you changed, but like, truly an untrustable character. All is fair in love and war I suppose though, and overall, this was a drama I seriously enjoyed, was a good palate cleanser, and gave me a newfound love to watch anything with Ryan Cheng in it.

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The reality of love when everything isn't sunshine and rainbows

Had I been a true film head and done my research on the director before watching this show, I would have been comforted knowing even though I was heading in blind (there was literally no advertising I saw for this series, it just popped up on one of my IQIYI searches) I would have my heart broken regardless. Hwang Da Seul is the screenwriter and director of this series, and is the same to "Bleuming," "To My Star" 1 & 2, and "Where Your Eyes Linger." These are all OG BL's that were not only some of the most well-wrote content of their time but remain what I would dare call this generation's KBL classics (minus "Where Your Eyes Linger of course.) I left this show feeling how I felt after watching "The Eighth Sense"; my heart mended in a way that made it different from who I was before, and knowing this would be a comfort show sad overtones or not.

Hwang seems to constantly be pushing societal boundaries as well, with there being more affection in this series than I expected, even some barely fade-to-black moments that had me wide-eyed wondering how far was she gonna let this go. I applaud her for consistently providing top-quality media and ensuring length is not a minimizing factor that dumbs down a story. Originally a film released through Bucheon's International Film Festival, I hope to God she got the acknowledgment this series deserved.

On a personal note, this show broke me in all the right and wrong ways. From the jump, the lighting, music, scenery, shot-blocking and angles, intonation, EVERYTHING told me this show was going to be very good and also extremely sad. Do-hoe and Ju-yeong's storyline is the epitome of making the best of what life hands you as a child when there are so many things out of your control, but also how impactful one's family can be when it comes to the grand scheme of the what makes up the fibers of our being. There were a lot of tear-jerking moments where I felt like my heart was just being squeezed in pain. The ending is positive and not bittersweet at all but still had me in tears because of how emotional of an experience this series was to witness.

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