Screenwriter: How many tropes would you like?
Producer: YES.


This is a fun, tropey little love story, which has fast become one of my to-go-series if I need a pick-me-up.

What I liked:

* This drama makes heavy use of the one trope I can never get enough of: mutual pining with a side of miscommunication; while still keeping just to this side of frustrating.
* I loved watching the facial expressions of Kaneda -- he's so repressed, and when things overwhelm him, his emotions either explode out of him or he completely shuts down, which the actor portrays really well.
* Both Kaneda and Yanase try to respect the other's boundaries (or what they think the other's boundaries are). This is on one hand really nice to see: I really hate this trope of the pushy "top", who pressures his partner into things (and this is one of the things the drama does better than the oringinal manga). Yanase pulls back after that kiss in the first episode since he thinks "It's not like that", that probably Kaneda is straight and is not interested in anything sexual, he also pulls back any other kind of physical touch, since Kaneda very clearly said he does not want it.
* On the other hand, in later episodes, both believe that there are boundaries where there are none, adding to the miscommunication.
* The first half of the drama makes time for Kaneda's feelings to evolve from professional admiration to hero worship to something more balanced. At times it's a bit too subtle, but if you look at Kaneda's facial expressions and the way he talks to his Senpai, I think you can see it clearly.
* I also like these two last episodes (did I mention that I am a sucker for mutual pining?), I feel they make the relationship more balanced. Both have "leveled up" in their profession, and Kaneda does not only need any help anymore, he even has his own Kouhai! We finally get to see more of Yanase's feelings, and how he also has a hard time to express himself. Now it's him who speaks first, if a bit obliquely, of his feelings.


There are only two things that could have been better:

* Kaneda's hair really does not fit his face, a bit shorter or at least a bit darker would have been better.
* I would have loved to see more of how Yanase's feelings evolved, we only get to see glimpses, which is a bit unfortunate.


All in all, I love this drama, and can wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who likes a bit of mutual pining!