Unpopularopinionbydemand
watching BL in the corner of my room
BL Drama no Shuen ni Narimashita: Crank Up Hen
2 people found this review helpful
by Unpopularopinionbydemand
This review may contain spoilers
What a Gem of a Show
With only 3 episodes, each about 45 minutes long, IBTLIABLD hits hard in all aspects, specifically making me laugh my ass off, but also hitting you in the heart where it hurts. Both funny and a little tragic, this series has hit the nail on what's to come this year from Japan, and I'm so freaking excited!
Let's Dive In.
Right off the bat, I knew something was up with Yuichiro when we're first introduced to his character. Very charming yet something slightly off, avoiding even looking at Hajime, the adorable other lead cast in his childhood shadow as always been known as the Orange Juice Boy. we find out later on that Yuichiro was actually a giant stan of his, having memorabilia on top of memorabilia, and leading to some fantastically hilarious moments between the two of them. Overall, their story was beautiful. You can see so easily how fond Yuichiro is of Hajime, and exactly when that switches to liking him. It took a lot longer for Hajime to realize it, but once he does, it's just a guessing game on when they'll eventually announce (not in secrecy) to each other on their feelings. This dynamic is so heartwarming to me. The perfect height difference, the perfect balance of cheeky and cute, portraying moments that made me pause so I could laugh, or moments when I had to pause so that I could regain my composure and not cry. A truly lovely pairing, played by some really fantastic actors.
The side romance was a surprise to me, but not a bad one. Both managers of the boys end up together, trying to be secretive about it until it's noticeable, and then on top of that, trying to keep their talents at bay with their antics and worries. All other side characters did a job well done too, being the driving force of our leads to get together while not having much of a story of their own, but I'm really not too mad at it.
A couple of negatives I had about this series: I absolutely hate that they threw in a misunderstanding in the very last episode, considering that we only had 3. And then Yuichiro not explaining that it was a misunderstanding to Hajime was even more aggravating. It's cheap writing for a moment that was resolved in like the next 5 minutes. Another would be that we don't get to see them kiss outside of their "characters". A lot of people complained that the kiss was super bland, and while it was, if you're considering that they were practicing for their roles, I doubt they would've gone all in, especially if it was their first kiss. I would've rather seen them kiss again once they were together; in fact, on the bridge would've been a perfect moment for it to happen. And then we get a cut-off kiss in the very last scene which is urgh, but overall, even with my negatives, this series really did it for me, and I loved it.
Ratings:
Story: 9/10 - super funny, super relatable, super good. Flowed well for the 3 episodes it got, and honestly, I don't really think it needed more time. If you know how to structure a plot perfectly, then you have a good story to tell, regardless of the time.
Acting: 9.5/10 - Fantastic! these actors really know how to play their characters. Alan (Yuirchiro) played his character to a T, with some fantastic moments portraying the usual over-the-top Japanese intricacy that I've come to love. Also, is it just me or does he look a lot like Johnny from NCT?!
Music: 6/10 - I don't remember any of the music, but it wasn't distracting so there's that.
Recommendation Value: 10/10 - very rare I give 10s out, but this was seriously so good. It's pretty short so it doesn't take forever to watch, and it keeps you entertained through it all. The romance is great, the characters are adoring, and you should definitely give this gem of a series a watch!
Let's Dive In.
Right off the bat, I knew something was up with Yuichiro when we're first introduced to his character. Very charming yet something slightly off, avoiding even looking at Hajime, the adorable other lead cast in his childhood shadow as always been known as the Orange Juice Boy. we find out later on that Yuichiro was actually a giant stan of his, having memorabilia on top of memorabilia, and leading to some fantastically hilarious moments between the two of them. Overall, their story was beautiful. You can see so easily how fond Yuichiro is of Hajime, and exactly when that switches to liking him. It took a lot longer for Hajime to realize it, but once he does, it's just a guessing game on when they'll eventually announce (not in secrecy) to each other on their feelings. This dynamic is so heartwarming to me. The perfect height difference, the perfect balance of cheeky and cute, portraying moments that made me pause so I could laugh, or moments when I had to pause so that I could regain my composure and not cry. A truly lovely pairing, played by some really fantastic actors.
The side romance was a surprise to me, but not a bad one. Both managers of the boys end up together, trying to be secretive about it until it's noticeable, and then on top of that, trying to keep their talents at bay with their antics and worries. All other side characters did a job well done too, being the driving force of our leads to get together while not having much of a story of their own, but I'm really not too mad at it.
A couple of negatives I had about this series: I absolutely hate that they threw in a misunderstanding in the very last episode, considering that we only had 3. And then Yuichiro not explaining that it was a misunderstanding to Hajime was even more aggravating. It's cheap writing for a moment that was resolved in like the next 5 minutes. Another would be that we don't get to see them kiss outside of their "characters". A lot of people complained that the kiss was super bland, and while it was, if you're considering that they were practicing for their roles, I doubt they would've gone all in, especially if it was their first kiss. I would've rather seen them kiss again once they were together; in fact, on the bridge would've been a perfect moment for it to happen. And then we get a cut-off kiss in the very last scene which is urgh, but overall, even with my negatives, this series really did it for me, and I loved it.
Ratings:
Story: 9/10 - super funny, super relatable, super good. Flowed well for the 3 episodes it got, and honestly, I don't really think it needed more time. If you know how to structure a plot perfectly, then you have a good story to tell, regardless of the time.
Acting: 9.5/10 - Fantastic! these actors really know how to play their characters. Alan (Yuirchiro) played his character to a T, with some fantastic moments portraying the usual over-the-top Japanese intricacy that I've come to love. Also, is it just me or does he look a lot like Johnny from NCT?!
Music: 6/10 - I don't remember any of the music, but it wasn't distracting so there's that.
Recommendation Value: 10/10 - very rare I give 10s out, but this was seriously so good. It's pretty short so it doesn't take forever to watch, and it keeps you entertained through it all. The romance is great, the characters are adoring, and you should definitely give this gem of a series a watch!
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