xkdramatt

Produced in Taiwan, Wishing Upon the Shooting Stars (2026) is a whimsical, 12-episode romantic fantasy series that revolves around a mysterious legend on Xingpu Island. The main plot focuses on He Xiang-yong, a frustrated young man who makes a magical wish to disappear, waking up the next day with a completely new identity while trying to navigate a bittersweet romance with his old high school crush, Chen Hao-wei. While the overall production, beautiful seaside aesthetics, and magical realism elements are wonderfully done, the main storyline wasn't the biggest hook for me. Instead, I tuned in and stayed glued to the screen strictly for the phenomenal secondary couple.The absolute highlight of the entire series is the parallel romance between Xiang-yong's loyal best friend, Li Wan-zhe (played by the charismatic JN Yu / Yu Jie-en), and a local fisherman nicknamed Xiao Hai / Aomi Hamaguchi (played by Japanese actor Kota Kagami). Triggered by a meteor shower wish for a "passionate love," their dynamic shifts into a delightfully chaotic, sweet, and earnest pursuit. The chemistry between Yu Jie-en and Kota Kagami is purely electric and feels completely organic. Aomi’s intense, heart-eyes devotion combined with Wan-zhe’s charming confusion creates the most endearing and magnetic dynamic on the show. They served pure comfort and raw chemistry that instantly overshadowed everything elseThe biggest and most frustrating flaw of Wishing Upon the Shooting Stars is just how criminally little we got to see of them. Because the script spent so much time establishing the complex identity crisis and heavy angst of the main couple, Wan-zhe and Aomi were pushed into the background for long stretches. It was genuinely sad and disappointing to sit through episodes realizing their beautifully written progress was reduced to mere minutes of filler content. Their storyline carried an immense amount of narrative potential, and leaving them with such limited screen time felt like a massive disservice to the actors' incredible on-screen synergyUltimately, the series lands at a 7.5/10. It is a lovely, cozy adult bedtime story with a great magical premise, but it severely misjudged which couple the audience would fall in love with. Wan-zhe and Aomi completely stole the spotlight. The finale leaves fans with a massive craving for more of their domestic, passionate romance. One can only cross their fingers and desperately hope that a production company realizes their immense star power and grants these two actors their own independent spin-off series. They proved they have more than enough charm and chemistry to successfully lead a show of their own.