Welcome to my Saturday blog post, where I give thoughts on dramas I’m watching, whether at the beginning, middle, or end. Whatever I want, because I’m petty that way.
This week, I recapped episodes 3-4 of Reset. I love that Armin is such a mess and Tada is obsessed with him. Don’t we all want to be a mess someone is obsessed with? Or is that just me?
I also recapped the final episodes 31-34 of Love Game in Eastern Fantasy. To get my fairly spoiler-free thoughts on the entire show, you can scroll down to today’s last review.
Why is it always feast or famine with dramas?
It doesn’t even matter what genre you like; at some point, there will be nothing to watch, and you’ll wonder with despair if this is the end of drama-watching-as-we-know-it, only to be knocked over by a wave of releases all calling your name.
So, what did I watch this week? From Thailand, I’m enjoying My Sweetheart Jom, even though it has all the usual Idol Factory problems. I’ve finally started Knock Out, and I want to watch Memories of Rati too.
Not to mention Liu Yuning is finally in romantic dramas where he doesn’t die. I want to watch them all. Speaking of China, yeah, I’m the only one not watching Revenged Love, but not because I don’t want to. And of course I’ll watch ABO Desire, but when?
Korea released all of Our Unwritten Seoul, and I haven’t managed to watch a single episode.
But the country I’ve been missing the most lately has been Japan. And even here, there are too many for one post, but I’ve picked two this week.
The first is:
Stay By My Side After The Rain – 雨上がりの僕らについて – 2025
Currently airing Japanese salaryman BL, I’ve watched 4 of 12 episodes.
A kind, handsome salaryman has decided to hide his sexuality and live without love, but then he runs into the guy he had a crush on in high school.
This sweet, simple show is based on a 4-volume manga series that you can purchase in English through my affiliate link (3 are out, one is pre-order). So far, the show is following the source material pretty closely, which means I’m looking forward to a gentle, stress-free watch.
This is the adult equivalent of a school BL
I don’t mean Adult like My Stubborn, I mean adult like the main characters are no longer minors and have jobs. Though I can’t tell you for sure what either of them does, I’m fine with that because I don’t care. But I can tell you they don’t work together or for one another. These are all bonuses for me at the moment.
Another bonus: This is not going to be a series with episode after episode of indecision followed by some running and a decision to date while getting soaked by rain in the last 5 minutes of the last episode. Mild spoilers, but that’s the first episode.
After the rain, they start dating. They are sweet, clumsy guys who have no idea what they’re doing. One of them has never dated, the other keeps getting calls from a woman (but don’t worry, this isn’t that kind of show), and they are both adorable.
I love shows that are about people in a relationship, not just falling in love.
This show isn’t flashy or dramatic
And I mean in every way possible. The production looks low budget, with bland, even lighting and a limited number of characters. While we at least get more than medium shots, most of the important discussions happen at the same cafe.
Like a school BL, their problems are not sophisticated or sexy. It’s a lot of overthinking and minor misunderstandings. The kind of stuff many of us are familiar with in our relationships. The kind of thing that two sincere people who genuinely like each other will stumble over and have to work through to get closer. That’s all.
And did I mention they’re adorable?
I’m currently overloaded with dramas, but this is one I’m watching each week. It’s my calm, happy place where problems are problems, but manageable.
But if you want something with style and running, Japan has you covered:
Depth of Field – 被写界深度 – 2025
Recently aired Japanese school BL with 6 episodes.
A high school student who hides his pain behind a smile meets another student on the rooftop and is drawn to his frank, honest attitude.
Another drama based on a two-volume manga, the first is available in English (but not at my affiliate link). The characters strongly remind me of a favorite of mine, If It’s With You, though this is an angsty-er version.
What can I say, I’m drawn to characters who smile instead of lashing out
And inevitably, hurt themselves rather than anyone else. This describes Hayakawa, and the one person who recognizes what he’s doing is Konno, who happens to be a photographer. Metaphors, they are here.
Through his relationship with Konno, Hayakawa’s hidden pain is revealed, and he starts to move past it.
This show doesn’t feel any higher budget than the one above, and it’s shorter, but it has a style. They’re using creative lighting, different color tones, and one of the most beautiful school rooftops I’ve ever seen.
The style and tone contribute to a dreamy atmosphere, with that ephemeral quality that Japanese dramas excel at (when not doing the stylized over-the-top thing they also excel at). Their quiet scenes together, alone on this rooftop, high above the ground, disconnected from time or place, perfectly illustrate their undefined and unique relationship.
It’s not flashy and dramatic, but the yearning and longing, it tugs at my heart.
And then someone has to run somewhere
Because Japanese drama. There are a few conflicts at the end, ones not in the manga, which felt unnecessary. I suspect they were trying to make a more climactic ending (RUNNING) in a story that was otherwise subdued and understated.
I would have been happier if they skipped the running this time, but it only weakened the end, didn’t ruin it.
At six episodes of about twenty minutes, this makes for a great mellow binge-watch. It’s beautiful, lightly angsty, and I recommend it.
(And if you like their dynamics, I recommend the sweeter If It’s With You, which I’ve also recapped. Also, I went to Enoshima just to see the locations in the manga/drama, but that’s a blog post for another day.)
And now for something completely different, my series review of:
Love Game in Eastern Fantasy – 永夜星河 – 2024
A 2024 Chinese Fantasy Transmigration Romance with 32 episodes.
A young woman living a dull life is transported into the disappointing recent release by her favorite author.
Chinese dramas are tricky. Their longer episode counts demand more commitment than a 6-episode Japanese drama, yet they have the same poor track record for endings as any show from any country.
I thought the first half of this show was great, the second half was disappointing, and the ending was satisfying. Whether that’s worth a 32-episode commitment, I’m not sure.
Let’s talk about the story
Miao Miao is infinitely relatable, with a dull work life that she survives by looking forward to the latest release from her favorite author. Unfortunately, this book is so disappointing that she’s angry enough to comment online.
And she gets sucked into her computer. Into a gamified version of this disappointing story. Why is the book suddenly also a game? I don’t know. Do books in China regularly become games? But it is funnier this way, because the game system forces Miao Miao to take actions she doesn’t want to take, betray people she likes, and behave like the horrible secondary character familiar from our drama watching.
This game/book takes place in a world of magic and demons and humans, where demon-hunting humans hunt down the demons. Because that’s what they do. In particular, we meet a sister-brother duo out to kill the super-powerful demon who killed their family.
Kinda. The sister is the main character of the original story, and the one who wants revenge. The brother, Sheng, doesn’t care about anything except his sister and has the worst temper. In the original novel, he’s another vicious secondary character.
Sheng provides a lot of initial comedy by repeatedly killing Miao Miao, along with the game itself.
Let’s talk about what worked and what didn’t work
The story has layers. It’s a transmigration drama where the main character enters a fantasy game/novel where she’s a secondary character. It’s complicated. And not always balanced well, as the game aspect would vanish, and the story felt more like a typical fantasy story.
Not only did the game aspect vanish, but Miao Miao’s memories vanished. Repeatedly. And as the story went on, her character vanished too. The story focused on less interesting side characters, making the tension vanish.
But Miao Miao and Sheng’s romance was swoony and dramatic, exactly what I want from my Chinese fantasy dramas. There were life and death battles and magic, fake heavy metal, and our leads got to look cool. I liked the fantasy world, the places they traveled to, the creepy, magical problems they encountered, and (most of) the characters who helped them along the way.
And despite the weakness of the second half, I really liked the conclusion. I found the explanation of what was going on, why, and what various things meant, satisfying. What wasn’t satisfying was how much of it was revealed in the last two episodes.
Satisfying endings can be a rare thing in dramas
For that reason, I don’t think this show failed. But because they didn’t integrate it better with the preceding fifteen episodes, I can’t recommend it without any reservations. If you have time to spare, there are worse ways to spend it.
If you don’t have time to spare, reading my recaps is a lot faster than watching the whole show.
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