Welcome to my weekly blog post where I give short thoughts on dramas I’m watching but not recapping.
I’ve finally updated Bad Buddy (only 1 episode left) and Love Between Fairy and Devil this week. I also started doing some shorter-style recaps of Time and Him are Just Right.
I’m still watching Between Us, Under the Queen’s Umbrella has my full attention and I Will Knock You remains one of my favorites.
This week I started:
Hoshi Furu Yoru ni – 星降る夜に – Japan 2023
A currently airing Japanese romance drama, I’ve watched 1 of 10 episodes.
A burnt-out gynecologist meets a younger Deaf man on a camping trip who kisses her unexpectedly. They later meet again under sadder circumstances as her mother passes away and he works for the company hired by her Mom to clean out her house. She can hear and is a doctor who handles birth, he’s deaf and his job involves death, and in the next 9 episodes we’ll see how their relationship affects each other.
I watched this in Japanese with no English subs and it’s a harder show for me to understand than Boyfriend Kourin, but what I did understand was interesting. The set-up is a little potentially off-putting but the way they depicted it, like a strange surreal encounter, worked fine for me. It’s also an interesting contrast to Silent and with this show, I think there will be less emphasis on his deafness, though it will obviously be part of his character. I’m excited to see where the show goes with this older woman and younger man.
I’m still watching but a little frustrated with:
Hi Venus – 我可能遇到了救星 – China 2022
A recently aired Chinese modern comedy-drama, I’m at 15 out of 24 episodes.
It took me until episode 8 or 9 to warm up to the FL. The initial conflict involves her completely misunderstanding the ML and then she proceeds to complain about him for the next half dozen episodes. I think I was supposed to see, as the ML did, that her misunderstanding of him came from a desire to protect others but it really didn’t work for me. It’s like instead of giving her a Save The Cat moment (designed to make the audience like her) they had the ML Save The Goat and then she yelled at him for it. I needed something more to like her.
Once episodes 8 and 9 hit, I better understood her motivation and found her interesting. Really, she’s a sympathetic character, a woman who is a bit awkward and knows it. I can really relate. She’s also thoughtful and introspective and intelligent. She and the ML have complicated conversations revolving around power imbalances and their jobs. These moments make me like the show and want to keep watching.
But there are also some very silly, rom-com broad humor moments that don’t.
Other people might relate better to the FL from the beginning. I’ve seen people who felt the ML used his power over her too much, which didn’t bother me. And I think broad rom-com humor is usually just a miss for me. I’m enjoying the show, but I think it is definitely for those who like lighter stuff.
Also the second couple is adorable.
I finished:
Boyfriend Kourin! – ボーイフレンド降臨！ – Japan 2022 (Pictured)
A recently aired Japanese modern comedy-drama with 9 episodes.
This was an unexpected delight and maybe a good counterpoint to Hi Venus. With their low episode counts, Japanese rom-coms have the advantage of being short and sweet, moving from conflict to conflict without spending too much time on any one thing. Realistic? No. Fun? Yes. Like a little sweet treat.
Amnesia and company issues aside, the show was about two people who were struggling and unhappy, who grew together and discovered new happiness. Our ML was the bigger mystery, how could he be both the jerk we first saw and the caring version of him without memories? But our FL’s unhappiness and the reasons behind it were also explored.
Despite some actions that seemed unkind, and except for some side-baddies, everyone had a good heart. Even while our FL and her friend both fell for the ML, it became about their personal growth more than a competition. It kept the show light and warm-hearted.
And if you like to see the ML of a drama run, the last episode has him running 3 times.