Ameiro Paradox (2022)

A Delightful Surprise

I tend to love quirky Japanese BL stories, so I came into this one expecting to pleasantly spend a handful of episodes having fun, but not dwell too much on it once it's over.

I'm not sure why, but I find myself looking forward to this show the most of any other that I watch from week to week. I find the two main leads so charming, and the plot manages to somehow be refreshing in the wake of tried and true same BL plotlines.
Maybe I was just happy that there wasn't an engineering student or a mob boss in sight, but I am enjoying this one. I'm almost sad that it's only eight episodes.

Also, I appreciate that they don't over exaggerate facial expressions to fit the manga vibe, like they have a tendency to do in most Japanese BL.

Leggi di Più

Avoid if you're a fan of the manga

So... as a big fan of the manga, I was totally ecstatic when I heard there was going to be an adaptation of this manga into a drama. I was really hopeful as a lot of recent Japanese BLs like Cherry Magic, Keita Atsukoi or Old-fashioned Cupcake are fantastic adaptations and are praised by many. But as soon as I watched the first episode, I knew it was going to be far from those dramas in terms of quality and acting (especially acting...).

The story is, in my opinion, the best thing of this drama as it was taken from the manga - minor some changes. And I would even argue that the changes made were well-made. The major change is that they took the plot from the fourth book and they put it in the middle of the plot from the first book. It doesn't really change anything to be honest so I didn't mind that change. What I didn't quite like, though, was the fact that they didn't really define the role of the girl that we see in the first episode (and that appears once again in another episode after that). We don't know who she is and why Onoe reacts how he does when he sees her with Kaburagi. In the manga, it is clear: this girl is (or was) his girlfriend and he broke up with her because of Kaburagi (as he thought she was cheated on him with him). So, if you haven't read the manga before I don't know how you can understand what is happening during those scenes. Also, the different cases the characters work on felt a little flat, boring even, but I would say that it is more the fault of the direction rather that the story in itself.

My main argument about this disaster is the acting. I admit that I probably think that because I compare the acting with the characters that I know from the manga. But let's face it: the drama has been made for the manga lovers or at least, they knew that the fans of the manga would watch this series so... why didn't they respect the characters from the manga!! My main complain is about Onoe's character. In the manga, he is a joyful character, very outgoing and very expressive. Anybody can see what he is feeling just by looking at him. But here, in the drama, the actor is so bland!!! And I'm not entirely blaming only the actor, it is also the director's fault as he accepted him to act like this!! He probably even asked him to act like this!! And I don't understand this decision because Onoe is a very loving character and I didn't like him at all in the drama... The actor of Kaburagi had it easier as Kaburagi is an introvert but the acting wasn't great on his part either... And that's a shame because I know that if the actors studied a minimum the characters from the manga and understood what to do with them, I would have probably liked the drama much better.

I would add that the kisses were okay and I was quite surprised that they filmed a bed scene (even though, it was pretty cringe) but I think I would have prefered nothing like Cherry Magic and Keita Atsukoi and actors that know how to act...

So don't watch if you're a fan of the manga, you will probably regret it. If not, watch it without expecting too much.

Leggi di Più

it's really cute and hurting too

so this bl was really something, I don't know, but I just fell in love with this bl. I just love the characters. Onoe seems like cute, funny and kind person. Kaburagi he's cold at first sight, but actually he's really caring and kind, too.

I like Masayan's restaurant, or waht it is, too, because there was truly emotional episode, that episode was so cute, sad and I just was so happy for them at that moment. And I'm happy for them even now :)).

Also the last episodes I was sad, but am glad that the production give us the lovely scenes at the end, I love that! :)<3

I have some theory, too and I think it's possible. I think that Masayan have fellings for Onoe and the prove is that if you look at his face at the last episode when he push him to Kaburagi you just can see it on his face idk I just see it in his face.

I dont know what shout I say bad ebout this, meybe that I wouldn't watch it again, it's not that I would like it, I just don't want, meybe the emotional happy scenes hehe.

So this is kind of pretty good review :DD, go watch it it's not hat long :)

Leggi di Più

A Paradox Of Feelings Attached To This

So I'm a big fan of the manga this BL series is based off of. Do I think they followed the manga closely? Yes and no. There's definitely a lot more animosity between our two leads in the manga than in this, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. Also this storytelling is much faster than in the manga. It takes the entire first volume for them to even admit feelings and get together, let alone be intimate. So I enjoyed seeing more from them as a couple in this.

Our leads are pretty solid and had good chemistry. I enjoyed the multiple storylines going on with different cases. However, this desperately needs a season 2 I just don't know if that's going to happen. They ended it in a way where it could go either way. In the manga, the second volume goes into meetings each others families which didn't happen in this show. I want to see that stuff! Not just getting together, but the reality of being together.

Leggi di Più

Some people here aren't doing this series justice - it's good!

The reviews and comments led me to believe this was going to be a fest of miscommunications and bad comedic acting, but it's far from that. The acting is subtle, the chemistry feels natural, and the characters are understandable and nuanced. It's true that some dramas use bad communication to drive the plot forward and I find it as frustrating as the next guy, but don't forget that there are real people who find it very hard to figure out and communicate their feelings, and this drama falls in the latter category. Whatever lack of communication there is comes from their clashing personalities and ways of approaching someone they like, but they're both upfront about their interest in each other, and they don't intentionally hide things from each other for an absurd amount of time (aside from near the end, that felt a little forced). For the most part, I thought the tempo at which the information and feelings were revealed was organic and kept me invested.

The directing was simple, but very effective. Often there was a scene with just two steady cameras showing each of the characters or one long uninterrupted shot, but that setup allowed a more natural flow of a scene and emphasised how good the actors are. I enjoyed how this budding workplace romance intertwined with the subplots stemming from their job as journalists for a tabloid, and I thought the characters were layered enough to make the main romance plot work well.

Leggi di Più

It is a remarkable and surprisingly good series about love

It is in so many ways a soft, impressible BL series with its end message literally taking off like wildfire. It is an astonishing and extraordinarily good series about love. But told deeply reflectively and more so without words than with words.
The series is more abstruse than the storyline because of the complexities of the main characters. The acting is simply superb. They underplay the roles yet bring such an underlying tone of sincerity to them. Both are misfits. Both are passionate, sincere, honorable, and dedicated. Both easily get wounded and without a doubt wear their emotions on their sleeves yet try to pretend they are not there. They speak volumes by what they do not say.

Leggi di Più

Interesting throughout

This was a good series with some great characters and terrific acting. The premise and script were fairly simple which didn't really allow for remarkable performances however I thought everyone did a great job with their respective tasks.

There was minimal angst and most issues that came up were resolved fairly quickly instead of being drawn out to the point of frustration. The cute moments between the leads were satisfying and their bantering was interesting enough to keep me engaged in the story.

It was simple though it was nice to see an uncomplicated storyline surrounding adults. I don't know if it will be high on my rewatch list but I also wouldn't be against seeing it again. Overall a middle-of-the-pack kind of series.

Leggi di Più

Sulky kids in love

Everything felt somehow off here!

This is a story about a journalist and a photographer working for a investigative news magazine.They start off as enemies but very quickly things between them become serious as they investigate "case of the week". Things change when journalist goes investigating all by himself, without the photographer.

Ameiro Paradox is a weird title. The manga has been sitting on my "Plan to Read" list forever now but I never got around to reading it so I do not really understand the title!
Practically every episode deals with a different case they investigate. And in the background their relationship develop. It is mostly one sided. Onoe, the journalist very quickly falls for Kaburagi. These characters are such opposites. Onoe is a child, behaving and thinking like a 2 year old(vexed, sulky, throwing temper tantrums!) so much so one cannot help but wonder how he managed to become investigative journalist: every time he tries to follow someone, he is so conspicuous his target notices him immediately: he is clumsy and unconvincing! Kaburagi, on the other hand is an adult, with adult experiences in adult world, who knows how to investigate and in the beginning he cannot believe that he had been saddled with such an incompetent journalist child but he quickly falls under his charm.

And there is the word that keeps repeating: quickly! They go from enemies to friends to lovers in a blink of an eye! This is also based on a manga so there is some manga like exaggerated behaviour ! But I must give it to them they managed to tone it down quite a bit!

Other reviewers mentioned that the lack of communication as the plot feature moving the story forward, is a hge problem with this drama. I'd take it a bit further, and say that the problem is the characters: when you have a child and an adult interacting, the child will act as any child would by not speaking and sulking and hiding in their room. Towards the end, Kaburagi seems to have been too long under the child Onoe's influence that even he starts behaving like a child and sulk!

The love story is not convincing either: they have no chemistry. I was more interested in Editor-in-Chief and his sidekick: their story seems to be more interesting so I am a bit disappointed we never really find more about those two together!

Mercifully it is short and easy to watch, there is no unnecessary toxicity or serious conflict. But the whole series is far from convincing: everything seemed unreal. Even the streets were weirdly empty!

You can watch it if you need something beginning with A for the Alphabet Drama Challenge like myself. If not, you won't miss anything if you skip it. Maybe just a couple of skinship scenes in the last episode!

Leggi di Più

Paradox of Emotions

Ameiro Paradox is one of those few dramas that I have to give two ratings, the core one and the emotional one. The core one is the 7.0. That's the rating that gets into the story, the character development, acting, etc. The emotional rating gets an 8.5. That is purely based on the impression it left me with, the emotions, how it made me feel, etc. I wouldn't say this is a good drama. It lacks a lot of backstory and information that would be helpful in developing it and its characters. However, it is a very enjoyable one and I was not disappointed in the slightest.

One of the things I have come to expect, not like, but expect, is a lack of depth with most Japanese and Korean BLs. Their run time tends to be much shorter than Thai BL's, typically between 20 and 30 minutes and somewhere between 6 and 10 episodes. That is not a whole lot of time to fit in a fully developed story. So with that in mind, they do a pretty decent job here with Ameiro Paradox. It's inevitable that things feel rushed, the pacing of the romance is a bit all over the place, but I don't hate it. This is one though that I wish was a bit longer because more information would have been helpful particularly regarding the backgrounds of both Onoe and Kaburagi. More information as to why Kaburagi is just so jaded when he is initially paired with Onoe and likewise why Onoe is that odd combination of naïve and smart. Onoe especially though. He's been a journalist for a while but he really is just so naïve with some things, I wanted to delve into his character a bit more with that. Since they were journalists, I would have liked to see it serve as a little more of a focal point. We had a lot of them sitting around waiting to take pictures and I would have liked to see other aspects featured as well, researching topics, doing more interviews like the one with the porn actress who came forward, that kind of thing. However, one thing that I did appreciate was the portrayal that there are consequences and it's not an easy job, on both sides. Particularly that first case with the commercial actress, knowing that she had done what she did to care for her mother and knowing that exposing her was going to affect that. It was one of those little things that was very thought provoking. And it was the same with each of the other cases.

They did well with keeping the cast to the bare minimum and making the cast they did have meaningful. Obviously we had our two leads. Onoe and Kaburagi start off appearing to be a study in opposites. Onoe is innocent, in more ways than one, he doesn't lie, he's open and friendly. And then there's Kaburagi, flirtatious, devious, seemingly willing to do anything to get a story whether paying for it with money or his own body. He claims to be numb to the job, but as Onoe spends more time with him, he comes to realize that's not the case at all, that it's all a façade and Kaburagi is, in fact, a gentle and kind soul. The biggest issue with these two, like in most BLs, is their lack of communication. Onoe is better about trying to communicate although his fear sometimes gets in the way, which is certainly valid, but it's hard to say what exactly is keeping Kaburagi silent. This is not a BL where the characters' sexuality is discussed. Is he struggling with coming to terms that he might actually just like one person and that one person is a man and he's not ready to put that into words? We don't know and that's something else that would have been nice to explore. Their misunderstanding at the end is again due to a miscommunication, mostly on Kaburagi's part since Onoe does try to talk to him and Kaburagi just gives him the cold shoulder. I know the Editor-in-Chief comments that Kaburagi has trust issues, but I would really love to have learned more about that because there has to be more to it. They do finally talk things out and hopefully end up with a little bit of a better understanding of each other going forward. Masayan, Onoe's friend, was a good combination of some of the friends typically seen in BLs: the comic and the advisor. He served his purpose as a bit of comic relief while also acting as a sounding board for Onoe when he was trying to piece together his thoughts and feelings. The nice thing here though was that he actually gave solid well thought out advice and what he didn't know, he firmly stated that he didn't know. There are so many dramas where you have friends who give terrible advice, not maliciously, they just have no idea what they're talking about. I also liked the Editor in Chief and the way he quietly observed his people and stepped in when it became necessary, but not in an obtrusive way. He saw that Kaburagi needed a perspective adjustment and he took the initiative to help him see that. He also saw that Onoe and Kaburagi would be a good pair together and be beneficial to each other.

The acting was okay. Both Kimura and Yamanaka are fairly young and I don't think either have a ton of acting experience. I think they have a lot of promise and with more experience will get better. Yamanaka struggled with his facial expressions. He alternated between appearing wooden and tense. He looked like he needed to just relax, think less and sink into the character more. Kimura did better but needs to work on a bit more variation with his expressions. Their chemistry was understated, but I do still think it was there. It just wasn't as flamboyant as other actors'.

I did have a few things that stood out to me as bigger issues. The biggest being Kaburagi's actions after Onoe was assaulted by the tax guy. That was not the time or place to come onto him and it was just uncomfortable to watch. I don't know how he could have possibly thought that was in any way appropriate. Onoe was the absolute worst tailer. It was almost physically painful watching him. Did Kaburagi not show him how to do that? I don't know but it was really bad. And I'm sure it was there for comedic purposes, but it just didn't work for me. Along those same lines, Onoe filming the guy for the phone scam was so painfully obvious. There was nothing discreet about it and how the other guy didn't notice his phone there is beyond me.

I found this drama to be simple and sweet. It's not deep or particularly thought provoking, although it does have its moments, but its heartwarming and I found myself really enjoying. It's short enough that it's an easy binge watch and it is one that I absolutely recommend.

Leggi di Più

AMEIRO PARADOX IS FAR BETTER THAN MANY POPULAR BLS

This is one of those times when MDL ratings do not make any sense to me…WHATSOVER!!! This drama deserves far more love and attention than what it’s getting. If this would’ve been a Thai BL it would’ve been at least 8-8.2. I’ve seen BL shows far more mediocre receiving better ratings. Well, in all honesty Japanese dramas face this problem of low ratings, which I have never understood…probably due to their lesser popularity in comparison to other Asian country dramas. Ameiro Paradox is a great watch and I’m going to give some reasons why it should not be missed by BL lovers (spoiler free):

• THE PRODUCTION: The show is produced well and by that, I mean they made the best of the budget they had. It did not boast of swanky sets or designer wear, but the makers made sure that the quality of the show remains high. It maintained the warmth & slice of life type of storytelling which Japanese shows are known for. A lot of outdoor shots & yellow or warm color grading is used in abundance. The boys were styled well based on the demands of their characters, the office looked pretty nice, and it had overall good direction.

• THE STORY: Yes, it’s about a virgin & playboy. Yes, it’s an office romance. Yes, its enemy to lover trope. However, the show is uniquely portrayed. The setup of a paparazzi office with a moral compass (kinda) and two boys in their late 20s trying to survive the demanding job while exploring their unexpected emotions for each other was refreshing. Almost every episode had a new scoop they covered together and while they explored the issues, they started understanding each other better. The show was easy to watch, and the narration was smooth with above average screenplay/editing. Many BLs face the problem of choppy narration and unresolved story arcs; however, Candy Paradox was well presented.

• THE ROMANCE: Kimura Keito as Onoe Satoshi and Yamanaka Jyutaro as Kaburagi Motoharu was great casting. Even though one could tell that they are young with limited acting experience, they showcased a natural talent to emote various nuances of their character. Satoshi, a young ambitious naïve man with limited to no experience in romance but a high ethical awareness struggled to have his professional moment. On the other hand, Kaburagi the ace of the magazine with questionable ethics, flirty persona & high drive for success was aware of the toll the job has had on him as a person. The two are opposing ends of a spectrum that cannot be more different. However, as a viewer, seeing them realize that they not only have special feelings but also deeply respect and value each other was enjoyable. There is a lot of chemistry between the two actors, and I think that was not only because the characters were well written but also due to the potential showcased by Keito & Jyutaro.

The show has great re-watch value because of the warmth, sweetness and magic the two leads create. The OST is an ear warm & I’ve already added it on my Spotify. If people do not like this show, then that’s just unfortunate as it most definitely deserves more hype. The kisses were adequate even if the show wasn’t as “HOT” as Thai BLs. The charm of this show is the romance which they’ve depicted well. If you want to watch a BL that has a high feel-good factor, leads with good chemistry & not a show that has mindless skinship for the sake of skinship or actors who can barely act….then this one is for you.

Leggi di Più

Candy with a hint of spice.

That's all I can think while trying to describe this drama because this is the first time I've not felt any connection to the characters.
It could be described as 'meh'. But, they did attempt to show some realistic cases and setting. The extent that reporters go and their dedication towards their duty were portrayed well.
Satoshi was understandable at first, but what exactly was Kaburagi's deal is never mentioned. His character needed time and narrative space for me to understand him. Which the 20 minutes could not provide.
The entire drama is told from Onoe Satoshi's point of view. It was a good attempt, but it totally missed me. Acting was... okay if they had to make do with such a limited time. Their chemistry seemed hot and cold all the time.
I personally wouldn't recommend this to serious drama watchers. Maybe as a quick candy, but not as a major bingeworthy watch.

Leggi di Più

Like:
+ I love fast-paced shows!
+ a little bit of humour. Had to laugh several times.
+ I didn't expect the ending being so..steamy. Kinda. :D
-> Onoes face expressions are everything. Geez. He looks goddamn hot while enjoying Kabu-Kuns attention. Those lipbites though! T_T
+ Story wasn't really original, but I definitely enjoyed watching this show. We see different cases on which they work together and for me, they were interesting.
+ A little bonus fun was seeing the ML from "The Novelist" again. I always like to see actors in different shows.
+ Mayasan was a funny support character. Definitely like this guy.

Some scenes were really weird. I was thinking like "They did not...?!" :'D but this isn't a point I dislike. I was just..surprised?

Room for improvement/Dislike:
- Kabu looks so awkward while smoking. Same with the actor from "The Novelist". As a smoker myself it's so obvious that the actors don't smoke in real life so I always cringed a bit when I saw them smoking.
- On one hand I like the way they communicate. Like..it doesn't take a long time till they talk about the things bothering them. But on the other hand it just feels like the talk past each other.. (but I definitely don't dislike it like other people wrote in their reviews. Their opinion is still valid. But it's not that bad for me :D)
- The acting could be improved. I get that Kabu is a distant and more on the cold-side type, but still his acting seemed a little off. Like not fully into character..I don't know how to explain it. Stiff? Bored? Aah, I don't know. It's like the other extreme of overacting. It was just too little...energy? People are definitely able to act cold and distant without giving me the feelings that Kabu gave me. ^^'
But I liked Onoe! And the two guys working with them. They were funny.

Overall I had fun watching this drama and don't find it that bad. It didn't give me this fully-hooked feeling, where I can't stop watching, but that's okay. It was nice to watch, but not overwhelming great. It's just that I didn't feel addicted to the show. But it also didn't frustrated or bored me.

It's nothing I would fully rewatch (but definitely would rewatch the scenes were Onoe is enjoying Kabus touches and kisses. Geez... x.x :') ) but for a one-time watch it's definitely entertaining enough.

Leggi di Più