Kimi ni wa Todokanai (2023)

I HOPE THEY REACH MORE (Audience)

A perfect reminder of that sweet first high-school love.

A quick recap. This is the story of Yamato, the perfect student who is liked by everyone, but only yearns the love of his dorky childhood friend Kakeru, whom he liked for a long time. His feelings for Kaeru grew so strong, that even if he was afraid he'd be rejected, mustered up all his courage to finally confess to Kakeru. Kakeru on the other hand discovers that he himself likes Yamato - more than just a friend, and struggled to find the perfect way to finally confess that he feels the same way for Yamato.

Short. Sweet. Too short. Too sweet. I WANT MORE.

Both main leads fit and played the role perffectly! I was even a little surprised that Maeda Kentaro took on this role, as he has already starred in a few drama and doesnt actually need the BL hype. Kashiwagi Haru is so adorable as Kakeru. There is something about Japanese drama's 'awkward' acting that makes the scenes authentic. This is how we are in real life, and the way they talked to each other makes you really feel like you are watching the blossoming of love, the coming of age, raw and somewhat uninscripted.

There are times though that I wanted to know how their peers will react if they knew that the two best friends are now dating - there were in fact a lot of scenes that i thought the secret was revelead to the world but then it was glazed over. I do understand though that this BL is not about the acceptance of the world around them, its about the personal struggle of two boys realizing their feelings for each other.

What I also love is that Japanese BLs even if they are short, somewhat feel like you are watching a standard full-length full-production drama. The music and song is amazing and i easily found myself repeating each episode twice. Overall its a 9,5 and I hope a lot more BL fans discover this wonderful of a gem.

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I hope that this feeling might catch up with you

The plot was a very standard best friends to lovers kind of story. We follow two high school boys that have been friends since they were little, and how their relationship changes as one starts to struggle with his feelings. There are certain things that felt unrealistic and unnecessary. I am aware that the series was not really released internationally, and the subtitles are fan made, so that is not something that will affect my ratings regarding the series. It is a shame that this was not an international release though.

I am not a fan of cinematography. Many scenes were too bright to the point of slightly blurring out the details and the faces. Some cuts between the scenes were also a bit confusing. There was also an overwhelming amount of slow-motion scenes. It just felt a bit excessive.

Ohara Yamato & Ashiya Kakeru: They have this black cat and golden retriever dynamics. Yamato is the calmer one, the more reserved and not so friendly one. Kakeru is the more outgoing one, the more approachable and more hyperactive one. They are quite different from one another, but they make it work. Yamato falls first, he has loved Kakeru for years, but has never dared to confess. He didn’t want to risk losing what the two had. But as Kakeru starts to show interest in dating, Yamato starts to struggle. I don’t think Kakeru is indifferent to Yamato either, I just think he wasn’t really considering that possibility until it hit him in the face. He was always convinced the two can be just friends, so even if there were any deeper feelings, he never admitted those to himself. The two actors had good enough chemistry, but I don’t think it was as sizzling in some other dramas I have seen.

As the title suggests, the main conflict of the story does resolve around miscommunication. The two boys are not able to express their real feelings due to fear and other factors. However, this does not mean that the characters don’t communicate well. I really enjoyed that Yamato, no matter how much he hated that, was always honest with people who confessed to him. He never led anyone on. And even when things started going south between Yamato and Kakeru and the two were forced to be honest, they were both able to express themselves.

I liked the side characters too. Especially Yamato’s sister and Hisaka Yui, their classmate. Both of them were very open-minded and accepting of the two. It also helped Yamato and Kakeru feel more comfortable and not like what they are feeling for each other is wrong and unacceptable. There will always be people who might not be very open minded, but there will also always be people who will accept you no matter who you love.

And bonus points for not making any potential female love interests into villains! That’s a plot twist I am happy we avoided.

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