This review may contain spoilers
Great Story
I really enjoyed this! A very nice, very laid-back BL you can finish in less than a day that has mild stakes and some very handsome leads. Although I Love You, And You was a great little BL gem of 2024.Let's Dive In.
A love at first sight trope? Oh I'm seated. Obsessed with Soga, the adorable little working man who recently got divorced but is still so happy go lucky. He meets Sakae whose very outgoing and energetic, and wallah, you have a previous little couple. The stakes aren't very high, and this seriously is just a very precious, very short BL love story.
The chemistry between the leads is good! It works because Sakae is so head-over-heels and Soga is super sweet and just go-with-the-flow who ends up feeling the same way. Their on-screen romance isn't anything crazy, I just think these two actors know how to act and they did it to the best of their ability. Some dead fish kisses, and some fade-to-black NC scenes, but I liked the connotations behind them, so I won't complain too much. Other than that, I think they navigated their relationship in a very clumsy, very awkward, very delicate way -- all in which I absolutely loved.
Couldn't get enough of the close friendship between Sakae and his friend, so enjoyed that they spoke openly to one another and they felt comfortable. All the women in this played such great people instead of being jealous and conniving. The ex-boyfriend was a bit of a hinderance, and the only real argument I have is that I wish Sakae would've really but his foot down with him and actually kick him out instead of being stand-off, and especially letting him speak over him when it came to Soga trying to confess. The side characters didn't have much of their own story besides moving the main plot along, which isn't bad since this series is only 10 episodes around 23 minutes long.
Ratings:
Story: 8/10 - very simple, yet very catchy. You won't get bored with the story, it's engaging since the leads are always together, and their build-up is so good. Some parts or eh, but most of it is good.
Acting: 9/10 - Jun did an incredible job as the soft-spoken Soga. Kan is so young, but he did really well as playing the lead. Every one else did good.
Music: 6/10: didn't pay much attention to it, but it wasn't distracting.
Recommendation Value: 7/10: Super easy watch, super quick watch, and it's a nice happily ever after. Not super plot heavy and the characters aren't very complex but if you're looking for a nice little love story, then you can find it here.
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not as bad as people make out
This is the first review I've written on here and I'm going to keep it pretty short, for all of our sakes, ha!I always read reviews before starting a series, it's a terrible habit and it ruins a lot for me, but I can't not, so I knew going in that a majority of watchers didn't enjoy this series for a variety of reasons.
I watched it anyway, and although it's not going to win any awards I found it enjoyable and sincere.
Yes there is a meddling ex and a girl with interest, there are communication problems and lack of chemistry at times but I found that this all became what I liked about it.
The side characters were interesting and had some purpose and when the girl got rejected she moved on, something I appreciate.
The chemistry and physicality was stilted between Sakae and Soga but I think that made their relationship stand apart from the the one with the ex. Soga was navigating having feelings for a man and Sakae was opening himself up again after being hurt. I actually would have disliked it if they'd fallen into it all easily.
Also the chemistry really picked up in the last few episodes and they were adorable together.
I do think people should give this a watch with no expectations based on what they want it to be and just take it for what it is.
Special mentions; the actor that play Sakae is stunning, I'd love to see him in more
The OST is great
Apologies I did not in face keep this short.
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This review may contain spoilers
Fun Kansai cultural references
I loved the representation of working class Kansai. The dialect was fun. The costuming for the restaurant patrons was absolutely accurate. Many of the criticisms made in other reviews are fair. Minimal and unfocused plot, differs substantially from the manga. Feelings between the couple are uneven and seem forced or maybe just uninspired. Episode 8 is definitely a low point.But I still enjoyed it because it had a realness to some of the situations that resonated with my own experience living in Japan. Many Japanese BL series have a dreamy quality, which is nice, but seems like a world that doesn't exist. This series feels somewhat realistic. The somewhat chaotic plot, non sequiturs, people unsure of what they want was definitely something I experienced there.
The English title is wrong. It should be "I don't like it, but what do we do?"
I did not regret watching it. But not something I'd recommend either.
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Worth the chance
I like Japanese BL even though it is not consistent in defining BL.This series started and progressed slow for 8 episodes but it has an endearing story that did not get written well in my opinion.
Chemistry seems lacking at first for the main actors but towards the end, it felt like the story needed to evolve before the chemistry bloomed.
I have no complaints in how these artists did their job. I find all of them (from lead to support) expressed their characters well.
It is not on my top Japanese BL series but it is still a good watch for me.
I just wished the wardrobe for this series was done alittle better.
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Kind of meeh
The male lead and his ax are really really cute the rest of the cast is kind of sweet, the food is mouthwatering lovely and there are a lot of scenes with half naked sweaty men in a sauna but that is about it.The acting: over the top from most
The kisses: meeh
The build up: meeh
The chemistry: better with the ex than the ml
But it is an easy watch that can be easiely binged in a the asame day
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Therapy and love in the Kansai dialect
From 'Gokusen' (2002) 'to Kimi wa Petto' (2003), 'Ichi Rittoru no Namida' or 'Hana Yori Dango' (2005) or, more recently, 'Otonari ni Ginga', 'Watashi ga Himo wo Kau Nante ' or 'Sweet Moratorium', and many more, Japanese dramas have captured the attention of audiences around the world with their splendid landscapes, the richness of that nation's culture, the way they approach romance, as well as the physical attractiveness of its actors and actresses.Although many recognize in them the same formulas used over and over again in the plots of Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, Filipino and Thai series, these works captivate the viewer due to the exotic components of the narrative, the precious photography, the use of the sets, the makeup, the hairdressing and the costumes, but, above all, for the possibility of viewing an idyllic and even unreal representation, on many occasions, of a country with an ancient culture and with an aura of mystery for the inhabitants of other regions of the planet.
For decades, the representation of homosexual couples and erotic scenes between men in television audiovisual productions was scarce, if not nonexistent, in correspondence with a policy of showing only the traditional family model and censoring any attitude or preference that escapes from the conventional, in nations such as Japan, Thailand and Korea, where LGBT+ people continue to be discriminated against today.
However, BL plots, the abbreviation of Boy's Love, originally defined as "male love from a female perspective", managed to make their way and prevail in markets in Japan and Taiwan, where there are numerous manga and anime stories with romance themes between guys.
BL have become both entertainment and a cultural, social and political phenomenon, for visualizing the struggle of LGBT+ groups in these countries.
Thailand is a separate case, since the BL of this country has as its purpose the profit of television companies and talent agencies, promoting advertisements for the marketing of various products, such as cosmetics, and the exaltation of the country as a paradise destination for homosexual tourists.
PLOT
Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka' ('好きやねんけどどうやろか') is a worthy example of the glamor characteristic of Japanese BL productions. Like so many others, it falls on a fairly well-worn theme in the universe of Japanese and Asian romantic dramas in general: Hisashi Soga, a divorced office worker who has been transferred from Tokyo to Osaka, surrenders to the love of Sakae, the 26-year-old years, owner of Tamae, a small restaurant located in the alleys of downtown Osaka that serves delicious and cheap home-cooked meals. The two will have to overcome a series of obstacles and overcome the obvious differences between them to stay together.
Kasae, who speaks the Kansai dialect perfectly, is friendly to everyone equally. Their cozy shop is always bustling with people. One day, Hisashi Soga goes to eat at his restaurant. Kasae can't take her eyes off his every move. Moved by his attitude, he falls in love with him.
Soga, who has not yet gotten over the divorce, only thinks about working, mastering Osaka speech so he can communicate better with the locals, and getting through the day. One of the things he enjoys the most is going to Sakae's restaurant and eating the delicious food he makes. Soga doesn't know that Sakae sees him as more than just a regular customer.
This series, practically responsible, along with so many others, for the consolidation of the BL genre in the Japanese drama market, addresses the complexity of the situation that heterosexual men face when they fall in love with a homosexual. And so a relationship that begins as a game of cat and mouse, or a simple friendship, little by little evolves to become something very special. Sakae has loved Soga since he met him. It's love at first sight, but Soga is heterosexual, in addition to having a recent divorce. As they spend time together, Soga will begin to develop feelings for each other.
From the first scenes, the connection and rapprochement between the protagonists becomes a reality. Sakae is more open to establishing romance, but Soga, who heals his broken heart, has only been in Osaka for a short time and has not yet gotten used to life in the area, much less loving another man, will find it difficult to recognize that He has fallen in love with his new friend. The relationship will take time and will to build.
The audience is faced with a simple love story between an office worker recovering from a divorce and the owner of a restaurant who cures him with food, walks around the city, games of squash and lessons in the Osaka dialect and, above all, with lots of love.
The sparks between them are undeniable as their relationship blossoms. It is deeply moving to witness loving couples whose unchanging feelings must coexist in a world of changing realities.
Kan Hideyoshi, in the role of Matsumoto Sakae, displays all his charisma and attractiveness to play a kind and hard-working young homosexual. Meanwhile, Nishiyama Jun's Hisashi Soga personifies the typical, heterosexual office worker, attracted by the smile, grace, kindness and flirtation of a homosexual man.
The television adaptation of the eponymous work by the famous Japanese writer and illustrator Chiba Ryoko, published in 2013 by Kaiousha Publishing House, is titled in English 'Although I Love You, and You?'.
The director, Shibata Keisuke, and the screenwriter, Morale, give us a media product with an undeniable communication effect, which is already being a success both for BL fans in Japan and beyond its borders.
Since I read its synopsis, several questions crossed my mind: Is Soga bisexual, a gay who deep down hides his homosexuality or a heterosexual who falls in love with a man? Will these two very different people have a future in common? What can connect an athletic type from Naniwa with a cultural type from Tokyo?
The chemistry of the protagonists and the delicacy of the story are gratifying. The audience, whether interested in BL themes or not, will definitely enjoy the romance between the two actors.
Social networks and Japanese media are echoing and, since its premiere, they have selected the five best charms of this drama. Although there may be several while the series is broadcast, these are:
1. The look of popular actor Kan Hideyoshi, who showed great acting skills in his role as Sakae.
2. Nishiyama Jun's believable portrayal of office worker Soga.
3. The construction of Soga's sexuality from heterosexuality to homosexuality, giving complexity to the story.
4. The music used that reflects the mood of the protagonists.
5. The detailed account of Sakae's feelings for Soga.
The opening theme is "I'll Be There" by GENIC, with lyrics written by its members Joe Nishizawa and Atsuki Mashiko. JBL lovers will be pleased: Acchan, the actor who plays Yoh in the 2023 series 'My Personal Weatherman', is co-author of the song that rolls the opening credits of 'Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka'. Precisely, the piece talks, as in the drama, about a boy who falls in love with a boy who speaks the Kansai dialect.
Many of the scenes take place in an office or office workers spend time inside a restaurant, with a young chef preparing food, while his customers eat and drink sake. And to top it all off, the poster announcing the series features a plate of TAKOYAKI! Well, I have no doubts: we are in the presence of one of those hybrids between office BL and food BL.
This series has another original point in its favor: the tendency of Japanese BLs is to pair an experienced actor with a less experienced one. Well, this time, the main couple is represented by a very talented and experienced actor, such as Nishiyama Jun, with one of the most popular, charismatic and talented actors in Japan, Hideyoshi Kan.
While Nishiyama began his artistic career in 2006 with the film 'Forbidden Siren', which was followed by the drama 'Sushi Oji!', on TV Asahi, and from there he has developed a dizzying and ascending career until today, Hideyoshi Kan is the current master and lord of the Kamen Rider universe, with titles such as 'Kamen Rider Geats', 'Kamen Rider Geats: The Movie', 'Kamen Rider the Winter Movie: Gotchard & Geats', and many more. He also acted in 'Ashita no Watashi e' and Dekiai Cinderella'.
The manga (available now in the Kindle Unlimited catalog) from which this series is adapted is of the yaoi genre. It has kisses and sex scenes, so, considering the story and the actors chosen, experienced and professional, we should expect to see a good representation of the intimate scenes.
His time in the BL series Kiss x Kiss x Kiss must serve as an experience for Hideyoshi Kan in the genre. With him as the protagonist, the manga could very well be adapted to television successfully.
I would also like to point out that the title of the series is in the Kansai dialect, so '好きやねんけどどうやろか' would translate to 'I love you, how are you?' or 'I love you, do you (love me too)?' However, the mangaka uses 'Although I love you, what about you?' in the original translation, which appears to be a transliteration of the Japanese title into English.
This very interesting story, a sure classic of the comedy-romance genre, with a very funny and at the same time dramatic plot, invites you.
If I had to define the work in a few words, they would be: “A therapeutic atmosphere and a moving romance in the Kansai dialect.”
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A PERFECT Japanese bl
This show was just so well done. It had the perfect length as well as progression/development between the couple. Not to mention the two leads had such strong chemistry. The scene where they’re rolling on the floor was sooo good it literally melted my heart! ALSOOOOO I was surprised but the communication between the two leads is really good. I HATE miscommunication but they communicate so well and just suit each other which I love.It’s not a crazy exciting plot but more so a normal slice of life but it’s done so well.
I personally liked all of the characters as well.
and I’m just glad I found this show. Definitely one of my favorite Japanese bls. Highky recommend
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Very funny and sweet!
I didn't know what to expect of this drama since the actors and the trailers seemed to focus more on a comedic vibe rather than an iconic dashing BL couple vibe (like Kimi ni wa todokanai for example), but this drama was really good! My only issue is that the length is a bit long at 10 episodes of 20 minutes, but all characters were a joy to watch and it was really nice that everyone around Soga-san and Sakae-san accepted their sexuality and relationship as if it was the most normal thing.The dynamic of the couple is really unique, a young izakaya/restaurant owner and a salaryman customer meet and while their personalities are wildly different, they feel drawn to each other and their feelings deepen more every time. As a viewer, you can feel the relationship becoming less formal and more comfortable for the two characters. While the drama is definitely a comedic one, the romance feels real and cosy. I recommend this drama not only to BL enjoyers but to comedy/romcom/slice of life enjoyers as well.
There's enough intimate scenes to make me satisfied, I don't think this BL needed anything spicier than what was in the drama. I hope this drama gets the appreciation it deserves.
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This review may contain spoilers
Not Faithful to the Source Material
The Japanese title sounded familiar, so I looked it up and realized that I read the manga. This manga is from 2013, so I had to go back and read it. They should have stuck more closely to the source material. I think the actors were good,.There was too much filler to stretch the series and I wish they would have stuck closer to the manga.
****Spoilers****
1. The exes. No Mizuki, and the ex-wife is just mentioned in passing in the manga. A weakness of the series is, more lovey-dovey time was spent between Mizuki and Sakae, than Soga and Sakae in the series, did not happen in the manga.
2. In the manga, Soga reveals he is divorced right away.
3. In the manga, Soga is from Shikoku, not Tokyo, so no return to Tokyo.
4. In the manga no break-up, no LDR.
5. In manga, no filler such as the birthday party plans, the meddling co-workers.
6. Part 1 of the manga is Sakae x Soga, but Part 2 is about Kaname and and a salaryman, who is a regular and Tamae, is from Tokyo and hates vegetables.
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Not that great but not that bad either
Ain’t the most appealing and entertaining J-BL this year yet I’m happy they tried and make things work. The love story was light and the chemistry was alright but it took me a while before being absorbed into their characters. The inconsistency in each episode is also there as sometimes I got too bored but there are also times that I was smiling with them.The memorable parts of this drama were the sauna scenes that seldom missed a single episode without having one of their conversation inside the hot room. I must also say that the childish fight right after becoming an official couple was indeed cute. Sakae-kun is handsome and emits the lighter version of the word sexy.
But the best part that the show has to offer was to bless me with such a cool setup of OSTs. ‘Palette’ by SG and ‘I’ll Be There’ by Genic were playing on repeat in my playlist. It was so good that it also helped the drama to be more catchy and have an average rating score.
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This review may contain spoilers
A surprising delight!
I hesitated a bit to watch this show given the mediocre reviews it's received here; little did I know what a fun little series I was missing out on!The story lands very much on the light and comedic side so if you're looking for something particularly deep or dramatic, you won't find it here.
What the show does have to offer, however, is a unique and zany sense of humour (which might not be everyone's cup of tea but which I greatly enjoyed), highly likeable characters, and a surprisingly touching and realistic romance with some very decent depictions of casual physical intimacy.
The relationships and friendships depicted are all incredibly sweet and wholesome, just a group of people trying their very best to care for and love one another - often while sharing delicious food.
The pacing and romantic buildup work perfectly in my opinion and the dynamic between the main pair is of the rare but truly wonderful sunshine x sunshine type.
More importantly though, what this story is mainly about is two people who, from the very beginning, like each other so much and so sincerely that watching their interactions feels painfully lovely and disarming in a way that I didn't think was possible in such a high-energy comedy setting. They also communicate very clearly and openly with one another which lends the story some more depth and realism and ensures that none of the conflicts feel contrived or unnecessary.
There are meddling exes, female love rivals but these tropes are very quickly subverted and the characters are complex, three-dimensional human beings and all contribute to the story in important ways rather than just serving as sentient roadblocks for our main couple to overcome.
Is the show perfect? Of course not; the humour doesn't always land perfectly, the comedy music feels slightly over-used in parts (although both of those are pretty much down to personal preference) and there is a completely unnecessary "comedic" slap which may put viewers off.
Fans of the source material might also be disappointed as this series is, at best, a very loose interpretation of the manga.
But to me the good far outweighs the bad and with its lovely cinematography, utterly charming cast of characters, and surprising and refreshing queer-norm approach to representation I can whole-heartedly recommend giving it a shot.
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Cute light drama
So far this drama is cute and light. It’s giving very rom com vibes. I like our main cast. The two male leads are both cute and seem to have pretty decent chemistry between each other. I Ike the city boy comes down to the small town vibes. From the beginning the plot moves pretty fast. I like the friend of Sakae and other members of the town. They give off wholesome vibes. There seems to be this angst vibes for one of our main leads.The editing has been pretty decent so far as well.
One thing I liked so far is one of our main protagonist has a good many funny facial expressions that really add to the dialogue.
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