Second Chances.
I think it's time to admit that some types of mature romances aren't just for me. This was the case with this show.Miyata Akihiro, a sincere and diligent editor of a business magazine by chance gets to meet his first love, Iwanaga Takashi while working on an article. However, he is still haunted by his previous experience as a teenager with the untouchable Iwanaga sensei, who had bet on their love. Now, as adults, Iwanaga once again expresses his interest in Miyata-san, who is determined not to fall for the easy-going Iwanaga-sensei again.
The characters, particularly Miyata-san is the reason I held on until the end. He was careful and cautious with his words and actions. I was never once annoyed or angered by his choices.
As for Iwanaga sensei... I have no idea about him even after the end. There was so much more to him than what was being shown, but I just couldn't feel anything for his character at all.
I enjoyed the flashbacks, but they seemed incomplete to the story, inspite of giving some glimpse into their past, particularly Miyata-san.
Both the actors nailed their roles, and the overall atmosphere of the drama was pleasant.
It seems to be one of those dramas, which I feel had a lot of potential, but somehow managed to miss me.
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This review may contain spoilers
A second chance at love
"I love you" aren't usually just words to throw around. They have meaning behind it, which is usually to show how you feel about someone. They're words to express your feelings. Sometimes it's thrown around carelessly, but sometimes it has true feelings behind it.Why did I decide to start it off this way? Well, in the 5th episode, Miyata hesitates so say that he loves Iwanaga due to what I believe is fear. As they rekindled their high school love, it would be reasonable to be scared to be left alone once again. Although this drama has its flaws, it also can show real life situations. Love isn't just something to be thrown around, unless your a player. The fear of abandonment is real and is understandable to why Miyata didn't say he loved Iwanaga.
As Miyata is now an editor for Iwanaga, he must try to keep their personal life from their work life. Iwanaga wants to start over again and have a chance at being with Miyata again, but as said earlier, he is scared to be left again. But when Iwanaga and Miyata share a moment, there is no turning back. One kiss turns into two, two kisses turns into three, and three kisses turns into something more than just a kiss.
What I liked about this series was definitely the chemistry. As always, Japan always has great tension between the two characters. I also enjoyed the background to get a glimpse of the past. Adding details is everything!!!
While this was a great series, there was flaws. The unnecessary characters that got in the way of their love was upsetting. I can understand 1 which is even a lot for a short 6 episode show, but more? Cmon..
Overall, as all series have, it was good with patchy moments. While more growth between the characters would've been better, it definitely wasn't something too horrible. They were cuties?
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This review may contain spoilers
A Journey of Reconciliation for Long Lost Lovers
“I love you” aren’t easy words to say. For many, expressing emotion through actions is much easier than putting emotion into words, especially when misunderstandings and miscommunication have colored how you feel about relationships.In the Japanese BL Love is Better the Second Time Around, adapted from the manga series Koi wo Surunara Nidome ga Joto by Kinoshita Keiko, Hasegawa Makoto and Furuya Robin takes center stage as Miyata Akihiro and Iwanaga Takashi, two men on the verge of starting over after being torn apart in their youth over a misunderstanding.
Short and full of desire, Love is Better the Second Time Around finds editor Miyata Akihiro being forced to confront his first love when he is assigned to university professor Iwanaga Takashi, a confident, suave man he’d once loved enough to elope with. A man who Miyata believed played with his feelings.
Read the complete article here-
https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/04/12/love-is-better-the-second-time-around-series-review-ep-3-to-6/
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Beautiful Plot, Rushed Pacing.
This story honestly really truly touched me for some reason. maybe because I had a lot of unrequited love stories in high school myself but everything was top notch. the soundtrack was fantastic, the cinematography was just out of this world and was so beautiful I almost teared up. the acting was pretty good and it was just a really wholesome story overall. the pacing was a bit rushed cause it only had 6 30 minute episodes which is a crime… I need these BL dramas to be longer! I will personally fight for it myself if I have too because we were ROBBED of an even more beautiful story. Nontheless it was a great drama, and I’m glad I had the chance to experience it.Was this review helpful to you?
Yea.. HARD PASS
The storyline seemed interesting and the first and second episode were okay.. But the actor who plays Miyata Akihiro makes this series extremely unbearable.. He is not even pretending to be interested in his characters role.. He's tense, but definitely not in the way of the characters personality and role.. He tense in a very visible very uncomfortable way whenever their is any male to male contact in the show.. It's pretty clearly written on his face that he was very reluctantly doing this role for a paycheck or perhaps to fill out his portfolio.. The rest of the cast was great and the actor who played the professor seemed to be trying his hardest to bring the story to life, but his co-star was just not a good fit.. Overall I would say that if your interested in picking this show up don't bother..Was this review helpful to you?
Didn't expect to like this
I don't know how but I absolutely loved this?? I genuinely have no idea. By all accounts I should've found this boring as hell and should have been wishing for more, but it was sweet, fun, heartbreaking, the main characters had such good chemistry and they somehow managed to cram a story like that into short six episodes? I didn't leave feeling like there should be more, it was compact and the perfect length. I was completely satisfied with this experience!Was it ten/ten? No, but was it a very good experience? Absolutely!
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Complete package but not totally my type
Categorize this show as an ordinary one especially since I am having a hard time deciding whether I liked it or not. They have the angst, the growth and connection of the romance, the appeal from the cast, the amazing setup of soundtracks, and a nice sequence of the stories from the beginning until the end. Yet, it is not my cup of tea and I am certain that people out there might enjoy this show to their fullest. But, I was hoping as well that despite not my preference in a romantic genre, it’s their job to make things work for everyone.Aloha is so cute in this series with his sassy and bitchy attitude. However, Makoto devours this show with his excellence in delivering the perfect blend of emotions and charms. The intimate scenes were the best element in the drama; hot, sexy, and fulfilling. As expected with Japanese productions, they always took a lot of effort to create pleasant and arousing scenes for their characters. But not to the point of overly doing it, that mostly happens in Thai BL shows.
The story is dramatic in a good way in that it tackles reconnection and attempting to succeed on the second try. It was a good plot for two grown adults and how they face up against hindrances in their mature ages. It was cool to see them nourish their romance with a happy ending.
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high Ratings....WHY?
Two adults Who had a love Story in their teenage years meet again and start tò Rikindle their relationship.I always have a hard time rooting for people who loved each other for 2 months when they were teenagers and never seem to forget that love even in their 30s.
the main leaders were good in their respective role but the senpai character war a bit unbearable. he had that kind of "I known you love me so I just treat you like a child" kind of attitudine.
the kouhai basically gives in immediately but still pretends to play hard to get.
their childhood story is not really explained and we gather some elements at the very end without exploring them that much.
I don't know.. I kind liked the "vibe" of the series but there is not really much to talk about. I feel like nothing really happens.
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A nice watch
JBL almost never disappoints tbh. They always can provide well even if the episodes are short. Even thought the series is short, it told the story pretty well and wasn't rushed. Although I was not satisfied with the last episode, it was still very good. The plot is good, the chemistry is nice and the thirst scenes are great. Always looking to BLs from japanWas this review helpful to you?
Push and Pull
This drama plays the aspect of both past and present, majorly present, the main leads, loveing each other but still running from one another. It just pisses me off, the wrong communication anywhere throws me off.The chemistry and the skinship was mind boggling no complains there soo and everything was ok, annoying ex (wae but on point).
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a chance that will dictate the rest of life
The live rivalries were too much for me as if seemed when 1 decided to give up the next came up so seemed like everyone was taking turns. Now the past incident, I found heartwarming as it really captured high school romance and what first love truly is.The acting I felt everyone was a bit over the top when trying to achieve their goals as manipulative behaviour was being used and they had no consequences for them.
I don't quite believe the first rival just giving up as they've known each other for a while and know him quite deeply. The second one is more believable as if makes sense he was going nowhere
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This review may contain spoilers
A little confusing, but the chemistry was unreal
Took me a second to understand the subplots and I don't 100% understand all of it, but the chemistry between the two main leads was so amazing and it was nice to see "kissing" in a Japanese BL where it just a lot of pecking. I wished there were like two more episodes, or the episodes were a little longer to really flesh out and understand Takashi's backstory and family plot.Was this review helpful to you?
