Love in the Air: Koi no Yokan (2024)

zero boundaries and a lot of trauma

Overall: at times I liked the faster pacing, but there was too much pain/trauma/ignoring boundaries. This was an adaptation of MAME's book which I haven't read (but believe she writes bodice ripper type books with the fictional mouth says no but body says yes). There was already a Thai adaptation. I tried to review the Japanese version based on its own merits. 8 episodes about 15 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4928/love-in-the-air-2024-e01

Content Warnings: rape, past gang rape, sexual assault, intimate partner abuse, trauma, non/dub con kissing/touching, manipulation, harassment, manhandling, kidnapping, violence, blackmail

What I Liked
- fast pacing (though the first couple could have perhaps used more development/screen time, and less with the past stuff for the second couple)
- hair drying was cute
- the dream kiss
- NSFW scene in episode 4 was fairly well done (though more enthusiastic kissing from 1 person would have been nice)
- Kai was a supportive friend
- non cliche female character

Room For Improvement
- not really sold on the chemistry with either pair, Kai and Fuma actors should have been switched and Fuma's hideous suits made him look younger
- starting in the present and then going to an extended flashback
- the "plan"/nonsense approach
- the spanking was cringey
- odd progression with the flashback in episode 5 and then the devotion in the present, felt very "because the writer said so"
- (neutral) the hyper/over acting type character

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This adaptation depressed me

Japan is always unique and exception in making Boys Love stories but what the hell is this ? Sorry but I think this drama is made just to make money instead of giving viewers excitement , happiness . Thai adaptation was good and there were so many good actors , plots , funny scenes but here is everything missing . As this is adopted from a good story so they should give justice like the Thai one did .

Every episode is too short to describe the story .
Acting is bad ( I did not like )
In every episodes , there are lots of NC which are not enjoyable .
The characters are too childish to play Sky and Rain .
There are lots of cringy moments .

At the end of the day this is the worst adaptation . It could not match Japanese high standard in BL dramas .
Thank you .

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Pollution In The Air: How to ruin the stratosphere one pointless remake at a time

I imagine the pitch meeting for this show going like this…

Writer 1: Hey, guys! Have you worked on any new BL ideas? The deadline is fast approaching.
Writer 2: Oh, shit. I knew there was something I forgot about...
Writer 3: I have an idea for this cozy, food-centred story called 'My Chef, Our Love.‘ It’s this show about two guys who start living together. One of them is a bubbly cook, the other is an over-worked office worker and—
Writer 2: Sorry to interrupt, but this sounds like every other J-BL produced in the last two years.
Writer 3: At least I thought of something. You don’t have anything better, do you?
Writer 1: Don’t fret, my guys. I actually have the perfect idea. How about we do a remake of another BL?
Writer 2: A remake? Do you think that’s really going to work for us?
Writer 1: Works for Disney, so why not us?
Writer 3: That’s actually a great idea, dude! What a perfect chance of taking a flawed show and making it into something bigger and better, and putting our personal spin on it. We could use Color Rush. It’s a Korean BL with a very interesting premise that got ruined by the lacklustre execution and the confinement of only eight short episodes. I’m sure we could explore the themes in a more interesting and satisfying way, and create a more electric and layered romance.
Writer 1: Oh, no, we’re not doing that. I was thinking we just take a show and do an almost shot for shot remake. Instead of making it better, we make it shorter so the story will make less sense, hire actors without chemistry so the NC scenes will be painful to watch, and add absolutely nothing new or interesting because that would require effort on our part.
Writer 3: Um… What’s the purpose of making a remake then? If we’re only making it worse, shouldn’t we just keep our hands off it?
Writer 1: The purpose is money.
Writer 2: Ohhhh, we like money! I say we do it!
Writer 3: I mean, I guess so. I suppose we should choose a really great BL then, so the remake will be great too. How about the Thai BL Moonlight Chicken? That’s my favorite.
Writer 1: Who cares about quality, man? We just need something super popular! Preferably something with a lot of spice because that brings in the viewers.
Writer 2: KinnPorsche?
Writer 1: That’s gonna cost too much with all the action stuff. We need something easier to produce.
Writer 2: How about Love In The Air?
Writer 1: Perfect!
Writer 3: Isn’t that a bit too popular? I imagine we’ll get compared to the original a lot if we choose to do something this widely known.
Writer 1: The more popular the better! We want to benefit from an already existing fanbase. Besides, Love In The Air is either loved or hated, so we’ll get a lot of viewers for sure. Everyone will want to know how it compares to the original, so they’ll watch. Maybe they’ll hate watch, but a viewer is a viewer, and money is money.
Writer 3: I guess so.
Writer 2: Since the Thai show wasn’t great in the first place anyway, maybe people won’t notice if we make things even worse.
Writer 1: That’s the spirit!
Writer 3: I don’t know, guys… Maybe if we worked on my idea about the chef just a little bit, it could turn into something special. Or we scrap the food, and do something entirely different. Something that’s never been done before, that pushes the boundaries of BL as we know it, and will add meaningful discussion to the BLsphere.
Writer 1: Why think of something new when we can save our precious time? Now come on, let’s put out a casting call. We need actors to get this going.
Writer 2: We should cast Shoma as Payu. He looks the part perfectly, and he’s not afraid of making out in front of a camera.
Writer 1: Brilliant!
Writer 3: Then let’s find someone who’ll match his energy. We need to at least make sure that the leads have chemistry if we’re going to do this, and that they’re ready to commit to the spice. The chemistry is the saving grace of the Thai show, after all.
Writer 1: You and your ideas that require time and effort. We’ll just cast a guy who vaguely looks the part of Rain, and if he refuses to open his mouth for kiss scenes, Shoma can just lick him like a dog licks people’s faces. Sound good? Good, let’s get this show rolling.

Okay, now for a bit more serious of an analysis. First of all (in case you couldn't tell), let me clarify that I’m not a fan of the original to begin with. I have my gripes with every one of Mame’s shows, so this one is no exception. In my opinion, the writing wasn’t great, Payu was being hella problematic at the start, Sky’s only trait was having trauma which was handled with all the grace and care of a bull in a china shop, and the acting ranged from mediocre to outright laughable in some moments. I don’t think the series would’ve garnered as much popularity if it weren’t for theNC scenes and the chemistry between the two ships.

With all this in mind, I was having split feelings about the idea of a Japanese remake. My optimistic side thought that this was a great chance of improving on everything I didn’t like about the original. The pessimistic side already knew that wasn’t going to happen, and that they’d probably only make things worse. After all, Japanese BLs tend to be shorter, thus leaving even less room for character and romance development, and the way I see it, J-BLs aren’t exactly known for passion and chemistry. They usually have this air of awkwardness about them that definitely wasn’t going to work for a show like Love In The Air, and if the chemistry isn’t there, there’s nothing redeeming about this series at all. Still, I was ready to go into this with an open mind, hoping in some miraculous twist I’d like it more than the original. Safe to say, that didn’t happen.

Me titling this 'Pollution In The Air‘ might sound harsh, but it is factually correct. This remake (like most others) lacks any sort of purpose, therefore wasting resources and fuel used for transport and electricity to pollute the air without even generating good entertainment. So I stick by it.

My biggest question is WHY?????? Why make a remake if you don’t have anything meaningful to add? The show has a shorter run time, thus robbing the story of any sort of character development, realistic romantic build up, and rushing through plot points in unsatisfying ways. The chemistry between both ships is nonexistent, thus robbing the series of the only good thing the original had going for it. It keeps the problematic aspects of the original, like Payu touching a scared Rain without consent and Prapai pursuing Sky after he's made it very clear he's not into it. The scenes are almost shot-for-shot recreations of the original, only with a few adjustments to sum up multiple scenes of the original into one due to the lack of run time. Nothing new is added, nothing is explored on a deeper level. This is just a complete waste of money and time that could’ve and should’ve been spent on creating a different show — one that at least has something to say.

Now, let’s talk about the two ships individually…

Arashi x Rei (aka Payu x Rain):
I actually really like the casting for Arashi. He fits the character perfectly, his acting is decent, and he’s committed to deliver the spice of the original show. He's definitely my favorite part of this. The actor playing Rei, on the other hand, is very difficult to watch. I don’t think his acting is bad per se, but it just doesn’t work for me. The only reason I sort of liked Rain in the original was because Noeul gave him a lot of charisma. He wasn’t a great character, but Noeul made him very lovable. Here, Rei is just awkward and annoying. Especially him delivering every other line with an audible pout is getting frustrating.
The two actors have zero romantic chemistry, thus making their "love“ story fall flat on its face, and the NC scene outright painful to watch. I absolutely hate getting secondhand embarrassment, and sadly, these guys gave me a ton of it. Like, please, for the love of the BL gods, don’t cast people in a show like Love In The Air that refuse to open their mouth during kiss scenes. If I have to watch Arashi licking Rei’s lips like a dog one more time, I think I’ll actually combust from cringe. Some people argue that Rei’s supposed to be inexperienced and that’s the reason why he wasn’t participating in a proper make-out. Who knows, maybe. But that doesn’t really matter because no matter the reason, it’s just not enjoyable to watch. It makes the whole thing feel sort of non-consensual, which is the last thing I want to feel during an NC scene, so it’s a big no from me.
In terms of their story, everything is rushed. Plot points are given no time to breathe, and the characters feel even less like fully fleshed people than they did in the original. Nothing is explored in any meaningful way. Both of them fall in love with each other for no discernible reason and way too quickly. It’s hard to tell when and why both of them started to develop actual feelings for each other. Arashi is as problematic as Payu was, which made me dislike the guy as much as I disliked him in the Thai version. Sadly, Shoma doesn’t have quite as much charisma as Boss had, thus making the whole scene of him non-consensually touching Rei in the car even more unbearable to watch than Payu touching Rain in the bathroom stall.
All in all, I care for neither of the two and feel no attachment or investment in their rushed relationship. These two don't even know each other, yet I'm supposed to believe they're in love? Alright.

Fuma x Kai (aka Prapai x Sky):
I don’t mind the casting choice for Kai in terms of visuals, but I do mind what they did to poor Sky. He didn’t have a personality outside of his trauma and being sassy in the original, and somehow, here he gets even less because they took out all the sass. Which was the most enjoyable thing about Sky, so here, it just feels like we have a traumatised plank of wood on the screen. The actor looking the part doesn’t save much if you don’t give him an actual character to portray. His acting in dramatic/traumatic moments is sadly also less than convincing. He does this weird bent walk, which is probably supposed to make him look scared or sad, but it just makes him look like he has a stomach ache or constipation. The guy acting as Fuma doesn’t fit the role of Prapai in the slightest. He lacks all the flirtatiousness and charisma that Fort gave to Prapai, thus making him entirely unbelievable as this playboy-turned-good-boy. He’s giving tired office worker more than hot CEO fuckboy, which just isn’t working at all.
The two of them paired together have all the chemistry of an extinguished fire. If Rei and Arashi have zero chemistry, Fuma and Kai have negative chemistry. Their NC scenes are drier than the desert, and Fuma pursuing Kai against his wishes feels even creepier than in the original because Fuma doesn’t have any charm to help him out.
Because the show is trimmed down, Kai’s trauma is handled with even less care than it was in the original. Everything regarding his story is so rushed that I worry anyone who hasn't seen the Thai show struggles to comprehend what's going on. Kai literally goes from not wanting anything to do with Fuma to kissing him on the cheek and going on lunch dates with him in two minutes. It makes no sense and made me feel like I missed an entire episode. Then he goes from reverting back in his shell to sleeping with Fuma in lightning speed. Apparently in all the whiplash, somehow he discovered he loves Fuma, despite having known him for what feels like a week. On top of everything being rushed and glossed over, the initial scene showing Kai getting sexually abused was laughably bad. Those scenes weren’t handled well in the original either, and Peat lacked the acting chops required to get across all the fear and helplessness. But here, it's even worse. The scene feels overly camp and almost made me laugh because of the bad acting and all the evil laughing in the background. All in all, the FumaKai storyline is borderline unwatchable if you ask me.

This show doesn't just fail as a remake, it also fails if you view it as a stand-alone piece of television without comparison. In fact, I'd say it would be even worse without keeping the original show in mind, because at least if you've seen the original, you can fill in some of the massive gaps the Japanese version leaves you with. For me, the only good thing to come out of this is the song that was playing during the ArashiRei NC scene. The only problem is that I will forever associate it with that awkward mouth licking that is burned into my mind thanks to this show, so I can't even fully enjoy the song. The chemistry was the only reason I sat through the original, and the only reason I sat through the remake is because 1) it's hard to look away from a car crash, and 2) Writer 1 was right about people wanting to hate watch this to see how it compares to the original. So yes, I fell right into the trap, but at least suffering through this will make the original show look like a masterpiece in comparison. Not that I have any desire to ever rewatch that either...

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Love crashed ! View was great , feels were zero!

I was genuinely excited for this adaptation, but unfortunately it fell short on so many levels. If I hadn't watched the Thai version, I would have found the story to be fragmented and sort of incomplete.

One of the main issues I had was with the casting. While the actors may be talented, they didn’t convince me as university students. There was a noticeable disconnect throughout making it hard for me to fully vibe with characters and care about them.

Starting with Ray and Arashi's story, I did like the focus that was given to their part, especially in the first two episodes. The pacing was fine early on, but as the series progressed, it just felt ordinary. The weak acting played a huge role in this. The chemistry and delivery just didn't land for me. Shoma was a sight to behold but he felt more like a pretty canvas visually stunning yet devoid of any real emotion, even in the most heartfelt and emotional moments.
Also the story itself was problematic for me but the acting didn't help it either. Felt lackluster without that right emotional depth.

As for Fuma and Kai’s story, it was clearly rushed compared to the original version. The pacing felt off especially considering how much attention was given to the first half of the show. Kai, in particular looked much older than his character, which took me out. While their acting wasn’t bad, it simply didn’t convince me enough to fully buy into their relationship.

Overall, this adaptation was a disappointment. As a fan of JBl, it’s tough for me to write this review and give it a low rating, but unfortunately It is what it is.

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What was the point of this remake?

I don't know if I have the words to describe my thoughts during this experience. As someone who adores the original I was looking forward to seeing how this adaption would play out. I regret watching this so much.

They condensed 10, hour long episodes into 8, 26 minute episodes and you can tell it was rushed and poorly done. They skipped over so many plot points, chemistry scenes, and just important scenes to the story in general. This adaption was all over the place and not in a good way. I did not care for the acting at all, the actor for Phayu had a tendency to overact and I think that was because the actor for Rain had the tendency to underact. I didn't care for what these writers did so such beloved characters and the changes they made in terms of storyline, and characters.

If you want a good, thought-out, romantic, drama show with good acting and a good storyline stick with the Thai version of Love in the Air.

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Very solid adaptation

I liked this version of LITA a lot, and thought the production made really smart choices in condensing the story down to half its runtime. It stayed true to the original story while moving through the important beats with no filler, and some of the choices actually improved upon the Thai version. In particular, I really like the way they resequenced the final conflicts to converge at the end. The cast was all great and I liked both couples a lot. I prefer this version of Fuma and Kai in particular, the tweaks they made to their characterizations and the details of Kai's story made it all land better for me. The whole cast is great and I hope to see them in more shows.

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We started with an ★8.1

This is the second adaptation from the novels “Love Storm" (พายุรักโถมใจ) and "Love Sky" (พระพายหมายฟ้า) by MAME.

The first adaptation into a screenplay “Love In The Air” 2022 was a complete masterpiece that obtained a rating of ★8.1 through the time, having also a special episode and a total of thirteen episodes about 45min-50min long per episode.

Now we have the second adaptation, a Japanese version ”Love In The Air: Koi no Yokan” 2024 has aired the first episode and it obtained a rating of ★8.1 . It is planned to have 10 episodes that will be about 24 minutes long, which leaves us with the question “what are they gonna leave aside?”.

With just one episode aired, the Japanese version and the original Thai adaptation from the novels, obtained the same rating.

About the first episode (SPOILER) :
It was good, as it was exactly as the original Thai version, so I could see the things I liked, yet without some details about Arashi (Payu in the Thai version) and also wanted to some different things, cause it was The Same. I will always love and remember the original one, as it was my first BL, but I really wish this to be nice. So good luck for further episodes.

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condensed story meets bland and chemistry free MLs

This is one of the disappointing JBLs in 2024.

What was the most lacking is the chemistry between the couples and that for me "Kai" does not work as a freshman. "Kai" looks much too old for his role. Besides that, they only had the "bad stuff" culminating at the same time compared to original and they do bike races instead of cars. Other than that, they cut out a lot of fluff and some persons like the silblings of "Fuma".

The chemistry is so lacking they can't convince anybody about their feelings. "Fuma" beating up the "bad guys" alone was also unbelievable, they cut the friendship part between Arashi and Fuma in such an important scene. Also in the original series the organizers had a much bigger role which made the setting much more believable. So they cut too much and they did not invest in any fluff between the couples. Cutting out the scene where "Fuma" calls his mom to ask about how to take care of a sick person is also crucial to the story.

Overall the worst JBLs in 2024, with no creativity or spin on the original story, lacking chemistry , no fluff at all and feeling very sterile. So if you haven't seen it, forgo it and watch the "original" which has more punch to the story, is believable and doesn't miss the fluff of a BL which you would expect in such story.

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A solid JBL

I'm clearly, and sadly, in the minority but I really liked it. While everyone keeps saying "I'm trying not to compare it to the original", everyone is doing exactly that imo.

As a stand alone JBL, it did a lot in only 8 short episodes. A fair amount of story, a lot of character development, and some really serious issues sensitively and sympathetically covered.

Arashi is obviously insanely hot and as such, some may say his love for Rei seemed unrealistic. However, Rei's innocent smile and dumb, adorable ways melted Arashi's cold heart and I loved them together. I also thought Rei's attitude when he was in trouble in the last ep really solidified what Arashi loved about him - this cute guy who's a total dork but also has the heart of a warrior and who'll battle fiercely for those he cares about. The guy's got balls and Arashi freaking loves that.

Kai's character is so well acted. The depiction of a poor, damaged boy whose misery is visible in every facial expression broke my heart a number of times. While I can admit that Fuma is probably the weakest character, I felt that the relationship between Kai and Fuma developed really well with lots of pathos and some real tear jerking moments, particularly in the last episode, which was superbly acted by both guys. It's at that point you realise that Fuma, as a slightly older guy with a fair amount of experience, clearly acted in a light, cheerful way as he knew that Fuma had suffered in his past and wanted to make it clear that Kai wouldn't suffer again in his hands. I want them to be happy together forever.

Concisely told with sweet and savage moments, I think this was a great show. If you like Japanese BL's, I suggest you give it a watch.

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Mixed feelings but good outcome

I both liked it and hated it at the same time. Every episode I was watching nervously, expecting it to disapoint me. Sometimes it did, sometimes they did better than I could have wished for. I've watched the Thai version and have a strong opinion about it, so I was excited to see what the Japanese director had taken out of it and how she had decided to adapt it. I have a lot to criticize in both shows, so for my own satisfaction, I'm going to compare them point by point before I express my general feelings about Koi no Yokan.

STORY
Win: Thailand
The Japanese version follows pretty much the original story but of course, as it has less episodes, they had to cut and compromise some stuff. I liked the way they did it overall but there are two things that bothered me; First, merging Arashi's and Rei's two NC scenes into one. In the original, I didn't really care about their first time, but the scene after Payu won the race was amazing because it showed really how they had grown to care more about each other than anything else, and how well they worked together. It was so important for their chemistry developpement. Merging it and making that scene their first time in KNY takes away that developpement and makes the moment way less powerful. Also, they decided to have Rei tell Arashi about his assignment after the race, which made it look like he didn't care that much about Arashi's achievement. I was really fond of the way Rain was super supportive and proud of him in the original, and by merging these two moments they completly lost that aspect of their couple. Second thing, having both Kai and Rei's assault in the same episode made it more difficult to empathize with them individually.

RYTHM
Win: Japan
As much as the cuts mentionned above upsetted me, it was soooooo much easier to watch than the original. Like in many Thai dramas, LITA tends to include many elements/scenes that are just slow and do not bring much to the story. KNY was efficient, straight to the point but didn't feel rushed, at least to me.

PHOTOGRAPHY
Win: Thailand
Not that LITA was specifically well filmed, but still, once again, it's about the chemistry and proximity. KNY had way fewer, longer and more distant shots. Some scenes were almost filmed entirely in one shot. It's a style I usually enjoy very much, but in this case it kind of made it look like a theatre play. It kept me distant from what was happening on the sceen, like I was watching from afar all the time. So of course it was harder to feel that proximity between the characters, but it also reduced the impact of the action scenes. I liked the colorimetry though, it was very lively.

SOUND
Win: Japan
I didn't notice much about the music in both shows. But the sound in LITA was just horrible, and in KNY it was... well... done by professionnals who have been paid correctly, probably. One moment where the music did hit me was the scene in the car where Arashi is all over Rei. In LITA, in the bathroom stall, it's an angsty music which really adds to the assault Payu is doing and made me highly uncomfortable. In KNY, it's more of a sensual, slow music that eases it up and contribute to making it look less aggressive, so good point.

CHARACTERS
I'm not going to talk about the acting, because I believe everything the actors did was a choice made on purpose by the director, and therefore is a part of the characters and not the actors' capacities. For example, everyone criticized Rei's actor for not being able to do a proper kiss in their NC scene, but he showed us in the last episode that he was well capable of kissing, which means that it was the director who had decided he would act like that in the first scene. SO, here goes what I think of the characters:
REI: Thailand wins
I didn't really like Rain in the first place but Rei was.... insufferable. His infinite baby talk, the way he moved, his actions.... He was more stupid, more selfish and had pretty much nothing interesting to offer.
ARASHI: Thailand wins
In LITA, I hated Payu at first and grew to like him after they got together. I despised him for harassing Rain sexually, but then I liked how he became much more soft, cool but still sensitive to what happened to him and his boyfriend, and overall very expressive. One good thing about Arashi is that he wasn't as agressive with the whole sexual assault, just a bit pushy, but otherwise he was just plain boring. Just that cool guy who is too cool to show any emotion. Even when Rei got kidnapped he gave us nothing, just a semi angry swing and slightly anxious eyes when he got to Rei being tied up on the chair.
KAI: Tie
I really liked both. Maybe I was a bit disapointed when Kai wasn't as sassy as Sky, but still I think his character made sense and I was very fond of the more taciturn aspect.
FUMA: Japan wins
Yeah, Prapai was amazing after they got together. But christ how painful it was to watch him harrass the sh*t out of Sky in the beginning, so much that Sky actually had somewhat of a panic attack at some point. Fuma was just as sweet, just as much of a green flag, but without the aggressive harrassment. Like Arashi, he is a bit pushy and doesn't give up but it is very light. Even the first time they met at the race, unlike Prapai, Fuma doesn't actually pressures Kai into sleeping with him, as he says he's kidding after asking him for "something in return" (though it doesn't make much sense why Kai actually sleeps with him then but still, it makes Fuma way more likable).

CHEMISTRY
Win: Thailand, of course
BUT ! Like I already mentionned, people criticized the intimate scenes in KNY a lot because it was awkward and everything, condemning it as if the director had no clue what she was doing or whatever. I did at first too. But after watching Kai and Fuma's second NC scene and Arashi and Rei's bath scene, I realized it was probably more deeply thought by the Director. I don't know since I'm not in her head, but I feel like she purposely made it awkward for Arashi and Rei since it was their first time, and as much as I hated that scene, I think it contributed to the satisfaction of the bath scene. Same for Fuma and Kai, she probably made their first time awkward since Kai was forcing himself and Fuma didn't think much of him at that time, and it deepened the gap between that and their second time which was very sweet and much more smooth. So, I actually didn't hate their chemistry in KNY. Because of their individual characters, I'm kinda still wondering why are Rei and Arashi together, but Kai and Fuma had, in their own way, just as much chemistry as the Thai couple.

In Conclusion, as I didn't particularly love the original story, I didn't expect to be much fond of this one either. But overall Koi No Yokan was a nice, easy watch and is even more enjoyable if you're used to the Japanese style. Though Fuma and Kai's story only is 80% of the reason why I liked it, I'll keep a good memory of the whole show and wouldn't mind watching it again.

Despite everything above, I do not think an adaptation has look like the original or even do it justice. I just compared them because I watched them both, but Koi no Yokan stands well by itself and I'm sure the people who haven't seen LITA don't think as bad of this show as the people who did. Would recommend to the people who are used to Japanese shows and those who can look over Rei's despicable character lol.

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WikiHow: How (Not) To Do A Remake

Step 1. Think hard. When was the last time people thought a remake was better than the original? If you are going to remake a show that is justly (or unjustly) famous (or notorious), know that people will always compare your show to the original. If it falls short, you have only yourself to blame.

Step 2. Know your audience. BL is a niche community, even in Japan. Many of us have heard of and seen the original LITA. We may love it, we may hate it, but we know of it. A lot of us will watch the remake just in order to see how it compares. If you forget this, again, you have only yourself to blame.

Step 3. Ask yourself why. I mean, why? For god’s sake, why? Why can’t you leave well enough — or bad enough — alone? What possible reason might you have, apart from a presumed reluctance on the part of the Japanese -- a reluctance that I don't think exists -- to read subtitles? Or if that isn’t the problem, what have you to offer us that’s different? If nothing, why waste time and money on this, when you could have given us something better?

Step 4. Consider the source material. Here, you potentially have two. The (cough) novel. And the TV show. If you did read... the novel… more power to you. If you just watched the TV show, welcome to our world. But don't forget. This is Mame. Storytelling isn’t her strength. Sexual… ummm… proclivities, I guess? are what gets her off. As, of course, does calling your dom top “Daddy”. Well done, Noeul.

Step 5. Rip the bodices. Isn’t that what got you into it in the first place? If you’re going to be coy around it, leave it alone. Some of us return to LITA not for the… story… but for something else. And that something else was *hot*. If you can’t handle the heat, stay out of the kitchen. Which, given the number of gastronomic BLs Japan puts out each year, is perhaps impossible.

Step 6. Speaking of cooking, test for chemistry. People who cared for LITA fall into two camps. They were either in it for the dom-bottom pair, or for the peat-bog -- I mean, peat-fort -- pair. Either way, it is the chemistry between them that sold the show. This one has all the chemistry of mildew on a damp cloth.

Step 7. Cast the right actors. In a bodice-ripper, they must be game, and willing to go all the way. The actors in the original did. That’s why we bought it — even those who hated it. You did well enough with Shoma here, and there is a reason why he did two segments of Kiss x Kiss x Kiss in one season. The man is hot, and he's comfortable lashing his tongue against another's. But you really oughtn’t have cast the rest of the gang here. Hamaya was certainly a bad choice. When one of the actors refuses to open his lips, while the other one licks them like a cat does the last drop of milk from a bowl, it is not sexy. It looks non-consensual, and makes us cringe. (While I’m not staying for the other couple, what I have seen so far hasn’t been encouraging. I doubt they’d even kiss.)

Step 8. Find the right size. For the series as a whole and for each episode. Here, the length and duration do not feel right. Sometimes, less is not more. Compression is not always a virtue. Size matters. The original… story… was narratively... challenged... as it was. Don’t make it incomprehensible. Remember: The theory of special relativity only works near the speed of light. And Einstein already taught us that length contraction was the same as time dilation.

Step 9. Identify areas for improvement. The "story"… and the "writing"… in the original weren’t exactly stellar. You could have made the story tighter, more coherent, and much more integrated, especially given the limitations on time and length you have imposed upon yourself. Isn’t this what JBLs are supposed to be good at?

Step 10. Or, you know, just stop. The “market”, unlike colour in Japanese cinematography, is saturated enough as it is. We have the Thai BL meat factory releasing a bodice-ripper every other week, but at least there the actors know how to kiss. Taiwan releases a step-brother storyline once a month to titillate us, and KBL is ever at hand to give us the white-and-blue-jacket no-kiss-guaranteed school lunch once a season. We have enough to keep us going. If you have nothing original to offer, why bother?

This review is dedicated to Selbee, who had love enough to ask me for one.

Reader’s Digest:
DO SAY: There’s a new Love in the Air.
DON’T SAY: It's a hole in the ozone layer.

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