Should have been half the length

My individual ratings only added up to 5.5, but the overall rating I have given this show was a generous 7. I liked the concept, I liked several of the scenes, but it was all brought up by the unnecessary dragging on of the plot - if they had allowed the story to progress at a reasonable pace, it would have been an enjoyable mini series!
Instead I just had to fast forward through many of the scenes since it was just mcdonalds ads and the writing treading water.

Things I liked:
- Nuea's character: I really enjoyed his personality, he was confident and strong, his character made sense to me, his actor was also better than Sailom's
- Sex scenes: these were fun! it actually looked like the characters were into each other and enjoying themselves, these were fun to watch

Best scenes:
- Sailom's breakdown: when he cried after Nuea told he would be on his side, this actually felt so real and touching - it was easy to imagine how lonely and alone it the world he had been feeling up to that point, having to hide such a huge part of himself.
- Nuea's family accepting Sailom, this came after the previous scene, which gave it so much more weight
- The mom fight: I actually found this hilarious, they both embarrassed themselves and it was great

Cons:
- The plot: did I just miss it or did the story not even try and give a realistic reason for why Sailom had to hide the truth from Nuea?? Like he was just making things difficult for himself, and awful for Nuea for no reason. This just really dragged the whole thing down
- Sound effects: it's just really not my style, but it's just matter of preference I guess, I don't think these were objectively bad necessarily
- Sailom's character: the only other MAME show I have seen is Love in the air, and from that I'd guess this is a very stereotypical character for her that she likes. I don't. If Nuea was a breath of fresh air, Sailom was the opposite.

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Sincere and sweet!

Oh I loved Kieta Hatsukoi, the first half of the show was especially good! There were typical misunderstandings and miscommunication and it caused drama, but not *drama* it never felt unnecessary or overblown in the vein of "you lied to me, how could you betray my trust!" etc.
The characters were for the most part very likable, especially Aoki, Ida and Hashimoto and the acting was really enjoyable to watch. It was a teen romance so of course there were some cringey parts but that's life lol they still made a very cute and believable couple.
Both Ida and Aoki had some serious real life issues to work through that affected their relationship, Ida with his uncertainty of his own feelings and Aoki with his internalised homophobia, and had the show been longer I think we would have gotten a much more in depth look into both, but I think the show still handled it well. As I mentioned at the beginning, I felt the first half was stronger than the latter part, the story felt like it was treading in place a little compared to the beginning but it wasn't too bad, I enjoyed all of it still!

Would absolutely love to see a second season, Kieta Hatsukoi has become one of my favourites <3

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Surprisingly good

This show starts out as silly ghost hijinks but it evolves into something actually sad and heartwrenching!
The ending doesn't quite carry the energy through and there was some drama that honestly wasn't needed, but the few episodes before the last really made a strong impression on me.

The relationship between Kevin and Pluem was ok, some awkwardness which you rarely can avoid but they seemed to actually enjoy touching each other which was fun to see. The supporting cast was fine and I enjoyed seeing all their storylines, however brief they were. The number of episodes didn't really leave too much space for them but there also wasn't anything that wasted my time.

Overall a surprising gem of a show!

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The more I think about it..

The more I think about this season, the more I like it. I watched the movie version of the 1st season, and that was fine, but didn't seem to go too in-depth on the characters, whereas the second season was the opposite.

The show started with the core of it, in a later revealed flashforward: Seo Joon saying "you need to express yourself more" and Ji Woon saying "I love you, I love you"

Then the following 10 episodes were just the painful way for how there two got to that point.

I don't know if I would call the show realistic, but I certainly think the characters are consistent and true to themselves.
If we start with Ji Woon as this season was mainly about him; he had been in a long relationship where he hurt someone and was badly hurt in return. This had left him feeling guilty and ashamed of himself, afraid to open up to another relationship. This led him to run away when things got rough, to cruelly push someone he loved away, not just to protect himself, but also to protect Seo Joon in the long run "he is better off without me".

Seo Joon on the other hand had gotten his heart broken but clung on because of his issues with abandonment, he tried to withstand the cruelties Ji Woon was doing to him because he could see the other one was hurting, but in the end he realised that he had to give up, had to stand up to himself to do what would be best for him, despite his love.

At the conclusion of their character journeys, Seo Joon gives up on Ji Woon, then forgives him - and Ji Woon who has been able to heal some of his past hurts throughout the show is finally able to express what he feels, and what he wants, leading the characters to build a relationship together that fits the both of them.

After Ji Woon has returned to Seo Joon in Seoul, I really like their apology/forgiveness scene; Ji Woon has let his walls break, is crying and speaking his mind "I am jealous, I don't want you to call or laugh with others" and while obviously that's not healthy, it's not the words he is saying that's important, just that he is expressing them, that marks his growth and shows that their relationship can work.
Then the lovely epilogue moments at the end show how they have adjusted, Ji Woon is vocal about his love, they are commuting back and forth and it feels like they are both now on much more equal footing. The makeout scenes were fun as always too 😄

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