Now, before I hear from everyone for harping on this show, no one should be able to look at this series (in either country's iteration) and say this is quality television. That being said, it should be made known I waited for this series to come out excitedly and watched it every Monday, so it's not that I hated it, I just am aware it's not one of the best out there.

I knew this show would be tricky to simplify into a Japanese series because even in its Thai adaptation, it was already pressed for time since it was two love stories in one series, inherently losing any extra room for depth or detail at 13 episodes total, or about 6.5 per couple. Now imagine 13 episodes at around 40-45 minutes a piece squished into 8 episodes at 20-25 minutes a piece. There is no way physically possible to incorporate what details were even included in the 13-episode version, let alone tell any other storyline besides the surface-level one. All this being said, I still hold Love in the Air near and dear to my heart and enjoyed what I could from this version of it.

Considering I had first seen Nagumo Shoma in At 25:00 in Akasaka as a side lead, it was nice to recognize a character from their previous work, and I think for what this show demanded, he delivered what was realistic. The same goes for Hamaya, Suzuki, and Nagatsuma's characters. Similar to my viewing of the Thai version, while I prefer Arashi and Rei as a couple (Payu/Rain), I continued to prefer the acting and storyline of Fuma and Kai (Prapai/Sky). Now, after noticing this in both shows, I truly feel that this means the problem of the acting lies not in the actors themselves, but in the writing in which they are instructed to depict. I'm going to take the hate and say most likely, MAME is not the greatest of writers, although this may be simply because I've never read the original novel, so again, take my opinion with however much salt you like.

I will also say that the Japanese version of the special episode had me seriously confused. While I think ironically the NC scenes were done better and easier to believe, I struggled to keep up with what the hell was actually going on, and I presumably should have known at least the general idea given I saw the Thai special episode! SPOILER While it gave me a good giggle to see Boss and Fort make a guest appearance, I was watching each scene they were in asking myself "What is the point of them here, like, there is no reason other than shock value and screentime requirements for them to show up." END SPOILER

Aside from the relatively cringey plot, iffy acting, and speed of the show due to time, I can see this being loved by those who are looking for a simple, easy, and straightforward watch. While I wouldn't necessarily recommend this, it's not like bottom of the barrel bad, and if you are going to watch it, watch it before the Thai version, and early on in your BL consumption lifetime.