Folks, it has been quite a while since I've gotten second lead syndrome and even longer since it's been so bad that I've had to start my review out with it, but here we are. I think the thing that was so jarring about this one, though, is that I did not see it coming at all. Contrary to other dramas where you sit through 16 episodes of a SML pining for someone you know they'll never get, I sat through this drama with the continuous thought that this drama had one of my favorite tropes — the one where the main lead feels like the second lead but ends up getting the girl because they were the one that stood by her and laid out all their cards on their table while doing it (see Dream High). I was unfortunately, very wrong, and you cannot imagine the absolute whiplash I felt when Kaga, my favorite golden retriever who spent all six episodes unabashedly spending time with Ayumi and making her laugh...ended up being the second lead. It's not that I dislike Koshiro and in a way it makes sense, but the problem is that we, the viewers, didn't get to see any of it beyond the childhood flashback and a few speaking scenes — because we spent all this time seeing Kaga with Ayumi instead. I have a big soft spot for the storyline where Person A loves Person B but ends up falling in love with Person C because of a big life change (see Vampire Diaries) and thought this was going to be the case based on screentime alone. Long story short, my heart is SHATTERED.

Okay, with that out of the way, this drama actually had a lot going for it. It grabbed me right out of the gate and kept me on the edge of my seat. There's the more "fantasy" and "thriller" aspect where you have the leads trying to figure out how the body switch happened and how to deal with it, and there's also the more down-to-earth part of the drama where they just have to go about their day, attending classes, eating lunch, dealing with bullies and school events, etc. The balance between the two is done extremely well, and I was also really touched by the story.

The theme is common but really interesting. The drama does a good job of showing "pretty privilege" — not just in terms of your genes but also how wealthy you are, if you grew up in a good environment and with good parents and were able to take care of yourself, etc. But it also shows that sometimes people who are dealt a bad card let it define them forever and blame others for it to a fault. I was really happy to see Umine's redemption arc and loved that everyone became a friend group by the end, though it was a little fast.

Plot-wise, I do think the short length of this drama hampers the pacing somewhat. It feels really well-paced and fast at the start, but it starts to drag a little bit before it just completely speed-runs the ending. I'm not sure if the manga originally montaged through it or had more, but I wish we got more scenes about the "shuffle," had more time to develop Umine's redemption arc, and explained more about the lore and how switching worked. It felt like they introduced a researcher character who was supposed to have a lot of answers about the process, but ended up not really doing anything other than some lore dumping early on.

Ultimately, though, SLS aside, I still really enjoyed this one. In my heart of hearts Kaga will always be endgame, but even if he's not, I hope it doesn't deter anything from watching this.