Kikazaru Koi niha Riyuu ga Atte (2021)

A worth watch !!

My first venture to jdramas …..and I can’t explain how happy I am to have given this one a try ….
Even after seeing that it got almost all the reviews towards the very positive end of the rating spectrum ...I still was hesitant (maybe bec first dramas are always memorable ...you wish to carefully pick the critically acclaimed ones so as to make sure you aren’t disappointed)...and I am really glad to say that this drama has me looking forward to my journey in dorama land …

This is way more than just a typical rom com ...it’s an ordinary story that gives you hope and courage to fight for what you need ...tells you to cry,stand up and face the mess ….( I feel weird writing this ....cuz actually I am team it’s okay to run away as long as you are willing to come back and fight but yaa ...it’s true that someday or the other ...you gotta deal with all the shit that comes your way)
( I haven’t mentioned the story ...cuz synopsis provided by MDL is way too good ...pls check it )

The positives …

No annoying characters …( I don’t know if this is common for doramas to not have them ...and if it is then ...I am dancing already)

They don’t keep on dragging an issue like anything and just talk it out …(dare not ask for more in a rom drama …!! )

Amazing bonding between the characters ….I love the entire house arrangement ….housemates are so supportive of each other ….and every character individually is so likable ...and the dog’s so adorable ... …(even I wish to live in a share house like that …!!)

Life Lessons ...well some dramas teach you small and important things ….I feel it’s one of those dramas ...it’s a happy happy stuff but yeah it doesn’t deviate from the fact that life got troubles too ...and just because you are good at something doesn’t mean that the path will be easy ...it might be easier than others ...but no bed of roses for anyone here.

Also I like the fact that the ML makes FL feel that not everything needs to be captured and shared over the internet ...ofc she likes doing it ….but addiction is not good you can’t start living just to share your life on internet ...you sometimes need to really snap out of it ...and live somethings just for yourself …(that’s probably the best part)

I enjoyed the side characters too ….as someone who skips scenes without much thought...I really didn’t touch that forward button ...so you know it’s amazing

Negatives …
I don’t know why but I end up watching love triangles all the time (don't yell spoiler spoiler ...it's there from the very first ep) ...I am a bit annoyed by that ...tho this one is like way better than others I have come across ..still
(guess I need to now start checking tags before I watch)
Also the show doesn't start off too well ....like the initial eps do feel weird and difficult to keep up with !
and the main couple don't give couple vibes ....they'd be better as friends.

But all in all I loved the drama ...and am way too happy to have this as my first !!
I hope everyone who’s reading this does give it a try!

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A cute drama about family, love, friendship, and chasing after your dreams!

If you're in for a happy feels trip, this drama is the one.
It isn't very different or out of the ordinary
but it's the type of drama that will not fail to put a smile to your face through the whole thing

We have female lead Mashiba, who is an influencer on instagram and works hard to be a buyer
and male lead Fujino, who seeks a minimalist life while pursuing his chef dreams
Secondary characters in their shared house or Mashiba's workplace, who are also equally lovable...
And if you like seeing cute pets in dramas
they have a really cute dog that makes many appearances too ^o^

This drama is full of love and mutual support
and offers a breath of fresh air from the dark or scheme-y dramas out there :)

Highly recommend if you want something light and inspiring.

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The drama that provided me the light I needed

Kikazaranai Koi niha Riyuu ga Atte picked me up when I was at the lowest point of my life not only because of its:
1.chemistry between leads and co-stars
2. wholesomeness
3. delicious food
4.fashion
5. picturesque backdrop

but most especially with its dialogues/conversations (not too long even) that are very much applicable to real life. My favorite line is "do your best". These only three words resonate well in reality that hearing them from someone makes me go on despite the challenges. There are a lot of relatable lines that you may discover each episode and more of it as you rewatch them again making its rewatch value a perfect 10.

Words are not simply enough/ I don't even know how to begin this review but one thing for sure, this drama will remain in my heart forever.

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Watch this to feel good about life and love

This has been such a treat. If you are growing tired of dramas with very heavy themes i.e., revenge, switched at birth, love triangle, cheating etc., then this is for you!

This is the first time I've seen such a realistic take on life and love for a Japanese drama. I love how the leads trust each other and believe in each other's dreams. Even their arguments make me smile everytime they make up/make amends, because we can clearly see that they communicate them well and not just assume/create scenarios inside of their heads.

I've been skipping this drama and out of boredom i finally watched it ~ totally worth it! ♡♡♡

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The essence of living

To be honest, I decided to watch this dorama cause of who-else-if-it-is-not-Ryusei, but the story is absolutely well written as it was reflected in daily life. Kikazaru talks about the dream, the job you are having or you wish for, ideal living, even the lifetime partner. It is totally a whole-packaged dorama with a lot of superb casts. Yes, days could be gray or rainbow, but what matters is how we cherish the people surrounded us and how we love doing what we love. Also, the OST is as expected really great ^^. Then, I am going to elaborate more about the 6 characters in this dorama.

1. Kurumi. She is a girl who knows what she wants to do and gives her very best in everything she could do. Her work makes her stay always as 'it' girl as she turns into an influencer. At first, she wore everything that could boost her confidence even though it is tiring enough for her. But, thanks to Fujino, she learns to accept that you couldn't always stay '10' and it is okay to be yourself. And also thanks to Sachi (i love his nickname), she learns to keep moving forward no matter what happens and sets the goal that your tomorrow is today. A girl who lives up to her dream.

2. Shun. At first, I thought he is just a minimalist person who just wants to live the way he is without dreaming of something big. But after learning about his traumatic experience, I get to know why he just lives as simple as he could. The world has knocked down him once and he decided to totally back off. As time goes by and with the help of Kurumi, he realizes he can't run away or stay closed himself. With a lot of fear, he decided to once again move forward.

3. Kuoko. The kind-hearted woman who is able to gather good people under one rooftop. She thought once if she married, she would living the happiest life of her life. Unfortunately, after learning that she trapped in the household with her husband who used to be consumed by his job, she changes her perspective. I love how she always cherishes the 50 years she spent every time she talks. At the end of the day, she feels lonely but getting remarried is not her answer. Mad respect for her ex-husband for always trying to be there for her.

4. Ryuhei. Another kind-hearted man who tries to listen to everyone's problems as his job dealing with counseling. Ryu-chan doesn't place himself as a counselor but as a human first. I love how he mostly helps his housemate with his mature advice. Kuddos to this character ^^

5. Ayaka. The exact representation of people who keep chasing their dreams. She knows that chasing her dream could be a long journey or even a lifetime journey and at some point, she feels exhausted. I totally can relate when she asked that if we keep chasing our dreams, will we get true happiness? The world has knocked down her over and over. When she decided to give up, she realizes what important is she does what she loves to do.

6. Our Sachi ^^. A free-spirited man who sets his goal in his every step. The thing I love about him is his mindset. He takes every challenge as his stepping stone instead of an obstacle. And about his Loveline with Kurumi? She loves him too early, he loves her too late.

Ah forgot to mention. Both the main couple and the side couple have polar personalities which make this dorama so good. Definitely worth watching dorama ^^

PS: Please watch this dorama on fansubber (Furritsu-san). She and her teams work so hard for providing this wonderful dorama for free. By watching through her work, you will really appreciate her and her teams. The streaming sites only steal her work so please don't watch it on there.

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A Must-Watch Series

I am not going to post a long review but this series hit me differently. In the gut. With Thor's Mjöllnir. And let me tell you that I am very happy about it.
This series' plot is not rocket science, no heavy drama, no over-acting, but just simply very relatable and realistic. That, for me, is the charm of all 10episodes and made me watch actually all of them in one go.
All of the characters resonated different facets of myself. It's like that share house is me but all 6 residents were me during the different phases of my life, or when faced with various situations, or maybe whenever I think about life from different perspectives and ended up having the same decision as them.
I cannot even put it into words the kind of reflections I had while watching it. There were moments when I went "that is what I felt before and how I handled it" also, "that's what exactly I am going through right now!" but these were portrayed by different characters which makes you think that "hey, yes, I am human after all and my feelings are valid no matter what other people say". It's just... realistically different. I bet if you get to watch it, you'd recognize yourself in at least one of them.

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Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!

Breathe in, breathe out...First of all, Fujino Shun is my ultimate fantasy...a dreamy boyfriend, with the most gorgeous smile who's always cooking delicious food for me. and acts out scenes from anime to make me smile *sigh*

I loooooved Kikazaru Koi ni wa Riyuu ga Atte. It's only my 4th ever JDrama and I am so blown away by how incredible this drama was as a whole.

Let's start with the story and the writing...I have fallen in love with the Japanese language, just listening to the poetic way that the characters here spoke with layering so that there were different meanings; loved the references to the sayings or lyrics from old songs, coming in to underscore sth that someone said (I noticed this especially with the ML - Fujino-san) plus hats off to the translators because while so much is lost for us non-native speakers, the beautiful message came through.

This drama was also healing...the characters were caring towards each other and a wealth of respect defined their relationships so much so that it was therapeutic for me. The characters were so real...and lovable in their vulnerabilities and strengths. Mashiba 's dilemma is so relatable...why do I do the things I do? Does my job make me happy? Am I dreaming big enough? And then Fujino Shun! His character development was amazing to watch. In fact, he has the most expressive face and the dreamiest eyes - I was sunk, I mean I fell hard to this one.

The other characters were also so cute to watch and well-woven into the main story that I was invested in them as well. Overall, the drama had an incredible message about facing our fear and dreaming big and taking the leap of faith.

This one is one for the ages.

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Light and very inspiring

the story itself is not new anyway, it's about friendship, family, work, dream... it's slice of life...
there's so many great quotes in this dorama, the first quote that hooked me was, I decide my worth (by Shun, the male lead)...
eventhough the story is not new, but as a meal...usual ingredients made insanely incredibly meal...

it taught us to be brave to throw away many things to get our dream.
it taught us to be ourselves.
it taught us to love ourselves, to get our worth.
it taught us many lessons...

I like the romance, it's not too much but also not less... we can get our first kiss in early episode. Also we can get unique kiss...if we got foam kiss from secret garden, or toast kiss from pinocchio, we get food truck kiss from kikazaru koi niha...

I like how the male lead delivers his love for the female lead. And how he conquer his not so confidence whether the female loves him back or not..

I love all characters of this drama...the lead role and the support... all characters give important contribution

it's 10/10

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A fluffy and sweet dorama, with though life lesson.

Let me say that I love this dorama at the first sight. Maybe because I love the type of dorama that the story flows based on its character development. Every character herein has their own problem & it is nice to see that the other characters are not trying to intervene, instead they're supporting each other to solve it by themself. The two main characters are the spotlight, I love how Shun always support Kurumi without being too preachy even when Kurumi wants it, then it also develops Kurumi to become a better version of herself. Same to Kurumi that always supports Shun by a sweet gesture to boost his man confidence and make Shun wants to become a better man so he is good enough for Kurumi. Although, some dramas are unnecessary (yes, I look at you, Orca) and the ending feels a bit rush, I believe every character in this dorama already in their proper place.

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Words cannot describe my love for this drama. But I will try anyway because I want everyone to give this a shot and hopefully experience the same joy I did whilst watching it.

I have been looking for a good jdrama to help me with my kdrama slump and so far I had not been able to find something I actually adore until I watched this and fell in love.

This drama is character driven more than anything so it is definitely for viewers who are looking for to watch the slice of life genre. The drama is simply about how people in a shared house come together, adapt, grow as people and pursue their dreams. But there is beauty in this simple premise because the characters are written and acted out with warmth, care and unique idiosyncrasies. You cant help but root for them and relate to their setbacks, insecurities and wins and losses. I feel connected to all of them long after I am done watching all 10 episodes and have to woefully bid them goodbye.

The star of the show is definitely the female lead. The actress who played her has this immense grace and her acting is AMAZING. Seriously, I was blown away by some of her emotional scenes and I could FEEL her pain with every tear. Her character growth is spectacular but she remains the same person at her core which is a kind, resilent and thoughtful individual - and it is these traits that have her friends, love interests, parents and us viewers rooting for her every step of the way.

I adore her chemistry with the ML. I read some reviews about how there is not a lot of romance and that is true. I think the romance is just enough because ultimately the focus is on relationships of ALL kinds. There is a great beauty in her platonic relationships as well. Her love with ML is a warm, quiet kind of love. It is not passionate in the way we are accustomed to think about passion with the leads yearning and pining for each other. People looking for steamy scenes might be disappointed as their kiss scenes are also quite chaste (though I would argue that the ML delivers some smouldering looks her way and that compensates for any kind of passion viewers may be looking for). There is also not a lot of yearning because the main strength of the leads relationship is communication and respect. They are direct when confessing and direct when seeking clarification and forging a way forward for themselves and each other. Ofcourse there are issues that spring up because theirs is a opposites attract kind of pairing and at first I did wonder if they were a good match, once the honeymoon phase fades away and long term commitment is required, but through communication and great courage they both make changes and adapt to the others needs. By the end of the drama I was blown away by how they were able to merge each other's dating styles : his being spontanous and free flowing "like water" with some boundaries and her requiring preplanning and assurance every step of the way. They both work and settle for a healthy change and the gradual shift is simply heartwearming to watch.

I feel like I could go on forever about this but this review is already so long. Yet I cannot end my rambling by commenting on the ML who I think I am now obsessed with. Weirdly enough, I have actually seen this actor in atleast two other drama/film but didnt recognise him at all - perhaps because he really embodies Shun San's character. I loved his minimalist quiet lifestyle in the beginning but also supported the lifestyle changes he undertook for his personal and relationship development. More then anything I loved a sneak peak into his thoughtful kind ways and his adoration for the FL in the epilogue scenes. Every ending scene had my heart turning into mesh because the epilogue goes back and show us a special insight into how he thinks and expresses love through small gestures. He is not a grand gesture type of guy but offers warmth through acts of services. You see his hesitation, insecurities but also his confident declarations of love in these epilogue scenes and they always tugged at my heartstrings.
I adore him to death and could honestly watch him cook forever.

Like I said, there is more to talk about and dissect but for now, I hope everyone gives this gem a watch. It is a rare find, I believe, because the previous romcom jdramas I have watched have exaggerated anime like characteristics and acting. But this drama feels realistic, heartwarming from start to end.

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ONE OF THE MOST RE WATCHABLE SHOWS I HAVE COME ACROSS

This isn't so much of a review of the story as it is me discussing the two leads.

A tale of people who lose hope but manage to regain it.

It's been 11 months since I first found this drama, and since then, I have watched episodes of this many times since then. It's become my number one drama to watch when I feel burnt out or just lacking in inspiration or motivation.

Sometimes, I'll randomly think about Shun's values. He identifies as a minimalist. He chooses to only own what brings him joy anf value. Although I have no intention to be a minimalist (at least not now), it's interesting to see him as someone who diverges from the norm. He doesn't use a phone and just takes things at his own pace. He's by no means a "perfect" person - or rather, character. He has his own set of issues and insecurities which hold him back. But he's someone who does things for himself. Allow me to demonstrate with something he says:

"If someone says they need you, if they say you are dependable, ...is that the measurement of happiness?
"I decide things on my own. I decide my own worth. I won't heed anyone's expectations. That's what I want to become."

I do think that the first part is rather... controversial. Especially since, as humans, we constantly seek out validation from others to make ourselves feel better. But I find his view refreshing.

To an extent he can be seen as a bit of a hypocrite at times, yet I don't find him condescending in the slightest. Rather, it shows a very human side to him that I can see parts of myself in.

As for Mashiba-san, she's an over achiever; an overthinker; and a people pleaser. She strives to to present herself in a way that makes others like her. Hence why Shun replies to her with the quote I mentioned earlier.

And her need to achieve this supposed measure of success also overlaps with her job where she is putting herself on online. Through curating an online presence, she burns herself out and doesn't know how to bounce back.

Despite not having a similar path to her, in terms of being someone who people depend on for advice or guidance, particularly online, I also found myself relating to her. Like her, I'm someone who wants to do my best but it can become overwhelming. Hard to cope, even.

Episode 3 is a particular favourite episode of mine. For one, the four of them go on a little road trip (#GOALS lmao). Another great thing about the episode is that the characters become self-aware and come to a realisation about the different struggles that each of them have to go through. And even if they can't relate on the surface level, through communication, they come to a mutual understanding and bond in a way that finally makes the four of them a family of sorts. And the food in this episode, omg!! yum.

The incorporation of both fashion and food is also interesting. It adds some flavour, some zest, if you will.

All in all, it's a drama which will remind you to slow down, and even spark some creativity and inspiration which may have gotten lost in our need to put our craft before our own wellbeing. So do give this drama a try. As a plus, the chemistry between the leads is great. Their relationship is based on mutual understanding and communication.

25/06/2022
10:36 PM

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Cotton candy fun!

This drama was just like eating cotton candy: fluffy story, sweet. fun!

This drama has both high entertainment value and pretty good dialog as well as not only one but two adorable dogs that serve as not only great sources of cuteness but also enhance the feeling in the scenes they are in.

In the beginning there where a few scenes where the female lead had slightly (very slight) annoying tendencies but other than that not a single annoying character! All where fun, lovable had character development and where all round a pleasure to watch as they interacted with each other. Even the second male lead was lovable but without giving (me) SLS. I just loved how they handels issues such as insecurity, jealousy and big life decisions. I also completely fell in crush with Yokohama Ryusei and loved seeing Natsukawa Yui in a lovable role after cursing at her in Chugakusei Nikki.

The co-habitation and found family friendship in this drama is so much family goals that it almost makes me feel like moving in to a big house with a bunch of strangers... especially if one or two of them can cook such foodporn dishes as the ones in this drama... So the food shots here are top notch, there are also some pretty nice scenery shots and a beautiful umbrella scene adding on to the score.


Again this may not be a masterpiece (trust me it is not) but it is fun, beautiful and even if it does have some drama here and there is is an overall feel good fluff drama guaranteed to make you smile at least once.

Bonus: The fansubber for the version I saw added some extra comments and spice that gave it that little extra and made it even better!

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