Title: Wakatteitemo the shapes of love / わかっていても the shapes of love
Rating: 6 / 10
Recommended for:
Those who want to watch a relatively short drama featuring different types of love in seemingly impossible situations and/or are fans of Yokohama Ryuusei and Minami Sara
* Currently showing on Netflix (availability subject to geographical location)
* Disclaimer: I have neither read the original Korean webtoon nor watched the Korean version of the drama series.
Liked:
- First of all, the visuals and cinematography were very nice to look at especially the scenic scenes in Kamakura and the surrounding Shonan area. Given that the main setting of the story was in an arts university, it also meant that quite a number of art works were featured. While the story's theme may be serious and somewhat heavy at times, the overall vibe was visually pleasing and relaxing with a dash of gentleness to balance things out.
- Although I have not watched the original Korean drama version, I did see enough spoiler snippets on social media which tended to focus on the lead couple's intimate scenes. Comparatively, there weren't as many intimate scenes in the Japanese version nor were they too explicit. Nonetheless, I thought that Yokohama and Minami managed to portray the strong attraction between their characters very well in the first few episodes when lingering gazes into each other's eyes proved to be more sensual and romantic than when they first slept together and became an item.
- The supporting characters may not get as much airtime as the main couple but I thought that their stories were equally, if not more appealing than the main plot especially in the latter part of the drama. Short and impactful scenes on the whole.
Disliked:
- Perhaps it's just me but I always have this feeling with director Fujii Michihito's works - they tend to start off brilliantly yet disappoint at the end most of the time. While I get it that Yokohama and Fujii may have worked well together and on multiple occasions in the past, it makes me wonder if this drama might have turned out a bit differently with a different director or a different actor. Everything seemed to go downhill once Ren and Miu got together especially when the ending was so expected and underwhelming. I also wondered why the setting of the main couple was lecturer-student/teaching assistant when I vaguely remember that the Korean version seemed to feature the leads as fellow students. Was it to make the story appear a bit more "scandalous and forbidden" than it should be?
- It could be due to the fact that this drama was made by ABEMA so there were some junctures when I felt that this drama was an extended version of their romance reality show "Renai dorama na koi ga shitai". As such, some developments felt a bit forced and staged as if to remind viewers that this was all make-believe. I think this is counter-effective in making viewers feel more immersed and engaged with this story.
- The title really got on my nerves because the more accurate translation for Nevertheless should be soredemo or sorenimo kakawarazu (それでも or それにもかかわらず). However, wakatteitemo's meaning actually means "even though I know/understand". While it may be that this was because the literal translation may not sound as impactful as the chosen title, it still bugged me especially since the title was repeatedly mentioned in the lines as if to remind me of the mismatch in the term used and the actual meaning.
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