Love or Not (2017)

A triumph of love over hate

In this case, my utter HATRED of the "kindergarten kismet" trope. When I saw that this Drama was built on exactly that trope, I assumed I would hate the Drama. But, it triumphed, and I loved it.

What I loved was that it played with the trope, mocking it, analysing it, and teasing the viewer until the final episode as to whether the trope would come true. The side couple were well done, the bar owner's arc especially lending some real emotional warmth and depth to the light frothy sweetness of the main storyline.

Another big plus was the short length. Four hours total runtime was just right, no angst or pathos padding out a longer series.

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Sometimes we need a fairy tale!

Do people really fall in love when they are 6 years old and never forget about it? Allow the cynic in me to doubt the veracity of this trope and just consider it a fairy tale! Once this is accepted, this drama can be watched!

It is pure fluff: childhood crush, bickering neighbours, generous friends. This is what I like about j dramas: evil exes never found in these romcoms (unlike the korean ones...) and everyone is kind and sweet, nobody holds a grudge, mistakes are forgiven quickly. Fairy tale, I am telling you!

Two main leads met as kids when Kosuke helped Mako with her toy bunny. They met again only 22years later and get off on the wrong foot: Kosuke ridiculing Mako speaking about her first love. They both have two best friends each who are spectators of their love story, helping them along unwittingly mostly!

The series is a pure romcom. The main bickering couple are fun to watch while they are refusing to admit what is obvious to everyone. The rich friend and the photographer friend like them separately but nothing works out for them. And there is the bar owner who falls for a divorced other but that does work out either.

The MDL rating is reflects perfectly the quality of this drama: fun but nothing more. In spite of short episodes, it is a bit boring in the second half.

The actors had decent chemistry though I was sorry to see Machida Keita be treated as a second lead (and losing but that is the fate of second leads! lol). Production value is nothing to write home about, just classical and ordinary!

And they lived happily ever after!

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