Runners often have a special relationship with their pacers. The relationship between a runner and his pacer is one that is built on trust, respect and consistency because runners know that their pacer can be counted on to run that perfect pace. And usually, many runners end up becoming very close with their pacers, even off the track, because of all the time they’ve spent together.

I would have wanted to see more of Jinwon & Sangha’s training process, but Mr. Heart doesn’t really delve too deeply into this aspect. It chooses to focus more on the backstory between Jinwon and Sangha in high school, their blooming relationship in college, as well as Sangha’s financial woes.

Jinwon can be a bit of an asshole at times so if you require absolutely perfect men as BL leads, he’s definitely not it. I would argue, though, that these little flaws add to the charm of his personality, and make any form of character development all the more rewarding.

On that note, my biggest complaint is that you don’t actually get much emotional depth or character development from this series. The special relationship between an athlete and his pacer could have been the perfect opportunity to build intimacy between athletes and explore the emotional side of sports when it comes to competition and training.

One series that touched on this really well was You’re My Sky, a sports BL from Thailand. The delicate relationships between athletes and how it influenced them as sportsmen was captured beautifully ⁠— something that wasn’t quite highlighted in Mr. Heart.

Nevertheless, for a pretty short series that can be binged in just 87 minutes, it’s a great filler for when you’re craving a quick fix.

Full review: https://asianblreviews.wordpress.com/2022/05/09/mr-heart-korean-bl-review/
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