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Journey With You (Chinese Series)

By Golu
I've always had kind of a love hate relationship with Chinese historical BLs. Some are genuinely excellent, but then there are others that cram in so much plot that keeping track of all the layers of betrayal and scheming gets exhausting, and I end up checking out mentally. Part of the issue is also just how much content is out there in this space, so something really has to stand out to keep me hooked. In this case, the production value is genuinely impressive, top tier stuff, but story wise, I just couldn't bring myself to actually care about these characters. There's a ton of political scheming and backstage manipulation running throughout. Somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, a hostage ends up falling for his own Prince Charming. The show runs eight episodes, each around 50 to 60 minutes long. After spending three years guarding the border, Fifth Prince Yin Qi gets called back to the capital because of a secret letter, only to end up walking straight into a deadly...
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Kimi no Koto Dake Mite Itai (Japanese Series) [I Want to See Only You]

By Golu
This short little mini-series was a welcome change with no usual BL tropes that can sometimes be annoying. A simple, cute, very positive and enjoyable sores that makes you feel good and makes your heart warm with the innocence of a teenage love story. Surely, because it is so simple and straight forward, you sometimes wish something more to happen, but part of me was glad it stayed the way it did.

Sakura and Yuma have been friends from childhood and are now entering the senior year of school. Yuma is fun loving carefree guy who is spontaneous and playful and Sakura likes to play piano and hopes to go to a music university. The duo always hang out despite a bit of opposite personalities. As the summer holidays are coming close, Sakura takes the bold decision of confessing his feelings to Yuma and kisses him. Initially taken aback by this, Yuma thinks about it and feels he like Sakrura very much and decides to continue their relationship/freindship. At a camping trip, he confesses his love also for Sakura and tell shim that he wants to cherish him as long as he can. The final episode is all about the couple doing small little things to make each other happy to make this summer the most memorable they have.

Besides the main couple, we also do see the love story of two of their teachers (on of them is Sakura's Music teacher) and also of their friend trying to woo a girl in the class. The overall show is very feel good that depicts a sweet teenage romance and coming-of-age journey from adolescence to adulthood. The two friends have distinctive personalities and using flashbacks from childhood, we see their unbreakable bond. When Sakura confesses his feelings, I wasn't sure what will happen and was expecting some kind of drama, but thankfully, the series takes it all in stride  and the narrative goes with a smooth delightful pace. Of the two actors, Yuma clearly steals the show. He has the most gorgeous smile, makes goofy faces, is full of energy and always tries to make Sakura smile and is a true friend. He was amazing and embodied his character really well. In contrast Sakura is a shy guy and the actor playing does a decent job. I also actually enjoyed the goofiness of the love story of the two teachers. 

Keeping the show short with only 4 episodes of about 20 minutes each, the show never feels it is dragging. A happy ending where even though the your youngsters may not be sure of what their future holds for them, one thing they are absolutely clear about is that they want each other's company. The warm and cozy premise of the show, no unnecessary drama, a straight forward but very cute love story are all good enough reasons to add this to your list immediately. (7.5/10)
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Sailor Maan said…
Loved it too. Yuma posive energy is contagious, and the love we can see in Sakura's eyes is beautiful. The teachers add a lot to the story too. I was hooked with the first 2 episodes. I think the last 2 were wasting some time on unimportant things (the scary stories for example) and I would have prefered more of the couple. But maybe it was just because I wanted more of this series.
Honestly I really am addicted to these simple but oh so cute japanese BL, everytime they strike a chord with me.
August 4, 2022 at 10:37 AM
Golu said…
I agree that some of these simplistic Japanese BL series are touching hearts. Sometimes life doesn't have to be too complicated.
August 7, 2022 at 1:01 PM
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