Cherry Magic! (2020)

Classic Japan BL that you need to watch at least once

For me, watching Adachi and his friend Tsuge navigate their newfound power and their growing feelings for another person was an absolute joy. Who cares if some moments were a little awkward and even ‘out there’? I was inhaling the episodes.

I appreciated how character development constantly propelled the series: The point of the show is that it is not enough to know what someone is thinking if you want to be in a meaningful and stable relationship with them. Basically, there are limits to how much your relationship can benefit from mind-reading.

With a great premise and likeable characters, Cherry Magic is one of the most entertaining BL shows with moments that are equal parts funny and sweet. It’s the kind of show that you will return to rewatch on a shitty day just because it will make you smile.

Read my full review here: https://asianblreviews.wordpress.com/2022/02/06/cherry-magic-2020-review/

Leia Mais

Made me giggle in every episode ♡

Soooo... I'll say few words about Cherry Magic :) It was sweet and funny, a good BL. I haven't watched Japanese BLs before, so that was the first Japanese BL for me. And I like it a lot <3 The idea of this series was so amazing and unique and personally I liked it a lot. The storyline was clear well made. The actors were super beautiful and different kind of characters made it more interesting. Rokkaku was so adorable that I couldn't help myself with "aww"s :-) xD Kurosawa looked so handsome (that my heart died) and Tsuge's overreacting and big gestures was so me xD I hope you'll watch this great BL. Even if it doesn't have a lot kisses or skinship, it makes you giggle and feel embarrassment for characters. Watch it, you can't lose anything! ♡

Leia Mais

A show that can

(First review) To be honest, I found this show through a BL list of dramas to watch and happened to stumble on this. I’ll start off with the pros and then cons after. The first couple of episodes were pretty good and very fascinating where the main character (Adachi) gains the power to read peoples mind. The concept is pretty interesting and the acting was pretty good. I also liked the comedy in it as it made me have a couple of good laughs and finally I thought that Adachi’s character was pretty realistic where he is an introvert and struggles through the thought of a relationship. Now the cons, There were some parts that we’re kind of unrealistic. I thought that some parts were very confusing especially on how Kurosawa came to fall for Adachi, Like they did mention it in one episode a bit but it doesn’t feel realistic. Not to mention the conflict at the near end where adachi picks his magic over their relationship… I feel like Kurosawa was very forgiving which made the conflict seem unintense.. It would have been better if Kurosawa ends up showing more feelings such as frustration and anger but he ended up just feeling sympathetic. Adding on to Kurosawa’s character, it seems that he loves Adachi too much to the point where he is willing to do anything for him… not to say that loving someone too much is a bad thing but it seems that his life only revolves around Adachi to the point where he doesn’t have his own scenes by himself as he is always seen with Adachi. I barely know anything about Kurosawa since there isn’t a lot about his past. I wished they showed more of their past. Now to the side couple, I thought that the relationship was a tad bit creepy and toxic especially the part where Tsuge takes pictures of Minato WITHOUT consent. He seems like a creepy stalker that gives someone chills. I’m still not sure if Minato is a minor or not because he seems very young. I hope he isn’t because that would be illegal and grooming since Tsuge is like 30 I think. Buying random stuff online just to have Minato deliver it to his house is weird. I am a little confused on how Minato fell in love with Tsuge since they barely communicated and there is a lack of chemistry in their relationship. Overall their relationship was rushed and I wished the directors would allow more time for them to get to know each other and spend time together before having them get into a relationship. That is about it for my review I do still think it’s a good drama if you like comedy and heartwarming scenes. <3

Leia Mais

Revolutionary, yet a slight setback

I loved this show so much when I watched it back in 2020 as it was being released. It's a very heartwarming story about adults finding love and success with characters that oush past their anxious limits, respect boundaries of others. The music is sweet and has me bopping to it to this day. The visual art of the opening is what really caught my eye and the character presented in each person's house was super interesting and aesthetically pleasing.

Although the aesthetics are nice, I do feel like there was some setback with portraying the characters' struggles and how they coped or solved them. That is most likely a fault from the time constraint of 20-30min episodes and a 12ep series. Should it have had a 40min - 1hr timeframe, I feel like they could've gotten more character progression in there, but alas it is complete.

MAJOR FALLBACK THAT KILLED IT FOR ME: The main couple doesn't even kiss. Not once. At all. All we get is a forehead kiss, hugs, the innuendo that Adachi lost his virginity, and an insinuated kiss in the elevator in the last few seconds of the last episode. Im sorry, but even the side couple whose relationship felt slightly rushed had a kiss.

The ONLY kiss in the show was the chaste kiss the second couple shared.

I don't know if that was a discomfort issue like certain actors didn't want to kiss or what, but that kinda fell flat. I'd rather have another forehead kiss or a cheek kiss than an insinuation that you can tell is super fake.

This super fake insinuation also happens in the second special with the side couple and the seem kind of uncomfortable during the kabedon scene. Instead of a passionate kiss to exmeplify the character's words of "not being able to hold back anymore," it just looks like they fell down.

I don't know if that's me being picky and wanting to see two queer men kiss on screen, but that kind of took away the joy out of it. Some hetero couple shows get way raunchier, but a BL show not even being able to get at least one kiss scene with the main couple was slightly disappointing, especially when BLs from other countries have gotten racuhier and multiple kiss scenes in 10min 8ep webdramas (See: Where Your Eyes Linger).

Leia Mais

I love Kurosawa's Love.

I didnt know if this is BL story which I never interest to watching. Until I watched this by accident.

At first few episode I can feel the introvert Adachi's feeling.. scare but then Kurosawa words touch his heart. Later, anxious but dont want to hurt Kurosawa's feeling.

And then I start to feel Kurosawa sincerity, and kindness toward Adachi. Thats really touch my heart.

I love Kurosawa's love.

The funny things is after finish watched, I deleted all episode because of BL but few months later I wanna rewatch, so I download all episode again 😁

Leia Mais

I can't believe things like this actually exist

You know that feeling when you watch something, and you're like "oh my god? I didn't realize other people had these thoughts or were capable of creating content like this?" Yeah, that's how I felt about this drama. From the first episode your attention will be grabbed and hooked as you learn about the swoon-worthy, magical premise. Kurosawa's dimpled smile and smooth, velvety voice are the thing of dreams, and Adachi's earnest everyman characterization is usually good for a laugh. Apart from being a very manga-esque romance, this drama also deals with themes of self-esteem, deception, risk taking, and friendship.

The rewatch value on this show is off the charts. However, the side romance isn't my favorite. It's tolerable enough to watch the first time, but I definitely skip those scenes during a rewatch. The two characters aren't that compelling and don't really make a good match imo.

To sum up, watch this drama because you absolutely will not regret it. If you're in the mood for a feel good, swoon-worthy romance with minimal conflict and a happy ending, take a chance on this!

Leia Mais

A quite wholesome BL drama

The story of "30-sai made Dotei Da to Mahotsukai ni Nareru rashii" aka "Cherry Magic" was fun, and it honestly melted my heart at several points! There was sometimes a bit unnecessary drama, but that can be forgiven. The story was nice overall, but it was a bit tame for my taste. I would have liked to see even one proper kiss scene, since there was a romance or two going on, but I was a bit disappointed in that aspect. I normally enjoy "skinship" like that in dramas and I'm very used to it by now, so it felt weird to watch a drama not have as much of it.

The acting was good and I liked the characters. The main characters were nice, and the supporting cast was really good as well. From the supporting cast I especially liked the kind colleague Fujisaki Nozomi, the cat-lover & supporting friend Tsuge and of course Udon-chan! ^^ I loved watching scenes where Udon-chan was just vibing and playing in the background haha. One of my concerns in the cast was Minato's actor, since he looked _very_ young and his scene partner looked a lot older, but it turns out he's actually a 22-year-old adult just like me so.. oops? Sorry for assuming you're younger than you are Minato-kun!

Talking about the music, I honestly hated the opening song of this drama, it sounded like the singer wasn't hitting any of the notes properly and it just sounded like screeching.. It's legit one of the worst songs I have ever heard in my life so I skipped it every time it came on.. Otherwise I have no complaints about the music in this drama, it wasn't anything special but apart from the opening song it wasn't bad.

I normally never re-watch dramas, but this drama was so short and sweet that I feel like I could possibly watch it again some day.

Overall I scored this drama a 8.5/10. It was sweet, melted my heart and I loved to see a wholesome BL drama like this. So often LGBT+ themed dramas and movies have a lot of obsession, death and violence in them, so it's really refreshing and fun to watch a BL drama that portrays a healthy gay relationship and gives you butterflies (in a good way) ^^ I would definitely recommend this if you like BL dramas even slightly, this was a very nice one!

Leia Mais

perfect comfort show with enough fluff and cuteness

This BL (with many others) had the luck of coming out to the exact right time. 2020 was an exhausting year for many people for some more than others and a teeth-rotting fluffy show was exactly what many needed and still do now. The story is very sweet and even though the worldbuilding isn't as in-depth as it could be, it's not something you would expect from it anyway. It never promises to explain to you where the magical gift is coming from and so, it's not disappointing when you don't get an answer to that.

This is a character-driven story that relies heavily on its characters. The characters have so much depth and likeability that it's almost impossible to not fall in love with all of them. This show handles the whole "being able to read other people's most private thoughts" subject pretty well (IMO). Adachi is a great protagonist and even though he's more passive, it's not boring or frustrating to watch. With Ajaso Eiji and Machida Keita, this show got great actors on its hand (especially Machida who is able to pull off totally opposite roles).

There is some over-the-top acting in this BL and it's used in a stylistic way. I didn't mind it for the most part, but there were two particular scenes involving the side couple that made me actually cringe and fast forward. But other than that, it's very cute and fun.

However, if an on-screen kiss is important to you, you may find yourself a little bit disappointed (only with the main couple though). This is not a bromance, it's very clearly a romance, even without an explicit on-screen display of affection, like kissing.

Leia Mais

Awesome, i highly reccomend it.

I have nothing more to say about this drama than good things. At first i watched the first episode and i didn't really like it, then i wanted to give it another try and the second time i fell in love with this drama. Its literally awesome, the story is funny and make you laugh in more than an occasion, but touches also important aspects of the characters psicology and feelings, so even if there are 'magical aspects' it still is really realistic. It actually made me cry more than one time in the last episodes hahah. I also loved how the side couple behaved and how it wasn't just a 'side story', but it actually helped the main couple in their development. Speaking about development, another thing that i liked is the fact that there is in all the characters a lot of charachter development, evven tho somnetimes they fight and they go backwards. That make the drama realistic, and that's what i search when i want to watch something. Not extremely sad exc, but not always 'happy and smiling', because its irrealistic and it bores me, so what i wanted to say in a few words, is that i love this drama, and i highly reccommend it if you're a fan of soft but realistic romance.

Leia Mais

holy sh*t I get it now

This didn’t seem like my type of show so I passed up on it for so long, but I’m so glad I checked it out. It is so cute and so sweet, but not in like a basic way where you throw some characters together and have it be fluffy.
A huge chunk of what makes this so fluffy and cute is the fact that you get to hear Kurosawa’s thoughts about Adachi, which encompass his delight about being around him, his daydreams of domestic bliss, and his wishes for Adachi’s comfort and happiness. He’s so considerate of Adachi and his feelings and doesn’t try to push him. Adachi is a bit of a flailing mess and we love him for it. Actually, that’s not fair. He’s a kind, considerate and competent person. He doesn’t realize how many people like and care about him, and a part of the show is about his character development and realizing how he’s touched people’s lives around him. It’s just really lovely to see. The side characters are fairly solid as well, especially their coworkers. I’m a big fan of Fujisaki in particular, and I believe she’s aromantic, which is so great to see! I’m not gonna lie, I did find Adachi’s best friend’s storyline less engaging and kind of skipped through it.
It’s a short and sweet show. Do yourself a favor and watch it.

Leia Mais