Senpai, isso não pode ser amor! (2022)

Light and easy series good for the heart

This was one of the cutest JBL series for the year. I have always admired JBLs for being different from other international JBLs! The world of Computer Graphics is a place where no one might think a BL story could take place, but then boom! The build-up was longer than what people would expect from an eight-episode drama but it made us understand and get to know the characters more. There was also a touch of cliche from the female co-workers but again all for the build-up. The lightness and non-toxic (for the most part) were really amazing. I would recommend more for the side characters and even more character formation for the leads. This series needs a second season!

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tropes all around

Screenwriter: How many tropes would you like?
Producer: YES.


This is a fun, tropey little love story, which has fast become one of my to-go-series if I need a pick-me-up.

What I liked:

* This drama makes heavy use of the one trope I can never get enough of: mutual pining with a side of miscommunication; while still keeping just to this side of frustrating.
* I loved watching the facial expressions of Kaneda -- he's so repressed, and when things overwhelm him, his emotions either explode out of him or he completely shuts down, which the actor portrays really well.
* Both Kaneda and Yanase try to respect the other's boundaries (or what they think the other's boundaries are). This is on one hand really nice to see: I really hate this trope of the pushy "top", who pressures his partner into things (and this is one of the things the drama does better than the oringinal manga). Yanase pulls back after that kiss in the first episode since he thinks "It's not like that", that probably Kaneda is straight and is not interested in anything sexual, he also pulls back any other kind of physical touch, since Kaneda very clearly said he does not want it.
* On the other hand, in later episodes, both believe that there are boundaries where there are none, adding to the miscommunication.
* The first half of the drama makes time for Kaneda's feelings to evolve from professional admiration to hero worship to something more balanced. At times it's a bit too subtle, but if you look at Kaneda's facial expressions and the way he talks to his Senpai, I think you can see it clearly.
* I also like these two last episodes (did I mention that I am a sucker for mutual pining?), I feel they make the relationship more balanced. Both have "leveled up" in their profession, and Kaneda does not only need any help anymore, he even has his own Kouhai! We finally get to see more of Yanase's feelings, and how he also has a hard time to express himself. Now it's him who speaks first, if a bit obliquely, of his feelings.


There are only two things that could have been better:

* Kaneda's hair really does not fit his face, a bit shorter or at least a bit darker would have been better.
* I would have loved to see more of how Yanase's feelings evolved, we only get to see glimpses, which is a bit unfortunate.


All in all, I love this drama, and can wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who likes a bit of mutual pining!

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Disappointing

Despite the fact that Kaneda was introverted to the point of appearing to be challenged, I had hopes that Yanase could bring out his personality.

Kanda confesses to Yanase and Yanase asks him to wait for a year while he works in Canada.

The whole subplot with Benji is creepy. Benji appears to be much older than Yanase, makes my skin crawl and I cannot understand why Yanase would have had a relationship with him. Then, we have the situation where Benji wants a contract to give work to Max Pictures ONLY if they give him his lover, Yanase, back. It's just disgusting slavery.

Surprisingly, Benji allows Yanase to return to Japan, Max Pictures and Kaneda. I lost interest once it was revealed that despite computers, cell phones, email, text messages or just the use of old fashioned paper and pen letters, neither Yanase or Kaneda kept in touch. Yanase returns and isn't aware of changes in the workplace or changes with Kaneda. Despite the potential for an adult relationship with Yanase, Kaneda is still acting like a child with his hero worship and altar devoted to Yanase. He takes Yanase back to his apartment yet doesn't bother to prepare by straightening up the place and hiding his altar and other evidence of hero worship. Kaneda responds by panicking and shouting. He failed to use the year apart to grow up.

Yanase (and the viewers) deserve better. I have no idea why he was attracted to Kaneda.

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Cute, sweet and sometimes funny

There's nothing really exceptional here. The characters are lovable and cute even if often more like anime featuring human actors. There are a lot of exaggerated expressions, but I think this is the style of the production--it's not necessarily a flaw in itself, but whether one likes it or not is another matter.

There is some supposed crisis about Yanase's career that I don't entirely get. I think it is written in just for the sake of having a stumbling block to Yanase and Kaneda's relationship. In the last couple of episodes, the couple meets again after parting for one year because Yanase goes overseas for work, but it seems strange that they don't even seem to have contacted each other in the course of the year and become awkward with each other. It seems as though the writer knows how absurd this is given how easy it is to communicate without meeting nowadays, and they have one character commenting that the two of them have been so busy improving themselves that they haven't contacted each other. (Really?)

While the plot is far from perfect, I find myself liking this BL production a lot. The characters are cute and the love between them is so pure, and in a way, that's what I happen to want to see from time to time for a dose of escapism.

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Unconsistent concept in writing. Saved by good actors

I appreciate the character development in the show, particularly Kaneda's gradual shift in perception of Jun from seeing her as a “deity” to recognizing her as a great “person”. However, I found the writing to be somewhat inconsistent, as it initially introduces compelling concepts about Kaneda “worships” to Jun but then I feel like the script writer just abandons the concept. This inconsistency detracts from the overall impact of the story and character development.
In the first few episodes, the show provides a balanced perspective from each character's point of view. However, as the series progresses, the focus predominantly shifts to Kaneda's viewpoint, which limits the exploration of other characters' perspectives.
At first, I admire how the show avoids typical Japanese drama tropes like miscommunication and unspoken feelings. Instead, it presents a peak conflict that arises from external situations impacting the characters' lives. This approach adds depth to the characters and makes their struggles more relatable. However, I feel like it’s a more common problem at the few of the episodes.
Overall, while the show has its strengths in character development and avoiding typical drama tropes, it falls short in maintaining consistency in its writing and exploring the perspectives of all characters. Despite this, the show still manages to present compelling conflicts and relatable struggles, making it an enjoyable watch.

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When two people with the same "prestige" fall in love with each other but both stand with their respective egos and images up. That was this series all about.

Honestly, the strength of this series was starting in the early episodes that made me finish several episodes in one shot. But in the middle of the journey, their story seemed to stumble then finally extinguished at the finale.

Actually, I fell in love with the those two cute main characters, but on the one other hand, their senseless stupidities made all their love became incomprehensible. I don't have any clue what's going on, but I guess it just lacked of writing or directing. However, from beginning to end I've been deeply in love with the soundtrack of this series.

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Sadly not memorable

As with all Japan BLs, there's no such thing as plain and candid communication. The characters often spin an overthinking web of doubt and have to gently untangle it over the course of several episodes. In that aspect, STCBL proves to be lighthearted and funny (overthinking fools in love will always entertain!).

Unfortunately, the show ultimately fails to make a deeper, more meaningful point on relationships and human nature.

I thought STCBL might explore the dreaded workplace taboo - how a senior-junior or supervisor-employee relationship can be problematic for romantic relationships – in greater detail. Perhaps I was expecting a bit more sneaking around to avoid gossip or prying eyes (many workplaces also have policies against fraternization). MmMMm, the tension from forbidden relationships… but nope.

The final 2 episodes also didn’t make much sense to me with lame misunderstandings getting in the way of their eventual get-together. Even when they finally became a couple, it was underwhelming.

I started off being quite excited about this show, but it lost steam towards the end. Was this a watchable, perfectly all right show? Yes. But was it memorable? Not really.

My full review: https://asianblreviews.wordpress.com/2022/08/18/senpai-this-cant-be-love-bl-review/

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Let the BL pink love fills you up!

The ending is amazing, especially the last 2 episodes!

Ep 9 is absolutely hilarious. A real life comedy of "Reality vs Expectation" lol. Ep 10 is so sweet, especially the ending scene, so touching and the visual of Yanase, I died! lol

I really love the part where Yanase wrote down a list and it got checked. Its just so swet!

The show started out really great and started to flatten a bit, but the last 2 episodes saved it! If not, for that "flat period" in middle, it would have been 10/10!

No major plot. Simple story of 2 ML falling in love.

I really love it, it's not toxic, it's cute, its funny, its healthy and its just heartwarming,

Its a lighthearted comedy romance for those who needs a break after watching a heavy show, if u know what I mean

A show where you no need to think but just stare and let the visuals and the BL pink love fills you up.

This is the kind of show for it. It's actually way better than I thought. I'm glad I wactehd it!

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It was okay

Senpai, This Cant Be Love is a Japanese BL with 8 episodes. The story is about Yanase and Kaneda who have this mentor and mentee relationship. Yanase is an accomplished CG artist and Kaneda is this rookie who is working under him. He is his mentor and he is secretly a big fan of his to some weird extent and I am glad that they did not really went into this direction because the stalker vibe was something that would be a bit off. Also, they did not immediately have a relationship instead, things went a bit awkward with them and things got a bit off actually. I am not sure how to describe it but there are some moments at the beginning when the vibe was off but it was later explained as Kaneda being extremely shy about working with Yanase that he is completely unsure how to handle the emotions he had for him. I think it is quite understandable but I like how they are slowly being kind towards each other despite seeing semblance of a relationship starting with the two. I think it is a pretty standard story but what it lacks is something that would really pull you in to their story. There is a bit of a mixed bag here. I liked the idea of it being simple but I am a bit wishing that they added more to the story. I just really feel like the story flowed really well and I am waiting for a good climax but it did not really happen. It is not bad. It is just uneventful and I was kind of waiting for it. I think the time that they tried to separate for some time and things did not go back as planned was interesting enough to watch. The cuteness is there. Well, the chemistry is pretty good. I think that is something that I would like to commend because the chemistry is really strong. This is maybe the reason why I am really wanting to see more of their story together. The constant push and pull had its moment but it got a bit repetitive at some point which usually makes me mad but I am not hating this one. I think, at this point, you can sense my confusion but yeah, I would actually watch this show again because the chemistry is cute and it had sweet moments. I even think that the ending is pretty sweet but it just took a weird amount of time to go there without anything happening. I think that’s it. I don’t know what else to say.

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Well... they tried

Honestly, there is a universe in which this show could have been great and I'm disappointed it failed to live up to its potential - I'm not all that surprised about it though.
After having watched the show and seeing a lot of people bemoaning how it should have just stayed true to the source material, I decided to read the manga and see for myself. And it's... fine. It's just fine.
Sure, certain things are handled better in the manga (I think we can all agree Kaneda's weird shrine should never have made it into the script), but over all I feel the script writers made a valiant effort to expand on the source material and give the characters more depth.
Padding out a 5 chapter manga enough for an 8 x 25 minute TV runtime is no easy task but I actually think the show pulls it off pretty well, at least as far as pacing is concerned. The acting, editing, and cinematography are all extremely solid as well.
Where the series falters, however, is just about everywhere else.
The additional characters are all either completely unnecessary or ruined in some way, new sub-plots often start promising but then quickly go downhill and never quite manage to actually contribute to any character growth for our main leads.
The show adds a lot of little details to the characters and environments, but for every loving addition that gives the characters depth and makes the story more compelling, there's another addition that swings way too far the other direction and just makes things odd. It's a constant see-saw of one step forward, one step back and it gets a bit tiring after a while.
All in all this story has a very good concept which it only partially manages to make use of, but given that the source material never lived up to the potential either I personally can't bring myself to be too mad about it.
There's still a fair few things to enjoy about the show and if the synopsis interests you I suggest giving it a shot. Don't expect too much though, or you're unfortunately likely to be disappointed.

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It was going relatively well... until the end

Ep1-6:
Very cute office romance between a new employee and a senior he has long admired. Watching them fall in love was, fight for each other & better themselves because of the other's influence was so precious. The episode 6 ending was really good & fxck Benji.

Ep7-8:
All over the place plot filled with miscommunication and misunderstandings and a quick cute, but still unsatisfying ending. Kinda wished it had ended with ep 6 since it seems like they didn't know how to end the series. The last 2 eps brought the show's quality down a lil but it was still an okay watch.

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радужно

Однозначно, мне понравилось. Но комментарий писать сначала не хотела, пока не увидела низкий рейтинг. Забавно. Я понимаю почему низкий. Видя жанр - все бегут на Огонь. И как-то стали забывать о стране где снималось, о менталитете и многом другом. раньше меня жутко злило такого рода сообщения, сейчас жутко веселит.
Да, дорама жанра однополой любви. Заметьте Любви. А следовательно о чувствах, отношении и да, главное - это не просто "пришел, увидел, победил". Это надо много времени, чтобы не получить осуждение, принятие, ну и взаимность. Япония, конечно в жанрах такая прыгающая: если эротика - то либо легкий намек (упс немного грудь показали), либо полный экшен, что сидишь и не вольно думаешь, что попал на запрещенный сайт. С этим жанром тоже так же. Вообще Япония с конца 21-ого года, очень радует работами. Актеры все проигрывают роли отлично, в сценариях нет такого дикого крика, когда кто-то из гг-ев кричит прося прощения или еще что. ))) Стало красиво и уютно. Герои стали больше эмоции проигрывать лицами. Здесь все прекрасно. От знакомства с культурой, графическим дизайном, отношением и дружбой. История влюбленности до точности начала отношений. До той нежной и взаимной любви. Все спокойно, мило и трогательно. Сэто Тосики был немного не привычен, так как видела его роли более импульсивные чем здесь. Найто Сюитиро. Ох уж этот харизматичный парень. прекрасен и у него большое будущее в мире кино.
Спокойная красивая и очень милая дорама. Для удовольствия и покоя стоит ее посмотреть. Но не ждите огнища. Это не здесь.

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