Eye Love You (2024)

Good but not great but the mix of cultures carries it

8/10 is my rating. This is a 2024 Japanese Supernatural Romantic Comedy drama with 10, -45 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review

Synopsis

Yuri Motomiya (Fumi Nikaido) does not know why an accident years ago gave her a unique telepathic ability. Being able to read the thoughts of others is both a blessing and a curse. She has learned how to use the thoughts she hears to help people. However, she finds it impossible to fall in love with anyone as she inevitably hears unkind thoughts. At 30 she is beautiful and successful as a CEO of her own company. Yoon Tae-O (Chae Jong-Hyeop) is moonlighting as a delivery man while studying to be a biologist. He has a very outgoing and bright personality and is able to break through Motomiya”s social introversion. Because Tae O speaks Japanese as a second language, all his internal thoughts are in Korean. Since Motomiya cannot speak Korean, he is the first person she is unable to read. Which is only part of the reason she is attracted to him. Things chill down when 26 year old Tae O starts an internship at Motomiya’s company. Her co-owner has a strict no mixing business with personal life rule and now Tae O is Motomiya‘s subordinate. She tries to push him to a distance but fate and love have other plans for them.

Review

It is a cute, predictable romantic drama with the cross cultural element adding some additional intrigue. I would watch it again if it was on and would recommend it if someone was looking for a relatively simple plot. It is good and ends happy.

Spoilers

There were a lot of problems with the story. Why and how exactly did she gain the ability tipo hear thoughts? Yes she almost drown but a lot of people nearly drown yet do not develop a supernatural ability. How did her father become so seeverely paralyzed? We know he saved her and was in a coma but neither of those things alone explain his paralysis.why is she a CEO but her friend and partner would be able to fire her.

Two break ups? Really? I dislike one breakup but two was really ridiculous. I seriously dislike the I cannot be with you because someone likes me and I do not want to hurt them trope. If the other person waited until someone else liked you to declare their feelings how deep and genuine are those feelings? In this case he was afraid she would reject him but new guy wasn’t. So that break up was ridiculous. Then they find out some book says if she stays with him he might die and they all buy it? Why? How? It did not even make logical sense they would all believe what it said in a picture book.

I found it interesting how each had to learn aspects of each other’s culture and thought it was heart warming she made an effort to learn Korean.

#EyeLoveYou #YuriMotomiya #ChaeJongHyeop

Leia Mais

someone will love you for who you are, quirks and all

I don't know if I've watched any other collaborations between countries aside from this one. If I have, it's not coming to mind, so I will assume this is my first one. I liked it. The story was enjoyable, the leads were cute together, and this series made me really hungry. I liked seeing the sharing of culture and language. Also, I am a huge otter fan, too...very relatable.

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● SHORT REVIEW
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LIKES:
--I enjoyed the chemistry and cuteness of the main couple
--The second male lead was also very likable. Genuinely good guy. Adorable how easily he gets drunk
--The dynamic between Mahiro the chef and Gaku the researcher guy was fun and cute to watch as they developed.
-I enjoyed the cinematography of the bubbles and the rooftop scenes.


DISLIKES:
--For a researcher, I felt like the professor's concern for Tae Oh lacked any real scientific foundation. Maybe it's the illogical part of a parent's fear kicking in, but wanting to break up a couple based on just a children's book and one person's experience is extreme for me.
--Not enough otters

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● IN-DEPT REVIEW
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[ --STORY/PLOT-- ]

There was a lot of things in this series that I enjoyed and found really cute, otters aside. Our female lead gets hangry whenever she is hungry, which I found cute. It was also cute when our male lead was internally deciding if she was angry with him or not when snapped at him due to being hungry. Our male lead's thoughts and behavior was very cute in general. Very golden retriever energy. I enjoyed the pair's chemistry. From him sharing his food suggestions to their interactions, it was all very cute. The second male lead who got drunk super easily was also cute and funny. I loved the dynamic between the baker and the researcher guy.

Story-wise, my only real criticism is that plot with the storybook. While I understand that parents worry about their kids and that Tae Oh is like a son to the professor, the professor trying to break up the couple due to a storybook is very unlikely/unrealistic behavior. Idk, I guess I just feel like he's a researcher and would want more scientific evidence than one person's experience.

Other than that, I think everything else was either fine or cute. I saw a lot of criticism about the female lead's character but I didn't think she was frustrating at all. Yes, she is hesitant, shy, awkward, indecisive but it didn't really annoy me. A lot of the time, I understood her concerns. Plus, when you have an ability like hers to read mines upon eye contact, it can be scary. It's already scary enough to put your heart out there without the ability, reading thoughts makes it harder. And much more when suddenly, you can't read someone's thoughts because he's thinking in another language. Personally, female lead was very cute and considerate.

[ --ACTING/CAST-- ]

So the over-the-top anime dramatic acting style in romcom is actually pretty common in Japanese series, but it's also present in other countries' romcoms too. Some people like it and some people don't. I don't mind it, but maybe because I am use to seeing it. I don't look at that and think it's bad acting. That's usually a director's choice, usually for dramatics or comedy. So with that said, I very much enjoy the lead actors. They were both very cute. Both also very pretty people. I also enjoyed their chemistry and interactions. The supporting actors also did a good job.


[ --MUSIC/OST-- ]

Not sure if there were other songs, but the only song that I remember is "Omoinotake", which I liked. There really wasn't any scene where I felt any of the music was out of place or anything like that so the only thing I can really say is that there is at least one song that stood out to me, which I just mentioned. Is it something I would add to my own playlist though, not really.

[ --REWATCH VALUE-- ]

I wouldn't rewatch the entire series but I would probably watch like the few beginning episodes again for their cute interactions.

[ --FINAL THOUGHTS-- ]

I hope to see more collaborative works in the future and there may be some already out there I need to check out. I came in not really knowing what to expect and while it didn't blow me away, I still enjoyed the journey. I would say to give this a try. You may like it, you may not. I fall into the group that liked it. Overall, very cute, very funny, very sincere.

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● NOTE
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I'll always conclude my review by saying that ratings and reviews is not really a indicator of whether you may enjoy something. We all have different criteria and standards. Don't let a bad rating, review, or comment discourage you from watching something. My advice will always be to give something a chance if the premise interests you, and only use the ratings/reviews to determine priority if you have a list, or if you're deciding if you want to continue it due to time limitations.

♥ Thanks for reading my review! Feel free to comment or hit me up if you want to discuss anything ♥

Leia Mais

Cute premise, uncomfortable execution

Contains slight spoilers. The premise sounded genuinely adorable, and at first it kind of was. The first couple episodes focus a lot on food and how the FL gets super hangry but always calms down after eating. FL and ML meet after he, a food delivery guy, leaves a note for her about where to get good bibimbap. ML is the ultimate golden retriever who seems like he's just genuinely really excited to share Korean food with someone and it's honestly kind of sweet. Sadly, though, it doesn't last. After the first couple episodes they never mention FL's hangry-ness again, so it just feels like a waste of time when the characters we spent time getting to know don't feel like they stuck around. The story becomes less about food and more about FL stressing over things that really don't warrant stressing over. It's kind of frustrating to watch this FL flounder and flip-flop over the most minor things when she has the most perfect man in the world throwing himself at her over and over again. There comes a point where ML makes a comment to her that he didn't want to be led on anymore, and I honestly found myself rooting for him in that moment. Of course he caved the second FL said she was interested in him, so it didn't feel earned at all. None of this even considers the uncomfortably fetishistic portrayal of the ML. Again, the first few episodes kept it under control, where he had insane golden retriever vibes but still seemed human enough- if a bit overly childish. Very quickly ML devolves into a near brainless NPC that thinks nothing but "gwiyeowo" and "yeppeo" over and over and over and OVER AGAIN. I understand wanting to keep the korean simple so that the viewer could get a general sense of what he was thinking, but it was so unnatural. ML feels more like a pet or a satirical caricature than a human man and it just isn't fun to watch. The whole time I was watching I kept thinking that whatever they were paying that guy, it wasn't nearly enough.

Leia Mais

Leads saved the show

I had so much expectation for this because it’s a Japan-Korean collaboration but the story just fail to deliver. My biggest issue with the story is how the big challenge to overcome revolve around the fate of the picture book. To me, it just doesn’t make sense why everyone is so concerned about the main lead becoming the fate as written in the book. It can just simply be brushed off as a coincidence that some other girl with the same power met with misfortunes. Everyone life path is different, why would the characters assume that same thing would happen to the main lead?? If the story was some mystic guru foretelling the main FL that she will have misfortune happen to her bf, I would take the main challenge more seriously.. and also the plot didn’t explain how the old professor link the picture book story to the Tae-o and Yuri and assume for the worst?? I find it hard to believe he can make the far association. And in the end, the reveal that the Korean girl’s bf died because of a childhood condition rather than the girl’s power felt so underwhelming. It felt like everyone is making a molehill out of a mountain. The chocolatier relationship with the researcher was also unnecessary imo.

The only plus to this is the main leads. They are so cute!!! And yea I love their interactions and chemistry. Though I like the other male character who like the FL as he was really nice and not an asshole but I felt he gave up too easily like as if he don’t even like her… overall it’s just a show with a lot of plot hole saved by the leads.

Leia Mais

Sweet fluffy romcom, plagued with inconsistencies...

I could've really loved this drama-- I mean, I was ALL in after I watched the 1st episode. Adorable characters, the biggest cinammon roll ML after a long while and a blooming romance I was totally looking forward to.

But what started as a sweet little romantic-comedy eventually became a pile of cliches I didn't enjoy and the FL's wavering, indecisive and stupidly frustrating character was unfortunately the perpetrator of all that.

I don't like hating on FL characters and calling them the cause of all problems in a drama, but this time? I'm sorry but I can't think of any other reason why my enjoyment for this show plummeted during the 2nd half. Again, I watched the show over 3 months so maybe that could also be a huge influence. But mostly, the FL is a mother teresa/selfless-type character who made me feel like I was watching a romcom from 2010 that didn't age well. That, and all the dumb conflicts they pushed in towards the end that I could care less about.

That being said, I did like the acting from everyone in the cast. Chae Jong Hyeop was absolutely adorable, and I'm still going to wait until he's in something that I will consistently like to the end. I know Nikaido Fumi's a great actress, but the role she plays here doesn't do her acting justice and it's hard to appreciate her in this drama, although she probably gave her best into it. Their chemistry was actually really cute, in spite of the language barrier. The OST's nice, as I usually expect from J-dramas.

In conclusion, a true disappointment. I think the writing's the only thing you can blame for the downfall of this drama. Seriously, they had everything a romcom could ever need to be great-- but oh well.

Leia Mais

golden retriever korean boyfriend, there i said it.

+Reasonable plot, no loose end-couples. Light and funny scenes. Not a lot of unnecessary lines. All of the casts are shining in their own ways, taichi nakagawa is shining in his cynical tsundere CFO character, as well all the supporting charas. Cultural differences as plot device in a natural way (yuri being confused when taeoh called her nuna, etc)
-very quick timeline. The mind-reading ability is not used to the fullest (not really essential to the plot). Also i feel like Taeoh manhandled Hanaoka quiet a lot (shoving his shoulders, grabbing his hand)... there are scenes where he got bodily contact with Hanaoka and it feels so... idk maybe im overthinking. also I don't like how passive yuri was... every pivotal moments she decided to not do anything about it and making others around her do the work to nudge her to the right direction. so fucking frustrating.

Leia Mais

It's not upto my expectations. Just Korean cliche romance.

This drama attempts to copy cliche romantic scenes in Korean shows. From the beginning I couldn't help but cringe over the story telling and presentation. I have watched few shows in which the FL starred, before. Her acting was really good in those. But, in Eye Love you, her facial expressions and reactions don't suit the scenes. From watching her scenes with Jae Jong Hyeop alone, you can say that he would have felt confused while filming, because it did confuse me as a viewer. I think, it's the cause of poor writing and the director misused Ms. Fumi's potential as an actress. I watch Japanese shows a lot. But, I have never felt confused watching a dorama, before. The plot is done poorly, although it could have done much better. The plot looks outdated to me as it attempts to copy Korean fantasy dramas we've been seeing for years. I tried to drop it many times, but decided to finish it because of the hype. The truth is that the hype is all about Jae Jong Hyeop and his chemistry with the female lead. I think they share good chemistry off the screen than on the drama. Their chemistry had an impact only at the end of the show, for me. The last episode is the best, for me, as their mutual feelings and emotions are portrayed in a deeper sense. Until then, it's a mess. You would only get to feel their chemistry in the last Ep. I've see many people praising it a lot, which is the reason why I watched it. But, there's nothing more to expect than the novelty in the presence of a Korean person as the protagonist. However, this show will definitely make you feel peaceful and somewhat calm as the atmosphere is bright and lively. Not only the FL's acting was off, but also other casts too. It's clearly because of an attempt to imitate Korean drama. There's a cultural clash that it didn't suit the Japanese culture and the traditional style of the shows there. I managed to complete it. Overall, it's not really that bad.

Leia Mais

Wasted Chae Jong Hyeop performance

I'm on episode 6.

Caveats:
I'm fine with a sappy romance, and I know that complications are part of the deal with any rom-com. I'm also OK with fantasy thrown in. And even though CJH is doing his sweet puppy thing, I'm very OK with it!

However:
As much as I love CJH, the FL irritated me to no end. Once again, I'm left wondering why a Green Flag ML, has any interest in the FL. It's fine that she's conflicted and confused, but there has to be a sense of humor, or intelligence, or creativity, or genuine sweetness for me to believe that the ML would overlook her cold, push-me, pull-you behavior. I literally skip through her scenes, they're so tedious.

Furthermore:
I've never seen Nikaido Fumi in anything, so I don't know what she's capable of as an actor, but the character is written very badly. How can a 30 year old women (albeit a traumatized one), not be able to see that her behavior is hurtful? I get not being mature or experienced enough to be in a healthy relationship. But for someone who is so "tuned in" to other people's feelings, her treatment of the ML is rotten.

Conclusions:
I'll skip my way to the end for CJH, and the supporting actors, who I like.
I'm really frustrated with writers who think that a woman who is pretty and can cry sweetly is a fully dimensional character. As a woman, it makes me cranky.
As an enthusiastic Kdrama fan, I enjoyed hearing both Korean and Japanese in this show, and I'd like to see more crossover casting.

Leia Mais