Time travel shenanigans, a bubbly and spunky FL going back to her past (college days, in case of Legally Romance), a second-chance at fixing her life, and of-course, discovering the ML has always loved her, but they never were together because of missed confessions and wrong timings. Precious friendships that last well into adulthood. Comedic moments that are absolute gold. Strong nostalgic vibes from the 'facebook era' :)

Kikazaru is a 2021 spring drama, and Animals is a 2022 summer drama, so similar vibes (camera language, color grading, wardrobe, etc)

The First ML in both dramas work in a less 'conventional' area of work (Kikazaru: chef & Animals: fashion photographer). Both face serious career questions regarding the future. The relationship with the FL forms the 'other end' of things the ML must consider. Both the lead couples have a playful, bickering, sibling-like vibe initially.

The central 'love triangle' appears to be working on a similar dynamic. The FL and the Second ML boss have a fun camaraderie, but what seems like attraction is actually just massive admiration, adoration and respect of the FL towards the Second ML, who in both dramas, is played by a more senior/ established actor (generally, both have mostly played First Male Leads).

Since both dramas are set in the design world (Kikazaru: furniture & fashion, Animals: cosmetics & fashion magazine), the backdrop is against a highly glamorized & fashionable, metropolitan Tokyo.

Remove the time-travel aspect of Legally Romance, and it's almost the same touching drama as I Don't Love You Yet (or it's many other remakes from Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, etc)

-Pair of best-buds, with a heart-warming friendship & a wholesome bond
-Leads approaching their 30's (28 to be exact)
-First confessions gone wrong & lots of bad timing, missed chances, etc.
-ML's silent, secret, unrequited love for the FL...
-Spunky, outspoken, independent & competent FLs....
-Annoying, gaslight-y ex-boyfriends who don't deserve a second chance,
-Disappearing/ MIA ex's who don't value the FL's identity, career aspirations, etc (which is a direct contrast to how supportive the ML's are, in comparison!)
-High-school/ College flashbacks, and a group of classmates which meets up regularly for batch-reunions!
-Ren's song for Yo, and Lu Xun's wish-bottle for Qian Wei ('nuff said!) IYKYK! :P

Basically, Exhibits proving Lu Xun & Ishida Ren as dream boyfriends! ^^ IDLYY is a must-watch for those who loved (& teared up a little) watching the story! :')

What do you get when decade-long best-friends find themselves as their only confidantes, know each other to the point of familiarity of being a de-facto family, yet nurse an electric sexual-tension when they aren't being deliberately oblivious to their feelings? Throw in:

1. A headstrong girl with an extremely passive & super considerate guy, both more stubborn than the other...along with
2. Missed timings, early confessions gone wrong, denial & serial-dating as defense mechanism,
3. Annoyingly clingy girlfriends, younger star-eyed almost-boyfriends, a d-bag of an ex (or two),
4. A contrast between one employed at a white-collar job & the other working in an artsy field..,
5. Career apprehensions,
6. Post-work fun beer-ritual,
7. Guys who love cooking up for their best friends,
8. Some sensual eyeshadow-applying/ make-up removing,
9. Pieces of art/ music as ultimate confessions
10. A year long break to 'figure out feelings'... &
11. Super cute & good-looking leads who like to chill in sweats & specs at home,
12. & heart-wrenching moments of unrequited & unspoken love, especially from the MLs...

And you basically get You Drive Me Crazy (short format- 4eps)/ I Don't Love You Yet (long format- 16eps)!

The 2 episodes of this documentary discusses every cut and variety of pork available in Korea, starting from village traditions, to city-habits! :')
Go ahead, watch this. Make Moo-Hak proud! <3 <3

-Kikazaru... is a similar story set-up as Cha-Cha-Cha, except the leads are the late 20's versions of the lead couple from the latter (who are in their mid-30's). The high-flying city girl, and the homely, earthy and grounded boy with opposing sets of values!
-The FLs land as a tad superficial; fashion and self-image obsessed. The MLs are pretty low-key in comparison, and often give our FLs wholesome critiques which causes them to evolve and not be so uptight.
-Plenty of found-family themes. The story-telling is paced like slice-of-life in both.
-The lead couples have a very youthful, playful dynamic. Their bickering sessions are fun to watch.
-FLs have a previous 'crush', they look up to and immensely respect, but they mistake familiarity and nostalgia with 'love'.
-The MLs are initially reserved in their affection. Both have bouts of jealousy, but FLs are very reassuring in their feelings towards the ML!!!
-Both FLs are extremely career-oriented & independent. Both face immense repercussions at work due to a small incident, at different points of the series.
-Both MLs suffer from heavy emotional trauma (although slightly different reasons). The outcomes are the same though, both retreat from their successful & regular full-time careers, and currently operate only as self-employed part-timers. Like quirky twins, Chief Hong has his 'off-days' and Shun keeps his food-truck open on 'weekdays and whenever it doesn't rain.'
-Both FLs help our MLs overcome their traumas. Likewise, the MLs cause them to become more likeable and soft eventually!
-The couple's 'dreams' clashes in both. However, they eventually can settle on a mutual middle-ground!

BONUS: The first episode epilogues in both the series is the EXACT same. While the leads look like they don't really get along, and are as different as chalk & cheese, the MLs have almost the exact same reaction to our FLs, when they realize the women aren't as superficial as they seem. That's the initial point of attraction between both couples... <3 <3

-Both MLs sort of want to avenge their dads, and they are both very successful in what they do.
-Intergenerational feud between a 'youngster' and a hateful, rich-old man.
-Revenge plot runs for years.
-Both MLs eventually team-up and find strength in their better halves.
-Both stories are modern-day versions of court-politics, where the wronged protagonist takes down the powerful bad guy, although IC plays into business-level politics with far greater number of players involved.
-The revenge is fulfilled at the very end, with the comeuppance being extremely satisfactory.

-Whoever is watching Nevertheless for Han So-Hee, must check out WWDS. The FL (Hamabe Minami) is quite literally her twin from Japan. They are also pretty-much styled with the same haircut. The characterizations of the two young-women land similar too.
-Those who are a fan of the 'cinematic' camera language of Nevertheless, must check out WWDS. Very eerie shots, creepy & uncomfortable close-ups of faces. Both actresses have plenty of close-up angles of their eyes (as they engage in mental-gymnastics). Those scenes are pretty inter-changeable imo.
-There is an air of 'nostalgia' to the cinematography. Very deliberate color-grading.
-There is a lot 'name' significance and history around the name of the leading ladies. Nabi= butterflies. Sakura= cherry blossom flowers.
-Infact, the first point of attraction for the boys towards their leading-ladies, IS the significance of their respective names. Jae-Eon loves his butterflies, and Tsubaki loves his sakuras.
-While Jae-Eon and Na-bi are art-school majors, Tsubaki & Sakura are traditional sweet-makers. You'll see beautiful hands, make beautiful works of art. <3
-Really messed-up dynamics between the leading-couple. The attraction and forbidden sexual-tension is the driving-force between the two couples.
-They look stunning together, but are SO wrong for each other. Unless the 4 of them can heal from their respective emotional traumas.
-The leads are the same age (young 20-somethings) making really questionable choices in life.
-Both the stories are told from the PoV of our protagonist-ladies. While intentions of both their male-counterparts are kept ambiguous. You will question the MLs till the very end, right along with our lovely heroines.
-Intriguing MONOLOGUES.
-'Psychological' angle of both the stories are milked HARD.
-Low-key workplace/ industry sexism & double-standards by the truckload.
-Both girls seem to suffer from some emotional-trauma/ blockage that prevents them from being the best artists that they actually have the potential to be.
-Both stories are based on illustrated originals: Nevertheless from a webtoon & WWDS from a manga.

-Star-crossed lovers
-Oh Man Seok's character again tries to separate the said star-crossed lovers, by playing a vile, creepy, villainous govt. agent all over again.
-A+ level of acting, will spot some veterans in both the shows.
-Accented/ Dialect Korean: YoM (Jeolla Satoori) versus CLoY (NK accent). Sounds *very* different from the Dialect spoken in Seoul (90% of k-dramas)
-Vintage fashion!!! <3 <3
-Amazing Soundtrack!
-Backdrop of Military Dictatorship: YoM (during the 80's in South Korea) and CLoY (present day, in North Korea). So lots of police patrolling, small-town/ semi-urban settings, curfew, random 'kidnappings' by govt. agents, etc.
-The MLs have a political/ arranged marriage planned for (aka, has a 'fiancée') but not interested in her at all.
-The FLs are pretty much 'stuck' and they wish to get out of the situation/ country: YoM (the FL wishes to leave SK to study abroad for Germany, but can't) & CLoY (FL is stuck in NK trying to get back home to SK)
-Both 'romances' have a tacit understanding that their togetherness is only a matter of time before they have to be separated (angst... yes)
-Overall vibe of CLoY is rom-com with angsty, serious melo in parts, whereas YoM is a melo sprinkled with sweet, vintage romance. Lands differently, but overall... very similar vibes.
-While CLoY has Seri's ducklings (the 4 adorable NK soldiers)... YoM has the two baby-brothers, and the two nice soldiers who bring in the cute :D

Both have FLs with disabilities who have been living their lives on their own. A chanced meeting with our MLs is where our stories start. Repeated encounters with the MLs wanting to 'help' the FLs, have both the couples falling in love. The leads in both the stories are broken on a certain level, and they find new purpose through their relationships. Both stories see the relationships fade out eventually, and the FLs overcome their disabilities eventually, to different capacities.
However Always is more action/ plot- heavy, whereas Josee is more somber, and quietly philosophical. Also, both stories have Japanese counterparts (Always is the original, whereas Josee is the remake of a japanese movie of the same name)
Ps. It's fun to find similar scenes in both movies! :D