I've been a bit surprised by the lack of interest or love for this show, but then again I guess I shouldn't be. It doesn't give us any of the tropes that we get fed in other Asian rom coms - there's no "accidentally" falling into his arms, there's no getting drunk and piggy-backed home, there's not even any reaching out to wipe food sensually from her mouth. So what do we get? We get four highly quirky people living in a shared house. They sort of function in society but navigating the real world and its expectations of them is a struggle. We get varying details of their back stories, not a lot but enough to empathise with them. The FL and ML are solid in their portrayals of two misfits - I especially enjoyed the ML, his expressions and body language were spot on. The FL is over the top in many ways, but this is the Japanese way - it is a live-action take on very normal behaviour in the anime world. The love dynamics between the four characters is fun to watch, and the show is so short and snappy so you get to enjoy the brief ride without it getting too absurd or dull.

I was even more surprised with some of the reviewers commenting on how badly the story is resolved, because I totally disagree - I watched four people progress by the end of it and there was definitely a resolution. Have we become so trained by K and C dramas to expect the beautiful confession, the happy tears, the story book wedding, the glossy magazine happily ever after? Or worse, are we so passive as viewers now that we need the message for a show to be spoon-fed to us as some sort monologue by the lead actors themselves? If this is what you're after, then okay this show is absolutely not for you. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy and want good HEAs too but more and more I've been seeking out Japanese shows to balance this out a bit.

Because there is a nice romantic story here. There is a really compelling second lead, and not a love triangle, but a four way one even! And there is even a happy ending. But just like the weird and wonderful people that this show is about, this story is quite a bit weird and pretty darn wonderful. I enjoyed it immensely. Watch it so that you can argue with me - I look forward to it! :P