Satoshi Onoe is a reporter for the weekly gossip magazine “Dash!” The magazine is a hit among readers, as it often contains juicy details about the latest celebrity scandals, and sells well as a result. Its success is largely down to its so-called stakeout crews – teams of journalists and photographers who follow celebrities in the hope of catching them getting up to no good.
But one day, the magazine’s senior staff decided to reshuffle the stakeout teams – and pair Satoshi Onoe with the photographer Motoharu Kaburagi. Satoshi Onoe secretly resents Motoharu Kaburagi, and thinks of him as a rival, of sorts. Furthermore, while Satoshi Onoe prides himself on his writing skills and his sense of ethics, Motoharu Kaburagi is very different. The photographer has poor manners and takes a haphazard approach to work. The two clash as they begin their joint assignments, resentful that they have to work together. But as they try to catch the ultimate scoop, they unexpectedly begin to develop feelings for one another. Could an unlikely workplace romance be in the cards for them?
This drama was based on a manga series of the same name that was written by Isaku Natsume and first published in 2019.
– Viki summary
This was another show that I was interested in but did not really have any expectations for. I had been seeing the manga around on the internet a couple years ago and was recommended it constantly whenever I would browse RightStuf Anime before they shut down and joined teams with Crunchy Roll. I would simply ignore the recommendation because of the big ol’ “Explicit Content” warning on the front cover lol. If you’re a regular reader of my blog then you already know that I am a complete wimp when it comes to sexy time on screen and on the page. But I figured that since the live action was airing on Viki that maybe it wouldn’t be that explicit. And I was correct. Yay! Lol, so let’s get into this review.
Characters
Our two main characters are Onoe and Kaburagi. Onoe is literally a puppy that just wants to do well at his job while seeing the good in people. Unfortunately, him constantly trying to see the good in people sometimes got him into some sticky situations or left him feeling betrayed by people he shouldn’t have trusted. I liked Onoe, but I did wish he was a little tougher and not so trusting all the time. He’s the type where he can be mad at you, but still talk to you and want to please you. This is the opposite of me, so I found myself wishing he could be a little bit firmer at expressing his emotions so that he wouldn’t seem like such a pushover.
Kaburagi was the jaded, mean, yet aloof one. I really had to warm up to him because I did not like him at first. He just seemed really mean and careless. And while it turned out that he actually cared very much for Onoe, I just don’t care for how he went about expressing that. My feelings for him were softer by the end of the series, but it sure took a while to get there. Thankfully the series is only 8 episodes.
Actors
Onoe was played by Keito Kimura who is a dancer in boy group called The Fantastics (from Exile Tribe). This is the same group as the actor from My Beautiful Man. I kind of like the group. Their songs are often fun and upbeat and I like how everyone in the group is not a singer or rapper. Some are just dancers and that’s it. Very different from what we have here in the U.S., and also different from the groups coming out of South Korea where everyone is a singer or rapper of some sort.
I think this guy did a good job at playing his character and I would like to see him in more things. He did well at showcasing a character that wears their emotions on their sleeve and feels things very deeply and often openly.
Kaburagi is played by Yamanaka Jyutaro who is also in a Japanese boy group. I think the name of the group is called Milk??? Which is……a very…. interesting name, to say the least. I’ve only ever listened to one of their songs and it wasn’t my cup of tea so I don’t have anything to say about that. As for his acting, he did very well. If he acted well enough to make me not like his character, then he did a good job lol.
I hesitate to call his character a tsundere, even though I guess he could fit that description. He just seemed very one-track minded and only cared about getting his journalist story no matter the cost, even if it is a story that could ruin someone’s reputation. This is also why Onoe and Kaburagi clash in the beginning because Onoe doesn’t like producing stories that hurt people. But Kaburagi is more cold in the way he sees his job and takes all personal feelings out of it. I think Yamanaka Jyutaro did a good job at portraying this.
Story
The story was easy to follow even though the episodes had an “episodic feel” to them. And by that, I mean, for each episode there was a new scoop for our leads to try and capture as journalists. I also like how the series delved into some of the more serious topics in regards to journalism, although nothing was so emotionally heavy that it was hard to watch.
The intimate scenes were just enough for me. Super sweet and meaningful but still also sexy. This was a series where I did not shrink up in embarrassment or cover my eyes during the intimate scenes. I think every single scene was respectfully done. It respected the actors by not turning the series into an adult film and it respected the viewer in regards to showing the development of the romance between the two main characters that was believable while not relying solely on physical intimacy.
There were moments that were funny where I genuinely laughed out loud, but there were some moments that I didn’t like either. For instance, as I mentioned above, it took me a while to warm up to Kaburagi. I didn’t really like his character in the first few episodes. However, I was rooting for our couple by the end.
Locations/Scenery
I always really enjoy seeing the scenery in Japan when I watch series. I feel the same with manga and anime as well. The scenery is a major reason of why I even want to visit Japan. The country is just so drastically different than my own country so no matter what, I will probably always be a fan of the filming locations in Japanese dramas – mostly when the filming is outdoors.
Music
The music was catchy and fun although it wasn’t that memorable. I believe the two leads are performers on the soundtrack. I just don’t know what songs.
Final Thoughts
Over all, this was a cute show with a decent slice-of-life storyline. When it comes to my manga, slice-of-life is actually my go-to and I enjoy seeing them being made into live-actions.
I recommend this series to anyone looking for something that is well-balanced. I can see myself watching this again. I rate this a 9 out of 10 stars and that’s only because some of the episodes moved quite slow and left me wishing more would happen.
Now that I’ve see the show, it has made me want to read the manga now. I’ll for sure be checking this manga out.
