Bungaku Shojo (Book Girl) - Jdrama Review

 

8 episodes | Aired: 2018 | Adaptation: webcomic by Mayaka Nakano,

The Story || Tsukushiro (Aoi Morikawa) is a 26 year-old who works as a book editor. She has no experience in real love, instead she focuses her love on reading books. Her dreams come true when she is assigned to be a supervising editor for her favorite author, Kagaya (Yu Shirota). He might be a genius writer, but can be a jerk to work with. He's been on a writer's slump and his new work aren't selling well. Tsukushiro encourages him to write romance novels again, but he refuses for unknown reasons. Kagaya enjoys teasing her because of her naivety. But Tsukushiro's feelings for him becomes complicated.

 

Thoughts || I was in the mood to watch a nice fluff romance drama to make me forget the horrible year that I'm living in. So, I checked this one out. It turns out, pretty much what I expected. A very typical romance story with a lot of shoujo manga tropes, like kabe-dons, guy saves girl from falling on her face, and "oh, you cut your finger, let me suck on it," (please don't do this that's unsanitary!). I don't mind these tropes, as long as they keep the romance spicy and interesting. The spiciness of the romance is mild, which I'm disappointed. In scenes where Tsukushiro daydreams about: "what if I was alone with kagaya," or when she sees him with another woman: "what are they doing behind closed doors?" Is this is supposed to be sexy? Then, why am I laughing at it because it's so cringey and cheesy. Maybe it's just me, I don't know.

One thing I do like was that when they finally reveal Kagaya's past about his first love interest, his muse, I did find their relationship very sweet and enduring. I really wanted to know more of what happened to her. But this a short series, there's not enough time to develop the characters. It abruptly ends and quickly wrap up the whole story. I'm like: Huh? it's missing something. In conclusion, I am utterly disappointed.   

It's too bad it's not a normal full dorama. Maybe, it could of had potential. I guess, it's fine as a fast-food romance drama. But I just want a little more substance.   

 

(I did like her though).  Akari Mishima as Yako Koga