Sugar Dog Life is a Japanese BL series about a police officer, a convenience store worker, and their ambiguous relationship. The main character is a university student who works a part-time job. He meets the friendly neighbourhood cop and notices his poor diet. After getting to know each other, they start eating homemade meals together. The protagonist develops a secret crush, but he suspects his feelings are not reciprocated.
With vibrant visuals and playful exchanges, Sugar Dog Life leaves a positive impression early on. The leads have sweet personalities and share adorable moments. After a promising start, the story slows down and loses its previous momentum. As the couple's ambiguous relationship develops, I grow frustrated with the vagueness between friendship and romance. This cute series still has its charms, but I view it as a middle-of-the-road BL drama.
Sugar Dog Life Summary
Title:
シュガードッグライフ
Series Info:
Japan (2024)
Genre:
Romantic comedy
About:
Sugar Dog Life is a cute and sweet BL drama.
Plot
Isumi is a 20-year-old university student who has joined the school's cooking club with his friends Yohei and Shoji. Since he is handsome and a talented chef, the other club members all admire him. After a party, Isumi is pretty drunk as he walks home. He encounters Amasawa, a 30-year-old police officer. A concerned Amasawa asks to see Isumi's ID to verify he isn't an underage drinker. Afterwards, Amasawa accompanies Isumi to ensure he arrives home safely.
Isumi works a part-time job at a convenience store. During his shift, he's surprised to see Amasawa, the same neighbourhood cop he met last night. Amasawa is interested in buying lunch at the convenience store and asks Isumi for recommendations. Isumi seems reluctant to talk to the police officer who interrogated him yesterday. However, Amasawa maintains a cheerful demeanour. Eventually, Isumi picks a few items from the shelves and helps him assemble a healthy meal.
Amasawa keeps visiting the convenience store to buy food. Each time, he asks Isumi for product recommendations. Although Isumi is initially annoyed, he notices Amasawa's tendency to pick unhealthy foods from the store. During the cooking class, Isumi made an extra lunchbox. He wants to give it to Amasawa so that he can try more nutritious foods. The police officer is touched by his gesture. As they talk, Amasawa invites Isumi to visit his apartment and cook dinner.
Amasawa is single and lives alone in his apartment. From the state of his empty kitchen, Isumi can tell that Amasawa has no culinary experience. Using limited ingredients, Isumi still makes an impressive dinner for Amasawa, who is overjoyed to eat something so delicious. Isumi feels flattered by his sincere praise. After exchanging contact information, Amasawa regularly invites Isumi to hang out at his apartment. They start enjoying homemade meals together.
Despite their age gap and different backgrounds, Isumi and Amasawa become unexpected friends. As they spend time together, Isumi admires Amasawa's kindness toward everyone. The friendly neighbourhood cop enjoys helping people and protecting the community. Isumi slowly develops romantic feelings for his new friend. Even though he has a secret crush, Isumi thinks Amasawa doesn't reciprocate these feelings. He can't tell for sure since Amasawa often flirts with him. The line between friendship and romance becomes blurred.
Sugar Dog Life Cast
Characters
Isumi
Koki Tanaka (田中洸希)
Isumi is a 20-year-old university student and a member of the school's cooking club. He works a part-time job at the convenience store. Isumi is a talented chef who volunteers to cook delicious homemade meals for Amasawa. As their friendship strengthens, Isumi develops a secret crush on the police officer.
Koki Tanaka
Koki Tanaka (田中洸希) is a Japanese actor. He is born on February 27, 2003. His first BL leading role is the 2024 drama, Sugar Dog Life. He has a supporting role in the 2023 series, One Room Angel.
Amasawa
Hideya Tawada (多和田秀弥)
Amasawa is a 30-year-old police officer who recently transferred to a new precinct. He is single and lives alone in an apartment. Amasawa is hopelessly bad at cooking, so he always buys lunch at Isumi's convenience store. After becoming friends, Amasawa invites Isumi to his apartment to enjoy meals together.
Hideya Tawada
Hideya Tawada (多和田秀弥) is a Japanese actor. He is born on November 5, 1993. His first BL project is the 2017 movie, Silhouette of Your Voice. He is the star of the 2024 drama, Sugar Dog Life.
Supporting Cast
Yohei
Souta Uemura (植村颯太)
Shoji
Raiku (楽駆)
Toyoshima
Noa Kita (喜多乃愛)
Isumi's coworker
Tomohiro Tamura (田村智浩)
Isumi's dad
Toshiki Kashu (賀集利樹)
Cast Highlights
Koki Tanaka
Isumi's actor has a supporting role in the 2023 Japanese series One Room Angel.
Hideya Tawada
Amasawa's actor is the lead of the 2017 Japanese BL movie Silhouette of Your Voice. He portrays a character with hearing impairment.
Souta Uemura
Yohei's actor has a supporting role in the 2023 BL series, Naked Dining. He also appears in the 2023 movie, Takumi-kun Series 6.
Raiku
Shoji's actor is the lead of the 2020 Japanese BL drama, Life~Love on the Line.
Sugar Dog Life Review
Review
Drama Review Score: 7.5
Sugar Dog Life has a strong start. The first few episodes introduce the two protagonists, an earnest police officer and an adorable convenience store worker. They form an unexpected friendship based on many cute, lighthearted interactions. The series balances sweetness with playfulness, achieving the perfect tone for a romantic comedy. In addition, the warm colours and vibrant visuals add to the cheerful atmosphere. My happiness soars as I watch Sugar Dog Life, which maintains its momentum for a while.
The main characters are sweethearts who showcase their precious personalities in various scenes. In one episode, Isumi plans a party and works hard to prepare a fancy birthday cake. In another moment, Amasawa cooks a meal and sprinkles sugar on the food, joking that it needs a touch of love. I smile warmly at all their kind gestures and oddly endearing quirks. Both are such nice guys that I want to root for them, especially as a couple. They get along, support each other, and share similar values. Despite their different backgrounds and a notable age gap, they seem compatible.
Around Episode 4, the series begins to stall. Isumi develops a secret crush, but he doesn't believe his feelings are reciprocated. The story's pacing slows down as he agonizes over his unrequited love. Isumi and Amasawa are still bonding, but only by a little. They must stay in the friend zone instead of exploring their relationship adventurously. While not every couple needs to get together quickly, there's a long wait before this romance escalates. The lack of progress stifles my enthusiasm, and I don't feel as emotionally invested in Sugar Dog Life as before.
Amasawa hovers between subtle flirtation and just friendliness. You may interpret his behaviour romantically or platonically, and the series leaves enough ambiguity to keep you guessing either way. It gets harder to understand him in later episodes. Amasawa goes on a date with Isumi, holds his hand, and cuddles in bed. These gestures appear so intimate that he should've discovered his feelings earlier. As a viewer, I'm frustrated that he can't distinguish between friendship and romance. He seems out of touch for not realizing how his actions come across.
Sugar Dog Life enjoys attractive cinematography with polished production values. The cameras love Isumi's actor (Koki Tanaka) and capture his telegenic face in gorgeous close-up shots. The story is told from his character's perspective, giving him many opportunities to display his range. From comedic moments to dramatic exchanges, Koki handles the material confidently. While his costar (Hideya Tawada) seems decent, Amasawa's role is one-note. He always smiles pleasantly, but that's the core of his performance. I wanted to see him in more challenging scenes.
After tiptoeing around the romance forever, Sugar Dog Life nudges forward in the finale. Even then, the last episode still dwells on Amasawa's indecision. "Can you give me more time?" Well, no! You had the whole series to think about your feelings. He's like a procrastinating student who asks his teacher to extend the deadline for an overdue assignment. Although the story ends happily, it has stretched the relationship drama for too long. I lost my earlier enthusiasm for Sugar Dog Life and treat it as another pleasantly middle-of-the-road series in the BL genre.
Summary
Sweet story
Sugar Dog Life begins energetically, balancing sweetness and playfulness in many cute exchanges. The story stretches the relationship drama and loses momentum in the later episodes.
Ambiguous romance
Both leads are sweethearts who seem compatible based on their sincere personalities. As their ambiguous relationship stalls, they frustrate me with the vagueness between friendship and romance.
Charming acting
Isumi's actor (Koki Tanaka) looks highly telegenic and engages me with his charming performance. His costar (Hideya Tawada) has a more limiting role that doesn't showcase his range.
Happy ending
Sugar Dog Life has a happy ending as Isumi and Amasawa finally confront their feelings. The story ends positively, but Amasawa's indecision stretches the romantic tension past its prime.
Vibrant artistry
The series offers polished cinematography with warm colours and bright visuals. The vibrant artistry contributes to the story's cheerful atmosphere.
75%
Sugar Dog Life offers a sweet love story with charming characters and attractive visuals. The series begins strongly, but the later episodes falter because the ambiguous romance keeps stalling.
Sugar Dog Life Episodes
Episode Guide
- Start Date August 4, 2024
- End Date September 29, 2024
- Episodes 9 episodes
- Episode Length 22 minutes
Sugar Dog Life has a total of 9 episodes. Each episode is around 22 minutes long. It is a medium-length BL drama, and you can finish the entire series in under 4 hours. Sugar Dog Life started on August 4, 2024 and ended its last episode on September 29, 2024.
Sugar Dog Life is adapted from a Japanese manga. The original work is made by Yoriko (依子).
Sugar Dog Life Information
Links
- Instagram Sugar Dog Life Instagram
- MyDramaList Sugar Dog Life MyDramaList
- Twitter Sugar Dog Life Twitter
- Website Sugar Dog Life website
- Wikipedia Sugar Dog Life Wikipedia
- Wikipedia シュガードッグライフ Wikipedia
Creator
Yoriko (依子) is a Japanese artist whose manga was adapted into the 2024 live-action BL drama, Sugar Dog Life.
Director
Honda Ryuichi (本田隆一) is a Japanese director. His BL projects include the 2024 series Sugar Dog Life, which he co-directed with Kozue Sasaki (佐々木梢) and Takahiro Ouichi (大内隆弘). He also worked on the 2024 sequel of A Man Who Defies the World of BL 3.
You're back!!! It's been so long since we heard from you, but the wait is over. Welcome back home, I hope everything is going well now, we've missed you so much all this time!!!!