Although I Love You and You – Series Review & Episode Guide

Sakae is a small restaurant owner who runs the business by himself. He inherited Tamae from his late mother. His shop is most frequented during the evenings, drawing a regular crowd. Sakae has an outgoing personality and likes chatting with customers. Due to his hospitality, they become loyal patrons who return every night.

One evening, the conversation topic turns to romance. Sakae's customers, who are older married men, are curious about the young restaurant owner's love life. He admits to being single. He isn't interested in dating anyone and wants to focus on running his shop. Secretly, Sakae is still healing from his last break-up. He hasn't dated anyone since his ex-boyfriend dumped him.

Soga arrives at the restaurant. He's a new customer visiting the shop for the first time. Soga is an office worker from Tokyo who relocated to Osaka for work. With his suit, glasses, and polite demeanour, Soga stands out from the regular clientele. Soga enjoys the delicious food and praises Sakae's cooking. Sakae feels delighted to receive the compliment. Later, another customer causes a drunken ruckus and spills alcohol on Soga. Instead of losing his temper, Soga takes out a handkerchief and cleans the mess.

Sakae falls in love at first sight. He's enamoured with Soga's gracefulness and develops a secret crush on the office worker. Soga returns to the restaurant and brings a coworker, Kanda, to eat with him. As the two colleagues chat, Kanda accuses Soga of disliking her. She thinks he looks down on her Osaka background. Sakae, who overhears the conversation, immediately jumps to Soga's defence. Sakae's friendly attitude helps clear the air between Soga and Kanda.

Afterwards, Sakae and Soga befriend each other. Soga becomes a regular customer who returns to the shop frequently. The restaurant owner and the office worker grow closer. Despite his secret crush, Sakae lacks the courage to confess his love. Soga seems blissfully oblivious and treats their bond as platonic. While Sakae grapples with his feelings, his ex-boyfriend Mizuki returns. Mizuki's meddling presence complicates the budding relationship between Sakae and Soga.

Although I Love You and You is a harmless romantic comedy. The lighthearted story has a casual, relaxing vibe. Its humour may not be super funny, but a few playful moments amuse me. During each schmaltzy episode, the characters experience growth, overcome misunderstandings, and learn to trust each other. Even if the writing lacks sophistication, I still appreciate the sentimentality and positive messages. Although I Love You and You is a feel-good BL drama with lots of sincerity.

This series seems sweet and inoffensive, so I feel bad for not liking it more. However, the lead couple doesn't interest me. Sakae and Soga are mismatched. They have almost nothing in common, from opposite personalities to conflicting hobbies. Despite ample time together, I fail to understand what draws them to each other. Also, Sakae falls in love at first sight, but his instant attraction to Soga is baffling. The story portrays Sakae as lovestruck, even though he barely knows his companion beyond superficial details. His secret crush is too silly and contrived.

There's weak chemistry between the leads. Sakae and Soga have awkward interactions, displaying little sparks in their mediocre relationship scenes. They are more compelling when interacting with the supporting characters than each other. Sakae's actor (Hideyoshi Kan) behaves forcefully during the comedic moments. He doesn't deliver the punchlines or exaggerated reactions with natural ease. His costar (Jun Nishiyama) lacks the magnetism you expect from a leading man in a BL drama. Soga is too ordinary as a protagonist and needs more charisma.

The biggest surprise is seeing So Okuno, who portrays the ex-boyfriend. I've wanted this actor to take on a BL role for years. His casting feels like fulfilling one of my wishes from the genie's lamp! Better yet, Mizuki is a juicy love rival with lots of personality. The saucy minx seduces the protagonist, kisses passionately, and flaunts his shirtless physique. As he oozes desire in every scene, the series awakens all my hidden fantasies of this dreamy cutie pie. To my annoyance, So's first venture into BL is only a supporting part. Damn, why isn't he the main character!?

The second lead syndrome has cursed me. Mizuki is too appealing as a rival, outshining the official love interest. I prefer Sakae & Mizuki's dysfunctional romance over the bland courtship with Soga. Sadly, this supporting character isn't meant to be the endgame. The series gives Mizuki excessive attention at the expense of developing the main couple. Eventually, I warmed to Sakae and Soga's pairing. I like seeing them navigate various relationship issues. I wish the storylines had focused more on the their dating phase than the secret crush or the love triangle.

Although I Love You and You takes too long to resolve the couple's conflict in the finale. I'm annoyed that Sakae and Soga don't fight harder to save their relationship. Still, they find a decent compromise and finish the love story happily. Overall, this unremarkable, middle-of-the-road drama doesn't rock my world. With that said, I have no animosity against it. The feel-good series is soft, sweet, and sentimental. It also earns points for satisfying my BL fantasies about So Okuno, hehe~ 😚 Although I Love You and You is fine if you want a light and casual viewing experience.