Esta resenha pode conter spoilers
Refreshing coming of age dramedy with a twist!
I'm truly in shock with this drama. I went in with no strong expectations one way or another, as the body switching trope has always been somewhat boring and repetitive to me, so I wasn't expecting anything special. What I got, however, was an unbelievably honest and mature story that explores the complexities of identity, gender, sexuality, and love with incredible nuance, as well as a cast of incredibly charming and interesting characters, each of whom have a defined arcs throughout the drama that uniquely tie in with the main theme.
TLDR: This drama is truly fantastic. If you're on the fence, please give it a try, I promise you will not regret it! It's unique enough to be interesting and stand out, but familiar enough to remain in the comfort zone of most audiences.
I'll now be breaking down my thoughts into more detail. There should only be very minor spoilers, (for instance, me referencing an actors performance in a scene with little to no major context).
Story: I really think one of the main highlights of the story in KnE is what a breath of fresh air it is. What I mean when I say that is that, even when utilizing several familiar and even overdone tropes, it feels like something I've never seen before (of course I have not seen every drama ever made, so not everyone might agree w/ me here). Each episode had a set theme and storyline that tied in together with the overall plot very nicely. I also really appreciated how well this series was able to incorporate both humor and genuine heartfelt drama throughout the story without either feeling forced or unnecessary.
Acting/Cast: The acting in KnE is really outstanding in my opinion. I went in knowing none of the actors, and I've come out a fan of each of them! Considering their young ages and fairly new careers, their performances are truly impressive. I have to give props especially to Sakurada and Fujiwara, as body swapping roles are quite difficult, and often done lazily, especially in gender bending scenarios (i.e., The female lead will act boyish and stereotypically masculine, while the male lead will act traditionally feminine, each focusing more on acting as the gender of the character they're embodying instead of the actual character). With these two however, I really got the feeling that they had switched. Sakurada truly felt as though she was playing Yashiro and Fujiwara truly felt like he was playing Kagura. The dinner scene at the end of episode 7 in particular was just so beautiful and emotionally moving, with the genuineness of both characters truly shining through.
Music: Not too much to say here other than that the opening song is really beautiful and fits the show very well in my opinion! It's such a fun start to each episode and it just brings me so much joy every time the first few opening notes play! I also appreciated the use of music in the drama, as it was not overused to amp up the drama in certain scenes, a problem I've noticed in a lot of my other favorite dramas that detracts from my enjoyment a bit.
Rewatch Value: I've only watched through the entire series once, so I can't completely speak to rewatch value, however, I really believe this will only get better with more rewatches for me personally (though this is coming from someone who frequently rewatches dramas regardless of quality so I wouldn't completely take my word on it.)
I had only a few, very minor issues with the show which I'll explain as briefly as possible:
1. I feel as though Kenta and Yashiro's romantic feelings for each other didn't have enough time to completely develop for their relationship to have enough of an impact. Specifically, I feel like we didn't really get that much explanation as to how Yashiro developed his feelings for Kenta, and that they had few scenes as an actual couple until the end (this is obv common for most dramas though so I can't get super mad).
2. If you're going into this drama expecting and excited about a GL storyline (like I and many others were), you will not find one, at least in the traditional sense. Again, I realize this is not the fault of the drama, as it's just a part of the overall story that makes sense in context, it's more so an issue with their being so few good GL J-Dramas out there!!
3. Sort of related to the last point, I wish there was a better conclusion for Rin's feelings for Kagura/Yashiro. I'm still satisfied with the ending we got, but I feel like for something that was such a big aspect of the story towards the first half of the series had a little bit of a stronger finish.
4. I WISH IT WAS LONGER. I WANT MOREEEEEE!!!
Anyways just to reiterate, this show is absolutely lovely, and if you have time, definitely check it out!
TLDR: This drama is truly fantastic. If you're on the fence, please give it a try, I promise you will not regret it! It's unique enough to be interesting and stand out, but familiar enough to remain in the comfort zone of most audiences.
I'll now be breaking down my thoughts into more detail. There should only be very minor spoilers, (for instance, me referencing an actors performance in a scene with little to no major context).
Story: I really think one of the main highlights of the story in KnE is what a breath of fresh air it is. What I mean when I say that is that, even when utilizing several familiar and even overdone tropes, it feels like something I've never seen before (of course I have not seen every drama ever made, so not everyone might agree w/ me here). Each episode had a set theme and storyline that tied in together with the overall plot very nicely. I also really appreciated how well this series was able to incorporate both humor and genuine heartfelt drama throughout the story without either feeling forced or unnecessary.
Acting/Cast: The acting in KnE is really outstanding in my opinion. I went in knowing none of the actors, and I've come out a fan of each of them! Considering their young ages and fairly new careers, their performances are truly impressive. I have to give props especially to Sakurada and Fujiwara, as body swapping roles are quite difficult, and often done lazily, especially in gender bending scenarios (i.e., The female lead will act boyish and stereotypically masculine, while the male lead will act traditionally feminine, each focusing more on acting as the gender of the character they're embodying instead of the actual character). With these two however, I really got the feeling that they had switched. Sakurada truly felt as though she was playing Yashiro and Fujiwara truly felt like he was playing Kagura. The dinner scene at the end of episode 7 in particular was just so beautiful and emotionally moving, with the genuineness of both characters truly shining through.
Music: Not too much to say here other than that the opening song is really beautiful and fits the show very well in my opinion! It's such a fun start to each episode and it just brings me so much joy every time the first few opening notes play! I also appreciated the use of music in the drama, as it was not overused to amp up the drama in certain scenes, a problem I've noticed in a lot of my other favorite dramas that detracts from my enjoyment a bit.
Rewatch Value: I've only watched through the entire series once, so I can't completely speak to rewatch value, however, I really believe this will only get better with more rewatches for me personally (though this is coming from someone who frequently rewatches dramas regardless of quality so I wouldn't completely take my word on it.)
I had only a few, very minor issues with the show which I'll explain as briefly as possible:
1. I feel as though Kenta and Yashiro's romantic feelings for each other didn't have enough time to completely develop for their relationship to have enough of an impact. Specifically, I feel like we didn't really get that much explanation as to how Yashiro developed his feelings for Kenta, and that they had few scenes as an actual couple until the end (this is obv common for most dramas though so I can't get super mad).
2. If you're going into this drama expecting and excited about a GL storyline (like I and many others were), you will not find one, at least in the traditional sense. Again, I realize this is not the fault of the drama, as it's just a part of the overall story that makes sense in context, it's more so an issue with their being so few good GL J-Dramas out there!!
3. Sort of related to the last point, I wish there was a better conclusion for Rin's feelings for Kagura/Yashiro. I'm still satisfied with the ending we got, but I feel like for something that was such a big aspect of the story towards the first half of the series had a little bit of a stronger finish.
4. I WISH IT WAS LONGER. I WANT MOREEEEEE!!!
Anyways just to reiterate, this show is absolutely lovely, and if you have time, definitely check it out!
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