Coffee and Vanilla

This drama was a mix of 50 Shadesof Gray and 91/2 weeks thrown in with a little typical romance novel love story. I loved it and it didn't hurt that the hero reminded me of Suga from BTS. It was cute and binge worthy.

The female lead is annoying. She always has this stupid and surprised look. She doesn't really have a real character except that she is pretty. That's all. She's also a real pushover and all that she does is act cute and vulnerable in front to the male lead. The guy falling in love deeply with her is very unconvincing coz of the woman's lack of character and it doesn't help that the acting from the actress was bad.

There are lots of steamy scenes but they all look really awkward, like the FL isn't enjoying the man's touch and just going with the flow. The dialogue in those lovey dovey scenes is also repetitive.

I loved this show. It was sexy and romantic, the characters are captivating, and the story kept me needing more as each episode ended. My only complaint is that it's one of Japan's short 10-episode shows, but it was a very enjoyable 3 1/2 hour binge.

It is so unbelievably bad, I hated myself for watching it. It's like that sordid curiosity that keeps you going while hoping it takes a turn for the better. Nope, it only gets worse. The lead actor is very, very hot, and that's probably I kept watching... just turn the sound and subtitles off maybe??

With that said, this series is twisted in all the bad ways. As a woman, it was flat out infuriating. I realize that some cultures want the women to be subservient and docile, but this was perverted and insulting. It tries to be "steamy" without coming close to pulling it off. It ends up being vulgar, unrealistic and cringey.

The female lead's innocence? Cute at first, but it quickly crosses the line into "how is she this naïve?" territory. At times, it feels more like stupidity than innocence, and it can get frustrating to watch.

Watching her let every single man around her make decisions for her is beyond frustrating. At one point, you just want to scream, "Girl, make up your own mind!" Her complete lack of agency really drags the show down, and it's hard to get behind a character who can't seem to think for herself.

And let's not forget Dori Sakurada's role. Don't get me wrong, the guy's talented, but he's totally overplaying his role here to the point where it becomes uncomfortable to watch. It's so dramatic, so extra, that I honestly had to pause a few times just to breathe.

I still watched the whole series. Despite all the ridiculousness and eye-roll moments, Coffee and Vanilla is one of those guilty pleasure shows that's just so easy to binge-watch. It's dumb, it's cheesy, but yet a guilty pleasure.