I am a simple soul. If you tell me someone I like is starring in a drama, I will be watching without question. So, that’s what ultimately led me to The Convenience Store by the Sea, or コンビニ兄弟, as I knew it initially. This is a story about kindness, friendship and the importance of a little community hub.
I watch a lot of dramas every season, and I should probably do something with that knowledge that’s not just reviewing the odd one or two. So here’s a snapshot of what I enjoyed, had mixed feelings on and more!
I’ve watched most of these in Japanese, but if they have English titles through licences or on MyDramaList, I’ll put those in brackets for searchability. Also, these aren’t really supposed to be reviews or anything, I’m just dumping my thoughts.
In the winter anime season, I watched Journal with Witch, or perhaps better known by its Japanese title – Ikoku Nikki. Although I’ve never read the original work (I will eventually, I assure you), I thoroughly enjoyed what the anime had to offer. So much so that I found myself curious about the live-action adaptation that was released in Japan in 2024. This one seems to have picked up the title Worlds Apart in English, but I’m not exactly sure how, given there hasn’t been an official English release yet. For the sake of ease and what readers are likely to be used to, I’ll stick with Ikoku Nikki going forwards.
Usotoki Rhetoric by Ritsu Miyako is a manga series I fell in love with four years ago when I picked it up in 2020 due to being a big fan of both detective stories, romance and perhaps more importantly Hana to Yume series (this ran in sister magazine Bessatsu Hana to Yume).
If you're at all familiar with my interests then you may know I am a big fan of mystery, romance and crime dramas. This is a collection of things that often go underserved in the mediums I like, so I'm always happy to discover something that manages to incorporate all three of these things and prove interesting. While I often watch romance dramas or adaptations of manga I already like, I picked up <em>Why Didn't I Tell You a Million </em><em>Times </em>on a whim and I'm really glad I did.