The recently released live-action drama series, “I Cannot Reach You,” is receiving much love and attention from fans, just like its original manga series. Ever since the manga began serialization in 2018, fans have been anticipating its live-action version.
As all BL watchers expected, it became a big hit and emerged as the ultimate addition to the BL genre. In today’s review, we will discuss all the major factors contributing to the success of this BL Japanese series and what it lacks in order to become a masterpiece. So let’s get started!
I Cannot Reach You – Plot
This is a wonderful romance manga featuring the unrequited yet sweet love story of two childhood friends: Ohara Yamato and Ashiya Kakeru. Yamato Ohara is a handsome school boy who excels at everything and always gets excellent grades.
On the other hand, Ashiya Kakeru is an average high school student who always gets terrible grades. Despite their entirely different personalities, they share an unbreakable bond of friendship. Since the days of elementary school, Yamato has been deeply in love with his dorky friend but has never dared to confess his true feelings, fearing it might affect their friendship.
As Kakeru Ashiya began showing interest in dating others, Yamato found himself struggling with the emotional turmoil. No matter how hard Yamato & Kakeru try to understand each other, their hearts cannot reach each other.
I Cannot Reach You Manga Live-Action Show – Review
Let’s start with the overwhelming factors that make “I Cannot Reach You” so popular and a great pick in the BL genre. This cute series presents a very relatable depiction of the complexities of love. It excellently showcases the complicated feelings of someone who is maintaining a close friendship when romantic feelings are involved.
As a result, the series feels relatable and authentic to fans, especially those interested in Boys’ Love (BL). The relationship dynamic between Yamato & Kakeru is also quite impressive. They keep trying to make their relationship work despite being completely different from each other.
Furthermore, the main cast of the series, including Kentaro Maeda and Haru Kashiwagi, make every scene feel like real life through their great screen chemistry. As a romance series, it fills you with emotional and cute moments that connect you to their teenage love story.
The background music and songs are also quite impressive, which eventually enhance the quality of the scenes. You may have already watched plenty of BL Japanese series, but “I Cannot Reach You” is totally different from them.
Unlike being cold and austere like them, it is quite comforting and has a warmer yet realistic love story, making it a cute series. On one hand, viewers appreciate the series for its story, emotional moments, character dynamics, and music, but it also lacks in some areas. The cinematography of the series is not as good as its other aspects.
Most of the scenes are too bright, sometimes blurring out the details and facial expressions, while some cuts create confusion. Moreover, the series also has an excessive number of slow-motion scenes that you might not appreciate.
Aside from cinematography and slow-motion scenes, the “I Cannot Reach You” series is perfect from every angle and is considered a great pick for BL watchers. If you are looking for a fresh yet sweet love story with a great cast, you should definitely check out this live-action series on Netflix. See you in the next review. Until then, stay tuned with us for more manga & anime reviews and upcoming anime adaptations.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. Is its manga counterpart finished?
No, it’s an ongoing BL manga on Kadokawa’s Pixiv and currently has a total of 8 volumes. Moreover, they just released its 8th volume on October 26, 2023.
2. How many episodes does the series have?
“I Cannot Reach You,” also well known by its Japanese name, “Kimi ni wa Todokanai,.” It had a total of 8 episodes, which you can watch on Netflix, a popular anime streaming service.
3. What are some other BL drama series to watch?
You can watch several other popular BL drama series featuring realistic love stories such as “My Only 12%,” “Takara Kun to Amagi Kun,” “We Best Love: No. 1 For You,” and “Ameiro Paradox.”
Source: Netflix
