Renai no Susume (2023)

WARNING FOR MILD SPOILERS!!

Renai no Susume has a sweet message for everyone in all walks of life—it’s okay to fall in love. Although i was able to enjoy this film, i feel like it still has a couple of stuff that bothers me.

I really enjoyed the OSTs. The opening dance is really cute and silly while the ending song sounds really nice. But sometimes the music sounds way too dramatic in serious scenes that it feels … almost ironic?

The acting wasn’t bad at all, just nothing special.

About Ootori’s character, I liked him. He matured and became a more loving person. He’s intriguing enough that you can’t really hate him. He has his faults but you can see he’s trying.

The first couple episodes of the drama were a bore. It felt like typical romcom stuff that didn’t really stand out in any way. It picks up a bit after Ootori accidentally starts a “love liberation” group at his school, which is where the show is less comedic and more sentimental and dramatic.

Now, the main couple.

Hanako and Ootori’s relationship doesn’t make me feel anything, which is my biggest problem with the show.
However, although i understand that the focus of the drama was on Ootori figuring out how to let himself be in love which would ultimately make Hanako not need to be complex, it was a little disappointing. (Basically it was focused more about his feeling of love rather than who he loves.) Yes, love can happen for any reason, no matter how small, and many relationships that seem to spring out of nowhere can last a long time. HOWEVER. This drama could have been enhanced had Hanako been a deeper written character that actually had chemistry with Ootori.

I believe this because having two characters bonding with each other and falling in love will improve the impact in Ootori and Hanako’s love. Romcoms have every right to be silly and not take themselves seriously, but if you’re trying to have sentimental moments in one, it’s hard to feel anything without prior character development.

Hanako should have revealed more about her background and past to Ootori rather than needing Ootori’s friend to just find information for him. He could have connected more with her that would help them understand each other more.

Now…about Ryuzaki…he was one of my favorite characters in the show. Seeing him being rejected was somehow very somber and sweet to watch. Ootori doesn’t tell him straight up. Instead, he acknowledges Ryuzaki’s feelings without dismissing them. I wish he had more screen time so we could know more about him and why he loved Ootori in the first place. His motives were shown through his love. Even after being rejected, he supports Ootori and Hanako. He’s just a really sweet character who was unfortunately robbed of screen time.

I could ramble more but this really covers most of what I want to stay, if not all. I will put out that Hanako’s boyfriend (forgot his name) just easily supports her which makes no sense. They were implied to have talked it out but one talk isn’t realistic enough to budge someone like him. Overall, I enjoyed Renai no Susume. The ending wasn’t an outcome I enjoyed much, but I don’t regret watching this show. Please check out their tiktok page. It’s full of BTS stuff and really cute content if you enjoy Ootori and Ryuzaki fan service (that could almost be mistaken for bl) or just the actors having fun. @drama_stream_tbs

Thank you for reading!!!

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