A Girl And Three Sweethearts Review: Enjoyable But Nothing Memorable

If you are planning to watch this drama for YamaKen then please go ahead and watch it because he is good in this one too.

Just like the sweet vibe the title ‘A Girl and Three Sweethearts’ gives, the drama will also have the same effect. Its story is simple with some sudden unexpected twists and revelations and of course the three handsome brothers. But this drama follows a very safe formula and sometimes the usual is not what everyone wants. This drama is not bad. It is just very forgettable.

A Girl And Three Sweethearts/Suki na Hito ga Iru Koto (2016) (10 Episodes)

Misaki Sakurai (Mirei Kiritani) is a talented patisserie who one day finds herself without a job. Luckily, her senior from school Chiaki Shibasaki (Shohei Miura) happens to have a cake made by her and offers her a job at his restaurant, Sea Sons. She readily accepts the job since she has always had a crush on Chiaki and would not let slip the opportunity to have a shot at dating Chiaki. At Seas Sons, Chiaki’s younger brother, Kanata (Kento Yamazaki) is the head chef who has taken over the kitchen after his father and has fired numerous co-workers because of his need for perfection. As Misaki starts living with Chiaki and his two brothers Kanata and Touma she learns a lot about them and their family business. But work is not easy as Kanata is a serious taskmaster and expects nothing less than perfection.

Let’s weigh this sweet treat on our drama beam balance and see if it satisfies our sweet tooth.

 

Good Weights

I enjoyed watching ‘A Girl And Three Sweethearts’ because…

…the cast is good. Right from the plucky heroine Misaki to the rebellious younger brother, Touma everyone put on a great drama. Even the supporting cast did a fairly good job. And then there is our seemingly brooding hero, Kanata played by Kento Yamazaki.

I have seen his other dramas and movies so I know he is not really like this. Had I not known more about him I would believe that he is not acting and is just playing his poignant self. But what expressions! I was floored. Kanata is an introvert who finds expressing himself difficult and so he hardly speaks. This left Kento with mostly facial expressions to show what his character was feeling. And I am not talking about the OTT anime-ish types expressions but subtle, effective expressions which only a good actor can pull off and there is no doubt that Kento is indeed a fabulous actor.     

  

…I personally loved the character of Chiaki, the eldest son in the Shibasaki household. Shohei Miura’s masterful portrayal breathed a lot of life in Chiaki.

Chiaki was a well-developed character and Shohei’s warm smile and pleasing personality made it all the more convincing. He was a responsible brother who would go to any lengths to keep his family together. But he is also not an unreal angel as when it seemed like he was losing his happiness he acted selfishly probably for the first time ever. Kind, caring, and real is what makes Chiaki.

Bad Weights

I did NOT LIKE ‘A Girl And Three Sweethearts’ because…

…I thought the drama was not intriguing enough. Even with their taut acting the cast could not keep me engaged throughout. And I blame the script for it. I took me over three weeks to finish this drama which is a lot considering it has only 10 episodes and I am currently not short on time in this self-quarantine period. This drama did not have anything for me to look forward to. The script offered very weak conflicts for me to keep coming back to it excitedly and this is the only area where this drama seemed lacking.

…the last episode was a real pain to watch. Without giving spoilers all I can say is that there was no need for the last episode to be so painful. I feel the writers wrapped up all other problems by episode 9 and the only way to drag one extra episode is to create an unnecessary rift between two important characters. I wish the drama ended differently without taking that clichéd route to give it a clichéd ending.

After seeing this drama I have a very strong feeling that the writers were told to incorporate and highlight Japan’s specialties such as its popular tourist spots (the Tokyo tower, the aquarium, etc.) and food (everything that Kanata and Mitsuki prepare). I may be wrong but even Korean dramas do promote Korean food, skincare and makeup products, tourist spots, and so on. It’s the first time I felt something like this while watching a Japanese dorama. They don’t usually do it and even if they have done it I have never noticed it before this drama. But I have no problem as long as it is not shoehorned in the story.

I give A Girl And Three Sweethearts 3.5 out of 5 rating. With good characters, cast, and a decent storyline this dorama is surely worth a try.

 

All Image Courtesy: Fuji TV

 

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