Coffee And Vanilla Review: Show Of Love But No Plot

The problem with making mangas into dramas is that what may work for a comic may not be the best option for a drama. This holds especially true for ‘Vanilla and Coffee’ because of its one-dimensional characters and non-existent storyline. It may have made an interesting manga but when you see the same story with real-life characters it looks completely different.

Since this is a short drama it has to be quick-paced but things happen so fast that you can’t help but wonder why you are even watching it.

Coffee And Vanilla/Kohi Ando Banira (2019) (10 Episodes)

Risa Shiroki (Fukuhara Haruka) comes from a small town and studies at a university in Tokyo. Since she is beautiful she attracts a lot of male attention. However, she does not seem interested in anybody till she meets the older businessman, Hiroto Fukami (Sakurada Dori). They both fall in love and kick off a bold and sexy romance.

Let’s weigh this steamy affair on our drama beam balance and see how it fares.

Good Weights

I enjoyed watching ‘Coffee And Vanilla’ because…

…it was a short series. The short duration of the drama is the only thing that made me watch it. I had watched half of the episodes last year and I completed the other half this month. And I could do it only because the episodes ran only 25 minutes. Had it been a full-fledged drama I would have dropped it mid-way and not bothered to complete it. 

Bad Weights

I did NOT LIKE ‘Coffee And Vanilla’ because…

…the show had absolutely no plot whatsoever. At one point, I felt they just had to make a hot drama so the scenes were put in haphazardly but the focus remained on the couple eventually doing ‘it’. Even the supporting characters made abrupt entries and exist. And also every guy in the show was after Risa under one pretext or another. Risa was the prime focus not just for the male lead but also for every single character. The writers didn’t even try to add a curveball to lift the drama in the climax. By which I mean the story arc where Hiroto’s bodyguard or manager Yuki suddenly becomes possessive of him and even acts jealous of Risa. I felt the angle was added just for the heck of it or it was probably present in the manga but it was never fully explored. Had it been dealt with properly I feel at least the ending would have become a little interesting.

…of the omnipresent male lead. Somehow Risa often finds herself in difficult and sometimes scary situations and like a God, Hiroto is always there to save her. This happens often in dramas but it happening ‘this’ often is a little too much to take. I think the writer based him on Christian Grey who is always horny and never leaves his girl alone. What I don’t understand is how do these men manage their business when all they do is diligently stalk their girlfriend.

…the leading couple lacked chemistry. Our leads Haruka and Dori play their individual characters well but together they failed to create any magic for me. For a romantic drama, couple chemistry plays an integral part in its success. Sadly, I did not see that spark in Risa and Hiroto’s love, which dampened my feelings for the couple.

Coffee and Vanilla feels a lot like a diluted version of Fifty Shades Of Grey. And it is not even half as engaging as FSoG (referring to book only). It seems lacking in the most pivotal areas which is why I did not enjoy watching it.

I give ‘Coffee And Vanilla’ 1.5 out of 5 rating. Don’t look for a story or even some sense. Watch it only for its sexy scenes.

 

Feature Image and Screenshots Courtesy: Drama Wiki

 

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