#cherry magic radio drama

[plumbley-bee]

PLEASE IM LOSING IT

Having adachi think about how cool and perfect kurosawa is while kurosawa is in the background explaining why on earth he thought a helicopter ride was a good first date is making me lose my shit oh my god

Adachi, in his head: 'he's so cool, popular, and hot and a little lame but that's cute'

Kurosawa: "Yeah someone mentioned a ferris wheel for first dates and I thought the view could be pretty but it wasn't good enough so NATURALLY that led me to think a helicopter ride on a first date was a good idea-"

[aakipple]

more of them

[cubedmango]

sibling secrets

[mintyxxie]

I've seen it all - Rating all adaptations of Cherry Magic ✩

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ

Okay, so I tried to hunt down every adaptation of Cherry Magic! Thirty Years Of Virginity Can Make You A Wizard?! and watched them all.....like the chronically online loser expert I am.

THIS HAS SOME SPOILERS.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ Ratings:

[If I missed any adaptation lmk and I'll watch it and rate it!]

So here are my ratings (in the order in which I watched/read them):

Manga (The original source material, 2018) [6/10]

Thai drama (2023-2024) [9/10]

Japanese drama (2020) [8/10]

Anime (2024) [7/10]

Japanese Movie (2022) [note: this was a sequel to the J-drama]

Chinese Radio Drama (2019) [8/10]

Important note: I'm not sure if the radio drama and the drama CD are the same thing, just in case I'm going to separate the two. I couldn't find the OG Japanese drama CD with English subs anywhere so if any one knows where to find it then lmk. Not paying 20 bucks because I am below the poverty level (fully embodying the college student aesthetic <3).

: ̗̀➛ The Manga (2018)

My favorite volume cover <3

→ General thoughts:

This might be a little dumb but honestly, I had no idea that this manga was pretty recent. I thought that this was an older 2000's manga. I only found out when I looked up the production year for this blog post LMFAO.

Building on that, the art style is fairly unique and a breath of fresh air from the typical late 2010s manga art style. It definitely gave me nostalgia—but with less secondhand embarrassment. Also my favorite part is MC's emo bangs...when he's an office worker.

I found it fun how they didn't start off the series by glazing the male lead and his achievements (which was done in almost every other version.). This approach made the male lead a lot more approachable in my opinion and lessened the gap between the two.

The manga at the very start is extremely focused on the two main characters. They don't really introduce or highlight other characters until later on. (most notably Fujisaki and with the exception of MC's bestie). Manga is also pretty fast-paced in comparison to the other adaptations in my opinion. This is mainly because doesn't really spend a lot of time building up tension or introducing the characters. If anything it feels like the mangaka was going through every arc/major character interaction as if they were bullet points. You can also argue that the other adaptations are slow-paced in comparison to the manga, but in this household the majority rules.

Not a lot of focus on visual elements (unless it's to show emotion). The background is pretty basic and kept to a minimum which helps keep the focus on the relationship between MC and ML.

At the very start, the focus is put more on the awkwardness between the two characters. It's really light-hearted and doesn't particularly hold any strong tension or emotion. I like that because technically speaking the two of them are experiencing something new, I'm TIREDDD of seeing a character fall in love for the first time ever yet miraculously be an expert at it. The awkwardness of a first love and the inexperience that comes with it is a breath of fresh air when put into the context of two adults.

One thing that I really liked about the manga (and the series in general) is how the MC talks about the ethics of his mind-reading ability and actually feels guilty about taking advantage of it. I appreciate how he also comes clean to the ML. The ethics of these abilities, especially mind reading, is so interesting to me, especially considering how it's usually glossed over.

Also...I really appreciate how the MC doesn't look like a 16-year-old twink. He looks his age, a rare sight nowadays.

The perspective of the male lead is shown pretty early on. There isn't a lot of build-up for the alternate perspective. It felt pretty underwhelming when the ML revealed why he fell in love with MC. In my opinion, it failed to draw out strong emotion from the reader. The part where the male lead gets borderline sexually harassed at work also fell flat. I read it and thought "ok...well...that just happened" and quickly moved on.

[The flat delivery of the more emotional and "heavier" scenes is a consistent ick of mine. The manga does an amazing job of communicating the awkward and comedic properties of the series but completely fails at drawing out heavier emotions from the reader. This could just be a me thing though. I blame this fact on the lack of proper build-up and transitions. The switch between emotions happens too quickly, and the manga lacks proper transition panels, making character interactions seem inorganic. The series generally capitalizes on the "out of pocket" aspect of the character's thoughts and emotions. Everything is so random and unexpected which is what makes it funny and interesting, this however makes love confessions and more emotional scenes fall flat because, in the context of the series, these scenes are NOT meant to be comedic. Trying to blend serious and funny is generally difficult and something that a lot of mangakas struggle with. ]

Anyway, the ML's perspective is always a treat. Just a poorly built-up one. My man is also a whole green forest, I'm so happy that he didn't end up forcing himself on MC and instead respected his boundaries.

One thing that I noticed while re-reading the manga is how expressive the characters are, especially the male lead (finally out of cold aloof male lead jail). His awkward wink was so adorable tbh, a funny contrast to his extremely horny thoughts.

“But Mimi, isn't this contradictory? you *JUST* said that the manga suffers from sung jinwoo syndrome (A severe lack of emotional build-up which leads to extremely flat emotional scenes)!" Before you crucify me allow me to elaborate....

It’s simple, deeper emotions generally require more build-up, especially emotions (and emotional themes) that deviate from the main genre. Shyness, awkwardness, happiness, etc are all naturally a part of the traditional romcom slice-of-life genre. If the main emotion(s) that the reader gets across is light-hearted then the story naturally builds up to it and is something that the reader expects so they come into it prepared to feel said emotions. If you try to introduce an emotion such as sadness in this context then naturally you would need to properly build it up in order for the reader to properly feel and process it since it isn't expected (Even things done for 'shock' value still need appropriate build-up, it would just be done properly.). The characters here are very expressive in terms of emotions, but character expressiveness doesn't necessarily carry along to the reader.

I also love the side couple. Their mutual love for the cat is the highlight of the entire series tbh. ITS SO CUTE.

Anyway, to save you the pain of me ranting about the side couple ima make it short and sweet (look at how nice I am....I might make a separate post just to have a yap fest about them). The build-up towards their relationship was so well-written (dare I say even more than the main couple?). I'm so happy that they got their own happy ending.

→ Rating ✩✩✩✩✩✩

6/10

Honestly, this rating was a tough one for me to give because on one hand, the manga excelled in many ways and this is the original source material so it felt weird to give it a rating lower than its adaptations. However, I have quite a bit of reasons for my ratings, all of which were mentioned throughout the previous section but I'll summarize.

The manga left a lot to be desired when it tried to communicate deeper feelings, the characters felt awkward and the interactions felt really inorganic and flat during the "emotional" scenes. I don't really think it's an issue with the art style itself but rather an issue with the panel handling and management. There weren't a lot of transitional panels that helped strengthen the main emotional panels. I don't know if that makes sense because I don't really know the proper terminology but I hope that gets my point across. This is honestly a big thing because this is a romance slice-of-life manga where the main appeal and point of it is the emotions and the interactions between the characters. It's a very character-focused genre, and in this case where world-building is near nonexistent all the pressure falls on making sure that the two leads have smooth interactions. Which I feel like it didn't meet.

: ̗̀➛ Thai Drama (2023-2024)

Best Cherry Magic promotional picture in my very humble opinion.

→ General thoughts

This adaptation establishes really quickly the difference between MC's and ML's positions at the company. Not only does it establish this fact pretty early on but it also reinforces it quite a bit.

MC's relationships with those around him are a lot stronger than in any other adaptation. He also seems more well-liked and more socially active in his workplace. The intern is introduced pretty early on which is something that I appreciate. The birthday party was SO CUTE OMG. It was so funny and adorbs to see MC awkwardly giving ML a piece of birthday cake even though they never really interacted much till that point. Also, it helped establish a stronger bond between MC and Fujisaki (since she was a part of this small birthday celebration).

There is also the addition of Mrs. Cupid (I forgot her name so that will be the name that I'll use for her, also I think that this was a cultural addition) was pretty interesting. Her role as a mentor/mother figure to MC helped show that he isn't some reclusive hated loser in his workplace.

There's a LOT of emphasis on the relationships between characters in the workplace, which is a notable change when comparing it to other adaptations. It could be a cultural thing? This is my first Thai drama and delve into Thai media so I could be wrong (please don't beat me up). MC here is way more social. The intern is a lot more relevant here and is the reason why MC had to stay overtime.

The ML here is SO MUCH MORE awkward because the series establishes the difference between their positions pretty early on. It makes the difference between how he acts for the company (super put together and cool) and how he acts in front of MC (eagerly & shyly asking him about getting ice cream after the thank-you dinner) so CUTE. This is also something that differs from other adaptations because in the others they weren't able to choose where to eat.

The personality of Tsuge was so different it gave me whiplash. Like a complete 180. He gives off more playful and childish vibes here, starkly contrasting his quiet and aloof OG persona. He's also a lot more straightforward and bossy LMAO.

This and the rest of the adaptations have an advantage. They can use auditory elements to bring emotion to the scenes which I think is something that helps exaggerate events. For example, when ML was asking MC about the thank-you dinner, MC was listening to his thoughts and was very awkward. The typing heard in the background and the lack of background music help bring the scene to life by 1. making it look even more awkward since both ML and MC stay silent for extended periods of time and 2. Reinforcing the comedic office sitcom feeling (not genre because technically this isn't a sitcom).

There was also this arc of the fake boyfriend trope where MC was egged on to be the fake BF of Fujisaki. Honestly, this adaptation brought more personality and life to Fujisaki as a character and employee. The appearance of her shitty ex was an interesting bonus and helped deepen her character.

Honestly, a lot of scenes here changed, it would take me a lot of time to sit down and break down every scene change individually. I have to say that all the changes changed how the series felt and how the relationship between the characters came across. One thing that I have to mention is that not only have a lot of scenes changed but a lot of things are out of order. I'm not really complaining though because it didn't really stick out to me as nonsensical when watching, it made sense why they made the changes and honestly, I support some of it. I'm mildly upset that the scene where the voucher was expired and this ML had to pay was cut off, but other than that no major complaints.

The misunderstanding also dragged on for a lot longer & the way he dramatically passed out??? hello??? It strays off from the original more and more every episode. It feels like I'm watching a different show.

I'm really happy that they delayed the ML's POV. The build-up here was a lot more intense than the original. I really liked how they portrayed the dismissal of ML's hard work and preferences in favor of his looks, kind of a "stay in your own lane and use your pretty face" thing. The portrayal of the sexual harassment towards ML was also a lot smoother, more emotionally intense, and heavier here, a lot more emotional. These changes made the scene between ML and MC a lot more special in my opinion, and made me feel a lot of sympathy towards the ML. He also actually cried here and the scene was a lot more emotional. This also applies to when ML went into detail on why he fell in love with MC, it was really touching. The problem of the lackluster emotional scenes in the original was fixed here.

The side couple also faced a lot of changes, all of which were welcome in my opinion. The series went into a lot more detail between the two from the start, and the personality of Minato was a lot nicer here too. The side couple felt a lot more dynamic and human.

There were a lot of scenes between Fujisaki and Rokkaku, which was interesting, to say the least. I don't know how I felt about that, it wasn't bad, just weird considering the original.

→ Rating ✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩

9/10

I think that the experience of watching this is extremely different from reading the original material. If we’re accounting for accuracy, this series would lose a lot of points, however if you're just watching this for fun the experience is extremely enjoyable.

I really like how this version communicates the character dynamic between the male lead and the main character. My only ick is that it made the main character a lot more popular than he originally was, thus making the male lead have a crush on him seem less surprising in a way? Also in a way that took away the funny, "I hate my shitty cooperate job and all my co-workers" feeling.

: ̗̀➛ Japanese Drama & Movie (2024)

Bunching them together because the movie is a sequel to the drama

→ General thoughts

The J-drama shows you more aspects of the MC's life and general personality before he got his power. In a way, it showed how lonely he is (via the fact that only his mom and long-time friend greeted him on his birthday).

The drama introduced a lot of characters at the beginning, and it made MC's friend, Tsuge, extremely relevant early on. This part makes the viewer more invested in the side couple and the side stories involving them a lot sooner.

Honestly, though, my favorite part is the little shop owner. In the other versions the place where he gets his lunch is at a convenience store and the only relevant interaction is when he touches the cashier's hand and she starts tweaking over how gross it is. Seeing the shopkeeper side-eye him for always ordering double mayo was really funny to me, and in a way, it added more personality to the world around him and the interactions that he has outside of the main plot (this is something to note because the J-drama shows a LOT of his time outside of the office, something that stands out when comparing it to other adaptations).

The addition of the asshole co-worker was an interesting addition/change from the original. In the OG, MC was the boss who was being an asshat, which is why he stayed overtime, in the case of the J-drama it was actually his co-worker and it was MC who offered to take over the assignment. This change made MC look like a pushover & it followed regular office comedy plots.

Many micro-interactions were also added, which added more depth to their relationship. My favorite example was how the drama expanded on how the MC was touched by ML giving him the scarf (because during that scene MC heard ML's thoughts about how mistreated MC is and how much he appreciates him :3). I also love how it revealed that ML specifically made a traditional Japanese breakfast because he knew that MC would like it. It showed how much ML really cared about MC and how he kept track of his likes and dislikes even without interacting with him a lot.

I also love how ML defended MC when asshole co-worker berated him for 'being unreliable'. He was so passive-aggressive it was so cool honestly. Also for some reason, Rokkaku was shown to be around ML a lot more often and was shown a lot earlier (though he didn't outwardly have major parts till later). Also here MC was given more overtime work, this time because ML heard about it when MC was first given the task he immediately was able to compile data and help MC from the get-go. I really liked this small change because ML improved MC's work-life quality, which was pretty shit. Also here there was no dinner coupon, instead MC did it of his own free will (went to ML running to ask him to get dinner with him, though he was inspired by his co-worker bringing it up first).

Similar to the Thai drama, their dinner date got interrupted by a company dinner :(. Though they never had a chance to be 1 on 1 here which made me (and the ML) sad.

For some reason here MC never gave Rokkaku medicine? Rather it was Rokkaku who offered to go and get some for MC from the convenience store.

The biggest interactions that changed in my opinion were the interactions between MC and his friend, Tsuge. For example, instead of meeting at Tsuge's house they instead meet at a restaurant. His advice to MC was also different, telling him to ignore ML and that what matters the most is MC's feelings, contrary to the OG where Tsuge suggested that MC take advantage of ML's feelings. I feel like this small change in how Tsuge approached advising MC helped reinforce the idea that MC tends to be a pushover who puts other people's feelings above his own (since he felt the need to specifically tell MC to focus on his own feelings). He was also so iconic for telling MC to not fall in love with someone, instead, MC should just get a cat if he's lonely.

The side couple here was also introduced a lot earlier.

Although small, these additions help add more character depth to the main character which makes the experience more enjoyable IMO.

Just like the other adaptations, a lot of the ending scenes were left out, though in this case, they produced a movie to act as a sequel to the drama for the sake of including the left-out material (ML meeting MC's parents, etc). I feel like because of that the movie is a must if you truly want to get the true feel of the ending. Also, a lot of scenes were skipped or smushed together (kind of a 3-in-1 type thing).

They kept edging us with the kiss scene low-key. I'm not even a big fan of them; I just got annoyed by how I felt like a pig on a stick.

→ Rating ✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩

8/10

Overall, pretty lovely.

I found it pretty interesting how they added things and expanded on pre-existing scenes while simultaneously skipping over and combining original material. I don't really understand why they picked certain scenes over others, well to a certain degree I kind of do but at the same time, there was tons of original material...why add/expand on things unnecessarily when you already have long and expanded upon scenes.

Rokakku's interactions with MC changed a ton here, which is mildly sad.

I like the added mico interactions outside of MC's workplace.

: ̗̀➛ Anime (2024)

→ General thoughts

Out of every adaptation this stayed the closest to the original material. Honestly writing the analysis for the anime was really hard for me because there really isn't much for me to say. It fixed a big issue that was in the manga, and that is the lack of proper panel transition. The reason why I'm mentioning this point here rather than under any other adaptation is because this stayed the most loyal to the original material.

There really weren't any big changes so there isn't much to comment on. However, I set up a split screen between the anime and manga JUST so I could analyze things piece by piece and this is what I found:

After the conversation with Tsuge, it shows MC's walk home his contemplation about this whole thing, and his reaction to his friend being a virgin too. There are also some micro-interactions between the two (MC & ML) that were added, but nothing too different for me to specifically point out.

The scene with the cake guy was slightly changed here in the anime. The anime added an interaction between MC, Fujisaki, the boss, and other employees who were trying to find out what happened to cause the cake guy to get mad at ML prior to MC officially stepping in, something that didn't really happen in the manga. On that note, there were a lot of added micro-interactions between MC and Fujisaki.

A minor change that could simply be attributed to translation is that in manga MC said that he didn't hate the kiss while in the anime he said that it didn't bother him, just a small detail that made me a little sad TT.

There are some minor setting changes here and there, for example, MC originally gave Rokkaku medicine on the bus because he was car sick, in the anime he gave him medicine during karaoke because he was having stomach problems due to being drunk.

Dare I say that I HATED Rokkaku's voice actor, it's the same sound someone makes when they're nose is stuffy/they're not breathing through their nose. It got on my nerves. On a similar note, I feel like this shows how important voice actors are. I'm used to Rokakku having a younger, playful, and generally softer voice which gave him a carefree "he was the popular easy to get along with guy in high school". In the anime though because of his voice actor, his personality came off as "The really simple-minded comedic relief guy that secretly has lore". So interesting to see how even the smallest changes can completely change the impression of a character!

I kinda wish that the hot springs scene remained intact instead of it getting changed into a sauna because the concept of "Water conducting intense thoughts" is really funny. Though it was changed to steam to better fit the setting, I feel like it was an extremely unnecessary change.

The sexual harassment scene stayed really close to the manga but with greater emotional impact, specifically his facial expressions. Though the background music didn't really match the seriousness of the scene, his facial expressions and the general mood of what he was conveying (Since he was talking about how his character and hard work are reduced to the fact that he is good-looking), it's still a marginal improvement. This made me upset because the anime could've utilized more appropriate background music or just not add it at all. My ick with the background music was quickly resolved with the following scene where MC consoles ML after the whole ordeal. This makes me really happy because it, for the most part, achieved what the manga failed to do. Also, I find it funny here how ML specifically thought that the MC is a pushover because he lacks tact.

Flashback/ML's POV also came later than the Manga, thankfully a running theme between all adaptations. The selfie scene also changed, it was a lot less 'appropriate' here (not in a to the reader way but in a context way) because in the original they took the selfie on a company trip while here they took the picture in a random park.

The side couple comes here a lot later too, I think slightly later than the manga, which is weird but it also makes sense and flowed well here. I don't have much to complain about, I did like their interactions here a lot more though. I should also note that their relationship is slightly faster-paced than other adaptations.

The sound effects and OST were awesome though and really helped reinforce the emotional aspects of scenes. This also helped with the abrupt emotional changes in the scenes.

I do have to say that I had very high hopes for the anime because out of every adaptation, this has the most freedom in terms of properly communicating character dynamics and plot points. It can use a range of effects without looking out of place or weird because this is animated. This did NOT disappoint thankfully.

→ Rating ✩✩✩✩✩✩✩

7/10

Oof, this was a hard one to rate, I saved it for last.

I don't know, out of every adaptation this was easily my favorite, but lets be honest...there are quite a bit of issues. I think that the main one is the background music for the sexual harassment scene.

"Mimi, why do you care so much about it?" Well, it's not necessarily because sexual harassment is a serious topic (which it is, but not the main reason why I'm so bothered), rather it's mainly because the male lead was venting about how all of his hard work is dismissed just because "he's pretty". I feel like this was a perfect example that encapsulated his main complaint about his workplace and the main reason why MC's actions really touched him. It's really important to his character so seeing the scene not be portrayed properly really grinds my nerves.

: ̗̀➛ Chinese Radio Drama (2019)

→ General thoughts

THIS WAS SO DIFFERENT. Take a seat because a yap fest is about to take place.

To be honest, this is my first time listening to a Radio Drama (yes a lot of first times here, I'm a sad media virgin, all I do is read shitty manhwa, manhua, manga & fanfiction and read the occasional web novel). I didn't know what to expect since the medium is pretty limited since the plot can only be conveyed through voices. This did not disappoint. The voice actors are super expressive and effectively communicate character emotions.

This starts off strong with an appointment with a psychiatrist. MC really thought he was going insane and honestly? I too would shove myself in a psychiatrist's office the second I started hearing people's thoughts. I loved this approach, super realistic. My usual ick of characters randomly manifesting powers in an otherwise non-fantasy setting is how they immediately accept it and adapt to it.

The first change is how he finds out about his ability, by far this is my favorite (touching a co-worker and hearing her cuss out your fellow employees and boss). We unfortunately didn't escape the ML glazing session (yes I get it he's so alpha in the company,,,,I heard the same sentence 10 times already from 10 different sources my brain is FRIED). GOOD NEWS though because MC also got a mini glazing session...ha you thought...the sec mc touched his boss he got brought back to reality (heard a bunch of insults about how dull he is).

The drama CD really REALLY enforces the fact that MC isn't liked by his fellow coworkers, for some reason everyone and their moms take pleasure in insulting him, which is my biggest fear. Imagine you develop the ability to hear people's thoughts only to find out that half of your workplace hates your guts? I'd immediately cease my oxygen dependence.

Also, we're back with the shitty co-worker. Honestly, it's hard for me to tell what is going on because many names changed which would've been fine if the OG plot was completely preserved except it's not. I don't have visual clues so I'm kinda tweaking.

Anyway, now on to the major plot changes:

Rokkaku is now a poor intern getting pulled into random tasks via MC's co-worker friend. For some reason, most adaptations tend to mess around with Rokkaku's character. Also, the elevator scene slightly changed, instead of MC trying to guess ML's crush he immediately reminded himself that he's experiencing a hallucination (which happens quite frequently throughout the radio drama. I think that I can safely attribute this change to the fact that he went to see a psychiatrist the second he noticed his newfound ability. Generally, it takes MC 10 thousand business days to come to terms with his new ability.

MC here is a lot more of a realist, not that he was particularly lacking in the realism department before. It just seems like a more prominent character trait here.

Here MC stays late because of his co-worker friend (maybe I should change his nickname to asshole #2). Also, MC here takes an obvious role in helping teach and instruct Rokkaku. We also get more character background info on Rokkau which I think is pretty interesting. Rokkaku here is a lot more responsible too. Also here instead of simply helping MC finish his work, ML instead offers to do the whole thing himself.

It takes a while for there to be any mention of his 30th birthday. The reason why MC slept over at ML's place also changed. Also I can't get over the scene where ML admits to the fact that he bought a set of PJs JUST BECAUSE HE THOUGHT THAT MC WOULD LOOK GOOD IN THEM???? No matter how many times I watch it I still find it wild LMFAOOO. Also for some reason ML undresses in from of MC and MC points out ML's muscles which is so different from the OG because originally it was because of the hot springs + MC never loudly commented on ML's physique. MC looked like a pervert LMFAO. Also, ML never mentioned that he worked out/kept up with his body for MC, so it made the scene a lot more awkward IMO. ML's house is also different, in here he has an extra bedroom while in the other adaptations, MC slept in the living room.

It was so adorable when ML came over JUST to cover MC with a quilt. Also, my guy was battling demons trying to stay a green flag.

They expanded a lot more on the BBQ scene, which was so nice! I loved seeing the two of them have a normal conversation for once, both gushing over their favorite manga. I feel like this made their relationship progression a lot smoother because in the other adaptations they never really had the opportunity to actually engage in a long and meaningful conversation. Most of the time conversations are very one-sided and awkward since MC is reading all of ML's thoughts thus decreasing the amount of naturally born conversation between the two. Not only do I like it because of their conversation but also their interaction flowed very naturally. This time ML was the one who held on to the vouchers (mildly similar to the Thai ver), thus when it was time to pay it was more so an act of responsibility rather than altruism. They also added a movie date after the BBQ, except MC dipped and ruined the whole moment.

Just like the Thai drama, it would be easier for me to list all the similarities than differences to the manga. I think that in this case, the many changes are easily justifiable because this format (radio dramas or any audio-only mediums) is really limited. Typically creators can rely on visual clues and/or descriptions to enhance character dynamics and interactions. Thus it's natural for the producers of this drama to drag out character interactions and add some to get the same feelings and character dynamics across. You can argue that audio-dependent mediums have an advantage compared to novels but there isn't a novel for cherry magic. You're adapting an audio-only drama from a written-visual medium, which is pretty different. You can easily translate written words to spoken audio but visual cues are lost to translation.

One problem...the sexual harassment scene here was portrayed very similar to the anime. Sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. The background music wasn't as bad but cmon.....

THIS HAS FIRE OPS AND EDS. I love the songs, honestly just listen to the radio drama for the music.

→ Rating ✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩

8/10

I really liked this one, again if we're going for accuracy then this would get a low rating, but we're not yahoo!

I really liked how the characters were portrayed, their relationships, etc. I feel like this version really perfected the characters.

I kinda wished that there was more focus on his life outside of the office and that there was more character background info.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ Conclusion:

Honestly, my favorite part of doing this whole thing is seeing how culture impacts stories and adaptations. The two that changed the most details were the Thai and Chinese adaptations so it's pretty neat to see how Japanese cultural details were switched out. I think that the office worker environment and interactions between co-workers and the differences between the Japanese version, Chinese version, and Thai version are the most interesting. (yes repetitive but we're not in English class now are we?)

Every version is different, and I loved comparing and seeing how every medium communicates the story a bit differently. There are benefits and negatives to picking a specific medium, looking at Cherry Magic was an interesting case study (I know that I haven't gone into detail on how the specific medium caused changes and instead just talked about the changes but trust I was thinking about it.). I might do an analysis in the future solely focusing on that, but who knows.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ

THANK YOU @mil0nes FOR EDITING MY GOD AWFUL WRITING. Hmu whenever you need a kidney I WILL give you mine (if we're incompatible then I'll sacrifice someone for you babe..Just don't quote me in a court of law xx)

If you read the whole thing then tysm !!

I'll probably make one for Semantic Error soon. ^^

[adachikiyoshi]

omg thank you so much i thought i was the only one who didnt like the thai adaptation compared to the manga..... i no longer feel like im insane lol

happy to also not be alone! honestly i wasn't really planning of writing such a long post about my complaints about this version; let people enjoy things or whatever. and as much as i think it's the worst adaptation thus far, i did still enjoy a good chunk of it. as i mentioned on the post my main gripe with fans of that version is the claim that this is a better or more faithful version of the story. you can argue the use of descriptors like "better" are subjective and obviously i am not going to argue with that but when people say stuff "this is better than the original" they don't even know what the original is. you can enjoy cmth. but cmth is an adaptation and can be criticized for not being a good one. 🤷

[cherrymagiczip]

Cherry Magic Masterdoc

I created an easy to follow guide to access most of the available cherry magic content, and the various adaptations. Enjoy 🍒 🫶 and please listen to the radio drama

[jilyawards]

The Jily Fandom Rec List 2024 is a compilation of Jily stories our readers want to keep an eye on for this year's awards.

SEPTEMBER

all the king's horses, all the king's men (completed, 7.1k) by @jilyss. Rated G.

As queen, Lily Evans faces the suffocating weight of isolation and loneliness that comes with the crown. The only constant in her life is James Potter, her loyal and ever-watchful royal guard.

it's brighter now (WIP, 21.6k as of 30 Sept 2024) by @gigglesandfreckles-hp. Rated T.

“Oh, come on," James says, grinning. "I know you know who I am.” Something strange flashes across her face. “Is that so?” He drops into the open seat across from her and gestures toward his face, smiling widely. “This doesn’t ring any bells?” “Your…face,” she clarifies slowly.

Raising A Kid With My Ex (completed, 74.5k) by @wearingaberetinparis. Rated M.

James Potter and Lily Evans, two Phoenix Radio employees who had secretly admired one another from afar, pretended to be fake exes for their show “Shout Out To My Ex”. When Lily fell pregnant with James’ baby – after a whole lot of drama, disbanding “Shout Out To My Ex” and a breakup – the soon-to-be parents started a new show, named “Knocked Up By My Ex” in which they documented their pregnancy. Now, baby Harry has been born and Lily and James have to learn to navigate the challenges - major highs and some surprising lows - of parenthood together, despite the fact that they haven’t even been together for a year. A whole lot of chaos combined with a whole lot of love makes the perfect recipe for a new show: “Raising A Kid With My Ex”. Their fans’ well-intended advice, of course, might just be the cherry on top (even though some of it is truly completely bonkers). Yet, as James and Lily navigate parenthood together, they have to battle unprecedented forces that are making their journey as new parents a lot more difficult than they had anticipated. A Jily Modern AU inspired by Rachel Lynn Solomon’s “The Ex Talk” and sequel to “Shout Out To My Ex” and “Knocked Up By My Ex”.

crossbow, gun, and magic (and other stories) (oneshot collection, 12.8k as of 30 Sept 2024) by apalapucian. Rated T.

a collection of unrelated stories ft. james, lily, sirius, remus, and (occasionally) peter. so far: i. james, sirius, and lily; modern au ii. in the universe where sirius is the first to know; jily; hogwarts iii. blackevans (old fic rewrite); hogwarts; jily iv. james's last thoughts (old fic rewrite); jily; canon compliant v. order mission at a pureblood party; jily vi. zombie apocalypse au (old fic rewrite); jily vii. lily drunk-proposes to james (tumblr prompt) viii. james gets caught by death eaters (tumblr prompt)

Surface Pressure (completed, 1.3k) by @eastwindmlk. Rated T.

Lily dealing with the weight of her own expectations in 7th year

Partners (completed, 1.3k) by @ohmygodshesinsane. Rated T.

James is the last person Lily expects to visit when she's ill in the Hospital Wing, but the new Head Boy has more than one surprise for her.

Literary Sophistication (completed, 2.5k) by @andromedabooks. Rated G.

A quick Jily bookstore AU from my Tumblr

let me make it up to you (completed, 3.4k) by @kay-elle-cee. Rated E.

Two weeks ago, James left for a mission in the middle of the night without saying a word. Now he's is back, and Lily's not so quick to forgive.

speak now (completed, 1.4k) by @firefeufuego. Rated T.

The fuse has been lit. Lily can almost hear the crackling hiss of it, feel the building burn of it in the air as Sirius takes the reins of the conversation, as drinks are bought and poured down newly dry throats, and eventually as last orders are called and the four of them are standing outside and saying farewell with kisses on cheeks. Sam and Sirius apparate away. Lily and James do not. They stand, eyes fixed firmly on each other, ready to ignite. ‘Not forever, you said?’ James asks, his voice deep and quiet in a way that’s never been hers to hear before now. Follow-up to the lovely kay-elle-cee's 'silence and patience, pining in anticipation'.

crafting chemistry (completed, 4.8k) by @gigglesandfreckles-hp. Rated T.

“Is there something that needs to be discussed between the three of us?” Minerva prompts, her eyes narrowing sharply. Lily’s face betrays her first. A bright flush creeps slowly along her cheeks, blooming from her neck upward, as though her skin can’t hide the emotion simmering underneath. She keeps her eyes stubbornly trained on the far corner of the office, anywhere but James. Minerva notices James’s hand, the one that had been habitually running through his hair, freeze mid-motion, his fingers tightening slightly.

under the influence of loss (completed, 2.1k) by @gigglesandfreckles-hp. Rated T.

“Like what? You fancy me! Kiss me.” Each time she says it, it’s like a new bruise blooms around his heart, her words pressing on all of them at once. “I can’t!” he shouts, the frustration cracking through. “Because I’ve been drinking?” she demands, a bitter laugh escaping her. “Your chivalry is duly noted, Potter, but I’m giving you a pass here. Just—” “It’s not about that,” he interrupts.

common ground (completed, 3.8k) by @gigglesandfreckles-hp. Rated G.

Lily pauses, suddenly aware of James’s intense gaze. “What? Why are you…” Heat rushes to her cheeks, and she hates it. “Why are you looking at me like that?” “Nothing,” he says, shaking his head. “It’s just…it’s a good look on you, Evans.” “What is?” she asks, self-consciously. His grin widens. “Mischief.”

sidewalk chalk, covered in snow (completed, 8.7k) by @gigglesandfreckles-hp. Rated G.

She didn’t mean to get used to any of them. [or: Lily Evans is strictly anti-Marauders...until she isn't. one by one.]

Till Death Do Us Part (Let It Be Quick) (WIP, 39.1k as of 30 Sept 2024) by @wearingaberetinparis. Rated M.

“Till death do us part,” she concluded, all air sucked from her lungs. Her fate signed, sealed and delivered. As the priest spoke his final words, she found herself ensnared in her adversary's gaze, trapped by the weight of it, her mouth opening as she spoke under her breath - almost subconsciously: “Let it be quick.” A Jily Arranged Marriage AU in which Lady Lily never imagined she would fall for the husband she was forced to wed. Inspired by My Lady Jane.

Check out the previous months' recs too: January, February, March || April || May || June || July || August

[stickers-on-a-laptop]

me hearing an extremely famous reference in a different piece of media and just going THE MOON IS A LIAR knowing full well the vast majority of people have no idea what the shit i am talking about

if someone tried to pull a "the moon is beautiful tonight" on me i'd end up saying "the moon is a liar" as an automatic response

[redxx95]

Masterpost of all my major cherry magic posts

(aka Red's Greatest Hitsᵀᴹ)

Just in case: Where to read the manga Masterpost of all my volume 14 translations

Tachibana backstory

Kurosawa & Tachibana parallels

A collection of images about hair

Kisses thread from twitter

Essay about self-sacrifice

Analysis of ep 8 from the radio drama

Squishdachi and Squishsawa <3

Essay about Kurosawa being comphet

Essay about Adachi's "type"

Adachi Smiles thread on Twitter and Bluesky

[sukirofa]

the thing with cherry magic is that the jdrama reached such levels of success that the manga got overshadowed. if you compare it to other manga that were able to have multiple successful adaptations & foreign ones like boys over flowers or playful kiss, in their case even if their respective dramas were popular their manga's popularity did catch up with them, as BoF is still the best selling shoujo of all time and PK is somewhere in the top 10. cherry magic's manga however, even if it's selling good, didn't exactly blow up in the same way. i think the manga is the best iteration of the story (even though i prefer the beginning of the jdrama as an introduction) and thankfully even as the jdrama hype died down the manga still got its opportunities to shine as its own adaptation with the radio drama and the anime and its movie. and then there's cmth which i have very conflicting feelings on since it's claiming to be an adaptation of the manga rather than a remake of the jdrama but the bias towards the latter is so clear. what i'm trying to say is that since the jdrama is gone for good after that great movie sequel, it's about time to give the manga its flowers.

[jojoturnip]

Maybe what I needed you to understand was the love I had for him.

The love I still have.

I've been making a timeline of my life in therapy. It's split between good memories on top and bad ones on bottom. There's so much bad, that much you were willing to accept, but there is a lot of good, too.

Sometimes it's the good that keeps me up at night more than anything.

A younger me runs around our old apartment carrying the wand he hand-carved me from cherry wood ("all purpose, good for a young girl to learn all sorts of magic on"). I asked him to keep a crystal point off the top unlike the other wands he made because I liked to wave around, and I was afraid I'd hurt something I had a sharp tip. Besides, I loved that wand so much I kept it under my shirt, at the ready for playing pretend any chance I got. I'd have scratched myself to hell and back if he had added a point. He put a piece of polished, smooth citrine on the other end of it so I could at least channel some energy.

Citrine was my favorite stone. Because it was yellow. Because I loved the color yellow. Because it meant happiness and joy and sunshine. Because that's who I was.

He wrote me a song once, before he even got with my mom officially. He named it, "Sunshine Girl." My mom recorded me singing to myself in the mirror as I blow-dried my hair once and sent it to him as he wrote it. I was so embarrassed.

He would pick me up from school a lot, and I loved that part of my day. My elementary school got out earlier than my sister's middle school, so it meant riding around with him and getting fast food while we waited. He would teach me about music on the radio, tell me my voice was much prettier than Melissa's, and listen to all the drama I would bring home from my day.

When he went to auctioneering school, we practiced the tongue twisters together in the living room, laughing about Betty and her butter batter. He graduated as the valedictorian of his class. I cheered him on from the audience.

He taught me to shoot a bow, adjusted my draw weights and sights, cut me grips from his leather scraps, and fixed up the old long bow when I snapped it from pulling it too far. His hands over my shoulders as he taught me how to stand, over my three fingers as he taught me to aim. He made a quiver with me by hand with buffalo rawhide and sheep leather and sinew. He brought home horse hair for fringe but I was too freaked out to add it. He made the fringe from leather and pony beads instead.

The wand and the quiver and a locker we painted together and so many more things he gave me, made for me are sitting in that storage unit I'm supposed to empty. I don't know how to face them all.

I love him. I miss him. I think that's what you'll never be able to understand.

You didn't want to understand.

I have to juggle what he did, how he hurt me, with how he loved me.

We can call it grooming or gaining my trust or a false childhood built in manipulation, but that doesn't change the fact that it was my childhood. My reality. What I know love to be.

You said you couldn't handle cognitive dissonance. Can't you see I was born from it, bred from it, grown and germinated from its hard and rocky substrate?

A friend told me she thinks I drove you insane. The way I hold and stitch these contradictive truths together. I think that's the most reasonable explanation I've heard so far.

A part of me wants to apologize here. I am sorry that my life was too much for you to bear. That it scared you to see me go back to my family, to love people who hurt me time and time again. I know that must've been hard. I do understand where you are coming from.

Another part of me knows that I never asked for you to take that problem as your own. I never asked you to deal with my parents. I never asked you to save me. I didn't want that. I just wanted someones shoulder to lean and crash on while I carried the burden myself.

Instead, you told me that it was too much for you.

Instead, I supported you through every goddamn second of you refusing to take care of yourself. How was that not too much? You had the option to change. I cannot change my memories, my childhood.

You ask me to lose my family but you cannot get new parents like you can a boyfriend.

You like to compare my situation with you and your ex, a fool's comparison. Your abuser did not raise you. You keep your life when you walk away. You were not made of a boyfriend you met in college. Our situations are different. Our lives are different.

We are different. You never seemed to get that.

My life is tainted. I can't look through rose colored glasses, the stain remains. But I can't get rid of the memories either, or cast them out in distaste. They are a part of me. They are what made me.

I think I needed you to see that.

Remember a week before you broke up with me, you called asking for the explicit details of quite possibly the worst events of my life. Things I can't write about, much less talk about. You said you wouldn't be able to understand me without knowing.

You left me crying on the phone. It was never about understanding.

It took me one and a half years to tell you the bad stuff. It was harder to tell you the good, you know. It's all racing around, conflicting inside of me, too. But if you wanted to understand me, know me like a partner should, it required knowing the good. Seeing me, and how I am built of cognitive dissonance. Seeing the power that it gives me in empathizing with you and others, and the pain that it gives me, too. My existence is a fragile thing.

They were not excuses. They were glimpses into my mind. Into what I go through every single day.

When I let you in, you only wanted to see the bad. But you have to see the good, too. The gut wrenching good that bleeds out of me in yellow. The citrine stones and bamboo arrows and rainbow cheesecakes and Annie lockets.

I'm a storyteller, and I wanted you to know my story. You only wanted to hear a parroted version of your own sung back at you.

I am not you. I never will be.

[plumbley-bee]

Im still listening/watching the radio drama and I'm only on episode 3 but oh my god I love it so much.

"If I could marry kurosawa, none of this would be a problem." ADACHI BABES THAT MEANS YOU LIKE HIM

This might be my favorite adaptation so far, I like how much more of a nerd kurosawa is about the stuff he likes and I feel like for an adaptation with no visuals it somehow does the best job at making me feel like I'm really there in the story watching it all unfold and God it's just really well done!

[aakipple]

uhh stuff based on the cn cherry magic radio drama eps 6 (1st pic) and 7 (the rest)

[cubedmango]

Your art and enthusiasm for it got me to watch the Cherry Magic anime. The anime left me feeling a little hungry because it felt like they left off some of the meat so I read the manga. I'm now caught up with the entire official manga release and I NEED MORE HOW MUCH LONGER MUST I WAIT THIS IS TORTURE.

Thank you for that. <3 Hope you have a great day.

my brainrot acquired another victim..... welcome to the club anon! 😇

if ur caught up on the english release of the manga, the next volume (vol12) is releasing in september, and for the anime we'll be getting news on the movie next month (with the movie itself probably coming out sometime in autumn) !! if u want more cherry magic content in the meanwhile i highly recommend the jdrama and the radio drama (<- not biased at all or anything)

[nova-lightz]

I'm genuinely surprised that Cherry Magic isn't more well known. The tv drama, movie, it's actors, and director have all won awards over the past 3 years and it's STILL such a niche series. Hell, besides the show there's the original manga and even the Chinese radio show adaptation too. Maybe I missed out on the buzz while the tv drama was still airing cause I found Cherry Magic in 2022, but still, it doesn't get talked about a lot. Such a shame :(

[adachikiyoshi]

Rating (almost) every Cherry Magic iteration

Manga, Japanese Drama, Chinese Radio Drama, Japanese Drama Movie, Thai Drama, Anime

After rewatching (almost) every iteration of the story multiple times, I've compiled a list of my personal reviews for each adaptation (and the manga) and how much I would recommend them, what they each did well and what they might have lacked.

Manga:

Personal Score: 9.5/10 (only because it's still on going)

Objective Score: 9/10

Skipability: 0, you can't understand the whole story without the manga and also, you're missing out.

If you're reading this post, you probably know the plot of Cherry Magic, so I won't explain much about that. Since this is mostly to rate the adaptations in comparison to the manga, I can only emphasize how important the entirety of the manga is to understand cherry magic. Doesn't matter how many adaptations you've watched, I don't think you can truly consider yourself a fan if you don't engage with the manga. It's the only version where everything has the proper time to be fleshed out, especially in regards to Adachi, Kurosawa and their relationship. Toyota's writing as the story goes on is something to marvel at and unfortunately, the adaptations have yet to reach that far to represent it properly. The art progression is also noticeable and even if the art style puts you off at first you can see and appreciate the improvement.

Japanese Drama (2020):

Personal score: 9.5/10

Objective score: 8.5/10

Skippability: Maybe a 2-3, you can still enjoy the story without it but it's worth seeing how the drama influenced the manga.

Arguably the most popular and most successful iteration of the story, the Japanese drama of Cherry Magic deserves every bit of praise it gets. Before I get into the pros and cons, I need to contextualise the environment the jdrama was created and aired in because recent conversations lack nuance on that aspect. The Cherimaho drama was produced and aired on TvTokyo in 2020 and it was the station's second BL drama, the first being the incredible slice of life gay cooking drama, What Did You Eat Yesterday? So, wanting to replicate the success of that, the creators wanted to focus on the human drama aspect of Cherry Magic without, of course, toning down its LGBT themes. And they did exactly that. And they did that very well. The execution, while not flawless, was incredible start to end. The way they adapted the characters into a more toned down environment felt natural, and not too far off from their original characterisation. It's a visual feast and among all adaptations, it has the best and most memorable soundtrack. The strongest point of this adaptation has to be Kurosawa as well as the way more minor characters were handled and fleshed out. The progression of the relationship feels natural and they managed to adapt the manga's fast pace in a way that doesn't feel rushed on film form.

As for the weak points, it all comes down to the second half of the show, which I feel I need to give context for once again: Cherimaho drama was created when the manga was merely at volume 4 (in events, that's their first date) and Toyota had shared with the writing team her drafts for volume 5. So, after the confession, the drama had to create original plot lines which, while not bad, did feel different from the strong beginning of the show. The most complained about is the rushed handling of Tsuge and Minato's relationship, which was to be expected as they had so little interactions at that point in the manga. And, of courss, the thing the jdrama is notorious for: the lack of a kiss scene. Was it disappointing? Yes. But believe me when I say that it's literally not as a big deal when you watch the entire show. The show does not shy away from its queerness and there is nothing in their actions that could be interpreted as platonic. This poor production choice (which we can assume was implemented by someone else, tvtokyo has also removed straight kisses from adaptations for some reason and also it Was the height of covid) should not sully your experience with the show and in no way does it take away from its queerness. This version also features an asexual character as well as a mini arc for them so it's clear that the writers knew what they were doing and they were doing their best and it's so clearly conveyed in the gentleness of the show. It is also evident in the movie sequel, but more on that on its time to review.

All in all, I would say you need to experience the jdrama as it becomes a set point for the manga; the story shifts in the best way possible and it's all thanks to the jdrama and its unpredictable success.

(Though nothing beats watching it weekly during COVID)

Chinese radio drama (2022):

Personal score: 9/10

Objective score: 9/10

Skippability: Above a 6 since it's not really influential but I am not exaggerating when I say you are missing out maybe the best spin on the story thus far.

Cherry Magic's first and best foreign adaptation to date. First of all, we need to acknowledge how bananas it is for a niche yaoi manga to get a chinese radio drama because of its drama's success. Second of all, it's hilarious and incredibly romantic and the best and most creative take on the story. The localisation made for some interesting changes in the story and when it came to original plot lines, they nailed every single one. It's been a hot minute since I rewatched it but it's such a memorable piece of media. It's extremely underrated considering how accessible it is (thank you naina <3). Audio form foreign media may be hard to get into but the radio drama deserves every second of your time. Literally the only weak point I can mention for this adaptation is that it's not a visual medium and it's hard to get used to at first. But the voice acting, the character writing, the music, the manga and original plots— everything was executed near perfection.

Oh and it's just fucking hilarious. Like, extremely so.

Japanese Drama Sequel Movie (2022):

Personal score: 9/10

Objective score: 8/10

Skippability: 0 if you've watched the jdrama.

Cherimaho the Movie was announced on November 28th 2021 for a, later revealed, April 2022 release. And us international fans were able to watch it on November 8th 2022.... And yes, it was worth it! A manga loyal sequel to the jdrama, which had an original ending, was a bit hard to execute so there are points you have to suspend your belief. But this sequel was a nice last peek into the relationship of jdrama Adachi and Kurosawa and a well done farewell to the jdrama franchise. I was especially moved by the tackling of the reality of a long term gay relationship and the way the characters handled it. The movie is essentially split into two halves and both are crucial for Adachi and Kurosawa's development. If I had to mention a weak point, besides one or two scenes, it would be that I would love for certain events and character actions to be more in line with the manga but I am also aware that those changes were made to fit the characterisation already set by the Japanese Drama. Oh and the no kiss thing is still an issue somehow. But again, the rest of the story being good enough makes up for it. Still questionable production choices.

Thai Drama (2023-2024)

Personal score: 4/10

Objective score: 6/10

Skippability: 10, only recommended out of morbid curiosity.

Harsh score. What did the show get so wrong? I will admit being biased against it at first. Right after the movie had just dropped, a new adaptation is announced and almost immediately steals the spotlight. It doesn't help that it's produced by GMMTV, who, along with japanese channel MBS, I consider the most annoying BL factories (with the rare exceptions) for fans and shows alike. I also wasn't thrilled that the casting was decided on a pre-existing couple rather than which actors would fit each individual character best. But I tried to look forward to it, especially since the cast and crew insisted that this was a manga adaptation rather than a remake and that they would go beyond the plot lines the japanese drama did. I had some gripes with the jdrama in comparison to the manga so that was good to hear. After a while, they dropped a few trailers and I decided that my worries were probably for nothing and that the show seemed interesting and we produced. And it surprisingly was! For a few episodes, at least. The localisation is very well done. Adachi's living situation, his transport to work, the work environment— vastly different from the original setting but successfully adapted to Thai culture. This version is a lot more lighthearted on about everything. At first, this was a fun spin. Focusing on its comedy, since it's a strong point of the earlier story. But, as the show went on, that wasn't necessarily a good thing. The strong point of this adaptation was the first few episodes as well as the production quality. It's visually beautiful as far as settings, Tay and Jan go. The runtime being longer kind of worked in their favor, as each episode would cover more ground (with exception ep1 which managed to adapt like 15 pages into 50 minutes). Another strong point is the handling of Tsuge and Minato—although their age gap wasn't properly conveyed, the chemistry they had, even if they were a bit out of character, was fun enough. Unlike the Jdrama, the writers here had a clearer visiom of what they wanted to do with them (and they also had like 7 more volumes of content).

Unfortunately, this is as far as my praises go. The weakest point of this show is its main character. Adachi, in this show Achi, is the most unlikeable protagonist I've seen in a hot minute—and I was watching Ossans Love while this was airing. Generally, he's not even that bad ; but he's kind of run of the mill stereotypical uke archetype you'd find in those manufactured BLs, pretty opposite of what Adachi is. He goes through no character development as he begins pretty much at where Adachi ends and he's just so uninteresting to follow. The actor didn't do a great job either but to his defense, he wasn't given much to work with. Kurosawa's counterpart, Karan was way better, at least but he can't make up for the protagonist. The completely made up heterosexual ship between Fujisaki and Rokakku (Pai and Rock here) was a pain to watch especially since they tried to keep Pai's independent nature from the Jdrama (where she was canonically aroace) which just made her disinterested in Rock's advances until the very last episode where she's suddenly into him–if i wanted to watch a badly paced heterosexual couple I wouldn't be watching a BL, respectfully. But besides all that, I think this adaptation was a wasted opportunity. It clearly had budget and time. But it relied heavily on the Jdrama instead of the manga and well, that's fine for fans of the drama but promising manga accuracy and delivering an even more sanitised version of the jdrama was just a huge disappointment. Why should I relive the japanese drama? What's YOUR take on the manga?

Also to clarify rumours I've seen spread around, Toyota was not involved in the making. The japanese side that needed to approve the script was not directly reporting to Toyota because another company has the rights to distribute the Cherry Magic IP, she wasn't as involved in negotiations and stuff as people claim she was, especially considering she learned of the show's existence a few days before the general public did. The usage of AI art in the drama's promotion despite Toyota being vocally anti AI was also a point of disconnect that left a bitter taste in my mouth. But also I acknowledge that Cherry Magic Thailand exists mostly for Thai fans, probably in a similar way the 80% of my country's tv shows are remakes and honestly good for them, I'd love to have a CM remake in my culture even if it's not "perfect" and I'm sure parts I personally found confusing as changes make sense in a way I cannot understand, hence why the objective score is pretty higher than my personal score.

Anime (2024)

Personal score: 8.5/10

Objective score: 7.5/10

Skippability: 4, cute and loyal enough so it's worth checking out

The much anticipated Cherry Magic anime was something, alright. I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish but it, unfortunately, has some glaringly big problems when it comes to its animation. For the runtime they were given, they were able to include much more than I thought they would and even if the pace tended to be faster than expected at times it wasn't as much of a problem; I love Cherry Magic a lot and I believe its strongest narratives begin after volume 5 or so and I'm glad we had the chance to see a little of that as well. The voice acting is definitely the greatest thing about this adaptation. In most of CM's adaptations, Kurosawa's actor tends to always stand out more but the anime for me is a bit more balanced; both Kobayashi and Suzuki are extremely talented and passionate in this. Thankfully, the same passion is also transmitted in the english dub, which is so fucking funny. A lot of people were disappointed with the last episode, as they fast forwarded some things for a grand finale but I'm willing to let it slide because at least they are self aware about the impossibility of a second season and chose to show some highlights we might not have gotten otherwise. Plus, they're making up with the movie so, we'll see! Back to the animation though, some episodes were criminal to sit through. It's sad because this treatment is likely because CM is a josei bl manga and animation projects like that tend to get the short end of the stick a Lot. That piano BGM *you know the one* was also frustrating at times. And I wish the colors popped a little more, yknow?

Honorable mention: Audio Drama (2019-)

I can't score it because I listened to it once on a bus ride and I'm not even sure I finished it. I'm sure I'll come back to it.

Happy Cherimaho The Musical to all those who still celebrate <3 And if you made it all the way here, don't forget to check the Cherry Magic Masterdoc <3