Old Fashion Cupcake (2022)

Sweet Spot for this drama

I’m always going to be disappointed by how short Japanese dramas can be. But that also has very good reasons, this drama doesn’t waste time and each minute is spent well.

Developing characters I care about than even 16 hours of any other drama is pretty impressive. Rather than staying safe and doing what’s commonly done by overplaying the BL aspect of this show, Old Fashioned Cupcake doesn’t. This show really takes its time developing the main relationship of the show, and while others might find it dragging- I think it’s realistic and a respectful story.

The relationship of Togawa and Nozue starts from respect. The main base holding it together is that they respect eachother a lot. What I’m saying here is that this relationship is healthy and I’m so happy to see it. It could’ve taken the route of obsession and possessive attitudes, trying to seduce your boss out of lust alone. That’s not the case here. Instead Togawa has a genuine respect for Nozue and had never became that way out of intimidation. It’s never blatantly said until episode 4 that Togawa likes Nozue, but the acting really is spot on here in showing that he clearly does. For both actors, I’m so glad that they have chemistry and I’m so immersed by their acting that I feel like I really am watching something real.

The stand out part of this drama is the tender moments between the two. It’s a slice of life, where Nozue is getting to his 40’s and lives day by day, he has his relationships and friends and is adored by his staff but he isn’t living as happily as he could. The potential happiness that could be fully reached when finding your person is amazing and so beautiful to think about. This drama tells that sort of story so well. Nozue and Togawa are happy together and they acknowledge and tell eachother that they bring out the best for eachother. Nozue does compare with Togawa in terms of his age but it’s not in a toxic way, they share their vulnerabilities with eachother and gradually that’s how they become closer and that’s how as a viewer you really care about their relationship.

This drama is subtle, but puts in the intense moments in the right parts that isn’t over stressed. Specifically episode four, after four episodes of watching their relationship become more tension, Togawa can’t sugarcoat his feelings by brushing them off, he admits he likes Nozue. He doesn’t want to burden Nozue with his feelings and is careful and respectful with his words, I really like how he never had forced anything on him. And in moments he felt he had he apologizes. It’s heartbreaking how they see the flaws in their relationships from their age, gender, and status as co-workers. But it’s realistic. Neither of them are homophobic, and instead Togawa believes that his kind of love is out of the normal for most, but normal for him. He’s not ashamed of his feelings, he’s only careful about them. Togawa cares about Nozue so much that he thinks about his feelings even when irrationally sharing his true feelings.

The music in this drama amplifies any feelings of worry, love, sadness, etc. Nothing in the drama overstays it’s welcome and I’m bitter about it only being 5 episodes, but as for what it is- this drama is amazing.

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A warm cup of coffee with a side of dessert

In as little as 5 episodes, Old Fashion Cupcake immediately became one of my top BLs. It has a clever way at navigating the ups and downs of adult life, heteronormativity, and the sensual symbols of food.

The film work is so captivating, and often seamless with its transitions. The warmth in colours has a perfect contrast with subtle pans to the main leads as they struggle to find self-acceptance.
The acting is hands-down one of the best performances I have seen in a long time. The actors delivered strong communication, often without spoken words, and displayed a healthy dose of cheesiness to break the tension. One scene has a long single take, which immediately puts you in a state of awe because of how determined these actors were to get the scene right.
The characters felt breathable; as in, they were walks of ordinary life, with relatable struggles. You feel attached to some of the characters' personalities, which I believe is a strong point in this series.
The chemistry with the leads leaves you enamoured. The intricate ways of how they share their hidden love through meeting each other more and more leaves you both on the edge of your seat and adoring the bond they have. They work fantastically well.
I am teetering between wanting more and leaving it as is. Five episodes may seem like too little, but you'll be surprised with how, in this rare instance, the length isn't a problem at all.
Give this show a watch.

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This is a phenomenal story told tenderly and enchantingly

This is a simple basic story of love. Stated with great care with a complete understanding of the characters. And proves that even in a repressed society filled with rules, protocols, and defined traditions, you can still flourish love. And define clearly what that love is and subsequently earn a place in perhaps your own peaceful, loving world. This story is a remarkable, unpretentious tale of love between two rather sequestered men who know exactly what is happening to each other and in the end, summon just enough gritty determination to overcome the societal shackles of ‘acceptable’ behavior. Just remarkable in its softness and beauty.

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Love the main actors.

I can't believe this is rated so low! That is truly criminal, the acting and story are fantastic and the chemistry between these two is EVERYTHING! I'll be so sad once it ends next week, wish it was longer. I am happy I stumbled on to this, but mostly it was because I did an specific BL search looking for something else, not because it was promoted in any way. The acting specially in above par, wonderful actors indeed. The film style also deserves praise, the camera angles, the way small little touching details were filmed, the slow but at the same time perfect development of their friendship, all of it was done with such care.

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Its Only Five Episodes, You Might Aswell

i liked this series because its short, easy to follow, its straightforward, super sweet and sappy and lovey-dovey, and, i dont know if this is a spoiler, but theres NO love triangle and no complicated drama, it just focuses on the two main characters and their relationship and that is IT

the show wasnt great because of their awkward acting, neither of the dudes really seemed like they knew how to act like theyre in love with a guy, whether thats because they dont know what its like to be in love with a guy (idk their personal life so im not going to just assume) or whether its due to bad directing and trying to stick to the mangas scenes panel for panel even when it looks weird executed in live action (i havent read the manga so i cant tell for certain), or whether its due to something compeletely different, it was only 5 episodes so i got through it
its not a dealbreaker to me simply because of the short amount of episodes, buuut a lot of it just seemed forced and awkward which i think happens a lot with the mlm series i've watched that are inspired by mangas
that being said, even doe i think their physical acting was bad, like their body language and skinship and stuff, their verbal delivery was really good imo (: they say some really sincere lines, i dont know japanese and could only tell based on subtitles, but i do think they spoke very clearly and emotionally, some lines REALLY hit my heart

anyways, all i can really say is:
since its only 5 episodes, You Might Aswell
go watch this short short series if you want something extremely sappy and cute with great lines, and you can use your imagination to make the weird awkwardness between these grown men in their thirties into proper vulnerability and clear emotional communication, or maybe you enjoy dudes in their thirties acting like teenagers, that is okay too, in that case, this is exactly a show for you!
thank u and Goodnight

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I liked it so much better than some of the more well-known Japanese BLs

Old Fashion Cupcake lays bare the fear of growing old(er) and not having any remarkable achievements to speak of. Almost inevitably, a reluctance to try new things often set in as we get older.

OFC is here to show us that the meaning to life is not some complex formula, derived from days of broody deliberation. It’s the everyday joys that bring colour to our existences. And a partner to do it with.

There’s nothing much to the plot – just 2 guys meeting up to eat desserts and take cute photos as they pretend to ‘act’ like young girls (who seem to have the most fun, apparently). This exercise supposedly reverses the effects of ageing (read: becoming old, stiff and dull) …. Until they come to the realisation that you “don’t need to be young, or a girl to have fun”.

OFC is slice-of-life, often featuring extended conversations between Nozue and Togawa taking place within a single location. Their conversations are deep enough to stir profound emotions, but are never overly pretentious.

There’s only 5 episodes but it’s plenty of time for Nozue and Togawa’s relationship to develop and blossom. The process of them falling in love is wonderfully relatable – no overly dramatic moments, just 2 people finding plenty of excuses to spend time together.

Overall, watching this put such a huge smile on my face and it was such a pleasant surprise to have discovered this show!

Full review: https://asianblreviews.wordpress.com/2022/07/05/old-fashion-cupcake-2022-review/

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Very sweet, slow-burn (even though only 5 episodes)

Almost perfect!
The acting was awesome, very natural. Both actors were nuanced in facial expressions, tone of voice, and body posture. It was a joy watching them interact as their characters.

The show had a positive message and multiple thoughtful and memorable quotes.
There were a few comedic moments that made me legitimately laugh out loud.
Music was unremarkable, but didn't distract either.

The story felt a lot more rushed in the last episode than it had in the previous four episodes. For this reason, I wish they had made it six episodes. The ending wasn't completely satisfying because of this, in my opinion, and brought my rating down. I think it still has high rewatch value though.

SPOILER ABOUT ENDING:
... ... ...
After all the tension and build-up, having their first *mutual* kiss at the end interrupted left me feeling frustrated and disappointed, lol. I wanted that sweet resolution to go with the relief and happiness.

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Cute

The hype for this series was LOUD. I knew I needed to watch this as soon as I could, and I think it lives up to its hype maybe halfway. This is not me saying the series was terrible -- because it was really good, except, not very memorable for me. Old Fashion Cupcake is a mini little office series about two workers falling in love and finding it at their, "old ages".

Let's Dive In.

I only put "Old Ages" in quotation marks cause I don't consider either of them too old for love, especially Togawa. But one thing I appreciate about this series is that we do get to see an older love story, which is very rare to receive in a BL. And they did it beautifully. I loved that Nozue got to discover new things he liked and enjoyed since before meeting Togawa he was stuck in his I-have-to-act-my-age bubble. It was a delight to watch him eat pancakes and drink milkshakes and just look so excited and giddy.

More on Nozue, I appreciate the very accurate understanding of a man going through a life crisis of turning 40 and still not understanding his life or knowing what he wants or loves. It's something that can be easily reliable and I'm sure a lot did. I also just loved watching him be such an old man and accidentally taking videos instead of photos. God, I loved him.

I also really liked Togawa, and it's not only because he's gorgeous, but it's also just because I can't pinpoint my exact admiration for him -- maybe because he can take a man like Nozue and show him that age is literally just a number -- but I really enjoyed watching them grow on screen and we slowly watch them fall for one another.

I think the chemistry was great, and so was their connection. The only thing that really threw me off was Togawa's unexpected and forceful actions towards Nozue in the 4th episode. It was so uncalled for, especially if he just would've gone about things calmer and in a manner that didn't seem so erratic. And I also wish they would've gotten an ending kiss, but that's just me being picky.

Rating:

Story: 8 - Good. Enjoyable enough. I usually am not the person to enjoy office-type romances, but this series did a good job of not dwelling too much on the actual work part of it all. The story is short but still entertaining.

Acting: 9 - They did really well. Even though I disliked their first kiss scene, I appreciated Kimura's acting afterward. Beautifully done.

Music: 7 - Didn't really pay much attention. But it wasn't distracting so that's good.

Rewatch Value: 2 - Most likely not.

Out of all the BLs we're getting handed now, there's only room to watch the good ones, and this one is one of those. I recommend it -- it's short and cute. Not the best J-BL I've seen, but it's definitely up there.

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FANTASTIC WRITING AND ACTING!!!

I usually only ever write reviews either when something is extremely horrible that I want to warn people never to watch it, or when something feels so underrated that I want to give it more recognition, and this BL is exactly that, underrated ( I even created this account just to write this ). The themes this BL goes through is extremely relatable to me and a lot of others. Im still 17 but with each growing number I relate to the feeling of not having done anything meaningful in life. The themes with wanting to stray away from the daily routine but also being afraid by it is something I really appreciate that this BL portrays so well. Sometimes I get anxiety attacks and stressed out since I keep thinking about how boring and monotone my life might be. But this series shows me that sometimes it takes just one small thing like eating something new or getting a smoothie you've never drank before to make life more interesting. Moving to the actual acting and writing, I don't usually watch live action BL series because from the stuff I've watched, the actors and scenes feel forced and I get turned off by it. But with this series, the actors really feel like they've been friends for years and did a great job making the characters come to life. The scripting is also really well done. Everything flowed together and each dialogue felt like something that would happen in real life. Nothing felt out of place and the timing/delivery feels organic from both actors. Both of their interactions with one another felt very fluffy and cute without being OVERDRAMATIC cute, where overdramatic cute feels forced and uncomfortable to watch. Basically what Im trying to say is that their relationship doesn't feel forced. Overall I really love this series and It saddened me to hear it only has 5 episodes. Series like these are a rare find, I would even say this is the first BL live action series that producers got right. Im looking forward to the rest! Ill give this a 10/10 and would 100% recommend this to any BL lover <333333

Edited on: July 6, 2022 (EP 5/5)

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Perfect Perfect and Perfect

This series got me screaming like a 12 year old girl and I am neither a girl nor 12. I feel robbed, betrayed and sad that this wonderful series have only 5 episodes. I NEED MORE. I NEED MORE of Nozue and Tagawa. They are so flipping cute. Like omg I can't believe people in their 30s can be this cute. If you liked Cherry Magic then you would liked this even 10 times more. This actually surpassed cherry magic and its no.1 bl in terms of Jp bl. Which i though was not possible but this series surpassed all expectations and climbed even higher. Being shy and hiding your feelings? none of that here, dragging things till the last episode? no sir, cringy acting? fuck no. The acting,ost and story was overall 10/10 for me. The flirting, the tension and kiss was all so *chef kiss*. If you don't give this a watch, you are messing out something great.

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Love and joy in all their forms, told through the medium of Good Food

This show may have permanently rewired my brain and I don't regret a thing. This show Gets Me. It gets what it means to be human, what it means to love and let yourself be loved, what it means to reach for the joy and wonder that can be found in every day life, what it means to yearn for something. It explores what it means to desire; desire a feeling, desire food, desire change, desire a person. I could (and have, shoutout to my friends and my sincere apologies) spend hours ranting about the beautiful and complex use this show makes of food as symbolism, but I won't subject you to that.
Instead I will tell you this:
If you have ever known or wanted to know what it's like to outgrow and shed the shell you've been confined to all your life, to let go of "would have"s and "should be"s and grab for happiness with both hands, then this show is for you.
It is beautiful, it is intense, it is unafraid, it is pure joy.

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