My first JDrama: Love Lasts Forever

Gimme a drama to watch this weekend, I'm so sad, I told Russ last Friday and she recommended Koi wa Tsuzuku yo Doko Made mo (Love Lasts Forever). It's not Kdrama, she said, but it's like Heartstrings. Of course, as she was the first to witness me when I was losing myself to the seemingly arrogant but charming Lee Shin, she perfectly knew what I needed. Love Lasts Forever is a Japanese drama starring Takeru Sato (Rurouni Kenshin) and Mone Kamishiraishi (Your Name). It only has 10.5 episodes and it kept me up all night. Because why would I wait until the next day to finish when it was so good I didn't notice it was already 4:30 am?

If Ultimate Crush were in front of me, I could look at him, say hi, and maybe ask him about how he liked the last film he's seen, or bring him some frozen cookies. Mind you, this happens after a few more meetings. But Nanase Sakura is bolder that anyone I knew, and she's one of the bravest women I've ever seen. The first time she sees Kairi Tendo, she falls in love. To her, he was this sweet, fine man who looked like he could save her life in a heartbeat. Five years later, she sees him the second time and she tells him she's head over heels with him. Only to find out that he's the opposite of what she thought him to be. He's cold and a head-level perfectionist and everybody calls him The Devil. Nanase couldn't be budged, though. This crush ain't going away and her determination earned her the title, Miss Hero.

The doctors cure the illness, the nurses take care of the people, says Dr. Koishikawa, the chief consultant of the cardiology department in the drama. Doctors and nurses have and will always have my complete and unwavering respect - their vocation is just too selfless. I've had more than enough time in the ICU as a patient to prove this. There were nurses who were willing to hold my hand when I was in pain, and there were those who'd go beyond the rules just to make the patients feel better and a little bit comfortable. Indeed, there are different ways of looking after the patients. Because when all else fails, the fact that every kind of support was given to the patient could be anyone's saving grace.

Likewise, hospitals have always fascinated me - it's the one place I know where different emotions could come together. Happiness, grief, anxiety, excitement. It's the one place I know where a human life could end and begin. I've always wondered what kind of stories I would hear, if only hospital walls could speak. And of course, it's the place where romance and a love that endures could bloom - right in the middle of the chaos. When you're stuck in a place, whether you've sworn to it, or you just have no other choice, it's too hard to separate your job and your feelings. Tendo-sensei couldn't have realized this at first. Or maybe he did, and he just didn't want to entertain whatever feelings he may have for Nanase, and for whatever reason. Besides, no one could ever stay cold in the presence of our warm and bubbly Miss Hero, Nanase.

This drama is light and has that feel-good vibe to it (hence, a romantic comedy), but definitely not shallow. I like the fact that every patient has their own story, and we are given the glimpse of how they battled their way out of the hospital ward. I cried so hard in one of the episodes because it was too sad, and cried again in another because it ended on a happy note. People have different purpose, and the purpose gives us different results despite having the same goal. This got me into realizing that comparison, really, is irrelevant.

Kairi Tendo is just like Lee Shin and Dao Ming Zhu - cold and a bit scary. He could be the boss you wouldn't wanna come across. I would've gotten drunk, had I taken a shot every time he calls Nanase baka. But it would be the kind of drunken state you'd willingly suffer so he'd carry you on his back and buy you water on the way home. Besides, he's the only one who'd call you an idiot and it'd feel like an equivalent to a romantic endearment. He'd be that one person you'd allow to go into the depths of your heart, not only because you don't need worry about him finding out a chamber in it named after him but because he's an expert and I mean this in a literal sense. He'd be the one you'd want to challenge in anyway, because he's always up for it, and he would hold on to your words when you tell him you'd be with him forever so he'd set out and look for you and bring you home when you're lost. He'd kiss you unexpectedly, and hold you when you need it the most. Oh and yeah, he'd also buy you a freshly baked chocolate cornet on Valentine's Day and you'd wonder why.

I think there was only one song in this drama, the one that plays during the preview of the next episode, and I love it! It's called I Love... by Official HIGE DANdism.

Koi wa Tsuzuku yo Doko Made mo (Love Lasts Forever) is the drama you'd want to watch after binge-watching The World of The Married, or Scarlet Heart Ryeo. It'll definitely chase your stress away and mend your broken heart (Tendo-sensei cures heart problems, baby). I actually forgot the real reason I was crying that Friday night.

Stay sane, baby. Watch this drama. :D

xo