Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
‘Your Summer My Storm’ starts with the kind of romantic setup I usually avoid: two siblings and one love interest. It vaguely reminded me of Sense and Sensibility, a novel I remember absolutely nothing about because my brain quickly expunges anything it doesn’t care for, including tropes about siblings falling for the same person. Here, a guy falls for his sister’s boyfriend over tutoring sessions, which immediately made me wonder: how does he get the guy without things getting ugly? Since his sister is introduced as a fun university student who’s quick to change boyfriends, I assumed she’d simply dump him and conveniently clear the path for her baby brother’s love story. That’s not what happens, though.
Directed by Takezono Hajime and Kinoshita Naomi, ‘Your Summer My Storm’ stars Fukada Ryusei as primary protagonist Takemiya Natsuki, a final year high school student in dire need of help with his grades. His older sister Rio (Tanabe Momoko) arranges for her nerdy-cute new boyfriend Kobayakawa Sota (Ukisho Hidaka) to give Natsuki home lessons. And even though Natsuki isn’t happy about the extra classes from his sister’s boyfriend, he starts to have an existential crisis when he begins to fall in love with kind Sota. Sunny smiles, soft pats on the head and little stickers of approval for his academic progress are all it takes.
You don’t even need to watch the trailer for ‘Your Summer My Storm’ to see that it’s supposed to be a light-hearted romantic drama, so the first few episodes will probably have you wondering how they’re going to deal with the rather tricky matter of Natsuki’s crush on Sota. In a comical scene, Rio teases Natsuki about how he always wants the same things she has when he borrows something from her. Although apparently he’s never had a crush on any of her previous boyfriends. Natsuki himself keeps dating and getting dumped by different girls, but obviously, when it comes to tutor Sota, the feelings are far more serious.
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Fukada Ryusei is quite adorable as the confused Natsuki, especially since his character is always quick to start crying over the smallest things. It’s a subtle indication of the sheltered and protected life he lives. His family is warm, his mom (Hada Michiko) and dad (Inoue Hajime) dote on him, and so does his sister. They also have the cutest, fluffiest Samoyed named Rock, who essentially serves as an emotional support animal for crybaby Natsuki. Rock’s going to make pet lovers fall in love with his small cameos.
Ukisho Hidaka, meanwhile is sweet and understated as Sota, a sincere college student with a passion for bridges and architecture. The onscreen chemistry between the leads isn’t exactly electric, but they do look good together, and both characters are highly likable, which makes their slow-burn romance easy to root for.
Tanabe Momoko is also a delight as Natsuki’s bright and outgoing older sister, who’s always looking out for him. In fact, one of the most memorable scenes in the show is when the siblings have a direct heart-to-heart about Natsuki’s romantic troubles and why he seems to be having such a hard time. Sota too expresses his admiration for the close, nurturing and positive atmosphere of Natsuki’s family, with their home usually bustling with the chatter of friends and loved ones.
Let’s just say the creators resolve everything in ‘Your Summer My Storm’ with the silliest of twists, one that might feel like they’re cheating the viewers, but also one that perfectly maintains the show’s light-hearted mood. There are no tense emotional showdowns or ugly break-ups. The characters actually communicate with each other, and one of the show’s strongest ingredients is how supportive Natsuki’s mother and sister are of him.
Long review short: if you’re looking for a silly, cutesy romance that masquerades as a love triangle but actually has very little tension or angst, check out Your Summer My Storm. It’s mostly about people cooking, having fun conversations and hanging out while a slow-burn romance quietly brews between two cute guys who are both pretty clueless when it comes to love.
The climax was a huge bummer and ends the story far too abruptly, but overall, the laid-back, nostalgic Japanese BL mood makes Your Summer My Storm the kind of show you’d want to stream when you’re in the mood for some rainbows and sunshine.
Your Summer My Storm is on Viki, and GagaOolala.
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