JDrama Review: Neechan no Koibito

Title: Neechan no Koibito, Our Sister’s Soulmate, Older Sister’s Lover

Episodes: 9

Genre: Slice of Life, Romance, Family, Drama, Comedy

Story: 7 out of 10

Characters: 7 out of 10

Cinematography: 7 out of 10

Japanese Drama Neechan no Koibito is a sweet slice of life with a simple, but with some depth, plot.

Poster of the Japanese Drama Neechan no Koibito

Story

Momoko has been working at a hardware store for years in order to support her three younger brothers after their parents died when she was in high school. She has given up on her own happiness all this time, until she meets a coworker, Manato, and she falls in love with him.

Japanese Drama Neechan no Koibito is a slow slice of life with some drama added here and there, a soft romance, and a sweet family story.

The main plot is pretty simple and it takes place most of the time in the hardware store, where the main character, Momoko, meets her love interest, interacts with her colleagues, and shares her thoughts on how to create the best shopping experience during the holidays.

However, that way of presenting the story stole many family moments from the drama in the beginning, and forced the pace to be slower and the story to lose the main interest.

Things picked up towards the ending, when the sibling dynamics were better presented, the dark secret of the main lead came to light, and the many characters involved in the story were nicer wrapped up.

The romance, moreover, had some cute moments, was smoothly paced and it often gave room to the rest of the story, but didn’t overdo it with the tragedy element.

The main character of the Japanese Drama Neechan no Koibito

Characters

Momoko is a positive person who is working hard to support her family, as, for her, her siblings are her whole world. She puts their happiness above everything else, but she is also there when someone needs her.

Arimura Kasumi was really sweet and did a great job with her character, however, Momoko was a bit too optimistic at times.

Watch Arimura Kasumi in her other drama JDrama Chugakusei Nikki

Manato works at the same hardware store as Momoko. He is a quiet man who smiles a lot. He shares the same views as Momoko, but he hides a dark secret about his past that forces him to be afraid of love.

Hayashi Kento really shined in his dramatic scenes.

Miyuki is Momoko’s childhood friend. She is having a hard time finding a job, but she doesn’t give up, even though her job hunting is her only priority in her life.

Nao was really cute.

The main characters of the Japanese Drama Neechan no Koibito

Cinematography

The drama had a relaxing, slow pace and it handled the flash backs nicely.

Overall

My overall rating for the Japanese Drama Neechan no Koibito is 6.5 out of 10. The drama is a sweet slice of life, but some plotlines were boring.

Disclaim: None of the pictures used in this post are mine. Credits to the owners. Click on them to get their links