Koi wa tsuzuku yo doko made mo is a successful Japanese drama aired on TBS in 2020 and loosely based on the manga by the same name written by Maki Enjouji.
It is the story of a girl who meets a doctor and, after being fascinated by his ways and his ability to help others, decides to become a nurse in order to meet him again and help him in his mission.

I started watching this drama because I was looking for something light and to be honest, I didn’t expect much. Actually, while watching the first and second episodes, I wasn’t even sure if I was going to continue. I don’t know how, however, this drama became “addictive” and, at the end of each episode, I wanted to watch the next one to find out how things would go.
The plot is typical of the shoujo manga: a not very bright girl falls in love with a man out of her reach and with a shy and reserved character.

Sakura Nanase (Kamishiraishi Mone) studied hard to become a nurse and went to work in the same hospital as a doctor she met by chance and fell in love with. Although from the first episodes it may seem that this is the only reason behind her choice, I’m happy that the character has matured and explained that she also fell in love with the possibility of helping people, and consequently with her profession. I like that, although Sakura (Kamishiraishi Mone) is a typical shoujo protagonist who is a bit silly and very embarrassing, she is also very good-willed and tries hard to become good at her job. In conclusion, her character is not reduced only to her crush, but has a depth.
The actress who plays her was very capable in rendering the facets of her character, going from serious and professional scenes to comical and embarrassing moments.

Dr Tendo (Sato Takeru) is a skilled cardiologist who, due to a loss, has withdrawn into himself and no longer smiles. The only kindnesses he has he reserves for his patients and treats, or it would be better to say mistreats, poor Sakura (Kamishiraishi Mone) who continues to make mistakes. Gradually however, spurred on by the girl’s grit, he begins to open up and, once he falls in love with her, he reveals himself to be a shy but affectionate boyfriend.
Overall, I liked the character because, unlike the classic tsundere, he follows a path of growth and improvement. Despite this, however, I hated all the times he called the protagonist baka, the Japanese equivalent of “stupid”.
The actor played his part well, and I must say that, despite everything, it was really hard to resist his magnetic gaze.

Both the lead and supporting couples have good chemistry and are lovely to watch, and luckily all the characters are confident in their feelings and have good communication, so much so that they don’t get involved in unnecessary love triangles or misunderstandings. I particularly enjoyed the scenes with Nishi (Keisuke Watanabe) and Ryuko (Karina).

As far as the hospital context is concerned, however, it should be clarified that this only serves as a background. The medical procedures, in fact, are not explained in depth and, according to the comments of the translators, are sometimes incorrect. They are only used as a context for the protagonist to grow, both professionally and personally. However, I was intrigued to see how the medical personnel actually behave towards the patient in a social context so different from ours.

Overall, the drama is very funny and entertaining, so much so that once I found out it was based on a manga, I felt like reading the original work. However, I was disappointed to find out that the mangaka is Maki Enjouji, author of Hapi mari!?, a manga that left me quite perplexed, given the way the protagonist mistreated his female counterpart.
After reading some reviews on the net, which indicated the comic as unnecessarily long and full of scenes fortunately cut from the drama, I decided not to read it and to avoid wasting my time on something that would probably leave me puzzled once again.

During the airing of the drama, videos complementing the story of the drama were distributed on Paravi, a Japanese streaming site. Enclosed under the title of まだまだ恋はつづくよどこまでも – Mada mada koi wa tsuzuku yo dokomade mo (I’m still in love), they focus on a cat god of love who, under the guise of a bartender, provides advice related to the love sphere to all the characters of the drama. It’s a nice addition, not only because of all the cat winks, but also because it delves into the stories of the secondary characters. Furthermore, the last episode can be considered as the true finale of the series.
The musical moments are hilarious, especially the final one, in which the actors do not hide a certain embarrassment.