REVIEW: ‘Cherry Magic!’ Episode 1

While I have loved Buddy Daddies and My New Boss is Goofy the past two seasons, it’s refreshing to see a BL anime that isn’t about implications or leaving it for the audience to decide. These are two co-workers falling in love, or rather, one person realizing the other is already in love with him. But in Cherry Magic Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard (Sanjusai made Dotei Da to Mahotsukai ni Nareru rashii) there is a catch, and it all gets laid out in Episode 1.

From this point on, like with most long-titled anime, we’re going to just call this workplace romance Cherry Magic! Based on the manga of the same name by Yuu Toyota, which is localized in English by Square Enix Manga, Cherry Magic! has already had a successful life as two live-action dramas (one from Japan and the other from Thailand), a feature-length live-action film, and now, it finally makes it to animation from studio Satelight.

In the series, love blooms when 30-year-old virgin Kiyoshi Adachi (Chiaki Kobayashi) discovers he has the ability to hear people’s thoughts when he touches them. Having had zero romantic experiences his entire life, his loneliness has shaped him into a wizard. But hearing everyone’s innermost thoughts creates more of an annoyance than anything in his daily life. Then, one day, in the elevator of his company building, he touches the popular Yuichi Kurosawa (Ryôta Suzuki).

When Adachi hears Kurosawa’s thoughts, he hears about a cute crush with a bedhead. He, of course, assumes that Kurosawa’s crush is one of the women in the elevator. Then, KABEDON. Extra close to each other when they’re shuffled in the elevator, his powers reveal that his handsome and popular coworker only has eyes for him. At first, the revelation throws Adachi for a loop. A workplace rom-com at its core, Adachi goes through a rollercoaster of emotions reacting to himself in his head.

First, he thinks that Kurosawa will make an unwanted advance on him. But when he repeats accidental touches and sees just how considerate and nice his co-worker is, Adachi takes it back. Then, his heart skips a beat at the idea of being around Kurosawa. Ultimately, as any adult rom-com would have it, Adachi spends the night at Kuroswa’s house.

While nothing happens, the two are so nervous that they have a hard time sleeping. Slowly, as Adachi goes through the ups and downs of experiencing romance for the first time, he finds himself wanting to reciprocate. The only thing holding back is the assumption that it would be easier if one of them were a woman. This is a common moment in romance stories between two men in Japan. In BL, that uncertainty about love and the stigmas of society often serves as the first conflict between a confident male lead and one who hasn’t experienced love before.

But Kurosawa isn’t your traditional male lead. Instead, he’s calm, patient, and, above all else, just thankful to be spending time with Adachi. He loves him, sure, but only in his private thoughts. Unfortunately for Kurosawa, they aren’t so private anymore. In Cherry Magic Episode 1, the miscommunication is apparent to the viewers and to Adachi. The use of voice-over work to detail Adachi’s internal monologue is expertly done. Adachi’s uncertainty and confusion are a perfect balance to Kurosawa’s doting inner thoughts. As we see them both, we can’t help but hope that Adachi starts to speak up instead of keeping everything to himself.

Cherry Magic Episode 1 ends with conflict rising. Only Adachi is creating it with and for himself. After a night out at a restaurant, Kurosawa is just happy. He’s thankful for the new closeness. He’s hoping for the future when they eat dinner again. Then Adachi gets scared. Kurosawa’s joy and tenderness have always respected Adachi’s boundaries. In fact, while Kurosawa almost calls him cute, he is always trying to make sure he doesn’t disrupt his crush’s comfort, lest he lose him.

Adachi’s loneliness and inability to connect to others is central to Cherry Magic Episode 1 and the romance at its center. In order to reciprocate or choose not to, Adachi has to understand himself first. Even his choice to run away at the end of the episode is something done out of panic. His heart has skipped beats. He’s wondered why Kurosawa won’t make a move. Adachi is feeling something, he just doesn’t know what.

There is a sweetness to Cherry Magic Episode 1 and the series as a whole that captures the uncertainty of feeling love for the first time. Adachi’s confusion is recognizable for anyone who has questioned why they’re reacting to the same gender without knowing who they are romantically. Adachi has a preconceived idea of romance and its heteronormative. Not to be terrible to Kurosawa, but rather because it’s all he knows. It’s scary at first. That vulnerability and awkwardness are captured perfectly by Adachi’s voice actor, Chiaki Kobayashi.

A strong start to a promising series, Cherry Magic! Episode 1 sets up this office rom-com perfectly. Awkward, sweet, and just the right amount of adult, this is one to watch.

Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! Episode 1 is streaming now on Crunchyroll, with new episodes every Wednesday.