REVIEW: ‘Nevertheless: The Shapes of Love’ Refuses To Slow Down

Nevertheless: The Shapes of Love is on a quest to speedrun its story. Based on a popular webtoon of the same name and following in the footsteps of the 2021 Kdrama adaptation, the first three episodes waste no time in introducing the characters, leaving little room to breathe as the story barrels onward. Unfortunately, nearly halfway through the series, it results in weaker character development. This is a shame in a story that finds its strength in its characters.

Miu Hamasaki (Sara Minami) is a graduate student in her final year, struggling to create something meaningful for her final project. The aftereffects of a bad breakup linger. Her body was used as a source of inspiration while her feelings were cruelly trampled on. She’s stuck in a rut, trudging through life without direction. Everything begins to change when she witnesses the newly arrived Ren Kosuka (Ryusei Yokohama) creating art out of destruction.

Ren returns to Japan after a long stint working abroad and acquiring international acclaim. He’s now switching to a different chapter in his life – as a professor – albeit temporarily. It doesn’t take long for him to cause a stir after arriving in Kamakura, Japan. He’s almost immediately involved in an incident surrounding destroying university property, with the only witness being Miu. This act of crime connects them and sparks interest on both sides. Both, however, are afraid of love, and that fear may be what sabotages them in the end.

With only eight episodes to tell its story and each episode lasting around thirty minutes, Nevertheless: The Shapes of Love makes sacrifices to get through the plot. One of these sacrifices is character development, something that was given more room to explore in the Kdrama adaptation. The difference, though, is that the Kdrama had lengthier episode runtimes, so they could afford to dive deeper. Instead, this iteration moves briskly, spending no time on the nitty gritty, preferring to paint with broad strokes and keep things moving.

Nevertheless: The Shapes of Love should take a breath

This causes some whiplash in the first couple of episodes as viewers try to learn character names and who they are in the story. Those familiar with the original webtoon and the Kdrama will have an easier time placing the characters based on personalities and storylines revealed in the first three episodes. But with things progressing rapidly, there’s still a race to catch up and acclimate. Thankfully, by the third episode, things do get easier, and we can see character dynamics grow like the primary relationship between Miu and Ren.

Sara Minami’s and Ryusei Yokohama’s performances are almost equally restrained. Both develop an air of mystery around their characters that matches the exposition delivered onscreen. Voiceovers do much of the heavy lifting in character development, giving way to an exploration of internal conflict not seen as easily between character interactions onscreen. As a storytelling method, it’s not a personal favorite. However, in Nevertheless: The Shapes of Love, it is a necessary tool to fill in the gaps lost from a reduced runtime.

This does beg the question of how far this miniseries will go storywise. With three episodes released so far, Nevertheless: The Shapes of Love has more ground to cover. Where the pace is currently set, writer/director Ryutaro Nakagawa may be able to clear all hurdles. But part of the joy of the original webtoon is that there was time to breathe, to get to know and learn the characters, and to let things sink in. That part is lost so far, and it is unfortunately noticeable.

So far, Nevertheless: The Shapes of Love is a quick watch but doesn’t leave a distinct impression like its predecessor. Prioritizing plot over character development has its benefits, but it also has its detriments. The detriment here is that there’s no time to sit and process what’s happening before moving on to the next thing. And that’s a shame.

Nevertheless: The Shapes of Love Episodes 1-3 are now streaming on Netflix, with new episodes dropping weekly.