A Virgin Woman Of Literature Review: A Drearily Dull Drama Instead Of A Seemingly Hot Romance

With my attention span basically shrinking to that of a goldfish, I’ve been leaning towards short series lately. A Virgin Woman of Literature is a Japanese drama with eight episodes, each just about 24 minutes long. I came across it through some fan-made edits online (yes, that’s still my main way of finding new dramas), and I got curious enough to check it out.

The story follows an editor who falls for a famous writer, a guy who’s basically a womaniser with zero interest in love or commitment. It starts off really interesting, but sadly doesn’t keep that grip strong enough to hold your attention till the end.

A Virgin Woman Of Literature/Bungaku Shojo (2018) (8 Episodes)

Kanoko Tsukishiro (Aoi Morikawa) has managed to secure her dream job as an editor with a reputed publishing company. She loves reading and easily falls in love with her favourite characters. Her first assignment at work is making the famous mystery writer, Saku Kagaya (Yu Shirota), churn out a new novel, preferably romance. But Kagaya is a promiscuous man who claims to be unable to fall in love. It takes no time for Tsukishiro to fall head over heels in love with the handsome and mysterious Kagaya. Will his stony heart eventually melt for Tsukishiro?

Let’s weigh this tempting mini-series on our drama beam balance and see if it is worth giving in the temptation.

Good Weights

I enjoyed watching ‘A Virgin Woman Of Literature’ because…

…the casting seemed perfect. Yu Shirota looked like a very convincing, dreamy writer, while Aoi Morikawa looked every bit the awkward editor. Shirota is so handsome that it is natural for any editor to willingly fall for him. Sadly, acting may not be his strength, but he looked the part, so that also counts, right? 

   

…the fact that Tsukishiro does not lose heart when things do not go as per her expectations makes her a stronger-than-expected heroine. She shows tremendous development as a character, as she does not submit or lose herself to impress the male lead. Also, actress Aoi Morikawa has done a good job of portraying the character. Even when she overacts, it looks natural and cartoonish.     

 

Bad Weights

I did NOT LIKE ‘A Virgin Woman Of Literature’ because…

…the second lead looked too forced. Now, Tsukishiro’s colleague at work, Mochizuki Chihiro (Nakao Masaki) likes her and asks her out several times, but since she is in love with Kagaya, she turns him down each time. Though the writers show what appeals to Chihiro about Tsukishiro, I was never fully convinced of his love. It felt like his character was added just to fill up some screen time and create unnecessary conflict for Kagaya. In fact, at one point, Kagaya even encourages Chihiro to ask Tsukishiro out, and when he does, Kagaya appears from nowhere and takes Tsukishiro away from him while Chihiro stands frozen in place. I felt he was the most poorly written character in the show.

…as a viewer, it is very likely to get in, hoping to see some hardcore romance, but that doesn’t happen, and it lets you down. I don’t know if the show was supposed to have only 8 episodes or if it was cut short because it was bad. Whatever the reason, I’m grateful because tolerating it beyond 8 episodes would have been difficult. 

Trying to show real character growth or romance in just eight episodes is already a bit tricky, but good writing can still pull it off. Unfortunately, this show doesn’t quite manage that, and that’s exactly what makes it so disappointing.

I give ‘A Virgin Woman Of Literature’ 2 out of 5 rating. All smoke, no fire. This drama is not what it may appear to be. You can watch it to drool over Yu Shirota if you want to. For the rest, I recommend you skip this.

 

Images Courtesy: Viki.com

 

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