I guess nothing says love quite like falling in love while on duty.

Adapted from Su’s web manga Kiss wa Sosa no Ato de, the Japanese BL Duty First Kiss Later stars Watanabe Shu as Takoi and Saito Ryu as Shiono, two police officers who seem much better at getting on each other’s nerves than getting along.

At 38, Takoi is a kindhearted, unmarried detective working in the Criminal Affairs Division of the peaceful Yamanomichi Police Station. He’s a non-career officer who is well-liked by pretty much everyone in the community.

Shiono, on the other hand, is a handsome junior officer in his twenties working in the Community Safety Division and very much on the fast track with his career. Despite working at the same police station, the two clash over practically everything. And because apparently seeing each other at work isn’t enough, they’re also neighbors in the police dormitory. Then Takoi unexpectedly gets set up on a marriage meeting, and suddenly all that bickering starts looking a little different.

Sometimes you just need a drama that’s lighthearted and fun to watch, and that’s exactly what Duty First Kiss Later delivered. It was cute, it was over-the-top in places, but it was also well filmed, well paced, and well acted. I read somewhere that the drama had a low budget, but I couldn’t tell at all, which is impressive.

Honestly, it was cathartic watching Takoi and Shiono bickering each week, even as they fell deeper and deeper in love. And the supporting cast made it even better. Takoi’s coworkers had me in stitches, and I love how the only female among them, Egawa (Kudo Haruka), is not only incredibly observant but strong and supportive.

I need an Egawa in my life.

That said, with such a short series and most of it centered on two very different personalities falling in love, much of the heavy lifting in this drama comes down to the chemistry between Watanabe Shu and Saito Ryu.

And they certainly pulled that off.

Both actors are very good at expressing vulnerability and emotion through their facial expressions, which worked particularly well for two characters who spend so much time bickering while their feelings are saying something entirely different.

My only critique is the kissing scenes, a critique that’s plagued a lot of the recent Japanese BLs I’ve watched. I stand by my opinion that if a script is planning to include kiss scenes, they need to feel as natural and real as the rest of the story rather than making it appear as though the actors are allergic to each other. Otherwise, they make a scene feel awkward rather than poignant.

The quick peck-and-freeze kisses feel more like a pose for a photograph than the climax of a moment, especially when everything leading up to that moment has done such a good job of selling the emotions between the characters.

But outside of that, Duty First Kiss Later was fun, sweet, and a series I would definitely watch again.

Sometimes you don’t need complicated twists, heavy angst, or a romance that leaves you emotionally exhausted. Sometimes you just need two very different men bickering their way into falling in love while everyone around them seems to figure it out before they do. And Duty First Kiss Later gave me exactly that.

For a feel-good series full of heart and lots of laughs, check out Duty First Kiss Later, now streaming on GagaOOLala.

Rating- 4 out of 5