‘Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!’ is a Japanese queer romance series, which is based on author Yuu Toyota’s popular Boys Love (BL) manga series of the same title.
The show is the live-action adaptation, which is described to be a “queer comedic hit.” According to Collider:
“In Japan, there’s an urban legend that states that once a person reaches thirty years of age without having lost their “virginity,” then they become a “wizard,” granted magical powers.”
In comes the story of ‘Cherry Magic!’, which centers on a 30-year-old virgin named Kiyoshi Adachi (Eiji Akaso), who is an office worker with low self-confidence. He has always thought that the virginity and wizard thing is a mere urban legend.
This is until he turns 30, and discovers that he has gained the ability to read other’s people’s minds through physical touch. Adachi then bumps into Yuichi Kurosawa (Keita Machida), who is described as a “handsome and typically confident office superstar.”
He finds out that Kurosawa has strong romantic feelings for him, and as as result, he also has to navigate his own growing attraction for his handsome colleague. And although this kind of storyline is not exactly the first, ‘Cherry Magic!’ reportedly “tackles this premise in a fresh and hilarious way.”
The outlet further noted that “the series isn’t afraid to offer up a queer story that has depth and is thoughtfully written.”
Source: collider.com
I first watched this when it premiered years ago and have re-watched it many, many times. They did a movie sequel and I happened to catch it in theaters. This is probably one of my favorite pieces of queer media ever because every character is thoughtfully written. I am hesitantly looking forward to the Thai version, but they have a tendency to favor camp over some of the subtler themes in their remakes, which in Cherry Magic are very strongly threaded throughout the series.
Saw this last year. A Thai remake is being done.