Plain Like Tofu
Episode 1 of I Need Romance begins with a brief history lesson. 7 year old Jubjang left home by herself. The wind took her to the hospital, where baby Arlan hadjust been born. His nickname, Tofu, sticks thanks to his face being so plain. Young Jubjang sighs, commenting how ugly this baby is. Years pass and it soon becomes clear that Arlan is anything but ugly. He grows up older and more handsome, returning to Thailand to fulfill a promise he made Jubjang before he left . Anyway, Jubjang soon rings but she doesn’t want to see him. He eventually tells her he misses her, doing his best to melt her icy heart. Jubjang (now known as Najai) works as a fashion marketing director at a home shopping channel company. She certainly knows her stuff too, and Najai effortlessly helps the team sell more. This is a short-lived celebration though given the mountain of work she piles on her colleagues. She does offer to buy them beers after if they get it done though, so I guess that’s something! Anyway, Najai heads up to the roof, looking for a reward from her colleague (and current partner) Aun. He kisses her on the forehead rather than the lips though, and tells her he has something to tell her. When news of him buying a double ring necklace trickles down to the workers, Jubjang immediately expects good news. Only…it’s not. In fact, Aun breaks up with her that evening but Najai just wants ice-cream. While Aun walks away, she remains nonchalant, eating her ice cream and pushing the emotions aside. As we soon see, this isn’t the first time she’s been face with heartache. Whether it be her instigating the break-up or a man named Nai breaking her heart and seeing someone else, she’s certainly hasn’t been lucky in love. Meanwhile, Najai’s work friend Priew starts messaging a guy and arranges to try and meet up. Speaking of which, Tofu rings Jubjang and suggests they meet up. Well, with nowhere else to go she heads over to Kan’s place instead. She thanks him for keeping her mind off things, as he tellingly perks up when she mentions breaking up with Aun. At work the next day, Jubjang shares around invitations to Michael Jang’s fourth anniversary party. It seems Arlan X is going to be performing too. And Arlan X’s identity? None other than our Tofu. Anyway, drama soon ensues when Kiss shows up, Jubjang’s old rival. She also rocks up wearing a double ring necklace too, with Arlan on her arm. Jubjang is not happy and eventually leaves, as Tofu clocks that this woman is actually Jubjang.
The Episode Review
I Need Romance is the latest Thai drama to take inspiration from Korean dramas and essentially serves as a remake of I Need Romance Season 3. Having not seen that drama I can’t comment how well this is adapted but this is certainly a vibrant and lively opener. This first episode sets the tone and mood for the show to follow, with clear character arcs and a relatively predictable romcom set-up. The backstory for Tofu and Jubjang is still unknown at this point so we’ll have to wait and see exactly how this unfolds over time. So far so good, this is a fun little show so let’s hope the rest of this follows suit!
