Blending history, romance, and cross-cultural cooperation, the Taiwanese-Japanese series “Love Blooms” reflects identity, memory, and Asia’s shared heritage.
“Love Ends in Bloom” began with executive producer Zhang Chengyu’s reflections during a trip to his hometown of Chiayi. He returned in 2023 and discovered the city’s train station under renovation, bringing back memories of Taiwan’s forestry and railway history. Inspired by these roots, Chan collaborated with screenwriter Juliana Hsu, whose great passion for history helped form the basis of the project. From this nostalgia for home, “Love Ends in Bloom” began to take shape.
In the wake of the pandemic, Chan was struck by the changing role of Asian countries on the world stage. “Despite our proximity, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea are rarely featured together in the same story,” he points out. With this reflection as a backdrop, the series imagines a family that transcends national and temporal boundaries based on historical reality, and questions whether “Asia” can be seen as an affective community within the story itself.
Screenwriter Juliana Hsu conducted extensive historical research during development. “My goal was to place Taiwan within the broader context of East Asian history and to express Taiwan’s important role in Japan’s imperial expansion through a love story,” says Hsu. This series, set during the Japanese colonial period when Taiwan’s cypress industry was at its peak, depicts a world built by men but seen through the eyes of Japanese women. Exploring stories that transcend the boundaries of geography, gender, morality, class, and culture, it weaves themes of resistance and awakening into a hauntingly beautiful romance.
Executive producer Chan added, “We plan to invite directors from both Taiwan and Japan. The Taiwanese side will be led by Sun Chien-heng, director of the wartime historical drama Three Tears of Borneo (2023). Discussions are ongoing with several Japanese directors to ensure a strong and balanced creative team.”
“Love Ends in Bloom” is expected to begin filming in February 2027 and be released in mid-2028. During TCCF (Taiwan Creative Content Fest), the team aims to connect with industry experts to bring Taiwanese and Japanese bilingual series to major Japanese streaming platforms.
