The scenery was beautiful. Long shots of the entire setting allows us to feel like we're watching things happen from a far. Although the shots seem 3rd person point of view, you are still connected to each character. They are all encouraging characters with clear motives. Each one is given a good amount of time in every episode to tell their side of the story. You may grow to hate a character but also understand why a character would do such a thing. It makes you really think not just of the mystery, but what it's like to be human. You grow as the characters grow.
The story / events aren't shown in chronological order. It jumps from time to time - but it was a perfect way to transition into things. The soundtrack is just beautiful! When you listen to certain songs you can definitely link it to a precise moment in the drama. They are also played at the perfect moments.
When you complete the drama you'll feel like you've witnessed someone's entire life and that kind of made me feel complete. What made me love the drama even more was how it presented hints to the mystery all along but I didn't find them until my second time watching. On my second watching, it felt familiar but also shocking. I was baffled by how subjective I was. It amused me to see how arrogant I could be just like some of the characters.
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The story is slow paced, but it's extremely addictive. It's very mysterious you never know what's going to happen, and I didn't figure out what happened during ''the day of the incident'' until a few seconds before that scene started. I loved the way they used the scenes of ''the day of the incident'' throughout all the episodes, adding a few more seconds to the scene in each episode. There were a ton of beautiful moments too. Also, the character development was brilliant.
The acting was AWESOME. Nana Eikura was amazing, she did a great job playing Nozomi, one of the best performances I've seen in a while. Masataka Kubota, Kento Kaku and Keisuke Koide did a fantastic job, too.
The music was SPECTACULAR. This is probably the best OST I've ever heard in a japanese drama. I can't stop listening to it. And the theme song is really beautiful.
The cinematography was so beautiful that it left me astonished. You need to watch this in HD.
To sum up, N no Tame ni is a really mysterious and beautiful drama, filled with great performances, a fantastic story, outstanding music and a spectacular cinematography. You really need to watch this as soon as possible.
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Story: Don't let the summary fool you, like it did me. The drama goes in depth about the lives of the main characters' lives before the major crime happened and how they are all related to each other. Usually its a hit or miss when a drama or movie decides to go from flashbacks and flash forwards in order to solve a mystery, but this totally hit the mark for me. There is slowburn goodness that will make you want to pull your hair out at times, but it never felt like it dragged. And the whole "N" thing was clever and was laced throughout the drama in subtle and cute ways right to the end.
Acting/Cast:This could've been in the melodrama genre there were so many tears and conversations about emotions. Oddly enough, the actors did a fantastic job portraying their characters in a sincere way that I felt for them more than I thought I would and it didn't feel as heavy as it could have. Not for one moment did I consider someone else for any of the roles: everyone from the hard to read and distant Sugishita Nozomi to the doting old landlord. EVERY character was broken in some way, and even though it was only 10 episodes we get to see how deep those scars run for each one. Each individual story was really moving and pitiable. How they were all weaved together was masterful.
Music: Haunting and full of anticipation. Not necessarily an OST I'd download and listen to for fun, but effective.
Rewatch Value: Not really. The core of the story is a mystery, so once you know the how and why everything happened, most of the thrill is gone. (especially considering the ending -_-)
Overall: This is an ultimate slow-burn in romance and mystery. It did take me a few episodes to really get into it, but once I did I couldn't wait to see how everything unfolded. My biggest pet peeve is how the romantic plot ended. I mean REALLY?! Everything else was wrapped up with a nice bow except the 1 plot line I was desperate to end somewhat happily.Still, this is a great watch. Definite recommendation for a stormy weekend.
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This show is a SCAM!
NO Spoiler Review - I felt like I got caught in a scam watching this show. FOR those currently watching, yet due to it's slow pace and you're wondering if you should continue watch the show, I have two answers:YES, continue watch this - if you are the type who appreciate show production quality. this drama is a unique one, and I recommend you to watch it till the end. The editing style and how they re-arranged each scenes is something every future writers, editors, producers could take note of.
BUT!!! do STOP watch this now before you hate yourself, if your goal watching the show was just to find out who is N. Instead just jump to episode 9 and you'll be happier. I promise you.
I don't believe this show deserves 8++ rating. The actors, editing and production of this show, all those worth the praise no doubt, even the plot is good. The only problem is the ROOT CAUSE that motivated the plot. The whole story can simply be solved at episode 2, which then would ultimately avoid the murder that occurred in 2004.
All I can say, all actors were great, hands down. But character wise, the only rational one was the retired police officer. While all other main character sucks, including the retired police officer's wife.
The main take away that I got, or moral of this show is (without spoiling),
"NEVER assume. Always ask before assume. Like really ASK, TALK & LISTEN before assume,"
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Overall N no Tame ni a mystery thriller drama is definitely one of my favourites of all time. 10/10
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Its a crime mystery. with the question WHO DUN IT. we see a police man trying to find the truth asking the persons involved in crime scene. every one has their special person with initial N, whom they want to protect. its like a spiderweb of hints put before you, to guess criminal. writing and direction is smart. the story goes back and forth the timeline with flash backs neatly wrapped. also almost every character has traumatic past. also they are scarily relatable. you would not want to be the person in their boots, but you cant help emphatising them. romance in this drama is very strong without affection displayed. you will see those vibes through out the drama without any PDA
i am in love with cinematography and music in this drama. colour tone in scenes change. i wondered if anything is wrong with my screen. camera click sounds and slow frames are delight to watch. same music is lovely at times , sad at times. BGM is elevated my feels while watching drama. it was haunting creepy at times, its depressing too. oh i am so in love with SILLY song by leo. this song felt pretty ok to begin with, but as story moved. i started feelin attached to this more. this is exactly why i like drama osts more than kpop. i can associate these songs with characters, drama and story
eikura nana did fantabulous job as nozomi. she did a great job in conveying feelings. kuboto is handsome to me, he looks like ahn jae hyun at times
lastly, i love this drama not for the mystery at all. but i wanted to see how the relationships between them grow. how did they move on? how did the characters ended, this is exactly what mattered to me. i am sattisfied with the ending, expect for one small thing
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I think the plot was really creative and woven very nicely together. The entire sequence of events made sense by the end and there was literally nothing that went unresolved. That, is the power of a good writer who would know just what to do with the characters and situations. The mystery never felt like a cheap plot device and it was definitely depicted well even if it was slightly predictable.
The cast put on some memorable performances. Thanks to this drama I am now introduced to a band of new actors who I am definitely interested in now for future watching purposes. You would suspect literally everyone at one time or the other and even the most random things in the drama tie up well together.
Being a Japanese drama, it had to have its dark moments. By dark I mean things like deceit, abuse and murder. Nobody is a good guy here, which I feel is daring thing for the writer to do. The characters are all a blend of classic nice people with anti-hero/heroine traits and the villains are just.... selfish lol. For me the most fun was when we get to know how the villain has done whatever the villain pleased and destroyed everyone in the process. I mean, the revelation was super fun.
I kind of liked and dislike the presence of a love triangle in the story. I think while it could have done away with any romance, since it was there it should have been better. As in the heroine should have been with the one I wanted her to be with. :P That brings me to the ending. Like I said, everything is very neatly resolved but I dislike one thing towards the end episodes which sort of ruined the ending for me. I didn't think it was necessary but wasn't against it either since things end on a satisfactory note for every one.
I have to mention the music once. I really loved the songs and the background music was well done. Each music piece suited the situations and the editing was fabulous.
Go ahead and watch this drama if you want an actual plot, some good performances and mystery.
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“For the sake of N”. The title speaks for itself of love and sacrifice. At its core, this drama follows 15 years of Sugishita Nozomi's life. We get to see her grow from a teenager to a woman. We also get to see her weaknesses and strengths, and her frustrations, fears and happiness. Like Sugishita's definition of ultimate love is to share the crime (“not as an accomplice but by sharing... unbeknownst to anyone... to accept responsibility for half of the other person’s crime”), I would justify and broaden that definition to sharing the pain and she chose to share the pain with her ultimate love. Even if you ended up not look at it that way, I do and it does make me appreciate this drama a lot more.
| STORY |
The fact that its based on a best-selling murder-mystery novel by Kanae Minato (“Confessions”/“The Snow White Murder Case”) is reason enough to give this a shot. 'N no Tame ni' starts of similarly to 'Snow White Murder Case', with a whudunnit scene of a murder and the four suspects, whose names all start with N. One of them is arrested for the murder and tells his lawyer it was all for N. However, the “truth”; is told in flashbacks mixed with the present day (the flashbacks go from 1999-2004 while the present day is 2014). You don’t get any scenes that cover that 10 year gap, but through multiple perspectives and each time the other character takes over, you learn something new about the murder, their motives, their misunderstandings. Everyone acted to achieve something for themselves, but also for the one they call N, but to each the N. Is a different person. All of these incidents bring them together, but is also what keeps them apart at the same time. If you like a perfect balance of mystery, suspense, coming of age, family, and fluttering love story, this is one to watch.
| ACTING/CAST |
This drama falls under the mystery genre and I did like the suspense in guessing the truth, but to me, ‘N no Tame ni’ is more about eternal friendship between the characters and their own development. With every eposide, you could feel the chemistry as if the actors were really good friends and you could feel the tension between Sugishita, Naruse, and Ando in the romance department. All in all, the four main characters gave excellent performance. They don't need grand gestures or words, their eyes will tell you what they feel! Even the support casts show a very effective performance and manage to bring humanity to otherwise cliché roles.
With a perfect ensemble cast, there are so many relationships and groupings that it’s impossible to talk about them all. So here, I’d just like to give my attention to some of my favorite characters of the drama:
1) Eikura Nana / Sugishita Nozomi
This entire drama just made me fall in love with her character and her. Nozomi is a strong-willed but vulnerable; calculating but earnest kind-hearted girl who believes has the strength to live within such a harsh world by herself. Also, she is caring for herself so much but for her friends even more. Towards the end of the drama, you can really see how many people she has met and became a support for her. Nana Eikura does such a great job at conveying the feelings of Nozomi. I would say I'm a pretty sympathetic person but seeing her character grow up seriously made me tear up *sniff* *sniff* because of all the hardships that she had to go through. It really goes to show that kind of connection with a well-written character is completely based on the character itself and the actor play the part as well. This is one character I'll never forget. I’m only convinced I’ll look forward to her future projects after 'N no Tame ni'.
2) Masataka Kubota / Naruse Shinji
Naruse is probably my favourite character along with Sugishita and that's majorly because of Kubota's portrayal. His quiet demeanour complimented his looks and I too was smiling like a fool whenever he smiled to himself after being complimented by Sugishita because of the pencil-clicking “Su-go-i”. Although his development slowed down a little after graduating high school... I still never forgot about him because of the impression he made while on the island but his absence in a way benefited his character’s dependability. When he’s there I feel the reassurance that everything will be alright. Needless to say, Masataka Kubota has shot of my favorites list with this drama just like several others.
3) Kento Kaku / Nozomi Ando
Ando is the typical pure innocent man who really doesn't have a clue about anything. He is also from a small island like Naruse and Sugishita, but he had a happier outlook on life. He quickly develops feelings for Sugishita who also seems to develop an affection towards him as well…but since I loved Naruse so much, I did push Ando to the side a little bit at first. As the story progresses, Ando is pretty much kept out of the main plot while Nishizaki and Sugishita does all the plotting and acting and you would somehow forget about him... Lol. His character also seems to be the only one without too much darkness in his background. But of course, he’s not as innocent as he may seem.
4) Keisuke Koide / Masato Nishizaki
As for Nishizaki, his character has one of the worst dark past of the 3 (Sugishita, Naruse and Ando). Koide Keisuke’s portrayal of Nishizaki was interesting. He just knows everything. He was a law school student who wanted to be a writer. He is also obsessed with love and learning what everyone’s “ultimate love” is. He craved a simple life and desperately loved Nobara—the apartment complex where he, Ando, and Sugishita all lived. While he became friends with the other two and even tried to help push them together, he kept his scars and past to himself… while Sugishita did the same as well.
| MUSIC/CINEMATOGRAPHY |
I really didn't think much about the soundtrack as I began watching it but it really did blow me away. Of course after watching the drama the theme song (“Silly”) by Leo Ieiri went from just okay to outstanding and played a really big role in giving me all the feels even though the environment itself was depressing at times. This is one of the reasons why songs from dramas have more impact for me because I always think back to the drama whenever I hear the song. This is one of those dramas also certainly didn’t let me down with the cinematography during the episodes of Sugishita and Naruse’s hometown, “Aokage jima” shooted at Shodoshima island with its beautiful and wide scenery give off that nostalgic feeling. F.Y.I. my most favorite episodes are when they’re in the island or maybe it’s just me being obessed with for stories like this.
Overall, 'N no Tame ni' shows many aspects of life, taking the viewer on a beautifully poignant, vividly evocative and greatly inspiring journey from start to finish. It's been a long time since I watched a drama that held my attention so much. Really enjoyed all the plot twists. It's been an unbelievable ride. I will definitely be keeping tabs on Kubota Masataka’s and Eikura Nana’s future projects.
FINAL SCORE: 10/10. *pencil-clicking sound* “A-ma-zing”! This drama is hands down the best drama I’ve seen and rightfully has earned a spot in my 'Forever Favorites' list. No other drama has spoken to me in such a real way. I believe this is a drama that I can re-watch... even if I already know the big secrets.
Highly recommended... this, just make sure you follow the dialogue, otherwise you will miss the whole story!
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This review may contain spoilers
What If?
When this show first came out, I had planned to watch it, but ten years later had passed and I hadn’t. I have loved Kaku Kento since I watched him in Asuko March, over ten years ago. It had been a while since I watched anything with him and after watching House of Ninjas, I decided to watch a few more dramas he has done in the past. So, Testimony of N finally made it back on my radar.I should start by saying the drama is very slow paced. However, it is a steady type of slow pace that kept me engaged throughout the show and made me feel like I was traveling right along the characters throughout their journeys. The acting and emotional portrayal of the characters was great and that along with the mysteries and the heartbreaks they experienced along the way kept my attention. It was truly an emotional roller coaster for me. The drama had complex relationships where they experienced trauma, hardships, laughs, secrets, sadness, understanding, even betrayal, and lastly, forgiveness.
The drama also is not told in a linear timeline. It constantly switches back and forth between multiple key years. This storytelling method is one I usually detest if the whole show relies on it and, while Testimony of N, used it through the entirety of its story, I felt it made me appreciate the story more and made me want to stay tuned to know more.
The OST was decent and the songs felt, for the most part, adequate. For me, an OST can help make or break a drama. Especially when it’s one of this kind.
I cried throughout the drama in different parts, like when they portrayed the struggles of Sugishita Nozomi, Naruse Shinji, and Masato Nishizaki with their families, and probably for the last episode and a half. Even after I watched its last scene, tears were still falling and the feeling of longing, of “what if?”, has stayed with me even as I write this review many hours after finishing the show.
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It makes sense that the people who created Saiai also made N no Tame ni (Saiai is the more recent show), because there is that same sense of “even if these people committed murder, I don’t want the cops catching them.” Although even the cop in this case is a sweetheart and had understandable reasons for wanting to figure out what happened. There is the main central murder mystery, and everything in this show is about unraveling it and seeing what lead up to it and then where everyone is 10 years afterwards. One of my few gripes is that I’m a little confused why some characters would just completely lose contact with each other, but no biggie.
While this is somewhat of an ensemble piece, our main character is undeniably Nozomi. The show jumps between moments in time and the earliest it goes is into Nozomi’s time in high school. Asides from the mystery, what really hooked me was Nozomi’s struggles back then. She is so strong and trying so hard, she’s amazing. She’s a super compelling character. Her relationships with the three guys were great too. Shinji was her rock on the island, and they had some amazing scenes together. I loved how Ando and Nishizaki became her mini-family. I hardly noticed there was a love triangle until towards the end, and I don’t completely love how it resolved, but no big deal. This show made me feel things, and it was primarily because of these characters (especially Nozomi and what happened to her).
The mystery was really good too. The reveals were excellently paced, and everything made sense. Having there be so much build up to the event worked well. Additionally, that mystery of “for the sake of N” and figuring out who “N” was for different characters was a good secondary mystery. I liked how the mystery resolved, and I overall liked the ending as well.
It’s a really good show. I was super invested and the 10 episodes flew by. It’s got a good mystery and a lot of heart. It’s one of the best jdramas I’ve seen!
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This review may contain spoilers
This is one of the best drama i have seen. Like everything about it is just perfect that i re watch countless time. The thing i like about this drama is how the characters have their own struggle and backstory, and how they struggle to get over their own trauma. An example is how sugishita will prep food more than enough due to the period of time where her family lacked the money to buy food and have to starved. Its such a realistic drama that sort of beautiful in its own way. The whole drama is shown in a non chronological order, so it may be confusing at first of the timeline. But once you get the timeline, you will find that this is a really interesting drama. It did a really great job on the suspense and make you want to continue watching for more. Not once does this drama feel too draggy or slow, the pace of the drama is just right.
The music is just wonderful. Yokoyama masaru did a really great job compose the ost for the drama, i have to say the music help the viewers to catch the feelings of the drama easily.
The acting is also really great. I don't recall any bad actors in this drama. Everyone portrays the emotion of its character on point.
It is one of my top drama and really, everyone should watch it.
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This review may contain spoilers
A Beautiful and Haunting Drama
I ended up watching this drama in one seating. This is a suspense, drama, romance, family, character growth all in one, with beautiful scenery and music.The story painted beautifully about childhood, trauma, life, hope, and acceptance. I love the backstory and the relationship between the characters: parent-child, friends, lovers (except the Noguchi’s, I really can’t romanticized obsession and abuse - but still so well written and really got the story moving), but the relationship between Naruse and Sugishita’s really give me all the feels. Takano-san said it best, “It’s subtle but strong”. Their scenes are so good and touching it deeply explains why sugishita chose what she choose at the end. Some of the lines were really touching I can’t get it out of my head. Maybe their bonds transcended that of lovers and I think the drama successfully conveyed it, because if they failed to convey it, then the ending would not be so satisfying.
Don’t hesitate to give this one a go, I think you’ll be hooked from the first episode!
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