Completed
Rubaxxa
56 people found this review helpful
Jan 26, 2012
11 of 11 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 8.0
This drama is beyond amazing, it's passionate and it teaches you what love really is. I fell in love with this drama after the first episode, it'll make you smile because it's so beautiful and it'll make you cry because it's so painful. I love the music as well, it fits so perfectly in every single situation, they nailed it! Just by watching the opening theme and listening to the song in the first episode I already knew it'd take my breath away and it did.

If you're looking for a drama that takes your breath away with it's pureness and cry because it seems so hopeless, then you've come to the right place.

This drama taught me that just because society view it as "forbidden love", it doesn't make it wrong or any less true.

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Completed
kakashilover1566
54 people found this review helpful
Jun 25, 2011
11 of 11 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
One of the most amazing dramas Iv'e watched so far. This drama was more than I was expecting. I fell in love with it on the first episode.I was swept away by the characters, the romance and the story. The love is just so passionate. The music goes along with it perfectly and the actors play their characters so well. I cried to much while watching this. If you want a passionate, forbidden love tearjerker, this is it. You will not be disappointed.
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Completed
SeRose
14 people found this review helpful
Apr 24, 2013
11 of 11 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
Prepare yourself for a ridiculously young Takizawa Hideaki - 17 at this time playing a high school student who falls in love with his 26 yr old homeroom teacher. Is the love returned? Would it be a drama if it wasn’t? Japan spares no details apparently with this tricky genre. Majo no Jouken, or Forbidden Love, is a fully fledged love story that jumps right into the story, the romance, and all the icky taboos and consequences of the younger man/older woman relationship.

In some ways, Majo no Jouken was a predictable roller-coaster ride as the ‘forbidden’ couple struggle to find acceptance in a society that doesn’t legally forbid their love, but certainly doesn’t know how to handle it. However, a variety of side characters add to the battle, including Hirose-sensei’s one time fiancé and Hikaru’s young and possessive single mother. And between these two, we get the feeling that there are some things even sicker and twisted than the relatively innocuous age difference of our show’s main lovers.

On a Technical Note:
This drama had me asking questions I never thought I'd worry about. The amount of time I spent surfing the internet studying Japanese legal age of consent; wondering if Japan really does consider it a psychological disorder for a woman to love a high school age boy; curiosity if Japan would really go to such lengths to depict one of the creepiest mothers ever before hinted at; confusion as to why I could care so much about a couple that seems so destined to suffer one crisis after another...

All fruitless efforts, really. Half mushy, half gritty, Majo's romance was a hot whirlwind of a mess, and not afraid of delving into serious life questions. What does a woman do when her boyfriend is uneducated and unemployed, and how does said boyfriend take care of a woman 9 years his senior? There is no instant maturity, no immediate solutions, and not every expectation will be fulfilled as first it was conceived. Kind of like... life.

I almost find it hard to recommend this, because unless you’re in the mood for a torturous road of almost Kdrama level proportions (though at least not in length), Majo no Jouken is a painful drama to watch. Even the initial sweetness of the romance is very nearly spoiled by a traumatic second half. However, if you love seeing actors portraying their characters well, and those characters being well-handled over the course of the drama, or if you just want to see Tackey back when he was young and adorable (as opposed to the older version which is just plain hot), then I guess you should watch it sometime. ;) And hardships aside, the characters really do make a sweet couple. I say that even remembering just how young he is here. At least that much is quite believable.

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Completed
algelic
16 people found this review helpful
Nov 16, 2013
11 of 11 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
This is one of those dramas that surpasses your expectations and ends up being a very pleasant surprise. I really recommend it!

It's one of the best romance Japanese dramas around, from the golden age when Jdramas showed great kisses and realistic love scenes.

Maybe you've read the synopsis and the idea of a teacher-student romance really doesn't appeal to you... but after watching this drama you will change your mind completely and fall in love with these characters.

This isn't a perfect drama. It certainly has its flaws. But I think the positive aspects far outweigh the negative.

The Good:
- Great casting. The actors are the same age as their characters, therefore making everything more believable.
- Good chemistry between the actors. They pulled off the romance despite their age gap.
- Good kissing.
- Very pretty scenes. Great cinematography!
- Wonderful music.

The Bad:
- The "evil" characters were kind of ridiculous. The crazy jealous Mother and the Tutor were the worst.
- Michiru went a little overboard on the childishness and rashness at times.
- The last couple of episodes weren't so satisfying.

In short: it's a one-of-a-kind drama with age-appropriate actors and a very sweet romance.

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Completed
Doremeduck
9 people found this review helpful
Mar 18, 2012
11 of 11 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 10
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
WOW! All I can really say is that the storyline is amazing. The whole idea of forbidden love is a very intriguing aspect probably since it is not so common and is quite controversial. I thought that story had so much to give and teach; how love conquers all, and living your life the way you want. It seemed to me that all through the drama there were many political points. There wasn't mention of politics at all, but the way things are played out or some of the lines said take a true political turn, which I thought made Majo no Jouken even more fascinating. I did like the actors, but I didn't like them together. I didn't see any chemistry between the two leads at all, which is so frustrating since this drama deserved the best in all aspects, including the acting. The acting was great, it was just that I couldn't imagine the two leads together at all. The music was great, although it was only one song,I never got tired of the song, and still find that I want to listen to other than while watching the drama. I would definitely rewatch this drama. It was amazing, and such a sad but sweet story. Great drama, and totally worth watching. No one could finish this drama not being touched.

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Completed
MJ
9 people found this review helpful
Sep 20, 2014
11 of 11 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 4.5
Rewatch Value 3.0
One of the most unnecessarily aggravating dramas I've watched for a variety of reasons. I only completed it because the episodes were relatively short and there were only 11 of them. Though I did groan, after episode 10 when I remembered I had 45 minutes to go before this ride was over.

First, the leads had awkward chemistry. In the beginning, it was ok because they had just met, but later it just became strange to watch. Don't get me wrong, it did have a little to do with the obvious age difference, but I could have gotten passed that had there been real sparks between the two which would have made their need to be together all the more powerful. Alas, I didn't see or feel any fireworks.

Second, I wasn't sure if the main couple's actions were spurred by noble idiocy or mere idiocy. Reasons behind most of their actions were seldom clear. In addition, their reactions to all the supporting characters were often murky. I kind of think that had more to do with the writing and direction, than the acting, but subtext was sorely needed and missing. Additionally, the leading lady's acting often seemed forced and less believable than the leading man and supporting cast.

I don't want to scare anyone away from watching this, BUT I don't want anyone to have high expectations since previous reviews seemed to be glowing.

Since it was set in 1999, I tried to remember that a LOT has changed regarding attitude and treatment of women, marriage, and gender roles, but coming from the present day mindset it was a challenge. Mostly because although the social commentary was obvious from several character's points of view, I never fully accepted that this was also supposed to be entertainment, which I kind of expect when watching a drama.

There were some lovely moments, and seeing how much has changed over the years was interesting to watch, so I would recommend this show for someone interested in watching an older drama in order to study the gender roles and social norms of those times.

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Completed
dramawater
4 people found this review helpful
May 7, 2014
11 of 11 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
I was actually hesitating to watch this drama since this is the first time I think that I've watched a series where a subject is a teacher-student romance. And I want to watch it cos I'm liking the actress Nanako. I'm actually trying not to expect much from the drama itself cos so far from I've watched in Japanese dramas , they usually started so slow, but actually this one moved fast and focused more on the conflicts of having a teacher-student relationship. Also this is a drama that should be watched with open mind, while it's still not acceptable to have this kind of relationship to protect the students, certain circumstances may lead this to happen.

I actually liked the fact that they casted actors that are the same age as their supposed characters since we can see the stark difference, the main actor looks like a young guy and the teacher looks like an adult. I'm actually happy that they didn't get an actress that looked young to make this more acceptable. Though I have to admit having two quite attractive leads doesn't hurt the drama.

I've thought Michi's character was weak especially at the beginning, she doesn't have control of her life, somehow she ended up accepting or more like forced to do things that were asked of her and the fact that she want to be accepted so much that she's handling things in a way that makes you just want to shake her. As one of her student said, she ran away when she encounters difficulties. She's quite impulsive too, she doesn't think of the consequences of her actions, there are so many times while watching this that I was like try to think of your actions more thoroughly since it's not only your life that gets affected. She redeemed herself in the latter part of the show, the experiences she and Hikaru went through made her stronger and more mature, she knows she makes mistakes on her decisions and yet I don't think she ever regrets any of them. She has taken control of her life and one might say she can be rather reckless and irresponsible, but I believe that the's biggest turn in the story for me. She learned and accepted that there are consequences with her actions, she grew up.

Hikaru is a troubled student, while he may seem more mature than Michi since he comes off as serious and quiet, but for some reason I've never thought he was mature throughout the series, he's a young guy, he still needs a lot of guidance which he is not getting from her mother who seems to spoil him and had planned his life for him. He makes rash decisions too, I've thought he and Michi are like two adolescents trying to find their way in life except that Michi is supposedly the older one.

Now that I'm writing this review that I realized that aside from the love story between Hikari and Michi, the story has focus more in the development of Michi's character, could it be I'm bias on Nanako but nonetheless that's how I feel. Now to discuss their love story, it's sweet, poignant and makes you want to root for them.

I rated this drama originally 9 but changed it to 8 because when I thought back on the story, while it tackled the difficulties that one may encounter if they pursue a teacher-student relationship, there are many parts of the story that I believed are used to detract from the taboo relationship to make it more acceptable.

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Completed
Rissa
5 people found this review helpful
Oct 3, 2016
11 of 11 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.0
Story 4.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 2.0
Before I start this review, I must say I love shows, movies, animes, mangas, books, etc that involve teacher student relationships or any type of relationship that involves ages gaps or things that would be considered taboo, so you knew I was eager to watch this show but it ended up disappointing. It's not a bad show but it could of been way better!
Before I talk about the problems with the show, I want to discuss the good. At the end of each episode I was always wondering "Oh my god! What will happen next!", the fact it had my eyes glued to screen means it was doing something right. I was never bored. The acting was on point! The actors were really convincing with the characters that they were trying to portray, and please don't get me started on the soundtrack the music left ear worms in my ears and really did suit the theme of the show.
Now let's get into what's wrong with the show. The first thing the bugs me about this show has to be how I can really see how hard the actors are trying and see that some effort went into this, but I can't ignore some of the issues this show has.
I couldn't stand the teacher in the show because she was soo stupid if you ask me! If she is soo uncertain of her love for her boyfriend why is she with him? Why did she accept his proposal in the first place? If she doesn't like the pressure her father is giving her, why not move out? She is clearly an adult who has a career she can totally leave! Also a lot of the crap that came out of her mouth and a lot of the things she does is stupid, irresponsible, and down right questionable! I wish I could say what those things were but that would be spoiling the show, which is a no,no!
Another problem I had has to be how the chemistry between this teacher, student couple felt kinda forced and rushed. Another problem I had with their relationship was how unrealistic and dumb they were in that relationship. They did the worst possible and dumbest things anyone in their situation could do. The story wouldn't of been so heart-wrenching if the couple had been smarter about their relationship. I was face palming at almost every episode because I was confused by this couple.
And the amount of whining this couple did about their lives was annoying! It's like some of their non relationship problems they were facing weren't all that bad and were problems some people wished they had! Watching people who are good looking and living privileged lives complain about their lives is annoying to sit through!
I wish I could give this show a higher rating but this couple annoyed me to the core. This show was entertaining but made me want to rip my hair out. I don't know how a show could have good moments and be very entertaining but make me angry at the same time, which kills me because this show could of been much better.

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Completed
kyanscad37
2 people found this review helpful
Jul 14, 2022
11 of 11 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

Worth watching

I have watched this JDorama a couple of times & it still makes me cry whenever I watch it. I can still watch this JDorama over & over again. I really love the story & it makes me love Hikaru ( Hideaki Takizawa) even more. About the ending scene, my interpretation about the said ending is that Michi is already out in a coma & and was just falling asleep when Hikaru return to the hospital. That's the reason why there is no more machines connected Michi. When she wokes up & saw Hikaru beside her, she holds Hikaru's face & he open his eyes & saw Michi's awake. Right at that very moment they knew they are already free to express their feelings to the world.

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Completed
midgargirl
2 people found this review helpful
Oct 16, 2020
11 of 11 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 3.0
Story 3.5
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

An adult taking advantage of a child.

Maybe I would have liked it more had I watched it when I was younger, but as a 23 year old myself all I see is a confused youth being taken advantage of by an authority figure. Imagine this has the genders been reversed. I am usually very into onee-san romances like Anago, second love, etc. Though I'm not a fan of it I don't really mind student teacher romances either. But in Majo no Jouken, somehow the relationship felt predatory. Usually I prefer if the younger guys pursue first. In this one all I see is an adult misguiding a teenager. Maybe if the boy seemed more aware, of if the female teacher showed some restraint. This is not a good Ane-romance.

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Dropped 8/11
starsappear
4 people found this review helpful
Oct 10, 2018
8 of 11 episodes seen
Dropped 0
Overall 6.5
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 5.0
I am a sucker for these kind of pure love stories and also for age gaps. When they are well done that is.

It started off promising but I couldn't keep watching it because of some of the dumb decisions Michi makes. Even though she is the adult, she doesn't seem to understand the world or the consequences of her action.

I think they got the casting right. Though, the main lead isn't that good of an actor but his face makes up for it.

Some people may like this drama but unfortunately it isn't my cup of tea. Shame, I love dramas like these.
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Completed
Kerry
1 people found this review helpful
Jan 16, 2016
11 of 11 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 5.0
I will start by saying that Majo no Jouken is not for everyone. The content/topic of older school teacher and student is not an easy topic to begin with but for being open minded you could enjoy it. If the roles were reversed (older male teacher younger student) would this be OK? Would it have made a difference if they were college age vs. high school? All factors that I think would possible change your opinions on the subject and mine. I'm sure it happens often in society and in the world we see it on the news ever so often. Now I will judge this solely on this situation. I did enjoy the story and the topic. At first it was a little hard to think that this high school teacher could fall in love with her younger student and not automatically thing it perverse but I found myself cheering for them and hoping that they would just hurry up and get older esp. the student. I think the student filled a void in her life and so the attraction began. It's not fast pace but I think every episode was necessary in order to tell the story correctly. At the end of the drama, I was kinda sad for them and yet I was hopeful also. I think it's a good story to watch if you can move past the teacher/student thing. Lots of other things happened in the drama that were important as well, abuse, jealousy etc. still a good story and worth watching. Cast was great as well.

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Majo no Jouken (1999) poster

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  • Ranked: #5266
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