Yakuza lovers story
I love every minute of this series. It’s hilarious, wild and crazy, with humor in the lines. It’s not perfect, but I don’t mind that. It will no be everybody’s cup of tea. Japanese TV drama’s (teribi dorama) are incomparable with Thai or Korean drama’s because of their intenseness, eye for detail and lessons that can be learned. All problems will be solved in the end and strong script and play.The series was not available through Disney+ Europe (yet), so I watched it on Drama Cool with the disadvantages that this brings. Subtitles where not available for episode 9 yet, so I will rewatch that episode again later, to get the true meaning of that episode. This drama is very populair in Japan and outside Japan.
I watched it in 1 go. It was surprising, cheesy and entertaining. The lines where sometimes lovely over the top.
Story
It’s manga based. I’ve never read any manga in my live, but will check this one out. I like that they kept clear throughout the series that being together could end any moment, because of his background/profession. You can see that it is not a high budget series. The usage of light and filter felt good. Production well done. Non toxic relation.
Music
The music was good. Especially the recurring instrumental piece with electric guitars and I think cello’s. Can’t find that on the OST list.
Acting
I like the cast, well done. I came for Kimura Keito, I love the acting of Furukawa Yuuta, his facial expressions (eyebrow!). Japanese series don’t show intense kiss/bed scenes in the way Thai dramas do. I didn’t miss that. The way they filmed these moments was good. I love the effect of the cherry blossoms: it showed a world where there was just the 2 of them. Both ML as well as FL where busy with character development in their own way, especially the FL. Don’t expect to much on learning their background and childhood story’s. The series doesn’t go that deep. I didn’t miss that.
I’ll rewatch it when I’m in the mood for it.
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Say "no" to slowburn romances - there is only an obsessive love from the very beginning!
Some of you, who watched at least 5 minutes of this drama, might be surprised for such a high rating - 8.5/10. Well, the story isn't good. It's very cringy and from the beginning it was a hard ride to watch. I was having a hard resisting to drop it after only a couple of minutes. I was constantly telling myself "This is so bad! Why did they even make this drama? Why?" BUT! There is a way to enjoy watching this drama and even want to rewatch it!First of all, the story is awful, really. A college student girl falls in love at first sigh with a yakuza boss and he falls for her very fast without any reason - there is only a lust. They don't know their story, their personalities, their likes and dislikes - just two unknown people meeting each other by accident and felt in love in 5 minutes. Awful, right? It was hard to believe that there was some deeper feeling... BUT! Given that the drama is only 9 episodes with duration of around 23 minutes per episode, okay, I understand. Still, they could start the story with already sort of established relationship between the leads and give us some flashbacks to let us know that the feeling didn't come this fast. There is only lust, smut and skinship holding this relationship. I can feel an obsession vibe very strongly. There is also another reason the director gives us - the two leads are very afraid of having no tomorrow - there is always a possibility that Toshiomo won't be coming back. Each day might be his last. So both leads act like there is no tomorrow and just rush the things. And that's one of the reasons that the drama is different from others - no slowburn romance. Only obsessive love from the very beginning.
The actors playing the main leads, in my opinion, did a good job. I especially liked the subtle little gestures that Furukawa Yuuta made acting as Oa Toshiomo - where he was angry, happy, annoyed, obsessed - each time there was a lot small gestures on his face. It was fascinating to watch. I also felt that all the actors believed in their characters - they did them justice. The acting was one of the thing that made me want to stay watching the drama.
The production quality - guys, I've seen some j-dramas and the poor quality, is the reason I stopped. The production quality is very important to me and it's one of the most important reason I usually skip lot of scenes, fastforward etc. And here the quality was on a very high level, in comparison to other j-dramas. Especially the light effect - omg, it gave me so much laughs, whenever the light was too strong to even let us see the character's face, but all in all, there was a storytelling behind the light choices. A bit of an artistic touch, some fun with good music choices - all these made me feel attracted and fascinated. Whenever there was something on the character's mind they made an interesting choice to picture it - the mind and the inner talk of each chacter - picturing their minds like some other, exotic places. Especially during the smut moments - I didn't understand it at first - how did the main couple ended up in sakura garden? Like WHAT's going on?! Why?! Later I realized - it portraits the blessful feeling they experience, right? And each time after the smutty they ends up in kimono and full make up - is this how they see each other? There are many (not so little) things I can interpret in an artistic way and it's interesting.
This drama was so different from many others. It gave me feels, laughs, confusion. It made me want to watch it thinking: "What the heck is going on? Wait, why? Oh, of course, this is sooo cliche." - all over and all over again. But still a great watch! Truly! I was so sceptical after the first episode, but actually a bit sad after the 9th - is there going to be a 2nd season? Because after some time, that we all need to adjust to the thing that we are watching, I ended up feel addicted to this obsession of the main leads. The chemistry was WOW!
I feel like rewatching it some time in the future, because the drama isn't very long, it's very fast-paced and intense. It gives the vibe... Interesting, sort of.
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Make the eyebrows stay still!
Camp! Puerile camp! But the source material was softcore porn, what can you do. I will say every single actor in Koi to Dangan did way too much with their eyebrows. Stop! Stop cocking those eyebrows!I do think this show is proof positive that MDL has a problem with only upvoting reviews that praise the property, no matter how shite the thing is. We really need to be honest with ourselves here. Were none of you looking at Toshiomi's eyebrows??
And another thing, MDL wants me to write at least 500 characters for this review. This is why the review culture on MDL can't compete with Letterboxd. We're not silly enough on this website, we have to take everything seriously and pad out our reviews of actual garbage like we're writing essays on the characteristics of Baroque painting. Let me be me! We need some dissent on this website and we need some good jokes. Why is everyone taking Koi to Dangan seriously!!
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Who watches Japanese dramas for common sense anyway.
This goes without saying, laughed my heart out at almost everything in this drama. One thing about Japanese dramas is that their lack common sense is actually a gift that keeps rewarding you. The characters are so unpredictable, and you never actually know what it is about these characters that makes you finish the whole show but believe you me before you know it the show is done. Same goes for this series.A yakuza boss and college student, a pretty uncommon pair yet nothing is impossible in jdramas.
Now this is going to be my take on the Good, the Bad and the absolute bonkers part of this 10-episode drama.
The Bad:
Well to be honest, it would be the lack of proper storyline. I mean this in the sense that I wanted more, this storyline had mad potential, if they had decided to properly dive into their relationship as a whole and not just their intimacy, it would have been great. I wanted to see her fitting in to each other's lives like, the story would have been even more compelling. There would have been more depth to their characters. And that was also another bad, these characters were too 2 dimensional, yes there was some conflict within the series, but they don't really give these characters depth. I f they had gave more character to the side characters as well this would literally be a masterpiece because the idea is good, it definitely had the potential to make me watch the best Wattpad adaptation out there, but it fell a bit short to make me feel for the characters.
Now The Good:
As a person who watches Japanese dramas out of pure intrigue, I can say this was pleasantly intriguing. If you someone who is an absolute sucker for skin ship, then this will definitely feel like a reward, and hey it's not perfect but at least you don't have to wait until episode 8 for them to kiss and act like nothing happened in episode 9.
I mean if you just want to watch a series where the couple gets it on the first episode then be my guest. overall, there is not much I can say in this Category.
now the long awaited Bonkers:
As someone who lives for the absolutely bonkers side of jdramas, I can admit that this was my favorite part.
And as they usually do, they stuck to the main themes of a Japanese manga adaptations.
The "I love you " at first site. A common sight to behold in jdramas, but at least this girl did "deeply" think about, though it only lasted for just about an episode.
The other jdrama trademark has to be the nonexplainable chemistry. Viewers are never sure why the leads love each other so much but yet there they were, willing to die for each other, yet they met 3 episodes ago and for all those who are not aware, these episodes are 25 minutes long at best. So, it's safe to say in an hr. they would have passionately slept with each other a couple times.
But I literally live for these weird jdrama troupes because the leads are just as impatient as we are, so they get the job done fast.
There are more crazy things in store for you but please if you not ready to cringe yourself out at little, then I don't recommend.
end note:
This series was funny, weird, and kind of hot but in a very absurd way.
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This review may contain spoilers
Looking camp right in the eye
This was a short drama with around 20 min playtime for 9 episodes, but that doesn't stop it from feeling like both everything and nothing happened. With the source material being a heavily smut-based josei manga about a young college student and a Yakuza boss, there isn't alot that implies this wouldn't be dramatic almost fanfic-esque. The story is cliché so if you are watching it better get ready for the "obsessive love"-trope with a hint of "We will never know when it's our last day together"-trope.Apart from the shows storyline, the campy feeling derives alot from the cinematography and the lighting/cuts in the scenes. The director has made some creative liberties to try to emphasise emotions like the main leads strong passion/love for each other, chock and other emotions. The fact that they get emotionally "transported" to a entirerly different setting decorated with neon lighting in blue and pinks with flowers everywhere everytime they make love was fun and definitely serves to aid in the campy-ness. There was also a filtering blurring effect and bright BRIGHT lights adding an almost washy effect over the whole thing.
I had a hard time liking the acting of the main leads.
The male lead felt like a bootleg version of what the hot Yakuza leader Oya was in the manga. It might be because I had read the series beforehand, but he was just not it for me. Got to give the production an applause for the very good shoulders and back tattoo that was similar to the 2d version of Oya.
The female lead delivered a more toned down version of Yuri as a character comparing to the manga. In the manga, Yuri is alot more bubbly in personality and that is something that sets apart and highlights how differently Oya interact when he is Yuri. Since she no longer has that clear personality, the whole chemistry between them changes (even if the actors stay true to their lines).
Lastly, I gotta touch upon the fashion/styling. With the low-budget production, it is not per se atrocious but it was by no means good. Over the top patterned furniture and clothing choices for characters that felt odd, some of the time, the clothes really felt like costumes more than something that people would actually put on. It felt like it was fashion from like 2015 instead of being 2022.
Storywise, there definitely felt like they ended the show on a happy ending with opportunity to continue alternatively get the watchers to read the manga.
In conclusion: If you are in search of something campy, with a short lenght and over the top romance, this might just be it!
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This review may contain spoilers
Cringey with some good scenes
I have read the manga and like other series which was adapted, I do not expect much on this series given that it is a josei (a shojo genre for women who are 26+ yrs old). Aside from that, you cannot expect some intimate scenes to be done by the series since many Japanese actors and actresses are still conservative. I still like the way they interpret it and kind of mix some of the events on the series.As this is a low budget series (scenes are happening on certain areas only from time to time or could be because of Covid restrictions in Japan), they try to add some catchy effects on the edits to emphasize the mood of the characters like when Toshiomi and Yuri are always doing the intimates scenes in a bed surrounded by fake cherry blossom trees, conflict are shown in red light and other stuff. There's also a lot of smoothening filters on the series which I think is a little off (sorry for being technical here) on some scenes.
The actors also tried their best to act on this one but you can definitely feel that many times the timing is off or a very typical animated or stiff acting from the characters. I dunno... Semilio is intimidating on the manga but here, they seem to be a theater actors trying to kill each other.
Again, I did not put too much expectations on this series since the genre involves too much intimacy that Japanese actors will not be able to perform. I recommend that you read the manga to feel how crazy they are for each other especially on their sexy moments. Do not worry, the manga is not hentai, there's a lot of silhouette, shadow, blurred parts when they Toshiomi and Yuri do it.
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Cheesy, Obsessed, Insta Love.
There is always a special type of cringe with manga-made dramas. I am not sure if it is the insta love that happens in the first 5 minutes because there at always 8-10 eps, 20 minutes each, so we have to fast-forward everything, or if it is how the characters seem to freeze in place sometimes, mimicking the panels in a comic. Or maybe it is how the director is trying to convince the watcher that the two main characters love one another.I wasn't really sure what this drama was supposed to accomplish. It might have been showing how the characters met and fell in love and how Yuri came to understand what it meant to be a gang boss's lover. Or maybe it was about something completely different.
My thoughts? It felt more like two people who were obsessed with the idea of what they thought love was, and became obsessed with one another. Honestly... I wasn't even sure if Yuri herself, in the show, was actually in love with Oya. She seemed scared half the time, and the other half worrying she would never see him again... but it was all trumped by how horny she was for him.
I was definitely entertained by how over-the-top everything was, which included the three VERY quick "bosses" - the "love rival" best friend, the jealous gentleman caller, and a literal mafia boss. All quick over top people who served their purpose for 20 minutes and then disappeared.
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A fun show to watch while stuck in bed
Koi to Dangan or as I will refer to it in my review Yakuza Lover was one of those shows where I turned the lights out, got some popcorn, and dived in. Watching the ML and FL hop through the story made me cackle, groan, and giggle like a 14-year-old again. What this drama does well is that it retains the spirit of the manga and doesn't attempt to be more than it is: a josei manga adaptation.Story-5.0:
The story is from the manga My Yakuza Lover and I recommend giving it a go if you like romance and cute characters. I felt that the overall message from the Manga about how Life is short and it's better to love than not love at all was well retained in the drama. The romance was surprisingly good and the love scenes were very artistic which I came to enjoy. The story is capable of some good comedy moments making some of the more unrealistic parts more watchable and also grounds itself in reality when a more serious bit starts which was refreshing. The story is only 9 manga volumes/9 thirty minute episodes so don't expect a slow burn or tons of backstory. The drama is very fast-paced and to the point without any filler.
I took points off my score mainly due to three issues. The first problem I had with the drama was how it reordered arcs from the manga and left out several vital pieces of context that give you a better understanding of why the ML/FL are happy, upset, angry, etc. It also makes certain scenes feel like they come out of nowhere when in the manga you can understand that character's motives clearly, like the scenes with Jin in them.
The second problem was that the pacing is a little rushed and I felt the story would have been better served if they had given all 9 episodes an hour each that way an hour is given to each manga volume. The depth of the plot and characters might have been a little more developed then.
The third and perhaps biggest issue with the whole drama was the lighting. I don't know why but nearly half the scenes have a bright light obscuring the cast's faces during scenes or a light glare on them. It got fairly irritating by episode 4 and I was really to chuck my phone by episode 7. These issues made me wonder if some corners were cut with the budget in the lighting department.
Acting/Cast-7.0:
The overall cast was a little hit-and-miss for me. Some characters were very reliable and similar to the manga and others were pretty underwhelming. For the most part, they didn't take me out of the story so the cast gets points for that. Also, none of the cast were so cringey or unbelievable that it makes the drama unwatchable so points for that too.
Furukawa Yuuta /Oya-san was the most enjoyable character to watch throughout the entire drama. He had a good sellable charisma on the screen that kept me invested and his tattoos were well replicated from the manga. He has a good emotional range and portrayed Oya's soft side with Yuri very well. He plays Oya pretty much in line with the manga character which was great because deviating from that would have made a lot of scenes nearly unwatchable.
Hashimoto Manami/Mama was also very well portrayed. Her role as the mature and understanding female support lead was very well done and I enjoyed all the scenes with her present. Arai Myra/Mai and Nakao Yuuka/Erina both did a good job as Yuri's best friends. They are present and remind you that Yuri does have a life separate from Oya and both actresses avoided being the in-your-face, BFFs forever type of character which was great. I also enjoyed watching the goons Nanase Kou/Shogo and Yamanaka Jyutaro/Ginji for the same reasons.
Baba Fumika/Yuri was a little disappointing. I liked her for the most part but she lacked the bubbly personality of Yuri. She was a little wooden in some of her scenes where instead of smiling and being sad she just looked surprised or scared. Her scenes with Oya were alright but sometimes I felt like he was doing the bulk of the acting. Also, a pet peeve of mine was her wardrobe. In the manga, Yuri wears a lot of cute but classy clothing in soft colors and while the drama wardrobe was nice I didn't think it fit her character well.
Kimura Keito/Jin did alright but he lacked the emotional depth the manga character had. This is mainly due to a lack of plot complexity. The same problem occurs to a bigger degree with Nakamura Shizuka/Chouko who was a bigger antagonist in the manga. Kuroba Mario/Cemilio was portrayed well and emulated how weird his character was in the manga pretty darn well.
Music-9.0:
No complaints with the music except for the occasional volume issue during a scene. The music score complimented the drama very nicely.
Rewatch Value-7.0:
I will probably rewatch this while I'm sewing, knitting, or doing chores. It would also be a good girl's night watch or something entertaining to watch on a sick day.
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Ridiculously Exaggerated, Even For A Fantasy.
It's written, acted, and directed like a middle schooler's idea of porn. I barely made it through 1.5 episodes (rolling my eyes almost the entire time) before dropping.The cinematography is gorgeous but everything else is aggressively awful. The "physical intimacy" is more like an attack by a boy who has never had sex before and doesn't know what he's doing. It wasn't seductive or enticing at all. It further erroded the "I'm a cool, competent, and manly mafia leader" facade they were going for. The male lead is trying so, so hard to look and sound cool that it has the opposite effect and had me laughing. Even for a short format fantasy, the falling in love part is so fast that there's no romance to it. Almost every line is cloyingly cliché.
It was cheesy and horrible but didn't leave any mental scars so it gets a 2.
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