Acting was...BRILLIANT, MIND BLOWING AND INCREDIBLE. As expected from all those actors. 10 points to Eita, 10 to Hikari, 10 to Satoshi, 10 to Aoi, even 10 to Masami (the girl just proved in this drama how good she can be). I don't have to write about their acting, every true Japanese fan knows about them and how genius they are. I'm only going to say that the chemistry they had was so amazing, all of them, between every single family member, how they loved one each other, how they fought, how they protected one another, whatever problems they had, and they had a lot of them through the whole drama, they stayed together because they're family. There is a sentence which Asahi said at the end:" Anywhere we go, we are family. A family that is inseparable. That needs no reason.' And that's exactly the point of a drama. FAMILY.
I think I was the most touched by the eldest son who was honestly suffered the most to achieve all that and keeps of all them together in a place to live, food to eat and proper education to have. And the second son who was played by my dearest Eita, two of them were so fantastic, I've enjoyed in their scenes, and scenes with their only sister who was such a sweet, delightful creature, with every brother she showed different relationship, she was like a soul of their family. All scenes between them, funny, sad, angry, crazy, all the emotions that exist in this world I think that they delivered us all of them in only 11 hours. Simply magnificent.
Music was ok, nothing much but quietly in the background fitted good to the atmosphere.
This drama is a story about human emotions, about family gathered together and their stories and lives, each character was so well written, even the side characters were perfect.
At the end, this sentence really hit me and got deep in the heart. "What's wrong with crying when I want to cry? That's what a human being is supposed to do."
Definitely a drama with so many messages and lessons about life and humans which all of us should listen and be aware of. I'm truly thankful for having a opportunity to see this amazing piece.
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And once again she did an amazing job in portraying the character of a tormented soul and a girl with many scars who commit some crime and in a facility for juveniles she then meets a warden and simply fall in love. Well, who wouldn't fall for the brilliant Mikami Hiroshi?, who was equally incredible in portraying the character of a unrecognized artist with secrets and who also slowly, through many conversations fall in love with her. It was so delightful to watch the two of them , how they talk, how they always use imagination and metaphor for their topics and how they gradually started to develop feeling for each other. I was honestly so hypnotized by the uniqueness of the scenario and the story, I liked very much how they in almost every episode mentioned some famous writer, painter, artist who was important for society, I liked how she had so vividly strong imagination and talked about difference between LOVE and ETERNITY, I remembered this sentence:" You have two buses. One is for Love and everybody is inside, talking, holding hands and smiling, but in some next stop they had to get off, the bus moves on. Everyone can see that bus. The other one is for Eternity, it's empty and the bus doesn't stop. Do you see it? Eternity is more important then love, it gives you freedom. "- something like that, maybe I didn't wrote exactly the same, but the point is there. Whole scenario was simply beautiful, I don't know which episode I liked more and which sentence was more perfectly said. With their chemistry which was so patiently built they made it to pull you in and become fascinated by them. So for the acting I give a ten. Not to mention Kubozuka Yosuke who is a pure genius and of the most outstanding actors ever, I adore him in every role, whether it's a drama or a movie. And in this one he was of course amazing, so twisted, dark and one truly lonely soul, he was a great addition to the whole drama.
Music was appealing quite fine, intro song was really good. As for the rewatching, I thiink that I could watch it again in some distant future because it's a really good drama.
Definitely one thing is sure and that is that NO DOUBT J-dramas from the '90s are the best from every angle and that more people should be aware of that and make time to watch more of these kind of dramas, it's such a pity for them not to be seen and to be forgotten by the rest of the people. I can easily say that I always enjoy more in watching older dramas because of their emotional, mature, deep, natural and realistic content unlike now days shows. This one will for sure stay in your mind.
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Drama Special Series Season 1: White Christmas
17 people found this review helpful
As for the acting, I knew all of them from other dramas and honestly loved the most of them and respected them as actors. Although you could see that in this drama they were young and for many of them it was a beginning into the world of famous people and the whole Korean cinematography, also you could see after the watching this drama that they were fantastic. Literally. All of them. I mean, they are idol boys, they are models, I was fascinated that in only one drama I get to see the guys who were tall, all of them and all of them were, well and still are, pretty much a great looking young men. And despite that they deliberated us amazing performance of the all characters and showed us that they know how to play and act. If I have to pick my favourite character, well that would be Choi Chi Hoon- he was the smartest one no doubt, always with a cool head and cold thinking but very good friend, he was brilliant and also Sung Joon is my favourite amongst them, I just adore that actor. Of course Kang Mi Reu was my second one favourite, he was a true hero and a bad ass man! As for the rest of the characters, everyone was great and had their own role and purpose, everyone was important equally.
Twisted, dark, psycho, mystery, thriller drama with a perfect cast and the story about young people with many problems in their minds who were in some hand abandoned by the others and put in the biggest psychological test with a serial killer crazy man. Oh, I loved this show so much, I just feel empty now. ;-)
The only part I find a little bit predictable is that you can easily see after the episode 4 who were the main culprits and the part about that 7 strong men couldn't bring down one man with a gun. But it was well done after that so that little mistake wasn't important in the end.
And about the end, definitely THE MOST MEMORABLE ENDING EVER, it became my favourite ending part in some drama, I was so thrilled and satisfied in the end and for sure the ending scene had a big part in it why this show has such a high score, no doubt that it wouldn't be the same without that perfect end.
I will stop now and go to listen the whole ost and all of the songs in this show which is with a reason one of the strongest, greatly done dramas ever in the history of dramas. They should really make more dramas like this one, it's a pity for the rest of us who truly enjoy more in this kind of plot and story.
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Just to be clear about something, I'm not a fan of love affairs, actually I don't like them at all and usually do not watch dramas with concept like that but this one I chose because of the music theme and the main actor. And I'm glad I did that 'cause I fell in love with this drama so deeply with no cure for healing. For the record this drama and story aren't affair at all as all of us think what affair actually is and you could see that from the very start and the relationship between the married couple, they were more like business partners. Yoo Ah In and Kim Hee Ae have done the job brilliant in portraying the two people who met and simply, slowly fell in love through the piano playing, music sheets, Mozart, Liszt, Tchaikovsky, and many other classical geniuses. I was hypnotized and mesmerized with their conversations, with their playing, with their passionate chemistry, I can't remember when I've reacted like this to some couple and chemistry in drama, since MARS I haven't felt like this.
This is not some average bubbly romance drama; it's dark, complex, passionate, bittersweet, and sometimes even torturous. It's a true emotional, mature and adult romance drama where we'll cheer as hard as we can for love to win against all odds. It’s a story to show how love can change one for the best or the worst. I loved very much how they concentrate simply on development of the main characters, their constant battle inside them, their pain, their hope and most of all their passion. It had been a very long time that I had felt such complex emotions with such intensity. It was almost like I was one of them. Of course there are boring parts, for example the part about business and all those irritating female characters who were so evil, bad and gossiping around, I really hate that. But except that everything else was a masterpiece for real. Yoo Ah In as a young piano prodigy was magnificent, he once again proved to me why he's one of my favourite actors in the whole world. When he’s onscreen with Kim, they make beautiful music together, both literally and figuratively. The love story generates plenty of heat, and feels genuine and quite moving. As long as the two leads are playing duets together or sharing bowls of noodles, everything else was in the shadow, only them and their fantastic chemistry.
Unlike in the most of average dramas, the music actually added meaning and depth to the drama. They played so many beautiful pieces from so many great composers and anyone who has any appreciation for classical music is going to enjoy this drama enormously. This drama is a bit slow, but it didn't bother me at all. I loved that I could see and feel their every gaze, touch, and emotion. I was able to synchronize my emotions with them, to understand and feel how they fell for one another.
For me this drama has a deep meaning and definitely left me with so many great and honest emotions. If you're like me a person who loves a true pure romance dramas with adult and mature thinking with endless love for music in your daily life, then this drama is for you.
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What I liked the most is how they made comparisons to the movie Silence of the lambs and Hannibal Lector (which is one my favourite movies) and to the book "Crime and punishment'" which is one of my favourite books, it was such a great idea for all that, it fitted perfectly in the whole concept of the story and characters.
Overall I liked the drama really and in some weird and sick way I was sad at the end and I really loved Ryu Tae Oh's character, not that I felt sympathy or something like that, it's just that I was fascinated by the sickness and craziness of his brilliant mind. Gap Dong as the main culprit became really like a myth, exactly like Jack the Reaper and the actor who played him was great. Music was so good, I liked the main song, it was full of action and emotions, it didn't bother me at all since it was played many times in drama.
Who loves dramas with thriller and obsessed concept with many twisted characters and lot of excitement, this one is definitely not to miss. Although the story is slow and they could easily finish everything with 16 episodes, I was satisfied at the end.
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My favourite character is J and officially became my favourite villain, Hiroki has portrayed him magnificently, I have never loved some bad guy like I love him. ;-)
As for the story, it's pretty much the same as the first season or should I say the season 2 continues where season1 has stopped. And everything was great, also what is so good and different about this show is that many good guys die, some of the main characters die and that constant suspense and doubt who is the the main bad guy, great. Music was good like in the first season, fits in the moments perfectly.
I have found this drama in this genre that I love so much and that suit me so well, definitely became one of my favourite dramas in the crime, action,suspense genre. And I could watch it right now again because of such a stunning acting, brilliant performances by all the actors and great happenings through the whole drama. This is the drama that never gets boring for sure.
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First I have to say that music was awesome, that opening song was one of the best video interpretations I have ever seen. Fits so perfectly in the whole story.
Then the story itself was good, nothing too much but different from the other dramas. Scenery was so beautiful, I would have to say I was literally stunned by the beauty of the various scenes. It seemed like the majority of the scenes were directly outside or where you could see outside. I would say this is one of the best shot outdoor scenes I have ever seen.
Characters were fantastic, from him as a main lead to the little girl played by Suzuki Anne, the girl was just so brilliant, she was the light and the sun of the whole drama, I was mesmerized by her acting. Shibata Yoshimori has to be one of my favourite characters of all time. I don't know how Toyokawa Etsushi did it, but I'm in love. Tall and gentle, but strong... and silent. He moved and walked in a quiet space and it was so peaceful to watch him. He had such powerful chemistry with Suzuki Anne, who was serious a child prodigy; the way she drew you in and made you forget you were watching an actress and not a real person...I also liked the character of Kahori, she was like a bird, craving for freedom and wanted to love and to be loved as the purpose of her living. And she succeed in that. You could easily see how she was unhappy in that marriage and how she wasn't in love with her husband, he was more like her savior who helped her and her daughter in a tough time of their lives. I wouldn't say that she was bad because she seduced Shibata and made him to escape with them, she was only very lonely and suffering, you could see that through the end, especially in that most important scene in episode 7, and yet she showed her love for him. I don't agree with that kind of choice especially if you have a child who you love but she was too weak and her love was too strong to continue and accept to get back with her husband, that was something the worst for her and that's why she chose that kind of ending for her, in some way that was her freedom and in the same time she saved Shibata from being killed.
Dramas has two parts, the first part until the episode 7 where Shiori was a little kid, and the second part, after the episode 7 where she was a grown up young woman. First part was so touching, the three of them running and hiding, living a life like a real family, they had such an amazing chemistry. I was hypnotized by the first part of the drama. Also the first part was a true pure romance and the chemistry that Kahori and Shibata had was incredible, I would have to say that those kissing scenes between them went right on the top of my favourite and most passionate kisses. ;-)
And then some tragic happens, everything gets a different sadder, darker tone and you could see exactly all the struggle and emotions of the main characters in that times. I felt tormented and so emotional at the end of the show but I wouldn't have in any other way because that was it, the ending scene which shows you that there are real love that exist on this world and that there are freedom and happiness.
At that same time at the end of the drama, quite suddenly, you realize that the love story wasn't between Yoshimori and Kahori at all...
I would definitely recommend this for any person loving pure human dramas and not afraid of touching moments.
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So, this drama has won me from the start. With such a strong chemistry between them and from the first second (reminded me of MARS and the chemistry between the main couple from there) I was hypnotized. The story was really great and Toyokawa has done the job like a real pro, how he portrayed the deaf, emotional artistic painter, it was fascinating, he has captured my heart and my mind right away. Not to mention his great looking and his tallness, just for the record he was smoking hot. Of course that is just a plus to the story.
And somewhere until the episode 9 it was fantastic drama but then everything was ruined. I would easily give it a strong 9.5 or even a 10 but I was very very mad about the last three episodes, it was completely unnecessary, stupid and wrong way of writing. I mean I hated the female lead, she was annoying all the time with her screaming, yelling and overly dramatic scenes, this time I hated Takako's character. Somehow I managed through the whole drama to be cool with her character because she loved him and their chemistry was worth watching even just for their kissing and love scenes, all those scenes were simply beautiful, so passionate, sweet, full of lust and real things with very natural relationship but that moment in drama when she did what she did was enough for me to lose my interest in a happy and beautiful ending, even more I would be more happy if the drama took different kind of event at the end. At least I know how I would act in that situation.
No, really, this female character became one of the most hated characters ever in my dramaland and I am truly sorry because of that 'cause this drama had such a potential with a great story, brilliant acting, especially from Toyokawa , you could feel everything that he felt without saying a word and you could just be carried away with his expression of emotions through the sign language, simply magnificent, and it didn't work out at the end. They ruined it with a betrayal in the worst kind of way and at the most important moment.
I gave it this score because of everything that I have already pointed out what was good and the biggest part of this score is because of the most natural, real expressions of love and attractiveness which was abnormally strong and high. Also this drama is indeed a Japanese classic so it should be on everyone's list, it is a real romance drama with a very great actors and storyline regardless of a few mistakes in it.
I think that it's never enough to see a great love story that it seems so real to the core.
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Although it's not a light romance drama, for me this is one of the most beautiful and strongest love stories and romances ever because it seemed so real and natural and the characters literally loved one each other to the point they would give up their lives for that love which is something worth dying and living for. Mystery, murders, suspense, love, romance, all of it put in this great show with a great performances of the actors. Worth watching.
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The story itself is already very sad, dark and depressed and all of those actors just gave the whole drama a big plus with their great acting. And although it is a very tragic and heartbreaking drama it has positive sides, through the whole drama you'll see the constant battle inside the characters whether to forgive or revenge, whether to be good or bad, whether to love or hate...And those words HOPE and LIFE were there all the time with them to remind them to fight and live on. I was crying, I was smiling, I was terrified, I was scared, I was sad and I fell in love. All these emotions has gone through me while watching this drama and in the end it remained the feeling of emptiness because everything was over. I can say this for sure that no doubt Japan has the most heartbreaking, emotional, amazing dramas that nobody in the world has. When they make some drama it is certainly that you're going to be different after watching and that you'll feel the strongest emotions ever. It doesn't matter whether drama is tragic or happy. And that is something that no one else can do. Of course there are exceptions.
As for the music, this is the first drama that I didn't care about the music and that there weren't music almost at all except for that main song.
So in the end I hope that more people will make the time to see this drama because definitely deserves more attention. And for sure you won't regret it. At least I haven't. Nor I will. I can only be grateful for watching this masterpiece.
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As for the story, it is a genre that I love, not so much for the pure action but the part about suspense, thriller, hackers and virus, oh it's exactly how I like it and this drama has done everything how it should be, the right amount of so many various genres. The most important of all, it hasn't been boring not one single moment (I only had this similar exited feeling for the drama Two weeks) and whole the time it was an intelligent drama with so many unexpected events that at one time I was doubting in everyone, even in Haruma. ;-)
And above all that music was good, that main song is so great and fits perfectly in the drama. I'll be watching this drama for sure once more in the future, it gives me a good vibe. I can't wait to see Bloody Monday 2.
Honestly I can't think of a reason why someone wouldn't like this drama so yes, I'm recommending it for all of you as a very enjoyable and fantastic one.
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The actors were great especially Im Su Jeong and Ji Sub, they really showed us why they're one of the best actors out there. The story itself is already seen but we have to consider that this drama aired 10 years ago and since then many dramas similar to this one have been made but in that time it was pretty much original. Well for me, it still is, even now because of the amazing acting, great romance and true love, importance of being alive and health and mature thoughts all the way. Oh yes, not to mention OST and Snow flower which perfectly fits in every scene.
I tried to stay cold and not cry because I knew how it's going to end but still I have finished with the tears in my eyes. This is a drama that I think people should see, it is a Korean classic and if you're a fan of SJS, that is a plus more to watch. For me it was enjoyable and a great drama to watch although it is sad and bitter but has really sweet family moments and true emotions of loving someone despite everything. And the chemistry is of course great between them, they were very convincing and realistic in all the scenes they had together, love them as a couple.
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The music was pretty good, I like the main song very much. Yoon Hyun Min's character was my favourite, since Cruel city I started to stalk this actor, he is good but has no many roles. In this drama he is great and so funny and I liked very much the bromance between him and Dong Ha, they really love one each other, true friends. Also Ji Yeon's mum was so good, and Ji Yeon's friend Na Rae very funny. I was truly enjoying in this drama and I didn't expect that at all. Laughing, sweetness, happiness, all the most beautiful emotions I have experienced while watching this drama.\
This is a recommendation for everyone to watch because you will enjoyed in Witch's romance and you'll fall in love with Dong Ha's character. He is what you call, A PERFECT MAN IN EVERY ASPECT. And he is good from the start, he's not some kind of rich jerk who behave badly and then suddenly become good. In his case-what you see is what you get, he is honest, sweet, a true gentleman, has a sense of humor, have a good heart, considerate towards other people and when he falls for you, he won't betray you no matter what. OH MY. I fell in love with him from the first moment I saw him. ;-)
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This is how it starts. This drama has won me right after the first episode. It has been on my list since a long time ago but finally I decided to watch a few days ago. And then everything changed. I have never watched anything similar to this, maybe there are a little few Asian dramas in the whole world like this one but it's honestly really rare. Different from everything else, in so much more deeper and darker psychological level that every second I was truly in a state like the main characters, I felt every single emotion they felt, I smiled, cried, yelled, was so angry and crazy at times they I could kill like Chen Ling thought he could, I was in love, I felt so much passion, desire and true meaning of a strong real love, exactly like that I have never felt while watching any drama in my entire life.
What is it that makes this drama so different from others and that makes me to write and feel like this? Well, when you start to watch you see that there are some guy who is a popular playboy and very handsome, and you see some girl who is very shy, artistic and doesn't talk to anyone. So at first you think this is going to be some cliche romance drama with the plot you have seen so many times. But you're wrong. Sooo wrong. Because already in the second part of the first episode you see that it's different, that you've got some strange feeling inside your body which tells you this is going to be something amazing. There is no some twisted mystery plot, no birth secrets, no rich handsome boss and poor cute girl, no love triangles, no annoying people and yelling all the time. The attraction between the characters begins right away, and they are what make this drama.
And the story begins.
Of course I'm not going to tell the story 'cause you have that already in the description of the drama, but what I'm going to tell is that this is the most beautiful and the strongest love story ever. Literally. I mean two young people trying to face and struggle with their pasts, their fears, their tragic and sad experiences and finding solace in one another. And they succeed in that. Because they simply fell in love. Honestly. Truly. They helped one another to face with all difficulties and overcome everything with the strength and power of real love. Vic and Barbie have done amazing job,they had amazing intense chemistry all the time, I really admire them, they are really very talented and fantastic actors. I think it is very hard to play a role where your character is psychological damaged and where the character is in some hand a little bit crazy with many problems and issues in the head and in the heart. I don't need to say that Vic became my favourite actor, actually in my top 5. ;-) And his character is the best ever, I fell in love with his hair, his style, his bike, his attitude, I like it very much that he is not perfect, he has so many flaws and that's why he became my favourite character in the whole dramaland.
Also, the character of Tong Dao is such an amazing addition to the already dark, depressed and psycho feeling. Oh my God, do you know how I love his character? Not in some positive way, it's just I think that he perfectly fits in here with his twisted and creepy behavior and you'll see why. An Jun Can was a genius in this drama, I was so scared of him in some scenes, great really.
Music- no words, just listen. I still shiver and tremble and still in my mind are the songs from MARS. Especially the opening song, MASTERPIECE.
So, in the end only to say that YOU HAVE TO WATCH MARS, IT'S A MUST WATCH DRAMA and you'll definitely won't be the same after watching. At least you gonna fall in love with Vic (or Barbie) and you gonna enjoy in beautiful music if you don't like the drama. But honestly there's no way you not gonna like it.
All I know that I became a little obsessed with characters from MARS and literally played some scenes more times than once because the conversations between them are so precious and intelligent, I enjoyed in every detail. DRAMA MASTERPIECE. Oh yeah did I say that kiss scenes are so hot, sexy and so natural and real? I felt like I was with them in drama in their intimate moments and kissing them all the way. ;-)
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