One of the things I love about J doramas compared to K-dramas is how short they are. It takes a very special kind of J dorama to feel tediously overlong and drawn out with only 9 45 minute episodes. Harassment Game is one of those happily rare exceptions.

The core storyline had potential but the execution was a muddled mess. Nothing of real import to the core plot happened until partway through episode 7 of 9, by which point resistance WAS futile :)

I stayed for some ofg the characters, especially Akitsu and his wife and daughter. His compliance office colleague seemed implausibly naive and fragile for such a role. Which was a major disappointment, as Hirose Alice was the reason I started the Drama. Overall, an unsatisfying experience, except for the delightful Akitsu family

Read More

I started this solely for the female lead, and found the first episode heavy going. The side characters, like the Chief of Police and the incompetent superior officer, seemed like caricatures, while the male lead was very shouty. Happily, things settled down and the Drama started getting smart, both in the storylines and in the developing relationship between the leads.

The female lead is an interesting character, bright and motivated, and also discreetly conflicted. By that I mean her inner angst remains largely inner. That inner conflict was brought into VERY sharp relief at the very end of the final episode and was responsible for me upgrading my score from 6.5 to 7.

Read More

Meh-diocre and predictable

I started this for only one reason, Wang Ji Won, and I finished it for her. Sadly, her role was utterly pointless - made to be kinda sorta a villain but in reality an irrelevance. Her role was so small it could have been excised, especially as it went nowhere. Which is a nice summary of the show as a whole Han Go Eun has been a favourite since Capital Scandal, but even she was stuck with a clichéd character here.

The only good thing about watching this right through is that I can once again say that I have seen literally everything Wang Ji Won has done, and that her acting fee for this show would have helped finance her real passion, the ballet academy she owns and runs

Read More

What a tragedy that the 50th J dorama I completed was one of the worst of the 300+ Asian Dramas I've finished. I gave this Drama 2 stars for the only two likeable characters, the two leads. Their growth was the reason I got though it, with MASSIVE amounts of fast-forwarding. That and Takahata Mitsuki's very convincing portrayal of an unusual character were there only reasons I stuck it out to the end, rushing through to check out the SP.

This Drama also distinguished itself by having one of the most loathsome, vile, criminally insane characters I've ever had ot choke back a vomit reflex watching - Kahoko's indescribably appalling MOTHER. The woman was utterly and irredeemably horrid, and stark raving mad. All I can do is hope that the trauma of watching this ghastly trash will fade soon, while I look for more of the indubitably talented Ms Takahat's work.

Read More

Sometimes, Bad is Bad

I tried this Drama once, made it to 10 before rage-quitting at how unspeakably AWFUL, really VILE the ML was. After a few months, I tried it again because so many Wu Qian fans said it was a great role for her and that she shone. After reaching 30/44 with ZERO improvement in the utter dchebag ML, I gave up for the second and final time. I kept hoping for improvement, but there was NONE. And I do mean NONE, ZERO, NADA, ZILCH.

The final straw for me came in episode 26/44. That's SIXTY PERCENT done, by which point most tsundere MLs are starting to show signs of being vaguely human, giving SOME reason to accept that the FL might fall for them. NOT THIS ONE. In episode 26, after she was doing her job as his agent by giving him sensible advice related to his career, he stopped the car in the middle of nowhere and ordered her out, leaving her to find her own way back to the city. When she was picked up by a creep who tried to rape her, the ML blamed HER, and refused to accept that it was all his fault.

As awful as that was, it's actually fairly standard tsundere behaviour, but what made it even worse, besides being so late in the Drama, was her reaction. After having been almost raped because of his childish petty rage and utter selfishness, she "fell in love" with him because she discovered that he's bought a stupidly expensive t-shirt for her. ACTUAL HEADDESK MOMENT!

After 26 episodes of being her own woman and putting up with all his ENDLESS cr*p, verbal and physical abuse, being treated like a slave, and his infantile possessiveness, she falls for him because he bought an expensive shirt? Sigh! Also, GOODBYE.

The moral of this story? When you drop, trust your gut and LEAVE IT DROPPED.

Read More

Wobbly start, stunning finish

After watching Season One yesterday, we watched Season 2 today. The first couple of episodes were a bit meandering, lacking the tightness of Season 1. The final two episodes were very powerful, and for most of the final episode I was fighting back tears. Kawahara Eito delivered stunning lead performances across both series, but the final episode took his character to new emotional depths and he rose to the challenge magnificently. The first season had the edge in cohesion, and was much lighter viewing overall, but the emotional punch of the final 2 episodes of this series redeemed its wobbly start.

Read More

Less really is more

"Kotaro Lives Alone is an excellent example of all the reasons why #JDramas long ago became my favourites. Emotionally moving without sentimentality, addressing a difficult subject with unflinching directness and sensitivity, a lot of laughs and doing so in ten 23-minute episodes. Imagining a KDrama version is a frightening thought. The episodes, despite being short NEVER felt rushed, just complete and dvoid of bloat. The emotioal impact was real, but unlike so many K Dramas, it was delivered with subtlety and understatement - often greatly increasing it's impact. All the actors delivered, but Kawahara Eito was AMAZING.

Read More

"USE YOUR WORDS" - or else

This short drama was a stunner. I have completed 412 dramas, this was the 16th that I scored at least 10/10. That means fewer than 1 drama out of every 25 I finish scores as highly as this one did. There was effectively nothing wrong with it.

I started it for Bang Minah, and expected a lightweight romcom-ish kind of short. Ms Bang did not disappoint, she's come a long way since the goofy cute of Beautiful Gong Shim. But this was not a romcom. It was a really thoughtful, really intelligently written short drama about relationships and the importance of communication. Part way through episode three reference was made to "Before Sunrise", the Delpy/Hawke classic which is part of a talking trilogy. All three of those movies focus on the leads talking, with very little else happening. Where this drama excelled was in showing what happens when the characters don't "use their words".

At one point, I was angry with this drama because it looked like a central character who was NOT "using their words" would get away with it. They did not. No one did, and that's why this drama gets a 10. The emotional weight and impact in the final part of episode three and much of episode four particularly comes from the middle-aged couple, who turned out to have very significant communication issues of their own. Their story arc left my eyes damp and left me convinced that the Drama I had been about score 9 deserved 10.

Whenever I am blown away by the intelligence and thoughtfulness of the dialogue that I read as subtitles, I am left wondering just how good the actual dialogue is. From my experience of watching films in languages that I know enough of not to need subtitles, I know how very much is lost in translation. That's one of the reasons why I scored this drama a 10, because the dialogue I did see was THAT good, which leads me to think the dialogue I couldn't follow must've been so much better.

This drama also shows how really really good K dramas can be when they are short. The core elements of this four-episode drama have been used as the core elements of dramas 4 to 5 times as long. Those dramas are bloated and suffer from huge excesses of padding which serve no purpose except to fill up the specified time. Check out the event is like the distilled essence of those K dramas served without any excess baggage. It really is very worthwhile to check out the event.

Read More

In love with work

Watching this Drama was a conflicting experience for me. It was very well-written and well-acted, but I just couldn't like or sympathise with the lead character, the eponymous "Hataraki Man".

The reason I didn't like her or sympathise with her was not because the only two things she loved were work and herself, in that very specific order. I have no problem with characters who absolutely LIVE for their work, making it not just the central element of their lives but the ONLY element, as she did.

My problem was that she spent 8 of the 11 episodes trying to have it both ways. She had a long-term boyfriend of four years but EVERY SINGLE TIME there was a choice between him and work, work won - every time, no matter the time of day or night. Then when the inevitable happened, she felt aggrieved. Copious tears and emotional anguish but to me it was simple the inevitable reality that actions have consequences. Had she been more honest about her priorities, she might not have suffered as much.

Read More

PARFAIT

The word "parfait" means "perfect" in French, and refers to a sweet dessert in English. This means it fits this very short, VERY sweet Drama "perfectly"

There was really NOTHING wrong with this Drama. Even the length was right. Seven super short episodes was just right for such a frothy, sweet, cute Drama, one with no "drama" in it. No angst, no bitterness, no clouds of darkness, just a sweet cute couple being sweet and cute together. I was originally going to rate it around 8/10 but upgraded it to 9.5 because it is a basically perfect example of a "dessert Drama". If you need a sugar hit, and want one free of toxic chauvinist tropes like tsundere ML gods, this one is just what the doctor ordered

Read More

SUB THE SP PLEASE!

This was another delightful Japanese Drama built around strong, interesting female characters. The two female leds were the closest thing the Drama had to an OTP, and their interactions and the ensuing mutual growth of respect and affection was the heart of the show.

The Drama was not without flaws, one of which were the slightly caricatured male bosses. It may be a Japanese humour style, but I've noticed this slightly OTT shouty male incompetence in other Dramas were the sympathetic protagonists are female. The writing and performance of the two female leads in this Drama were strong enough to stand on their own, without making the male boss slightly buffoonish. He could still have been shown as less competent and more interested in politicking without the shouty histrionics.

Overall, though, that was minor niggle. Haru delivered a great role as a rookie growing into a new style of detective work after an injury, and the deep bond that formed between her character and Suzuki Kyoka's made sure that by the end of the eighth and final episode the biggest and most annoying flaw was

THERE ARE NO SUBS FOR THE SP! Waaaaah!

Read More