Feli
South Carolina
This review may contain spoilers
In The Dark Gray Box is a complex coming of age story worthy of an evening bindge watch.
Since no one has given this drama a review yet, I thought I'd give it a go. I hope this review helps you to decide if you want to give this drama a try. I gave it an 8 out of 10.The story complex and twisted in a way that the Japanese are so good at. I thought the acting was good for how the writer and director wanted to portray what these young adults were going through at this stage of their life. The music was good. I HAD to rewatch parts of it because it was so twisted I was like: "What the Fffff! Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing? and Where are they going with this?"! Luckily this drama is more like a three-hour movie so I was willing to go for the ride
Here is the set-up. The story is about the last year of high school for a group of 5 teens who grew up together in a large apartment complex. Like most kids, these teens all live in their own little bubbles but those bubbles are about ready to pop because they have to figure out what they are going after they graduate AND the apartment complex is up for sale so they aren't even sure they'll have "home" to come back to once they leave. To add to all this stress one of them, "Ritsu" has been damaged by his emotionally unstable mother who forced him to act like a girl until he finally rebelled when he was around 4 years old. He hates lies and especially hates it when people act in what he considers to be a "fake" manner. Misery loves company, and at this point, he's so unhappy and stressed that he's decided to "expose" all the secrets his friends have been keeping from each other.
I liked it while I was watching even though I wasn't sure what was happening, The episodes were short and I wanted to watch the next one right away. Once I "got" it, I really liked it and was left wanting more! Which in my book is the sign of a good drama.
If you can't handle "adult" themes, bi-curious characters, or if you hate open endings you probably will not like this drama. Because it's set as a "point of view" coming of age story there is no way for us to know what the future will hold for them unless someone writes more seasons. If they do I will be first in line to watch because by the time they graduated I ended up loving all of them as much as they loved each other.
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If you are in the mood for a drama about the founding of a dynasty I recommend Six Flying Dragons.
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Sweet little 16...
I really liked this J-drama. The story was short but surprisingly intense about 4 high school freshmen who are taking their first steps to adulthood and the changes necessary for that to happen. All 4 of the leads are suffering from one type of trauma or another. One (Mei) is almost OCD when it comes to her relationship with her one and only friend, Ibuki, the female 1st lead. She's so jealous of her that some other students think they're a couple.It was refreshing to see a female lead who was tom-boyish and comfortable in her skin. I loved the fact that she doesn't change herself (style or confidence-wise) you could see why everyone wanted to be around her. I also loved how she navigated all the love letters and confessions she got from both sexes.
I scored it an 8. I would have scored it higher but the ending is abrupt, to say the least.
Bottom Line: If you are looking for a short drama to watch on the bus or between classes this is a good one.
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The acting was great. Too bad it was wasted on this.
The acting and the cinematography were great, but I found these stories to be "just okay". On the plus side, it's short enough to watch without feeling like you wasted a good chunk of your life so if your interested I'd say give it a try, you may like it more than I did.Love Set was odd, to say the least. There are all sorts of theories about this one. One thing's for sure, there's something not quite right in the relationship between the father and the daughter. I thought it was about a spoiled teen princess who is used to being number 1 in her single father's life and is jealous of the first woman his father has become involved with who's a threat to her position... but other people think uglier going on.
The Collector was also a little strange, but once I found out it was about a nine-tailed fox it made much more sense.
Kiss Burn was the most normal story of the bunch, which doesn't mean that it's normal, in that the story is laid out there and it is what it is.
Walking at Night was a sad story about a depressed young woman and the man who loved her.
Maybe I've been spoiled by Montey Python, The Carol Burnett Show, and The Twilight Zone/Outer Limits... (you know shows where you don't have to do research to figure out what they were trying to say) but I only gave this a 6.5/10.
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This Is Nothing Like Call Boy.
I think the synopsis is giving people the wrong impression. The kid is sort of a drifter and works doing odd jobs; so far he's been a bartender, moving man, and a construction worker. In Call Boy, the man took pride in his job and felt like he was doing a valuable service. In JunichI it feels like he's lost. When we meet him he looks devastated, like he's been hit by a truck. I don't know because they haven't uploaded the rest of the drama yet, but I think he might have a terminal illness or something similar... I think it was the tender way he touched the pregnant woman's belly that give's me that impression and the way that the women talk about him... at any rate, don't go into this drama expecting to see a hot guy who's mission it is to please women cuz this is not that.Edit: I just finished watching the last two episodes and in the end this whole drama was pointless.... just like the main character.
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I wanted to like it but...
Let me start by saying that I was very happy to find a version of this drama with English subs. I think they did a great job translating all the different languages being spoken into a very readable story. Unfortunately, the story itself reminded me of a bad History Channel documentary... slow, very earnest, and (I'll say it) kinda corny. I watched it because I was happy to see Aaron listed as a leading man again, unfortunatly the romance in this drama was drier than an English biscuit. It was only three episodes, but I think for most people the fast forward button will be your friend.Was this review helpful to you?
If you are looking for a good "noona" romance keep looking. If you like this kind of story I suggest watching Secret Love Affair or I Need Romance 3 both of which do a better job of showing why a younger man would be attracted to an experienced older woman.
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A sweet and pretty woman moves into an apartment complex one day she hears a voice from her air vent asking her to help save her neighbor's life.... the voice tells her he's from the future. At first, she doesn't believe it but eventually agrees to help. In doing so she ends up falling in love with her neighbor.
I gave it an 8/10. If you're in the mood for a "pure" love story this is a good one to watch.
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I liked the story but camera work was a bit confusing at first. I watched it twice because I appreciated the camera work more once I understood what was happening. If you like sci-fi mysteries this is a good one.
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A Caustionary Tale About What Can Happen When You Take People For Granted.
This is a very old drama that had a surprisingly risque storyline for the time.It's about a poor insecure country girl (Young-sim) who fell in love and married a doctor from a very rich family and a handsome college student with cancer who has nothing left to lose. The two get together because Jung-woo wants to make his ex-girlfriend jealous and Young-sim is so mentally abused and desperate for any type of kindness that she's easy prey. (Even if she knows Jung-woo has ulterior motives for wanting to hang out with her.) Jung-woo is a kind man and genuinely admires Young-sims's good points, he begins to help her gain the confidence to start improving her life, and the two end up falling in love.
Like most K-dramas from this time period the coincidences rack up to the point of unbelievable and the acting/production values could be better but despite all its flaws, I enjoyed the drama. Maybe because it was filmed so long ago, but still in this century, you can really see the vast improvements in S. Korean women's lives, and it helps you to understand why so maybe some older S. Koreans might think the new generation is weak, winey, and unappreciative of just how good they have it now. The fashion was pretty different back then: bare arms, body-con shirts with (gasp) v-necked tops, and no micro-mini skirts... LOL
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Is this drama presented as BL? No, not really. It plays with homoeroticism but, for the most part, the boys are presented as straight. Everything in this drama is presented with a wink so the fact that its low budget doesn't hurt it any. Think Benny Hill only without the busty women and you'll get the feel of what this drama is trying to be. I liked it, but then again I liked Benny Hill too.
I mainly wanted to watch this because I'm a fan of Sato Takeru and Saito Takumi. I wanted to watch them in their first main roles. Were they as good as Joe Cheng in The Rose? No. But it was fun watching these young actors deliver their lines while trying not to laugh, and you can see why they went on to become major stars in Japan.
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