Haru ga Kita (2018)

Haru ga Kita is a 5-episode light drama from WOWOW which imports a popular K-pop bandmember to lead his first Japanese drama. Starring Kuroshina Kana and EXOs' Kai, the show tells the tale of a Korean photographer and a shy undergarments staff named Naoko (Kurashina) who develop feelings for each other.

While the story is generic (guy meets girl, falls in love, encounters challenges, etc), there are certain twists and turns that will keep the viewers glued. What works here is the on-screen chemistry between the lead. I don't watch Korean drama simply because I write Japanese movie/drama reviews exclusively. I just had to grant the request of my twin sister who also enjoyed the show as I did.

The use of silence here and how 'awkward' the two actors are - in many of their scenes - is deliberate and intentional. Unless you expect everything to be automatic or 'logical' you may not enjoy the show. Perhaps if you're an avid fan of the Kpop member you may justify everything to be fine. That makes this show particularly good because not everything is what it seems. Kuroshina is a veteran Japanese actress who did plenty of supporting characters in her career. She was excellent in the two-part March Comes In Like a Lion LA, sharing scenes with one of Japan's foremost young actors, Kamiki Ryunosuke. In this drama, she's a 31-year old shy, vulnerable and no-confident woman who never had the chance to experience love until now.

Kai, who is first and foremost a performer, is surprisingly and convincingly good as a first-time actor in a Japanese show. Unlike some of the Korean dramas I saw, which rely heavily on impressive production values, special effects, and music, Haru ga Kita has a simplistic yet effective approach. This style suits Kai quite well because he manages to put on a character which is slowly revealed as the drama progresses. A Japanese actor, Fukushi Sota, has an uncanny similarity to this EXO band member, yet Kai is the better actor. He's not a deadfisheye at all.

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Haru ga ita tells the story about the question, "What is a normal family?" And also tells you about accepting a person for who they are, and not what it's on the surface (your partner, family and so on). There things in the drama that are touched upon that people don't talk about very often (can't say because it is spoilers). But I am glad they did. 

What I loved about this drama was it was about family and the romance was actually not the main point of the drama (it was there I promise). The romance had cliches, but I think it was about Naoko and Ji Won learning about each other through her family. It was also Ji Won's acceptance and influence changed her and her family's views of each other and life.  I did like that each episode was about each family member and Ji Won and their life. 

The acting was not ground-breaking, Kai did a good job for what he was given. Kai does a fantastic job in sad scenes(emotional). Even with the language barrier, I thought he and Kana had a nice chemistry (especially in the beginning).  I also give a shout out to Sano Shiro who plays Naoko's father. He did a nice job protraying someone that had a lot of inner conflicts with himself (watch for yourself).

Music was something I wasn't paying attention to, but loved that the BGMs matched the tone of the show. But I really did like the ending theme song "Loving you Mo(re?)" by EXO.

You will either like or hate the ending. I actually like the ending because it was open ended. I felt that even though it didn't end like I expected to, but Ji Won and Naoko are going on with their lives better than they have known if they didn't met in the first place. (Pitch forks are probably aiming in my direction).

Overall, I like the drama for what it was, a family drama with a dash of romance. You might prepare tissues, just in case because I did cry in some parts of the drama. If you like dramas about family and make you think a little bit, then this drama is for you. Also if you are a Kai or any of the actor's/actress fans, then this drama is for you.

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I started this drama because it was short and ofcourse because I'm a fan of EXO. It is a kind of a slow-paced drama with a light story. Still, I had a strange feeling that made me hang on till the end. It had a kind of gloomy feel with warm setting. I actually liked the cinematography...
I don't think I'd recommend this drama to anyone as my favourites, but if you want a fine drama to watch within a short period of time this one is good. I'm not sure about the ending tho. It seemed quite off for me, and there was little chemistry between the leads. Nevertheless, it focused much on families which made me learn a lot.

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Haru ga Kita started off great. The plot line seemed somewhat fresh, exciting and very promising. I could've dropped this series after 3 episodes because I started to dislike it, however, I though that since Kai is so damn gorgeous, I just needed to finish those last episodes. Also, this drama was a lovely Japanese-Korean collaboration, which I seriously loved! Kai speaking Japanese? Very attractive. The chemistry between the main couple? Not so much. The female lead drove me absolutely nuts in a bad way. I hate when the main female character is weak and doesn't leave a strong impression. What I loved though was that the side characters were illustrated beautifully, each with their own unique story. Music didn't play a huge part in this series, so I don't have much to say about it. Overall, this review is short and simple just because the drama was, how to call it, kind of "meh". If you want to take a break from watching a long series, then maybe this will be the refreshment drama for you, since it's only 5 episodes. If you're here for Kai, definitely watch it because HANDSOME ALERT. But anyway, with so little time, look for a more promising short drama out there.

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Every time that OST played in the background it begins with Kai's part and throughout the drama it made me all hyped for the characters and the story and when it came on in the last scene it literally brought fresh tears. I just wanted to say that the ten rating wasn't even up for question at no point. It was just that good. I think I have a preference for J drama over C because they have less fluff and have more real, meaningful stories. Not that Chinese cinema doesn't have plenty of gems but in general I find Jdrama female leads more relatable. That's the thing with this drama I wasn't just waiting for Kai I was completely involved in the female lead's story. Anyway, on the surface it looks like any other romance but everything still feels fresh, unique. I got so lost in the fantasy I couldn't stop watching and without giving any spoilers I feel like there was a reason for that ending. But seriously their relationship was so so so beautiful I got lost and got a serious hangover. Absolutely love this one. Kai is so beautiful I have no words but his acting just got to me. He really worked hard it shows. Another thing I loved about the drama is the humor. So organic no slapstick, nothing crude though there was a tiny bit of dark humor. I especially love the scene where Kai bows so seriously and the mother goes "this isn't a samurai drama get up" lol seriously moments like this they made the journey so intense.

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First let me say that I'm not giving any specific spoilers in this review, but there is perhaps a general one.

As for cast, the acting is good in this from everyone in the cast. The story line goes places you don't expect and that is interesting and the characters are each intriguing in their own ways. I really enjoyed the first 3 3/4 episodes.

However at the end, the plot went somewhere that made me go, "Wait, what?" And when I thought I knew what would happen, I was wrong. I didn't like they way they chose to end this show. Some folks may find it profound or perhaps even thought provoking, but I just wasn't a fan of the choices that were made in the last episode. I felt they really let what could have been an amazing ending slip away in exchange for a lackluster version. I won't say more than that because I don't want to offer any spoilers. The low scores though are specifically for the plot choices in the last episode.

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In the end, it was a story about love

I understand who people might be unhappy with the ending or not like the show as a whole. It’s not a masterpiece but I did like it more than I thought I would.

It is a story about love. It’s just not the love we were expecting. It’s a story about love for your family. The dad expresses it well when say that he’s happy the mom died without finding out about the daughter and Ji Won. He loved her so much that he was happy he died that day and not on the next, for example. The same way that Ji Won knew that Naoko loved him very much, but he liked her enough to let her be free and loved his mom so much that he’d always choose to be by her side.

I specially like the ending. We see that both Ji Won and Naoko appear to be happy. Also like how Naoko chose not to tell about her mom passing. They cared about each other until the end. Nice to see the sister hanging with the basketball guy and studying.

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Yes there will be spoilers, I loved this show way to much even though it hurt me. Lol I can't tell you how stressed I was watching this show and how sus I was. But to be fair, I was accidently spoiled about the ending so I wonder if that is where a lot of my worry came from (though I was surprised it didn't exactly end the way they said it did, I still got emotional though)
I'm with everyone else about the ending. I didn't like it either. It was bittersweet but ... I just don't get why it had to end the way it did. Unless they played it safe and were worried about how EXO-L would react? Who knows. *sigh*

I adored Naoko's mother. I think she might have been my favorite character. Though there were some touch and go moments, she really was a strong character who did a lot for their family. I loved Naoko too though. They bother were so precious.

I hated Junko. Hate doesn't even cover it. She was a complete and total bitch through the whole show then close to the end she suddenly wants to be nice and crap like she didn't treat everyone like shit the whole time. I don't even care she went through what she went through, terrible, I know. But I felt no sympathy. Disgusted, yeah but no sympathy. I hated how they tried to make you feel sorry for her and then made her into this "better" person. Nahhhhh fuck that. Lol

I'm still on the fence about the dad. I really don't have much to say about him. I didn't exactly like him but I didn't hate him either.

I loved Kai's character. No matter how this ended, that family really needed him. He was the warmth that actually brought them all together and made them "family". I loved when all of them spent time together, you could just see the warmth between everyone. It was precious. I really wanted everything to work out and everyone have their happy ever after.
Even though we know what happened in his past, I feel like it was still secretive and vague. I wish it had shown more and gave us a update on his life. Though I'm sure his life was really stressful >__<
On a side note.... can we PLEASE get more actor Kai? Lol Man was amazing. Is there anything he can't do? ^_^

Okay I have babbled enough. long story short, I regret not watching this waaaaaaay sooner than now. I should have watched it years ago! Without a doubt loved it!

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A short drama with an okay story but not so great romance. Maybe it was the chemistry that was kind of lacking. At least the ending was original and kind of unexpected, though it did feel like it was cut short. Back to the story, the plot was interesting and kind of heart warming for at least the first few episodes, but then it got a bit too much character centred and lost the family valued dynamics. So, the family drama was entertaining and interesting, but the romance and background story, not so much. Aslo, it was kind of tricky to use a korean idol for the main role, due to the language barrier. Though he wasn't bad with his japanese dialogues, he didn't have much in general, or the girl just narrated his parts or there were korean dialogues to work with.
So, 4 out of 10.

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Serien er ganske gripande i måten den fortelje oss om konfliktane innanfor livet til hovudpersonane, ilag med støtteskodespelarane sine. Og det er akkurat dette, som eg personleg fant så bra med denne serien. Akkurat forteljingane/hendingane som skjer eller har skjedd til karakterane i serien. Viss det ikkje hadde vore for dei enormt sterke forteljingane/hendingane, ville eg truleg ha mista interessa for serien allereie etter ein episode, men dei er der. Dette er grunnen til at du burde sjå denne serien, og viss du er fan av EXO eller K-pop så er det vell berre eit pluss at Kai spelar den mannlege hovudrolla.

Skodespelinga frå karakterane er grei, men det er absolutt ikkje den sterke sida av serien. Det varierer litt gjennom episodane og frå dei forskjellege skodespelarane, kor godt skodespelet kjem fram. Men, det er aldri rett og slett dårleg, med unntak av at Kai ikkje snakkar flytande japansk, men han gjer ein ganske god jobb med dette i baktankane.

Musikken i denne serien er ikkje ein sånn WOW denne skal eg laste ned på Spotify og høyre på heile tida, men den passer perfekt med senane og atmosfæren og sjølv om det ikkje er noko eg vil laste ned, så er det utruleg fint å høyre på.

Å sjå serien igjen, er ein god moglegheit, og eg trur eg ville likt å sjå den igjen også. Men, sidan eg ikkje har gjort det, så veit eg ikkje kor god den vil vere neste gang. Den er likevel ein serie eg ser for meg er mogleg å nyte fleire gangar.

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