As a drama veteran, I've abstained from writing a review because 1) I'm too lazy and 2) there were enough reviews from everyone else, so I had no motivation to add to the pile.
However, this drama is different. The Tempest is an amazing drama, and yet not many people have watched it. Technically, it doesn't really matter to me whether people watch it or not, but really...this drama deserves to be found and appreciated.
Overall, The Tempest is reminiscent of the first arc of the anime Otogi Zoshi, if any of you have watched it. The heroine goes undercover as a man and practically lives and breathes for the country and its people. What drives the plot is not romance. Instead, the drama focuses its fast pace on the conflicts that face the country as well as the political intrigue inside the Shuri Castle.
Son Neion never let me down as a character. She was strong, determined, and yet also flawed in a way that made her so human. Nakama Yukie has delivered once again.
So basically, if you want to get away from the romance-y dramas for a while and instead go for a heroine who is smart and capable coupled with a solid plot, watch The Tempest.
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I watched it because of my favorite actress Nakama Yukie. I've seen her acting very different characters; high school student, high school teacher, Sadako, clumsy police, woman with multiple personality, silly yet lovable reporter and her character in Utsukushii Rinjin whom I have no words... So I was tempted to see her acting in this one too.
Second reason why I watched this was Gackt. I loved his creepy yet attractive character with long tongue. If you're curious what he does with the tongue watch the drama.
I was amazed by the drama. I'm glad it wasn't super long. Otherwise I would've ended up dropping it...
The music was very good and now I feel like I know something about Okinawa's history.
The acting was good but from some new actors it wasn't as good but I still liked it.
Okay I have no idea what I'm babbling about. I liked the drama and that's all. I think this is a drama no one should miss.
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Just like the previous reviewers I just had to chime in on this wonderful under- rated historical drama. Palace politics and Inner Chamber cattiness are very low on my interest meter but this drama kept everything with an even balance without being boring or predictable (for the most part)
To quote Cherry Bunnys review
"Special mention about GACKT's role in this. His character is super creepy. Like, icky, skin crawling creepy. Which is pretty cool as he plays it so well."
and
HAVA-RAVA
" I loved his creepy yet attractive character with long tongue. If you're curious what he does with the tongue watch the drama."
In only 3 episodes he just over takes the drama with his presence, by his last appearance though you are just ready for him to leave.
The scenery is breath taking, especially the beach scenes.
The Re-watch value is lower as I know all the twists but if someone was interested i would re watch it with them.
I gave this a 9.5
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Though I did enjoy the drama, there are quite a few reasons that I felt I couldn't rate it higher than 7.5. The first being the ever recurring annoyance of Japanese dramas, which is the seemingly lower budget presentation. While the costumes and locations were beautiful, the rest of the production had a sort of 'cheap' feel, such as cheesy special effects and sometimes shoddy cinemetography. Also, when the Japanese actors had to speak English, you could barely understand them. Add to that the terrible overacting of the Western actors, especially the guy that played Admiral Nelson. He was especially awful!
I much preferred the second half of the drama as opposed to ths first. The first half had more unreal, fantasy elements, plus I feel the acting was more awkward. By the second half, the true history of Ryukyu took center stage with the magical elements making less of an appearance. The actors seemed more comfortable in thier roles and the story just felt more solid.
I would also like to add that I see this as a more mature drama. Meaning, geared more for adults. While there are no graphic scenes at all, there is one in particular during the first half that is extremely suggestive. In fact, it made me widen my eyes considering this was a historial J drama and not a movie.
Special mention about GACKT's role in this. His character is super creepy. Like, icky, skin crawling creepy. Which is pretty cool as he plays it so well.
I would recommend this drama to any adult viewer that enjoys Japanese history. It's interesting and has some wonderful moments.
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