My Love from the Stars

Sweet, But Worlds Apart From Its Predecessor…

For those unaware ‘Hoshi Kara Kita Anata’ ( alternatively known as ‘ 星から来たあなた’ or ‘ My Love From The Stars’) is adapted from ‘ My Love From The Star’ starring Kim So Hyun ( ‘ Dream High’, ‘ Secretly Greatly’ and ‘ It’s Okay To Not Be Okay’) and Jun Ji Hyun ( ‘ My Sassy Girl’, ‘ The Legend Of The Blue Sea’ and ‘ Jirisan’).

‘Hoshi Kara Kita Anata’ focuses upon the same basic plot premise as its predecessor . Mitsuru Higashiyama ( Fukushi Sota- ‘ BLEACH’, ‘ Omukae Desu’ and ‘ Avalanche’) is a seemingly ordinary university lecturer, apart from one fact: he’s not human.

Stranded on earth during the edo period, Mitsuru has been forced to blend in with humans for more than 400 years whilst keeping his abilities and identity low-key.

However, everything changes for Mitsuru when he encounters popular and seemingly haughty actress Sasahara Tsubaki ( Yamamoto Mizuki - ‘ Tokyo Alice’, ‘ Perfect World’ and ‘ Ningen Kowai’). Tsubaki and Mitsuru soon find their paths crossing in more ways than one, as Mitsuru finds it harder to keep his secret…

As mentioned previously, ‘ Hoshi Kara Kita Anata’ is based upon the popular Korean series ‘ My Love From The Star’ and was initially written by award-winning screenwriter Park Ji Eun ( ‘ My Husband Got A Family’, ‘ The Producers’ and ‘ Legend Of The Blue Sea’).

However whilst there are certainly some intriguing things to note about Amazon Prime’s Japanese adaptation ‘Hoshi Kara Kita Anata’, it’s admittedly hard not to notice where the screenwriting felt inconsistent even as a standalone piece.

Naturally this isn’t entirely the fault of writing problems alone. A limited duration length did naturally restrict the abilities to explore plot lines, or counterplots in detail. On the other hand whilst time can be a limiting factor for any production or adapted series, it was still noticeable for viewers that ‘ ‘Hoshi Kara Kita Anata’ did little to adapt itself to its limitations.

Whilst the series did admittedly draw greater attention upon the potential romantic relationship of main leads Tsubaki and Mitsuru, the overcommitment for attempting to tie in several unexplored subplots in a short space of time could often make the events of the narrative feel somewhat sporadic and desultory . As a consequence this allowed restricted and limited opportunities in order to explore characters beyond their surface level.

The acting quality of the series is admittedly variable dependent on scenes. Fukushi Sota and Yamamoto Mizuki were fairly decent as our main leads, though surprisingly, despite the talents of both respectful actors , Sota and Mizuki’s onscreen chemistry felt somewhat lukewarm at best.

Admittedly this wasn’t entirely the fault of the actors. Despite several attempts in order to reiterate the importance of the romantic relationship between the main leads in ‘ Hoshi Kara Kita Anata’, there were few and far distinguishable or emotive moments in the series where the audience could truly understand the importance or relevance of this relationship.

Of course whilst there were several heartwarming exchanges and insights into the characters at times, the paper thin roles of the main characters could often impact their presence onscreen.

Despite Tsubaki seemingly being an actress who has suffered under false stigmas and stereotypes , it was hard to truly pinpoint moments where audiences saw Tsubaki as a dynamic character, mature or at least be explored with more vulnerable sides. Similarly, whilst Mitsuru is seemingly a character who has carried a seemingly arcane burden of being stranded as an extraterrestrial on earth, Mitsuru rarely seemed to be affected, develop or being given opportunities in order for viewers to digress his current persona or past.

In addition to our main leads, there is also an array of side characters. Whilst some of these side characters are necessary to a certain extent in the events of the series, ‘ Hoshi Kara Kita Anata’ rarely fleshed out the significance of these particular characters , built up their presence onscreen or at least foreshadowed or tied in certain actions or events surrounding their appearances to make them memorable for the audience.

Then of course there’s the question of pacing with ‘ Hoshi Kara Kita Anata’. As mentioned previously, ‘ Hoshi Kara Kita Anata’ was limited from the outset with having to compact a storyline into a space of ten episodes. Whilst the narrative is certainly expedited by mainly focusing upon the romantic aspect of the main leads, this also manifested as a double-edged sword with execution.

Pacy, engaging and allowing opportunities in order to allow the storyline to progress, but rarely did this allow time for ‘ Hoshi Kara Kita Anata’ to build upon its characters, plot line or a sense of conflict, dilemmas or obstacles for the main leads. Indeed whilst the drama did attempt to throw in several conflict points by the final part of the series, the finale felt somewhat anticlimactic as a result.

As for the filming quality and cinematography , ‘ Hoshi Kara Kita Anata’ is admittedly average. The quality, whilst not bad per say, was unimpressively fuzzy in certain scenes for a production released under the name of a top company such as Amazon Prime. In addition to this the absence of a sleek gradient, versatile camera angles as well as absent palettes schemes and even a lack of subtle motifs were prominent as the series progressed.

The OST for ‘ Hoshi Kara Kita Anata’ was sparsely used in the series. Notably when music was present in scenes, it was often faint and synchronic; attempting to place emphasis on characters or scenes, without always leaving an impactful punch by the end of episodes. Arguably one of the few memorable tracks found in the series was GReeeeN’s ‘ Ryusei no Kakera’; an avant-garde yet surprisingly upbeat melody which played as the drama’s main theme song.

Acknowledging a drama as a standalone piece is always quintessential when talking about adaptations. Admittedly ‘ Hoshi Kara Kita Anata’ did add its own idiosyncratic touches to the storyline by bringing on board the talents of Fukushi Sota and Yamamoto Mizuki as the main leads. On the other hand it’s hard to deny that the chaotic bricolage of the drama’s inconsistent narrative, characters, pacing and filming, couldn’t help but make the series feel as though it failed to live up to legacy of its predecessor and past incarnations. An average and easygoing binge-watch, but perhaps not a worthwhile investment.

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A different way to revisit a wonderful k drama, but a little far in quality.

Since I saw the original Korean version first, I can separate them both. Even so, i like the story and that is why i watched this.

STORY – the story is nice, but they cut some important parts that made this hard to follow. The fact that i knew the story could glue some loose ends in my mind.
An interspecies love, where we can almost forget, as most of the shows, that he's an alien. 400 years after, he rediscovers his love reincarnated. When everything was set for him to finally leaves Earth, love makes him having second thoughts. But he as to go and...
ACTING - I like the main leads acting. I think they did or shine more because of the plot and the writing. The other cast was also ok, but the screen time was low.
MUSIC - too mellow for me. Never felt that punch and strength that some songs can give.
REWATCH- i don't think i will watch this again. I already have viewed the k version twice and usually i don't do that. So, i prefer to revisit the original.
OVERALL - of course that i like this show. It would be better if i saw this first.

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✒ ☄Incompatible☄: A Little Bit of Nonsense ✴6.8✴very cute✴

Here's to the long-distance relationship. Sometimes Love is incompatible. At times, it's downright impossible.

The handsome Fukushi Sota is Toyama Mitsuru, an alien who has been stuck on earth for 400 years. Like The Highlander, he doesn't age, so he has to set up new identities every half generation or so, and he has accumulated enough wealth to live /comfortably/. He actually has enough to live like a movie star, and he lives /exactly/ like one - A popular actress just moved in next door. Together they occupy the entire 30th floor. Sota has many extra-human powers, from spoon-bending to stopping time. He keeps them well hidden - mostly by maintaining a low profile.

Yamamoto Mizuki plays celebrity Sasahara Tsubaki, and she's a universe away from low-profile. Sure she's somewhat spoiled and entitled, but she's actually a decent person, Her mother helps keep her that way. Mom is such a selfish and narcissistic pill that Mizuki doesn't want to be anything like her. Nevertheless, for Sota, who is more like Dr. Spock than not, Mizuki is irritating. She's the type to stumble into his place uninvited, while drunk, and pass out on his couch. He is still drawn to her against his will… She is so like that human girl he was compelled to rescue all those centuries ago. As a college prof, he is NOT drawn enough to her to put up with her stuff, though. When she returns to school to boost her image, he doesn't hesitate to give her a zero for plagiarism. (To think, she paid /good/ money for an originally written paper, too!).

As we get to know them more, we see that their fates may have been intertwined for a long time. Could she really be the reincarnation of that woman he saved so long ago?

MLFTS is a 2022 release that is rated 7.4 on MDL. It is 1 season consisting of 10 40-45-minute episodes. After the credits roll, there's commentary and actor interviews and deleted scenes.
The Bad guy, Imai Tsubasa, is a pop idol IRL. He'd never played a bad guy before. He's almost unrecognizable in his post-show interview; that's some nice acting. The screenwriter is Seki Erika, and this was adapted from Park Ji-eun's original work for the Kdrama, My Love From Another Star, which was released in 2013. Ms Park is also screenwriter for Legend of the Blue Sea-7.2 and Crash Landing On You-9.1. Good stuff. The director is Matsuki Tsukuru, whose most popular piece is the film, Rika: Self-Proclaimed 28 Years Old's Pure Love Monster. Ima plan to watch that. I love the title.

Actresses' lives are loaded with drama. Sota, though he doesn't know why, helps Tsubaki out of a scrape. Then he helps her with another. Now, it's a habit. A rival ends up dead… It looks like a suicide, but the police get involved. Tsubaki is the top suspect. Soon the police are wondering: Who is this strange man appearing and disappearing on the surveillance footage? As part of the investigation, they've examined all the relevant footage. The most suspicious thing they've seen is Sota, because they see him, then they don't see him, and then he appears somewhere else.

A drawback to love is that Sota is allergic to human blood and saliva. Another trifle Is that his ship, after 400 years, is returning with the comet in 3 months. He's headed back home. He's allergic to human blood & saliva, but they make no mention of sweat… it's not optimal, but I think we can work with that. In the anime Fruits Basket, the “men” will transform if a human girl merely hugs them. There's no making that work.

Another obstacle is that he's not very social. “Don't give. Don't receive. And don't expect. That way, you'll never be let down,” he muses. She doesn't understand that philosophy. “Isn't that kind of lonely?” She may not be a good student at school, but she's a better student of life than he. Another roadblock to love is her attitude. “I understand why other people turn away from you. You're simplistic and impulsive.” He forgot to mention that she is fairly self-involved, as well. Unfortunately (or not) for him, his argument is logical but his heart has already boarded and strapped in for the ride.

This is a simple show meant for turning off the brain and relaxing. It is nicely done for that effect, but such simplicity does lower the degree of difficulty, and thus the top score. It also has its outright shortcomings. They're sloppy with the rules that govern his existence. Human blood and saliva make him sick, but he, otherwise, seems completely human. Springing new ideas and developments on the viewer without laying down sufficient hints, foreshadowing, or other elements that constitute good filmmaking is something they rely on. The effect is that it seems like they are making some of it up as they go. It's not a show where nitpicking will make a difference, as there's little mental exertion required to watch and enjoy. Thinking will actually ruin it. Turn off your brain for this one. Just don't look for thoroughness, clarity, or explanations.

The fun factor outshines any problems. Some of the fashion is wonderful and some is weird. Her jewelry is snazzy. There's an excellent sort of frozen kiss in one of the later episodes. She makes an allusion to Hunter X Hunter, my absolute favorite anime, so I appreciated the show from that point on.

Will these 2 reach the point where they soar? Or will they crash to earth? Sota is a natural problem solver, and he's decided the 30th floor is close enough to heaven (and the heavens) for him. He's lost enough, and he refuses to lose Tsubaki or anything else. He's going to iron out this warped drive.

In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:

Modern Day:
Mad For Each Other 7.8 ~silly fun;
My Secret Romance 7 (if you ff thru overdone flashbacks);
A Witch's Love 7.8;
Love to Hate You 8.9;
Her Private Life 8;
Touch your heart 8.2;
Romance is a bonus book 7.9;
Boys Over Flowers 8 ~ melodrama to the max;
Crash Landing On You 9.1;
Oh My Ghost 10;
It's Okay Not To Be Okay 9;
Love Struck in the City 7.3;
Hospital Playlist 9;
My Mister 9.5;
More Than Friends 8;
I'll See You When the Weather is Fine 9;
Something in the Rain 9


〰🖍 IMHO

📣7 📝6 🎭7.5 💓6.5 🦋5 🌞5 🎨6.3 ⚡4.9 🎵/🔊6 😅4 😭3 😱3 😯3 😖2.5 🤔2 💤0 🔚7

Age 12+ PG language; A pregnant woman dies and the police must investigate whether it's suicide or murder along with other violence

Re-📺? Who knows? I have no strong feelings about it. I do want to see the Kdrama, which is immensely popular. I'm still working through the Prime, Hulu, and Netflix inventory before taking the Viki premium plunge. We're talking months until that happens, not years. I've already got my watchlist stacked up.

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It just can't live up to the korean show

While it's a really cute watch mainly because I do like the main couple together, I can't help but wonder why they felt like making this. I loved the korean drama so I thought a japanese version would be great. Except.. it's not as good. I mean, why would you make a worse remake if it adds nothing new to the story? They hardly use any new ideas and scenes. This made me skip most of it because I feel like I have already seen a better version of these scenes XD.
I'm only finishing it because of the main actors ... :)

I can't even remember any of the music except the ending song which is kind of ok but not my taste.

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The whole show is shallow, childish, and annoying

The alien coming to earth is likeable enough, I mean who doesn’t like an outsider who transcends time and has superpowers and unlimited wealth but is beyond the world? The alien guy has loads of interesting things about him and they could have explored this angle- I mean he’s lived for 400 years starting from the Edo period, but the director of the show never once explores where he came from or what he knows through all his life on earth even, but instead he chose to focus on…

The female lead who is a vacuous has-been airheaded actress and obsessed with her looks and self image, not unlike a regular instagram model. What?! Wow! So original! The show chose to focus on the most mundane character and her narcissism above the cool alien who has super powers? Apparently she and her shallow life is more interesting than what Alien guy has been doing on earth for 400 years or where he came from? Ok let’s talk about the fantastic female lead this show chooses to waste all its time on. She is extremely annoying- because she’s been an actress since the age of 12, perhaps the idea is that she is mentally and emotional stunted or damaged. She surrounds herself with posters and billboards of her own image. Her facial expressions are terribly self conscious and her face contorts itself into new shapes every second with every word, as if she’s trying really hard to be cute or adorable or “an actress,” but just ends up looking like a weirdo. It’s the “socialite” kind of self-absorbed, unbearably bad actor. I mean a grown adult making the expressions of a toddler 24/7 with the emotional intelligence and maturity of a peanut and the narcissism, self importance, and intelligence of an toddler stuck to a mirror all day, I can’t fathom how the alien guy likes her except for the fact that they live close to each other and so the sparks must fly out of sheer proximity? But out of 400 years of being on the earth is this the best the alien guy could do? She is not a catch but keeps telling herself and everyone else that she is in order to keep her fragile ego running. As for the alien says he never felt lonely for 400 years being alone on his own but now all of a sudden he feels lonely because he’s fallen into an instagram romance with this actress? The director squeezes the infinitely more interesting alien and his powers into a cheap party trick for human perception. How come nobody is curious about his powers or where he came from? This self centered actress never once asked about his place or researched how he got to this planet. Only her brother who’s a space enthusiast bothers to look up the comet that came and dropped Alien dude off during the Edo period. All the actress could say is “He’s not leaving anymore! He’s staying here for ME! Must be the power of love! Yay!” Her curiosity about his ends there. What kind of love is that except her own narcissism about her “desirability and charm” to seduce men? Is this actress’s hollow socialite charm, seduction born of desperation, and “sex appeal” forced from childhood trauma and loneliness from lacking a father figure equal to “love?” This show’s director seems to think so.

There is a scene in the 5th episode where the female is drugged and put in a moving car- when she wakes up she’s at the driver’s seat of this speeding car headed for a cliff and the brakes don’t work. Instead of opening the door and getting the hell out, she screams “Help me Professor Toyama!” Like hello do you see that he’s not in the car? How stupid is this woman to call upon someone who’s not even in the scene? Lucky for her Toyama happens to be a teleporting alien who has great skills and can save her ridiculous self. One has to wonder how this actress has managed to stay alive all these years with nothing but a self important ego and narcissism in her toolbox. She is only good for two things: making ridiculous baby expressions and passing out/getting drunk/sleeping.

Another even more ridiculous scene is where this woman says she can make any man fall for her in 15 seconds and she sets a timer and starts doing the top 10 most ridiculous “charming” “Look at me I’m a baby” expressions- and somehow at the end of it even she runs of out ideas but Mr alien dude falls for it and kisses her because her toddler charm worked on him. And then cue the melodramatic K drama music at full volume! What a caricature. There’s nothing romantic about this show. So this incredible alien guy who has lived and watched humanity for 400 years falls in love with a toddler woman who justifies him throwing away his wisdom of impermanence over centuries and extraterrestrial powers for a cheap K drama relationship?? Then the actress lady brags about the earth “The whole earth is a delicacy!” As if to poo-poo alien guy’s planet because she doesn’t care to know where he came from, but they’re in a love relationship right? All centered around her and her petty shallow human whims like taking selfies with the stereotypical “Hai cheezu!” Is that a relationship? Oh God what am I going to do with these characters who have the depth of a sheet of paper?

The show seems to tip toe around her large baby ego and it’s annoying to watch. I came her for the cool alien powers not the usual K drama style romance, yawn! Watching this show is hardly bearable due to the female lead but I was still interested in what the murder mystery story was about.

It reminds me of the maturity level of a K-drama which tends to be at a middle school or high school level of pettiness and performance. It reeks of that same kind of “Means Girls” K drama pettiness and fluff, with exaggerated facial expressions and bad acting.

Also, I have to give the music a 1 star as well because it reminds me of those hollow K dramas that have to fill every second with mind numbing noise, aka melodramatic violin music, because the show is made for toddlers with no attention span, and no tolerance for silence and stillness that other J dramas have.

Also there are many scenes where it’s obvious that they’re using green screen and not a real background but it looks incredibly cheap.

Then Mr alien drops the biggest bomb of all- he wants a K drama happily ever after complete with 24/7 melodramatic violin BGM and “to grow old with her” because he envies the fleeting impermanent life of humans that grow old, decay, and die. This show needs a dose of Buddha’s teachings seriously. There is nothing glamorous or romantic about the life of a human that is characterized by suffering, sickness, and death. But if it’s wrapped in melodramatic romantic music and some nice filters then surely it’s enviable! Give me a break. Mr Alien is ready to those away a life of infinite power to be a finite creature chasing after a toddler minded narcissistic actress who obsesses and brags about her “charm” and “desirability” and making some magazine list for “Best girlfriend material.” There is no depth! No real love! Just a narcissist trying to prove to herself that she’s still desirable and can make a man desire her. How is this love? I just can’t with this show.

Then there is the “suspense” and murder mystery part of the show which is equally lame. Bad guy chasing a flash drive with evidence, and acting like it can’t be erased, another guy with recorded evidence on a pen who naively shows it to the bad guy without making any backups in this day and age… who is then beat up and his pen evidence crushed! But then it’s revealed that alien guy stopped time and retrieved the real pen! But does no one have an ounce of curiosity about alien guy, where he comes from, and how he can do all this? How come the level of higher level curiosity in a human being is so low only to the point of “how can he use his powers to help us with our dumb human problems?” The show presents a very self centered, myopic human perspective and doesn’t see past it to the alien guy’s vast expansive experience, and he’s reduced down to cheap party tricks of turning lights on and off and making things fly…

Finally in the very last episode, narcissistic actress lady asks him “Hey where’s the star you came from?” WOW! Some curiosity finally. Then she ends it with “You came from really far right? To this little island country..” Cue the proposal scene with the ring and the melodramatic k drama music! Oh darn the curiosity about the supernatural has already died and rotted into the usual romance. Then actress lady says “I was interested in dating an alien, but I get bored easily so I’ve had enough. Just like you were curious about dating a famous person like me. You’ll be young forever and I’ll be old soon and I can’t tolerate that. That other actress’s death wasn’t my fault and my career’s getting back on track so I’m going to marry Hiroya. If I marry him now, the people will love me. ” What!!? This has to be the most shallow dialog I’ve ever heard in my life. This socialite airhead got bored of an alien with infinitely more experience and depth than her and wants to marry the other dude because “the people will love me?” This shows how shallow this show, the director and all the characters are. I’m so done. The alien guy deserves so much more. Let the humans have their low level romances. Go home alien! You deserve better! The alien crying on his balcony after the shallow actress dumps him is the low point of the entire series (other than the dialog she just gave). As if they had something so deep to grieve about.

As they sit on a bench waiting for the comet to come that evening, alien guy and his only friend are siting on the bench and the friend says the most sensible dialog to him, “You’re finally leaving tonight. It must be tough for you but I’m actually relieved. A flower must return to its roots, the bird to its nest. Everything must return to where it must be. You will be where you must be. I wish for you to live a healthy life where you belong.” Then just when some sense was spoken into the script, this guy hiroya comes along and says “No it was all an act by the actress because she snooped through your diary and found out you’ll die if you stay past 400 years so she acted like she wanted to break up. But she still loves you! Now it’s up to you!” Cue the K drama violin. The Moor comet comes in an hour… then 15 minutes. Actress gets drunk in her usual style with her friend. Then Alien guy comes to her room. It’s time to say bye bye to alien guy and let him be free and be back home where he belongs. Will the shallow K drama sentimental romance prevail or will the truth of alien guy going to his true home prevail? Then this long drawn out dialog on the balcony which ends in “Tsubaki aishteru”… where the k drama music is just dying to burst through the scene and there it is! Then he disappears for a second and actress lady cries but she still looks like she’s so self conscious of her expressions and literally looks like she’s acting as if she’s crying. It’s so cringe to watch. My patience wears thin.. will he go home on not?

Then 3 years later it shows how this actress lady has grown in her career, running her own company, and wrote a book about her alien boyfriend. Again the director descends into the lower realms of being so enamored by the shallow human realms of fame, success, and money, that again he fails to go into where this alien comes from and what his existence is. So he go back to the focusing on the shallow actress’s life and how she has basically made money off the alien guy relationship and recovered her career. She and Hiroya focus on how big of a hit her book about the alien guy was and how it will be made into a movie, and entertainment is the future of investment! Typical selfish narcissistic human stuff. Yawn.

Actress goes back to talking like a baby and hugging a new dog, complete with baby talk. Then she wins some award and alien guy comes back. Now he’s magically accustomed to earth. So now they’re back to dating but now the alien guy is back to dating her and the usual human life. Alien guy is partnering with NASA and whatever else to make joint ventures and whatever. They do tv interviews together like a perfect celebrity couple. All is well in K drama land. Now and then he disappears. And then he shows up. At this point I’m sick of seeing close ups of both of their faces. They said they are living and enjoying every second they have together because they don’t know how long they have to live. Oh good now it’s over. That was long and exhausting. I’m glad it’s over. It was really bad guys. If the most shallow idol fame obsessed pop culture was put into a J drama, this would be it.

For some reason in the version I watched on Prime, there were “Behind the Scenes” after every single episode and everyone saying “Ganbari masu!” I don’t care! The show sucks. I don’t need a behind the scenes of a garbage pile.

This rating is for the weakest link of the show, and it can’t be higher than this.

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My love from the star, avec l'esprit de synthèse japonais (et Fukushi Sota :)

Ayant déjà vu plusieurs versions tirées de cette histoire (coréenne, thaï, philippine, etc.), j'ai regardé ce drama pour 2 raisons :
1/ Je suis fan de Fukushi Sota (qui assure complètement dans ce rôle, comme d'habitude).
2/ J'étais curieuse de voir comment les japonais pourraient raconter une story de 16h en 10 fois 35 minutes, sans en perdre l'essence.
eh bien, ils l'ont fait !

Évidemment, ce drama n'est pas aussi détaillé que la version coréenne :
- Certains arcs narratifs sont totalement zappés, des personnages n'existant plus (les parents des 2 frères, par exemple), des scènes cultes ont disparu (apparition du ML sur le tapis rouge dans les scènes finales).
- mais les longueurs ont aussi disparu et l'esprit du drama est conservé.

J'avoue que si Fukushi Sota est parvenu à estomper l'image culte de Kim Soo Hyun, je suis beaucoup moins convaincue par la FL (et je ne parle pas de son designer, car ses tenues ne sont pas à la hauteur d'une star de cinéma).

Je suis néanmoins contente d'avoir regardé cette série, que j'ai globalement bien appréciée.

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