It was better than I though, but kind of worse, too.
Just finished it, and it was better than what I expected. 8.5 is a little strong, and maybe it does deserve an 8 or even a 7.5, but this drama IS charming and sweet. And it wasn't boring!Story :
The drama in 3 parts, to me: the bad one, the transition, and the good one.
The bad one: the first few episodes (the first 2 especially). It was too much, unfortunately. I was disappointed in the visual of the heroine, not about the actress, but the way they made her look. Like her bangs or the way she was filmed.
In the movie, they really tried to make us feel that she was creepy, with her heavy bangs always in front of her eyes and her face looking down. Here, I really don't understand what is so scary about her.
They were so focused on making her pretty, that we are supposed to just watch some normal guys be horrified about a... pretty girl with bangs? It's not that complicated to make her hair fall a little more on her face and make the actress keep her head lower. It's kind of the basics of your job. T^T
I know it's only details, but those details kind of ruined the first few episodes for me. Sawako is, in the beginning, a really nice girl, but also creepy, awkward, and doesn't know what to do with her face. Here, she's just a quiet girl, and people's reactions to her feel over the top (of course, it's over the top in the movie/manga, too, but she IS scary in there).
Then we have the transition, which is when she becomes more confident, it's better, because there are no scenes where she's "supposed" to be creepy, so it works. We just follow the story of a quiet pretty girl and her friends.
That's what saved the drama, for me: Kazehaya, Yano, Chizu, Ryu, Pin, and even Kurumi. They walked out of the manga and were really faithful to the source material. The story was nice, too.
This part is better, though some weakness in acting goes in the way of emotional scenes. But I don't really care as it is a high school drama, and I like watching green actors, too.
Then we have the story that continues where the anime stopped. It's where it gets good. Maybe because there were no adaptations of it to compare to, so it was more easygoing. I really enjoyed it from here!
The acting :
When I first heard about Suzuka Ouji playing Kazehaya, I felt like he didn't suit the role at all. The trailer prove me wrong so I wasn't surprised about the really good job he did here!
Nakamura Riho and Sakurai Kaito were really good, too. She feels less experienced as him (weirdly), but the chemistry was working. :)
At first, Kumada Rinka didn't feel as strong as expected for Yano, but it got better and better through the drama.
Miura Shohei was super charming as Pin, Nothing but good things to say.
Suzuki Jin is... Hmm. Kento is a difficult character 'cause he's too much. I think the actor did what he could. It was a very Suzuki-like acting. I know a lot of people like him, it's unfortunately not my case, but maybe one day!
Kanon as Kurumi was okay. She did a good job as an actress, I just didn't feel the charm of the character through her. But she didn't do a bad job, maybe it's just a problem of chemistry because most of her scenes are with Sawako.
Minami Sara as Sawako was.... disappointing. As I said, the styling wasn't on her side, but the acting wasn't amazing either. I didn't expect a lot. The acting in the drama is VERY green, and it's not amazing, but I don't really care for high school shows, usually. Here it did get to me because I just feel that she wants to look pretty. Pretty tears, pretty smile, pretty when she's supposed to be scary, pretty when she's supposed to make a weird face... I don't know if the director wanted it, her company wanted it, or the actress just do that without thinking.
For me, the fault lies with the director, as he should have told her to do more and to let go of her image. It's a shame because I didn't feel that in the other dramas I saw from her, where she plays stronger characters (from the ones I saw).
The music (and directing?) :
Nothing that especially triggered me, but nothing that I care about either.
Same thing about the directing of the show, which is kind of disappointing because the anime did add something that only anime could. I thought the drama would do that, too, but no.
Rewatch value :
Not really. Maybe some episodes here and there.
Here it is for me! Still an enjoyable show if you go through the first part!
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Lovestory btw an extrovert & an introvert!!!!
Personally i regarded this series as a light hearted & emotional drama. Even though i felt like it doesn't have a strong start!!! But it gradually got better and I'm addicted :)The first and last episodes are really make me emotional, with their sacrifices and closeness.
The friendship among the female besties stole my heart, i really felt like its sooo precious, the way they are supportive among them is sooo soo beautiful & i almost cried at these scenes ?
I hated the third wheelers but not soooo much [but they super irrtated me in some scenes?♀️] but our not so confident female lead got courage about her feelings
I think in middle episodes I almost at the edge to hate the FL, but later I realized this group of highschoolers are all have different personalities - the shy one, extroverted one , risky one, confused one, confident one..... and more ..... after all we are humans!!! WE CAN'T BE SAME AS EACH OTHER
And the real story starts when they are close to choose their career/college, all our lovey dovley couples finally at the edge to choose between their career or love,
Career and love
Maybe its funny to tell i really got afraid while watching the last three episodes ....finally at the end I can tell
ENDING IS PERFECT so as the REWATCH VALUE
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Doesn’t reach me as much as the anime
Kimi Ni Todoke is one of my favorite anime. My favorite of the romance genre. It made me feel so many things when I watched it for the first time as a young teenager.I wish that the live-action adaptation could spark some of the same feelings as the anime did, but it just isn’t hitting as the anime did. Maybe it is because I grew up and grew out of the genre, but the heartwarming feel isn’t as much there as compared to the anime. Don’t get me wrong, the live-action is good, it is still heartwarming, but just not to the extent as the anime. When comparing the two the live-action rushes things and it just doesn’t feel the same. The pacing is off, it feels really crammed and rushed, and much of the heart of the show seems to be lost in this. The only time I have felt something this far for the show is for nostalgia for the anime. That could change though. I am not done with the show yet.
The show really rushes to the part of Sawako becomes more confident. The anime took much more time with this and the payoff was much bigger in my opinion. Seeing her gradually realize that she is in love with Kazehaya and she doesn’t just really respect him was so heartwarming to watch and they skip over that part. Kazehaya doesn’t give me as many butterflies as he did in the anime. His smile is spot on though. I think the casting is great. He is just as perfect as he was in the anime, but with the anime, you will get to see him more.
The music is also a billion times better in the anime. I’m disappointed they didn’t use the openings from the anime in the live-action. They have no opening song and the ending song is just so-so here. Part of what made the anime so great is the music and soundtrack. For the live-action it is ok, it’s not too animated or comical and I like that. I just wish they would’ve incorporated some of the anime music with the show.
The cinematography is pretty good; nothing outstanding though. The cherry blossom scene at the beginning is nice.
If you loved the anime and want to watch this I say go for it. From Me To You is nostalgic, it is a pretty good adaptation. If you haven’t seen the anime go watch that for sure. It’s a shame because I just am going to compare this show with the anime. The anime is better than this show and makes this show seem weak in comparison. That is not to say this show is bad. I think it is okay, and a cute little watch. Perhaps if I had nothing to compare it to I would like the live action better. I am struggling to keep my attention on the show whenever I think about the anime. I think to myself, "Why don't you just go rewatch that." But, this show deserves to be given a chance. It is not horrible, they are trying to pay homage to the original source material of the manga. I heard the whole manga is crammed into 12 episodes and I want to see how they pull that off.
Hopefully, this show gets better as I continue to watch. This review is not done.
update:
I finished the show. It doesn't get much better or any worse. It is just pretty average. Honestly Chizu and Ryu as a couple shined a whole lot in the live action. I really enjoyed their romance, honestly a bit more than the main couple.
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current comfort source.
i've been a huge kimi ni todoke fan for years, started with the anime & manga, later the movie and now this series (which i honestly liked way more than the movie for some reason pls don't judge me). I had my hopes very high for this because of how special the whole storyline is to me & how high my expectations are because of it lol. But it was delivered so good and im definitely more than satisfied! I usually don't write any reviews so you can tell this really touched me and its honestly such a good adaptation so here are some of my thoughts before i tell y'all to go and watch it <3I've always liked the relationship between Chizu, Sawako and Ayane and they definitely served this time as well. Words can't describe how beautiful it is and just makes me wish for people like them in my life. They have a huge impact on the storyline and make it look so pure. Had me crying in some scenes but honestly thats another reason why i appreciate them so much. The actresses playing them are also super pretty(partly a reason why i can't seem to be getting the creepy vibe of Sawako in the beginning), i love the fact netflix shows them to me as a thumbnail everytime i open the app.
On another note i was soo sceptical about the actors of Kazehaya & Ryu at first, as I've never watched their works before and I wasn't sure what to think as there's quite a difference between them and what i had portrayed in my head. And don't get me wrong, its just me loving Kazehaya for like 10 years and him being one of the best male characters i've ever seen so I was definitely unsure how this boy would acts as Kazehaya and if it will impress me. But with watching each episode i was just proven wrong again and again and started enjoying seeing them on screen. They kinda grew on me and i was definitely able to see them portraying the characters very well. I'll need to check their other projects after this for sure.
One thing i love about the show is the feeling of it being real. Showing pure friendship and love, something you can see with every episode. For someone who usually doesn't like rewatching the same story over and over again, Kimi Ni Todoke is an exception so you can tell how much i actually enjoy the plot. It might get cheezy sometime but it didn't stop me from screaming and kicking my feet everytime romance was shown. It's a truly relaxing show and something i will always adore.
It's got everything - great lead and side characters that are so easy to love, heartfelt yet some dramatic moments, a great cinematography (especially the iconic cherry blossom moment in the beginning) and it will leave you with a feeling of comfort and happiness. I recommend this series to all of my romance enjoyers, it won't leave you disappointed.
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Great sismance makes up for a lacking ML
I'm usually not one to harp on acting but the ML here really feels woefully miscast. I watched the actor in Silent where he was sort of the quiet, studious type and I just think his role there fits him so much better. Here, the charisma that he's supposed to have as Mr. Popular just isn't there, and neither is the subtle gentleness he shows towards the FL. The acting just feels forced and awkward; the show keeps telling me about how charming and lovable this guy is, but I don't really feel any of it and I just see him going through the motions.With that being said, I don't really think the romantic chemistry is there, but it is between the FL and her friends! I know this is a romance but the part that really shines through for me in this drama is the friendship between the three female leads. It's beautiful and heart-warming and any conflicts that they do run into are very realistic. Even the quote-unquote "evil SFL" isn't overly terrible, which is always refreshing to me. All the actresses were perfect (even though the FL is obviously gorgeous and people being afraid of her doesn't make sense, lol).
Overall, the plot is just wholesome; there aren't any overblown dramatics and communication is learned through very well-done character development. The pacing of the side plots goes a little up-and-down, but I still enjoyed them for the simple fact that I liked the 3 female leads.
Simply put, this is a comfort drama.
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Didn't do it for me
Unfortunately, I couldn't feel the atmosphere of the anime/manga in the series. And the acting seemed poor to me. Maybe only Chizuru was portraited somewhat okayish, and Yano maybe a little. But everyone else was totally off to me - emotions, expressions.Also the series covered so much material in such little time, I think if I didn't watched the anime or read the manga previously I wouldn't understand anything at all.
Overall I couldn't build any connection with the charachters, and the anime was the complete opposite, leaving very strong emotions in me.
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Excellent series
From Me To You-2023 (12 episodes) version, adapted from a manga of the same name.This is an understated ‘coming into yourself’ type of romantic drama. It is a high school story about a naive girl named Sawako learning to love and appreciate herself, and learning how to be loved and appreciated by others. It showcases the trust and communication of friends and family without being too heavy on the sadness, but enough to make you want to cheer for a good outcome for all of the characters. The pacing is just right, the cinematography was good, and the characters were well-acted.
I appreciate that there wasn't a bunch scenes where characters get flustered and start yelling in military fashion, as is common in many of the Japanese manga adaptations. The acting in this drama is much more natural than many Japanese dramas that I've seen. As a matter of fact, there are some characters and scenes in this that I want to label as 'not believable,' but in reality, there is nothing in this drama that couldn't actually happen in the right circumstances.
I gave episode 1 a rating of 10 stars when I started watching, and never had to change my rating for the subsequent episodes because they were all so good. It's not action packed, but the story consistently moves forward without letting you get bored if you are into the school romance genre.
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This review may contain spoilers
Good adaptation from the manga but acting and execution are a bit off at times.
I generally recommend this drama, especially to those that have read the manga or watched the anime. If you haven't, I would say it can feel there are some plotholes or rushed parts here and there but it's a good adaptation. If you have read the manga or watched the anime it's a lot easier to fill in the bits missing but also as it tends to happen, this isn't better than the manga because of that same reason.I came to this drama with low expectations because adaptations tend to be not that good and very rushed, something that clearly happened with the movie version of this same title (because obviously it was impossible to fill the plot of 30 volumes of manga in a 2h film). It was difficult to not make comparisons because despite overall thinking this series is so much better than the movie simply for having most of the plot points of the original work, I also thought that some of the characters were better portrayed in the movie, namely the protagonist. As another review has pointed out, the main character here lacks the uniqueness and creepiness that the manga character is supposed to have. I feel the movie did a better job at this. Sara Minami is pretty by society standards and they didn't try much with the hair or her behaviour and demeanour to look closer to how she's supposed to be, she just comes across as a bit shy.
Also, while I think Rinka Kumada did generally a good job as Yano, I felt she was missing the subtext, in the manga and anime there were always instances where you could tell she knew what was going on, and would work things out before anyone else and she was mature for her age, I don't think this was portrayed very well in this series and I missed those nuances of her character. I also think physically I expected her to look more like a gyaru, more similar to how they did in the movie, that it's how I imagined her in the manga. Also one of the things I precisely liked of the portrayal of Yano was the fact she's fashionable and more adult like but she also has good grades and cares about her studies, what I think it's not a very common portrayal in mangas for someone looking like a gyaru (and smoking!). In this series to me if I wasn't told through the part of the rumours I would think she's just an average high schooler. Maybe they didn't want to portray her as a gyaru to keep up with the times, but they could have done something else to show the contrasts of her character since there is nothing in the way she acts or speaks here that tells me how she is either.
On the other hand, I was happy with the rest of portrayals, and in fact I was very pleasantly surprised by Riho Nakamura as Chizuru, I think they nailed it with her.
(If I'm being picky though I have mixed opinions about the portrayal of Kazehaya's father, it's a difficult one, but I don't think he looks serious and stern, just kind of awkward and forced? I don't know how to feel about him).
While I'm generally pleased with how much they fit in this show of the source material it could have been even better. Some bits felt a bit rushed, while some others, like some of the dialogues seemed a bit too slow. I enjoy slow and I enjoyed the slow pace of this drama in those dialogues, what I'm not so pleased with is this coming as a detriment of other plots or scenes being rushed. I generally would have preferred this drama had been between 15 and 20 episodes long, it would have given the time for everything. Another thing that also was a bit annoying for me it's how they cut out almost every single kiss or show of a more mature relationship that appeared in the manga/anime. I can imagine why, but many people watching this has read the manga or watched the anime, and many others that haven't and liked this will potentially check both or one of them, so why? I could tell even in scenes when that was being cut, and any show of affection between any of the characters was quite awkward in my opinion. The girls dynamics were on point though.
Acting was generally ok, but at times for me it was a bit off, sometimes it felt like they were reading the lines without emotion or like they were doing a theatre play instead of a recorded show. Maybe also like they were trying hard to use the same exaggerated expressions or body movements than in the anime? what could feel forced and cringey sometimes. I think this happens more in the first half of the show than in the second. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either.
Music was ok, some songs were cute, some gave me the vibes of the main theme of American Beauty? Overall it was ok, but I did notice a couple of times in the first few episodes a song would play in the background that didn't necessarily match too well with the vibe of the scene (for example, a scene with serious dialogue and a bit too happy song in the background).
I can't see myself rewatching this, it was entertaining, watchable, cute at moments, loved the scenery and atmosphere but I prefer the intensity and the emotional portrayal of the manga/anime so I'll gravitate towards those before this one. But as I mentioned before, as an adaptation I'm pleased and it's probably one of the best manga adaptations of this genre I've seen despite its few flaws.
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Lived on the couch the day it dropped on Netflix!
I have to say, I didn't like it QUITE as much as the movie, but I still liked it. This series had more filler than the movie, and there were a lot of storylines going on. There were also multiple instances of misunderstandings, and I wondered if the main couple would EVER get together! The FL seemed more docile here than in the movie, always apologizing. I was concerned about the ML, but I thought he was perfect. Baby face, his eyes really expressed his feelings for her, and he was a pleasure to watch. There were a couple of instances of over-the-top acting, which I have come to expect in J-dramas, but it was from people that had relatively small parts.I loved the graphics at the beginning of every episode, and the village they lived in was lovely. I really liked the scenes where they were walking the neighborhoods, talking.
I appreciated the music as well, not for the songs, necessarily, but they used tinkling bells in quiet scenes, that for some reason I found very effective.
The storyline was great. There were multiple couples, and I liked the story of each of them, because they were so different. First love; long-lasting hidden love; forbidden love. Each had their strengths.
But I have to say that the friendships really shone. Getting acquainted, developing friendships, overcoming difficulties, and then the uncertainty and fear associated with leaving your insulated life and heading out into the big world. Would these friendships stand the test of time? I teared up a number of times with the goodbyes. I would have liked to have seen where they all ended up, but other than that, it was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon.
***After re-watching this, I had to lower my rating slightly. FL had too little self-esteem and couldn't believe that anyone could like her. She was too quick to believe lies, but couldn't believe when the ML was telling her how he felt about her. This resulted in multiple episodes of me talking to the TV, telling her to get over herself and listen up! She still felt this way after the friendships that she had developed and even THEY were telling her how the ML felt. I felt like it wasted a lot of time, and made me worried for their ability to communicate with one another in the future, if she was always going to go to the worst-case scenario.
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Amazing cast!!
Kimi ni Todoke was one of my favorite anime of all times. I rewatched it many many times back then so I was very excited about this drama adpation, as well as nervous that they wouldn't be able to do it justice.Turns out my worries were in vain--they did amazing with this!! I really really like it. They stuck closely to the original story and it feels very well done and round.
My favorite part about it is the cast. I think they found very very fitting actors for the characters!! I was immediately amazed with the casting choices for Sawako, Chizu and especially Kurumi (srsly Kanon is such a perfect fit and her voice acting is also amazing!)
But after watching a bit I also felt that Ayane, Sanada and Kazehaya were cast very very well!! Suzuka Ouji's Kazehaya is incredibly charming, I found myself falling for him too~
Pin was a fun match too (I hope he can be added to the cast listing on MDL)
Overall I think this is a very well done drama adaption. It feels well rounded. I know sometimes drama adaptions of manga or anime series feel a little cheap or cringy but it's really not the case for this one. Whether you follower the original series or not I recommend to give this one a go!
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I may not be the top fan for the title of this story, but I can say that I am familiar with the characters. Though to compare on the actors from the movie to the drama, and I know its not fair to do so, but the movie having Haruma Miura has more charm than the ML here. Oh but he (Suzuki Ouji) grew on me as the episodes went on. I start to see his charm later on. For the FL , Minami Sara, well, the style is not Sadako/Sawako-like. The Sawako on the story in the story was so supposed to look awkward, a little creepy, that's why her classmates either ignore her or avoid her, to the point of believing that when you interacted with her, you will be cursed.
For the supporting roles, I think the friends - the actors who portrayed Ayane, Chizu, and Ryu gave justice to the role. They are almost what I can imagine on the characters. My most favorite character or couple here actually are Chizu and Ryu, and I love the actors who portrayed them. Also what I like about this series is that they also have scenes or story on them, which is also in the manga and anime. And also the sensei, Pin, is also cool and more like the anime character.
And plus part is that, Kento is also here, which was not on the movie. I love the almost completeness of the story which was seen in the anime.
Story is still light and fun in its own way, the way a high school love story should really be.
I never really expected to like it this much that I felt like doing a review again after years on my last one.
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A nostalgic ride
If you've already watched the anime or read the manga before, this series will bring back memories! At first, I was skeptical and I didn't want to watch it but I ended up loving it! Honestly, this drama feels more like a summary of the whole story but it is pretty well done. It did, of course, eliminate some parts but it stayed true to the original, some dialogues and scenes are really the same. I actually enjoyed that, compared with the anime, it was way more fast paced so that the frustrating parts felt less tedious and there was never a dull moment. I also loved how the story proceeds from the anime and it explores their story until the very ending of the manga. I'm currently re-reading the manga after years thanks to this series and I'm really enjoying it! If you're interested, it's such a good reading as it shows quite a deeper insight of the characters!By the way, if you haven't watched the anime or read the manga before, I still suggest to watch this series if you like school settings and pure love stories. I especially enjoyed the girls' wholesome friendship but the romance was great too and I think all the actors did a wonderful job portraying their characters!! A solid 9/10 and possibly a rewatch!
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