Warm and fuzzy atmosphere, it hurts a bit but in a good kind of way, oh and lots of pining
Soramame and Oto meet for the first time and as a watcher you instantly know they have a connection which only deepens as they get to know each other. Both of them are talented in different fields but what they have in common is that they aren't living up to their true potential yet. They can rely on each other and help each other tackle the various hurdles life throws at each of them.They banter with each other like siblings but at the same time you know they care for each other deeply. The mutual pining will tug at your heartstrings, it may become a bit frustrating at times but all in all their journey is quite plausible to me and I enjoyed it a lot.
It has to be said that the romance part of the series is not the main focus, each lead has a lot on their respective plate. If you're looking for a drama where there's an abundance of skinship or where the couple starts dating in the third episode or so, this drama might not be the right fit for you.
The atmosphere is what I love a lot about this drama. You get those warm and fuzzy feelings when they sit together at dusk (!) sharing what happened that day or to give the other a push in the right direction if they're stuck with something they're working on at the moment. The title of the series fits really well because a lot of the scenes take place in the quiet evenings when you can see the last sunrays of the day on their faces. The setting is very intimate and I liked the conversations they held.
The music underlines the cozy atmosphere, sometimes with a nice song and with the slow piano and strings version of said piece at other times - or no music at all which leaves the deepest impact. I already checked out Yorushika and put some of their songs on my playlists.
I'm by no means an acting expert but I think the cast did a very good job. They made me laugh and shed a few tears (which is not something that happens to me a lot when watching a drama) so in my opinion they accomplished their goal.
Rewatching a series is not something that I do frequently but I can safely say this one will be a candidate.
This has become one of my favorite romantic dramas from Japan. Most of the times there's a point at which I get bored but that was not the case here although I have to admit the ending was a bit drawn-out.
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Lovers in denial
Yugure's premise is the classic premise of a love story. A failed marriage, repeated encounters, and both leads getting trapped to live in the same house are things you can find in most romance dramas.This dorama tells about the dream and having someone special to support your dream. How both leads support and being affectionate but still being in denial is the main core of this dorama. This dorama is not the slow-burn one but maybe you will get squealed for their unending misunderstanding. The ending is still acceptable. However, I wish Yugure would explore on Soramame and her mother's relationship more and a glimpse of her life in Paris. Also, I personally think it would be better if we got both POVs of the leads. Not only from Oto but also from Soramame. In addition, this dorama also has LGBT character who is supported by her surroundings. Also, the cinematography is an eye-pleasing scenery for me.
Ren and Suzu are really cute as a couple and their chemistry is believable to me. The OST is so beautiful and it spreads good positivity. Cute ending dance in every episode that you may don't want to miss.
Give it a shot if you are looking for a light romance dorama!
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1夕暮れに手をつなぐ
This drama is about Oto-kun who is a musician and he writes songs. He tries to become successful as a composer by creating music on his laptop, but he hasn't gotten any attention from the recording company that he is signed with. He is close to giving up on his dream. He works part-time at a cafe to help pay his bills. The second main female lead is Soramame who is a poor girl from the countryside, she is a bright and energetic girl who always will make up ur mood when ur a sad.Soramame has interest in fashion and wants to work in a fashion company. Her fiancee dumped her and she is depressed, one day she moves to Tokyo where she meets Oto-kun where they fall in love. Overall this drama was so cute and funny, I love oto-kun he is so handsome❤️Was this review helpful to you?
Frustratingly slow but sweet
This drama is so good yet so frustrating and slow... Making me want to scream, cry and feel a bunch of things as I was waiting for the inevitable pain that they kept hinting at while showing me fluff, joy, friendship, support and a whole lot of fun. Pretty much eternally making me wonder what would be ahead and why they would do such a thing... whatever it now would be I felt like I just wanted them to live bickerley, playfully happily ever after... Mostly as a couple sometimes as a thruple... The show made sure I kept those tears nearby about half of the the time.The show could have been better if they picked up the pace a little bit and added more past the ending, it could also have done without some of the twists that seemed to solely be there to slow down the already painfully slow pace. However most of the characters are fun to watch, human (ok some are geniuses) but all are flawed in their own peculiar way and lovable oh so lovable. And I did indeed enjoy watching yet another mother who will not be winning a prize for being mother of the year.
There are a lot of memorable moments in this drama, some memorable due to the constant resurface of them in unnesessery flashbacks, probably because they where just not as memorable on their own as other parts of the show and the creators felt the need to remind us of them. But that is just a wild guess... still there are a bunch of memorable moments involving an umbrella, a bridge, a ball, shoes, a scarf, a dress and fireworks so do keep a look owt if you choose to watch this.
Definitely a drama I recommend to all who can handle some frustration.
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Slow burn love story with good story progression but a dose of unrealistic-ness
Overall this is an ok series with a good story progression, good characters and visuals and an okey-ish ending.But precisely those same points are the problem for me as it ends up being a bit superficial in all aspects. There is a good story progression but there are plotholes and unexplicable decisions, especially towards the end, that could have easily been tackled considering I found the show slow at some points.
Characters are good but I didn't feel like I got to see very deep into them, probably only Soramame we get to see more into her psyche than anyone else. The most frustrating are the side characters, there isn't any progression for any of them, especially I was waiting they would do something with the landlady Kyoko, she was such an interesting character but she's just support role, literally.
Both of their careers are pretty unrealistic, especially hers and we're not told at any point that she used to draw or was into fashion growing up, it's very out of the blue, and then she happens to have connections in the industry, what are the chances... I can let it pass, it's ok. What it's not so ok is that there is a build up when it comes to the mother and such a drama when her ideas are stolen but then when we get to the resolution and she gets what she technically wanted then we get a time jump and all of a sudden she's back and out of it all and it's not really even well explained exactly why she seems so burnt out, her replies are very ambiguous.. Am I to assume it's only because she's not with Oto? Why did she go in the first place then? and why in those three years she didn't think in telling him how she felt at least to move on? (considering she thought he was with Seira). Instead of rushing it, it would have been better to end the show with them telling each other before she went, end it there.
The time jump adds absolutely nothing and only creates more questions and more frustration. I find the time jumps in modern setting dramas to separate lovers completely ridiculous (unless it had a good reasoning, and I still haven't seen one). You want to use that plot device? set your story pre-internet era because otherwise it's just unrealistic (and still, phones anyone???). Who in their right mind loving someone would not speak with them for 3 years at all and hope they're still single and in love with them, especially after a very generic letter and an earphone as a token of love. I get it, it's supposed to be romantic and it would be if their separation had been a few weeks/months long, but three years?
Then what's going on with Soramame in the end, I feel at that point I don't even know if she's still into him or not, she receives the invitation and it's a "yes but no", all that part of the story is like seeing a toddler going to school in the morning half crying, I'm not sure if I have to feel joyful for her or suffer with her because she's doing something she doesn't want. It's so vague and anticlimactic in my opinion.
I don't even know where to start with Seira, she was a mess in the beginning and I'm still not sure of what her situation was, because I don't even know how many layers of lies there are there and her character, like any other side one, is kept mostly superficial. Either way, she started as a bad person and ended as a bad person, there is nothing there that tells me she has grown to be a better one. I mean, she took three years to tell that to Soramame... but I don't even know if I can blame her considering Oto didn't contact Soramame either to tell her what she thought was not true either. They both basically left Soramame to believe what she assumed for three years (and obviously Soramame is also in the wrong for making assumptions without asking). Seira doesn't suffer at all the consequences for her actions, not the first time and not at the end.
The love progression in this one is the frustrating type, so if you're not into very slow burn love stories where characters play very dumb till the end then this might not be for you.
I liked the visuals and settings of the story and I enjoyed the main characters banter and the dynamics of them with the landlady. I could understand that plot twist with Soramame's career towards the end if there was a second season, I can't find info on that so I'm going to assume there isn't one and so it's a bit annoying to see the progression of her career and then she stops but there is no hint on what she really wants to do next, more considering we're only told at the end once they're together that she's just like in a hiatus career wise. There are many things they could have done to bring her back to Japan instead of that out of the blue burnt-out when she's only been in the profession for 3 years. For example, in the lines of what she was saying, it would have been a lot more satisfactory that she had said high fashion is not for her and she's planning to create a small brand that provides to the local community, instead we got vagueness and not enough time to dwell in that vagueness, the motives, the reasons and the progression out of it.
Music was ok, sometimes it got a bit repetitive for me though.
Overall it's an ok watch so I would recommend to those that want something to watch, but if you have something more interesting in your list watch that first. Avoid if you don't like slow burn romance, it can certainly be quite frustrating in this one at times.
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Simple and Mostly Sweet drama
Subjective Gut Rating - 8.25“Yugure ni, Te wo Tsunagu'' also known as “Hold My Hand at Twilight”, is a short and mostly very sweet drama about two individuals discovering and working towards their dreams with the support of each other. Of course, they fall in love during this journey, especially when they both end up living in the same house. The drama focuses more of their relationships than the dramatic way of achieving one’s dreams.
What I Like:
1. Cool female lead - Finally someone who is fun, bright, and extroverted. No more submissive, naive, pushover female lead who can’t speak a word in front of the male lead.
2. Smart leads - Though inexperienced because she moves from rural Japan to Tokyo, she’s not dumb at all. Male lead might be on the quiet side, but he is someone who can see through lies and read between the lines. Also, no annoying character.
3. Acting - Hirose Suzu as the female lead is the star of the show. The acting is pretty decent for the remaining of the cast. What I like best is the not over dramatic/anime/manga-type acting.
4. Love the dynamic in the boarding house between the leads and the landlady. The landlady is one cool lady.
5. Love the fun interaction between the leads at the house (throwing bean bags at each other) and also their casual but deep conversations.
What I Don’t Like or have Mixed Feelings:
1. Misunderstanding is one thing, but add to that are bad timing and missed chances, seem to be too much in the last few episodes. It somewhat dampens the enjoyment (just a little).
2. Despite one big challenge, the female lead seems to have quite an easy professional journey. Her new career as a designer came too easily and the drama did not spend a lot of time in that respect. The drama might have shown more challenges for the male lead’s professional journey, but still not very realistic. This is not a drama if you want to see the ups and downs of someone trying to reach their dreams.
3. I was expecting more from the mother-daughter storyline.
4. Would like a longer ending, seems rushed.
Completed: 4/4/2023
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By the end I was filled with a feeling of emptiness…
And I honestly do not know how to explain what it means. I just wanted to feel a little bit more, understand the characters a little bit better, connect to the story a little bit deeper, but it all stopped right before it hit the spot.How to put it… every new revelation made me disconnect from the plot more and more. Soramame started as an amazing and relatable character, but then was stripped from that mundane context that made me love her so much. Oto stayed frustratingly consistent throughout the show, but by the end some of his choices just made me roll my eyes - why so dramatic? Why can’t you act like a normal adult?
While I enjoyed the mutual pining and I have no issue with slow pace plots, the fact they were able to build misunderstanding on already existing misunderstanding was one step too far. The story focusing on chasing their dreams also lost its charm the moment we found out both leads some really unique skills that most people do not have. Not exactly motivational storytelling if you ask me.
I liked the show a lot, but I also liked it a little bit less with each episode I watched, and by episode 10 I had too many conflicting feelings about it.
Writing aside, the acting was great. I loved how the whole cast was able to deliver such unique and vibrant characters in such an approachable way. Hirose Suzu did an amazing job especially during the more emotional scenes. With that performance you can truly relate to the saying sometimes some of the happiest people are hurting the most.
Directing and editing was great. Loved all the shots during the sunset/dusk and how warm the tones were during them. The set designs were also to die for, made me want to live in the house with the leads, enjoying each day and anticipating what the next one will bring.
Overall, it was an enjoyable drama, but I cannot stop myself from feeling like something was missing.
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The first slow burn romance I ever watched!❤️
First of all, this drama is not for those who want simple love stories with main characters who fall in love right away in the first part. Both of the main characters in this drama take their time to get to know one another. It began as a stranger, progressing to an acquaintance, becoming friends, and then falling in love. I find it really romantic when they both drop their airpods while crossing the pedestrian lane. You should really watch it. However, they both excel at masking their emotions and feeling for each other which frustrates me greatly.I observed that this drama was a genuinely honest and realistic love story with no cheesy phrases or slow motions. You would fall in love with it only based on the characters' natural chemistry with one another and also the plot. You really should watch it. This drama was both excellent and straightforward. This drama is a perfect example of grace in simplicity.
This drama teach me the real meaning of passion. Soramame and Oto are very supportive to each others field.
- Soramame is my new favorite female character?
- Oto is such a big green flag for me?? I wish also have Uto in my life ? jk
Both main characters are genius. No villains. Suzu Hirose and Ren Nagase has a natural chemistry. They did a great job.❤️
I like the whole cast, acting, cinematography and also the OST.
Ps. I love the outro song because of their cute dance ?
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This review may contain spoilers
Had great potential as a story, but was hampered by inflated drama and mediocre writing.
Note: This will more than likely be the only review I ever write as they take a significant amount of time for me to think through and formulate, but I felt that I needed to post this one as this show has merit, but is an extreme disservice to viewer.To lay my cards out on the table before I dive into my review, I am a professional writer in my 20s, and I’ve been writing since I was nine years old. It is my job as a writer to critique other writers and find the flaws in their stories so that I can learn from their mistakes to improve my own writing.
I have seen Kitagawa—this show’s scriptwriter—’s work from the 90s, and she is by no stretch of the imagination a bad writer. She is quite talented, but every writer has a bad piece of work now and then, and that’s exactly what this shows is.
This show started off with a promising story, but it quickly derailed for a number of reasons, and it got progressively worse.
The first episode was absolutely perfect. Soramame and Oto’s introductions were fantastic, and the tragedy behind Soramame’s backstory was very well done.
I absolutely loved Soramame’s personality in the first episode. She was sweet, sensitive, adorable, and really meshed will with Oto’s character. However, the show starts to derail at the very beginning of the second episode.
Oto’s character stays exactly the same throughout the entire duration of the show, but Soramame’s character does a complete 180. She is no longer upset over her childhood first love breaking off his engagement to her because he found a new girl.
Soramame is no longer sweet and passive towards Oto. She is now aggressive, slightly irritating, and her character development makes absolutely no sense. She does, however, maintain an adorable personality throughout the rest of the show, but she never goes back to her original persona.
The rest of the show was somewhat interesting. I liked Oto’s passion for creating music, and Soramame’s backstory with her mother was utterly heartbreaking, but that’s it. Nothing else about the show was redeemable, save for the ending.
The writer attempted to introduce artificial, inflated drama by introducing a con artist. She worms her way into Oto’s head, then asks for money. Oto quickly realises that she’s conning him, but she has no friends and asks to be his. Knowing Oto’s character, he says yes, obviously.
Seira (the con artist) isn’t seen for a little while after this episode, but when she does show up, Soramame helps Oto recruit her for his two-piece band as the singer, and Seira almost immediately falls in love with Soramame.
There was absolutely no need to introduce a lesbian character in this story, and she was only used as a hollow plot filler to add additional, inflated drama to a story that did not need it. This love triangle eventually devolved into a love square for about two episodes.
Kitagawa also added the annoyingly overused tropes of missed timing, mistaken feelings, and a time jump.
The last episode was probably the only good episode besides the pilot. The first half was slow moving, and quite bland, but the last fifteen minutes were sweet and quite enjoyable.
Now, I’m going to go through a brief overview of how I would have fixed the story in this show.
Instead of having Soramame get over her first love in a period of literally one episode, I would have had the entire show centered on the grief of Soramame’s lost love and her newfound admiration of Oto. She would have fought through the grief she was feeling by using Oto as a shoulder to cry on.
Eventually, she’d realise that he was always there for her, and that he’d always been there to listen. I would have made it obvious from the start that she was a fasion designer and, lastly, I would have completely dropped Seira’s character from the show. Other than that, the rest of the plot with Oto’s career, Soramame’s mother abandoning her, and Soramame’s boss stealing her work, causing her to leave and reach out to her mother is perfect. The majority of the finale is also good as is.
All in all, the acting was fantastic, the soundtrack was great; I am a huge yorushika fan, so that was a nice surprise, and the production quality was phenomenal.
I do not recommend watching this show unless you’re interested in watching for the acting and some minor story beats.
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All is good until episode 7
Well, I really enjoy the show until episode 7 when the main leads held hand at twilight. But everything fell apart afterwards as it seems that the writer just want to make the plot draggy by putting a lot of obstacles between the main couple that prevented them from really becoming together. And I hated how they had to villianize the lesbian SFL by making her jealous and plotting against the main couple. Do we really have to do this?? But Ren Nagase was really bf material and totally green flag. I love his chemistry with Sodamame. The FL also did a good job acting her character and totally convinced me that she is a true country bumpkin. But, I am not very convince with the plot how Sodamame career was quite smooth sailing and the boss returning her ideas after he stole from her is really unrealistic imo. The stealer of the show was the OST and the background soundtrack. I think its really good compared to other Jdramas I watched. Personally, I would only rewatch till episode 7 if I had to, to save myself from being frustrated with the plot.Was this review helpful to you?
Enjoyed it so much
I enjoyed it so much. If looking for a calm and warm drama , then it's for you. I like everyone in this drama. This is my first time seeing Suzu acting, and I immediately fell in love with her acting. She is so good . think I will go to watch her other works.Ren also wasn't bad, he did a great job
This drama give such a gentle and warm feeling, you can watch it while drinking a hot tea in a winter night.
This what I felt while watching this drama.
Don't miss this drama . I sure that I will watch it again.
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Exceptional, by Japanese drama standards
There are several Japanese dramas that I have started and left after a couple of episodes, some I’ve managed to finish as well, but no Japanese series has made me feel so many emotions as this one. What a beautiful story, it makes you laugh, fall in love, suffer heartbreaks, feel a sense of longing, dream, work hard for dreams, and then puts it all together with a very sweet happy ending. I loved both lead actors, and a special mention to the agent at the music label, the landlady and the pattern maker colleague of the FL, they all made the show worth watching. I’ll be keeping an eye out for more shows by these actors, and seriously, more shows like these would change the way people think about Japanese shows! A show worth watching, not to be missed for fans of sweet romances.Was this review helpful to you?
