Harsh_S
India
This review may contain spoilers
This drama is good...."re-watch it" level good
I don't how or where I found this drama, I guess I just stumbled upon it while browsing for something new and I've never been more glad. Pin to kona is different than most YA J-dramas. Now I know that you must be wondering that how can any asian drama not have cliches and you would be absolutely right. There are certain cliches in this drama as well like school romance, love at first sight, childhood first loves, love triangles, scheming girls, etc. But the core storyline is quite unique.
Pin to kona is basically about young adults who are in some way connected to this classical japanese theatre called Kabuki. The two male leads are Kabuki performers and the female lead is fan of kabuki. The male lead (Kawamura) is from a noble family that has been performing kabuki for generations. The female lead (Ayame) is a down on her luck girl who is the ML's schoolmate and an avid kabuki fan. The 2nd male lead (Ichiya/Hiroki) is the FL's childhood friend with a passion and talent for kabuki (but since he's not from a noble family he struggles to make his name).
Kawamura is by far my favorite J-drama male lead character. In the beginning he comes off as a privileged and spoiled brat but as the series continues you can see him evolve. I loved the way he switches from a lovesick idiot (in front of his friends, family & Ayame) to a serious hardworker (when doing Kabuki). Another point in his favour was that he treated Ayame very well without expecting anything in return. Even when he found out she liked Ichiya, he helped her instead of sabotaging them for his own benefit. He also evolved from whining about being forced into Kabuki to actually finding his passion for the art.
Ayame was also a good character. I liked her perseverance and the fact that she became more practical as the series progressed. Although I did dislike the part when she got pushed around by people and didn't fight back (in one of the episodes she rescues one of the scheming girls from bullies but later when she herself gets bullied by her she just takes it).
Ichiya was a good performer but a bad person. He didn't deserve Ayame for even the short while that they were together. Instead of two timing her (who he claimed to actually love) he could have simply explained the situation or even told her to wait awhile before they dated. He was just as bad as the scheming girls.
I loved both Kawamura's Father (whose "baka/idiot son" got me everytime) and his housekeeper (she was just funny as hell). I did feel pretty bad for Yuna. She was intially a good person but became twisted due to her obsession in getting Ichiya. She got used & she herself used other people. You can see her devolve with every passing episode. At the end she did regain some sense but the damage was done.
All in all Pin to kona was definitely worth it.
Pin to kona is basically about young adults who are in some way connected to this classical japanese theatre called Kabuki. The two male leads are Kabuki performers and the female lead is fan of kabuki. The male lead (Kawamura) is from a noble family that has been performing kabuki for generations. The female lead (Ayame) is a down on her luck girl who is the ML's schoolmate and an avid kabuki fan. The 2nd male lead (Ichiya/Hiroki) is the FL's childhood friend with a passion and talent for kabuki (but since he's not from a noble family he struggles to make his name).
Kawamura is by far my favorite J-drama male lead character. In the beginning he comes off as a privileged and spoiled brat but as the series continues you can see him evolve. I loved the way he switches from a lovesick idiot (in front of his friends, family & Ayame) to a serious hardworker (when doing Kabuki). Another point in his favour was that he treated Ayame very well without expecting anything in return. Even when he found out she liked Ichiya, he helped her instead of sabotaging them for his own benefit. He also evolved from whining about being forced into Kabuki to actually finding his passion for the art.
Ayame was also a good character. I liked her perseverance and the fact that she became more practical as the series progressed. Although I did dislike the part when she got pushed around by people and didn't fight back (in one of the episodes she rescues one of the scheming girls from bullies but later when she herself gets bullied by her she just takes it).
Ichiya was a good performer but a bad person. He didn't deserve Ayame for even the short while that they were together. Instead of two timing her (who he claimed to actually love) he could have simply explained the situation or even told her to wait awhile before they dated. He was just as bad as the scheming girls.
I loved both Kawamura's Father (whose "baka/idiot son" got me everytime) and his housekeeper (she was just funny as hell). I did feel pretty bad for Yuna. She was intially a good person but became twisted due to her obsession in getting Ichiya. She got used & she herself used other people. You can see her devolve with every passing episode. At the end she did regain some sense but the damage was done.
All in all Pin to kona was definitely worth it.
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