Lea Estiller
This review may contain spoilers
A Worthy Psychological Crime Series
Me and my husband does not have any expectations on this series as it is something that we watch on the fly.We are happy with how the story progress as well as the twists on each episodes. We are discussing who are the killers or suspects and we also love that mental health is one of the biggest subject on the whole series.
Mental health is a taboo to many Asian countries but here, you can see how twisted and how a person can kill and even blames their victims along the process.
As for the characters, I love that they are also growing. Its not just Totonou who is solving things here, we have Garou who is also intelligent and wants to avenge his sister and Furomitsu.
I also love the fact that Totonou is looking into beibg just a regular college student but he is begrudgingly being tagged on each cases.
I am looking forward to the next season and I really hope that this is something that will happen late this year or early next year.
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This review may contain spoilers
Darker, Modern and Uplifting
I was able to see the first season where the cast are now big names in Japan and I did not expect that there is a S2 of this until I happen to check on Abe Hiroshi's filmography.What I like here is that everything is modern and diverse. There is a gay educator and the chairmoan supports it, the chairman herself is not the typical Japanese principal who is akways against the villain. I like how the Chairman actually cares about the students and is willing to help Sakuragi sensei make these students pass the Todai exam even if the cost is her position. Also, Sakuragi sensei somehow becomes more intelligent when it comes to sensing unusual things that comes in his way.
There are also more students involved this time and they are diverse. Still, there are parents who are either inferior about their child getting more education than them, parents who has set a plan for their child even if it cause their child to suffer more.
Also, for some reason, the plot summary here is not really the same as how the story progress. Its a different school after all and the problem is way more deep.
I also like how the story progress when I initially thought that some of his former students kind of betraying Sakuragi and Mizuno sensei. I love how they are actually helping him unravel the real villain of the story. I have predicted about Sakamoto but not Yoneyama.
Also, some of Sakuragi sensei's speeches kind of hit home because of what I am feeling during the time that I watched it. Though some of them are overaching and may not be very applicable to the real world scenario but there are some that definitely defines your dilemma and what you can do about it as an adult.
What I only hate here is that, the pedo coach as well as the female lawyer did not receive their punishment. Also, the sakura tree is not highlighted much on this season unlike on S1 where it blossoms after their Todai exam.
All in all, this is a good and refreshing student series and I wish that they make a new season after 2 years or so.
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Heartwarming Love Story of a Girl who Persevere
What I like about this series is the fact that the female lead, Sakura Nanase, is not cringey.She is sometimes clumsy and a little klutz, but she ought to improve herself especially her skills to become a great nurse.
She persevere on both work and her way to Tendo's heart, and she absolutely deserve it!
She is also not the damsel in distress type of female lead (unlike many dramas). That's why she also deserve the Warrior Chick label.
Takeru's acting of being cool all the time amazes me because when I watched his other series, he always have this big wide eyes that makes him friendly. I am glad that he always make sure that his eyes are always kind of squinting to avoid showing other emotions aside from stone cold.
Another thing that I like about this is that they are not scared to have repeated kissing and hugging (especially that this is a JDrama). It always makes my heart flutter when they kiss and Nanase-chan's child lile expression always get me.
Story wise, I like that it does not have too many conflicts like other love stories. Its always straight to the point and even the supporting characters are all great! No overaching drama at all!
If you are looking for a fluffy and sweet romantic series, this is definitely worth your time. ❤
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This review may contain spoilers
I saw that there are people think that the male lead is somehow a stalker type but not actually that very severe.I find the male lead do this because he has been an emotionless person before she met the female lead who is very very beautiful.
This review will be very short and here's what I can share to everyone.
Pros:
- No chaebol/CEO guy.
- Male lead is a monk (which makes it unique)
- Female lead is not a damsel in distress type of woman.
- Female lead is sooooo beautiful! ?
- Male lead chases the female lead.
- Funny, simple and heartwarming story.
Cons:
- Uber delayed kiss ?
- Other Supporting male lead did not develop throughout the series.
- Male lead is not that handsome (for me) so don't expect.
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This review may contain spoilers
Cringey with some good scenes
I have read the manga and like other series which was adapted, I do not expect much on this series given that it is a josei (a shojo genre for women who are 26+ yrs old). Aside from that, you cannot expect some intimate scenes to be done by the series since many Japanese actors and actresses are still conservative. I still like the way they interpret it and kind of mix some of the events on the series.As this is a low budget series (scenes are happening on certain areas only from time to time or could be because of Covid restrictions in Japan), they try to add some catchy effects on the edits to emphasize the mood of the characters like when Toshiomi and Yuri are always doing the intimates scenes in a bed surrounded by fake cherry blossom trees, conflict are shown in red light and other stuff. There's also a lot of smoothening filters on the series which I think is a little off (sorry for being technical here) on some scenes.
The actors also tried their best to act on this one but you can definitely feel that many times the timing is off or a very typical animated or stiff acting from the characters. I dunno... Semilio is intimidating on the manga but here, they seem to be a theater actors trying to kill each other.
Again, I did not put too much expectations on this series since the genre involves too much intimacy that Japanese actors will not be able to perform. I recommend that you read the manga to feel how crazy they are for each other especially on their sexy moments. Do not worry, the manga is not hentai, there's a lot of silhouette, shadow, blurred parts when they Toshiomi and Yuri do it.
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Cheesy and Straightforward Story
I never thought that I will love and enjoy this series.This is the first that I've watched a HK series and I love they are straightforward and do not have much conflict on the story line.
The first few episodes will definitely touch you because of Leik Ham's situation and how cold the other guy is.
Some of the plot is kind of cliché but hey, almost everyone loves a cliché story which is why we still watch a lot of Asian dramas.
The action is just so so as expected for this series. The progress of the characters and the story is also fine even its just 9 episodes.
The conflict with other supernatural beings are not the focus of the story which is why you can enjoy the cheesy moments.
I will definitely rewatch this.
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I am also happy when I found out that there's a season 2 of it which is somehow an alternate retelling of the first season.
Everything got better in Season 2, the acting of FL and ML, the cuteness and chemistry of the main and the supporting actors, as well as the production design and the villains on this series.
The episodes are also fewer which is good since the people who have watched the first season is very much familiar with the plot and the things that are about to happen.
I like this version very much which is why this has a high rewatch value.
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This series was able to tackle mental health, suicide, sexual harassment and bullying in a serious way.
It also tells how someone suffering from these issues can redeem and love themselves even if the world is against them.
Also, the male lead is so protective of the female lead but no stalking is involved (where it is very common on current dramas). He will run as fast as he can to protect her and you will definitely feel his love for her.
It's a must watch if you are looking for such genre on a drama.
There is no HD copy of this since this is way back 2004.
OST and background music are all great.
P.S Barbie Hsu and Vic Zhou were real-life couple during this series.
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