FreeWhirpool
Earth
The atmosphere, the characters, the acting EVERYTHING was incredible. Scenes that could have very easily crossed the line to melodrama surprisingly didn't and the directing was very well done. Not once did I feel like a scene was unnecessary or a waste of time.
The leads were literally perfect- they looked great together AND had amazing chemistry. From what I've noticed, older Japanese dramas are much better at romance than the newer ones, with more realistic characters and no flowery filters.
Overall- This is not a rom-com, but much more of a romance drama. Hockey is a huge part of the show, but it isn't necessary for you to know anything about hockey (case in point, me) to really enjoy the show. Annoying side characters (or should I say, character) are present though, but everyone else is wonderful, so don't let it deter you.
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The two main characters were pretty likeable and had good chemistry, so the romance didn't flop. The plot was a bit of nothing, more go-with-the-flow than stick-to-the-script, but then again, it was still pretty entertaining.
Overall, I think it's great way to waste your time, because it really doesn't take much to finish an episode. Really, each is just like, 20 minutes anyway. There are definitely worse, less entertaining, things to watch.
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No thoughts, just vibes
The moment I saw my girl Esom on the cast list, I knew I was in for some freaky shit I didn't know I wanted or needed, but suddenly its 2 AM and I'm clutching my pillow close to my face, giggling like a farting babyLook, whoever is taking this movie so (sooooo) seriously needs to chill out. Writing wise, it's half-baked at best. Plot lines unresolved, random incest that has zero explanation, purpose or need, murky motivations and a narrative style that I personally enjoyed, but ultimately understand did nothing for the plot. And yet, I thoroughly, massively, obsessively enjoyed it. You know why?
It has got some KILLER vibes, you guys. Like, hahaha, I guess that's a pun, but no seriously. The dialogue delivery is A1, the direction and cinematography was incredible, and my KRYPTONITE trope: yearning. Pining. Longing. All that good stuff, all rolled into one dynamic that had me salivating.
Kill/Gil Bok Soon as a character was perfect too, and I guess her daughter was okay, too. I like the way the mother-daughter tension was handled, and while I got frustrated at the way Bok Soon sometimes handled her child, I also understood that it comes from a place of trauma, where you want to understand and support your child but you have no clue how. I really enjoyed how Bok Soon battled personal demons not when spilling blood, but at the thought of exposing her daughter to the brutality that plagues her daily life. I found that a really striking reflection of how generational trauma manifests in a parent-child relationship, where you have so much to hide from your child because you want to protect them but ultimately make decisions that end up pushing them away. I'm glad that the movie spent time on that because I could not give less of a crap about her "event planning"- I knew what I signed up for.
Of course, be warned that the movie will unecessarily raise questions that they do not even, for a fly's blink of a nanosecond, begin to address. The first two times you will be confused but will reassure yourself that over 60% of the movie is left. Over time, when you throw hands at the tenth question the movie will tease you into wondering (that you never even thought in the first place! But now it's in your head and it's a plot hole!) you will realise the movie is over and you're done :/
Gratifying, it is not.
Overall: Watch it for the vibes, which is what I did, and you will love this movie to bits!
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To anyone else not watching this for whatever reason, what is taking you so long??? Admittedly, this drama isn't perfect. Ishihara Satomi's character is really, really fickle and it can get on your nerves how many times she passes up a great opportunity and chooses to be pushed around by Oguri Shun's character. Oguri Shun's Hyuga Toru is often an asshole (needlessly) and can come off as insensitive and pushy. But, from the beginning, you love the characters for these very reasons.
I dont really remember the music, so eh. Nothing remarkable.
I love Ishihara Satomi and Oguri Shun as actors, they are amazing and I will watch anything of theirs anyway.
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Story? Who gives a crap about how good the story was? You read the description. It's exactly as angsty (maybe even more) and cliche as the description suggests. There is some unnecessary comparison between a fallen angel and the male lead, which I found strange because fallen angels do bad things not because they particularly want to, but because they are designed that way and can't fight against nature. The male lead is just an ass.
And the female lead is as wishy-washy and damsel-in-distress like as you'd expect from the drama equivalent of a trashy romance novel. So naive that you wonder "how the heck did she not get kidnapped already?". She's one of those preachy women you've probably encountered atleast once in your life, who preaches about good deeds and right thoughts every time you talk to her. One day, you see her in the park bench singing to birds and throwing breadcrumbs at ducks, still telling any unfortunate old person sitting next to her about all the goodness in the world, because she has no other friends to preach to.
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When I try recollecting everything I remember about the movie, all I can remember is the scene where she breaks up him. In retrospect, that's probably the only scene where we, the audience, really see REAL emotions from either of the actors (or from the actresses' part, the decided lack of emotions). It was a pretty heartwrenching scene, and probably the only place I felt the actors did a decent job.
The rest of the movie sort of...blurs. I really can't seem to remember any tangible moment in the movie, even though I probably watched during my J-movie marathon a month ago. A MONTH ago. I can remember entire 20 episode dramas from 2 years that really made an impact on me, which suffice to say, this movie didnt.
Overall, it's eh. Harmless, but unless you have absolutely NOTHING to do, I would move on to greener pastures.
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Story: To be very honest, it's nothing special. You've probably seen similar stories in many, many East Asian dramas and movies. The execution, too, was typical for your average Asian nostalgia movie. But you already knew that, and that's the beauty of these stories. They are timeless classics, and combined with the sharp writing of this one, it makes a great movie. I could make a movie 20 years from now with the same damn story, but it would still be extremely relatable.
Acting/Cast: Wonderful. All of the characters shined in their own way, bringing their characters to life. I can't find one character, even the side ones, that did a half-hearted job. I'm not a huge fan of Kang So Ra, but I think she really did her character, Ha Chun Hwa, justice here. The adult characters were an absolute delight; I LOVED the camaraderie they had even after 25 years of separation, like they had just parted ways yesterday. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.
Music: The music is from the 80s, which I personally think was a great time for music everywhere in the world. The music selection of the movie was masterfully done, showcasing truly some of the best songs from the era. Song placements were incredible, too- like when the two gangs were fighting with each other in the midst of the protestors and the police, the music in the background was HILARIOUS! The titular song, Sunny, was as emotional as it was heartbreaking, elevating the emotion in the movie. I can listen to it over and over again.
Rewatch value: This was a purely personal take. Since I relate so much to the movie, it is always going to be a comfort watch for me. I WILL cry everytime something sad happens (especially during the last few scenes) and I WILL laugh everytime something funny happens (like, say, whenever the grandmother comes on screen). Hence, the high rating.
Overall: Even if you have only one friend, I would watch this movie. The takeaway is something you can always resonate with: life is too short, keep friends close and follow your dreams.
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As far as stories go, it's likely one of the most cliche ones in dramaland- rich, spoilt boy is forced to work as an assistant of an assistant in his dad's company to learn the ropes of management. No surprise there.
What really hits you is Chiu Roy's acting, which can only be described as absolutely delightful. Through him, you're able to see a SUBSTANTIAL difference in his character from the first episode to the last. The dynamic between Chiu Roy's character and the manager character show is another brilliant additional, which isn't surprising considering how hilarious the manager's antics are!
Alice Ke as the female lead is decent, though not particularly memorable. Nonetheless, her close friendship with Yao Yao's Yu Le is very sweet and makes you wish you had such an understanding, caring and loyal best friend (that is, if you don't already have one.)
What disappointed me the most was Li Tia's Zheng Kai Er. I recently watched her in Jojo's World, and I found her more than decent there. Over here, on the other hand, her acting was incredibly dull; her lack of reactions, coupled with no facial expressions, made what could have been a good, evil female lead a sort of pity party of one. Whelp, on a positive note, it makes you appreciate just how far Li Tia has grown as an actress.
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Li Jun and Wen Zhang [main couple] are hilarious together! They have an easy chemistry that is fun and romantic, and they really seemed to care for each other. Elvis Han and Hu Bing Qing did such a good job in portraying these old bickering grandparents moonlighting as hot young things to keep an eye on their grandchild- its adorable! Their dynamic and growth (from an old couple that despise each other to finally learning how important the other person is to them) is very nice, and reminds me of one of my favorite webtoons, Live or Not (which you should check out if you're a fan of stories like these!).
Where I think the drama could've been much better is probably the story progression, in that I wish it were tighter. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed watching all the plot fillers and side stories involving ol' (young?) grandpa and grandma here as they grudgingly stumble into love once more, but purely in terms of keeping the drama on track and not meandering every so often just for fan service, I admit, it stumbled. To someone not as invested in the main couple, it can see it being hella annoying.
Tl;dr- if you feel the main couple, you will feel the drama. They really make the drama what it is!
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Have zero complaints about this drama, except maybe a few minor gripes here and there (that ultimately don't affect anything much imo, but for the purpose of this review, here I go): while this drama definitely does not leave you behind if you don't know the timeline of the Gwangju Massacre, knowing exactly what happened and the sequence of events puts things into more perspective. The sudden barrage of bullets to relative silence and retreat from the militia is very sudden in the drama, but actually happens more gradually in real life, and I wish the drama showed that better. Ultimately, though, the drama is centered on the people of Gwangju during the May 18 protests, so it does what it promises beautifully- an insight into the people affected by one of the most horrific authoritarian crackdowns in human history.
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Konin Todoke ni Han wo Oshita dake desu ga
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How did it keep getting WORSE...
This had everything I love in a drama! Enemies to lovers (ish), marriage of convenience, angst, pining, cute leads, cute second leads and forced proximity! How! It takes a real tragedy of writing to combine all of that and create something that I end up disliking so much.It's not so much that it was bad (I have definitely seen worse...if that's a metric you want to measure it against), but it started off quite promisingly, so when it just ended up getting worse and worse each episode (when usually its the exact opposite), the disappointment hits you really hard. Akiha and Shu were, INDIVIDUALLY, quite interesting characters, but together? Trainwreck. Shu especially. Up until almost the very, absolute last, he was so clueless about his own feelings and repeatedly hurt the FMC over and over again for no reason- unknowingly! After everything Akiha went through, it shocks me that she would even want to give this relationship a serious go, especially with a man like Shu who is so willfully oblivious of everyone around him. They don't make sense at all, which makes it very hard to watch what is essentially a romance drama.
The reason I didn't like the second male lead as a romantic interest was because I never took him seriously. Not once. It wasn't because his character wasn't written as a serious one, but because there is literally NO reason why he likes Akiha. None. She is a stranger who treats him like everyone does, who hangs out with him sometimes and complains about her marriage life. There is nothing. No chemistry, no tension, no interest. The jump from vague interest to love was so jarring.
Speaking of jarring love, Akiha's sudden "I'm in Love (L capital) with Shu" realisation came way too early. All he did was apologize for annoying her with his alarm clocks in the morning and admit to not being a morning person! Is that all it takes? There is, once again, zero actual romance in what is LITERALLY A ROM-COM. FMCs falling in love easily is whatever, I've been in the J-drama watching business for 7-8 years now, I've been the rat, I've eaten the cheese, I know what's up. But THIS is whole 'nother level of "you can't be serious" insta-love. A commitment-phobe falling in love because her fake husband wants her to wake him up? HA. Okay, Ashton Kutcher, now jump out and scream "You've just been PUNKED!" and we can all go home.
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I'm no fan of the first season- far from it. Something about the main couple irritated me to the point of madness. When I heard that there was going to be a second season, my first thought was 'oh hell to the nah'. Nevertheless, I decided to try it anyway after I read a couple of reviews saying that it's much better than the first. They were right.
For starters, I'm very glad the producers decided to cut down on the (frankly unnecessary) amount of episodes- from 17 to 10. This ensured that each episode had enough content to keep the viewers interested and invested (unlike the first season where I can't even remember 70% of the show). The love triangle in the first season was absolute trash; I don't think ANYONE was sold on it. This one, though, was wonderfully heartbreaking- GOD I wanted her to end up with the second male lead more than Uehara. He was literally incredible. I still think he got the short end of the stick by the end of the drama, being that amazing, but I highly doubt the writers could have ended the season with Nao dating him. Suffice to say, the love triangle in this was NOT half-assed, unlike the first season (side note: the first season SML makes a frequent appearance here, not as a love rival but just as a side character with his own love line. It's decent.)
Nao is slightly less annoying than the first season, but maybe that's because it's been ages since I've watched it. Her voice is still as shrill and baby-like, though, which got on my nerves quite often. Uehara seems the same from season one, maybe just a little less 'I dont give a damn'. The both of them together was annoying as heck, but hey, they're the main lead. You can't avoid them. (also, Uehara gets his own little triangle with this really pretty and really smart scientist. He should have ended up with her.)
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I DID question the existence of some characters, but they were all so lovable that I can't bring myself to say that they were unnecessary. The best part is that there is no 'bad' character- people who you think are going to be complete jerks turn out to be pretty awesome. The main characters have only one enemy: themselves. This is one of the very few dramas where I liked EVERYONE. Like, literally EVERYONE.
Our main female lead, Wakaba, is an ambitious, smart and hard working young woman. She went through a harsh childhood with nearly nothing and practically made her own ladder to climb up the ranks. Hence, she consciously looks down on people she deems 'ambition-less', which includes our male lead, Sota. Sota, in fact, DOES have ambitions of his own, which he unfortunately had to give up to take care of his incredibly adorable son.
Thus, the whole story revolves around each of them finding what really matters: being honest to oneself and following their dreams or going with what they think is the 'right' way.
One of my motivations to watch the show was Aragaki Yui, who was great as usual, but what surprised me was Nishikido Ryo, of whom this is my first drama. He blew me away with how adorable he was (I paused like, 10 times just to stare at his smile), not to mention how well he acted as a naive, caring father. DEFINITELY watching his other stuff.
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But it's the characters that made and wrapped the drama in shiny gold packaging for me. I know there are many people saying that the actress playing Ro Woon is extremely irritating, but somehow, I never thought that. Every action of hers fit her personality (nosy, loud, argumentative etc.) perfectly, so I could hardly fault either the actress or the character.
Which brings me to the acting. I thought most of the acting by the main and supporting cast were pretty solid. They did full justice to their characters (though I wish some of them got more screen time, but oh well). The leads were great and their chemistry was PERFECT. It's been a long time since I've seen the main couple so well casted, but they really did make an excellent pair. Their opposing personalities were surprisingly well matched and Eun Hwan Gi as a character was absolutely adorable. He was the main highlight of the show, to be honest. The couple and Hwan Gi were MAJOR points in favour of the drama, almost fully overshadowing the negatives.
The negatives were minor for me, since I could so easily look past them, but a main one would definitely be how much the beginning was stretched. There were a few unnecessary scenes which, I felt, could have been edited out for clarity. Hence, I agree that the first 5 episodes were pretty boring, which was why some people (including ones I know) dropped the drama early on.
But I highly recommend you push on, like I did. It gets MUCH better, the pace stabilises and the whole drama gets more interesting.
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I will admit, her incredible performance overshadowed the rest and really exposed how...bland...some actors were, Hamabe Minami in particular. That's not to say Minami was bad- in fact, both her and Yokohama Ryusei were actually quite good on their own, maybe Ryusei more than her, but definitely nothing really obvious. A large part of this show is about their romance, which is admittedly very good, if a little frustrating. By the end, the push and pull started getting really old and I really wanted them to just sit down and have a nice conversation instead of assume random things, cry, and then separate (order might vary).
They have great chemistry, which I honestly attribute more to Ryusei than Minami in typical J-drama fashion where the male lead is usually a lot more enthusiastic than the female lead in kissing and the like. It gets really old, really fast when Japanese heroines find it perfectly okay to just stand still like the national anthem is playing in the background while the male lead goes to town on their mouths. If I could tell these directors one damn thing before I die, it would be to ensure both the characters act like WILLING participants and show equal passion. Alas.
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