16
54
3
1
4
2
11
9
1
This review may contain spoilers
The idea is good and the drama is okay
This is my first YoruDora. Overall I think it's okay. There are a few episodes that I pretty enjoyed and I relate to the characters. I also enjoyed the cast's acting, especially Fukuchi Momoko as the female lead. I like her character, and I'm glad the screenwriter didn't add any romantic male lead to pair with her.
The drama didn't really have a specific plot. It's more like a daily recording without a clear start and ending. I think the idea is pretty nice. It's the journey of building a local temporary radio-station in Suzuno town, Noto Peninsula, Japan while rebuilding the town, which was heavily affected by an intense earthquake. It's painful to learn that the earthquake actually happened in real life in 2024. I really appreciate the effort of NNK channel in raising the awareness about the earthquake and encouraging the people to keep going and rebuild their hometown through this drama.
To be honest, I didn't like the female lead in early episodes, and I also didn't really enjoy the first half of the drama. Except for Sakura-san whom I liked from the beginning till the end, other main characters were also not very likable to me in the first half. Their smiles looked a bit fake. I felt like they were trying to hide something behind their masks. However, in the second half, I quite enjoyed watching their masks gradually being taken off. I loved to watch the characters showing their true flawed and vulnerable sides with their own ‘selfish’ feelings. It was heart-warming and relatable. It felt like they were real people, not fictional unrealistic heroes in some fairy tales. That's what I liked the most in this drama.
Somehow I relate to Kanade's story. There are times I also feel so lost in this modern world and feel like everything I do in life is so fake and meaningless. I just want to escape reality and move to a place where nobody knows who I am and hide there forever. Sometimes I feel like I'm not good enough and don't know what to do with my life. A few years ago I actually did find myself a safe place where I lived for a while when I felt so lost. I thought I would live there forever but the pandemic came and changed everything.
Another thing I liked from the drama is how they naturally added 2 weather-warning broadcasts throughout the drama. As someone who also lives in a place with extreme weather and high risk of storms and floods every year, I deeply relate to the panic the main characters experienced in the first broadcast. Somehow I even panicked along with them. I appreciate Kanade's efforts of practicing and I was glad to see her stay calmer and improve herself a lot in the second broadcast. These episodes made me appreciate the efforts of those people who take risks to report weather warnings during severe weather periods.
Some of my favorite lines from the drama:
“People need more than food and sleep to get them through life, right?” - episode 3
“Despite the fact that their hearts tremble with worries… all they ask for is to simply live.” - episode 4
“Mana's life is her own. And I think in order to respect that... We have to make up our minds ourselves & decide what we want to do in life.” - episode 7, said by my favorite character Sakura-san. From what I understand, she was saying only if parents are clear with what they want to do in life and follow their hearts that they can really respect and believe in their children's life choices. I really like this mindset.
Now, let's move to the things I disliked in this drama. There were a few things I can think of at the moment.
First and foremost, the most frustrating thing in the whole drama for me is the man called Matsumoto. He was insufferable to me. I disliked him from the moment he appeared till the end of the drama. There was not a single scene of him that I enjoyed. Unfortunately, he's a main character and he appeared in every episode. He’s probably one of the most annoying characters in slice of life dramas I’ve ever watched. He's also one of the types of person I hate the most. I think he’s so hypocritical. He's the one who started the idea of "Radio Star" and basically he forced Kanade and the others into it. He kept talking about all the great things but always let other people do the job for him. When there's some complaints about the show, it's Kanade who was taking all the blame and pressure for the whole team. Instead of comforting Kanade after she shared that she was in pain and tired of doing the show, the guy again raised his hypocritical voice and forced her to pretend like nothing happened. He then tried to convince Kanade to come back to the show when he realized the show was not fun anymore without her. Then again in the last 2 episodes, he gave himself the right to decide what was good for Kanade’s future and threw her out without her consent and permission. Without asking her what she really wanted in life, he decided what he thought was right for her. What a nice behavior. I hate this kind of behavior the most. He sounds like my mom sometimes, but my mom doesn't sound so hypocritical like him.
Another big thing I disliked in this drama is pretty related to the first thing. It's that Kanade did not continue with Radio Star till the end. Why do a lot of people think it's considered happier and more successful for young people if they keep living and trying to survive in a big city instead of doing something they really like in a small town? I don't like that mindset. I mean, it’s fine if they really want to start building their career again in the big city, for example, Rikuto. He wanted to chase his dream as a comedian again so it was the right thing for him to come back to the city. However, in Kanade's case, she enjoyed being the radio-personality in Suzuno and being a part of the Radio Star team. Why did that guy have to kick her out "for her own goods"? To make things worse, Mana-chan, who is Sakura-san's daughter, came as a guest on a live-broadcast at her new Radio team out of the blue, and asked Kanade about the reason she left Suzuno, as if it was Kanade's fault to leave in the first place. I was so done at that moment. It’s so unfair for Kanade to be treated like an outsider again when she was trying her best to be a part of Suzuno town. Seriously, why did they have to end the drama like that?
The drama didn't really have a specific plot. It's more like a daily recording without a clear start and ending. I think the idea is pretty nice. It's the journey of building a local temporary radio-station in Suzuno town, Noto Peninsula, Japan while rebuilding the town, which was heavily affected by an intense earthquake. It's painful to learn that the earthquake actually happened in real life in 2024. I really appreciate the effort of NNK channel in raising the awareness about the earthquake and encouraging the people to keep going and rebuild their hometown through this drama.
To be honest, I didn't like the female lead in early episodes, and I also didn't really enjoy the first half of the drama. Except for Sakura-san whom I liked from the beginning till the end, other main characters were also not very likable to me in the first half. Their smiles looked a bit fake. I felt like they were trying to hide something behind their masks. However, in the second half, I quite enjoyed watching their masks gradually being taken off. I loved to watch the characters showing their true flawed and vulnerable sides with their own ‘selfish’ feelings. It was heart-warming and relatable. It felt like they were real people, not fictional unrealistic heroes in some fairy tales. That's what I liked the most in this drama.
Somehow I relate to Kanade's story. There are times I also feel so lost in this modern world and feel like everything I do in life is so fake and meaningless. I just want to escape reality and move to a place where nobody knows who I am and hide there forever. Sometimes I feel like I'm not good enough and don't know what to do with my life. A few years ago I actually did find myself a safe place where I lived for a while when I felt so lost. I thought I would live there forever but the pandemic came and changed everything.
Another thing I liked from the drama is how they naturally added 2 weather-warning broadcasts throughout the drama. As someone who also lives in a place with extreme weather and high risk of storms and floods every year, I deeply relate to the panic the main characters experienced in the first broadcast. Somehow I even panicked along with them. I appreciate Kanade's efforts of practicing and I was glad to see her stay calmer and improve herself a lot in the second broadcast. These episodes made me appreciate the efforts of those people who take risks to report weather warnings during severe weather periods.
Some of my favorite lines from the drama:
“People need more than food and sleep to get them through life, right?” - episode 3
“Despite the fact that their hearts tremble with worries… all they ask for is to simply live.” - episode 4
“Mana's life is her own. And I think in order to respect that... We have to make up our minds ourselves & decide what we want to do in life.” - episode 7, said by my favorite character Sakura-san. From what I understand, she was saying only if parents are clear with what they want to do in life and follow their hearts that they can really respect and believe in their children's life choices. I really like this mindset.
Now, let's move to the things I disliked in this drama. There were a few things I can think of at the moment.
First and foremost, the most frustrating thing in the whole drama for me is the man called Matsumoto. He was insufferable to me. I disliked him from the moment he appeared till the end of the drama. There was not a single scene of him that I enjoyed. Unfortunately, he's a main character and he appeared in every episode. He’s probably one of the most annoying characters in slice of life dramas I’ve ever watched. He's also one of the types of person I hate the most. I think he’s so hypocritical. He's the one who started the idea of "Radio Star" and basically he forced Kanade and the others into it. He kept talking about all the great things but always let other people do the job for him. When there's some complaints about the show, it's Kanade who was taking all the blame and pressure for the whole team. Instead of comforting Kanade after she shared that she was in pain and tired of doing the show, the guy again raised his hypocritical voice and forced her to pretend like nothing happened. He then tried to convince Kanade to come back to the show when he realized the show was not fun anymore without her. Then again in the last 2 episodes, he gave himself the right to decide what was good for Kanade’s future and threw her out without her consent and permission. Without asking her what she really wanted in life, he decided what he thought was right for her. What a nice behavior. I hate this kind of behavior the most. He sounds like my mom sometimes, but my mom doesn't sound so hypocritical like him.
Another big thing I disliked in this drama is pretty related to the first thing. It's that Kanade did not continue with Radio Star till the end. Why do a lot of people think it's considered happier and more successful for young people if they keep living and trying to survive in a big city instead of doing something they really like in a small town? I don't like that mindset. I mean, it’s fine if they really want to start building their career again in the big city, for example, Rikuto. He wanted to chase his dream as a comedian again so it was the right thing for him to come back to the city. However, in Kanade's case, she enjoyed being the radio-personality in Suzuno and being a part of the Radio Star team. Why did that guy have to kick her out "for her own goods"? To make things worse, Mana-chan, who is Sakura-san's daughter, came as a guest on a live-broadcast at her new Radio team out of the blue, and asked Kanade about the reason she left Suzuno, as if it was Kanade's fault to leave in the first place. I was so done at that moment. It’s so unfair for Kanade to be treated like an outsider again when she was trying her best to be a part of Suzuno town. Seriously, why did they have to end the drama like that?
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