Popcxqueen

I love this!! I almost never get SLS, for ALL of the reasons you stated!! And I generally can't stand the SMLs, also for the reasons stated.
One major exception, however:
My First First Love 1&2- I couldn't believe who the FL ended up with - it made no sense and just made me super irritated.

I often wait to see who the FL has the most palpable chemistry with and that helps me decide who the ML will probably end up being. That has helped keep me away from SLS.

Actually, Japanese dramas have had multiple seasons for years now, as well as some mainland Chinese dramas and Thai BL's have as well. It's simply not true that no Asian dramas have had multiple seasons in the past.

So I know there wasn't really much of a plot, and the FL's constant cheeriness kind of grated on me by the end, but this was really an homage to Kiriyama Renn. He's a phenomenal actor, he absorbs himself into every character he plays, and has had a long career full of different kinds of roles. So while this drama was far from my favorite, (for many of the same reasons as I've read below), it's just a pleasure to be able to watch Renn, episode after episode. He's not only stunningly beautiful, - still - he makes each role he plays interesting and fun to watch, even those that are within dramas that are less than perfect, like this one.

Mid-30's is hardly an old man, and she's not a teenager, she's in her 20's.

Check out the custom lists on my profile and feel free to ask any questions if you have them

I thought Yeon Woo Jin did a wonderful job in this drama, based on true events. I don't agree with the comment below that he only had one expression on his face - on the contrary, his face displayed many varied expressions throughout: anger, sadness, pain, horror, fear, longing, regret, love, resignation. He had great chemistry with Park Min Young, who talked about how she had to cry at least once during each episode, which sounds exhausting.
I don't always love sageuks, to be honest, as I can't stand palace intrigue and how it messes with peoples' lives so much - but this is based on a true story, these characters were pitiful, but the drama had interesting things to say, regardless.

If you read the real history of the deposed king, you'll see that he was WAY worse than this drama portrays him to be, and they also didn't mention what happened to his family after he was deposed. If you watch The Treacherous you'll get a better picture of how bad King Yeonsan was (and that film is hard to watch in places, fair warning.) From Wikipedia: "He is often considered the worst tyrant of the Joseon Dynasty and perhaps all of Korean history." Yikes.

You're right, actually. I don't like hearing that either, so not sure why I wrote it that way. Apologies.
That said, it's obvious that you don't like this drama, or this genre of storytelling, which is fair. We all have our limits and parameters of what we consider to be acceptable and appropriate.

I guarantee that if/when you start watching J-dramas on a regular basis, this list will get added to quite rapidly (LOL)

It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, so I guess it just needs to be experienced. (And honestly it makes me super glad that I'm not 17 anymore!)

You need to add a few more Japanese men to this excellent list! :-) (Let me know if you need suggestions!) LOL

Yes!!

From the second half on, I just cried - not because it was overly sad, per se, but because it felt SO REAL. For those of us who have survived the pandemic (so far!) while still trying to work and keep our children (and ourselves) safe, this was a kick in the feels. It was done so well, and so authentically, and it took a long time for me to finish it. But I'm so glad I finally mustered up the courage to just sit with the feelings and the memories of those first few awful months (and what it feels like to STILL be in it now.)
This was the perfect addition to an already-amazing drama - one that skillfully navigated so many societal issues and challenges, with humor and love. Just wonderful.

I feel every word of this comment!! It was absolutely my experience as well.

I've disagreed with your harsh ratings on here before, especially for J-dramas.
Also, (and this is petty, I will admit), but your responses could benefit from succinctness, as some things are said two or three different times, when just once would suffice.
For what it's worth, I've said the very same thing about searching out the manga and/or anime source material after watching the live action piece - I wrote that very thing on a review just yesterday, actually. So I agree with that. And I also rated Horimiya as a standalone piece - no difference there. However, I disagree vehemently with your assertion that your reviews are "unbiased and unfiltered." There is no such thing - everyone has biases and everything is filtered through those biases, opinions, thoughts. previous experiences, and worldview.

This guy should be getting main roles all over the place - he's an amazing actor who disappears into each role he plays.

Like other folks have said, ignore the negative comments, do yourself a favor and watch this. It's worth it.

I don't agree with this review at all, and especially not what you said about the two main characters. To each their own, of course, but this drama deserves a much higher rating than 5.5 and especially for those of us who didn't read the manga or watch the anime, the casting was excellent.

AGREED!! I loved it.

Having never seen the anime, or read the manga, I loved this. And I disagree 100% (and more if I could) with the commenters below who said that Suzuki Jin's acting was disappointing in this. On the contrary, that young man is a freaking star in the making, and this drama helps to confirm that. His eyes, his facial expressions, the way he tightens up his chest and shoulders, the realizations that pass from inner monologues to outward expressions - all of it was authentic, with not a false note in sight. (Btw, for anyone who might need to hear this - anxiety can cause involuntary eye and facial twitches and for as much as Ue seemed to be on the verge of panic throughout the entire drama, it makes perfect sense that he would be a little twitchy at times.)

I'll add some more thoughts in my review.

I really like Xing Zhao Lin, so it was nice to see him here. :-)