Super Boring.

With such a grand cast and interesting plot line, you would want to see something awesome, but there were so many blah and boring scenes that made the whole drama boring. Even though it is from the producer of “shinhannin flag” “Anata no Ban desu”, this drama fell flat from the start. Even though these two dramas had mixed reviews because of the disappointing endings, they still had many thrilling interesting moments. This one you can say didn’t have any.

There wasn’t enough time to get invested in any character..
Liar game is a master piece because we had time to love or hate the characters and the games had tricks and logic behind. This was purely based on “luck” which made it simply boring. The reveal of mister x was also boring. Why this game existed was also pretty boring.

The ending which explained so many things, will only make you feel “huh?”, “okay, so what?” Moments.
There was one thing that is bothering me a lot was what the ending meant. It’s annoying because not much information was given about the ML and why he participated. He showed he did participate for a bigger reason but not much information was given to explain it. I thought he participated because he was made to take over debt of his senior, but in the last episode he said on the lines that the senior was a good guy and he used that good person for his purpose.






Spoiler
The luck all changed at the end because Ninomiya decided to end his life to be with Youko/ Haruka, and wished ML success. So the simple prayer of person won over the data.
Still, super boring.

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Entertaining but…

Over all it is entertaining. I am giving lots of stars for the entertaining bit. So if you want something fast paced and can over look the issues in the story line then you will enjoy it a lot. There are definitely loop holes and moments that will make you laugh.

This was really entertaining from the beginning to 9th episode. Although it got slightly (only slightly) boring by the second half, but it was interesting enough for me to keep binging. Predictable? Definitely.

Everyone acted well except, I’m sorry but Sakurai Sho is not a great actor in my personal opinion. His “uso darou” made me say the same about his acting skills. Sonim was annoying in the last episode, with her acting.

The plot holes include how all the Oni got arrested even after shooting blindly (they had training for a while though). It was easy to spot those who were the spies or on the other team. From the middle, due to the conversation, it was also easy to figure out why Ao Oni was so obsessed with Musashi.

The last episode was the most disappointing. With all the entertainment to flat boring end. They should have revealed the Oni slowly and I wouldn’t have minded in every episode, but immediate reveal after slowly revealing every episode made it boring.

You might have found it boring that Oni were not that terrible and had no intention to kill or hurt anyone physically. I’m fine with it. Their training was mainly to reveal the wrong doings and that was a good fun part, the reveal. But that reveal also got slowly boring because they started focusing too much on the only one event.

The drift between Oni team was predictable but it was what dragged the story and made it annoying. The hunt for Emily was also extra unwanted uninvited stress compared to the reveal.

Oni team didn’t want to kill or hurt the extra people because they themselves had lost too much and too many people. So police shooting and hurting Oni made it look like police were the wrong ones. I think this soft side of the Oni made people lose interest in the show easily. The adrenaline rush of seriousness of the situation they created by bloodshed in episode 1 was lost. But then again these Oni were normal people who just lost loved ones due to people working at that Hospital or because of that Hospital.



Spoiler about the very end
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I was disappointed at my own self when I realised “she” was not part of the gang though I was so sure she was but surprise surprise! She had her hand in it in a way. We won’t know how but maybe they left it open for possibility of at least a movie, if not season 2. Not having another season is completely okay. The entertainment that we got from watching this is enough for one season. Season 2 would be boring if they don’t do something amazing to get the viewers hooked. Not many will pick the season 2, unless they are die hard Sakurai Sho Fans.

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Could be a win for you or a complete loss

Business drama with potential but this could either be a big hit for you or a complete loss.

For me it was loss.
1. They were trying so hard to make the FL look really beautiful and talented but failed. If one day suddenly such a Nakatani Miki walked in my office I would feel scared and creeped out the way she was all wide eyes and fake big smile ready to tackle challenges.
2. People just had amazing luck in the drama which made all the problems go away fast. I understand people get all tired and lose their spark if they are working in an environment where they do not feel stimulated but that’s how the whole company was and Haru was the fresh of breath air. She managed to piss the hell out of me with her enthusiasm and over the top solutions which just somehow luckily worked.
3. Solutions are nothing but full of justice and hoping suddenly people will remember their sense of justice and do the right thing that Haru thinks is right.
4. For a kid that young to be calling his mum by her name and being so well mannered, not needing his mum although he grew up in a completely different country and not knowing his dad. I felt really bad for the kid and kinda annoyed at the setting
5. You might feel satisfied after watching each episode the way things end, but there aren’t many scenes that develop interestingly like they did with Hanzawa Naoki.

There’s nothing new, the story doesn’t excite or inspire you like many Japanese business dramas do. I couldn’t help but internally shout “how dumb@ “you think company actually works like that” “do they think work is a joke?” In many scenes. The only good thing for me was the presence and face of ML.

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Well…messy

Starts off with, okay and interesting but quickly turns into Typical 泥沼 doronuma. Messy messy messy. Throughout the drama I wanted to see who I will feel bad for because it’s a competition between who is the most pitiable person who has done the most stupidest thing on the show.

Then scenes and dialogues were exaggerated to match the spice, things could have looked more serious and creepy but show runners had to ruin it by adding comical music to make the whole situation look funny. I couldn’t find the male lead good looking the way they presented.

The way things ended, I wonder why they made us watch all the nonsensical drama. If you want to watch something messy in terms of romance, and don’t mind the stupid twists and turns with loose ends you can surely check it out for laughs. If you don’t you’re not missing anything good. Just bunch of grown ups crossing lines and over reacting at every situation.

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Twists twists twists

Since the first episode, the plot becomes interesting because it’s not your regular story buildup. Somewhat refreshing. And since it’s somewhat new, it keeps you hooked on. Then every episode has a new reveal and twist.

If you are a mystery buff, there might come a chance you will say o, I think I know where this is going, or even get the culprit right, but there are many, “wait, I didn’t see that coming.”

What’s best is it is 5 episodes, there are no filler and extra story line. It sticks to the point and wraps up the story well, without extending the story line.

I love fujiki Naohito and kichise michiko but I don’t know why I didn’t feel much chemistry between them. Both played their part well and their acting made sense.

A must watch if you’re looking for mystery and story that has a lot of twists to enjoy, with a happy ending.

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Motivating Business Drama

A comedy and business drama which will leave everyone wanting more because of positive and motivating setting. Each episode has a positive closure which leaves you stress free while you watch it. It highlights gender bias ness issue in Japan. Even though the manga that this show is based on is old, they have done good job bringing the current issues faced in Japanese workplace into the story.

The story is based around a clumsy girl from not so good university who finally found a job after applying in so many companies, who has positive approach to everything when it comes to work. Even at the setting where things are going against her, instead of taking it to heart and getting demotivated, she becomes energetic and just goes about work hard. Kinda reminded me of myself when I started internship, but the difference is, I got tired midway and couldn’t bring that motivation while the fictional main lead doesn’t get tired of any negative energy around her. She goes around changing everyone’s view about her. So that was fun to watch, the ideal situation where people keep going and win heart of people with their good hardworking nature.

Since this is a fictional, of course the characters introduced in the drama are not completely evil or bad, all seem to be good at the end of the day. Unrealistic but refreshing.

Romance is there but in form love at first sight, finding that person and working hard to be able to reach that person’s level. And then all the hot men falling for the clumsy hardworking positive girl because of her bubbly personality.

Imada mio looked so much like Takahata mistuki,(and a bit like sugisaki hana) that I didn’t recognise her at first. Her acting resembled that of how Takahata Mitsuki, Sugisaki Hana and Mizuki Arisa are when they are playing bubbly positive main lead. I think that was what bothered me the most, (even though I looked away from the east going, all good people set up of the office) because I wish she didn’t copy Takahata Mitsuki’s acting style so much.

The problems mentioned and solutions in the drama are again quite simple and stress free that’s why it is refreshing to watch if you want something motivating to watch. Will I watch again? Yes, to see the fun comic side of this story and Eguchi Noriko & Imada Mio’s pair being all fun and comical, which really made the drama special and fun to watch.

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Better than the previous one

Okay don’t eat me up but I’m from Yama-pi era where everyone was knocked off by his good looks and monotonous acting. The reason I’m giving so many stars are due to the following reasons. (I’m comparing it with the previous one).

Hirano Sho has done a better job at portraying Kurosaki. From the surface you might feel he is less “serious and dark” compared to monotonous Yama-pi, but he has shown the deep emotions every where required. For a high schooler to go through so much pain and trauma, he is trying to move on and get revenge and get people in their right place. Act out fine in front of the world but he has the emotions bottled up somewhere.

The story was written well this time and flowed perfectly and honestly the casting was done way better than the previous one. Miura Tomokazu just did the best job. All the characters were more likeable this time. In 2006 only Horikita Maki was doing a good job trying to be the character and likeable at the same time. And the ending was definitely better than that from 2006. It has a proper closure in a way, that wasn’t there in 2006.

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Worth Watching and praise worthy

I’m surprised at the level of negative critics this drama is getting from viewers in general. Maybe the ones criticising it belong to a different genre watchers?

It explores the corruption on high places and how things work around. Can this be true? Maybe. But the emotions and reactions of people involved are real. It explores the human emotions when hit with corruption or is made part of it. What made this show worthy was definitely the fact that it wasn’t all dark. If one institute is corrupted, the other (newspaper and the management running) wasn’t corrupted by these. It’s just like Hanzawa Naoki effect, only less dramatic and more relatable + realistic. Enough to keep things going.

Episode 1 is just a buildup so naturally those who have only watched one episode will find it plain and boring. But if you genuinely pick this up out of hope that corruption can be fought off, you will find yourself getting invested in this drama more and more.

Also, don’t be over critical while watching this. This isn’t a documentary nor a fiction full of roller coaster ride. It is more directed towards the mature audience.

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Funny Just Like Season 1

So if you’ve watched season 1 you know this show is about Chikumagawa preventing any attacks on Ichika’s life, the season two is the same. Plot is somewhat similar but with new twists and to be honest it does get slightly predictable and easy to figure out who could be the boss and who is working for the boss.

However, this is a master piece only because of the comical acting by Takitou Kenichi and Mizuno Miki. Seriously the whole show was fun to watch because of Chikumagawa and his eccentric behaviour. Hirose Alice did her typical acting but this role suits her well, and she was natural in it. And after watching the romance in this season I’d say romance is a definite yes for this series although most Japanese series with this label doesn’t have romance or any progress in romance.

Definitely a good show to watch to enjoy. Even with similar plot line, the techniques and tricks were unique and fun to watch. Season 1 has more kick because it was completely new and fresh concept but season 2 is a lot of fun as well with perfect comical timing.

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Perfect short drama!

I need more! This is how I feel after watching this series. So yes it’s about revenge. Starts with main lead taking revenge but it has stories about real troubles of people.

Dark twists and plot which gets light because of the characters, their bizarre personalities and their nature of work. What’s good about this drama is the problems shown are real. The solutions are best possible ones. What makes it more real is it shows the flaws of personalities and solutions perfectly. It is a revenge drama for feel good but at the same time totally believable because it has the real depth.

I think this could have been longer. Even 10 episodes could have done great. Hopefully there will be more seasons.

It is definitely a highly recommended drama. Don’t watch it skeptically hoping it will be super light comedy, or expect it to be super heavy since it is mixture of mixture of both in the right amount without making it annoying.

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Perfect and inspirational

This drama is a good reminder as to by Oizumi Yo is such a sought out actor. I am surprised at myself for not watching this amazing drama sooner.

The story is based on rugby and how a person who hates rugby ends up bonding with the team and ends up loving it. There is a business side as well which wraps up nicely without giving us too much headache or stress. The play shown is amazing. All the cast members and characters are loveable.

The music, what a perfect song choice out of all the Yonezu Kenshi songs. It will leave you teary the way it plays in some of the most powerful scenes.

If you had 0 interest in rugby it will make you love it. At the end of the day it’s so satisfying to watch a great team spirit and this drama will leave you inspired after finishing it.

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Disappointing

Yonekura Ryoko playing the cool successful lawyer sent out to solve the problems in schools due to unreasonable monster parents, this had so much potential but it failed.

The story started off interesting and the crazy monster parents introduced were interesting. Showed the true unreasonable parents. Then the story could have shown the solutions to match this. But it just showed how the grewt got shot lawyer was helpless, didn’t use any law but only listened to the parents and ran around like a teacher finding kids.

Law part is literally 10%. Just showed how a hot shot lawyer got involved in the new duty and because of sense of justice, she drops her everything and joins the team, even though the character was whining annoyingly throughout the drama.

The last few parts was messy emotionally and also story wise. It solved the issue so randomly and easily by just a speech, which was unrealistic although the drama steered clear of legal side to keep it realistic.

In my honest opinion, I was more annoyed with the way all the cases were concluded. It was a drama so could have given some realistic solution that would make the viewers feel refreshed but nope it failed terribly.

If you haven’t watched it, you’re not missing out. Rewatching 35 sai no Koukousei if you are picking this up for yonekura Ryoko would be a better way to spend time.

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Inspirational business + sports drama

Japanese drama industry has done great job with business genre. They know what the viewers want. They want to watch dark horse, they want to see someone good winning after a lot of struggle and that’s what Roosevelt Game is also about.

Don’t compare it with Hanzawa Naoki and Rikuou. Hanzawa Naoki really burns the fire in you when you watch it because of the energy. Rikuou just inspire you and leave you teary after every episode. Roosevelt game might seem slightly less emotional but definitely has the right emotions. It’s short. That’s why maybe it was not able to do justice to the whole story. The cast is definitely glamorous and powerful that’s would have wanted to to see more of their screen time.

It has the baseball mixed in that’s why maybe they didn’t have enough time to show the business problems and deals in detail like Hanzawa Naoki. And unlike Rikuou, the business doesn’t revolve around the sport. It’s just how a offices in Japan are like, where there are teams in companies and leagues. This drama tried to depict how these two are separate part in a company are linked together and difficulties the players face as well as how the management side at times have no option but to not priorities the teams and players over business.

I loved the baseball part more than business part because the emotions were more high in baseball side but thanks to the grand cast playing the board of directors of the company managed to bring out the best in the short business time.

Again, don’t compare this with other business dramas, then you will be able to find its greatness.

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Boring

After Tokyo MER and Nippon Chibotsu, you’d expect something mind blowing, make you cry or at least be super gripping story for Sunday drama but this one failed to keep it interesting.

With strong cast you’d expect it to be awesome but the script was weak. There were loopholes and even though there was so much potential in the plot, the script failed to deliver it. One reason was it was super rushed. Had 0 sense of reality and even though it was Deep Crime Unit but mostly it was about what’s happening on the ground. They wanted to add so much to the story that it became overbearing and confusing. I had to restart the first episode and also stop in first 10 minutes to recheck if I was watching was actually season 1 episode 1 because without any proper explanation or introduction to characters, it started. All the story lines and episodes were boring and not memorable. It feels as if they were forced to write a story which no one cared about just so they can shoot it and show on Sunday.

Because of the rushed story, story was all over the place, so many character and too much happening in the drama it was hard to feel attached to any character. Yokohama ryuusei’s character started out as energetic and loveable and turned into that of an angry brat.

If you’ve not watched it, you’re definitely not missing out on anything. You could play it in the background and go do your chores while listening to it and you wouldn’t even care if you missed some scenes.

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Heartwarming story

When I came across this, I didn’t realise it would be such a heart warming down to earth story!
The characters are well developed, full of flaws that you will find in a regular person around you, and how they struggle to fix their lives with the help of their one neighbour who might stick in his neck in other people’s problems try to help them, even though he really can’t do much. That makes this drama perfect. The solutions they come across are not over the edge perfect solutions but what’s best in the capability of that person. Every situation reached the perfect ending anyone could hope for without feeling bad for anyone.

It shows the real and genuine human emotions. But each episode is very motivating and inspiring on its own way.
It is a much watch for sure. You would expect the make lead to be cool and hot because it’s Matsumoto Jun, but he is a regular dad with flaws but heart of gold. This makes the whole story believable.

If you want something good to watch then this is a definitely recommended drama!

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