Heart Warming Drama with the Theme of Nature

The story that presented in this drama is quite light, because it's about Mone's past, which in 2011 his family experienced the tsunami disaster in Japan at that time. Then theme of nature is followed by the development of a Nagaura Momone (MC) who is looking to be herself and finally decides to become a weather forecaster. The audience can enjoy the storyline in this drama and enjoy this drama while drinking tea and eating biscuits, because this drama doesn't have to think hard and because the genre is slice of life, when scenes take place in Tome, Kesennuma, and Tokyo are shown, the audience can feel transported directly to these locations and enjoy their natural beauty of japan nature.

The setting of the place taken from this drama is also good because it connects the nature of the mountains (City of Tome) and the sea (Island of Kesennuma), and the selection of Kesennuma city as the setting is very good considering that Kesennuma city is a small island on the northeast side of the island of Japan which only had a connecting bridge with the mainland in 2017 (though Kesennuma Island and mainland are very close, crossing by ferry)

The cast in this drama is also very good with Kaya Kiyohara (Nagaura Momone), Makita Aju (Nagaura Michi), Imada Mio (Jino Mariana Riko), etc. Because I think the cast in this drama can play characters that match their own personalities. In this drama also the character development is presented very well, how Mone and his friends started as a junior high school student then entered the maturity phase and in the end became an adult who has experience and mature thoughts, all packaged very well. Viewers can feel the character development in this drama like they are actually following them from 2011 to the present. The 120 episodes in this drama are packaged very well with the right pace (not too fast, but in some episodes sometimes it feels a bit slow). In this drama the depiction of a Mone who is a country girl who then comes to a big city is described quite well.

I think the music used in this drama fits the slice of life drama genre in "Okaeri Mone", relaxing and fun songs and also the music accompany Nagaura Momone's character development as well. Bump of Chicken "Nanairo" is the right song to be the OST of this drama, with mixing of quite unique opening because there is an implied message that combines mountains and sea in the opening of this drama.

Verdict, Okaeri Mone is a slice of life and family drama that is very suitable to watch on Saturdays and Sundays or when coming home from work, because the plot presented in this drama is very interesting as well as light and easy to watch while relaxing and with the theme of nature, which is rather rarely used in slice of life dramas). A heartwarming drama with very interesting characters to follow the development from beginning to end.

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Perfect Execution, Great Story

When I first saw the trailer for this film, I was quite interested and finally watched it, the beginning of this film might be a little confusing because the audience is faced with 3 different perspectives and are not related to each other but in the same timeline. but mid to the end of this film it becomes clear how the influence of 2 other side characters' perspectives on the MC story. When I first realized that they were in different time frames, I was quite surprised, because this film was packaged so well that the audience could not guess how the plot of this film would go in the future, plus the ending was quite sad for the characters Shikano Nana and Kosaka Rei. Another uniqueness of this film is that the 3 perspectives displayed have their own uniqueness, each pov from Shikano Nana, Hotta Kyapiko, and Miyasada Jimiko. but in the end it turned out that the three pov had a relationship with each other in the plot of the story presented.

Then I like how they shoot the cinematic, this film have very good cinematic quality and using appropriate color grading to match the mood of high school student with the drama that occurs in it. The cast in this film is also very good with unquestionable acting skills and is very in line with the personality of the characters played.

Special mention for this film because it brings up some important issues that are happening all around us but many people turn a blind eye to seeing it. Like a high school student who is depressed and slashes his hands, with no one to care, but instead the environment bullies him. Then the relationship between high school student and adults which in the end they only become adult escapes, and also one sided love(common drama theme).

Verdict, this film has a very unique timeline and makes the audience also wonder whether the pov has anything to do with each other or not, if there is something wrong?. Then this film raises several important issues that become special mentions in my review this time, although these issues are not the main problem in this film, but when this film raises these issues, I think it is quite good to have it. The drawback of this film is the ending, not everyone likes this ending. but in my opinion the ending shown in this film is enough to bring the emotions of the audience in watching this film.

To re-watch this film, I don't think so, because in my opinion a film like this is the type of film that we should watch the first time, when we re-watch it, the feeling given to this film is not as interesting as when we first watched it.

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Realistic Story and Possible Happened with the Audience

This film presents a story that is very likely to happen to everyone. how love stories can be knitted with each other, how a love story that initially feels beautiful and perfect will eventually become a relationship where both pairs are busy with each other's work hard because they both have the same goal, which is to get married in the future. For viewers of this film who may have been in a relationship for more than two years will feel that the story in this film is very related to their past.

in this film, the personality changes of the both MCs are well presented, Suda Masaki as Yamane Mugi has a personality as a person who loves his girlfriend so much even though he finds it difficult to get a job but for the sake of their future he really fights for it. Arimura Kasumi as Hachiya Kinu has a personality who loves his boyfriend so much too and cares for him, but he always wants their love story to be like when they first met. that's what Yamane Mugi can't do because he has to sacrifice time with his girlfriend to work and do his out of town service. this is what makes their relationship cracked because over time they both have very little communication with each other. in the end after a relationship that can't be repaired and fought together again, ending may be the right way and all of this is packaged very well in this film. (because my story is also related to the story of this film).

The shooting in this film is very well done and the music used is also very interesting, such as songs from Awesome City Club (the band's development is also shown very well from its start to success, following the timeline of this film) and Kinokoteikoku band. both of them have a song with very good and meaningful lyrics if you can understand japanese.

I will not re-watch this film because the emotions and sadness in this film have been conveyed at the beginning of watching this film, so maybe watching it a second time will give the feeling of watching a less climax. but i will recomended this film to anyone who liked drama slice of life and romance.

Final words, nothing lasts forever in this world. including love story, everything moves dynamically, relationship can't always be beautiful and same as the first met. because a relationship that feels beautiful is only happening in the beginning, everything will change later on because there must be things to fight for together and in exchange there'll be less time to spent together and also a person's personality will definitely change dynamically over time. if it already cracked and helpless, remember the good thing and forgot the bad things, keep moving on.

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Honestly, The Ending was The Suitable Ending for This Kind of Movie

I am reviewing from the point of view of an audience who has not read the original manga of this film. In my opinion, this film brings story plots and themes that I myself have encountered many times, especially in Japanese novels or dramas, namely love between a teacher and student, I think the character development in this film is not good between characters and I also didn't see good chemistry between each character (for some reason like the closeness between each character is less visible), also the meeting of Sishio and Yosano at the beginning of this film is quite strange (honestly). Although i like the story in this film because in the end Heroine chose the right choice (in my opinion), because in this type of story, if the teacher is a winner in the ending, I think it's not fair enough, because the age difference is quite far between the two (quiet strange).

Verdict, I think a film like this is very suitable to be watched at leisure time because it doesn't have a heavy story, although the story is a bit generic but, it is very interesting to watch because the setting of the time and place of this film is the school period which I think is very interesting when considering those times. 7,5 seems fine for the score because of all the shortcomings, I still enjoy the romance in this film and attach a little to how Heroine can choose the right choice in the end.

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Trying to forget an unusual girl

I'm quite like this film because, in this film an MC is presented who is left by his lover but as time goes on but he still can't forget that girl, the MC is like stuck in one time (his past) and can't move on. Especially the storyline in this film is also quite interesting because it ensures a film with a backward storyline, where the timeline for this film is 2020 to 199X. by using a backward storyline like this, makes viewers wonder what the real problem is between the MC and the Heroine. The story is also very interesting when the company where MC works shows changes from time to time (quite interesting).

The set used in this film is also good, especially when it tells the story of 199X, it feels very retro-Japanese at that time, but there were a few minor misses during the scene on the toll road (when it was about 199X), on the opposite side of the road there was a Mercedes facelift and a New Range Rover (?), yes, but apart from that minor miss, everything seemed to match the time setting shown.

The cast in this film somehow feels right and have strong relationship between them, Ito Sairi as Kato Kaori can portray her character quite well as a girl who has an interest in the unusual things. Moriyama Mirai as Sato Makoto also plays his character very well as a character who can't forget his past and is confused to move on to the future. The other supporting cast also in my opinion are quite good at playing their respective characters. special mention for Sumire as Su and Shinohara Atsushi as Nanase Toshihiko, because these two casts played their characters very well and seemed to have a strong relationship with the MC, then the characters they played also had quite an impact on the MC's character development.

Verdict, this film shows good character development on all its characters (MC & supporting characters) and shows good visuals sets according to the time setting of the story, especially in the timeline before 2000, with sets and properties that are quite accurate and also supported by a cast that is mutually have a strong relationship. The story is quite reasonable to be related to viewers. Worth your time you watch and it's a must !

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Good Story, Great Cast

The story of this film is quite interesting because at the beginning of the film, the audience is shown the POV of "Tabata Kaede" who thinks that his friend "Hisano Akiyoshi" is dead, but apparently "dead" what is meant is his personality where Akiyoshi left Kaede. The storyline in this film is also quite interesting like a puzzle, because at the beginning of the story the audience didn't see all of Kaede's POV, but slowly began to reveal the actual plot. maybe the plot in this film also happens a lot in the real world (?). In this film, Kaede's revenge against Akiyoshi is shown well, how Kaede has a very severe grudge against Moai to the point of wanting to destroy the organization she originally created. Akiyoshi's character's emotions are also conveyed very well in the climax scene of this film. My favorite scene is the climax scene in this film, when Akiyoshi and Kaede argue with each other 1 on 1 in a conference room (I still often replay that part because I think the climax scene is very well played by Sugisaki Hana and Yoshizawa Ryo, the emotions are very conveyed to the viewer).

Cast in this film is very good, Sugisaki Hana as Akiyoshi has perfect acting and Yoshizawa Ryo's acting as Kaede is perfect playing a character who has a grudge and full of anger but on the other hand he is a pretty good character. I think so far Sugisaki Hana's films and dramas have never disappointed because she has very good acting skills. other supporting cast such as Shimizu Hiroya, Matsumoto Honoka, etc. are also very good at playing their respective characters.

Special mention for Nana Mori because of the perfect acting in this film, even though it is only a supporting character but the character played by Nana Mori is quite influential in the story. Somehow the cover on Netflix, even Nana Mori is not the main cast, but it doesn't matter because Nana Mori have very good at acting in this film.

I can't really comment on the music in this film because it's quite easy to listen to and fits the scene shown. But not the best music in a movie.

Verdict, the film is worth to watch because it has a unique plot (back to back) and also the plot is quite curious because of the POV that each MC has, as well as the use of Kaede's POV in this film is also interesting because from the beginning until almost the end of this film, viewer can be said as (Kaede Supporter), because everything that is shown is what Kaede thinks, but towards the climax everything starts to be answered one by one. Another special mention for Nana Mori's role in here, is quite good even though she is not MC but it really shows the relationship between Nishiyama Mizuki and Kaede + Akiyoshi characters.

N.B. Rewatch is highly recommended at the climax of this film, you won't know if you haven't seen it.

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Not Everyone Film

First, the cinematography in this film is very good and beautiful. there is a touch of a polaroid photo as a highlight "important scene" (polaroid makes the scene more dramatic and gorgeous). For shooting the scene in my opinion is very good.

The plot brought in this film raises social issues about modernization that often occurs in big cities, many millennials are familiar with sexual activities in young ages (in this film, high school children are depicted), then a child is confused about what kind of family she family is (because in this film it is described as complex past of Narita Hatsumi's parents, Tachibana Ryoki, and Odagiri Azusa). The pace in this film is just right, but there are some scenes that have a fast pace, so if you use subtitles, sometimes you have to repeat a bit.

The theme of this film is quite interesting but the execution is not execute well enough because there are several scenes that will confuse the audience without a clear explanation. Like the scene when Tachibana Ryoki saw the X-ray of the baby that was given to him and then Tachibana told Hatsumi, but Hatsumi left Tachibana there. Then why Hatsumi's brother, Narita Shinogu, wants to sleep with Hatsumi even though he wants to protect her is also not well described, as a result the audience is also confused. Furthermore, Akane's role and her relationship with Subaru are also not well described as to what kind of reason they like each other. The last role of Hatsumi's father at the end of this film for what? is still confusing.

Fortunately, in my opinion the cast in this film is quite good, Hori Miona as Hatsumi is the right choice of MC because her personality of a Hatsumi who is innocent and still easily influenced by others is well described. Shimizu Hiroya as Tachibana is also appropriate because he describes the personality of Tachibana who is ambitious and serious but has a good side. As well as other casts are also appropriate in my opinion.

Music in this film is quite okay but not perfect, but for the OST of this film, which is presented by KAF, “Yoru ga Furiyamu” is quite well combined with the Tokyo landscape at the end of the scene.

Verdict,
This film would be even better if it was made into a drama with 7-12 episodes because in this film there are several scenes that are not clear how and the reason why that happened. Character development in this film, only the character of Hatsumi which is well described (the transition from an innocent girl to someone who is more determined and mature), while the other characters are not well described.
I would recommend this film to people who want to see a simple love story and good cinematography but can't expect more in terms of plot and pace, because in my opinion, this film is less than perfect, it can be seen from the pace which is quite fast so the plot presented is a little messy.

N.B. This film also tells us that now with the advancement of technology, the younger generation is no longer taboo about sex and other things. One of the positive values ​​of this film is, it can also teach adults people too understand and not to be taboo about sex activities to their teen and should tell them how Do's and Don't, so that the younger generation is more educated and not trapped in having children at a young age and early marriage .

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Unique Plot

At first, people might be a little confused because in this film Suzu Hirose plays two roles at different times, but as the story continues, it becomes clearer how the plot in this film is arranged. taking the story line back and forth is very unique and provides the right pace, shooting is also very good.

in this film the audience can feel the emotions of each character, especially for me personally the emotion of sadness emitted by the character Tono Yuri can be felt for the audience and how Tono Yuri is always number two compared to his older sister. then how desperate an Otosaka Kyoshiro after knowing the bitter reality that Tono Misaki had to experience. but on the other hand, all the players in this film are very good at acting and can convey the emotions of the characters they play well.

to be honest this film can make the audience to cry to feel the emotions experienced by the characters in this film. This film presents the real reality of life, because in life not everything can go well according to our wishes and we must be able to accept how our destiny will be in the future (especially in terms of love).

This film is suitable to be recommended to friends or family who like a slice of life drama film with a touch of romance (tragic romance).

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Generic Story but Good Actor Chemistry

a short review of this film, the plot presented in my opinion is quite generic (because there are quite a number of films with this kind of theme) but the plus point in this film is that the cast in this film have pretty close chemistry with each other, thus creating a bond that is formed between The MC and Heroine can also be felt by the audience. Shoutout to Mei Nagano and Takumi Kitamura for being able to make this film whose story in my opinion is quite generic but their cast on the characters they play can make this film's story a lot more alive. For the music used in this film is descent but quite matched in accordance with the scene shown.

For the disease that is shown in this film is a fictional disease (of course because this film is adapted from a romance fantasy novel), but there is a connection with the real world, one of which is when a patient suffers from a disease whose cure and cause is unknown (such as leukemia and cancer), the patient's sadness is the treatment they do nothing but makes them also as guinea pigs to find a cure for these diseases, I think this is quite related to what the heroine feels in this film.

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Light drama with interesting stories and decent music. But not the best

Let me write short review about this drama,

I think this drama has a pretty good theme about the many case of sexual harassment against women but in the end it is the victims themselves who are blamed. then the dilemma of how victims of sexual harassment do not want to report to the police and feel afraid of their environment and leave deep trauma. the plot itself is quite light and straight forward, this kind of drama that can be enjoyed while relaxing. the music used in this drama is also quite relaxing and interesting for me because it is easy to hear. The cast here also shows the connection to each other so that the characterizations feel natural.

The drawback of this drama is that the plot is straight forward, but the conversations and scenes presented in this drama are a bit too mature and too complex. i think with this kind of conversation and scene it'll be more proper to use in drama that have a bit of heavy and complex plot. Then about the problem that the parents who are afraid of their children, I think this issue is quite natural to occur in the real world (maybe not everyone okay with this, but for me its okay because it shows that, the parents that scared to their child is exist). and one more problem here, Nina's character as a victim of harassment is a bit strange why she wants to forgive "people who help the perpetrator" easily, when it should be when someone is traumatized it will be more difficult to forgive the perpetrator of sexual harassment. because this is a slice of life drama, it's a bit strange.

Verdict, this drama is worth to watch while you relaxing in night after work because the story is very light and straight forward so make it easy to watch, also the music is easy to listen too.

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