Whether you're here for the emotional journey of our two leads or the physical journey across some unusual but charming locales across Japan, you'll be satisfied. I could write a whole essay on the sentence "Japan is in a state of obsolescence" and Haruko's positive framing of it tbh, but I mostly just want to squeal along with the whole crew. Their love for things sidelined for the shiny and new is evident, and I'm right with them!
Good girl and bad boy have a cat-astrophic meet cute. XD I wouldn't say it's good but it's certainly fun—cheesy, gratuitous, very typical of teen media from the Showa era—and because it's a late 80s Japanese teen film set in the city, it's got some nice city pop tunes. There's some creative action set pieces but overall its attempt at the whole "city is a character" thing falls flat since their vision of Shinjuku isn't as memorable as it could be.
I liked the way episode 8 shed a light on how similar Sui and Yakyo are in their own ways. Sui can't resist picking up strays (cat parallel! cat parallel!), Yakyo has his one stray that he can't get rid of. Sui is overly affectionate, Yakyo is careful with expressions. They each have their own families... ironically, both of them aren't in each others. With what's going down in the next couple of episodes, I think they've done great set-up.
What a great finale. I think I laughed harder at it than I have at any episode in the series. It really stuck the landing and father's words of wisdom touched upon the show's themes in a succinct way. To the end, he truly is such a cool and handsome guy. :~)
As a whole, I did like the series. You can really spot the director's previous experience in music content. There's this rhythm to the editing when it comes to the cooking scenes. I kind of wish that extended elsewhere because the pace does crawl at points. The show is largely formulaic and there's only a couple of times they try to break away from things (episode 9 is a really good one).
If you're fine with slow development and enjoy food porn (some unconventional twists in traditional recipes that I'm looking to try myself) then it's definitely a good watch.
This is the kind of sitcom that Japan does best. Quick witted back and forth between the characters, skits built around everyday oddities, and satire on tradition and modern life. Great balance of direct punchlines and the non sequitur. All of it centered around a family that feels like the one you have or know of in real life.
I've been looking forward to this since it got announced. I wish the novel had an english translation but maybe with enough noise from the film adaptation we might get one eventually.
A charming love letter to cinema. It's not just pouring out with adoration for films but also filmmaking in general. Yet as much as it delves into nostalgia, it's also got its eyes looking towards the future. Matsumoto Soushi proves time and time again why I find his work to be a breath of fresh air and this film is an instant classic in my book.
I'm halfway through the series now and every episode has been such great warm comforting fun, perfect for the season. I'm watching a lot of current stuff but I feel like this is the show that I get most excited for whenever it's finally time to sit down and watch so I'm glad we finally got subs. I just love these characters—I love where the story takes them and their experiences are really making me think about my own future.
It's easy to draw parallels between Sakuraba and the hotels. Shabby and out-of-fashion. Haruko would probably consider both as "emoi". I'm really looking forward to seeing how their relationship develops and where Sakuraba's perspective is by the end of the series.
(Also as an aside, I really hope we get to see Sakuraba shining on stage again because it would please me as an Otokogumi enthusiast lololol~)
Subtitles here: https://mega.nz/folder/Q19yTAqK#g2mnbwK0c2LvID6DrvV25Q
If you're fine with slow development and enjoy food porn (some unconventional twists in traditional recipes that I'm looking to try myself) then it's definitely a good watch.
Part 1 - https://jinterviewstrans.blogspot.com/2021/11/rurou-no-tsuki-director-lee-sang-il.html
Part 2 - https://jinterviewstrans.blogspot.com/2021/11/rurou-no-tsuki-director-lee-sang-il_11.html
I've been looking forward to this since it got announced. I wish the novel had an english translation but maybe with enough noise from the film adaptation we might get one eventually.
(Also as an aside, I really hope we get to see Sakuraba shining on stage again because it would please me as an Otokogumi enthusiast lololol~)