Give it a try, guys, it might surprise you!

As soon as I found out about this "Imadoki no Wakai Mon wa", it came totally natural to me to compare it, on the one hand, to the famous UK/US show "The Office" (both being comedies set in an office environment), and on the other hand to another dorama also airing right this season, "Shoujiki Fudousan" (both having Fukuhara Haruka as the FL - and "OL").

Regarding "The Office", we could say that the two series are at opposite ends: that one portrayed the typical Western office in all its idiocy, obtaining a comedic effect by exaggerating some characteristics and aspects which, albeit to a less inflated degree, do actually exist in such working environment (I speak out of personal experience); on the contrary, this J-drama portrays a kind of idealized Japanese office where the (light) comedic effect isn't done at the characters' expenses (we're not made to laugh AT them, but rather to smile WITH them) and where the office environment isn't depicted AS IS, but rather AS IT SHOULD BE. The result is a delicately humane story filled with nice characters that we'd all love to have as colleagues and/or bosses (and even one like me who's normally pretty wary of office-themed shows can find this really likable - as I did!).

As for the comparison with "Shoujiki Fudousan" (of which I've watched over half the episodes so far), that one as well portrays things as they should be, rather than as they are (I mean, an honest realtor...ehm...'nuff said! ^__^;...) but in my humble opinion this show wins hands down, due to a more original, wittier script, and a more talented male cast (ok, I know, Yamashita's fans will jump at my throat...but sorry, guys, I tell it as I see it, and I personally find Sorimachi to be a much better actor - peace!).

(BTW, now that I'm thinking about it, another comparison came to mind, and that is to "Futari Monologue": once again for having Fukuhara as the FL, but also for the constant presence of the "voice over" technique ^___-)

The music, meant both as credits song and as commentary, is a pretty nice touch too; and although the production value might not be anything really worth calling home about *per se*, it's still absolutely ok, so it's all good, as far as I'm concerned.

All in all, a little gem of dorama that might end up being unfortunately overlooked by many.
My humble suggestion therefore is: give it a try, guys, it might surprise you! ^___-

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Coming from a country where sometimes you'd think that only one sport exists (call it soccer or football as you wish...or "calcio", as we do), you might understand how difficult it is for me to make people here understand why baseball is my favorite sport!
Well, this drama actually happens to sum that up pretty nicely: because there's so much more to "the old ball game" than most people would actually think!
On the one hand, while other sports as well could act as a metaphor of how life is (for example soccer itself, what with the rich ones having the refs on their side, like, always...and the "divers" rarely being punished for their unsportsmanlike conduct - quite the opposite, often being rewarded with fake penalties and free-kicks!), I honestly can't think of any other sport that so well could act as a metaphor of how life *should* be (quoting from a pretty nice - if a tad too star-spangled propagandistic for my taste and possibly also for its own good, LOL - YouTube clip from PragerU: "Three strikes and you're out, and not even Washington's best lawyers could help you avoid that!"). But all in all, that's just me being partial to my favorite sport, and I'd bet any fan of any sport could probably state the very same thing, LOL.
On the other hand - and this lil' dorama really shines at this! - we could definitely say that baseball can indeed teach us so many precious lessons that we could apply to our daily life, with all its ups and downs: for example, how to be a real leader, or how to accept not being a leader but the best sub we can be, instead; how to make a stand and be respected, or how to know to be humble and listen to those who know more than us; how to accept a failure as long as it means living on to fight another day...etc., etc....
Each episode of this brilliant series shows us exactly that: how much we can all learn and improve, day by day, step by step....because if life is baseball, as long as you love it and give it your all, everything will be alright.
A superb premise masterfully developed in a great script, some wonderful acting by the leads as well as by the weekly guest stars, a great photography...and an endless love for baseball and for life.
What's not to like? Perfect 10! Or, to adopt baseball terminology: a perfect game! ^___-

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ChuraDORAMA!!! A mere "10" doesn't even come close to defining how superb this lil' gem is (heh..."...lil'..."...with its 156 eps, not that lil', actually ^_^) though it's kinda difficult to describe it without giving away anything (and that'd be a pity, as it'd take away from future viewers the pleasure of discovering it step by step), therefore I'll limit myself to this very short - and if I may say so myself, quite apt - description: "the poetry of life" ^_^ Huge congrats to everyone involved in this production, with honorable mentions for the script (oh, those witty, theatrical dialogues! and then again, it makes you laugh, cry, think, dream...the whole nine yards!) and for these actors/actresses in particular: Kuninaka Ryoko (a wonderful lead!), Sakai Masaaki (a very funny father!), Murata Takehiro (oh, those hilarious monologues!), Kanno Miho (a perfect tsundere!) and Taira Tomi (the überwise Obaa!). M-A-S-T-E-R-P-I-E-C-E!!!

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I really wanted to watch this for two reasons:
1) Motokariya Yuika, whom I must confess having developed an instant crush for ever since her cute "majime" character in the beautiful movie "Swing Girls" ^__^;
2) Narumi Yui, whom I deeply appreciated as the ML's daughter in the recent "Mushoboke".
And neither of them let me down, the former is simply gorgeous and the latter is imho a very promising young actress, who showed in "Mushoboke" her drama skills, and here her comedic talent (alas, too briefly, as her character doesn't get much screentime).
Unfortunately, not only is this drama still unsubbed, but neither could I find Japanese subtitles so that I could run them through a machine-translator, retime them and use them to help me understand more (as I've learned to do so as to better appreciate otherwise RAW J-dramas ^__-). Anyway, the story is pretty straightforward, the rhythm quite slow and the dialogues rather simple, which means that even my little more than basic knowledge of Japanese was enough to get most of it.
The script seems pretty well done to me (not a big surprise, considering that Aso Kumiko is responsible for it - and I've learned to appreciate her writing just as much as her acting skills); without going into details so as not to spoiler anything, the romance is mild and a bit more realistic than usual (hence the slightly bitter aftertaste it may have given to some viewers), and although it still contains a few of the clichés typical of the genre, it doesn't indulge too much on those (something I really appreciated!).
The acting performance is pretty solid from the whole cast, and although the production value isn't anything to call home about, it's still okay. The music commentary instead is *really* very nice, imho! ^___^

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One of the most original (if not ouright THE most original) "mystery" EVER. And given how I'm almost 50 and I've been a fan of the mystery genre ever since I was a kid, you can rest assured I've been exposed to a pretty fair share of those, LOL! ^__^;
The title says it all, really, as it could be translated (with a lil' bit of freedom) as "Detective in Advance" ("早すぎる" / "Hayasugiru" literally means "premature", "(too) early/fast"): what we have here is a detective that doesn't actually *solve* crimes; he uses his gray cells and his super deductive skills to *prevent* crimes from happening! Such a great character (managing, on the one hand, to dearly homage Sherlock Holmes, and on the other hand, to hilariously mock him - oh, boy, those gowns he wears! ^_____^), so tremendously well scripted and at the same time so brilliantly portrayed by the ML, Takito Kenichi! But the very same thing can be said of all the main characters/cast: Mizuno Miki is also hilariously perfect as this kind of "Mary Poppins on steroids", just as Hirose Alice is as the FL! And the supporting cast did a great job too, with a particular mention for Katahira Agisa.
So, a really great script, with original mystery plots and absolutely hilarious comic relief moments, some great acting, some very nice music, quality directing/editing and photography...what else could we ask for?
Perfect 10 all the way, as far as I'm concerned! ^___-

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Silly but funny

This "Gourmet in Tang Dynasty", as far as I'm concerned, was the very definition of "guilty pleasure"...^_^;
With a quite absurd but funny premise, mostly nicely developed thanks to the histrionic skills of the hilarious FL (Li Zi Xuan), it was at the same time totally silly but also pretty entertaining, filled with anachronisms but also one of the very few (if not the only?) costume drama that had the courage to be honest about the period's beauty standards; incidentally: whereas other productions seem to fit in the occasional "stocky" character just so as to comply to the politically correct "overweight quota" (which imho should actually come off as offensive to overweight people, coming to think about it...but that's another story...), in this drama the overweight character (the FL's sister) not only makes a whole lot of sense, but it's really a well-rounded (pun unintended!) and full-fledged character (I personally found the subplot about the sisters' relation one of the best moments of the drama, so beautifully scripted and acted it was! ^____^)
Why don't I give this a higher grade then?
Well, honestly, I think it got a bit too confused here and there, particularly towards the end: the obscure plots and machinations of a coupla characters weren't really to my liking and felt pretty much out of place in a drama whose strong point had been, until then, that it hadn't taken itself seriously...

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The title says it all...^__^

This is one of those cases where the title says it all, really! ^_^;
Because that's exactly what this dorama is: a "monologue between two people" ("futari"). The concept is simple yet interesting: instead of showing a dialogue between the two leads, they went with a double "interior monologue" that compelled the actresses to act silently (both Fukuhara Haruka and Yanagi Miki passed that "test" with flying colors, BTW!), then using the "voice over" to fully portray their feelings and thoughts! And, believe me, so much is going on in those pretty lil' heads of theirs! ^___^
The experiment was fully successfull, as far as I'm concerned: several scenes ended up being plainly hilarious (just take a look at the first 3 or 4 minutes, you'll get an idea!), the actresses, as already mentioned, did just great, the music is nice (particularly the ED song)...this might not be a full-fledged masterpiece, but it's still pretty original and very entertaining!

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Ok, let's start with the things I liked:

The Cast
I've watched this because of Izumi Rika, and she didn't let me down at all: she's the very definition of GORGEOUS, and she did a very good job portraying the schizophrenic FL! But the rest of the cast did well too. with a particular praise for Kanon.

The "Packaging"
Music, photography, directing, editing...in a word, the "packaging", was absolutely OK.

On the other hand, I'm not a big fan of the premise, sorry - way too absurd and even a little disturbing, honestly (I mean the fact that the FL is attracted by a ML who is made to look and behave like a primary school kid - seriously, the only thing missing was the yellow cap, and the illusion would've been complete! With inverted sexes, I could only imagine the sh*tstorm it would've provoked!!! >__<)
But this is not to criticize the writer too much, as at least he took that silly premise and made a decent drama out of it, with a script that, albeit not being perfect, still had its moments (some very funny scenes, and some surprisingly deeper ones).

All in all, not a masterpiece, allright, but definitely an enjoyable watch just the same!

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Typical "iyashikei" ^__-

Watching this "Pension Metsä", I couldn't help but:

a) compare this with "Pension Koi wa Momoiro", due to the "Pension" in the title, but that's, like, the only thing they share: that one was plainly terrible, while this one is pretty good! ^___-

b) think about Finland ^_^;...Why? Well, not only is "Metsä" a Finnish word (meaning "woods, forest"), but also, this short dorama has the same FL as the movie "Kamome Shokudou" aka "Kamome Diner" (Kobayashi Satomi) and in the cast there's also another actress who was in that movie too (Motai Masako)...oh, and in case you haven't watched that movie, well, it's set and filmed in Helsinki, Finland ^__-

Despite the Finnish reference, this series is as Japanese as they come, being a typical example of the "iyashikei" genre (quoting from Wikipedia: "...a genre specific to Japanese works [...]. It is a sub-genre of slice of life, portraying characters living out peaceful lives in calming environments, and is intended to have a healing effect on the audience...").
If you're in for a soothing, relaxing viewing experience, conveying some simple yet meaningful messages, well, you might like this...I did, and I would've given it a higher grade, hadn't it been for the fact that I found the last two episodes weaker than the rest.
Nice music, particularly the ending credits song.

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2022 starts (quite literally!) with a BANG!!!

I've just finished watching this superb drama and...WHOA!!! Seriously, guys, WOW, just WOW!!!
I've seen this described as "Groundhog Day meets Speed", and that's true to some extent, but also totally insufficient to correctly define all its innumerable qualities. It's gripping, moving, bittersweetly realistic and at the same time fascinatingly fictional, and ultimately, extremely entertaining without ever being shallow or silly.
The script was very close to being perfect; not a single scene was redundant, and apart from a coupla very minor characters (the headphones-wearing muscular guy and the wig-wearing female police bigshot) who felt a tad too caricatural to this humble reviewer, all the rest were imho very well written and tridimensional; the premise is as interesting as they come, and its intricate, thought-provoking development absolutely rock-solid.
The whole cast (except for the two characters mentioned above, but then again, I'm willing to "blame" the script there ) deserved a standing ovation, period. Even "minor" characters as the older passengers and the younger cop were brilliantly portrayed. But as far as I'm concerned, Captain Zhang really earned himself a special mention! Chapeau!
Direction, photography, editing and music are all top-notch and add greatly to the overall quality.
And the cherry on top is, for me, represented by the deep, humane messages that the drama managed to convey.
Perfect 10!!!

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Despite the absurd premise and the terrible "shonenjumpesque" flavor, I had appreciated the first season of "Kakegurui"; much less so the second season and the movie, which I had honestly found weaker and weaker (and had rated accordingly). With this spin-off "Kakegurui Twin", though, we're back to where it started, quality-wise, and I therefore gave it a well-deserved "8". Of course I appreciated the fact that my favorite actress, Morikawa Aoi, is the lead...but objectively speaking, Saotome Mary is anyway the most likeable character (or the least dislikeable, as you wish), and particularly so in this "prequel" portraying her rookie moments with a healthy dose of humor, which makes for a thoroughly enjoyable watch.

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What a nice surprise! ^___^

Once again, personal expectations ended up having a huge impact on my grade...in the case of this "Make a Wish", though, I must confess I started watching it only out of my love for the 2nd FL, Chen Hao Lan, all while honestly thinking that I would probably drop it after a coupla episodes, as it had been the case of another C-drama sharing a very similar premise, "Falling in Love with Cats".
But I couldn't have been more wrong, LOL, 'cause I really, really loved this drama! ^_______^
Beautifully scripted, directed, photographed, and last but certainly not least acted by the whole cast (with particular praises, apart from the afore-mentioned Chen Hao Lan, for the adorable leads, Ren You Lun and Gia Ge, and for the very funny 2nd ML, Wang Tian Yu. They were really very good and added greatly to the drama's value. Oh, and let's not forget to mention the lovely OST/score, another very nice detail indeed!
If you are (like I was) a bit skeptical about the premise, give this title a try anyway, it'll probably surprise you like it surprised me, with its great quality and interesting script tastefully mixing so many different ingredients (comedy, drama, romance, SF, suspense, etc. etc.).
I literally enjoyed it from the very first minute to the very last! Perfect 10 as far as I'm concerned! ^__-

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Weren't it for a coupla things, it would've been a real gem

I have somehow mixed feelings about this "Don't Leave After School", as there were things I really, really liked about it but unfortunately also a coupla things I really disliked...

What I liked:

1) Li Ting Ting: in my 15+ years of honorable Asian-dramophilia, you can guess I've watched my fair share of high-school themed dramas, and seen many actresses playing the role of a high school girl; well, never have I found a performance more convincing, more strikingly natural, more beautifully "realistic", than the one delivered here by Li Ting Ting! She almost made me believe for a while that I was actually watching a real high school girl, with all the quirky details of a not yet fully matured individual, the weird faces here and there, the goofiness etc.; my virtual standing ovation to an actress who doesn't care about "not looking good" all the time, if that's what it takes to fully portray a character! BTW, the fact that some people here criticized her precisely for that, while other people (or maybe the same people, I'm too lazy to check that detail now, LOL) went so far as to actually praise Tan Song Yun's "performance" in "Dear Mayang Street" (which I, on the contrary, just couldn't stand: that one didn't convince me in the least and, as far as I'm concerned, should be a perfect example of how NOT TO portray a high school girl, what with the annoyingly constant Mona Lisa faint smile and the clear "let's give the cameras my best profile all the time" attitude) is just another proof of how true Clint Eastwood's überfamous quote about opinions is, LOL

2) The subplot with Stephanie Xu's and Li Jun Ting's characters (together with Li Ting Ting's and Xiao Yang's, they were my absolute favorite characters, all beautifully written and masterfully portrayed, BTW), which actually got me more emotionally involved that the main plot regarding the leads, honestly;

3) The OST: not only are the credits songs beautiful (particularly "It's Nice That The Wind Blows" by SIS), but the score is top-notch throughout the entire drama, and adds a lot of value to the whole thing imho!

4) Some of the very creative intro scenes were little masterpieces, really! ^_______^

Were it only for these points, I would've given this a perfect 10, seriously!
Alas, the drama also had a coupla thing I disliked, as previously mentioned, and namely:

1) Not all the characters were so well written, quite a few of the rest (like Fiona, Da Meng, Qiao Mai, Li Da Lai, and the blackmailing creep >___<) were actually basically bidimensional, and that actually pissed me off greatly 'cause it showed some lazy writing in what would've been, otherwise, a real gem.../.__.\

2) The constant use of hand-held cameras; I understand it was meant to kind of "bring the watcher inside the action", but it mostly gave me motion sickness...O___o

All in all, the good points beat the bad ones, so I'm giving this a well-deserved 8...and I'm surely gonna watch more of Li Ting Ting's works in the future! ^___-

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"Uchi no Musume wa, Kareshi ga Dekinai!!" is an adorable drama which shines thanks to a lovely cast and, most of all, to a perfectly written script that works like a clockwork. Kitagawa Eriko is indeed one of the best Japanese scriptwriters, and she's proved that once again here. The finesse with which she portrays the intricacies of the human soul, seriously! Many lines are so marvelously written that I had to pause more than once to applaud! I can't go in details because it would be a real pity to spoiler anything...let's just say that, while this could be defined a "romantic dramedy", that label would be absolutely insufficient to actually describe the depth of this beautiful tale of people, life and love.

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