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  • Join Date: January 15, 2012
Completed
14-sai no Haha
21 people found this review helpful
Jan 17, 2012
11 of 11 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 5.0
STORY -
The drama goes into the fallout of when a 14 year old girl becomes pregnant. The drama does bring up some interesting issues regarding teen pregnancy and comes off as quite anti-abortion. I was quite disappointed by the end of the drama because of unnecessary conflicts brought on by secondary characters.

ACTING/CAST -
Shida Mirai was the female lead and this was not one of her better performances. She often came across as flat and uninteresting. Miura Haruma who portrayed the father of the baby was another flat, uninspired character.
The only worthwhile performances were from Tanaka Misako as the all-bearing and brave mother of Shida Mirai's character. Also, kudos to the actress who played Miura's mother. She was an interesting and complicated character.

OVERALL -

The drama would have been much better if there was more believable acting from the lead characters and better plot development.

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Completed
Moyashimon
4 people found this review helpful
Jan 31, 2012
11 of 11 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
A manga adaptation in which a college student attends an agricultural university and realizes that he can see microorganisms with his naked eye and communicate with them.

This drama took my interest as I am biology major and I wanted to see how the drama could make bacteria interesting. The drama does a good job of being informative without being too stuffy and ... the bacteria were super cute.

The acting fell a bit short a few times throughout the series but all the characters were interesting enough. The plot was entertaining and seemed to go by smoothly.

Cute and most of all, amusing.

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Completed
IS - Otoko Demo Onna Demo Nai Sei
5 people found this review helpful
Jan 16, 2012
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
I watched this drama because it had Fukuda Saki leading, one of my favorite actresses in Japan.

An interesting drama that looks at intersexuals in Japan. In that sense, this drama is quite informative as it teaches the viewers about IS and it allows viewers to see life through their eyes.

The story line regarding the other IS girl was a bit exaggerated for me, with her mother acting all oppressive and psychotic and the resolution was a bit of a letdown.

I would have liked more interactions between Haru and her senpai. But Haru's family was quite lovely and heartwarming.

A good drama that is socially relevant and interesting.

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Completed
Hitonatsu no Papa e
4 people found this review helpful
Jan 16, 2012
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
A drama about a teenager who moves in with the father she didn't know existed until after her mother passed away.

This is a Japanese drama from 2003 but it looks a lot older because of the poor cinematography quality, which is very grainy and faded.

Ueto Aya is cute as the sassy teenager who has to deal with a father who is reckless and very childish. Kitamura Kazuki plays the father, a private investigator who seems a bit seedy. The two have good chemistry.

The plot was decent but my complaint: not enough father and daughter interaction. There was a lot of time spent on the side characters and it got annoying after a while.

Also, I didn't find the subbed last episode so lack of closure for me.

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Completed
Asuko March!
4 people found this review helpful
Jan 16, 2012
9 of 9 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.5
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 5.0
STORY-
The plot from Asuko March reminded me of a harem manga/ anime.
A girl (Takei Emi) enters an all-boys technical high school. Even though there were the designated male lead and the secondary male characters, I felt like Takei could have been paired up with any guy at her school and it would have made some sort of sense.

In terms of plot, the drama is quite generic and predictable. Some unexpected twists and turns would have been appreciated.

ACTING/CAST-
Takei Emi, who played the main character, is quite pretty. But her acting seems to be a bit lacking (flat) but I will forgive her since she is just a newbie at acting.

The male lead wasn't my cup of tea. Yes, he was charming and handsome but I wasn't interested. So by the end of the drama, I was a bit disgruntled that Kaku Kento (the secondary male) wasn't going to get much love, as I found him more engaging and fun. I was seriously rooting for his character throughout the entire drama. Sigh.

Overall, an okay drama. It is quite watchable but it is nothing brilliant or groundbreaking either.

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Completed
My Princess
2 people found this review helpful
Jan 16, 2012
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.5
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 5.0
Fluffy fun. But not my cup of tea.

Kim Tae Hee had uber good chemistry with the attractive Song Seung Heon. Wow. What a good looking pair, with tons of chemistry.

The plot was fun and cheesy and cute. Nothing too meaningful or extraordinary. And highly predictable.But that's fine, because what is done in terms of the romantic comedy aspects, is done well.

The whole monarchy of Korea story line could have been handled in a much more sensible and engaging manner. Many times, throughout the series, I had to ask myself "Why should I care about this whole monarchy story line?". And then I fast forward-ed my way through to the next scene.

Recommended for those who want to watch a lighthearted rom-com with lots of pretty couple chemistry.

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Completed
Abarenbo Mama
3 people found this review helpful
Jan 17, 2012
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
The show is fun, bubbly and cute.

Ueto Aya has great chemistry with Oizumi Yo and that's what makes this drama work.

The premise of the story is a bit predictable but it's okay, since Yuki, the little boy, is so darned cute. Basically, Aya marries the love of her life but his ex-wife drops off his son and she has to learn how to deal with him and the gang of kindergarten mothers.

Overall, a funny and sweet family drama.
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Completed
Saya Zamurai
2 people found this review helpful
Feb 18, 2013
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
I decided to check out Scabbard/Saya Samurai because it was written/directed by Hitoshi Matsumoto from the popular Japanese comedic duo DOWNTOWN (Do check out their brand of humor, if you are unfamiliar with their work!).
Matsumoto's influence is quite visible as the film progresses, with the many comedic skits that Kanjuro, the male lead character, must perform in order to live.

STORY:

The start of the movie is a bit slow. Kanjuro is a worn out samurai on the run with his headstrong daughter, Tae, close on his heels. There are some Kill Bill-esque scenes that were a bit unbelievable to me but once the movie gets into the 30 Day Challenge I started becoming more invested in the movie.
Ultimately, the movie is a sentimental and amusing underdog story with a bittersweet triumph at the end. Also, the movie touches on the honor code (Bushido) that the samurai class in Japan followed, which is portrayed in an interesting manner.

ACTING:
Strong acting across the board. Kanjuro is portrayed by a comedian in his first movie debut and he does an amazing job. Tons of physical humor, very typical of Japanese comedy skits. Personally, I really enjoyed Kumada Sea's scene-stealing portrayal of Tae, Kanjuro's young daughter. Her spunk and capability was really lovely to watch.

MUSIC:
I really enjoyed the music in the movie, especially the touching ending song that sends a message of love, epiphany and sacrifice. I've re-watched this scene several times.

Overall, a heartwarming film that evokes laughter and tears.

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Completed
The Princess's Man
3 people found this review helpful
Jan 16, 2012
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
The Princess’s Man was one of my picks for best dramas of 2011. It checked off all the boxes: Great acting. Great plot. Great cinematography. Great chemistry.

The drama’s greatest strengths are its cast and well-written characters.

Moon Chae Won was utter gorgeousness in hanbok. Her character, SeRyung, was inspiring as a woman in Joseon Korea full of integrity, strength, and grace.
Park Shi Hoo demonstrated his acting has improved leaps and bounds but I do wonder what a better actor would have done with his role of Seung Yoo.

The secondary love story between the ex-Princess and her arranged husband was predictable yet so tender and lovely. Hong Soo Hyun is someone that I will be looking out for.
Also, Prince Soo Yang, Se Ryung's father was my favorite character. Terrific acting from him as well, in fact, the highlight of the show. He was not a black and white villain but an intricately written one with many shades of gray that made him stand high above the other characters, who are great in their own right.

Highly recommended period drama that is a great love story and that realistically depicts family life, friendship and the loss of innocence in Joseon Korea.

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