Reviews

A VERY well-executed drama. Bravo Japan! Well done well done! I watched Lady Girls while it was airing, and it was my number 1 anticipated drama each and every week.

The story is so simple, but the messages are so very impactful, they hit u right in ur soul. This drama meant a great deal to me as a woman. Here you have Aki Nakahara, this beautiful successful business woman in her 40s who's judged by society because she isn't married and "behaves like she's still young." She's got two friends who are in the same boat as her. Haters to the left plz. Society judges women like them all the time. Oh, since you're over 40 that means you shouldn't have girl nights, be single and mingle, look or do anything young, or just have fun anymore. It's infuriating. But u know what, Aki Nakahara doesn't let that down, and neither do her friends. They don't have to try to be beautiful, because they already are. And they certainly don't conform to what society wants.

Nakahara, and her friends Moeko Osaki and Midori Sakata, each have their own stories. Nakahara's love life isn't that great, in fact, she goes through a lot of downs. But, she meets an author named Fumio Takayama, and by making his acquaintance she garners life lessons and their romance slowly blooms. Moeko Osaki also has some trouble in the love department. Her biggest crutch is her mother, but she's still successful in her own right. Midori Sakata is a divorcee (oh no *rolls eyes*) with three sons. I'm not going to go into all of their stories, but they're all pretty interesting and address topics I find important as a female. These are three intelligent hard-working BEAUTIFUL ladies who refuse to let their youth die.

Midori's love story was the least interesting to me, but it ended well so I didn't mind it. Plus, everything else about her story was so great and it's that which kept me captivated. Besides Nakahara, it's gotta be Moeko who I'm the most proud of. She grew a lot during this drama, was no push-over, and her resolve was fantastic. Now, I obviously enjoyed watching Nakahara the most. Her love story was the most interesting, she doesn't conform to society, and she's just so damn likable.

The acting/cast was excellent! Fantastic on all sides, especially Shinohara Ryoko. Wow, I was so excited to see her each week. Eguchi Yosuke was excellent as well! All of them were, but I already said tht lol. The music fits this drama so perfectly i can't even describe the feels I got hearing it! This drama is definitely rewatchable because it was such a good drama, but I don't really see myself doing tht tbh. And again, the story was just so well written. The ending was great, and overall it was just really well executed.

Lady Girls was a simple drama, but man oh man does this drama show you how a well executed drama should be. It has a similar feel to Last Cinderella (which also stars Shinohara Ryoko, but I absolutely hated it), but Lady Girls has got to be at least a thousand times better. More than anything, this drama was enjoyable, and I had a good time watching it. I totally recommend!

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This movie is a total perfect 10! I was pretty excited for this because I’m a huge fan of Tao, but I didn't think it would be THIS good! The synopsis and poster just don't do this fantastic movie justice! This movie takes a little while to get going, but then it really “takes off” (flying puns galore) and you'll never feel bored. I was smiling and laughing the whole way through!

I had no real expectations for the story, but was a little hesitant about the genre. I’m not really into sports themed movies because I often find they’re way too bogged down with cheesy tropes. If you’re like me, never fear! This movie strikes a perfect balance between sports and story, and I was completely glued to the screen near the end, holding my breath with excitement. Human-powered aircraft is actually really cool and the movie makes it look very thrilling!

The best thing about this movie is definitely the electric chemistry between Yukina (Tsuchiya Tao) and Sakaba (Mamiya Shotaro). They’re both so hot-headed that it felt like a genuine love/hate relationship and I was laughing my head off at their crazy attempts to outdo each other. Their bickering and yelling contrasted so well with their quietly beautiful friendship. It’s not a romance movie, but you will fall in love this couple! Needless to say I definitely fell a little in love with Mamiya Shotaro. This movie brought a really hilarious ensemble cast together and they made everything work. The comedy is top notch!

The music was also awesome! The periodic use of “secret base" was hilarious. I love that song and they made it both a comedic choice and a more emotional choice. I loved it!

Rewatch value for this one is definitely high. I would probably rewatch it tonight! Definitely don’t miss this movie!!

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A sequel with a personality of its own

The finale was great, maybe not completely flawless, but the wrap-up for every couple hit the right notes.

JackDean: Their reunion left me feeling conflicted, particularly regarding Jack’s reaction to Great, but that tension is exactly what made their ending stand out. You can interpret it in two different ways: either Jack has finally matured and will fiercely defend his relationship with Dean against any future threats, OR the two of them are tragically trapped in an endless, repetitive cycle of breaking up and making up.

ArnoldTua: A tiny part of me craved more drama from their storyline, but ultimately, I adored their gentle and mutually respectful dynamic. They were easily the most balanced pair of the bunch, despite the economic status differences. Even during their worst arguments, neither ever talked down to the other, something I can’t say for the other two couples.

RomeRaffy: This fiery duo started off with a bang but eventually fell into a push and pull routine. Their storyline was a mixed bag for me because I’m still not convinced Rome views Raffy as a true equal. Even after Raffy's personal growth, it feels like Rome’s judgment is always lingering over him. I really wanted to see Raffy fully step into his confidence by the end, but it never quite materialized the way I wished.

Ultimately, all three couples have their flaws, but they are incredibly endearing and easy to cheer for. Honestly, I found their dynamics much more grounded and relatable than the pairings we got in the first season. As for non-couple moments, I adored the friendship between Dean and Tua and I needed more.

Honorable Mentions: A massive shoutout to Timmy for surviving all the chaos. I also really appreciated the brief, beautifully bittersweet moment between Boston and Nick 🥲

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WeirMin

I really love this lakorn eventhough the FL is so innocent. You'll get angrier whenever the FL is being used for the ML and for some instances but she's strong to face the battle. When we can feel loved, anger, hatred, etc towards the cast most especially for the FL and ML, it means to say that their acting skills were very great! Kudos for them most especially for Weir and Min because they portrayed their role that is why I'm watching Thai drama because of them. Their one of my favorite onscsreen Thai couple! I've also watched their Koo Za Rot Zab and La Ruk Sot Kob Fah. I just can't get enough of this two. I hope they will be paired again for a new lakorn. It might be a RomCom co'z they are good ai it, miss them (WeirMin).

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It's really good, especially for the hopeless romantic like me. And it reminded me of Our Times (2015), also a good romance movie with a good plot and great acting.

Even though there's no kissing scene in the movie, the actors really portrayed youthful, nostalgic first love feelings. And the cinematography was great. And I really like how they act, it was so natural, especially the supporting roles.

All in all, it was a great film and recommendable for others to watch where it leaves you that overwhelming feelings at the end. And you still craved for it to continue.

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Hello, my friends from MDL! Here am I after so long... After watching it, and seeing how it had never been reviewed, I decided to give it a try ^^
This drama holds now a very special place in my heart. First of all, it was the longest drama I watched. And, on top of that, it was very light and funny without overlooking its story/cultural thing.

The cast was spectacular. Jihoon never disappoints me, be either on acting or on looks (damn it, he's hot in whatever he does). And it had a luxous old cast, with the best actors from the old generation.

About the characters - they were pretty acceptable if not for the childishness of Minjin (the main female). Giha (character) was also very nice but someone should teach him how to kiss/behave properlu without seeming a maniac/raping man. It was such a turnoff sometimes. Really!

The plot was also pretty acceaptable. Not only each episode had around 50 minutes, but also the story was pretty light and quick (and very, very, very funny!!!). If you give it a try, watch it until the first 10 episodes, around that you may become hooked just like myself.
It had also a lot of cultural aspects we see treated lightly in another dramas (like in laws and how mothers-in-law are seen by korean families (I give up my idea of having a korean husband after this :PP Just kidding.) Not to mention every character had his story and his own 'happy ending'. Oh, and.. thumbs up for the ending.
I was a bit anxious to finish it, but I can't say it became boring. Actually, it was pretty nice to watch, that's why I'm reviewing and recommending for you. I watched this after downloading it from asiatorrents, I don't know other websites (but I saw some episodes on youtube as well).

I recommend you: give it a try if you can ^^ It's worth it.

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One of the BEST SUPERB C-DRAMA I've watch BUTTTT.....

I really love this show, This drama have that k-drama quality like it's SUPERBB and that's what I like about it because you can't see it on other c-dramas. Now let's talk about the plot. The story is quite nice. A childhood friend from the past that loved you for 10 whole years. I have mixed feelings about Jiang Jun (A.K.A The FL) Yeah, she tryin to pull of that "strong independent woman living in the city alone" vibes that's cute but what I don't like about her is that SHE NUMB. Like SISSSSS can't you feel anything!? Imagine Du Lei LIKING HER FOR NEARLY 3 YEARS and she doesn't feel it until ML said it to her then realize DU LEI IS ALREADY OBSESSED WITH HER. (Im sorry for the spoiler LMAO) She tryin to pull that strong independent woman but in the end of the day ML always saves her. Im sorry hun that ain't cute. What I really also don't like bout this drama is that THE SECOND COUPLE IS ANNOYING. Yeah, LITERALLY ANNOYING! ESPECIALLY THE GIRL Xu Li or what ever her name is (she the best friend of FL) she's literally clingy and immature to be in a relationship. She quit her job for what? To chase the boy of her dreams. (Doesn't suit my feminist a**) Li Xiaochan (Brother/cousin of the ML) however is very typical nerdy,univ boy. HE DOESN'T HAVE ANY PERSONALITY ( Eye-roll intensifies) I found my self skipping a lot of parts of them tbh. IM SORRY BUT THEY RUINED THIS DRAMA. Now to the supporting characters, IDK why they did Du Lei so bad in this drama, he fine but towards the ending it's MEH. Why you gotta make my dud like that!? Linda her sis tryna pull "clueless" like love story (a.k.a step-bro love story thing) but failed, it's quite weird IMO lol. Ms. Qiao is my fave character towards the end don't ask me why.


That's a lot of negative for a 9.5 rating IK lol sorry, but now let's talk about the positives
1.Cinematography,clothes,quality- As I said earlier it's STUNNING the quality is just SUPERB I LOVEEE ITTTT.
2.Chemistry-Love the chemistry between FL AND ML. Even Ml and Du Lei can make a great couple LMAO
3.Cast- Luo Yunxi and Bai Lu portrayed their characters so GOOD. Luo Yunxi is so handsome I can't- He looks like Ji chang Wook and Johnny Orlando combined. And the girl have that massive glow-up (She was the Fl on Lucky's First Love and they did her bad in that) Supporting characs did also a good job.
4.Plot-It's GOOD okay? To be honest I wish they just make it into 24 episodes. But it's good even if it's 36 ep. it didin't bore me.
5.Kissing Scene-I SWEAR THE KISSING SCENE OF THIS DRAMA IS ELITE. CAN YA'LL JUST WATCH THIS DRAMA FOR THE KISSING SCENE PLEASE? I bet you will not regret it. Other c-dramas have that type of kissing scene where they just peck then don't move their mouths AT ALL whereas this drama, THE KISSING SCENE IS SO GOOD I wonder if it's real because of their high level chemistry.
6.MALE LEAD'S CHARACTER- he ain't like other man in Chinese drama world. HE HAVE PERSONALITY AND IS VERY SWEET INTELLIGENT. He carried this show tbh, made me watch it becs of him.
Favorite scene/ep. of this drama are: Eps 22,26,33.
-The elevator kiss from ep. 22 made me blush hard Its gave me Fifty Shades of Gray vibes.....
-The office kiss where they freaking kiss underneath the table and where they make-out inside the office of yuan yuan? SO HOT IM EVAPORATINGGGGGG
-Their first time!? Im just like watching like 👁👄👁. So hawt I can't LMAO- anyways it's the WATCH for me (wink) gives me wattpad vibes ahhhh.....
-The part where yuanyuan meet the FL'S mother, SO CUTEEEE!~
-The part where they fought because of work, health and private life. (My favorite part because it tackled about the reality of being live-ins) That's why I LOVE THIS DRAMA SM despite the negatives BECAUSE IT'S REALISTIC.

The OST's are adequate, Love that the music is in English tbh.

I will surely re watch even if it's 36 eps long.

LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS DRAMA ONE OF THE BEST I SWEAR YOU WILL NOT REGRET WATCHING IT. MUST WATCH! ESP IF YOU LOVE OFFICE LIKE DRAMAS. SORRY if my review is bad it's my first time :D

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A surprisingly decent watch!

I won't lie, I wasn't planning on watching this movie; the whole step siblings' love thing seemed so weird... But I really like Mori Nana so I decided to give it a chance. And honestly, I kinda liked what I saw. I won't lie, the two step siblings falling in love was still weird but the movie was actually quite pleasant. The story, if not special, was fun and really fluffy. The romance between the two leads was really cute. There were quite a few comedic moments that I loved and Minato's narration was hilarious! I loved how supportive all the characters were! I would definitely recommend Liar x Liar if you want a relaxing and romantic movie to pass the time.

What I enjoyed the most was the acting because Mori Nana really carried this entire film. Her acting was so heartfelt and her expressions, body language and mannerisms were just so damn adorable & genuine. She deserves to be the romantic lead in more dramas and movies, and I hope she gets more roles like in this the future. I wasn't too impressed with the ML tbh. His acting seemed very wooden and he had little chemistry with the FL. I was more taken with Koseki Yuta - his acting was great and, as usual, he had amazing chemistry with Mori Nana and I honestly shipped them more than the main couple. He is another person who deserves more main roles. I also liked Mayu Hotta's scenes and I wish there was more of them!

Next, this movie is absolutely gorgeous to look at. The cinematography and lighting was very good, as can be expected from a Japanese film and I kept wanting to take screenshots every few seconds! The OST was also very pretty to listen - I particularly liked the rendition of Pachelbel's Canon in D, even if it is a bit cliche to use it in romantic content.

All in all, I would rate this movie around 8.0/10.

P.S. If I got a cent for every time I watched a movie or drama where two stepsiblings fell in love, I'd have $0.02. Which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice.

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Hands down, one of the best J-dramas out there.

Silent is one the most modern J-dramas I have seen and I only hope more Japanese dramas come out like this one.

As much as I like the silly over-the-top funny J-drams, Silent was just so refreshing. I truly felt like I was watching a cool Korean or C drama. I don’t think the FL has to be submissive. I don’t think the ML has to hold all the cards and is the only one can dress nice. I don’t think dramas have to be overly steamy or have complicated angst.

I love dramas where it focuses on the relationships, has character development and best of all, Kindness! Crazy concept huh?

I picked up the drama because of the ratings and within the first five minutes I thought I was watching a K-drama. Silent is super modern. The FL and ML are pretty with great wardrobe! Thank you for having the leading actress be girly, but also not frumpy. Yes, the FL can have long hair and wear make-up, but she can also wear cool clothing and be stylish.

I really like the soundtrack too, since music and hearing is a big part of the drama, I’m glad they picked a decent theme song that really makes the scenes pleasant to watch.

The best part of the drama was casting. The FL and ML were the best choices for the drama and you can feel the organic chemistry between the two. I love that the drama was also about the side characters. What about the boyfriend, the brother / sister or the parents? How do they feel about this? These parts / episodes might be a little slow and boring for some, but it’s a nice break to really see different POVs.

I should say that I don’t really like J-dramas because they make the FL usually really submissive. It has to take a really good storyline for me to get into it, like The Incurable Case of Love, but even then, some parts can be cringy. I’m SO HAPPY something like Silent was made. I hope this drama was very successful in Japan, because I want more dramas like this.

The FL doesn’t always have to be submissive, frumpy or conservative. Please write more dramas about relationships, kindness and normal females. They can just be regular women with regular feelings and that is okay. The character is strong-enough to be a leading role.

If you ever wanted to start a J-drama or you think you are only a K-drama fan, I 100% recommend Silent. It will completely change your view of J-dramas.

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My first Japanese drama, “Boku dake ga Inai Machi” was something I previously did not want to watch. In fact, Netflix shoved this at me in a highlight merely because of my previously watched Japanese content – they did this 20 different times. Eventually, I caved, watch the trailer and decided to go for it because it seemed pretty interesting.

Oh boy, I absolutely adored this.

This drama took me to the edge, it reeled me back in and then it chucked me in the deep end. Full of wonderful twists and turns, surprises, harrowing moments and as equally sweet moments, it’s hard to summarise this fully. I’ll keep this as spoiler free as possible since there’s a lot going on and each was a wonderful moment on it’s own, spoilers definitely take it away.

First of all, I’m not too much of a fan of crime or time travel. I find often that directors tend to do too much or too little in both genres and it never maps out the way it should – especially in content that is both crime and time travel. Ho boy, we did not have any issues with that here. We stuck with one plot that divided into one or two sub plots, but each had it’s own place within the content, didn’t seem out of place, nor did it come across as being odd in the drama. This is pretty rare from my few encounters with time travel and/or crime dramas.

Secondly, the casting was absolutely superb. I find often with time travel/flashbacks/etc, the children don’t really much look like their adult counterpart. This was not an issue at all with any of the cast of “Boku”. Every cast member looked like their child/adult counterpart and it wasn’t hard to imagine any of the children growing into their adult versions. The cast all also did absolutely stunning. Again, all the personalities of the children and adults matched their character and the children didn’t seem out of place for child counter parts of the adults we’re introduced to. It all felt finessed, and like these children genuinely grew up.

These two points alone are enough for me to give it such a high rating, but I also want to take a moment to speak on the cinematography as well. Cinematographer Kiyokawa Koshi made such beautiful shots in this they absolutely took my breath away, left my jaw hanging open and left me glued to the screen. I definitely want to go on to watch everything this man has choreographed because it was just pure art. There’s no other word for it – the shots that Kiyokawa made are just pure art.

All in all, after watching this, I want to watch the live action movie, watch the anime and read the manga. This is pretty rare for me – usually when I watch one part of a universe’s content, I’m done with it from then on. For me to want to go on and consume every piece of media of this that is available to me… this is probably only the third piece of media to ever do this for me.

Give this drama 6 hours of your life and give it a go. I cannot recommend it more highly enough.

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Not Really BL

I feel like the majority of what I watched was an action-packed thriller, mystery thing that just happened to take place with characters of the same-sex falling in love. Most stories are suppose to be the complete opposite, with it being majority BL, with the action-pack stuff being there for plot purposes, but the romance the overall goal and objective. I didn't get that with 4 minutes though.

Let's Dive In.

So, 4 Minutes in a nutshell is basically about this rich college guy that (SPOILERS!!) in his moments of dying, gets to go back during these traumatic moments and look 4 minutes into the future to fix his mistakes. One of those mistakes happen to be with a gorgeous surgeon, who also has his own life problem's with Great's family business. Then there's also a side couple who is just as rambunctious and cutthroat with all of their own problems as well.

What I got from the majority of the plot is: they put a lot of money and effort into the characters, story, special effects, etc., but by the 6th episode, I was honestly kind of over everything. I feel like this is the type of series you have to pay attention to, and pay attention to every single little detail, down to the time on the clock, to the writing on the wall. I think I'm just not that kind a person, to get super-duper invested in a series where I'm paying that much attention to the small, what-feels-minuscule moments to then have then be flipped, twisted, and reverse. Had I not watched this with a friend, I'd be in utter shambles trying to figure out with the hell was going on. Which brings me to my point of why this doesn't feel like a BL series. Kind of like Manner of Death, kinda sorta Triage, and other series that deal with this time-warp, time-traveling shenanigans; what they all have in common is that the main goal is for them to figure out what's going on, not within their relationship, but within these weird, mystical powers they've gain the ability to have.

Moving onto the plot twist and whatnot; I think things were handle as well as they could be with such a complex plot, but there were definitely ways I wish they would've done things better. For instance, while Great and Tyme were stuck in Great's hallucinations, we were also seeing Korn and Tonkla's story, but still set in the actual reality. Which is where a lot of the plot gets weird, confusing, and obnoxiously aggravating trying to figure out what is real and what is not. I think most people find it fun to theorize and analyze, but for me, I was just wanting answers immediately, just cause that's how I am. Again, if you're not big on paying very VERY good attention, then you will be just as lost as I was. I understood enough to get me through, but I had to read a breakdown of each episode to figure out what actually happened.

Again, since this isn't really a BL, I feel like I never really got attached to any of the couples, including the main. I think they also didn't receive a good initial start-up for us to even really enjoy the time we get with them. It's literally sex and lust immediately, quite literally on their first interactions. I feel like I didn't get "We're in love" vibes from them at all, not even at the end when they are actually happy together. I think with Tonkla, it wasn't about the relationships at all, it was literally about getting revenge for his brother, no matter who he had to sleep with to get there. I think it was genuine with Korn in the beginning, which they had a really intimate, really beautiful first time NC scene that was done so well, but after that, and with the trauma Tonkla had gone through, it just all turns to shit. His relationship with the police officer was just very hot, and that was kind of it.

This series received so much hype, obviously because of the very explicit NC scenes, which man, did they go all the way, and I mean alllllll the way. I think overall it's a good story, but I think it was one of those things where people only hyped the sex and not the story, so the cast and the crew that put forth the effort of actually trying to tell a decent story gets but on the back-burner because hot-men-naked-and-having-sex-very-explicitly was happening. Kinda sad, but that's just the reality of a series like this.

Ratings:

Story: 7.5/10 - I feel like I got lost a couple times, but overall, you can tell what's happening, you can understand how things are working, and I feel like I enjoyed it enough to want to understand it all by the end. The romance didn't romance enough for me, but I still didn't hate it.

Acting: 9/10 - The best aspect about this series. All the actors did such a fantastic job, and it also didn't hurt that they were all fine as hell. I'm actually very surprised (and worried??) that Tonkla's character was played by such a young and upcoming actor, cause he probably did the best out of everyone imo. Which feels a little weird cause I feel like his scene were the most explicit ones, but... okay.

Music: 7/10 - intro music was nice, I love a little instrumental moment. Other than that, didn't pay it any mind.

Recommendation Value: 6./10 - Eh. I think if you're wanting to jump on the bandwagon and watch specifically because they have great NC scenes, than you wouldn't be alone. The plot itself is heavy, it's complex and it's raw, which a lot of people might not be in the mood for, so it's really a BL that you watch when you're in the mood, period.

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When Love and Revenge Intertwine.........

Damn! How can I move on from one series to another? This one is also impossible to ignore. :(

I’m starting to get familiar with this theme now. I thought Ming (from My Stand-In) was already the most evil partner in BL history, but the things Fan Xiao did to You Shu Lang are on a level of evilness I couldn't even imagine coming from someone who supposedly loves you.

Remember my review for My Stand-In? I said, "Even if I loved someone deeply, I could never forgive them for doing that, not even if I came back to life a hundred times"

I don't even know what to say about this series. You Shu Lang is so much stronger than Joe, even though there are a million ways he could have taken revenge on Fan Xiao, the way he played his part in this toxic relationship is exactly what made me fall in love with the show.

Another thing I loved about this series was the way they wrapped up the entire season. It was so simple, that I didn't even want an after-story or another season to see their relationship continue.

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Rating from a non-Teume

Firstly, I accidentally discovered this show on YouTube during the release of Episode 2. After that, I've been following the weekly releases of the show.

Story:

At first, I was disappointed because the show already revealed the ghost in episode 3. However, the show is not a mystery show about who's the ghost because it was clear that Haruto is the ghost.

I gave 9/10 because some aspects were missed. Like, who's the reason for the teacher's accident? Who's the ghost or what's that bad aura that gives Junhyuk nightmares? Or what's the cause of that bird's crash in early episodes?

These questions were minor aspects of the show yet these questions make the show interesting at the start since they gave me reasons root for answers. Sadly, they weren't answered. Or I certainly missed them?

Anyway, the story is good and entertaining.

EDIT: There are cookie videos (exclusive videos) that are not available on YT viewers. There's a link on the comment below.

Acting/Casting:

As a non-fan, it was difficult for me to learn their names at first. Believe me or not, I've watched Ep 1-4 many times just so I could memorize their names. And for that reason, I appreciate the acting of each member.

Although some members don't have lines, at least the acting was commendable. Examples in mind would be Asahi and Yoshi. No explanation.

For Haruto, the main character. I have to applaud. Also, I love Hyunsuk, Junkyu, Jeongwoo, Junghwan, Junhyuk, and Dooyoung's acting.

Plus, the side character: the Homeroom teacher, and the two boys from the other section. I like their acting as well. They helped the show progress.


Music:

I like BFF (Best Friends Forever) soundtrack and the last song, I don't know the title. The final scene's OST made me sob. It was heart-wrenching.

The scoring and sound effects are also effective.


Rewatch Value:

Well, I've said it already. I've been rewatching the show multiple times.


Conclusion:

From a non-fan, it was a great experience. Though, I haven't heard TREASURE's whole discography—I only heard their title tracks, which are good btw—I finally learned all their names and their acting skills. Maybe in the future, I'll check other songs from them.

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I will be writing an article but I wanted to do a short review here since there wasn't any.

I am a lover of history and the people who make it. The only hesitation for me watching this was the number of episodes.

Story: When writing a tale based on a real person it is difficult not to fudge things, or add extra fantastical things that may be attributed to the person through out time as his legend grows. this did not do that. It simply filled in the gaps seemlessly between recorded events. Tiara no Kiyomori was the first Samurai to lead the Japanese court and paved the way for Shogunates to happen. You can lookup his life on the internet, this drama follows it pretty closely, but be warned, there will be spoilers lol.

Someone asked if there was romance in this. My answer would be real life romance, at the time when a woman duty was a political tool for their family, love does happen. For several couples in this drama the feelings between husbands and wives is clearly shown and the roles both of them play in supporting each other.

According to my husband whose big thing is when movies screw up armor said that the mix of pieces looked accurate, though he feels the use of the Katana was not that wide spread yet. Meh I don't look at that.

The scenery makes you feel like you are there with them, in their mansions, on the pirate boat, or in the forests. it is beautifully shot.

To quote Kiyomori he is following the path of carnage to break traditions and raise the status of Samurai in general, his clan specifically.

The music has on song that is thread throughout and plays a pivotal part of the plot, which is why I gave it and 8, even if you love something , hearing it 100 times in a short period will lessen its appeal.

Re-watch value an 8 only because I now know all the surprises, I would however sit and rewatch it with anyone who wishes to see it.


I gave this a 10, It exceeded my expectations and made me want to watch more tiagas, just not any time soon lol.

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Calm After The Storm

The entire movie is focused on Xiao Jing and her struggles as a daughter of a parent that had a mental breakdown. Xiao Jing's mother has been living a stressful life at work and living in some delusion that her husband is coming home (they're divorced) and she continues to be in denial about this fact. The tipping point was when Xiao Jing was sent home from school when a classmate was found positive of covid. Xiao Jing never cared for her overbearing mother who was on the brink of losing control of everything in her life-- bills left unpaid, staring blankly at the wall at work and the only "normalcy" for her was her daughter. When Pin-Wen almost burned their house down, and she was taken to the hospital, Xiao Jing decided to take care of her mother.

The storyline is a bit forlorn and the movie's pace is slow. But the director's intent is felt throughout the hour and a half. When Xiao Jing's mother's mental health started to improve and when her mother was finally ready to face the realities of life, she decided to find work (she was let go from the previous job) at a supermarket where she met Chen. Despite all the lies that the mother said about her previous work experience (she did not disclose the fact that she worked in a huge company and was let go), she also claimed that her husband died (he was very much alive but now lives with his new wife and son). While Xiao Jing's mother was busy acclimatizing herself at work and adjusting to working with others, Xiao Jing managed to convince her mother to finally sell their huge house to pay for the loans and the other debts that have piled up during her breakdown, and hospitalization. Medicated and adjusting to her work at the supermarket, Pin-Wen finally agreed to let go of the house and all her hopes of her husband to come back to her.

The storyline brings light to the struggles of women in transition and the difficulty of raising children on their own as well as their struggles with mental challenges and fighting off delusions and illusions. The title, The Falls is a metaphor. Pin-Wen when in her psychotic moments hears water rushing through like a waterfall. She tries to run away from the sound and the rising of water but cannot do so in her head... In the last 15 minutes to the end of the movie, Xiao Jing along with her friends had an accident on a school-related trip when water from the dam was released which caused the water to rise and for Xiao Jing to be swept away along with her friends. Pin-Wen receives a call about the accident and was advised to monitor the progress of the rescue operation via television. With her worried eyes, she watch as students were revived and taken by ambulances until the camera finds Xiao Jing assisted by one of the rescuers and the movie ends.

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The story highlights the realization that mental issues are real and they can happen to anyone. With proper support from family members and medication, anyone with mental issues can live a normal life.

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