Reviews

I've literally never been compelled to write a review before, but this drama called me to do so. Takane no Hana is brilliant—brilliantly shot, brilliantly acted, brilliantly paced, and, with admittedly some stumbles, beautifully written. Never has a drama pulled me in so deeply—and everything about TNH is deep. The development of its characters (particularly its female lead) over the course of a few months is the focus of the plot. And not only the development of fictional characters, but the exploration of human emotions and the way they are expressed, from person to person. The raw moments of humanity, often chillingly acted by much of the cast, but Satomi especially, are astounding. This is a drama that will stay with you after you've finished watching it.

I watched it out of sheer love for the characters (Momo in particular) and the journeys they all go on, but viewers who watch for romance will find it here. If you're looking for couple with lots of sweetness, Momo and Pooh (our leads) will give that to you. The give-and-take of the actors is tremendous, and they play their roles exceedingly well. I'm generally not one who gets attached to couples, but these two are so playful and thoughtful. You will find yourself loving every minute they spend onscreen together.

I cannot stress how much of an impact this drama left on me. Yes, there are some odd plot twists and unrealistic behavior that result from them, but the magnitude and quality of this drama make me overlook it all. I could say so much more to praise it, but there's little point: just know that this drama is absolutely fantastic. My specific favorite things TNH tackled: 1) the growth within people when they discover how to love themselves, 2) the representation of the intense love between sisters, 3) the bravery it takes to admit you love someone, and the understanding that it does not make you weak.

In all, I cannot recommend this drama enough.

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I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS SHOW

Dude what a rollercoaster this show is. Each couple was so perfect for one another. Obviously with shows that are mafia/hitman based, some things aren’t ethical. I think that’s an important thing going into it (and any show like that). But overall, I adore this show. Everyone’s acting was amazing. I know people didn’t like Dunk’s acting, but he did absolutely amazing and played Style perfectly I cannot pick another actor that could of played him as perfectly as Dunk. Joong played Fadel so well! I fell in love with him as the episodes continued. Once you peel back the layers, theirs so much to Fadel then what meets the eye. I wanted to hate Kant at the beginning but I just couldn’t because First did such a good job playing him. Bison was just a fierce cutie patootie all the way through (I love you Khao). Getting these 4 on a show together was probably the best decision. Even the non-couples had such funny scenes with one another (especially Fadel and Kant). The storyline was so damn interesting, sometimes a little predictable, but personally I like shows that I can guess what happens. All the actors also sang for this show. All their OSTs were pretty good! I also liked the variety of songs they played during different scenes to set the mood, some made sense some didn’t but that’s fine with me because I appreciated the laugh. Will 100% be recommendeding this show to literally everyone.

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Lovestory btw an extrovert & an introvert!!!!

Personally i regarded this series as a light hearted & emotional drama. Even though i felt like it doesn't have a strong start!!! But it gradually got better and I'm addicted :)

The first and last episodes are really make me emotional, with their sacrifices and closeness.

The friendship among the female besties stole my heart, i really felt like its sooo precious, the way they are supportive among them is sooo soo beautiful & i almost cried at these scenes 🙈

I hated the third wheelers but not soooo much [but they super irrtated me in some scenes🧘‍♀️] but our not so confident female lead got courage about her feelings

I think in middle episodes I almost at the edge to hate the FL, but later I realized this group of highschoolers are all have different personalities - the shy one, extroverted one , risky one, confused one, confident one..... and more ..... after all we are humans!!! WE CAN'T BE SAME AS EACH OTHER


And the real story starts when they are close to choose their career/college, all our lovey dovley couples finally at the edge to choose between their career or love,
Career and love

Maybe its funny to tell i really got afraid while watching the last three episodes ....finally at the end I can tell

ENDING IS PERFECT so as the REWATCH VALUE

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Psh. I adored this movie. It was my first time watching a historical type Korean movie. I was worried I wouldn't like it but I really really did. It has to be one of my new favorites. The story is really refreshing and original. The cast was good. I love Ji Hyo, but some of her acting I found awkward. Speaking of awkward, yes there are quite a fair bit if sex scenes in this movie and I saw a lot of people saying they were 'unnecessary' but I disagree. A huge part of this story is lust! The sex scenes were very decent in this movie. It wasn't like some movies which make me feel awkward like I'm watching a porno. The emotion was there. I really felt that in the sex scenes as well as the fight scenes the actors did well with making their characters emotions come through simply my expression. Honestly if you can be mature about it and understand why the sex scenes are they aren't unnecessary the add to the whole passion of the movie. This movies amazing. If you're mature watch it. I'd recommend it ^_^

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This was a pretty good series. As good as any South Korean drama is gonna get, I think. I’ll explain below what particularly worked for me and, of course, what didn’t. This review contains one minor spoiler, but it won’t spoil your enjoyment of the show. This is also going to be one of my longer reviews (I hope you'll read it, anyway :)

WHAT WORKED:

THE STORY - There are two sides to the plot. First, there’s the behind the scenes look at drama production in Korea & secondly the complicated love lives of the people who work in this industry. I was very pleased with the former, but not so much the latter.

I loved getting a glimpse into how productions go down in Korea. Even though I work in film production rather than TV production, I recognized well every challenge the young directors face because I face them in my own career too. The huge pressure of wanting to stay true to your artistic values while trying to satisfy overbearing executives who control your career, difficult actors, bad working conditions, productions going over budget & over schedule. Yup, been there, done that. There were also significant differences that really shocked me. I won’t get into details, but let’s just say Korean production crews deserve every respect for their dedication to their jobs. They work under some very extreme conditions that would have unions shutting us down here in the West.

THE MATURE TONE & MOOD OF THE DRAMA - I loved that in this drama sex isn’t the usual pink elephant in the room that’s never acknowledged. The drama is written by adults for adults, and that mature tone and mood permeates the show. The chemistry is just popping. If only more Korean dramas are like this. Unlike so many other Asian dramas - I actually BELIEVED the couple are indeed a couple.

THE ACTING - Overall the acting isn’t bad. Most of the supporting cast are great & like other reviewers said I too really enjoyed the storyline of Hæ Jin and Gyo Ho. I never thought their relationship would play out the way it did. I had a bad first impression of Gyo Ho, but he completely redeems himself by the end.

As for the leads, since coming to dramaland some 7-8 mths ago I’ve heard an earful about Hyun Bin. This was my first opportunity to see him in action & I must say I get the hype. He is gorgeous! There were times when I really envied Song Hye Kyo, that she should be so lucky to play house with such an amazingly handsome guy.

But anyway … now that that’s out of the way, I think, acting wise, what Hyun Bin has going for him is that he’s got some of the most expressive eyes I’ve ever seen on a male Korean actor. The eyes are one of an actor’s most powerful tools. Look at the most successful, well-regarded actors and they all have these amazingly expressive eyes that can convey any variety of emotions: love, anger, sadness, indifference … I believe this is true for Hyun Bin. All he has to do is just look at his co-star and you can feel his emotions through his eyes without him having to open his mouth.

Hyun Bin certainly has the skills, the charisma and the charm to be a really powerful actor. However, he was still a relatively young man in this drama, 25-26 yrs at the time of filming. So he didn’t have much life experience that would've added an extra layer of nuance to his performance. For this reason sometimes his acting did come across a bit immature. Had nothing to do with the character he played (an immature guy in his own right, sure), but just the fact that life experience adds another dimension to how you process the world around you & thus how you interpret a role.

Lead actress Song Hye Kyo is not able to emote on the same level as Hyun Bin. The one emotion she's good at in this drama was ire. That is not to say she’s a bad actress because she isn’t, per se. One of the characters, an actress playing an actress, made an interesting observation: she said many young actors don’t know how to apply acting techniques. They try to portray emotion in a very literal, mechanical fashion, for eg if they’re supposed to be angry they scream, if they’re supposed to be sad, they weep etc … it’s an interesting observation because I think this describes both Hyun Bin & Song Hye Kyo’s performances well, but more so hers than his. This is true of Hyun Bin only when he expresses anger (his rantings & ravings were hilarious and cute, though lol), but with Song I felt like this mechanical interpretation of her character’s emotions is her default approach. I didn’t like it, but okay.

WHAT DIDN'T WORK SO WELL:

JI-OH & JOON YOUNG'S RELATIONSHIP - Their relationship is annoying & immature, probably because both characters are really just big babies that throw temper tantrums when they don't get their way or say dumb sh-- because they don’t know how to express their emotions in an adult fashion. Ji-oh and Joon Young fight over the dumbest things. The childishness grated on my nerves, and as the drama ended I didn’t feel confident that they’ll last any amount of time with this type of dynamic between them. They were together before, broke up then got back together, but neither one of them seem to have grown from this experience. This feeling took away from my enjoyment of the show because for me what makes a great romance drama is the feeling I’m left with at the end, that even though no relationship is perfect they’ll be able to overcome the trials life throws at them & live together happily.

THE SHOW'S ATTEMPT TO BE PHILOSOPHICAL - the show’s attempt to philosophize about how life imitates art fell flat for me. All the introspective commentary just felt like they were trying too hard to be 'different', for the lack of a better term. Contrived.

THE FEMALE LEADS - But by far what provoked me the most about this show ... some of the female characters, in particular two of the 3 female leads. The main female character Joo Joon Young, played by Song Hye Kyo is, when all is said and done, not a very likable person.

Joon Young is a driven, ambitious, career-minded young woman. She works in a male dominated environment where she deals with a lot of sexism & has to hold her own. I loved all this about her because when it comes to work, I related to her character so well. She lives my life & with great panache (as I would like to think I approach my work as well).

On a personal level though Joon Young is rude, selfish, spiteful and cruel, sometimes for no good reason whatsoever. I think the deficiency in the characters is both as a result of how she’s written and how she’s played by Song Hye Kyo. There’s not one perfect character in this drama, but it’s one thing to have a character who is human and isn’t always cookie cutter perfect & another to have complete jerks & bitches with NO redeeming qualities.

Take for example Ji - Oh, played by Hyun Bin. He verbally and physically abuses his staff on set, and loses his temper left, right and centre. But once the production is wrapped & the stress of the situation tones down he’ll humbly apologize and take everyone out for soju. In his love relationship he has a mean streak that rears its ugly head when he feels cornered by emotions he can’t process, but again once he comes to his senses he’ll humbly apologize and ask for forgiveness. So just when you’re convinced he’s a jerk, he turns around and convinces you otherwise. This made him very human & very sympathetic because even though he makes mistakes that sometimes hurt people, he accepts responsibility & expresses remorse.

Joon Young, on the other hand, never takes responsibility for anything even when she’s blatantly in the wrong. Here’s one example (out of many) of what I mean:

There’s a particular scene in which she agrees to meet another character at a restaurant. She sent a text saying that she is going to be late. She doesn’t say how late, but naturally the other person is not expecting her to turn up 2.5 hrs late. But that's exactly what she does. And when the character expresses annoyance, instead of apologizing, she gets all huffy and argues that she did send a text and blah blah. As if she’s so great that anyone should wait around 2.5 hrs for her. That type of arrogance. That type of rudeness. Ugh. This is just 1 of MANY such scenarios. She’s missing a real sensitivity chip and that made it difficult to like her.

I initially rated this drama a 7, but decided to raise it to an 8 because in the end it became somewhat of a masterclass for me. It made me think about how I develop my own work, esp female characters that I may write in the future. TWTTLI also has other good things going for it, so I’d still highly recommend it to anyone who likes a nice, adult drama. Moreover this was the best introduction ever to the lovely mr. Hyun Bin. Not sure if I’m a fan yet, but yeah he’s got me all hot n bothered alright! Haha! :-)

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A tempting movie

"One of one hundred movies there's one that is fair, one that's good and ninety eight that are very bad. Most movies start badly and steadily get worse”, said Charles Bukowski once.
Well, I'm not a movie expert but as far as I'm concerned, this movie is "one of those hundred movie" that is "good".
The lead actress acted pretty well. From falling down through to bossing her boyfriend around she did everything in a convincing and cute way. There wasn't any moment when one realized that she was acting. She really lived out her character, cried, smiled and got angry.
The female lead even spoke English( but only sometimes). And by the way: Her accent is pretty cute.
Concerning the male lead...charming and hot as always and his acting was way better than you might expect ( after seeing him in Kim Sam Soon).
Apart from that, this movie used a new method to overcome the language barrier between the main actors( Daniel Henney doesn't speak Korean).
Nowadays, this language barrier isn't even a "barrier" anymore. Directors are able to make use of dubbing.
Integrating the language in the plot was something new to me when I watched this movie back then. ( Now I know that there are other dramas that used the same method: Kim Sam Soon, Sweet Spy).
At first, it felt somehow strange to listen to this Korean&English; mix of both actors. But I must admit that the explanation for this mix was very comprehensible: The male lead stated that he understands Korean pretty well. But for him it is difficult to speak Korean.
While watching this scene, I accepted it right away.
However, the only thing I couldn't accept right away was the plot.
Of course, I know that in movies everything works differently. It might be rushed as there is no time to show more of it.
But I wished that there had been more time to show the characters' and relationships' changes/ developments.
Nevertheless, the plot was unpredictable. Moreover, Korean drama clichés were used in a different and funny way.
“When everything gets answered, it's fake.” ( by Sean Penn)
Actually, I'm not a supporter of this opinion but this time I agree.

If you had a rough day and don't know what to watch, you should try this movie!

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Freedom is the oxygen of the soul

Not me has to be one of the best Thai BLs I’ve ever watched. I’ve seen the praise for it for months, so I came in with high expectations and I can tell you I was NOT disappointed.

STORY/PLOT : 7.5/10
The premise of this show was interesting from start to end, you could really tell the writers/directors put a lot of thought and purpose into it. The balance between action, mystery, social commentary, and romance was handled well for the most part and you don’t see that in a lot of BLs. The only gripe I have with this would be the pacing and a few plot holes. The first few episodes were pretty slow and more than once it felt a little too convoluted, but after I’d say, episode 6 or so, the pace really picked up and things definitely got a lot more interesting. Also, the ending.. I was happy with it because who doesn’t like a hopeful ending? But it was bit too quick or..easy for me, I guess. It really just left things to be desired.

CHARACTERS: 9.5/10
Each character was charming in their own way. I don’t think there was a character on screen that I wasn’t completely engaged in. Really liked how the female characters had goals and passions and were just overall PEOPLE and not one dimensional objects to help push the m/m romance along. Not only romance, but the friendships in this show were so refreshing, I will always love a good found family trope. Some characters weren’t as developed as I’d liked by the end, but I’d blame that on just not having enough time to flesh everyone out.

ROMANCE: 10/10
Sean and White’s build up to romance was refreshingly gradual and very cute to see. Seeing a couple just exist unapologetically queer, clear consent, and healthily developed was such a breath of fresh air and I loved every second of it. My favorite couple of this series though, has to go to Yok and Dan. The scene where they first arrived at Dan’s hide out and Yok was sketching him honestly made me tear up a little and solidified their chemistry and romance for me. The inevitable betrayal hurt so good and the forgiveness in the end, a promise to help pick up the pieces lost and hopefully build them back stronger, was beautiful to watch.

ACTING/CAST: 10/10
Gun (White/Black) has done it again. Absolutely phenomenal acting especially with such a difficult task of playing 2 different characters. The way you could clearly see the contrast between White and Black just goes to show how much work and effort he put into this role. I loved Off (Sean) in this role, I’m telling you, it felt like it came so naturally to him. Every facial expression and longing glance, you could tell he really embodied this character. First (Yok), Mond (Gram), Papang (Gumpa), and Fluke (Dan), all deserve their flowers too, not one character felt one dimensional or awkward, they all each had their own personality, faults, and goals, and it was really great to see.

MUSIC: 10/10
Loved it. Music can make or break a scene and ruin immersion but the way this team utilized it had me hooked and really did add to the tone of the episodes. Also appreciated the fact that they didn’t use any comedic sound effects in this show, definitely helped with the mature angle they went for.

PRODUCTION/CINEMATOGRAPHY: 10/10
Holy. Shit. I can say this with 100% certainty, I have never seen a BL look this good. I don’t know how many times I was just staring at my screen in awe, replaying a scene over and over because of how damn good it looked. Everything from the camera work, to the locations, to the clothing, to the lighting had a purpose to help tell this story and god damn did it work. The details they put into this production was absolutely jaw dropping.

OVERALL/TLDR: 9.5/10
This show is more than a BL. It’s a story of pain, heartbreak, social justice, corruption, but most of all hope. I will never stop recommending this. The shots were breathtaking, the characters felt real, the story was engaging, and it definitely surpassed any expectations I had going into it! ♡

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Story: This is an example of a drama that started out brilliantly with promises of hours of drama intrigue and entertainment only to fall flat on its face half way through. The result? An ending that makes you slap your own face and pull your hair out in frustration. The frustration is not for the story for the direction of doom the story was taking was pretty obvious 5 episodes into the drama, but rather for the fact that you were such an idiot to have watched it to the end! (Yes, me guilty!) >_< The story started out with Jin Da Hua, an ugly woman with a heart of gold. In an attempt to resolve her father's gambling debts, she was given an opportunity to be beautiful through the misfortune of a woman who resembles her. For one year, she is to be the fiancee of a rich man. Unfortunately, the real fiancee died and Jin Da Hua was left with the task of consoling the man. In the process, they fell in love. Throw in a childhood sweetheart and a couple of meddling women - you get yourself a drama. It could have been such a good drama, except that the important characters in the drama suddenly have a change in heart and.. well.. character. Since then, the entire story went down the bin. One has to wonder if they changed writer half way through or whether the writer hit a roadblock with the story and never recovered. Anyho... if you plan to take this drama up, do not expect a good storyline and satisfying ending.

Acting/Cast: No complains about the acting. Everyone in this drama are experienced actors and actresses. A pity that the storyline flopped half way through.

Music: Literally the saving grace of this drama. I absolutely looooove the OSTs, especially Olivia Ong's "Unchangeable". Looking forward to her new album with the OST in it!!

Rewatch value: Not worth rewatching. Seriously.

Overall: Watch if you ran out of drama to watch but do not expect much despite the great start to the drama. Lots of nice memorable scenes in the drama with the wonderful OSTs playing BUT that's just all it is - great looks, OSTs, classic romantic scenes (eg: kissing in the rain, unveiling of the bride etc). The drama simply lacked substance from the storyline point of view. Absolute disappointment... but at least, we leave with a great set of OSTs.

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Don't judge by the comments

i know many people are hating it by calling it pedo shit and creepy or whateven. but if u open ur eyes properly, u can see it clearly,the ml never approached the fl before she got under the disguise of guyu. . in comparison to most other cdramas, their relationship is much more mature and not even a bit toxic. he respected her boundaries throughout the whole time. moreover in those times, it was no big deal to marry anyone as long as they are not blood related, leave apart the age difference. moreover there are a hell lot of cdramas about romanticising adopted siblings romance.

overall i am loving this series. the chemistry is no joke. people who are here to hate, didn't u all see the trailer? it was very clear over there that this is not some daily topic. why bother to see if u want to spread blind hate?

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My rating is greatly influenced by the romance in this drama, because of the quality of the production and the moments that left you on a high, it was enough to make me eager for Fridays. If you are looking for a well thought out sci-fi/fantasy drama, this is not for you. But if you can abandon logical storyline and live in this world of make believe for a king and his girl, you are good to go.
I was reminded of Dr. Who when I watched this but the world created is nowhere as exquisite as in Dr. Who. The accepted lore surrounding time travel and space/time stories don't bother this story, it does its own thing. Sounds like you should not watch ---- but as much as all of this is true, I felt that this show delivered a romance that made it worth a few hours of my time.
Story:
I gave the story a 9 because of its bones. It is not fleshed out well, but there is enough for someone to pick up and let your imagination take you the rest of the way.
The high production value does enough to keep you in the world of the drama even when the story lines when off the rails sometimes.
There is a theme of love across almost impossible boundaries like that which can be found in Crash Landing On You.
I don't mind cheesy romances... I can discount the plot holes and live for the moments where the leading man is dressed in his military dress uniform and stand stately and claim his woman.
Acting/Cast:
Lets just say Woo Do Hwan 10/10 ….
I don't favour Lee Minho's acting but he suited this character and did a credible job of creating the mood of the romance. A cool, smitten, dominant male lead. It isn't a swoony romance and it is not about the female lead. Lee Minho carried the romance for me but it might be because I like a strong male lead. This role seems to be suited for his type of acting. The charisma of a King or a knight in shining armour on a white horse. There were enough times he got to say lines that cheesy romance novels stereo typically write for a King.
The rest of the cast, considering everyone had to play dual roles, I found extremely engaging. The storyline failed a couple of the characters in later episodes.
Music:
10/10 and really, all I need to say is that there is this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apNWEcuBboI
Rewatch:
I don’t think I would rewatch this without a lot of fast forwarding.

Overall:
You can break a piece of art down into the different lines and colours but until you stand back and look at it as a whole, you don’t really see any substance or merit. This show is like that to me. There is so much I can say that could have been done better. Yet, I feel I could replay some of the moments and get the “feels” all over again. Watching it left me feeling good. If that is all it provides in the world as it is today, then this drama was worth it.

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Why are you reading my review when you could be better spending your time watching this show?

If you are reading, it means you're hesitant: please don't be. Don Quixote is a fantastic watch, wonderfully acted, well directed, full of sweetness and serious issues treated with a light touch which is neither shallow nor melodramatic.

But most of all, you will laugh. A lot. Loud.



Yes, I'm a fan of Matsuda Shota and started watching because of him. I had been waiting for his next drama with a passion after Liar Game and prepared myself to be swept away by his very natural charm - and looks, I won't deny it.

He did not disappoint me one bit. He's outstanding: infuriating but incredibly sweet, hilarious but bossy, dense but clever in a very down-to-earth way and just as crazy as the famous hero created by the pen of Cervantes.

But a Don Quixote review would be incomplete and totally unfair without including Sancho Panza in it, brilliantly portrayed here by Katsumi Takahashi. As the synopsis explains, there's a soul switch involved in this drama, so that we see the two actors suddenly changing attitude, accent, facial expressions. The attentive viewer won't fail to recognize the ability of these two actors to wear the clothes of the other. The result is comic and endearing. Takahashi and Matsuda form an unforgettable duo.

All the secondary characters do a splendid job. The Yakuza's family is so improbable you can't help but laugh out loud and all the staff of the child consultation centre grows in depth and characterization.

And then there's the children. Japanese have a true knack of telling children stories, in my opinion. The fact that these kids are all incredibly cute and most of the time talented helps.



I loved the music too. It's in Spanish, as required by the title, and the contrast between the Spanish sunny rhythm and the Japanese architecture and landscapes is so sharp it's brilliant. I also loved the open credit tune with the children drawings, I thought it was a very cute touch.



I will rewatch this drama. Soon enough. I will marathon a second time through it and no doubt be left with the same huge grin on my face.

Highly recommended.

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This is a very touching story and I thought they used the short time they had to tell it very well. It clarified everything it had to without dragging on and on, which is always good.

Another good thing about this drama is the flashbacks. This is one of the few times I've felt flashbacks are completely necessary and actually helped in the storytelling. I believe they were employed well, and even though they were used a few times, I didn't feel they were abused and that every single one of them achieved its purpose.

The acting was good and the two main leads were more than just good.I thought they portrayed their characters very well. The music helped convey the emotions of those characters too. The only thing that wasn't good were some rather strange/fake effects, but those are not used a lot.

I have to mention another thing which is not really important, but this is possibly the only drama where I have to bow to the stylists. I loved the costumes, both the modern time clothes and the ones in the historical time.

I will very likely be re-watching it soon since it's only two episodes and it doesn't drag.

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This dorama here, will be the funniest thing you'll ever watch ......ok, if that's a little too much than still be sure that it will be there for a while and if not, go see a doctor.

This bizarre yet smart, over the top yet minimalist comedy has achieved what very few dramas can, it's cast enjoyed the show more than the audience and one can easily tell. There are scenes with the Konbini manager where the rest of the cast literally fights to hold off their laughter; oh how I wish I could watch the behind the scene footage (speakng of that, if anyone has any clue where to, pm me onegaishimasu!).

I didn't know any of the cast beforehand and that's sad, because I can never take them seriously ever. If you have nothing better to do (Heck! If you had, would you be wasting time here reading this?!), go watch this drama and remember,

'God is dead (Kamisama......shinda),
- Nii kun

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