Apportez-nous un café, ma petite !
Encore un drama corporatiste dont seuls les Japonais ont le secret. En France, il n'y a que la grande littérature, avec la série des "Martine..." qui s'attaque vraiment à nous faire découvrir tant de métiers. Si, si, réfléchissez bien. À la TV on ne peut compter que des flics, voir des docteurs, ou encore des docteurs-flics. Mais à ma connaissance il n'y a pas de héros secrétaire. Un métier pourtant maintes fois abordé dans les dramas. Du coup, pour les habitués, on se demande si à nouveau les clichés de la jolie secrétaire exploitée vont être au centre de la série. Mais loin d'être un énième plaidoyer contre le harcèlement et l'abus de pouvoir des chefs de service ( malheureusement encore la réalité au Japon plus qu'ailleurs), nous sortons assez vite des bureaux pour vivre une histoire remplie de trahisons, de revanches et de mystères, dans les lieux de pouvoir du pays.Si le rôle de la secrétaire candide et disons-le un peu nunuche est une fois de plus tenue par Hirose Alice (rôle qu"elle semble maitriser à la longue), la personnalité des 6 autres secrétaires est bien marquée et distincte. Kimura Fumino joue avec justesse la secrétaire de direction d'une banque de haut rang et arrive à nous montrer à quel point on doit effacer sa personnalité rendant lisse, voir froid le personnage alors qu'elle est si naturelle quand elle sert les ramen. Oui, elle travaille aussi dans un izakaya, tenu autrefois par son grand frère, mais dirigé maintenant par Eguchi Yosuke toujours à l'aise dans les rôles de cuisinier, comme de flic ou de repenti. Ici, il fait penser à un Bosselet dirigeant 7 drôles de dames, dans un contexte à la limite du Harem Manga.
C'est là que le bât blesse, si le concept de 7 secrétaires travaillant dans l'ombre pour résoudre des problèmes de corruption, ou de harcèlement est intéressant, pourquoi avoir toujours un chef d'équipe male. Évidemment, les femmes sont indépendantes et fortes. Mais vers qui on revient toujours chercher du réconfort ? Je vous le donne en mille, ... Comme on a droit à la secrétaire sexy, la sportive ou la geek difficile de ne pas avoir cet arrière-gout fan service, voir sexiste.
Mais ne boudons pas notre plaisir. L'histoire principale a son lot de mystères et de révélations, l'humour est présent et les hommes, surtout, en prennent pour leur grade. Les acteurs sont bons. Je découvre avec plaisir Shim Eun Kyung actrice coréenne certainement très connu des amateurs de K-drama (désolé pour mon ignorance) et qui me semble très talentueuse. Son histoire personnelle, dans la série m'a d'ailleurs extrêmement touché. Chaque personnage a droit a son propre arc plus ou moins réussi et c'est peut-être ce qui fait la force de cette série bien trop courte. Si on rajoute 2 titres de la chanteuse Milet accompagnant magistralement les 8 épisodes, que demander de plus. Une deuxième saison peut-être, les politiques sont tellement pourris.
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First, I loved the entire supernatural romance theme, that is exactly what pulled me into this drama.
Pros: I always love how the lyrics to the music matches the storyline in most lakorns and this soundtrack was beautiful. The romance and chemistry between the two leads were sizzling. Khun Hem has some mesmerizing come - hither eyes and I love how the actor portrayed his emotions at times without even saying a word.
Now I think, that is where my admiration for this drama ends, and it is time to get into what frustrated me so much while watching this wonderful falling Jenga tower of a show.
Cons: I'm not really one to complain about bad CGI, but the special effects reminded me somehow of an 80's video game. I almost laughed out loud on parts I knew were supposed to be serious. Khun Duen exacerbated me to no end. I loved how the writers made her out to be very headstrong, but that was a false picture. It seemed like they did not know whether they wanted her to be weak or strong, and then when you think she has gotten stronger, she goes and does something stupid again and then rely on Khun Hem to save her all the d*** time. She is so naive to the point of stupidity.
Okay, I know that my Cons rant might seem like I hated the show, but I didn't (I think it was those bedroom eyes of Khun Hem). The show was really good with all of its cheesy and damsel in distress moments. The show has a happy ending and I am quite satisfied with how they wrap everything up. It' s like they say come for the cheesy romance and stay for the man with the sexy eyes. The show gave me all the satisfaction I would get from watching a Jenga tower fall down as soon as someone removes a major piece. Consistency is what was removed from this show, but it was fun watching it all play out.
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Dreams Rekindled: A Story of Loss and New Beginnings
I watched a beautiful movie on Netflix, a co-production between Taiwan and Japan, starring Greg Hsu and Kaya Kiyohara. I would give the movie a solid 9/10.Let's start with the cinematography and camerawork. The film features stunning shots of Taiwan and Japan's scenery, with elegant camera angles that provide a breathtaking experience. It takes you through the bustling streets of Tainan and the snowy mountains of Japan. One of the most unforgettable scenes is when Jimmy meets a kindred spirit on a subway. They exit a long tunnel and find themselves in a snow-filled wonderland, leaving Jimmy in awe and imprinting the moment deeply in his mind. It’s the kind of experience that transcends simply taking a photo with a camera.
The characters are exceptional as well. We see Jimmy’s growth from a tardy but energetic youth with a bright future to a jaded game developer at a crossroads. Kiyohara's enigmatic charm shines as she dances around a karaoke bar, injecting life into the people around her.
The story is exceptionally well-paced and told, juxtaposing a vibrant and cute slice-of-life adventure in Taiwan with the tragic, melodramatic ending typical of J-dramas. When the reveal happens, you can’t help but feel a strong sense of loss and contemplation about what could have been. As the memories start unraveling from Kiyohara's perspective, I personally couldn’t help but bawl my eyes out.
In conclusion, I feel this movie is a masterpiece—a truly excellent love story that marries the best of both Taiwanese and Japanese cinema.
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The other stories are mere fillers, all following the time-tested formula of a single mother, a marital affair, an unrequited love and so on. After a while, the director seems to have lost track of the individual threads - with so many episodes focusing on particular characters and forgetting about the rest. There are so many unconvincing scenes, like when Xiao Fei says something like,"After we married, it seems like I make you angry so often", and I had to go back searching if I had missed any scenes, coz the only things I remembered were them quarreling a couple of times about watching TV and throwing socks on the floor. I think most of the actors did a good job, just that I didn't find their characters very interesting. Nothing exceptional about the music, but can listen to it a few times.
Rewatch value: 10 for the Crazy Dog and Yi Wan/Xiao Fei story, 5 for the Lian Qing story, 0 for the Xiao Xi story, 2 for the others.
If you like romantic stories, you must watch this for this one pair (you might like the others as well - I didn't). It has pretty much everything - the interesting first encounter, how they come to regard each other, one mom who tries to force them together, another who's opposed initially but comes around in the end, the interesting sidekicks and finally, no romantic triangle/ jealous lovers (there's a small one, but doesn't last long and had a graceful closure).
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Same old story,yet so new!
My first thought about this was "why the heck they decided a remake of this one?And with the same actors?Nah!Im not gonna watch it!"But i did watch it.And Surprise!I liked it.A lot!It was fresh and light and fluffy and sweet and...I don't have to apologize to anyone!I liked it!Lol!
Nothing new.Same good Bl University recipe.Cute characters.Angst.Jealousy.Same old good misunderstandings.The annoying girlfriend too.
So do not expect to watch anything you haven't already seen in the vast sea of BL World.
At first i was sceptical because of the length of each episode.Hourly eps are like a double blade knife.
Either you get bored easily,or you can't get enough of it.And the fact that i had to wait 2 days for the last episode to be translated, made me angry!
If you have already seen the old version iam sure you have definitely noticed the huge improvement and development in our MLs acting skills.I was amazed.I didn't expect this.From the awkward stiff and annoying acting to natural playful and enjoyable performances in this one.I felt like a proud mom bragging about her kids!!
Well done Yin & War! Susu Na!
There is no need to analyze it further.Tbh,theres not much to talk about.Simple story.Handsome actors.Many butterflies 🦋 in stomach too.Thats all you need.
And not forget to mention their shower scene and that kiss!Easily one of the best kisses of 2022 in Bls!
For this alone you must stop reading this and go watch it!
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Excellent Slice-of-Life Drama but very painful to watch
Completed - 11/24/2021Objective rating: 9.0
Subjective rating: 8.75
It is very difficult to review and rate "The Bond". Objectively speaking, this is an excellent drama. The acting is top notch - from the youngest actors to the most veteran actors. I have nothing to pick on. And because of the excellent acting of everyone, I come to hate so many of the supporting characters. I don't think I've ever hated characters from a drama this much, most notably Father Qiao. This piece of Sxxx of a father is the worst I've seen. The novel writer and the screenwriter are the same person, and I wonder if he has such a hard life that he would write something that gives me so much pain.
The drama revolves around the life of the Qiao family. The Qiao siblings grew up without a mother and their father emotionally and physically abused/neglected them. Big Brother Qiao YiCheng had to grow up fast to take care of his younger siblings. Throughout the drama, you see the hardships that each sibling has gone through from their childhood to their adult life. But the BOND between them is unbreakable. No matter how much they argue and fight with each other, they immediately drop everything to come to their sibling's rescue. And because they all suffer so much that I wish the best for each of them.
I thought of writing a little bit about each sibling's journey, but then my review will be super long and possibly very boring. Let's just say each has a very distinct personality and has amazing character growth in this drama. All of their marriages go through ups and downs. This is no fairytale, as happily-ever-after does not come easy to the Qiao family. When watching this drama, I have to pause and only watch a couple episodes a day. I cry and suffer with them, and it became intolerable to binge watch. I endured all this suffering because I pray that it has a happy ending. I wish there are more light and comedic moments in this drama, to balance out the tough moments.
Other Notes:
1. I am glad to watch another Bai Yu (Brother #1) drama after The Guardian. His acting is no joke. He's excellent in this drama.
2. This is my first drama of Zhang Wan Yi (Brother #2). I became a fan and look forward to seeing more of his dramas in the future. He's quite handsome :)
3. So glad to see Rachel Momo (Sister #3) in this very likable role. I really disliked her in "Princess Wei Young". But then, it also speaks to her great acting ability.
4. Song Zu Er (Sister #4) grew on me. I didn't like her and her character that much in the beginning, but she has the best character development in the drama. I look forward to her upcoming dramas.
5. I am so glad that the actors are using their own voices and it also sounded like live recording.
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One of the Best!
This is my first ever review because I feel so compelled to do justice to this drama.If you are a historical drama fan, you must watch this. Although the events and characters sometimes have some fictional elements (which I think they did on purpose to avoid censorship problems) the main plot and most of the events were played out nicely, down the the smallest details. As I watched this and read Wikipedia about each of these characters it really brought me joy in learning about Song Dynasty.
Some people don’t want to watch this due to bias against older actors/ actress (me included). But in the end I found them to be skillful and refreshing in telling this story. For those of us who knows the legend of Civet Cat replacing Crown Prince, this is the story itself but less vicious; more logical.
Wonderful to watch this without too much harem in-fighting and seeing a realistic portrayal of an Emperor, whom in spite of his status has a very hard life. He loves only one person and remains faithful through his embrace, gaze and need of spending time with her; yet he had to seduce other women in order to produce an heir (tastefully and sexily done …). He is also a fair person who doesn’t discard the women once he got his heir but to honor them best he could.
The main couple though in love evolved their love into a very mature relationship where they go through heart breaking decisions together. I sometimes feel so bad for them and wish they’re able to love like a normal couple.
Politically this drama also plays out the stress that the Emperor goes through and no wonder they die young whilst some ministers lived through 3 generations of Emperors. This is truly a bad for health job.
Everyone acts so well in their roles. Vic Zhou tends to have this pained , eye-squinting expression when he portrays the older weaker emperor. But he is very charming nonetheless. Even his consorts talk about his piercing eyes and good looks and how they all really love him. This includes the empress (Liu Tao) whom he loves so much.
This drama is a gem for people who likes to see a good quality set, high standards in acting, costumes, attention to every detail including etiquette and ceremonies. Amazing! Go watch it and you will be surprised how good it is. Some says initial editing was bad. I don’t think so. You just need to pay attention to the story. They make every episode counts and it’s paced so well that 61 episodes is not too long. I finally found something that is equal to Glory of Tang Dynasty which ‘wow’ me 3 years ago in a similar way.
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Since this lakorn is getting a remake in 2020, I thought I would write a review ^^I've seen this lakorn twice, my only reason for re-watching it is not because it was exceptional. It was mainly because I am a fan of Bee and Namfon. I've seen 3 lakorns where they are paired together and I really like seeing them as an onscreen couple.
The storyline is like a twisted version of Cinderella. TBH in 2000s era lakorns if there is a storyline where our FL is being manipulated/used/abuse by family etc the FL character is a push over. Tawan, our FL is a push over and is blinded by a depth of gratitude she has for her uncle and aunt that raise her when her parents died. She is our typical neang'ek - proper lady, big hearted, kind, generous, good at everything etc. Her aunt and cousin are truly evil, selfish and money hungry. They have no problem deceiving people and even killing people. The way they talk and make plans about it like it's an everyday and normal thing. Her aunt and cousin only loved and cared about themselves and each other and treated Tawan like dirt and garbage. I can't wrap my head as to why Tawan is still loyal and feel that she has a depth of gratitude towards them when they treat her like garbage. We see at times that she has spunk and can stick up for herself - like how she was firm with Suthi, when she was negotiating with the kidnappers for Toh and Yardfah.
Toh, for being a person who is smart he sure is pretty dumb and blind towards the Duangjai and Yardfah. How he could not see the manipulation with the mother and daughter pair, their attitude and treatment towards Tawan just blows my mind. He needed Suthi to spell things out for him numerous times. I didn't have an issue with Toh's character until he forced himself onto Tawan and just verbally degraded her. Blows my mind how he came to that conclusion and all. But hey, its a lakorn in the 2000s, that is the normal logic in these types of lakorns unfortunately. Personally I felt that he should have tried harder on searching for Tawan when she ran away. Like why are you so defeated when you have more at stake and you now know the truth but can't track her down?
Overall it is a decent lakorn but you just need to be aware of the "typical" lakorn logic especially the logic in the 1990-2000s era. It may not sit well with alot of people, especially in 2020.
I personally enjoyed it because I like Namfon and Bee, especially seeing them as an onscreen couple. P'Gew was honestly my favourite character, she's the only sane person.
I'm looking forward to the remake to see if they make our ML smarter (LOL) and our FL with a little more backbone.
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A Short yet Raw Portrayal of the LGBTQ+ Experience
‘Meet Me Outside’ is a short, honest, and sweet drama that has a runtime of a little over an hour about two broken souls who find solace in each other at resort. Juan Miguel Severo, the screenwriter behind the brilliant drama ‘Gaya sa Pelikula’, also wrote this so to say my expectations were high would be an understatement.While I didn’t love ‘Meet Me Outside’ as its predecessor I definitely enjoyed it. The plot was pretty straightforward and simple but the cast really made it their own. Both Genesis (Dale) and Kaloy (James) perfectly portrayed the characters. You could feel the chemistry between them right from the start and as the episodes progressed so did the chemistry. The main complaint I have with this drama is the length. I felt the sixty or so minutes we spent with Dale and James were not nearly enough time to flesh them out. But that’s less of a outright criticism and more of a personal preference.
The OST was not that memorable but it definitely helped immerse the audience into the story rather than pull them out of it. The cinematography was very pretty too despite the fact that the majority of the drama takes place in one place. I liked the way the director enhanced the characters feelings through the use of different camera angles.
One last thing I want to point out without giving away any spoilers is that ‘Meet Me Outside’ felt as if it’s truly meant to be a story for and by LGBTQ+ individuals. It was unafraid to dive into certain issues and certainly managed to capture the raw vulnerability of heartbreak.
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Following your fate blindly or having a bit of courage to challenge your fate, which do you prefer!?
What is it that you actually want to happen in life if you had the choice to choose from:1. Allow your life to unfold naturally; fall in love with the person who is entwined with you by a crimson thread of fate; and accept the outcome that fate has planned, happy or tragic.
Or,
2. Even if you are aware of your fate and the one that awaits you, muster some bravery and fight against it in order to have a happy ending and spend time with your loved one—not the one that is predestined.
Now, if I talk about this drama, what I actually enjoyed is:
1. The best female character written in kdrama history.
FL, Oh Baek Ryun knew from the get-go whom she liked, what she wanted from him,who was interested in her at the same time,how to make someone fall for you, how to handle third-party interest without playing with their emotions,how to sacrifice for your soulmate,how to fight against your destiny, and lastly, how to wait, praying for your one and only loved one.
I know it's super rare to find someone like her as your partner, but if you find one, you should thank your luck for meeting her.
2. ML, Chun Sang Hyuk. When I first started watching, it seemed like he was constantly falling for different ladies in different decades, all of which ended horribly. He was even warned against falling for any woman, but if he does, it'll end in tragedy. So I was actually worried about how the current timeline would end up. But after knowing that he had unknowingly fallen for the same soul in different decades,I had no choice but to admire his character wholeheartedly.
Although he was reluctant to openly date anyone after his first tragedy occurred, when he came to know that FL was actually the girl from back then, he let go of all other warnings, etc., and finally started to follow his heart to pursue his hidden feelings.
He also fought against his destiny, remained heartbroken for decades with a huge guilt in his heart, fought again against his destiny after learning the truth behind all of the tragedies,died as a fairy, and got reincarnated as a human to live the life he wanted with his loved one.
3. Chun Dong Chil, aka A Bad Day to Be a Dog. He practically carried most of the story as a major supporting character.
I'm not going to say much about him here; you should watch to find out more.
Now let's talk about what I actually hated:
1. Chun Dong Koo, aka the dumbest irritating fairy amongst the four. A man with a personality like his is a menace to society. His story is only here as a filler. If we can cut his subplot, I guess it'll easily be a super exciting 12-episode drama.
I just find it a shame that after spending so much time on him, the script writer wrote that horrendous ending for him, which makes no sense to me, like, WTF! Why spend so much screen time on him if you already have that shitty ending for him?
3. Seo Jae Hee, the most self-narcissistic delusional freak I've ever seen. He's the second-most pathetic SML I've seen in recent times! A man thinking of him makes my blood boil.
I never liked his character for my own specific reasons, which I shouldn't put here in words.
This feeling only cooled down almost at the end of the drama when he slowly started to let go of his obsession over FL after learning the truth from his past life, which can't completely wash away the fact that I was frustrated with him in the past episode, so kindly bear with me.
3. Chun Dong Pal, Lmao, he's a filler. That's it.
There are also other little but point-worthy things that I liked and disliked in this drama, but I can't include them in this list as it is most likely already very long.
Overall, I believe I will remember this story for a very long time, which makes it well worth my time. If I consider the re-watchability of this drama, I believe once a year is sufficient to reminisce about the leads' fascinating chemistry.
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Its cute and fairly casual.
I really liked the storyline, if you are a fan of Ki Kwang then you will love this!
Nothing really dragged, but I think its partly because its really short!
It isn't a type of drama that you will get bored with, more like you want to watch it again.
There isn't much to dislike about this drama...
Oh yeah, its really funny! I watched this on a school night and I couldn't stop giggling. In the morning my parents were angry because I was giggling too much and apparently they couldn't go to sleep! XD
Anyways, overall it was very cute and sweet! The songs were nice and enjoyable.
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Too many gaps ...
The series promised to be interesting, not original but interesting. Unfortunately it had more and more gaps in the script with each episode. Later events contradicted logic and earlier events, e. g. {{"From the dialogues it appeared that water was multiplied by living blood. Upon the death of the host, water reproduction ceased. . . ok logical. . . Suddenly in the last episode we have an ocean of water. . . . From 4 dead bodies? Another example: a captain locked in a lock where he is flooded by water. Then, after being pressurized by the ever-increasing water level (no one knows from where), water flows out of the space station and automatically freezes. . . . Meanwhile, in the final scene, our captain. . . suddenly he's leaning against the moon rocks? How?}} So I'm deluded. . .Nevertheless, I liked the acting . :)
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When Male Leads Have Personalities of Two Wet Socks
I werent planning to write a review but once my casual comment on this drama reached some lenght, i decided to turn this into legit-ish review post.As a long-time fan of contract relationship stories, i am willing to let slide stupid plot set-up for the sake of my entetainment. Entering contract marriage for newlywed loan and revenge? Why not! Basic premise and set-up was okay. The problem is it took way too long - instead of some nice co-habitation/pretend scenes between female lead and fake-husband (which we got only at the end of the drama as flashbacks?!) we were given infinite amount of nice scenes of FL and ex-boyfriend. Which endcouple were we really supposed to root for? Literally no couple had enough chemistry to overpower the other. Also?? Was the /big reveal ™/ during art exhibition really surprise to someone? No, then why was FL so shocked? It could be much better if she realized it earlier once she knew who the artist was.
The acting, especially from both male leads, was atrocious. The female lead really tried her best and i enjoyed her for the most of the time (quite frankly, she carried the show), but the dudes showed literally no emotion whatsoever. You could use carboard cutout of these guys and we wouldnt even know (except for the scenes in rain. i suppose they would bend slightly). All the characters were criminally underwritten and honestly... most of them didnt even have one personality trait so i can imagine it was perhaps impossible to perform sufficiently.
The shaky camera during the dramatic scenes was so bad it gave me motion-sickness. Other visuals were pretty nice and OST was fitting.
Overall, this was... empty. Nice to look at but in the end there wasnt enough chemistry to carry the drama /somewhere/.
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Pledge of Allegiance vibes, but straightforward and no betrayals
(Note: I didn't use English subtitles for this short drama, as I understand Mandarin.）A wonderful little short drama to watch while eating or just on little breaks, or as a treat before bed.
The acting from the two male leads was surprisingly good, and really carried the whole show for me. It doesn't hurt that they're both very pretty to look at, which is always a plus - good acting and good to look at. I hadn't heard of either of them before or seen them in any other shows previously, but they're both actors I'll be on the lookout for or will click on a drama for just to check out if I see them in anything else. Simon Chen (Su Cheng Xi) stood out a little more for me acting-wise, and also seemed a little more natural besides, although this could also be chalked up to his character's more carefree personality than Li Pei Yang's character Sui Han Bai, who is a bit of an ice-cold face. Swen Xuan's Zhao Yin was also pretty good, as was Yin Rui's Zuo Han Qin. Zhou Wei's Yue Xiao Qiao was perhaps the stiffest among the cast, but overall, the acting was very good.
Story was pretty good considering the length of the episodes and overall, nothing to write home about but also nothing to sneeze at, and didn't feel dialed-in. The twist of who the masked man was at the end genuinely surprised me, although I'm not sure if that says more about me than it does the show... Nevertheless, despite its short length, it didn't feel rushed nor like it ended prematurely, although it was definitely streamlined and left out the finer details, that would likely have been more fleshed out in a longer format. The length also left no room for filler, which I appreciated; and the story always picks up where the last episode left off and gets right to the point. My only gripe was Miss Zuo's character seemed unfortunately left hanging somewhat and was never quite completely fleshed out as a character in her own right.
There wasn't much music to speak of, but the ending song felt very appropriate to the brotherhood and loyalty/action vibe of the show.
Finally, I'd say this is pretty rewatchable, as it's both short and again, no major flaws to be found at all, at least in my book. Whether it's for looking at pretty people solving crimes (kind of) and doing things or just to watch the relationship between the two male leads, I'd be happy to watch this again or have it on in the background while doing something else.
Overall, I really enjoyed this, so gave it an 8 - MDL suggested an 8.5 based on the overall subscores I suppose, so on account of how much I liked it and how easy it is to watch, upgraded per its recommendation.
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