Reviews

The premise of Zenkai Girl is an interesting one: A girl from a very poor childhood grows up driven to rise above her lot in life. She is sharp, smart and tough. Ever the outcast due to poverty, she studies her heart out, fighting and clawing her way up and out of her circumstance. (And let me say..If you don't love the girl who plays young Wakaba...you are all dead inside. She will tug at your heart.) She fixates on her goals and feels the only way towards success is to stick to these goals unwaveringly. And she succeeds. But her circumstance has given her no insight on how to love. So, when she meets a man who, while she finds her heart wavering for him, he is her polar opposite. He confounds her and she doesn't know how do deal with the love growing in her heart. She genuinely doesn't understand the personality of the man to whom she is so attracted. He doesn't mix with her plans.

For about 9 episodes of this drama I was completely drawn into the puzzle of how Wakaba was going to change as well as being drawn to watching both her and Shota learn to find some middle ground and find some way to come together. The writing was good, the episodes plotted out fairly well until the last few.

They spent so much time driving home the point that Wakaba was damaged and tough and Shota was meek, complacent and overly kind, by the time we got to the end of its run they rushed the couple's big moment. It should have felt more natural. I have only watched 3 Jdramas and so I understood they were shorter than Kdramas. The shorter length didn't seem to hurt them so I knew it could be done. Not so with Zenkai Girl. I ended up enjoying it but the pacing was off and that mistake cost this drama the ranking of being something more than 'just okay' in my eyes. It simply could have used another episode or two.

But..I liked all the characters, even Wakaba and she was tough to take sometimes. Shota was a sweet loving character and the children were delightful. (if a little too adult in their wisdom and reasoning) This show is enjoyable and I liked the episodic conflicts that were solved pretty quickly and the lessons learned. Zenkai Girl is not hard to follow and can be a lot of fun. It is simply too short for the wrong reason. The viewer should feel a drama has ended too soon because they don't want to see it end. A drama shouldn't end with the viewer thinking "Wait...you haven't quite finished the story!"

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This show is very ordinary in the way it is a very typical detective drama with the main person helping to solve cases. The only thing difference is that the main character girl called Wanko, is very cute. She dresses in the gothic lolita fashion and has the sense of smell like a dog. She uses her keen sense of smell to solve cases and her very outgoing and honest personality is what makes her a very lovable character. Other detectives she work with are also very entertaining and funny in the way they act and everyone in this drama is very comical in their own way. This show is not at all serious and is made for a very cute feel. Honestly I felt like the show ended in a very ambiguous way and was very disappointing, but all the other episodes were entertaining. So if you like watching cute dramas with a detective feel, then I would greatly recommend this drama.

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My review is unbiased because I haven't read the manga or seen an anime...

High School Debut is so funny I literally laughed the entire time. It does have its "drama" moments but it didn't take a way from the fun of the movie. The ending was predictable but cute nonetheless. I really liked the use of color in the movie. Everything was colorful and bright and just made me feel cheerful while watching.

Loved the entire cast! The female lead might be a new actress but she did a good job of bringing her character to life, very believable. Of course there's Junpei who I adore; liked that he played a coldish character this time. My favorite character is actually the sister. Shes so Kawaii! I really liked her hair and clothes=D The rest of the cast was a great addition.

The music was fun and very fitting. It definitely added to the movie's atmosphere.

I can see myself watching this twice in the same year.

Although this might sound like a silly movie, its so entertaining and provides a nice message. Watch it!

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The first two things about Love Shuffle that made me smile happened right as the show started. First, the theme song is Fantasy by Earth Wind and Fire. They are a 1970's Funk and Soul band. The groovy tune began to play and I thought; "Okay, Yes!" whoever picked this song is cool so there is a pretty good chance this show will be too. (Music really has the power to sway) Second, the graphics for the show's opening while accompanying the music were just as cool as the song. I love how the lead male comes jogging into frame and he slaps at a playing card that goes spinning while all the characters gather with a black, white and red color palette. Grooviest opening to a show ever!

Okay..now on to the substance: The other day at work I was describing to a friend the premise of this show. She does not watch any Asian Drama...but now she wants to watch Love Shuffle. I haven't seen a premise where 4 people meet, discussing love and its woes then decide to play a game where they shuffle partners. All of these people are pretty flawed, some way more than others. Each has their own motive for participating; some reasons are benign, some...not so much. Each character is written slightly off from normal which made them seem more real. Does that make sense?

It was fun watching the partners switch and wondering who would end up forming connections. Each partnership and how people related to each other kept me interested all through the drama's run. This show is unconventional which just gives me the warm fuzzies.

At 10 episodes the great thing about Love Shuffle is the story is tight. No room for filler and fluff.. 10 is all you get and the writer and director did a good job of making 10 all you need.

Watch Love Shuffle. It's grown up, it's silly, it's quirky and strange...And those are the elements that make it pretty Kick Butt!

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Story: Typical chaebol guy falling for a poor woman with attitude story, BUT with a twist. The twist? The clever dialogue, the lighter/comedic take at competition between relatives and amongst the upper class for power and of course, the unforgettable characters. Watch this if you want to see the "physical" side of chaebol power struggle (if hair pulling and catfights are not enough for you!). A little bit of dallying at the end due to the 2 episode extension to 18 episodes but not too bad considering that it gave a concrete, non-rushed ending to the story.



Acting/Cast: Excellent acting from the casts. The reason why I gave a 9/10 was because I thought a couple of the casts were not as experienced in acting and it showed, though the fault is not too serious that it ruined the enjoyment of the drama. For newbies, they did very well.



Music: Only two OSTs stood out for me. The rest are forgettable (that's just my opinion!). The OSTs served their purpose well though and went well with the situations in the drama. Conclusion: OSTs are not the strength of this drama. The story and characters are.



Rewatch value: I would buy the originals and keep them under my collections of good dramas. I will definitely re-watch it one day but not in the near future. This drama gives you a happy, relaxed feeling - high entertainment value, but at the same time, it is not SOOOOO good that you'll be going back to the episodes again and again. Keep this for when you want to re-visit good memories from the kdrama land,,,, someday in the future.....



Overall: Excellent entertainment value. Solid ending. Enjoyable characters. One for keeps but not THAT outstanding to form a following or trend that'll get people talking for years to come.

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Well, I have to say that I give Protect the Boss a solid 9. I wanted to give it a 10 because the acting was wonderful and for about 85% of the time, I enjoyed this drama very much. Sad to say, as usual, the extension killed the momentum and slowed things down during the last third of the drama's run.

I find more fault with the whole "Drama Producing Machine" rather than with the writers, actors or director. I think if this show would have been able to stay on course and end at 16 episodes it would have been beyond great. The extra filler did it no favors. Having said all that...

This drama had such a different and fresh feel to it! Yes, it was quirky and had clichés but there was also a charming departure in the way they used those clichés. It seemed the familiar drama tropes were thrown in for fun here and there but not used as a fall back due to lack of writing skills. The relationships were written differently. All across the board; whether it be the family dynamics [which was particularly refreshing and endearing], how the love square was treated throughout and of course the main couple's budding love. There were a lot of genuinely funny moments. And again, the romance was portrayed slightly off from the normal..."Couple meets, don't like each other, they fight, there is sexual tension, love, trouble, noble idiocy, true love!" trajectory that most dramas follow.

A standout part of the plot for me: The friendship of the three women. I am speaking of how this drama decided to take a different tact with the female second lead, Na Yoon. They curled her into the already established friendship of the Myung Ran and Eun Seol and made her a part of them. And oddly, comically and rightly..she fit! It was charming. Rather than turn her into a clingy, clueless one dimensional bitch, they gave her character development. She had her own endearing quirks and she ended up being one of my favorites to watch. Show, I heart you for her! Thank you.

Don't let those few slower episodes in the latter half turn you off. This Drama has a lot of wonderful moments, great plot, story momentum, refreshing writing and acting to recommend it. Funny, Quirky, Sweet! Check it out!

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I thought that this drama was going to be horrible, but it's actually 100 times better than I expected. If you liked You're Beautiful, then you'll definitely enjoy this Japanese version. The Japanese series included most of the important and memorable scenes from the original series, so the episodes won't bore you. For the cast, I used to think that they're kind of strange, but you'll eventually like them and their acting is very acceptable (and they're actually newbies). This is one of my favorite Japanese dramas and it's really not that bad at all. In fact, it's awesome. The ending is especially awesome. I don't think you're going to be disappointed about the ending. The series is not that long (only 11 episodes), so I don't think it's going to bore you or make you wait really long for things to develop or get better. ^^

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You can't really compare these two because if you try you will not be able to watch the J version.



The story is pretty good but of course a lot of things are left out because the episode count is cut down. They did a good job of including the important scenes. I didn't bother watching the last episode cause I kind of got bored with this drama but I heard the ending is better than the K version.



The cast was great and did the best they could, but I didnt really care about their characters. The entire cast didnt have the same chemistry that the K version did. Still everyone managed to pull off thier parts.



The music in this was just good. I kind of forgot they were playing a band because except for 2 scenes you didnt really see them practice or play anything. Definitely cant compare to the Korean OST.



I'm not sure I'd rewatch this or not just because I could watch the K version.



Overall this isnt bad or amazing its average. I'd recommend watching the Korean version if you find the summary interesting.

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Quite honestly, the original Korean version was better than the Japanese version. Don't get me wrong, I thought this one was very well made and the acting was great, but the stories of both dramas was very similar so I will focus on the other points. Although this is a love story, I thought that the Korean version dealt with more of the musical significance and the play out of each character than the Japanese version did. The Japanese version focused a lot more on Miko, the main character girl instead of her brother, while in the Korean version, the brother was mentioned as a looming presence. Of course though, that the brother is not the main part of the story, but I feel like Mio was somehow completely dismissed and gone from the storyline, even though he does play a part in the show. Also, these people are in a band, and yet you only hear two songs sung by them (this could be my bias since I love music). Anyway, if you greatly enjoyed the Korean version, then you will love this show as well. They are very similar, so if you don't like watching the same thing twice, then maybe you shouldn't watch this. There are some things that are different, but nothing serious.

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I remember watching the anime first a while ago, but I don't remember much about it other than the fact that I enjoyed it. After watching this drama I still enjoyed it - and loved it! It's a light drama for the most part, you have your silly moments - but you also have your heartwarming and moving moments. While there are some things about this drama that might seem cliche nowadays - you have to keep in mind that it came out almost 1O years ago and it was original for the time.



In the beginning you have all of these arrogant kids who start to change and mature as Yankumi becomes their teacher. She takes care of her students, she's always on their side. It's a drama that says "You can live by standing on your own two feet" - sometimes you just need a helping hand.



The acting is great - Part of my reason for wanting to watch this drama was for MatsuJun: the more I see of him the more I can see him as a great actor for his portrayal of different types of roles. The rest of the cast was great, too, no complaints.



The music is okay - they only really had 1 song that played at the end of the drama. The rest were instrumentals that fit the drama but didn't stand out to me.



I think I'll watch this drama again someday.



Overall: I think this is a drama worth watching. Remember that it came out in 2OO2, that it's also based off a manga. It gets better with each episode - I watched the last 7 episodes in one day. If you're looking for something light and comedic with characters that go through problems and mature - this is a good drama to watch (:

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This drama was really good concerning the story line. I know that I missed some parts b/c of probs w/ the links, but I got most of it. The ending was kinda abrupt and left me wanting more, but there are few dramas that satisfy me completely. The acting was ok; it could have been better, but I am not going to bitch about it b/c it got the job done. I actually really liked the music in the drama but wish that the translators would have not over shadowed the actual dialog for the lyrics. I had to go back and pause the show b/c the dialog flashed for like 2 sec then was gone b/c they were posting the song lyrics. There were many scenes that made me laugh. I enjoyed the seriousness of the drama as well. Having ur fate decided on the whim of an emotionally unstable person is very tiring I am sure. I enjoyed the future/past aspect of the story b/c I love stories that progress that way. It is like a "love lasts beyond time" kind of statement to the plot. Neways, I enjoy the drama even though it is not exactly perfect or everything that I wanted it to be. I am sure others will enjoy it also.

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