The story was still the same with a little bit alterations here and there. One of these is the importance they gave to Mr. Du, Dun He Lian's manager. His character is a truly likable one. He supports his talent in everything and, of course, even Gong Xi. He is amusing because he is the one who always teases Lian and the one who, in a way, became a bridge for them to get closer. In this adaptation, Lian is kinder, though his professional aura is still there. In addition, they threw two characters who are for laughs, but I think they should not have added them because they're just flat characters.
The ending is left open, inviting questions, but I guess it's because the manga was (and still is) ongoing, However, I think it's wrapped up nicely that it isn't irritating that it left the viewer to his imagination of what could have happened to the characters.
There might be exaggerated scenes, but remember that this is adapted from a manga. The scenes aren't even that exaggerated compared to its original source. Anyway, I just wished that they animated the "animated" parts better, like the Gong Xi demons, because they may make some cringe.
With regards to the acting, in my opinion, Siwon and Donghae did a good job portraying Dun He Lian and Bu Po Shang, respectively. I wasn't really expecting much from them since I only saw them as singers and dancers of Super Junior (I love them, BTW), so I was surprised of the act they did. Though Siwon didn't show a menacing or scary enough Lian, at least he managed to deliver the emotions well. Donghae, with all his adorableness, showed a truly likable Shang because of his portrayal, though I thought he didn't have that much air of pride as he should have had. Anyway, it's such a shame that it is obvious that their voices are dubbed.
Ivy Chen, on the other hand, portrayed Gong Xi well, but I feel like it being a live action made it difficult to show fully how and who her character is. Also, she had some expressions which looked unnatural... or quite not right. Another notable character is Qin, who was portrayed very well by Bai Bianca. Her interactions with Gong Xi was pleasant to see because their friendship was clearly seen.
Of course, there is Mr. Du as well. Part of why his character became likable is, of course, because of the actor. The child who acted as Marie was good, as well! The other casts did acceptable to good jobs.
I love all the songs in this drama. The opening is catchy and is giving a good vibe, exactly like a good beginning. The ending song gives me a nostalgic feeling, just the right emotion I feel whenever something is coming to a close. The other insert songs and some instrumentals are placed just at the right moments to enhance the feels of the scenes.
In all honesty, I couldn't remember how many times I've re-watched this series already. I guess I've really became attached to it. Anyway, perhaps this is good to re-watch whenever one just want to feel good or stare at the handsomeness of Siwon and Donghae.
This is fun to watch, especially if you are able to disregard the exaggerations and some poor animation.
I recommend this to:
- those who want some lighthearted/rom-com shows
- fans of Skip Beat! ('cause you may want to give this a try)
- fans of Super Junior (particularly of Siwon and Donghae)
Written: 11/10/12
Edited: 01/01/15
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From beginning to end, this movie is a full 10 for me. I hope you enjoy it as much as i do. take care ^^
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You want to have fun and laugh with the five of them. So you will.
You want to listen to their music, so you will (just a bit though)
You want to know what it was, to live in Tokyo suburbs in the beginning of the 2000's (i'm pretty sure everyone is eagering to know such a thing). So you will.
You can watch this movie just because you are a fan of Arashi, or because you want to spend a funny evening after a hard day at school/college/work or whatever you want. It will work, undoubtedly, and there is no need to read more.
But this movie is not what you are expecting.
Pikanchi is for sure on the Plan to Watch list of every Arashi fan. If it isn't, then you should add it right now.
Don't be misled by the scores, i'm not the kind to give a 10 easily, even if I really enjoyed a drama/movie. And I enjoyed a lot this one.
It's just that sometimes the story is not as deep as such a subject may suppose. And that we can see that the five leads have not yet developp all their acting skills. They have showed better interpretations since that movie, but do not forget that they are still young.
Nevertheless, not only the five Arashi members, but the entire cast is great and is able to convey this strange atmosphere of warmth and confinement in this area. So close, yet so far from the Tokyo megalopole. Aiba, Matsumoto, Ninomiya, Ohno and Sakurai portrays five friends which different values and ambitions, at a decisive time of their life. How to become an adult, how to deal with reality and move forward when everything around stick you to the ground, or at least, to that area. How Japanese are able to deal with emotions and with such a complex subject through so much weird and funny scenes is still surprising. That's what attract me the most in this movie. Moreover, through many details, from emulation to jealousy, the friendship stays the main subject, and it's always a great pleasure to see how those five guys manage to convey such a wonderfull bond.
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It is a horror movie that takes from others (The Ring) and tries to modernize the whole "cursed tape" theme. While I applaud the effort - it is essentially a whole film of a bunch of schoolkids running from a cctv camera.
The characters act as they would in a horror movie: completely illogically and "I feel like dying today"ily - which makes for some rather hilarious scenes.
The motive behind it all is pretty shallow, and the moral of the story being: "Don't say mean things on the internet! The internet is a bad place!"
It is an un-scary yet quite hilarious "horror" movie.
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The thing is I loved this drama.I fell in love with it.Even it's old school- it had such an originality that is wow.The storyline is also mysterious storyline.I love the acting of everyone.They made the character alive.The music suits well the drama.If I had free time someday,I'll definitely want to re-watch it in one go.All in all,I loved this drama.I didn't unlike a single thing about it.
P.S:If you came to hate it after watching this drama,then please don't blame anyone cause you're not a person who like supernatural genre drama.Got it.
P.S:I loved the ending & that strong head detective (Hasabe Nagisa).
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Before watching this, I would consider a drama on how good it is based on how addicted I was, but even if I wasn't super addicted to Answer Me 1997(maybe part of it is that I didn't watch it while it was airing so I wasn't left hanging every week), everything in the drama was full of meaning and everything just fit together perfectly.
I applaud the writer and director for making such a work of art altogether, I must say.
This drama was different from others, in the aspect that it wasn't the typical cliff hanger every episode and there wasn't really a FIXED storyline, if you know what I mean. It was the story-telling of two first loves that succeeded and their growth together. From high school to adulthood, it was just lovely seeing all the characters grow.
It was full of sweet moments and what I like about this drama is that there isn't some annoying, cockblocking antagonist that was only put there to have a base conflict. The conflict in the drama was more personal, realistic, and relatable which made this drama just seem more "real" I guess. Even if I wasn't into kpop in that time exactly, I still felt the nostalgia and warm fuzzy feeling when they play a 90's or early 2000's song in the background. This drama always got me all emotional all the time haha. The writing was also amazing and even I learned a few lessons watching this drama :)
THE CAST AND ACTING WAS PERFECT. Everyone was so natural and even if Shiwon was a delusional fan girl, I still loved her character. Yoon jae was just sooo.. soo.. dreamy at times. You can see his emotions through his eyes and his intense gaze that's only for Shiwon. When he cries I just cry with him, because it seems so genuine and the pain is visible through his crying. Again, I loved the fact that there was no crazy ass villain in the drama.
The music they played seemed to fit so well with every scene and even if j didn't even know some(most) of the 90's Korean songs I still felt nostalgic. I'm currently looking for all the songs used in this drama because it's that good.
I would highly recommend this drama to anyone who is a sucker for sweet and 'fuzzy' love stories as well as people who are just looking for a drama that's not too heavy. This will take you down memory lane as the beepers and cell phones with antennas are re-introduced. I mean, who DOESN'T love the feeling of nostalgia? Well this drama will definitely give you that feeling.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS DRAMA!
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Don't Forget girls if you love Jang Geun suk dramas this is the one you need to add to your list to watch.
i would watch it again anytime.
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i would defiantly watch this again!
If you like a little action, Love story, and historical dramas this is the one you don't want to miss watching.
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I would watch again.
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About the Charachteres : Mok Dan was sometime boring but i still liked her.
KangTo : I love you...Lol. He has so much charisma, class and his character is the best
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