Reviews

Gonna write this review while my mind is fresh! Seems like I've become an ambassador of movies that aren't well-known. I'll make them known! Hahaha... xD This movie was divided into three parts (Japan, Taiwan, and Shanghai, each with a different cast), so I'll address them separately where I see fit, otherwise I'll refer to the film as a whole.

This film was a collaboration between Japan, Taiwan, and Shanghai, so there's a mix of Japanese and Mandarin throughout--in fact, the foundation of this movie is [basically] the manifestation of love despite the language barrier. Now, onwards:

Story:
Japan--I found this one a little awkward, as the two characters didn't have any sort of real interaction. The theme was kind of like "chance encounter," and that shown through to a certain extent. Some parts do feel like "chance", and others, clearly not. The practical side of me is screaming at the absurdity/implausibility of it all.
Taiwan--The language barrier is very evident in this story, and it creates some pretty hilarious moments throughout. I laughed so hard my roommate thought I had problems...The theme for this one is "having someone by your side when you need them".
Shanghai--Probably the sweetest of the three, the main actor for this story showed up in the "Japan" story as well. This one might bring you to tears, if you're that type, while the first and second will probably give you hope and gratitude, respectively. This mini-story has takes a very quick jab at Shanghai's rapid industrialization, which I felt gave this story a leg up above the others (something more than just love, y'know? ...No? XD)

Acting/Cast: The entire cast did their job well (professionals, after all), nothing to complain about, though nothing totally note-worthy. I really liked Ryo Kase (actor of the "Taiwan" mini-story), and the actress in the "Shanghai" mini-story. "Japan" was a bit of a throwaway for me, in general. Cast included.

Music: A+++++. However many pluses I can add onto it. I (probably mentioned before somewhere) that I love traditional Eastern music...and I got my trad'l Ea. music, so I'm a happy bumpkin. The self-titled "biking like mad" scene in "Japan" was the first music track that made me excited to hear the rest. Make sure you listen through the credits too, that song is beautiful!

Rewatch Value: Probably not. I don't usually rewatch in the first place, so there's not much to say.

Overall: A good watch if you're looking for an interesting take on the various facets of love, though you'll have to look somewhere else if you're looking for your everyday romantic comedy because this isn't it. If you're only going to watch one mini-story, watch "Shanghai"! :)

I would've given this movie an overall score of '5', but I liked the last few seconds of "Shanghai" too much, so I added an entire point. *U*

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I went into this drama expecting it to be pretty iffy.
I was surprised however by how much I actually liked it.
The story line was original. It followed the anime somewhat. and the characters were very intriguing. The actors did a great job. I felt all of their emotions especially their pain. Although the special effects were kind of dated I just associated it as a relation to the old 60's anime that this is based off of. It's a great watch. I recommended it to anyone. Except if you're expecting a love story there is none. So don't bother watching if that's what you're looking for. Other then that Happy Watching Everyone!

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I liked this drama a lot at the beginning, but somehow got bored of it.
I've seen Hana Yori Dango before and since it had become one of my favorite dramas, I felt like I should give a chance to BBF.
I didn't regret my decision, because the writers tried out many new ideas. Half of the time it didn't feel like I was watching a HYD remake, which is a great thing! At the same time some of the new scenes were unintelligible and over-dramatic. For one, I couldn't understand the happenings with So Yi Jung. For like 15 episodes, he was a normal character, and out of the blue he has become a human wrench. And to make matters even worse, there were only hints about his family problems. Why bother talking about his mother if no one ever tries to solve the situation? The same goes with Goo Joon Pyo's father. There were several scenes with him being nursed by Geum Jan Di. But for what?
And these are only a few examples of the weird scenes in the drama. The other bothering matter for me were the illogical happenings. People appear at places they shouldn't know about, Jan Di's mobile disappearing, etc. And how come the girl gets treated like 1000 times and she only feels bad about it once or twice? And apart from her being really poor, she changes her clothes at least twice a day, and also has several pairs of pin heels in her suitcase. :D
About the actors, I liked most of them. They did a decent job, but not outstanding. Lee Min Ho was good, Koo Hye Sun was pretty good (I liked her better than HYD-s actress), Kim Hyun Joong was an eyecandy (although most of the time he had his fake smile on his face), Kim Bum was very good and Kim Joon was mediocre. If I had to compare this cast to HYD's, I'd definitely go for the latter. Simply put, they could overcome the pretty boy image and act out the characters' personalities. (And Oguri Shun's Rui is simply legendary.)
One more thing I was irritated by in this drama; the recaps. There were recap scenes right after the original ones. Who wouldn't remember what has just happened?
To summarize it, this was a pretty good drama, with lots of turns and good looking actors. At the same time I would only recommend it to those who have already seen HYD.

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Before I have decided to write an review for this Movie here I saw that the others who wrote one as well seemed to be pretty disappointed with the outcome :)
I absolutely disagree with that! It was just awesome and it fitted exactly in the image I would have imagined for the live-action after loving the Manga and Anime so far...Sure it is my favorite Anime and I may be an little more in favour of it already before but it didn´t disappoint me^-^The actors were perfect for the roles,Miura Haruma as Kazehaya and Tabe Mikako as Sawako.I was most impressed by the actress of Sawako,she played her role very good and I could understand all her actions .What surprised me was that I was seeing the image of the Sawako in the Anime whom I loved very much before in a new whole image as before.It was stunning how I discovered habits,special ways of moving etc...in her.I got to know the same Sawako whom I knew and at the same time I found more,interesting things in her personality.Kazehaya supported her great acting and made it perfect all in all....The ending may differ an little from the Anime/Manga and therefore a few persons are disappointed but I am actually happy about the fact that it was different because it didn´t get boring because of that reason ^^
As for the music I gave an 7 because I rarely did notice it but I enjoyed to hear it as an background in some scenes*~*

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i rarely like the show. i'm very picky and impatient so i can't stand situations where it stretches for too long. but Secret Garden was a big surprise. story, acting, cast, music... everything's perfect. there's funny and sad moments... so funny you can burst out from laughter and so sad that you're eyes get swollen.
yes, i really liked this drama, it can satisfy even a very picky person, such as me.
when i read that there was a body switch i thought "ah, every episode will be just confusions till the end, better not watch it". but then i watched few ep, and BooM i was totally surprised.
so, it is must watch drama. if you don't watch it you'll die. :D

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First of all, the story was bloody brilliant. Though, there were many things that were modern in the show; the dialect, and CPR was introduced later in the time. There were also a few slips and slops in the drama. One was that the 'other' westerner's wig was a different color than the hair near his neck. The wig was brown-red while the hair from his ear to the back of his neck was medium brown without a tint of red. The lighting made the mistake very noticeable.
Next, the cast was mediocre, in my opinion. I loved that they made a westerner one of the main leads. It's very different and was what intrigued me to watch this drama. I was a little disappointed when he started acting, though. (But, it was pretty good for someone who was not a native Korean speaker.) The girl who played BJ had a voice that was very annoying, and she seemed very young. In the last few episodes, she flashed a few smiles that seemed forced. I could tell that she was not fully immersed in her acting. Other than that, the rest of the cast was splendid.
Finally, overall, I really enjoyed this drama because it was unpredictable at times. I thought that BJ would end up with William because of the first few episodes, but I was wrong. And I thought that Yan would also fall in love with BJ. The ending was good, but I felt that it lacked to deepen the relationship of PG & BJ. (Because I honestly felt that the fans would love to see their relationship go a tad further.)
I absolutely recommend this drama to those who are patient.

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This movie came out in 2006, and as it's been over five years, this movie qualifies as "old" in my book. However, the movie shows no signs of age, in image quality or in content.

Story: People can argue all they like, but I think this movie's story is very original. A girl who's "too tall" and a boy who's "too short" are perfect for each other but they fail to realize it. The second half might be cliche, but aren't all romcoms at some point? The progression pace was good, and they stuck pretty darn closely to the manga-->I do disclaim that the manga itself didn't have the strongest ending, so the drama couldn't really do anything about that. It does bring closure, though. :)

Acting/Casting: The lead actor and lead actress were so perfect I'm not quite sure what to say beyond that. Though the height difference is much more drastic in the manga (too drastic to be real), these two pulled off their complexes very well. I found myself laughing at all of their interactions! They're a hilarious couple (whether they wanted to be or not)~ The other cast members weren't that memorable, but considering the story isn't about them...oh well. Risa's sister was absolutely hilarious though--so be on the watch out for her. XD

Music: I don't quite remember particular tracks, but I think that's a good thing. The music adds another dimension to the movie, and doesn't draw attention to itself. Like the backstage crew of a play...they do plenty of necessary and important work while they play is going, but doesn't distract from the play itself. Ninjas, they are.

Rewatch Value: After every romantic comedy, there will always be another romantic comedy. Truthfully, I don't even *like* romantic comedies! But this one was unique in its story, spectacular in its casting, and an overall joy to watch. I wouldn't mind watching it again--at all--though maybe I'd have some gripes about the ending, but that's all!

Overall: A very lighthearted story about two cute high schoolers who find their way to love. Lovely Complex is a movie that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, though maybe with a hint of a country accent (they're speaking in Osakan dialect and it's hilarious/adorable). Gives a new spin on romantic comedies. Manga adaptation or not, this movie holds its ground. Definitely recommended!

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That is an interesting drama.This drama is basically about obsession, revenge, may be also exaggerated desire. If you are looking for an action oriented revenge tearjerker drama, you shall GIVE UP on this one. The story is acceptable and speaking of this drama I guess that is a good thing. I really liked it that they did not force the story to become something epic. Nothing new, nothing too complicated, simply ok. Many of you may even find it boring. But I did not, beacuse I really liked the acting. All the caracters were convincing and the actors also fit their role. You do not even notice their act, for what I always give a 10. Matsuyama on the other hand, was...? I do not know may be creepy? May be because he is a natural sulky person, or his acting talent is gorgeous, either way he is the main component. There is nothing to say about the music, I barely remember it, and I also think that rewatch value is probably lower than I rated. But I strangely liked this drama. It really shows how people can turn into slaves of their emotions, desires and ignorance. I also think that the drama is pretty succesfull because even there is nothing spectecular other than Matsuyama,when I think about the drama I have a depressive, suffocating, wrathful feeling. Well it may not work the same for you. I do NOT sorely recommend you this one. Give it a try and see your self.

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