Reviews

A very nice example of live action done right as this one didn't suffer from that thing that most live actions have, this time the story is not rushed but without removing important elements and events in the anime. The first verse is a great set up for the awesome second verse as its theme is somewhat connected with the second verse. First verse created the dynamics between characters well that it felt more natural in the second verse. There's a bit of romance hinted here but that's not the main focus in the story, it's more about friendship and their conflicts. Fan or not this is a must watch as karuta as a game is so fascinating to begin with, it's part of Japanese culture and its poems are somewhat the foundation of Japanese morals and just like as they flick those cards in slow motion, its lessons will approach you straight to your face.

Before watching this I already knew that the director is Norihiro Koizumi, the same guy who directed Taiyou no uta(movie) and the liar and his lover so I am confident that this would be a good adaptation when I first heard about it and I am not wrong. He is great creating meaningful scenes for the reason that cinematography is one of his strongest points especially long shots, people who saw taiyou no uta know what I mean. The other thing is that he is great in showing the emotions of his characters, even an angle where only back of a person is seen. He's an actor's director, the one who makes his actors looks better and probably the reason why Suzu Hirose looks so fine here.

Visuals in this movie is so damn fine as slow motion in those karuta battle works so damn well, it gives those scenes so much impact, also give kudos to editing . The music they use really adds up to the feels of the movie it makes such scenes epic and those battles engaging. The only complaint I have is the song they use in the end, I'm a huge perfume fan but that the song didn't capture the whole atmosphere of the movie.

Perhaps the best casting in a live action ever as all those character are well played, a great ensemble of talented young cast that would probably become A class actors in the future namely Suzu Hirose, Mone Kamishiraishi, Hiroya shimizu, Nomura Shuhei, Mackenyu, Mayu Matsuoka. At first I was bit worried that suzu hirose might not give justice to the role, although I still felt the same in the first movie but this second movie prove me wrong. I think it's just right to cast her as chihaya, she is fun, she's passionate and she has done a nice job of giving energy and freshness to the character. Mayu matsuoka nailed the role as the queen, she really looks like queen, spot on casting, but more than looks it's the acting that makes her standout in this movie, her facial expressions and that way she handled the character change, she's a versatile actress indeed. What I thought would be the cutest card battle ever ended up becoming the most emotional card battle I had witnessed as it serves as a venue for the character development of chihaya and the queen, this is really important because this is the theme they wanted to convey here, like in any sport solo or team and definitely in life "doing it with friends is better than alone".

I agree that most Manga and Anime should not be made into a live action but stories that are so good should be shown in different platforms and chihayafuru is among them. Also, the good thing about watching a live action is that it would be a fascinating experience if the feels from watching an anime translates well into live, I will never get tired of watching live action for this reason.

Check my Blog for other reviews & other JDramas stuffs. (｡◕‿‿◕｡)
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The story seems like a really normal romance by the synopsis, but really it is a fantasy with action scenes, comedy and confusion. I generally thought the story was a bit weird at first. There are various things in it that will really confuse you, but all things become clear by the end.
Basically this tells the story of Si Ying, who gets a job in a coffee shop because her crush goes there often. While working in the coffee shop she meets another guy named Ah Tou, who she thinks is a weirdo and pervert (because he is wearing a bikini, carrying around a cabbage and roller blading). Eventually the 2 become friends because of constantly meeting each other in different situations and being able to talk to one another freely.
I liked this movie because it was light-hearted and not one of those tear jerkers!
The cast did well and made the characters interesting. There were a few good ballads in the movie that made some scenes more emotional. I probably wouldn't watch it again because even after all the weirdness is explained, I prefer less quirky movies.
Watch if you want something light-hearted and fun, but keeps you guessing and waiting for the ending.

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Ugh. Almost complete rip off of the 2006 movie; The Holiday. I wouldn't mind if it was marketed as a remake or if it was a spin off or even made out to be "based on The Holiday" but the fact that they tried to make it out like the plot was original to this film is quite sad.

There were so many aspects that made this adorable, it could have been a very good movie without the copy cat bits. However, because it was copied and I have recently seen The Holiday for the first time, I could tell how many things were rushed in order to stick to the original concept.

I personally don't mind remakes, spin offs or movies based upon another older movie, but I can't stand it when they make it out to be super original and it ends up rushed. If you want to watch a really good movie, try The Holiday; it's got feelings that are more raw and beautiful.

I wouldn't stop anyone from watching this movie, but I hope that other people will realize it's just a copied product trying to do it better.

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i'd just like to say that this is SO not a movie for just anyone. i've had this on my queue for quite some time, but was so afraid to tackle it because of the eloquent summary discussing some graphic events. it took me seven full days to come to terms with the things i've watched. least to say, i was crying like a little baby completely traumatized that this was based off the nayoung case in '08. with this in mind, i'll continue this review as i see fit.

dong hoon and mi hee are hitting a rough patch in their marriage. currently in the early trimester of her second child, mi hee has no idea how to tell her husband this brand of news, especially since the two are emotionally strained. dong hoon on the other hand is used to focusing more on his work while hiding away from his daughter, so won, whom he doesn't know how to connect with. so used to the ritualistic happenings of life, this family finds themselves being brought together by the horrifying news of their daughter's assault, struggling to heal when an outside force rips away so won's innocence.

i was sitting in my room last saturday with my word document flashing words of a crap essay that was supposed to be due wednesday. upon getting a notice that said i didn't have to exert myself because the deadline was moved to turnitin.com for tomorrow at midnight (bless the life of my professor), i thought to take a crack at something on netflix.

i was in a mood, okay? an instigating emotion that made me want to watch something that'd inevitably pull at my heartstrings. when i read the netflix summary for "hope", i thought: why not? i'd watched other movies just like this, but none executed the emotional delinquency as greatly as this had.

i couldn't breathe. i literally COULD NOT BREATHE. i found myself sitting there on my bed thinking the whole time "how the hell can this be true?" because it just can't! there are some really sick, twisted, and insidiously evil people to exist in this world. "hope" proves this to the fullest degree. the controversy's that surrounded this case regarded - first and foremost - the defendant's "state of mind", or so it was put forth as an argument. the fact that he committed these acts when drunk was actually something that the jury and judge took into consideration. it's completely outrageous and makes you want to reach out and punch someone in the face. because this is a child whose innocence was ripped away, who almost didn't make it, and can never lead a normal life again.

this movie is packed with some serious triggers for all of you sensitive hearts out there. be warned that though nothing is shown, they speak very graphically of the details that went on. what so won went through made it hard for me (someone who can handle literally anything) to keep watching in some instances. don't be fooled. though this is movie has been rated and reviewed highly on mydramalist, netflix, and more, it still packs a punch. be warned before you sit down and try watching this on your own accord.

now i'll speak a little on the way i've rated this. this story itself is based off - as i've said - the nayoung sase in '08, thus why i gave it an outstanding percentage. it's a story that we should all be talking about and looking at. it opens your eyes to the court system's rulings in korea along with the struggles of this family trying to get back to their lives while adjusting to what happened to their innocent daughter.

lee re, who portrayed hope, is really the star of the show. she's outstanding and mature in such an extraordinary story. sol kyung gu, who plays dong hoon, shows so much power in this movie as a father, it was just phenomenal. there's shock, sadness, betrayal, rage. no emotion is truly left untouched in this piece. the father/daughter dynamic between hope and dong hoon is worth it over all else. the only reason why i won't ever dare to watch this again is because of how traumatic the events were. i'm not saying this is a bad movie! my ratings and review in itself proves otherwise, but the sensitive topic is too much for me.

this is a masterpiece. anything else i say can't even compare to what i've seen. and if you have a care to see the beauty in something so hideous, then you should try it out with a lot of tissues.

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The first 9 episodes of the drama take you to such a high level that the lacking second half ends up being a fall that hurts more than it would otherwise. While watching the initial epsiodes you feel everything moving just right, infact a little fast but then the way everything is shown makes you belive you'll get your layers, reason and dimensions of the characters later. There, again lies the problem.. it went too fast, too soon and just ended up a diffused bomb instead. There's no depth of characters as you expect in the second, everything that made first half a success goes the wrong way, because there's no backing to keep the second half up. Nothing makes sense and all we see if a fantastic plot driven to an extent that there's only mindless solving and putting everything into place left. But even so, doesn't that process also need solid reason and logical explanations to back them up? When we watch a show, we expect it to make sense throughout especially after it ends, but even though I can't stop myself from re-watching the first half of the show, the same me, just cannot get myself to rewatch any of the later episodes.

The lead have such an amazing chemistry, potential whatever you want to call it. They make you fall in love with them, but then what after that? Where;s the character depth, how do you get where they're coming from, how do you relate to them? Everything just stps at 2 dimensions. Their backstory, and their current love. So disappointing especially when you rewatch it.

The side characters, though SO many, and so good and so much potential, were almost inexistent. This was so sad because they could havebeen used brilliantly to weave everything together.

The OST is beautiful though, especially the instrumental music for the lead pair and the various artist instrumentals. So good!

Over all I would say, they has a great exotic set of ingredients, all right equipments, even a great chef, but the recipe started out good but failed to take you to a level that is expected out of such a combination. I'm writing this a month after I watched this series, because I keep thinking of it, especially the first half. Sigh.

My verdict for a reccomendation would be - watch it, it's a good attempt, but do no, i repeat do not expect much out of it at all. It would be hard to do so though, especially since (I repeat again and again) the first half was so good!

PS - okay i'm editing it for the last time, because I cannot not mention that the romantic moments in the series are just so cute, it hurts. probably why I keep rewatching them lol. If you like sweet romance you'll love the romance, but hate it too because there's nothing beyond one dimensional romance, but hey, it's cute lol (this probably affects my credibility as a reviewer, but i had to mention it!)

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The format of new ghost stories in the ghost clients and cases they tackle is very nice. Some of the cases were poignant especially the abused kid had me crying.
As with korean costume makeup, the ghost were scary looking. Some scenes were gripping and not for the faint hearted when you watch it at night

What amazes me the most is the script and the writing. Heres a team of writers who knows what it wants to tell and how to tell it in 16ep. The plot when you thought was predictable as they clearly show who the antagonist was from almost the start keeps surprising you as the plot unfolds a d continues to be exciting and suspenseful to the end.

Furthermore i was surprised with Taecyeon and So Hyun. When they first announce the pairing i was worried and hesitant to watch. Surprise surprise that they were adorable together and bashful which works for their character and school student setting. So Hyun was a gem and i love her Hyun Ji who was spunky, can kickass, and super cute. Bong Pal was dorky, grumpy turned sweet. The two sidekicks were fun to watch too. Lastly Kwon Yul's acting was spot on. So eery and scary. So this is another awesome tvn drama that i didnt expect to like but in the end love it.

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