Reviews

"Supokon" at its best!!!

As I've already confessed in a previous review, my favorite sport is baseball.
Of all different sorts of baseball, Japanese "yakyuu" is my favorite (in a nutshell: no doping - or at least much much less than in the MLB; less muscles and more brains; nobody munching tobacco and spitting it on the field, etc. etc.).
And of all different types of Japanese "yakyuu", my favorite is precisely high school baseball.
Why? Because it's poetic, pure, epic...it's Sport with a capital "s", sport as it *should* be.
Now, the Japanese have a whole genre dedicated to sports-related stories, called "supokon", and since baseball is (one of) the national sport(s), you can guess that the vast majority of "supokon" are about baseball, and particularly about high school baseball, 'cause Japanese *love* it and the Koushien's final game is basically the Japanese equivalent of the Superbowl in the States!
So does all that mean that there's nothing really new in this story? Could be, yeah.
Does that make it any less fabulous? Hell no!
A good recipe doesn't necessarily need any fancy ingredients to make for a delicious dish; more often than not, it's precisely the simple, good old ones that are the best of the lot!
As is the case with this "Gekokujo Kyuji": all the tropes of the genre are there, but still, you can't help but enjoying *every single minute* of it! Marvelously written, acted, directed. Production value reached Himalayan heights. The message conveyed was simply beautiful.
Jeez, I finished watching it before Christmas, but I'm still getting goosebumps thinking about it now, so good it was!!! ^______^;;;
Highly and wholeheartedly recommended! Perfect 10 all the way!!!

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"The evening sun shined on us like a freshly picked orange in the sky"

Orange Days brought out the sweet and sour times for five students in their final year at university. This coming-of-age drama explored friendships, hardships, romance, and finding their place in the world. I watched Orange Days during its 20th anniversary year and its stories of life and love still hold up even if the technology and styles were dated.

Kai, Shohei, and Keita are friends at university. Kai and Shohei are still trying to figure out what they want to do when they graduate while Keita knows his future is in his family’s wedding business. One day Kai comes across a young woman, Sae, playing the violin and his world is turned upside down. Sae and her friend Akane are slowly integrated into the group, eventually called the Orange Group which has its own spiral notebook in the lounge for the members to write down their thoughts for each other.

I was pleasantly surprised that the male lead, Kai, was a nice guy. Too often in older dramas, the MLs were cold alphas. Sae was the cold and volatile character in this story. A musical prodigy and on her way to fame and fortune she lost her hearing which caused her to close her heart off. Shohei was the player of the group, but Akane quickly sussed out that he had a heart of gold under his sarcastic exterior. Poor Keita ended up being the fifth wheel, unlucky in love but still supporting the others.

True to life at university, the characters were struggling to figure out who they were and where they were going. Having a degree and knowing exactly what to do with it are often two different things. And much like in real life, the lovers often made mistakes, sometimes stupid ones as they discovered what made each other tick and what ticked each other off. The group began to learn sign language so that Sae would not feel left out. If there was anything that didn’t feel realistic it was that a lot of people became fluent in sign language quickly when it would be like learning a foreign spoken language. Sae's desire to cling to her gift of music provided for numerous violin and piano solos along with the classical background music which I greatly enjoyed. The drama didn’t shy away from showing how her disability affected her skill sets.

Tsumabuki Satoshi gave a gentle performance as Kai with the porcupine hair who wanted to be a handrail for people to help them up and be their best selves. Shibasaki Ko had the more difficult role of Sae, conveying all of her complex emotions without saying a word. I tried to not give up on Sae. She could occasionally come across as a temperamental toddler, her volatile moods swaying back and forth. Her character growth was slow and as often happens she took a dramatic step backward in the last episode which was nearly the breaking point for me. For the most part, Kai would call her on her selfish actions and cruel words.

Orange Days highlighted the time in life when the bonds of friendship were vibrant and love could be elusive, rapturous, and excruciating. The group attempted to squeeze all of the joy and meaning they could out of their days, knowing that they were on the cusp of adulthood. If I could change anything it would have been Sae’s impulsive and self-protective decisions in the last episodes. But as in real life, change is hard and takes time and most people will slide back into old behaviors before making lasting transformations. Watching these young people face their unknown futures with hope and enthusiasm was addictive and comforting, well worth trying out.

9 January 2024

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It’s a guilty watch

I usually love noona dramas. I am so tired of the age old cliches were the male lead is much older decades even. But heroine is always young and beautiful. Chinese dramas do the reverse age gap very well. Thankfully the Chinese douban ratings also seem to love / like reverse age gap so it’s cool. Having said that, the age gap was a bit too much, I prefer if it’s 10/12 years at most. Anything more, can lead to awkward moments with the cast. Here the director was quite skillful so that camera angles did not focus on the lead during those awkward moments. So some scenes were not as enjoyable.
Separately both the female characters and both the male chacarcters acted well. The slimy husband really felt very slimy. The story was also very cliche. Anyways I did enjoy watching this but not as much as I had hoped.

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Small town drama misses the mark

This is a story about a small seaside village, two childhood sweethearts, and the male lead’s dreams of making it big in a singing competition. The story tries to be funny and heartfelt but falls short in the end with a convoluted message. The production aesthetic clearly gives off a low budget production vibe and many side characters overact at times. Male and female leads were fine but nothing more. Their styling throughout, even when the characters were supposed to be stylish, was just a bit off. Wang Youshuo sang all his songs so that was a plus although the OST is not that interesting. Wouldn’t recommend, unfortunately.

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Pawn off my horrible husband to my horrible best friend

I don’t know why but sometimes I just get a. Certain feeling while watching a drama. The kind where it’s one of a kind and soon to be irreplaceable. Now I’ve seen many drama with Park Min Young in it, and I love her. She’s so sweet of an actress and a visual, and is a very talented woman. I’m captivated by every performance, but now I’ve finally seen a drama of hers that really does her acting justice.

There have been glimpses in others. This drama just hits all the boxes, it’s funny, gripping, heartbreaking, and she’s put the work in. Hearing her story to get into the role got me to watch in the first place. I don’t know much about the other actors involved besides the second ML, who was in Welcome to Waikiki.. he is so hilarious.. go watch that.

So I’ve seen a lot of romantic comedies this year and have rated them well, but they slowly lose my interest all at once. This one just has so much to keep me watching. Revenge is something I love to see played out, a woman who is calculating and doesn’t get swept up by love. She’s got a motive here and with the first handful of episodes it’s already so satisfying to see her slowly chip away at a life she refuses to have.

I’ll go more into this when I can type on a computer. But for now I want to just recommend this drama. The ending ost for the last two eps is so so good and it’s just interesting ok. Believe me and watch.

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You should watch Hitorigurashi alone in your house

This show is executed really well; directing, editing, etc. The cinematography in particular is artful and skillful. Shots feel composed and designed to complement whatever is taking place in the story.

The scenarios are realistic enough, and the acting is nicely restrained. The main actress Tokiwa Takako is super believable throughout; makes it easy to immerse in the story.

The music feels of the time the show was made; a lot of moody soprano sax - almost Kenny-G-esque. I thought it suited the show nicely, but it's a style of music that might annoy some people.

I was really satisfied by the ending - open-ended, but suspenseful. The last shot/credits roll was very cool.

Also, the running fridge ambience... the way it's used throughout the show feels intentional, but I didn't pick up on the meaning.

Overall, the show strikes a nice balance between melodrama and reality.
A sophisticated and tasteful show! Easily the best J-Drama I've seen so far (out of the 20 or so I've seen at the time of writing this) :)

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How I Feel About This

I wish I started writing down my thoughts from ep 1 but here we go.
Don’t come for me, it’s just how I feel.

Ep 7 34 mins. Mew was spewing BS . If you watched it you’d know lol

Ep 8…I think I need to take manipulation lessons from Pleng. Cause what was that?

Ep 9 and I swear these “couples” are begging for scandal. Korn and knock , Bhu and the professor.

Ep 9 30 mins. It’s clear Farm doesn’t love himself. Cause how would you willingly want to stay with a player. Knowing so well he’s just using you for his extra horny days .
Can I just slap pleng through the screen ?

Ep 12 when Bright told Farm I have another surprise for you. I literally said it better not be a threesome and lo and behold it was ??. That guy is mad. He’s just plain mad ??. And did Farm just sit there and take that? What was he thinking? The fuck!!! Did he really go through with that four some?? Smh I’m done with that guy.

Final episode- I just feel like this series was dragged at some point. It’s just full of drama. Main couple just had few moments together.

Pleng was a witch

Knock was confused. Why would you believe your gf over your best friend you’ve know since forever? I guess he didn’t know him well enough.

Farm didn’t love himself enough and ended up turning into what he hated.

Korn at some point annoyed me, cause although he loved knock what they did wasn’t right. Even though knocks girlfriend is a witch lol.

Only character I sincerely loved was Yihwa. I hope I’m that type of friend and would love to have that type of friend too. Though I try to mind my business most of the time ?.

All in all the series was good. Will I watch Bad Romance or TWM s2? I don’t think so

Rewatch value- 4/10. I can’t go through that again.

I don’t mind checking out Ep 9 22:30 minutes tho lol

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I should have known from the poster alone that this will not be some great masterpiece. But did I expect this one to be? Certainly not. I’m just curious how such a large age-gap romance will play out on the screen.

Well, the sinister but ill-timed sound track certainly was a letdown many times where I anticipated a stabbing or two to take place. So all that foreboding knife-wielding was really there just for show. Much like the various ASMR of gurgling and brushing of teeth were actually people just practicing oral hygiene and did not carry some sort of symbolism.

At one point, I even expected the romance between Shinobu and Chiaki to go south. And I am so okay with that, as they later both took on separate paths and lived without each other for years. But aside from Yuta the son, and maybe Okano the Magazine editor, the rest of the characters were frankly unlikeable. From the misogynistic ex-husband to Chiaki’s mother, both battling each other out for “The Worst Parent of the Decade” award.

Then, towards the end, where each of these characters started their own monologue to tell their own backstory, but more like an excuse for their shitty behavior, I almost lost it.

But like some other rubberneckers, I can’t help but be glued to the screen watching this train wreck of a romance go by.

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Good balance of humor and the serious things in life, full of focus on female friendship and family

I love the beginning and ending quarters for sure (the preciousness and wholesomeness and chaos and fun All on Overload and I'm here for it).

It's pretty quiet/laid-back/domestic/slice of life, not too intense, and I honestly would have been happier if Li Wei (FL) and Yin Zheng (ML) had more screen time together (yup, especially in that middle section, which felt a bit slower without them ^-^). But, as it is, this is a very female-friendships-centered plot, and not as much on the main couple's romance for most the show.

LOVE the delicacies and foods and aesthetics (so cozy and healing), very cute and sweet main ship, all the side ships are also either sweet or bickery spicy sweet. As far as romances go, it's a bit rare as it focuses on both parties in the relationship pretty much equally, which is lovely to witness.

As far as HEA happy endings go, this deserves a 10/10 for that.

Appreciate the story's main thematic (essentially) commentary on the whole harem/concubines situation - which also enabled me to feel and understand the inner court's women of historical times more. However, the plot felt a bit dragged on as it didn't offer quite as many twists or interesting things as I would have preferred in the middle section especially (who am I kidding though, I was likely suffering from pretty bad hangover from lack of Li Wei+Yin Zheng dose lol).

Also love the VERY diverse set of personalities and ships/couples, as well as their respective developments. I liked all of the (good :D) main AND supporting characters by the end!

Needless to say, all the acting's top notch. I've put more of Tian Xi Wei's and Bai Jing Ting's cdramas on my To Watch list because they're each such great main leads.

Good balance of humor and the serious things in life for sure. =) If you want a comfort watch full of (esp female, but also the brothers/princes/young lords) friendships and family, this is for you.

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Just loved the plot and chemistry between lead actors. At first, I thought that Wang Anyu is not suited to be with lusi. But as time passes, I realized that he is one of the best ML of lusi. I hope that they can work again together.Love them both?........,........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................,...........................................................................................................

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Great plot

One of the best fiction I've watched. They are like superheroes, but human-like heroes, no one gets an advantage with their powers if they can't wield them properly, making it useless. From the first quarter of the episodes in the drama, there will be plot twists, and that's what hooked me because there's actually a deeper story than what initially appears.

Every main character has their own story, and the show dedicates respective episodes to each main character, making each one the protagonist. This somewhat bored me at some points, although the idea and storyline are good, my focus is on the main protagonist, so I searched for a lot of screen time for them.

I'm not entirely satisfied with the ending, it's not what I was hoping for. In my opinion, the ending happened too fast and was boring, considering how the plot started off so well.

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I enjoyed this rom-com more than I expected. Perhaps it may be because of its short run typical of Japanese drama that allows all the essence to be compact without being draggy., unlike the long and drawn out fifty-episodic offerings from other countries.

First, it shows the typical Japanese work culture where everyone is worked to the bone and doing overtime is common and even expected. Shikamori Umi is no stranger to this and continues to run around until she reaches a limit.

Second, the drama demonstrates that change is possible when Umi gets recruited as an intern at an agency, where a very different and refreshing work culture has been established.

Suzuki Airi is a natural, transitioning from a bare-faced, exhausted employee to a spritely, newly motivated worker who wants to try her best at everything, even over-extending herself sometimes. But she realizes that just fell back into the habit of over-pleasing others.

Her coworkers, her new boss and especially Kazao, and even Hina manifest ideas that shape Umi’s worldview, in that working hard is commendable, but also is taking time for yourself. The cast was supportive of Umi’s endeavors and she finally learns to be independent.

This drama was delightful and gratifying. Also neat was the trivial fact that three of the male actors in this show were in other BL dramas that I’ve watched. I did not even recognize Izuka Kenta in that whatchamacallit hairstyle.

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