Realistic age gap trope
I'm a huge sucker for age gap tropes. The only problem within this is that not everything is done right or realistic, which sometimes annoys me. What, I think, captures viewers when it comes to age gap stories is the—always—bittersweet journey in between. The dilemmas, the hurt, the rejection, and the scrutiny. This j-drama captured all of that; we see a woman with the perfect life find love with a student ten years her senior, and like a sensible adult, she runs away from it because she knows it's not appropriate. I love this kind of characters, the rational and sensible ones who truly mirrors what normal people would do—flight than fight. I also love Kuroiwa's development; stubborn, rebellious, and reckless at 15, but matures at 18. I love how he's gotten better at communicating his feelings when he was older, and how at the end, he finally understood and let go.Overall, this j-drama is a gem. Age gap tropes are controversial and not for everyone, and besides, it's hard to find compelling stories like this. But for us fanatics, once we've found hidden treasures like these, it's quite unforgettable.
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about the storyline, I'm actually feel a little bit uncomfortable with teacher X students relationship but thanks god both student and teacher look so young especially the teacher.. i love how this drama try to play the viewer's emotion and feeling.. it's like a roller coaster for me.. but sometimes I'm getting bored in the mid of the drama but its getting better when its come to climax.. i think people should this student X teacher genre one.. it's literally different with others because the teacher is girl maybe (?) so no pedophile vibe at all lmao I'm joking.. please watch it if you are bored hehe
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This review may contain spoilers
Open you heart, and you'll see it has more to offer.
Clarification : First of all, I do like me a good Older FL younger ML love story but of course keep it Legal.Thoughts: Although I do not support it, I can understand it. It was definitely immature of her and him to do such things but the story and writing tackled this situation quite well actually.
This show has much more to it than it says.
The story is surprisingly wholesome and well done, tho I wish some parts were different but it's not my story is it haha.
Overall I'm happy with how it turned out and yes, it was worth my time. Whenever I review something I always think if a show will be worth my time and Chugakusei Nikki certainly was, so do give it a shot!
Story: As mentioned, they tackled it pretty well. I love the wholesomeness of the show and how it can also be very serious when it needs to.
Maybe if they just decided to wait until Akira is 18 and out of high school things would've been different.
I kind of wished to see the main leads relationship more but oh well.
The story of the second leads were developed nicely too, although the second ML was kind of annoying.
Music: I've always liked Japanese songs so I've definitely heard of the singer (Uru) of the main OST.
The music is so good!! Even now I still have it playing in my playlist haha just can't get enough of it!
No complaints on the OST but they did overuse it a little. I wish they had just one other song to fill the gaps instead of repeating it in scenes that were important.
Background music were good, they were subtle but add just enough effect to the scenes.
Casts and Acting:
I LOVE THE CASTS! Arimura Kasumi is just absolutely adorable!
They all did a good job portraying their characters, it didn't forced.
Overview:
Overall it is a wonderful show that will play with your heart. Beautiful shots and beautiful casts too!
Open your heart to it, and give it time.
Don't go in with a decided mind that you're just going to hate.... like why watch it then?
The story definitely has a lot more to offer than what it is so do check it out!
I genuinely enjoyed it and hope this review helps!
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I don't know how to feel right now
At the start of the show I felt very uncomfortable that he's underage and their situation was really fucked up. but I found myself ugly crying in the last episode! That's what I love about jdrama the way they portray emotions is so moving.. that still doesn't deny the fact that it was really uncomfortable to watch the first epd before the time skip.Anyways it was better than I expected.
+Love the acting they're amazing!!
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Oh so close, but not close enough
*sigh* Japan tricked me again. I have literally only found like 3 Jdramas that are swoon worthy. Everything else is just bittersweet with an emphasis on the bitter. This was one of them, until the last 2 episodes. While there are many types of love, I will NEVER believe you can truly be in love with someone and they be in love with you but they still separate because "love can't overcome everything". Yes love can overcome everything. It's not easy, but its not the love part thats not easy, its the choices you make, the sacrifices you make for love. I'm not talking about maybe being in love, I'm talking about your soulmate love. This had a lot of that but, they switched it at the end to "lets become better people first". I can understand that to an extent, but not the way this drama did it with a contract at the end.I totally agree having a relationship with a minor is bad and a big no no. I do not think she was at fault for swaying him at all. Meaning, they didn't show or suggest she did in any way. He was very aggressive towards her in the beginning and running hot later as well. Yes, he was 15, so its somewhat understandable. But, also, so what? Are we not holding teenagers responsible for their emotional actions at all just because they are young? That's ridiculous to me.
If you want to talk about power dynamics, lets talk about it. The teacher is pretty small and not strong. Physically, he can over take her. Her power as a teach/adult was full on challenged from episode 1. Yes, she should have reported the slap he gave her in the hallway. But what would they have done? Nothing. They would have asked that she let it go. Which was what they did when that other kid spread harmful rumors about her on the website. It impacted her job and life. She was told to let it slide by the head of the school.
Being a pedophile means you like children in an inappropriate way. She did and does not! The way they wrote it was "right soulmate at the wrong time". She did not act on anything and tried to stay clear of him. Again, he was the aggressor in all of these situations. You couldn't even tell she had any feelings for him until she slightly admitted it half way through the seires.
Yes, it is wrong.
Now that's out of the way.
I really wish she would have stuck to her decision to be with him and not sign that stupid contract. To me, that was stupid. They ended up together anyway. It would have been a whole lot better if they just talked it through and said they were going to become better people and to "wait for me" kind of deal. Instead, they literally said "bye bye" to each other like they would never see each other again. Stupid.
When are they going to make a drama that really does stick to "to hell with everyone else, I'm not giving up my soulmate."? Thats what I was really hoping for in this. That is what they kept acting like. But instead we get a lot of promises of them both saying and acting like they will be together no matter what, to then throw it out the window, and then at the very last 15 seconds get back together. *sigh*
The mother of the teen was insufferable. I didn't empathize with the teacher he was in love with, I was fully feeling the teen when I watched this because I have also felt that way in those years. My mother did a similar thing to me and I think it's crazy. Rather than getting angry and dismissing your teens feelings, you should try and reach out more and understand. Telling someone not to feel or that they are wrong about how they feel won't change a persons feelings, it will only make them hide them. And when he was 18, ugh, her getting the police involved at that point was dumb and controlling. If she really had an issue with it, she should have called them when he was 15 to report it.
She said many times that he was acting crazy before that teacher even showed up.
That teacher literally gave him a goal and purpose when he had no direction in the beginning.
Love can overcome anything with the right person and no one can ever tell me any different.
The only reason I'm giving it 7 is because they got together at the end. If they didn't get together, I would have given it a 1. There were some good and endearing parts that really touched me, but mostly skippable moments when they weren't together, which was a lot of it.
Just my opinion. Not judging anyone else. If you are looking for a great romance drama, this isn't it. Still, I'd say try it. See if you like it. Maybe you will.
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UNEXPECTED LY LOVED IT SM
FORBIDDEN LOVE DONE RIGHTI hesitated after reading the synopsis, i thought i won't be able to complete it because I haven't really liked any age gap sota dramas, shows.. but damn the actors did it so well. They did such an amazing job, at 15 and at 25, at 18 and at 28, at 23 and at 33.. i cried at the last episodes. The chemistry was strong, the love was stronger, the surrounding realistic and the forbidden taboo was crushed. Damnnnnn it was such unexpected love which I have towards this drama. LOVEDD IT
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This is an odd one
A couple of days ago, I watched the film “Call Me Chihiro” and really liked the actress who played the main character. So I searched for more of her work. I saw that this show was already on my Netflix watchlist and decided to watch it.From the jump, I thought the kid was 18-19. Given the show's context, the age gap is risky but not illegal. I didn’t find out the kid was 15 until episodes 2-3. This really irked me. I know the actor playing the character was of age. It’s still fucking weird. If she had a crush, she was ashamed of it, she left, and they met years later. That, whilst still weird, would’ve been more acceptable. I thought that was how it was going to go until that beach scene. I just felt weird watching this whole drama. Everything about the show is great aside from the story, which could’ve been altered.
This show is also so inconsistent, genuinely all over the place. Characters say stuff and declare some change, and then in the next episode, they’ve changed their mind. It also feels like key scenes were cut. Characters talk about things, and it seems like the context of what they’re talking about is in a scene that didn’t make it into the show. Hell, there’s no scene where the woman’s fiancé finds out she’s interested in this school student. It just happens off-screen.
Could’ve been great. But the show’s age gap is just unforgivable, which is a shame because everything else about the show (not story-related) I really enjoyed.
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Forbidden Love, Excruciating Bliss
Story was good. Pain factor was too high for just 3 small parts of good moments. It's almost not worth going through all that trouble. I wish they developed her falling for him more because I don't see at which point it happened but next thing I knew there were confessions. Also wish the story started off in high school rather than middle school as the welling of emotions would make more sense and less creepy that a teacher likes a student. Wish they showed mom's reaction at the end. The ending could have been more heartfelt considering their ordeal. Overall good binge watch, great acting, good chemistry just a few missed points here and there.Was this review helpful to you?
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I liked it. :) The story dragged a bit since the main plot revolves most of the time around the prevention of the relationship.IMHO they found a good story-balance for this specific topic. It could've been easily the prequel for an R-rated movie, but it wasn't. The topic was clearly the character development of all characters. They did well on that part.
To be more specific: They emphasized on the standpoint of the mother to prevent the relationship over the whole storyline and didn't move an inch apart here. In the end, the mother won and the characters under discussion accepted it.
Yes, in the end, they got each other, but that's okay from the story perspective, since they loved each other. It's better this way, than a suicide ending.
For the other parts:
- the filming was OK and typical for a J-Drama. The image quality and colors are bad. It looks like they used a bigger camcorder to film it. From a visual POV this is a no go, but it's IMHO the charm of J-Dramas as well. Since the focus lies on the story, this is fine.
- At first, I disiked the second female lead, but the character did a 180 ° spin and supported the female lead directly and in a friendly way. I liked that.
- The music was quite good, as expected. In contrary to the visuals, J-Dramas emphasize often on the music to get a mood across to the viewer (or listener). It worked here as well.
Would I rewatch it?
No. I usually don't rewatch many shows and only the best or those I really really _really_ liked. Since the story dragged a bit and most of it revolves around the prohibition of the relationship, I can't say it's "fun" to watch. There are also not many scenes included which make me want to see them again. If it was R-rated - yes, then the rewatch value would increase, but that would be a complete different show. Let's be happy to see normal take on this topic, watch it once and let it be.
8.5/10. Slightly better than good average.
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No chemistry.
Zero chemistry... they barely even knew eachother bro. Really weird pacing especially surrounding their feelings for one another. Just... odd. Really odd.Only saving grace was Haraguchi. But it's not enough to save the whole show. Frankly I'm confused by the 10 star ratings. It's not even as though I'm one to shy from taboo romances, but this just felt stupid.
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A love song..
I am not a big fan of JDramas as I usually find the cast quite disappointing in comparison to the beautiful creatures seen in the anime version and the story line very melancholic .But this show and its cast has literally swept me off my feet. It’s not an airy romance - all light and bright. The tone is quite somber but each scene is so precious and is beautifully woven in to the show. Some scenes are reminiscent of the beautiful moments seen in Anime - the rain falling on the grass, on the windscreen, the almost kiss in episode two, etc etc. Simply beautiful.
The heroine is good, doesn’t get on your nerves. The fiancé and his boss are nice. The diamond in the crown would be the hero - he is utterly gorgeous, good specs in comparison to the usual tall lean gangly types, super expressive and so charismatic ... He makes one feel each and every emotions of his. I ALSO fell in love with him :-). Last but not the least, the excellent chemistry between the main leads, the tension... you can almost hear it.
There is nothing in this show that feels untoward or nasty.
Hats off to the director who has captured those tiny moments and emotions between the main leads and made it so special.
I am absolutely looking forward to seeing what happens in the future.
An absolute must watch....
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I like the drama. I really really like it. It's very realistic but also heart breaking and it went in a direction I didn't expect at all.
My sister watched this drama before I did and she was talking about not liking the male lead's acting..but I don't know, I actually like it. :P ? His acting was a wee bit awkward a few times in the first few episodes but I liked it a lot later. Plus I think his awkwardness suited his character.
Hopefully Okada Kenshi will get more drama roles in the future..*-*
I liked how Hijiri's and Akira's characters matured in the span of those 3 years. It made me like them much more. It was wrong of Hijiri to have a thing with a minor while she had a fiance, but I still couldn't help hoping they'd get to be happy together someday. Their love for each other is so pure and honest. *sigh*
Although it's a forbidden love story between an older woman and a younger boy, it wasn't at all creepy or weird. Hijiri didn't get attracted to Akira because he's young. Why she liked him had nothing to do with his age so don't be mistaken and think she's a pedophilie!
And I really like Akira's mother's character. She's exaxtly how a concerned parent would be. Even though Hijiri and Akira were serious about each other, I can understand why she'd want to keep them apart even though it's heartbreaking to watch.
Anyway, overall I loved the drama! Usually I find it a bit awkward to watch older woman/younger man love stories, but this one is really good. Like I said before, it didn't feel weird or creepy at all when watching it. :)
And that theme song suits the drama so well..love it!?
The reason I gave a 5/10 for the watch value is cause I'm not so sure if I can rewatch this again. It's certainly a good drama but not really a cheerful one..
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