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I feel bad for Kin-chan.
I really love Kin-chan and I feel bad for him throughout the story, especially the Christmas scene. I really like men who are vocal to their feelings like Kin-chan unlike nonchalant men like Naoki. Still, I like Naoki, things would've been better if he's being honest to himself. I relate to him also, because I, actually wasn't so sure about my future, too. This is my first time rewatching this, I didn't watch the second season so I was rewatching this before watching the second season. I love this, so much.Was this review helpful to you?
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Kin-chan was awesome, Kotoko was cute and Irie-kun was human.
As a shoujo, the story isn’t really my cup of tea.
Watching this drama reminded me why I love this completely over the top and sometimes infuriating shoujo manga and honestly? Each time Kotoko out-sassies Irie? You go Kotoko! Smack that cold hearted Irie in his stupid behind!
Love in Tokyo is a very good adaptation and made an excellent casting choice with Kotoko and Irie.
Kotoko isn’t annoying like in ItaKiss from 1996 and even Irie is a tiny bit sweeter.
The actor that played Kin-chan was also an excellent casting choice. I hate when dramas have a secondary love interest but you know they have a 0% chance of ever getting with the lead girl. Kin-chan, while never stood much of a chance, was really funny and charismatic so it was impossible not to like him.
Because the drama had 16+16 episodes the story stays really close to the manga, so if you want to see an almost direct adaption from the original manga I would say this would be the version to go with.
I've not seen the most recent japanese movies, but of all the different versions up to 2014 this one is my favorite.
PS: Irie's mother is the best.
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By a tad bit, Korean adaptation is better
I decided to give this a try, more than a decade after watching the Korean version. and it's quite similar in execution, but honestly I think the Korean one is better-- less forced reactions and better characters.First of all, I love a female following her dreams with tenacity, but in this case it was not it. The FL literally made him her whole life's purpose. From the beginning of high school up until her college years, she is obsessed with him. It only gets worse when they start getting closer due to the whole move-in situation (regardless of the setting setup, it doesn't make sense for them to keep living with them for the length of the whole entire drama). She follows him around, asks him rather dumb questions, and even sabotages any meeting he has with a female even after telling him she'll respect his feelings for whomever he has feelings for... I just hated seeing a female lead prioritize a man over herself. Loving someone is great, though sad if it's not reciprocated. But putting your life on hold for another who clearly has no feelings for you and puts you down is a major no. Not to mention our ML 🚩🚩🚩 major red flag. Shows boredom and even annoyance at her, but then leads her on at times. He seems to enjoy the fact that he has her wrapped around his finger, not letting her like anyone else.
Her exaggerated facial expressions were also quite annoying and cringe. Maybe she was trying to re-enact the expressions made from the manga which are obviously very extra, but it did not portray well in the drama itself. She was 15/16 when filming this so I understand her lack of experience, but in the drama she was playing a college student yet still acted like a child so it was hard to picture her as a character who matures over time. Also, is Japan okay with a MINOR filming with a romantic partner literally 10 years older?
Not the worst drama, but I found myself skipping over some parts. The ending is meh too. Portrayed as happy but I would've liked some more conclusiveness of the characters. Seemed like it was just the whole crush coming to an end and that's all that mattered.
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1. Back in 2006, I was in 3rd-year high school, the Taiwanese version was released. I started watching the first couple episodes but dropped it because I hated watching dumb girls drooling over a man. Like seriously, I don't like a dumb girl for the main role, it creeps me out. So I didn't really finish it. (they say it was nice but nobody's going to convince me after I watched the first 6 or 7 episodes.)
2. I started watching the anime version recently and it was pretty damn good. Because I love animes, I gave it a go. Discovering Itazura Na Kiss anime was great, I binge-watched it for 24 hours with no regret. The only thing I can say is that Naoki Irie in the anime version was too cold I hated him at times and Kotoko was too submissive I just wanted to scream at her. But the anime series AS A WHOLE was fun and entertaining and I loved it.
3. I went over reading the Itazura Na kiss manga but still hasn't finished it. So far, I'm loving it, pretty close to what the anime has shown me.
4. Due to my addiction over the Itazura Na kiss anime, I went on watching all fanmade Youtube MV's and INK trailers (all versions). I also read the comments and the reviews here at MDL. That's when I learned that among all the versions as of Feb 2019, the Love In Tokyo has the highest praise. So I picked it up and watched it. AND BOY, OH BOY. That version hit my heart and live there!
I thought I was going to hate Kotoko (because of her 'dumb' role). Instead, I ended up liking her. No, actually, I ended up loving her 'cute ignorance' and her personality. She's sooo adorable I just wanted to watch her laugh and smile the whole day.
And then, Yuki Furukawa as Irie Naoki. I have never been in love with any Japanese actors as I did with Yuki-kun. He gave justice to the role, he was GREAT in it! It only took me a few minutes watching the first episode to fall in love with him. It actually started when I heard him speak in English fluently. (I was like, OH MY GOD, A JAPANESE GUY SOUNDED LIKE AN AMERICAN!) -My heart fluttered. He was sooo cool. I love his coldness, the way he speaks, the way he stares at Kotoko, his awkward smile, his fingers, height, the way he walks--literally EVERYTHING. ????♥️ Yuki Furukawa now tops the list of my favorite Japanese actors.
I became a fan after the first episode, it was so crazy. I thought I'd get annoyed at Naoki's coldness just like how I felt when I watched the anime and read the manga but NO. Love in Tokyo shown me how Naoki started falling in love with Kotoko, it gave me good laughs and made me fall in love over and over with the characters. I was too addicted to it that I watched it again after finishing the second season. ????
ACTING: It wasnt perfect but VERY EFFECTIVE. You'd laugh at the characters, you'd love and smile at them, you'd find them cute and adorable. They just nailed it.
MUSIC: It just matched the scenes, cute and refreshing.
I'd rate this show 10/10, highly recommended. ♥️♥️♥️
5. I never watched the Thai version (due to my reluctance on watching any Thai dramas) and the Korean version (due to the negative reviews, I lost interest.)
6. Taiwanese movie version (Fall In love at First kiss) starring one of my favorite Taiwanese actors Darren Wang. I got so hyped that Darren is playing the lead role of my favorite Shoujo anime. But after watching it today, I ended up very disappointed. :(
So for me, the best version is still the INK: Love in Tokyo. Yuki Furukawa and Miki Honoka nailed the lead roles. I am so in love with them that I could not find another drama that could beat the Love in Tokyo. ♥️
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If I had to choose a drink, it would be HOT CHOCOLATE (warm and sweet).
If I had to choose something edible, it would be COTTON CANDY (fluffy).
I had a smile during all the first 12 episodes, it is that cute. The first 12 episodes were the cutest thing I've ever watched. I disagree with people saying that Naoki was an ass (ok he was, but he wasn't harmful, unlike **coughHyuugafromRMPWandDomyoujifromHYDcough**) and Kotoko certainly wasn't stupid nor stalker, just a teenager in love (if she was a stalker, I think me and hundreds of girls were/are stalkers in HS).
The love triangles that happen throughout the story were well done and not annoying at all, since nothing happens. Kin-chan is the sweetest second lead character I've seen so far, and it was hard not to root for him. But since Kotoko was my favorite character, and everything that made her happy was Naoki, I just had to root for Irie-kun, even if it was hard to do. Like in the final 4 episodes,which were by far my least favorite episodes and the reason I downgraded my rating.
I absolutely ADORED Miki Honoka as Kotoko. Any other actress would have made the character a silly, pathetic one. But thanks to Honoka, Kotoko is the most adorable heroine I may have seen in a dorama. So cute, so bubbly, so charming, so charismatic. Her expressions were so funny, so adorable. Her different hairstyles, her imperfect eyebrows... everything about her scream KAWAII.
Furukawa was good as well, since he didn't have to show much in his expressions, but my, he showed so much in his eyes. I only wished he wasn't that skinny, because he had the perfect height, and of course, a perfect English accent.
The only actor who wasn't so good was Sudo-sempai. He overacted too much, like an anime character. Like Oscar from Hana Kimi, only that in this dorama it looked ridiculous. Naoki's mother overacted a lot as well, but it suited the moment.
I LOVED the OP song and opening sequence. So cute.
As soon as I finished it, I wanted to watch it all over again. I am missing them so much, and it has only been a couple of days! No doubt I'll re-watch this. Very recommended **hearts**
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This review may contain spoilers
Django knows mercy, student Irie never!
There is much that is hard to understand. Are women still treated as inferior in Japan? Irie treats the lovely Kotoko like dirt. It is hard to watch his sadism, which he practices from beginning to end, ruthlessly humiliating the poor girl in every possible way. Maybe he should move to Arabia, there the women also have to run 3 meters behind the masters of creation, because they are supposed to be less valuable. He knows no compassion. How will he be a doctor there? Perhaps one should ask such questions to the authors.He also likes to discriminate against social classes, which he claims to regard as beneath him. Does one live well with such an attitude in Japan?
All of this is supposed to be funny. Obviously, the writers can only realize their kind of wit in a way that hurts people. They probably find it especially funny when someone breaks his neck falling down the stairs.
I also wonder what about this dry technical idiot is supposed to be so attractive to girls? Is he perhaps a charming schmoozer when the camera isn't around?
Amusing is the Irie family, father, mother, the toxic little brother. Especially the mother, a sister of Kotoko in spirit, is cute.
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This review may contain spoilers
The most slow-burning drama, but definitely worth the wait!
Where to even begin?!I finished this drama in 5 days! It was like one of those easy read rom-com books that I just cannot put down!
I am SO glad there is a second season as I have so many questions and cannot rest not knowing what happens after their wedding!
Naoki is THE MOST cold character I have ever come across in either books or television. My God. I knew this one was gonna be a slow burn but I had no idea we had to wait until the last 20 minutes for him to finally get his shit together and make a move!
I'd say for three quarters of the drama I hated him and the rest I shipped him with Kotoko. He was so cold and mean towards her I started wondering why she kept waiting for him; especially when the three years had passed. Plus, he was always quite rude to her which I never really understood why. However, he did have some sweet moments; like when he picked Kotoko up at the tennis courts when she hurt her ankle, and when he comforted her while Yuki was in hospital. And the following scene when they're in bed having a meaningful talk! Those were the moments that kept me hanging in there.
My biggest question is when did he start to like Kotoko? I really hope there is mention of the letter she wrote him in the following season, and wonder if he started to like her from when he read her letter. What she wrote wasn't anything silly - she explained who she was and why she admired him. Speaking of that scene when he read the letter, the whole helping her to study thing was so cute and relatable.
Kotoko, the sweetest little bean. Who doesn't love her? She is so kind, cheerful and very determined. She knows what she wants! No matter what, she wasn't going to give up on Noaki, not even when she started dating Kinnosuke.
I did think there were parts where it dipped into stalker territory how Kotoko started to follow Noaki to places he was going, but we'll gloss over that because we ship them so much!
That scene at the end where he finally kisses her and she's like, 'the second time?' and he's like, 'No, the third time. - You don't need to count anymore.' Ughhhhhh this had me weak! Maybe I'm just a really hopeless romantic but my God this was just soooo cute!! Plus, the rain made the mood much more intimate.
After the routine Googling of the actors I was so shocked to find that there was a 10-year age-gap between the main leads. The actress who plays Kotoko never seemed to grow older even as the show progressed (over the three years). As for Noaki, the actor has an innocent little face that it's no wonder they tried to pass him off as being younger than he is.
Not gonna lie, I was a bit concerned in the beginning as the quality didn't seem the greatest; the camera seemed a bit shaky. I soon got used to that and realised it added a more realistic feel to the show.
I thought I was going to have second male lead syndrome in the beginning as Kinnosuke tries his hardest to win over Kotoko.
I would definitely watch this again - honestly it is one of my top three dramas.
-E
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just
only thing i likes the most is its OST thats all and everything is just bullshit if your are grown up and everything is lovely if you are teenager 🤏🤏🤏 its just the viewers age that decided this drama content..💀
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😅
😂
🥰
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