In terms of the story, of course I have not read the manga so I really have no idea but in my personal opinion the romance subplot felt a bit forced and unnecessary. Personally, I think Akane and Kazushi would have made a much more fitting couple. I was honestly hoping Naoki wouldn't fall for Akane. What I had envisioned instead was a more bittersweet closed ended ending: Naoki’s death leading to Yukino or perhaps the former manager stepping up as the new vocalist. It would have been powerful to see Naoki leave behind his music, including new songs, as a legacy for the group. Now I'm curious how the Season 2 would go, if there will be one.
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1I have the artistic sensibility of a raw potato…
and yet I still enjoyed the drama a lot. I can only imagine how much of a cinematic experience it would be for someone who deeply feels the arts and experiences it on a more spiritual level.Jokes on me because I neither like the music style presented in the drama, nor this tortured obsessed artist persona Naoki had, and yet I loved every song here and even if I would avoid someone like Naoki in real life, I appreciated him a lot as a character. That’s this title's charm - it makes you feel emotionally involved and connected, even if usually you are more of a pop-girlie.
The music was the forefront of the show, the characters' motivations, the center of some of their existence. Can I relate? Hell no. Personally I find the ultimate obsession over your passion quite sad, hence it was at times painful to watch Naoki so deeply affected and connected to music. There was a level of selfishness under his love for music that I could not stomach. But that’s also what made him an interesting character and it gave me the ultimate question I had while watching Glass Heart - will he touch the grass or nah?
Personally I for sure gravitate towards more mundane and “normal” characters. While eccentric personas can be entertaining, it can also easily become exhausting. Luckily Glass Heart understood potential dangers that come with centering the show around “pure genius” and softened the dynamics with all the people surrounding Naoki.
Akane was not a ray of sunshine, she was the sun flare that demanded ultimate attention with her positive energy and determination that grounded Naoki and helped him get out of the artistic daze and focus. I loved this girl with all my heart and she was easily my favorite character.
Side note, but why was this girl so shippable? I shipped her with 4 different people and all of these seem legit and reasonable choices.
While Akane felt like the force that kept them going, Takaoka Sho was more of a pillar that made them stable during their journey. There is no denying he understood Naoki the best and had the patience of a saint. For all the bromance fans - this pairing will not disappoint you.
And then we have Kazushi who determined the structure and was the silent supporter willing to sacrifice his own goals and desires for people whom he cared about. As a soft potato myself I appreciated him a lot. He led me into the ghost ship that was destined to crush like titanic and I’m not even mad about it.
I have to mention Toya, because I need someone to explain to me why I even liked this rude ass? That styling was also a lot to take, and I did not even recognize Suda Masaki in episode one. Is this man for real? His ability to completely transform into various characters is honestly magical.
As much as I want to focus on the positive and uplifting aspects of the show like - chasing your dreams, found family trope, passion for music, caring for people around you, there was also some underlying sadness in it that drew me more.
The idea that your brilliance might be the downfall for people around you - whenever intentional or not. How deep insecurity and comparing yourself to others can kill whatever talent you have. How co-dependency in any form kills creativity and cages you with the thoughts of self-doubt. The hyperfocus on your passion that you are unable to see other aspects of life worth living for. The obsession is so deep you cannot even take a break - you rather risk dying with it, than live without it.
I truly appreciate how I was able to see the more dark and sad aspect of creative endeavors and how deep sensibility can create beauty while slowly ruining the creator himself. At the same time it highlights the importance of a support system and how slowing down, but being surrounded by like-minded people can be more rewarding than sprinting to your goal all alone.
Production wise this is beyond the typical high quality Netflix gives - here it felt far more intentional. It wasn’t pretty and flashy without restraints. They knew exactly what moments should be highlighted, what directing choices will make the viewers focus on the important aspects of the storytelling, characters dynamics and developments. And what’s most important - they knew how to use visuals to enhance the music. Also all, and I truly mean all producers and directors need to sit down and take notes on how to open a drama, because that drumming in the rain scene was a cinematic experience that perfectly set the tone for the whole show.
At the same time there were some choices I slightly questioned. All the guys saving Akane from trouble Boys Over Flower style. Or when Yukino started to sing at random moments - we get it, singing is your life, but you can in fact use spoken words to communicate too.
Now the music - slays. I love how much focus we had on drums here. Whenever the camera focused on Akane playing I wanted to jump from my seat - the excitement she experienced playing was perfectly translated to screen and infectious. It’s surprising how many dramas that focus on bands and music do not actually have good music in it. TENBLANK is basically a real band with real high quality music and I can 100% believe their songs would top charts.
I have zero notes on acting, because I feel like I’m not in the position to judge the perfection I witnessed. Name me one bad performance. You can’t.
Overall, this was an experience I did not fully relate to on a logical level, but connected on an emotional one.
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This review may contain spoilers
I placed spoilers at the end of this review. This was an interesting series, but the script was lacking in some areas. Although slightly confusing, it started off really good. However, the script unraveled a little bit towards the end and did not fully explain some things. I was also not a fan of the romantic storylines. It was clear the main focus was the music which definitely outshined the script. The cast did an outstanding job making this script come alive and creating very engaging characters. This also had visually stunning cinemaphotography.
Random Note:
My major complaint is the ending which was very abrupt, well for me anyway. It almost gave a hint of a second season.
******Potential Spoiler Alert******
I’m slightly confused about Naoki’s medical condition and its link to him staying in the music industry.
I understand this was adapted from a novel, but I felt the love triangle between Naoki, Akane, and Kazushi was unnecessary. This already had a lot of other story elements to make this interesting.
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Anyone knows what is the background music they used in episode 2 and 5?
I am mainly writing this review to look for the background music they used in episodes 2 and 5. The OSTs and cinematography are on top. The acting from each character is also good. I wish they could've shown more sides of Kazushi, Sho, Kai and Yukino. Overall, it's a good series and kind of unexpected from a J-Drama.Was this review helpful to you?
It made my heart move and for that, I love it.
It was a beautiful and moving story about passion, music, and dedication. Great acting, great OSTs and very heartfelt. I enjoyed all the different relationships in the band, between friends, and the brothers. I don't think it needed romance like this, but I love that the various characters supported each other in their own ways.Was this review helpful to you?
More than just great music
This drama may seem to be all about the music, however the music as lovely and as much screen time as it got (which was a loot)felt to me more like a vessel to help people to relate to the much deeper story hiding beneath is a story about finding that context, that place in the world where you are surrounded by people who build you up rather than tear you down. It is about love, connection, understanding and living rather than just surviving.There may only be one lead listed here but I dare to say that it is about all four band-members journeys, and very much so about our female lead, a woman who gives us an outstanding performance rain, on a boat or in a cramped room, she gives us not only an amazing umbrella scene but is the voice (not the vocals) of this drama, as she is the one who truley invites the viewers in to the slightly unrealistic word of love of music. The second female lead did a pretty decent jobe herself and had some really amazing vocals. Ans yes so did the men, great performances on and off stage, varied, emotional at times a bit to much but over all, all 5 where a pleasure to watch.
A decent binge, with very few annoying elements and a whole lot of good music that may just shatter your heart.
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Whiplash and the art of motorcycle maintenance
A friend in graduate school at Northwestern during the late 90's and early 00's spent some of his free time working for the college radio station. On occasion, he had the opportunity to interview one of the alternative artists as they would appear in the Chicago metro area. One such artist (Neko Case) not only had performed on stage multiple times during his stint on radio but also had a mutual who regularly hosted parties and they bumped in to each other a few times in this context as well. When Ms. Case was headlining the music stage at the local summer arts festival, I expressed to my friend how much I enjoyed her music and hoped to catch her performance. Surprisingly, my friend had no such warm and fuzzy feelings towards the alt-country singer. He recounted that both as an interview subject and as a person in a personal setting, she was not at all interested in discussing music or seemingly anything else with anyone who was not a fellow musician.This anecdote may not paint Neko Case is the most positive light but her solo music remains magnificent and her vocals with Vancouver's New Pornographers are among the finest to be recorded in the last thirty years. This retelling is not so much about her and her shortcomings as a human being but as a relief upon which to discuss musicians and music in general and art and what's it, y'know music and art, all for? What's so great about it?
In "Glass Heart", Satoh Takeru's main character, Fujitani Naoki, is a genius. Viewers know this not only because viewers see him extemporaneously turn a simple melody in to a Mozart-level composition, but also because every character around him says at every opportunity that he's a genius. The first part of that is enough. The second part gets a bit tiresome. Nevertheless, Naoki is a genius and recruits fellow aces of guitar, keyboard and drums to form his new band. To the extent that "Glass Heart" succeeds, it's thanks to the perfect casting of Machida Keita as the stoic and aloof-on-the-surface guitarist and Miyazaki Yu's ferociously unhinged musical sequences on the drumkit. And the camera work and editing for said musical sequences are legitimately stunning.
But the plot is wafer-thin and meanders in-and-out of Naoki's troubles which never really create any emotional impact because Naoki himself doesn't seem to feel anything other than a compulsion to write more songs, perform once in a while and have somewhat robotic interactions with people who have either supported or antagonized him. Had any of the bandmates showed some exasperation with Naoki like any normal human being would have, it would have added some badly needed connection with how things usually operate here on Planet Earth. And Naoki is exasperating. As a positive, he's somewhat mercurially amusing as this easily distracted, stream of consciousness creator. But he's also sporting some pretty toxic and unhealthy traits that get the "it's ok because he's a genius" treatment.
Further, Saijo is a confounding character. While playing the drums, she's an absolute mastodon. When she puts the drumsticks down, she's a mouse. This character needed to be more mastodon. Much much more mastodon.
Where "Glass Heart" really falters is that it very explicitly wants to express why music is so great and important and how this musical genius' creativity is so wonderful. And it's not at all convincing.
The primary issue is that it's all entirely inward-looking. This wonderful thing that Naoki does is generally accomplished with him in some sort of trance where he's wholly unaware of his surroundings or attempts by his bandmates to communicate with him. The big transformative experience by the members of Tenblank is their realization that their performance as a band IS how they live and that their lives without their shared musical exploits are less meaningful.
Which is great.
For them. The musicians.
But music that is only meaningful for the musicians is just a series of notes and words strung together. "Glass Heart" makes some glancing attempts to involve other characters but it's the half-brother from a rival band (musician), a manager who wanted to be a singer (musician), a sinister record exec who's background is a songwriter (musician) and a messy idol-style singer (musician). None of them nor any audience member or anyone have any impact on what "Glass Heart" proclaims as its message. To be clear, it's great that the creators enjoy their process and are fulfilled in their pursuits. But to "Glass Heart" that's the end of it. Music for the musician. It's enough to be the tree in the zen proverb of the tree falling in the forest when no one is around. Hint: that's not all it's supposed to be.
For those that are interested, "Inside Llewyn Davis" is a master class on a musician discovering fulfillment in his art.
As for "Glass Heart", it's fine as an extremely long form music video but isn't much of anything else.
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Underwhelming
It starts off great with impressive production, stunning visuals, solid direction and top notch cinematography. It even has a story to tell. But does it touch your heart?? For me, it didnt.Yes, there were a few nice moments here and there but strangely, i never felt excited while watching it. I could see the great visuals, the beautiful music and the good acting yet i didnt connect with any of the characters nor did i feel engaged in the storyline. At times, it even felt boring.
The ML was quite unlikable for me. I understood his character arc and backstory but i still couldnt bring myself to like him. It always felt like a wall between him and his bandmates, as if he never truly cared about them. The FL came off as just an overly ambitious fool.
The romance wasnt a major part of the drama but whatever was there felt lukewarm and unconvincing.
They also underused the side characters, none of them stood out or felt particularly interesting. Even the villain was a caricature at best.
Overall, this was average at best.
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Great music does not compensate a weak plot
Glass Heart - it was Good, it could have been amazingThis became Hongrang 2.0 for me , a great drama( loved first 6 eps) downrated by weak plot and rushed ending with forced romance.
✅️ Visuals, styling ( omg those sweaters 🤩) cinematography , production quality top notch 💯
✅️ Music, loved all the songs , so good, so catchy. Do note half of this drama is music. We see them performing a lot of songs , and the story is often told via the songs lyrics. I liked that but if you are not a fan of the music you might not like it. I one have not skipped any music scene. 💯 energy and feels!
✅️ Good and positive life messages. Kind and honest characters.
✅️ Male leads. All have amazing screen presence. The tensions among them and their on screen chemistry was awesome. My favorite scenes were between Toya - Naoki and Naoki -Sho
✅️ the hands homoerotic two scenes 🔥 those were fire and unexpected.
✅️ acting
😐 while all the 3 female characters we saw had good acting I kept telling myself their screen presence pales compared with the male leads. I mean the trio and even Jun are all show stealers. Couldn't help to wonder how the drama would have looked if FL have been played by Imada Mio or Anna Sawai for example.
🚫 this drama would have been better without any romance. The kiss scene felt forced and flat.
🚫 if they wanted some romance focus, they should have developed more Akane - Kazushi relation. That ship was sailing and can't belive how cute was jealous Jun 🤩. I was so rooting for him.
🚫 the plot was the weak side. Except a good twist in ep 5 it was predictible, even nonsense sometimes and that is a pitty because there could have been so many other band related interesting topics they could have explored.
Overall still a good watch 8/10 ❤️
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J-pop Rulez!
It was a challenge to write this review. Not because it is meh. Quite the contrary, when it is good, it is amazing! However, in the cold lights of a post-concert low, you do notice issues. In that sense, it is . . uneven.Firstly, the acting of our ML! While he is always good and dependable in his dramas, he is next level in this. He is the heart and soul of this series. Period. ;)
This is also where the phrase double edged sword takes on some significance.
With such a strong ML, there is little room for the other actors to showcase their acting chops. Not that they did a bad job. Each have their moments in the sun (or rain, for that matter). Yet they pale when Takeru-san is shining so brightly. He is also the executive producer. No pressure.
Secondly, the music! Any fans of j-pop, progressive rock and even jazz will rejoice. It is a roller coaster ride from start to finish. It runs the gamut from mega live concert to impromptu recital in a music store. While the actors are not professional musicians, they trained and practiced really hard for their roles and it shows. Add a bit of movie magic and voila! Awesome, believable performances. Salut! J-pop deserves a chance to blossom.
However, it does cut both ways. If you are not into the music, then this show will be opaque to you. You can still watch it as a fan of the star, but it will be a challenge to enjoy it to the fullest.
Thirdly, the script! Oh, what a glorious mess! There is an overarching plot of sorts. It mostly makes sense. It also reserves the right to do whatever it wants to move the plot along and take detours. There are the prerequisite angst, a dollop of romance and low-key family feud. In that regard, it has a hint of a mockumentary. It is a journey, for sure. There is much healing and growth in the characters. Just don't ask too many questions. The lows will come. Enjoy the highs while you can. ;)
Fourthly, the characters! This is a Pandora's box. Some characters have depth you can drown in, yet others are nothing more than one dimensional archetype. I don't want to pull each character apart because I'm not writing a doctoral thesis. ;) Every character is flawed. Some do feel a bit self-serving though.
My one real gripe is the nasty producer. He is portrayed as a megalomaniac star maker. You can almost imagine him waking up each morning chanting "if I can't control you, I'll destroy you!!!". Consider the industry they are in, and horror stories of exploitations. It feels oddly sanitized.
Lastly, the production! Wow! Just wow! Sure, there are some rough edges but where it counts, this show delivers! The direction, cinematography and staging should be studied in relevant courses. Performing on a moving boat is a challenge at the best of time, but on a wine dark sea?
The final concert is chef kiss! They have 5000 jumping and screaming extras! Even if all of them are volunteers, the logistics is still mind blowing. This is on top of sundry location and studio shots, both of performances as well as "regular" dramatic scenes. Many behind-the-scenes staff needs to take a bow. Bravo!
To be honest, I'm still a little giddy from watching the finale last night. I know the show is not perfect. Every time I try to recall some mental note I made on an issue, my mind is swamped by an earworm tune, and the afterglow of their performance.
Not to worry. I would be nitpicking anyway and we can’t have that! ;)
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This review may contain spoilers
Amazing journey in a crazy world of music!!
this drama really catched my attention from the very first moment of the raining scene where the deep passion for music prevails!! it was the starting point where Akane and Naoki met firstly and started this marvelous journey to make their wonderful music reaching everybody!!!●Akane: I like in her personality that she doesn't give up easily though she was criticized by many fans of Tenblank that she is an unknown one and won't make the band working to do well with her presence but her insistence to always persisting on mastering to be the best drummer made her path to be successful that I liked all her scenes playing so hard and passionately drums but to be honest in the romantic part for her, I didn't like the fact that for the sake of loving Naoki, she brought him with her to write music though knowing music would destroy him after knowing about his health issue...
●Naoki: he is the major complete package star of this drama!! he is the pillar that gave the most shining parts of this show!! too simply he is marvelously performing music and singing perfectly!! he is having such rare beautiful and tender voice that would make everybody melting with his lyrics and living with his words...
I don't think I had ever seen any person who would be deeply addicted to writing songs even under the most hard situations and environment when he was facing serious medical problem or in the middle of deadly freezing weather!!! I would believe Naoki is a real music artist with his realistic and mind blowing acting!! I like his quirky side of character adding some fun to the show...
it was a great transition for once when after making the music his first priority in life to finally having mutual feelings for Akane...
●Sho: he is one of the most likeable person that I really think he gave the show its worthiness alongside Naoki!! I just admire that deep friendship he is cherishing with Naoki!! he is the savior, caring and considerate for his best friend, he is the one shining when playing guitar so passionately that I was surprised this actor would perform in such splendid way!!
I am in love with all the scenes of them together when they get to know each other at the start...
●Kazushi: though he wasn't in a good term with Naoki, considering him a rival in music and romance but I like his scenes when playing harmoniously music with the band but he couldn't deny that he was affected with the presence of Naoki all the way being in members of the same band...
he was impressive how caring for Akane though starting on the wrong foot but he meant to say to her that he liked her music when realizing that with time and noticing her crush for Naoki, I would have wished if they made Kazushi and Akane a couple together...
●Toya: just when looking at him singing with Naoki that was one of the best firing scenes that really was literally dazzling!! their interactions and chemistry are so captivating that I can feel the heat of living every single lyrics they are singing...
he is another hidden gem in this drama who played so amazingly that led to make it sucessful and worthy to watch and gave splendor for the show!!
I was surprised that he is the half brother of Naoki but the later played an important role to make the hostility fading away until reuniting together in a one marvelous scene of their great singing!!
the other supporting characters were so good and well choosen, they did a great job in acting... Yukino and Naoki played so good togther as duo in singing and really stole the attention!! I can't forget the jealousy of Akane when seeing them together but it is normal for such promising star like Naoki for showing girls are having crush on him making a complicated love triangle alongside the unrequited love of Kazushi for Akane...
I think that they should have added here Sho, Kazushi and Akane to the main characters alongside with Naoki cause thay play the same important roles as members of the same music band!! I like all the music albums of Tenblank that was so impressive and enjoyable to hear!!! all their concerts carried wonderful emotions like breaking the earth with their loud power of music that I can't get over them!!
I would say that I gave 8.5 rating for the reason of romantic part, though I like Akane with both Naoki and Kazushi but don't know feeling it was unpleasant to make it an unrequited love from only the side of Kazushi to end giving up on her after that and would be better if she gave a chance for a relationship with him instead of only clinging on Naoki and thinking that Kazushi could be a nice person to her... but anyway the romance part is a subplot and the focus majorly was on music!!
I felt the drama began so strongly and started to be more interesting in the three last episodes especially the final episode was heavenly magnificent like watching a live concert but wished if they showed us what happened to the medical issue of Naoki cause it ended shortly like missing this part which made me too giving this rating...
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J-drama & J-music !
I’ve been waiting for this drama for a long time, and it was definitely worth the wait. Of course, if it hadn’t been released on Netflix, who knows whether we would’ve been able to watch it or not. Unfortunately, accessing Japanese content isn’t that easy — we can only watch it if they decide to make it available internationally. This drama was announced around last year, and since I knew it was going to be a Netflix production, I waited for it with peace of mind. In this sense, I’m glad Netflix exists.There were two actors I really love, Keita Machida and Masaki Suda. I admire both of them and think they’re very talented. They were the main reason I was looking forward to this drama so impatiently. I also liked the actresses. And there were other actors I love as well, like Takeru Satoh and Jun Shison. The cast was quite large, and I absolutely loved it.
I’m happy because the drama met my expectations. It was very well done. The music was fantastic. I really liked Naoki and Yukino’s voices — their duet was my favorite song. Toya’s voice was also beautiful, and with his image and vibe, he definitely gave off a rock music feel. His performance with Naoki was one of the coolest parts for me. Akane’s drumming was pretty good too, though she looked a little shaky and inexperienced. Sho’s devotion and love for Naoki really stood out to me. It even reminded me of Kurosawa’s role (those who watched Cherry Magic will know what I mean). I also have to say I loved Yukino — she was really cute and beautiful, and her voice was amazing.
I really liked the ending. Japanese dramas sometimes surprise me with their finales because they can often feel a bit underwhelming, but I found this one to be very well done. It was a fitting finale for a musical drama. Overall, I really enjoyed it. Definitely worth watching.
⚠️ This part may contain spoilers:
When I learned that there would be female characters, I already suspected that there would be some romance involved, and I wasn’t wrong. At first, the romantic relationships were confusing — like, who loved who? But one thing was certain: everyone was in love with Naoki, lol. I honestly thought Naoki wouldn’t fall for anyone — especially after rejecting Akane — but then he ended up falling for her. Actually, he already seemed to like her from the beginning, so I was tricked into thinking he didn’t. I felt a little bad for Kazushi; personally, I think he and Akane would’ve made a nice couple. Sho was basically in love with Naoki too, lol. I wish they could’ve ended up together, but then the drama would’ve turned into an LGBT storyline, so I guess that’s why they didn’t go there. Still, Sho’s feelings were obvious. Anyway, despite all the love drama, I liked that romance wasn’t pushed too much and that the focus stayed mostly on the music. Overall, it was really good.
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