Wishing Tenblank was real
I watched this mainly for Keita, but honestly, the entire cast was phenomenal. The acting was impressive, but not surprising, since I've seen most of them shine in other dramas.The plot was decent. I haven’t read the manga, so I can’t say how faithful the adaptation is, but regardless, it gave me a certain spark, you know life energy. The music was also excellent. I'm no musical genius, but it genuinely felt like they’d mastered their instruments. It looked and sounded incredibly natural. I do wonder if the crowd during their performances were all real.
The drama was also visually stunning. Some details really stood out and added depth to the overall mood. You can tell a lot of thought went into the aesthetics.
There’s a bit of romance, too. There seemed to be an age gap, but it didn’t bother me much. Also, some subtle BL/brotherly sparks that definitely caught my eye.
All in all, everything came together to create a really solid show.
Was this review helpful to you?
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.
Was this review helpful to you?
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.
Was this review helpful to you?
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?
1More 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.
Was this review helpful to you?
2
1
1
2I 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.
Was this review helpful to you?
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.
Was this review helpful to you?
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.
Was this review helpful to you?
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 ❤️
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Beautiful to watch and listen to, but plot- and character-wise disappointing
The next three paragraphs contain my overall opinion and no spoilers. After that follows a very long rant containing many spoilers about what didn’t work for me.I really liked the cinematography and loved the music, but a big part of the plot and the characters were underdeveloped in my opinion. I did not need the romance and frankly, I think the story could have been better had that time been used to further develop other parts.
It had some really beautiful moments, but other parts I just didn't care about because the story spend too little time on them. Especially the character development disappointed me. There were several characters that were not just flawed, but simply unlikeable in my opinion, so I did not care about them and was glad whenever the story moved onto the next scene without them. Other characters showed up, then disappeared for a while and then suddenly showed up again when it was convenient. And this story did not feel like it had four main characters...
My initial reaction after finishing this drama was to not recommend it, but now about two weeks later I don’t feel that strongly about it anymore. If you like the actors and enjoy a well produced show and good music, you can give it a try, but if you are looking for a really good story with well developed characters, this is sadly not the one. Nonetheless, I don’t think it was a waste of my time to watch it, it just fell short in too many aspects to rate it higher.
SPOILERS or me ranting about what I did not like:
I did not care about the romance, especially not as a love triangle.
When Akane and Naoki confessed to each other, she told him that she wasn't sure at first if it was love, admiration or fear she felt. And the series never really convinced me that she was actually in love and not just admiring him and gobsmacked by his talent and passion. Which could be an interesting inner conflict if they actually showed that, does she love him or does she simply admire him, but apart from addressing it in one or two sentences the series never dives into this topic.
I also didn't believe Naoki had romantic feelings for Akane. Love, maybe, the same he had for Sho and Kazushi, but with how deeply his character was drawn to making music and getting lost in it, I just didn't see when and why he would suddenly develop romantic feelings for anyone.
And I am really annoyed at how the script treated Kazushi and Sho.
Apart from one or two brief moments about his relationship with Naoki, how he feels about Naoki's work and his ambition, and why he joined the band, Kazushi's only point of being in this story was seemingly so they could have a love triangle. Similar to the other two, this was underdeveloped. Setting aside the fact that I wouldn't have liked this part either way, I also don't think they did a good job at showing how he fell in love, he suddenly just liked Akane. Further exploring his reasons for joining the band, his admiration for Naoki while also struggling with Naoki's way of working, and being somewhat jealous of him could have made him a far more interesting character.
And Sho... this might be my biggest disappointment, he was barely present until the last few episodes. There were some good moments that showed how calm and caring he was (unlike many others I did not see a potential romance there (although I understand why some people did :D), because, as stated above, I didn’t see Naoki developing romantic feelings for anyone, he was married to his music and to his music alone), but Sho was mostly a background figure. Sure, he was in a lot of scenes because he is part of the band, but it didn't matter to the story that he was there. Had they shown sooner how he and Naoki met and decided to start the band, I might have cared about him more.
I didn't like Kai, and the conflict with her as well as her character itself felt redundant, I cared about it so little I wish they would have cut this out.
Toya as a character was a lot more interesting, or maybe just more charismatic, but also just there for that little bit of rivalry and then gone until that brief appearance at the end. Again a character that could have been utilised in a better way.
Isagi was also not fleshed out enough in my opinion. I am not sure the story actually needed this character, but the reason for that might be that I was constantly annoyed when he was on screen.
The part towards the end about whether to try and save Naoki's life and have him get treatment, but at the cost of his spirit and taking away his music, what he cares about most, could have been great and deserved more screen time. The moral conflict of wanting to save someone and what that actually means, the wish to keep him alive, which is so human, clashing with the question whether it would ultimately be selfish to save Naoki's life at the cost of keeping him from making music which would make him utterly unhappy and ultimately break him because he would then just survive, but not actually live, was interesting, but only touched upon briefly.
It’s not even that I think this is the best potential conflict for this drama, but it would have been a great opportunity to let all the band member characters shine and show more about their relationships with each other.
There were some moments, especially in the beginning, when I did not believe in the driven genius, whenever Naoki ran around with the notebook or drew notes in the sky or whatnot, but other moments worked incredibly well. When he stayed in the studio until exhaustion, when he played and played and replayed melodies on his instruments, it was terrifying and it was beautiful. Akane had a few similar moments, showing not the same obsession as Naoki has, but her passion and determination, those were also great. I could have watched more of that, especially for the other two band members, show me more of that passion, that sparkle, that willingness to push through and create something, show me people who don't just like music, but burn for it so much that they chose to make it their life.
Whenever the show had moments like that it worked incredibly well for me. Characters who live and breathe for their music, who are driven, who are not always likeable because of that… Had the show focused more on this aspect and cut out all the scheming (the scale of which was sometimes just laughable), I would have liked it a lot more.
As I mentioned above, what annoys me so much is mainly that this story had so much potential and some of the good parts were truly great, so to have it fall flat in others parts that I would have been more interested in, feels even more disappointing.
Was this review helpful to you?
Sights, Sounds, Lights: The Takeru Satoh Show
I was really looking forward to this one. As a music lover (and someone actually involved in music), I’m always hunting for idol dramas that don’t just fake it, but actually let the cast play and compose. This one went straight to the top of my list, and since it’s my first J-idol drama, I had to be all over it. The very first scene hit me like a bass drop, my musical heart was doing jumping jacks. Pro tip: watch it with good headphones. Who needs overpriced concert tickets anyway?I already knew Takeru would eat this role alive, but wow… he didn’t just serve, he overserved. Later I found out he was also producing, which explains why the whole drama had his fingerprints smudged all over it. Honestly, it was The Takeru Show with a supporting cast. He’s always had range, but after being quiet in romance land for a while, he’s back with fresh energy, first in Marry My Husband (2025) and now here.I don't know about you but I will surely say with assurance that this is probably his best work so far. Although this isn’t Takeru’s first music drama rodeo—he already rocked the stage in the 2010 music film BECK, Glass Heart takes things a step further. Not only does he shine as the lead character, but behind the scenes (as seen in the making-of documentary) he also embodies the role of a perfectionist producer who refuses to settle for anything less than flawless.
Now, J-drama female leads are a very… particular species. Most come from manga adaptations, which means they sometimes feel robotic or cartoonish. But Saijo Akane (played by Miyazaki Yu) gave me something different. She brought energy and grit. Even when the story threw her down the romance lane only to reveal the road was under construction, she didn’t just sit in the ditch and sulk. Nope. She picked up those drums, banged them like her life depended on it, and forced her emotions to spill out. Being the only woman in an all-male band is never easy, but she didn’t pull the gender card, she earned her spot on pure talent, even when the pushback was real.
And then there’s Takaoka Sho, the guitarist (Machida Keita). Stunning. Every time he appeared, it felt like the screen paused just to admire him. Whoever styled him deserves a bouquet of roses and maybe even a standing ovation. You can always tell when an actor’s a pro, they step in, say two lines (or none at all), and still manage to own the scene. Takaoka didn’t talk much, but he didn’t need to. His lead guitar did the speaking, and honestly, it said plenty. When his backstory unfolded, it became clear why he carried such a quiet, unassuming demeanor. Among the group he was the only one who understood Naoki the "god". When Naoki collapsed for the tenth time, He said as he pushed him on a loading cart "I survived long enough to qualify as the one to take care of him" and no one dared to stop him.
Now for the one that got away: Sakamoto Kazushi, the keyboardist (Shison Jun). Wasted potential. He could’ve shined as the composer, but instead they shoved him into the unnecessary love rival role. Zero chance from the start. Wrong drama, wrong lane. He was like the middleman stuck between warring warlords, only to find himself on the wrong side of the fence every time. Half the time I thought he was about to quit. But he learned quickly that mixing business with pleasure on a Yamaha keyboard is a road to nowhere. No recovery, no redemption, just a geek who didn’t belong in a class of masters. Honestly, he deserves a refund.
And let’s not forget Shinzaki Toya. My dramaland friend Jojo said, “Shinzaki Toya isn't the one to be ignored” and I couldn’t agree more. Played by the man who gave us 'Don’t Call It Mystery" Suda Masaki was given a character that sneaks into a script like an extra seasoning, and suddenly you wonder how you ever ate the dish without it. Toya was exactly that, the pot stirrer. At first, I didn’t know what his role even was, but soon I realized: he was the caffeine shot keeping me awake, and the rival keeping Naoki the god on his toes. When their relationship finally got revealed, the whole puzzle clicked into place. And let’s be honest, Toya was the spice that kept everything from going bland.
The first half? Pure music magic. I was hooked from scene one. But the second half… oh boy. They sprinkled in romance and angst, and suddenly I was fighting sleep. The chemistry just wasn’t there. It felt less like love and more like the FL had a crush on her band mentor. Even when the ML confessed, it sounded less like passion and more like him testing out new lyrics. In the end, It didn't really matter because I had came for the music, and for about 60% of the runtime, I got it. And credit where it’s due: Japanese cinematography is always next-level. Every frame, every sound felt intentional, like they were tuning your emotions the way you’d tune a guitar.
Final verdict: if you love music, breathtaking cinematography (think ASMR with visuals), and Takeru Satoh (yes, he’s everywhere), this one’s for you. For a very long time I have been looking for a music drama that us real,raw and gripping, I think my search ends here with Glass Heart.
As it is our tradition with Idol dramas, we can't end this yap without an OST which I have on repeat mode,TENBLANK the band in the drama has an Album title "Glass Heart" of cause.
https://open.spotify.com/album/6L1YyT69ix0i35s0056fbz?si=HGMaEOu0TNGkCiRiHYS6vg
"The Making of Glass Heart" is another rollercoaster on its own,it shows how much work,dedication,blood sweat and tears went into the making this drama..
https://youtu.be/dUgbRwfyjXg?si=3HG4ko03tg5MHAtz
Was this review helpful to you?
