Freespirit1221

It reminds me of someone I met in the past

I found it a little bit rushed at second half of the movie and towards the end, but overall, I loved this movie. It’s a beautiful story. I cried a little at the end, when Kawana read Itsuki’s letter at the hospital.

Maybe I relate to the story a little bit because of some personal reasons. I did meet a guy who used to be so talented and confident until he had an accident. Before he used to be the big man in his family, then had to totally depend on his family to take care of him. His situation was worse than the female lead. He used to travel the world and did many great things and others relied on him a lot. Just like the male lead, he couldn’t accept the fact and he was very miserable. His ex-girlfriend left him to marry someone else right after that, and he held a grudge against her. I met him through my close friend and three of us hung out for a short while. I didn’t have any romantic relationship or feeling for him though, but I think he had a crush on my friend. My friend was the one who stayed in touch with him and suddenly one day they stopped contacting and we stopped visiting him. Watching this movie makes me wonder how he is doing now. I hope he’s happy, wherever he is.

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A unique and creative plot but failed to progress.

This should be marked as a mystery instead of a romance series. I don't feel any romantic chemistry between the characters, for both the lead and the second couple. Our characters barely know each other, but then suddenly in the last 2 episodes they all start to fall in love. Does that make sense?

As for the mystery, it has a unique and creative plot and I think the way everything unfolded is okay, but very confusing, and it's still an unresolved issue in the end. I don't really understand the purpose of bringing it in the first place when it leads to nowhere.

Anyway, I give it 6/10 for its unique and potential plot, and for the acting from the actors. I started this series because of Jin Young in the first place and I think he did well with the role.

There are some illogical flaws in the plot. First, it's how everyone accepts the fact that our female lead Mi Jeong is a witch so easily without questioning anything. It's a fantasy thing, not something that happens so commonly in real life. Even adults believe it and try to kick a homeless orphaned teenager out of the village, just because of a ridiculous fantasy rumor spread in a high school! And a university professor just accepts it as something his student researches and analyzes data and turns it into an assignment report?

Second, after all the progress, in the end the issue is left unexplained. What is that "witch" thing? How did it start? Why did it happen? And how to resolve it? That's the biggest disappointment in the mystery plot of this series. It has potential, but in the end, no one finds any solution to it. Somehow it feels a little bit meaningless to me.

As for the romance in "The Witch", the biggest issue is that our male lead Dong Jin is a stalker. He follows and studies everything about Mi Jeong in the dark without her knowing. I think it's creepy to have a romance between a stalker and his target. I would feel so scared and disgusted to discover that someone has been stalking me for a long time, not to fall for them. Of course, in this series, Dong Jin has his reasons that he has to study carefully about Mi Jeong's "witch" curse before he can safely approach her without dying. However, the leads surely need more time to get to know each other first to have any romance. So how can they do that? Maybe Dong Jin can introduce himself online, then Dong Jin and Mi Jeong can learn about each other from afar first before meeting in real life. Does that count as Dong Jin violating the law? No one knows because it's never thought of, when we are living in a world full of technology.

Well, at least the leads already notice each other since high school, and Mi Jeong does have some feelings for Dong Jin when he is her delivery man. They have a few conversations and she feels a bit comfortable with him. How about our second couple? Their romance feels really odd and forced to me. They meet briefly in the last few episodes, bicker a little bit and suddenly become a couple in a minute!

I think the plot of "The Witch" is too complicated for a 10-episode series. It needs more time for its mystery to be discovered and unfolded, and for its romance to grow gradually. This is a very slow-paced series, but the ending feels too rushed in my opinion.

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Not a good series, and not the best acting from the cast

The plot is very problematic and dragging. The way everything is unfolded is disturbingly weird. There’s no character development at all, and a lot of unnecessary scenes and characters which contribute nothing to the story. Not a single thing in this series that happens really matters. Not a single person really cares about their actions and how they affect the people they say they “love” and “care for”. This series has potential in the first half but then goes downfall quickly afterwards.

There are 4 things I like throughout the series, but unfortunately they are not enough to save the plot and make it more enjoyable for me:
+ The real non-toxic parents and family members of the female lead and how they support her.
+ The male lead watches all the films the female lead has been in to learn more about her, even her very minor roles.
+ The dynamic interactions between the leads in the first half, before they fall in love.
+ Yoon Chae Won character and her interactions with the leads. She’s kind of a cool person, the most normal one among all characters in this series. She could be a powerful female lead in another rom-com series.

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Love Ishihara Satomi and Chiba Yudai but couldn’t stand the plot

3.5 out of 10.

The ones who created the plot for this series, are they really mentally okay? Omg, I can’t stand the logic of this. It’s worse than just bad. The plot is really the pain in the a**, and most of the characters are annoying.

There are a lot more things I hate than a very few things I like about this series. Maybe I will write about them later. There are only 3 things that keep me bear with this series, and make me rate it 3.5 out of 10, and I’m being generous!

+ My favorite actress and actor Satomi Ishihara and Yudai Chiba. But I couldn’t stand their characters. I don’t understand why they choose to act in this series. Maybe because it’s a story with the Japanese traditional flower arrangement (Ikebana)?
+ Ikebana: I want to learn more about it, and it would be great if they focus more on it, instead of the mess they have created.
+ Pooh-san’s friends, those who usually hang out at Kayoko’s bar. I don’t enjoy Pooh-san character (not because of his look), but I like his friends.

Now, about what I dislike about this series, I would say pretty much most of it except for those little things I've listed above:

1. The story of a random boy who "cycles around Japan" with a "motivation" from Pooh-san and the female lead, and suddenly meets a guy with a terminal disease and wants to commit suicide, and they encourage each other? I was like, wtf? Like, how does this even relate to the main story? Plus, it's also an awkward side story and doesn't make any sense. Instead of this nonsense, it would be better if they focused more on the Ikebana part.

+ Related to the story above, it's the fat shaming from the female lead towards the boy and laughing at him, and everyone considers it a normal thing and a "motivation" for him to "cycle around Japan"? It's bullying! He's also bullied at school, but nobody in this series takes it seriously.
+ And the boy holds a grudge and shouts at everyone he meets almost the whole series, and suddenly in the end, he brightly smiles and gently speaks with everyone. Does puberty and bullying sound like a joke to the production team?
+ And all the "inspirational" messages Pooh-san sends to the boy, they all sound too cliché and dogmatic. I couldn't stand them.
+ Pooh-san let the boy use the female lead's bicycle without her permission. This really pisses me off. It's not about whether he returns it or not, but the fact that he let someone else borrow your customer's stuff without asking her first, and then explain it in a very dogmatic way, like "believe me, he will come back and return your bicycle". If someone did this to me, even if we knew each other before, let alone a stranger, or worse, a customer, I would end the relationship with them for sure, because they disrespected me. Oh, and also don't expect me to see that person in a romantic way later on.

2. All the things Pooh-san says throughout the series sound too cliché and dogmatic to me. I don't like the acting of the actor playing Pooh-san either. His facial expressions look too fake. And so do all the things his mother says. They don't look and sound natural. Sounds like they are professors who are giving lectures, not speaking in a normal way.

3. What kind of mother sleeps with a guy and tells him to date and marry her own daughter. Disgusting! And after the affair is exposed, the mother doesn't even give a sh*t because of the crap "We're mother and daughter. She can't end our relationship."

4. Having an affair is considered quite a normal thing? A lot of people cheat in this series. A guy that never cheats is already the best guy? Please, raise your standards, both men and women.

5. About the female lead's sister and their sibling relationship, it doesn't make much sense. I guess the screenwriter wants to add some dramatic elements into the plot to make it more interesting? Like rich kids never get a normal loving sibling relationship? Well, it's not interesting at all. The two have been having a loving and supportive relationship since childhood, and out of nowhere a random guy appears, and the little sister turns evil? What an old and cliché trope!

+ The relationship between the little sister and the guy seems too awkward to me, too. She doesn't even pay attention to him at first, and then only one question "Do you believe in destiny?", she suddenly falls in love with him so deeply that she decides to turn against her beloved sister? What kind of crap is that?
+ Also, the guy's been doing bad things to take revenge for a long time and suddenly changes after a short time tricking the little sister because she is too kind and innocent? A kid would think of a better scenario.

6. The pairing between the leads feel too forced for me. I don't feel any chemistry, and their progress doesn't feel natural. Them being a couple seem too forced and fake for me, not because of their looks. but I don't really understand why they fall for each other. The female lead is a red flag, and Pooh-san is too cliché, dogmatic, and fake.

7. The President/so-called father of the female lead is the true weak and pathetic man, to both his wives, and daughters. And in the end, everyone just accepts that he loves both daughters and wives in his own ways, and ignores all of his pathetic behaviors? I refuse to understand his sick logic of being an artist, because it's too pathetic. He's just an insecure coward who can't stand the women who outshine him.

+ Sets up to ruin his daughter's marriage by breaking her heart so that she can't leave the house? Pathetic. No excuse about a father's love or being an artist can make up for this.
+ Makes the two loving daughters hate and fight against each other.
+ Plans to kick out his talented first daughter, the one that his late wife's daughter had with another man and that he's raised as "his own daughter", and uses her as a tool to make his biological daughter look more outstanding and win the competition to become the next president. Firest, he ruins her marriage to keep her in the house and lies to her about her late mother's death wish and tells her to be the next president. Then he intentionally makes her lose the competition and let his biological daughter be the next president. And all of sudden, he again asks the first daughter to become the next president instead when his biological daughter refuses to become one. At this point, the series implies that he actually loves his late wife and first daughter, and how loving he is as a "father". What kind of nonsense is this?
+ Plans to make his biological daughter witness her mother and boyfriend have sex together, which he set all up, only to make her experience betrayal and hatred, to create the darkness in her heart so that she can become a talented artist to compete with her sister? And his reason is that she is his biological daughter so he wants to help her become the next president, and that he can't let her lose the driver's daughter (the female lead, his late wife's daughter with another man). That's his sick definition of a father's love? Disgusting!
+ Gets a guy to trick his wife into having an affair with the guy for his own selfish purpose, and then in the end reveals that actually he loves his wife? Make it make sense!
+ Ignores his wives (both the late wife and the current one) because of his toxic excuse that an artist doesn't need love and that love destroys the artist's talent. This makes both wives feel lonely and end up having affairs.
+ The thing that explains most clearly about his pathetic behaviors is the sentence he said to his current wife at the end, something like "My late wife's outstanding talent pushed her away from me, but you're different because you have no talent in flowers or being an artist." What a pathetic excuse of an insecure coward who can't stand being with a woman that outshines him. Like, "I love you because you don't make me insecure about my talent, and I don't have to destroy your talent because I feel insecure like how I did to my late wife."

8. The way the female lead suddenly calls the driver "father" at the end also feels too forced and fake.

To sum up, I can't stand any character in this series, only a few supporting characters, and I love some actors and actresses, and the flowers are beautiful. That makes my 3.5 out of 10 for this series.

I’m quite generous when rating a film, but I also pay attention to very little details and sometimes can end up disliking the whole series for those little details. For this series, it’s the opposite case, I dislike the whole series, but there are a very little things that I like.

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A beautiful series - Very relatable

Finally able to watch the whole series after 3 years, and I think this is the perfect time for me.

This is a really beautiful series. Macbeth is really the best thing to ever exist. It's a beautiful journey, and definitely meaningful. And every beautiful journey has to come to an end. It’s sad but it is how life is.

The story feels so real and complete, and the cast is perfectly casted. All of them nailed their roles. There is no big plot twist or no villain in this slice of life series. I really love that. I also love that they don’t romanticize the relationship between the waitress (Rihoko) and the screenwriter of the comedy trio (Haruto) at the end. This series really feels like a big hug to me. It warms my heart and gives me more strength to keep up with this life.

I relate so much with the story and see myself in every character’s story, as someone who also in their late 20s and struggling with life, failures, career crisis, isolation, mental illness and more. Personally there were times I also locked myself up in the room and isolated myself from the outside world, just like Rihoko and Haruto's older brother in this series. It feels like a wasteful time to other people, but it is a necessary period for me to reflect on myself and dig deeper into my soul. My whole life might also feel like a failure to other people, but to me everything I have done is meaningful, and it happens for a reason, and it makes me who I am today. Now I also need the courage to give up on something and figure out what I'm going to do next with my life. I am very grateful to my family, friends and the ones who I have met and have stayed by my side and helped me through the darkest times of my life.

Whoever is reading this, I hope you have a wonderful day. You are trying your best and that's enough. You are living in the best moment of your life.

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Not really what I expected

It was supposedly a cute movie about love and marriage but I can't stand the message.

So the male lead's almost-an-affair is nothing to be revealed? And it's considered as a normal behavior? I thought it would cause a scene between the main couple.

This man is such a jerk to me, for being over-jealous towards for no clear reason, just him being so childish and possessive, and for taking her as a bad inspiration to write poems, for ignoring her, and worst, for letting his jerks aka so-called friends embarass her and not protecting her.

I really don't think the ending is a happy ending for the female lead. She deserves so much better.

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A love story that goes beyond the stars

“Out here in space, there’s someone who’s always rooting for you”.
A perfect message for me at the moment when I watched the movie, and also now, 4 months later, when I added my review for it on My Drama List.

This is a beautiful love story that is literally across the starlight and universe, with beautiful voices from Kim Tae Ri and Hong Kyung, and a vivid, magical and sparkling animation style like thousands of stars in the sky.

I also love the theme song that is composed and performed by our main lead Jay. It perfectly fits the vibe of the film.

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Love is all around, and it's not just about romantic love

When watching this series, I had a similar feeling when I was watching my favorite Japanese series Life's Punchline. I feel these two series have quite a similar vibe. I love it.

This series has a different vibe from a lot of Kdramas. The story, the music, and cinematography is just so perfect. Just like the title, I felt like watching a movie, not a series.

This is a beautiful realistic slice of life series, with romance being a part of it. It's a mix of love, family, friendship, human relationships, dreams, passions, trauma, life and death. It touches different aspects of life. I was surprised that it was able to cover all those aspects in just a 10 episode series. Of course it cannot be too deep, but it’s enough. I was left fulfilled after finishing this series.

Love is all around in this series. Everything in it is connected to love, and it's not just about romantic love. First, it’s the love between our leads, Mubi and Gyeom. Their love isn’t just romantic, but it’s a deep connection and understanding. It’s so special. They love each other and are each other’s home. My heart feels warm and calm everytime they hug each other. It’s just so beautiful.

Second, it’s the love among the family members. We have Gyeom and his older brother, and Mubi and her parents as the two major focuses throughout this series. Gyeom and his brother truly love and care for each other dearly. Gyeom is the light in his brother’s life, while his brother is like a big tree for Gyeom. Gyeom always behaves like a kid around his brother. They rely on each other. However, Gyeom has developed a fear of being abandoned by his brother since he was a kid.

In Mubi’s situation, that her father is an absent father leads to her daddy issues. Her lack of fatherly love also leads to a fear of being abandoned and makes her always crave for love. It’s a kind of trauma that both our leads share. That’s why Mubi’s mom told Gyeom that he and Mubi are exactly like each other. And “Melo Movie” is their healing love story.

Other forms of love are friendship and human compassion, the love for one’s passion and dream, and the love for life. Each form is beautifully portrayed in this series.

Like Gyeom, my dream used to be watching every film ever made, and also reading every book ever written. However, the older I get, I understand that it’s impossible, because we have a limited time in this life while there are too many things to explore, including books and films. I can see myself in Gyeom’s development throughout the series. Oh, there was a scene where Gyeom went to the cinema with a girl who probably had a crush on him, but he didn’t care and just focused on the movie. I laughed at that scene and wondered if such a situation ever happened to me. I only go to the cinema to enjoy a movie on screen, so I don’t like talking with others when I am watching and I don’t pay attention to the person either. A lot of people may think that’s a place for dating, but it’s definitely not the case for me. I go to the cinema alone a lot. As an Asian, it’s not a common thing to do and people think I’m weird. I’m glad I’m not alone in this. :)

Like Mubi, I also love romance films and one of my favorite movies is “Love Actually” as well. I don’t understand why people don’t seem to take romance movies seriously. Maybe because I also have father issues like Mubi?

Other things I love about this series is the ending for the second leads. I’m glad they didn’t get back together at the end because it’s not realistic. In the first half of the series, I didn’t enjoy watching these two exes’ interactions and I didn’t like Ju A. But as the series goes, I think their relationship is realistic and relatable among young people. They are so young, passionate about each other and make mistakes. They once had each other in a period of their life and had a beautiful love story. I think Ju A owed Shi Jun an explanation why she broke up with him at the time, not just left him without any explanation. I think that’s the reason why Shi Jun was still stuck in the past when she was able to move on. I’m glad they met again so that Shi Jun could finally move on. Although I still don’t like Ju A, her character does exist in real life and it’s understandable.

After watching this series, I have the urge to rewatch some of my favorite romance movies and series. :)

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An important medical drama

Fast-paced, straightforward, intense, and full of comedy and action. It also has some emotional moments and the ending is perfect. The important major message is well-conveyed throughout the series. I hope that the series can help to change the world’s medical system for the better.

There are some parts which I find illogical and unrealistic but it’s fine. I think it’s the director’s intention. The main lead is built with the image of a superhero doctor with a great passion for saving his patients no matter what and with the best surgical skills, so it’s understandable that a few things about him are exaggerated. The only thing that annoys me a little bit is that they don’t wear helmets when riding a motorbike. And it doesn’t happen once. Call me a nitpicker, but as someone who rides motorbike every day, I would say it’s actually very dangerous to do that, not as cool as it looks.

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Comfort series

It’s still a heart-warming series with a lot of good food and different bittersweet stories from different patrons at the midnight diner. I think the characters' backstories in the second season were much deeper than in the first season.

Although I didn’t empathize with some patrons, I guess those types of people do exist in real life. I think ‘Master’ did a good job as a sincere listener and witness without interfering deeply into his patrons' personal issues. I think it would be nice if there were a midnight diner like that in real life. I would love to become a regular patron as well, even though I can't even drink.

I don’t remember clearly every patron’s story now, but Ryu-chan’s backstory in the first episode made me cry a lot. I also cried in a few other episodes. I’m also glad that I got to see most of the regular patrons from the first season. I loved those people very much.

It's a drama that I enjoyed watching slowly. I sometimes picked one or two episodes to watch before bed. I have to say I was surprised every time, about how the stories turned out. Wow. What is life? Even Odagiri Joe's character, who always had some iconic lines about life in a lot of episodes from the first season, became speechless for once in episode 9. I was also speechless in that case.

As I just mentioned about Odagiri Joe’s character, I felt so sorry for him, after seeing his backstory in the last episode. It was so bitter and painful to watch. I wanted to root for him, but I guess the other ending was pretty impossible in that case. His old life was already lost and he couldn’t just take it back. Once again, he took a lonely path for himself and left the diner again, without anyone noticing, just like in the first season…

Although I watched this series on Netflix, I never skipped the opening song and intro and the ending song in every episode. My heart felt so warm every time I heard the opening and ending song.

One more thing I love about this series is that the regular patrons always gathered at the diner in the last episode, and ‘Master’ cooked them a lot of fancy food, like they were celebrating a special event together.

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So sweet and adorable!

This is such a sweet, soft, gentle, heart-warming and adorable romance series. I enjoyed every minute from the beginning till the end. The chemistry between the characters is so natural and amazing even though there are not really any intimate scenes. I also love every character in this series so much. All of them are beautiful human beings.

OMG I need a season 2 asap! I need many seasons of the 2 couples. I need to see the wedding of Fumiko and Fukami, and more scenes about the future of all of the characters. 10 episodes are just too short!

Also, I noticed that in other dramas, usually only one person in a couple is adorable, and it’s often the girl. But in this drama, both of the leads are so just as lovely as each other! I love them so much.

I may write a longer review later.

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This is the best live-action musical series I have watched so far!

I always have a soft spot for musical films, especially films with classical music. I love classical music, and love the piano the most. So "Nodame Cantabile" is a perfect series for me. It makes me fall in love with classical music one more time and also gave me the motivation to start practicing the piano again. As a piano learner, I'm kind of like Nodame who does not read the music sheet very well. Of course I'm not as talented as Nodame. My level is quite basic. I just learnt it to play for fun, but paused for a long time because I don't have a piano with me, and the teacher forced me too much that made me stressed. So this time I'll buy a small piano and try to practice on my own while maybe looking for a more suitable piano teacher.

Anyway, "Nodame Cantabile" is so special and precious to me. I love every music performance throughout the series. I can feel the love for music in every character in the series. I love most of the characters, except the foreign Maestro character. He's just a perverted old man to me. The way he treats women is horrible, and I don't like his fake foreign look and accent either. I felt annoyed every time he appeared. However, as this is an old Japanese drama and as I love everything else and the music just touched my soul every single time, "Nodame Cantabile" is still a 100/10 series for me. I will re-watch it from time to time.

Besides music, this series is also special because of other reasons. I love our girl Nodame so much and also love her beloved senpai Chiaki. Nodame is so adorable, innocent but definitely not a stupid girl. She's a talented piano genius in disguise because of childhood traumas. Chiaki is also a genius with childhood traumas. I enjoyed watching Nodame and Chiaki's character development through each episode, and I loved the way they helped and supported each other in overcoming their own fears to find their real selves and discover their talents. Their romance is so pure, beautiful, and supportive, and it starts out of the love for music. I specially love the scene in the last episode where Nodame was talking about her dream of performing on the same stage with her senpai as a golden pair with full of excitement. Nodame is just too sweet and adorable! No wonder Chiaki hugs her from the back!

Also, they are so hilarious together. I enjoyed watching Chiaki's reactions and his facial expressions every time he's with Nodame lol. I laughed so much while watching them together. Of course I don't take the violence seriously. I understand that's the slapstick comedy style, as this series is adapted from a comedy manga.

Besides the leads, other characters are also very loveable. My other favorite characters are Mine and Kiyora. I love them as an individual character and love them as a couple as well. Their romance is also pure, beautiful and supportive and starts out of the love for music. Not only a wild and sensitive artist, Mine is also the best boyfriend and also the best buddy! While Kiyora is a strong ambitious and brave woman who dares to dream big and work hard to chase after her dream. She’s also a kind and supportive friend. It’s always nice to see this type of female character in a Japanese series.

Another thing that makes "Nodame Cantabile" so special to me is that there is no drama, no villain, no toxic love triangle, and no misunderstanding throughout the series. I just feel the absolute love for music from every character, as well as their desire and dreams, and their struggles while chasing their dreams. I can see myself in every character's struggle, and they also encourage me to face my fears to find my real self and follow my dreams. As how much Chiaki is grateful to his orchestra at the end of the series, I'm also grateful to "Nodame Cantabile" in the same way. I also feel like it's time to end a part of my life, and feel like it's the start of something new. I will move forward to a new journey and discover myself more in that journey. Although there are still fears, but I will stop doubting myself and start to believe in myself more. :)

There are still many more things to talk about this series but I'll stop now. I'm not sure if anyone will ever read this review but I wrote it to myself as the main purpose. Maybe it's a bit lengthy and boring to others. :)

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