I always thought Death Note was a story that whould be rather easy to adapt to western entertainment since it doesn't have many culture-specific elements. So it's sad to see this one fail so spectacularly.
I have three major complaints about this adaption. One, nobody is really smart, some characters even outright dumb. What's exciting about the other versions is the cat-and-mouse game of wits, where our major players are always calculating a few steps ahead and it's lots of fun to try to guess who'll get the upper hand at each step or how they'll manage to wind their way out of intricate traps.
The second complaint is the unnecessary brutality of the deaths. This adds absolutely nothing to the story, aside from some of the more ridiculous scenarios being unintentionally funny.
Lastly, I never bought into the love story. She's just interested in the book and there's nothing particularly charming for him to like about her but her looks. So no emotional stakes involved at all.
These are all things I'd also criticize if I'd never seen/read any other version. It's a disappointing adaption, sure, but as a standalone it's also a bad movie.
This show is just so utterly delightful. It's hilarious and too cute for words and the character developments feel so absolutely natural and organic that I'm actually surprised at how well it's done.
It was fun to see Korea from a J-drama point of view, since I've seen it the other way round quite a lot…
Yeah sure not all of them were Korean, the doctor has a very noticable accent as well. But my point is that the more important character was not only Korean but it was an actual actor and not just a random native.
Oh my, this spin-off really messes with the border of drama vs reality by half-pretending to be a behind-the-scenes story of Yutori Desu Ga. It's totally over the top but short enough and never takes itself seriously, so it stays clearly in wacky fun territory. At 1h total runtime it's more like a side story special than a proper spin-off. It's crazy but also kinda geneious.
Okay so this show is nuts and a bit dumb but also fascinating and thoroughly entertaining.
"Shape of you" would not be my choice of song for this show though...
I totally love this! First ep surprised me, made me laugh out loud a few times and also gave me goosebumps. Also, it seems like they'll go the psychoanalytic way with complex character studies and not "just" a mystery. Definitely not going to miss this,.
3 eps are out but even raw it's somehow impossible to find anything beyond ep 1. This is the same as with Love or Not last season, they stream it on official channels but won't let you watch it outside of Japan -.- I hate this trend!
Please drop me a message if you happen to find it T.T
It was fun to see Korea from a J-drama point of view, since I've seen it the other way round quite a lot but foreign location shoots are not as common in J-dramas. They did really well using mostly native speakers and getting Lee Soo Hyuk to boot. I wish careful casting like this was the norm, then we wouldn't get as many cringe-worthy overseas segments!
First ep seems promising. It's not all that smooth sometimes, but overall it works well and the characters are intriguing (I don't know any of the prior versions).
Aww too bad it's only two SP eps! But it's great to see everyone again and the dynamics are hilarious as ever. Maribu really is one of my favorite characters of all time.
Haha, I don't think you have to apologize for giving an honest opinion, however unpopular it might be. A review like this with respectful, reasonable criticism is definitely really helpful when considering what to watch!
Very sweet drama. Don't get turned off by the girl's attitude in the beginning. Give the show a chance!…
I think her initial attitude is understandable and realistic though. If some random guy approached me like that, my reaction in the beginning would probably be similar. Also makes it more rewarding when she gradually comes around :)
I find it super difficult to believe that anyone but Hashimoto is actually a competent worker in that company, least of all Misa. She was just super frustrating and juvenile all around and impossible to relate to. I never believed the main love line either and even thought Keisuke was pulling some con for the longest time since I didn't feel any attraction from either of them.
I do really love Chihiro though and her journey was wonderful. She and Hashimoto totally outshined the "main couple", both in terms of organic character development and acting. Watching was worth it only for the two of them.
If Park Dong Gun never found a way to keep the system activated without Woo Jin present, it would explain why he needs him. It'd also explain why he wants Byul, since she's probably able to get rid of the access control. This would mean Woo Jin is alive but locked away (Human B headquarters?) to enable blissful Smart Earth, just like Omelas, with Woo Jin as the miserable child.
I have three major complaints about this adaption. One, nobody is really smart, some characters even outright dumb. What's exciting about the other versions is the cat-and-mouse game of wits, where our major players are always calculating a few steps ahead and it's lots of fun to try to guess who'll get the upper hand at each step or how they'll manage to wind their way out of intricate traps.
The second complaint is the unnecessary brutality of the deaths. This adds absolutely nothing to the story, aside from some of the more ridiculous scenarios being unintentionally funny.
Lastly, I never bought into the love story. She's just interested in the book and there's nothing particularly charming for him to like about her but her looks. So no emotional stakes involved at all.
These are all things I'd also criticize if I'd never seen/read any other version. It's a disappointing adaption, sure, but as a standalone it's also a bad movie.
"Shape of you" would not be my choice of song for this show though...
Please drop me a message if you happen to find it T.T
First ep seems promising. It's not all that smooth sometimes, but overall it works well and the characters are intriguing (I don't know any of the prior versions).
I do really love Chihiro though and her journey was wonderful. She and Hashimoto totally outshined the "main couple", both in terms of organic character development and acting. Watching was worth it only for the two of them.