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Is it a detractor that the drama leaves you beyond wanting more of it?
Though the story itself felt complete as is.This drama has so much going for it. To get it out of the way, the acting was excellent as expected from the cast. I think it was my first time seeing Suda and Kamiki in a drama together but they did not disappoint, I love their scenes together. Taiga completed the trio with his endearing silliness. The female characters were all cast on point, the most noteworthy being Furukawa Kotone for the role of the kind soul Tsumugi. As for Arimura Kasumi, I wouldn't say she displayed many complications as Rihoko, but her characters speak to us all when it comes to our pride of being someone's fan. That part of her character was the most endearing.
Storywise, on the surface, it seems pretty simple, the characters feel a bit childish, and the sketches... aren't really funny (but on point). It never fails at being fun, but the more you watch, the deeper it digs into your heart. I love how this drama explores the theme of failure, how individuals reflect upon it, and how society treats it. Everyone is quick with the should have and shouldn't have, offering unsolicited advice, while completely ignoring the efforts put in despite the failure.
It lead me to think of how my life had gone so far, and how it is viewed by those around me. We are brought up with the belief that hard work entitles us to success, we become adults when we realize that is not necessarily the case. We become complete when we accept our past failures as a stepping stone for the next phase of our life.
When their teacher spoke to the trio about the next 10 years, it hit straight to my heart.
However, depending on what stage you are in life and what you experienced, each person's take on this drama might differ.
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What I loved most about this movie is exactly the same as what I loved about its prequels: the characters, the comedy, the weirdness, the direction and overall execution. I love Its weirdness it's really something I can only see japanese do well. In the movie they went a bit more extreme in the weirdness but at this point it's something you're familiar with and love so you'll welcome it with open arms.
I liked that we see more of the relationship between Touma and Sebumi. Their affection for each other is transparent between each other as it is for those around them. It's nothing romantic but still strong chemistry.
The endind did leave a lot unsolved. The little girl's role which I'm sure will be explored in the next movies, but also the fate of some characters (I don't want to believe in the worst happening).
Acting was excellent as always. I cannot imagine anyone other than Toda Erika and Kase Ryo playing Touma and Sebumi. Their interaction is so natural and their bickering and fighting is a joy to watch. Kamiki Just enjoys playing Ninomae as much as ever. Fukuda Saki is getting more comedic as Mirei (as she was in the special), Nonomura still seeming to be more as he appears but were not sure what it is yet.
To summarize this movie is still at the middle of the story and I'm finally ready to watch the 2013 movies :D
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I like Funakoshi Eiichiro here. He's the only character that felt natural and is playing a cool character ahead of its time. The rest was pretty standard. This movie motivates more to look up Kora Kengo movies :P For that reason I don't feel that I wasted my time watching this movie.
The music.. I didn't notice it AT ALL!
I don't really recommend for any value that I found in the movie, but if you are a fan of any of those actors, it's worth the watch ;)
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This drama had a lot of issues that I couldn't ignore, but I still enjoyed watching each episode on a weekly basis. I did not regret watching this and found it entertaining. It was more like cotton candy, that's sweet and fun to eat, but disappears quickly. You still have a faint sweet taste left in your mouth but nothing much and not for long.
On a more detailed analysis, while Scientific is in the title, we hardly deal with science. The most we get is some profiling. The dorama is typically episodic and cases vary. In order to make ST standout, instead of making complicated and require exceptional smartness to solve, they just really dumbed down the whole police force. For that reason most aren't that memorable to be honest. I remember one case where the evil guy admitted when really all they had was circumstantial evidence. What irritated me most was how the ST members were childish, and them acknowledging it was not enough, their behaviour was unacceptable that it was hard to suspend my disbelief
Acting vary from pretty good to alright. I felt that most other characters were just too young for the role, or to even be taken seriously. It felt more like they were playing pretend. We didn't get character development from all the team members, maybe 2 or 3, and the rest was their to fill space. We also had some other members of the police force where we get interaction with the characters which I found most entertaining but nothing too deep.
Okada Masaki is a sweetheart even though his character is a complete moron lol. It may be my first time seeing Fujiwara Tatsuya but I liked him here. He and Okada had great chemistry. I enjoyed their interaction and their scenes together were fun to watch. Hayashi Kento not only was he misplaced age wise, he also totally UNDERUSED. I still liked his interaction with Okada, but wished he was more forceful but they completely mellowed him down compared to the SP. Another underused actor was Watabe Atsuro who, after seeing in Bitter Blood thought he can do much more interesting and entertaining roles than he's offered.
The story isn't done yet, a movie will be coming up soon. The episodic format makes it that you don't really need to retain anything for the movie, so you don't really need to wait until the movie is available to watch the whole thing.
All in all, easy to watch without much commitment, entertaining but too silly.
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Very elementary in its presentation of the law
This was an enjoyable drama to watch. What I like the most is that it had a separate case for each episode. The cases vary in interest and effect but all get overall satisfying endings. Well, too satisfying. When it comes to the acting, I thought the cast was great. They all showed, when permitted, a varying degree of emotions and dimensions. The music was fitting without overpowering the scenes, and a lot of interesting subjects were tackled.So why didn't I give it a better rating? Well, it was too basic. Hyo Min is supposed to be this genius at law, yet the things she wonders are as if someone never studied law. And a lot of time she is shown as impressive only by dumbing down those around her. And by half way through the drama, it's as if all the other characters took a back seat for her to shine. Her co-workers constantly fawning over whatever she says in court. All of it did not sound natural. We barely get to know any of her co-workers. We got to know a little bit about the other female intern, but it was mostly through her absence rather than her presence. I think the cast was great for the intern, and a huge mis when they were left in the background.
Tackling Yun Seok Hun's backstory was when the drama shined for me. That episode about the husband and wife with Alzheimer's disease describing the colours a marriage goes through as life goes on and having the maturity to see it shed the light Seok Hun's own relationship. His ex-wife wasn't evil in any way, yet her immaturity hurt him in so many ways it felt evil. The presentation of the characters involved and their changing relationship was multidimensional and the best part of the drama.
I think the drama would have done much better at centering Yun Seok Hun with each intern individually. The problem here was that the drama wasn't sure if it was going to go with the romance line with his character or not, but they created a character who would never permit himself to fall for an intern yet the makers of the drama wouldn't let go of the idea. By the end of the drama, it all became a murky territory.
My other issue with the drama is a place that was actually successful for most viewers but just didn't sit well with me personally. I loved the character Heo Min Jeong. Her life, hardships and strength is something is something many women experience and can relate to. Her longing for her mother was especially heartbreaking. What I didn't enjoy was what felt like forced romance. I thought the guy was more like a pest who wouldn't let go and wouldn't respect her personal space. He's drunk in the whole being a savior while she already saved herself and doesn't need anyone's help. In my view, she was just untouchable for him. I don't see it as a successful relationship, and neither does she. And also, his character was too emotional for the role.
Good watch overall, but had a number of wasted potential.
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Brave Yoshihiko and Great Satan's Castle
2 people found this review helpful
Before getting into this dorama, we need to set our expectations right so we acknowledge the genius applied here. As it says in the opening sequence, this is a Low Budget Action Adventure Story. This is the type of drama I can confidently say only Japan can make, and excel at it. I love the fact they don't even try to mask that it's a low budget. The story is generic and purposely predictable and cheesy. This isn't about the story or the action, it's all about the comedy. It is purposely stupid, and boldly blunt and fun. I just love how the heroes are so into their role when those around them just react in such pragmatic ways, totally killing the moment. It's just hilarious.
The drama itself is a parody of video games.. I'm not into video games myself but from the bit that I've seen my brother played, I got to appreciate some details here that I would've otherwise found weird. One example is when the heroes prepare for a fight, the way they stay on one side only and their movement felt exactly like what I see in video games the movements before the player actually starts fighting.
One of the most critical aspect in this drama is acting, and needless to say it was effortless. All did a magnificent job, including guessed stars. I don't know if there exist anyone better than Yamada Takayuki for the role he took. He has such a serious face perfect for dramatic scenes used in such a priceless way. All three sidekicks were spot on and did great. Not a moment was boring being around them. We also got some of the most surprising guest stars and their roles were nothing less than hilarious. I also have to add the sister, her character did spice up the story enough to wonder what the hell is going on with her.
I wouldn't say the drama is without flaws. For instance I found some some tropes just became too repetitive. It definitely isn't for everyone and it's sense of humour is pretty unique. It took me a couple of episodes to warm up to it and actually fall in love with it. Getting into it you have to get ready for the package of cheesiness, predictability, since it is done purposely, to fully appreciate the comedy.
Basically if you need a good laugh, appreciate Japan's unique sense of humour, and/or enjoy parodies, then this is a drama for you.
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The play must go on. Adapt or leave.
There are two themes to this drama. The first that the world is a stage and its people are the actors. The second theme is that the world keeps changing and we either adapt or disappear. That is why the theatre company kept changing from the beginning of its inception to the last episode. However, the pacing and the lack of direction did not do this drama any favor. And while it has a stellar cast, it did feel that some of the cast members were underused. there were very interesting guest stars. Some of them made an impact while others not so much but overall it was a lot of fun seeing them.I really enjoyed the era, the drama setting and the contrast shown in the last episode of how it changed. And that’s exactly how Japan is. It used to feel more raw, rough and authentic not perfect. Maybe a bit dangerous. While many places are becoming child friendly and feeling very safe makes it comfortable, it feels like a façade shown through bright colours, synthetic, perfection look to it. It definitely has lost its authenticity and rawness.
It’s hard for me to rate this drama. I really enjoyed the last couple of episodes, but it took me a while to get there. Some of the early episodes were difficult to get into or keep my attention. I was unsure of what it was trying to say. It wasn’t episodic, but it wasn’t continuous either. Early episodes felt like just scenes, cut and pasted together and not smooth enough to follow. When you know and like the cast, you will still enjoy what you’re seeing, but the story peaks interest much later in the drama.
I think the ending was very fitting, bittersweet but hopeful.
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Long but lacking dialogues
The essence of the story is interesting, I liked the ending but I a lot of how we got there didn’t make sense to me. The drama was full of long dialogues, yet they lacked spirit and felt shallow, especially after the second half of the show. From Kujo’s relationship with her husband and friends to her relationship with her students, it felt cold no matter how close they were supposed to be. Her reaction with her husband felt as if they were newly roommates. Her friends were just a convenience without much depth.Except for Ugumori, her students are horrible and cowards. Her character was the only one that showed growth. All the rest were more of a switch but I think it was more of an issue of writing than performance. That switch made the drama feel too forgiving when that is the usual when it comes to “teacher-type” drama. It is ironic considering how unforgiving Japanese society actually is.
The dialogues were too long and repetitive, but rarely got to the point and was more dancing around it. What does “facing what happened” even mean? There was no constructive active advice given.
That being said, the drama was good at portraying how cowardly bullies are, no sob story to excuse it which is refreshing. Students realize they were the ones giving bullies power by being on the sidelines, too scared to be the next target. THAT can be applied on a macro level. So many wars around the world could have been avoided and innocent lives spared if people, nations and governments stopped being cowards and had a stance.
I loved the music, it really set the mood of the drama and elevated the setting.
In short, typical teacher centric school drama with an interesting setup that probably could’ve done better with more capable writing and/or directing.
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The main attraction of the movie are the leads Mitsushima Hikari and Okada Masaki. I found Mitsushima to be terrific in that role, sometimes frightening as you can tell from the way Okada look at her that he agrees. Abe Sawado was great as always and his interactions with Mitsushima was my favourite in the movie. I’m not a bug fan of Dean Fujioka but he filled the role here pretty well. The guests from the actors from previous drama fit exactly where we left them off but the aura from their scenes felt out of place.
Directing wise, it would’ve benefited from a tighter focus on the theme. The involvement from the cast from “related” dramas turned it into an investigation, and less about the theme of the movie. The whole mood of the movie was different and I find it didn’t need that connection. If the nod to the dramas was a must, a quick guest appearances would have been enough.
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Powerhouse actors masterfully performed
This drama is a powerhouse of skilled actors proving their talents performing a range of characters, the weird, the creep, the oddball, the doormat, and so on. The four main leads are lovable, but then you have Ito Hideaki and Yasuda Ken who freaked me out every time one of them came on screen.The story itself has many flaws, but not when it comes to the constant change in focus and tone which is usually where dramas fail. Though the focus changed, it made sense as hints were subtly given throughout the drama about it. The flaws I noticed is how some events came to be that felt rushed or unexplained. Some cases were handled greatly while others not so much. The characters can act in such naive way which can be frustrating. Then you have time ticking while our leads are cutting carboard to reconstruct a miniature version of the scene.
Despite its flaws, the drama shines for it's characters and the way they are acting. These actors are all handsome and each can do shard and sexy lead, yet their weird characters is what makes them endearing to me, I partilarly loved Hayashi Kento's character Shikahama and Emoto Tasuku's acting as Kotori.
Overall an entertaining and thrilling watch :D I highly recommed it
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Hope for a different way of governing
I haven't been in the mood to write a review in a while but I felt I had something to say here so here it goes.To start, if it wasn't for the last episode (or Sachi's character specifically), I would've rated this drama a 9 or a 10.
The story itself is about the experiment of changing the way governments rules today. I'm not into politics but I do think we need to change how we're doing things because it's just NOT WORKING! ANYWHERE! Unfortunately, the last 2 episodes focus on drama. I guess it's also telling why we should let people grow beyond teen years before giving them important tasks. Some can take it, like Maki-kun, most will most probably just become brats when things don't go their way, like Sachi. To be fair, I understood how she felt, but still, her actions were inexcusable.
Acting wise who most stood out were Sometani Shota and Hoshino Gen. When I used to read blogs about Japanese entertainment in the past, I didn't quite catch what they saw in Sometani. However, every role I've seen him in made me understand. He really LIVES the character, that he stops from becoming a character, but a real person. A totally different one. As for Hoshino, he managed to express that adult which used to have so much aspiration that died down over the years from, well, adulting, and how much it burdened him. That look he gave to Maki-kun, filled with admiration, envy, and also disbelief, said a lot. I haven't seen Kamio Fuju much and I can't say much about him either except that he fit the role well, and has beautiful eyelashes lol. Yamada Anna was on point with her character, I just got to hating that character so I can't say much. The other supporting roles did do much to the drama except fill space.
Overall enjoyable, and short enough to be recommended to everyone. The experiment itself is great too and gives us ideas of how things don't need to continue the way it has so far. And hope for change.
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I always saw Fukada Kyoko as a terrible actress, but she was also out of place here. She was just here to look pretty. I like her style though!
Eita shared more chemistry with Aoi Yu. They hit it off right away. I love how she teased him and how he looks at her with admiration. Her presence actually made the drama better even if she wasn't one of the leads. Lili Frank was also pleasant to have here he fit right in :D
The cases they take on stood out not really for their weirdness, but more each case felt like a whole different drama.
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The original story is about a man who discovers that, by kissing a certain woman, he gets to go back in time. He uses that power for his own selfish needs. Along the way, he discovers how each action may cause a series of reactions. It may change the fate of many people, their attitude, their world views, their eventual actions and choices, and finally their lives. Later on, he learns when he goes back in time, it creates a parallel universe, and the original world keeps going. That is where Todome No Parallele comes in and explores those different worlds.
Fro there you can see how the creators were having fun in dealing in "what-if" scenarios. The tone of each episode vastly differs from one another. Some are very serious, some comedic, and some go full-on meta. What's interesting for me is how humans become in each world depending on their actions and their reach for their desires becomes at risk. Some characters stay true to themselves, while others change drastically. It just demonstrates how, when you're comfortable in your skin, your core rarely gets shaken. However, when you lack faith in yourself, the slightest change may have a huge effect on your character. For example, this can be seen through both Takauji and Hasebe. Through Otaro's actions, Takauji changes the most while Hasebe stays true to himself. This I find to be a very interesting point the drama explores. Takauji constantly wants to keep a front while, as we discover throughout the drama, is falling apart inside to the point of self-destruction. His constant living in fear, living while feeling inadequate, gets him easily influenced by his surrounding. Hasebe, on the other hand, has a clear head, knows right from wrong, and is always comfortable with his choices.
For that reason, I disagree with reviewers and commentators saying to just skip to the last episode. Not only you are missing out on the fun, but you are also missing out on what the overall message the drama is trying to deliver.
Another message in this drama is the perception of love. As a Japanese drama, it probably had the most number of kisses, yet none were romantic. Many were acts, and all were to get something out of it. Love, on the other hand, true love that is, was portrayed through sacrifice. Sacrificing what you want to protect the ones you love. Keep going after to desires may have a big cost on your loved ones. And so on and so forth.
It's actually my first time watching Yamazaki Kento. Though not the best, I think he delivered his character fairly. It's an interesting choice of a drama for him. I enjoyed the chemistry he had with Kadowaki Mugi. As far as the characters go, I was not rooting for them as an end couple. Actually I wasn't rooting for Eight to end up with anyone. It was such a poisonous relationship. It was still very interesting to watch. It's my first time watching Mackenyu as well. Though subtle, his character development(s) and deliveries were most entertaining and impressive. He could easily change from light-hearted to dark and scary. And as the drama progress, despite his actions, he felt more like the victim to the evil Eight's scheming (among others).
That is not to say the drama is perfect, nor great. The drama is fun to watch but as its own flaws. Its biggest flaw is the portrayal of the female characters. Most are flat. Saiko, the most interesting among them, is a doormat. There was so much potential for her character, and the lovely actress can definitely deliver on that. Unfortunately, her story lacked depth. Mikoto's character is another one with so much potential. Part of the failure, I find, is the lack of delivery from the actress playing the role. They were trying to portray her as your typical manga female lead, but the character needed to be much more animated than this, to become even remotely interesting.
So overall a fun watch. If you have watched Todome no Kiss, I definitely recommend watching this drama, the whole drama. If you haven't seen it, I recommend checking it out :)
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I wasn't impressed with the writing. the dialogs were too long and the stories bounced from being sweet to being overly sentimental. Some of the stories were pretty standard while others were better. Personally my favourite was that of the two highschool girls. It contained so many complicated emotions and didn't settle to be convenient. There is also the mystery behind Ayumi's parent's death that seems to haunt him, which had an interesting reveal, could've been given a darker more interesting twist.
On the acting department it did not disappoint. I originally wanted to watch this movie for Matsuzaka Tori and he did a great job here + he has the cutest smile EVER! Seeing the heartwarming Kiki Kirin in it brought me so much joy. There is also Hashimoto Ai with weirdly huge eyes blowing me away with her acting. The rest of the cast did a great job with their characters as well.
Overall sweat movie with strong performances ;)
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When stupid is an understatement
I had to write a review because the drama is mind boggling.I was so happy to see this drama available on Netflix because I had been wanting to watch it for a long time. The drama started pleasant enough for me to get entertained by it but even early on I could see the issues with the writing and characters. The story is all over the place, and overkilling here and there. I get they wanted to get the whole "you can't trust anyone" vibe, but it just got ridiculous at how much characters fall for obvious traps. There is no critical thinking. I mean, how many times do you need to get kidnapped to know to check whos knocking before opening the door? Also, I have never seen this weird birth secret that all came out of nowhere. There was no introduction, no hint, nothing what so ever and suddenly there are a couple of birth secrets.
I get twists and turns. I like twists and turns. That wasn't it. That was coming up with things as you go.
As for the characters and their storylines, nothing makes sense and all was forced. There wasn't any hint For a detective drama, it sure had a lot of romance. Honestly, from the first episode I hated Wu Ying Xiong. He's rash, acts before he thinks and doesn't realize the damage he's causing. Throughout the whole drama, I didn't see him solve anything. All he did was brood over his love life, also without taking any actions about it. Chen Zai Tian's backstory is weird but his character was pleasant enough. My favourite scenes of him is when he's interrogating those girls when he was put in a different team (was it social committee team or something, I don't remember). The only character doing actual police work was Lan Xi Ying and she wasn't even police. Also, she was ignored by everyone else all the way to the end when she's the one who saved the day. Xiao Ming is basically a Deus Ex Machina, here to save the characters when they are all acting stupid. Everything concerning the mafia boss and the police is deranged stupid.
My favourite part was early on in the drama with Kingone's character Gao Yi. I found that performance outstanding and maybe the only thing worth checking out. That and maybe some other characters that are pleasant to look at haha
The ending is weird at best. Basically, we get a couple of things to read about the fate of some characters, enough information for a whole second season. We also a scene showing some terror action still happening, pretty much an open ending that makes you wonder what was the point of watching this story. Not that I’d watch a continuation or a second season.
I love the music though, typical of that era. It made it a little bit easier to finish up the drama when it became to frustratingly dumb to continue.
Also, as a side note for a character backstory you can't be "pure" when you have an affair with a married man who has a family.
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