This review may contain spoilers
'Nice Play'
"Jun-chan no Ouen-ka" is my 4th asadora. I chose the drama since the fansubber had just finished subbing it at the time. You can find the subtitles over at d-addicts. "Jun-chan" was different from the previous asadoras I watched. The key difference being that Junko (played by Yamaguchi Tomoko) is an unambitious heroine. This is not bad, but it does mean that the series does not necessarily have a goal it's working towards. [Edit: This seems typical of '80s asadoras.] Junko instead focuses on taking care of her family through various ways. The drama therefore feels like more of a family/slice-of-life drama. I liked this kind-of easy-going pace, but I wasn't exactly on the edge of my seat after each episode to find out more.Besides family, "Jun-chan" has a secondary focus of baseball. It links to several of the series major characters and is also the source of the more emotional moments. I'm sure the third to the last episode will get to you. I cried so much lol. Junko's brothers, Akira and Yuta, are the main ballplayers of the series. They are also two of my favorite characters in this asadora. There is a slightly awkward transition from where they are played by child actors to adult actors. However, I thought the adults were stronger actors so that makes up for it. I particularly liked the adult Yuta (played by Karasawa Toshiaki). Akira has a particularly pivotal moment that I won't spoil, but it sets the tone for the rest of the asadora.
The main storyline in "Jun-chan" is perhaps the romance between Junko and the Japanese-American, Shuhei (played by Takashima Masahiro). I thought these two had strong chemistry and they manage to stay interesting even after getting married. Some might find their back-and-forth a tad grating, but I liked it. It was really the only source of tension for much of the asadora. And the "Will you marry me?" scene was the best. Much of the latter half of the drama is about the couple working through their marital and childrearing problems. Considering their strong, stubborn personalities, I liked that the writers didn't opt for an immediate "happily ever after"-type marriage. Their relationship feels very realistic as a result.
Now addressing Junko. She's a very low-key heroine in some ways. Junko gets most of her satisfaction out of life by helping others whether it's doing the housework or supporting her family by working at a diner and later an inn. However, she is not portrayed as being perfect. Junko actually has a bit of a martyr complex and is often stubborn. Her family and loved ones appreciate what she does, but aren't afraid to call her out every now and again. And I absolutely loved these moments lol. As a heroine, I found Junko very enjoyable to watch and never annoying. I'll remember her for her bright and never-ending perseverance.
To close out, I chose to title this review "Nice Play" after a pivotal moment in the series. It's used in baseball to indicate "good game" basically. However, one character points out that this could apply to life itself. Junko, her family, and friends each had a "nice play." I enjoyed nearly every minute of the series and I liked that the ending indicates that their lives will go on even after the story.
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Amazing
IOTNBO has definitely made it onto my favorites list. I loved it so much. Originally, I wasn't going to watch this drama. I saw the trailer and I didn't really seem like something I would be into. Cut to two weeks later, I was browsing mdl's calendar to see what was playing on my birthday. This drama was the only thing appealing and logistically also the only one I could catch up with. Then I saw a video on IG of Mun-yeong yelling at a deer lol. I could no longer resist and binged the first eight episodes of the drama. I absolutely LOVED it.My favorite theme of IOTNBO is healing. Seeing the main three characters gradually heal as well as the other patients just warmed my heart so much. Overall, the look, acting, characters, music, everything was perfect. I will definitely watch this drama again. Likely in the next two months or so. Short review since 200 people have already written ones before me.
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Just an average rom-com
I absolutely love rom-coms, which is drawing me more and more to Filipino movies. I watched "You're My Boss" because I loved Toni Gonzaga in "Starting Over Again." Her acting ultimately saved this movie for me. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad. It's just...average. It's the same rom-com you've seen fifty million times (i.e. it's full of cliches). Though this is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as you like predictable rom-coms. As for me, movies like this are my guilty pleasure so I enjoyed it.To quickly summarize the plot: Albert, Georgina and Pong's boss, goes on vacation and leaves her in charge. Georgina wants to redeem herself after an embarrassing viral video and will do anything to save the company's biggest account. This includes having Pong pose as the boss in order to win over Mr. Najimoto. Side note: was Mr. Najimoto supposed to be sexist? He just assumed Georgina was an assistant and wouldn't talk to her. Another note: I'm assuming the actor wasn't actually cause his English accent was over the top at times.
The second half of the film shows Pong and Georgina really falling in love. For this part, I would definitely say this is worth a watch. They are so cute together, especially the way Pong looks at Georgina when she's not paying attention. One last complaint: the ending was wrapped up too easily! I can't be the only one who thought this. Anyway, I would still recommend this to rom-com lovers even if you aren't seeing anything new.
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"Meteor Shower" takes places at a college (like MG), where Yunhai (Dao Ming Si) and Yuxun (Shan Cai) have a fateful encounter. Hans Zhang and Zheng Shuang's chemistry is hands down the best part of the show. I was bored during scenes without them, though their romance did drag a bit towards the end. Unlike previous versions, MS has several romance side plots for the supporting characters, including Lei and Yu Xin (Jing), Shangguan (Xi Men) and Xiao You, and a love triangle between Ye Shuo (Mei Zuo), Yunduo (Yunhai's sister), and her ex-boyfriend. Interesting at first, these side plots eventually became played out and only served to fill out the series' thirty-six episodes.
Overall, MS was fun to watch, despite being draggy at times and the last three episodes were almost agonizing. You'll probably enjoy this series as long as you don't expect too much from it.
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Mei Zuo's episode: takes place during "Meteor Garden", after Dao Ming Si and Shan Cai break up. I've always had a soft spot for Mei Zuo (Vanness Wu), so I loved seeing him as the focal point. In the episode, he meets a Japanese girl searching for her grandmother. He helps her search and gradually finds himself attracted to her. The story was very cute and my heart melted at the last scene.
Xi Men's episode: anyone who has watched "Hana Yori Dango 2" will remember Sojiro's storyline, this episode also covers that topic. Unfortunately, the second half of that story had not been written yet in the manga, leaving a somewhat unsatisfying conclusion in "Meteor Rain". In this episode, Xiao You (Rainie Yang) returns from Canada to see Xi Men. After he tells her about his first love, she decides to help ease his regret.
Dao Ming Si's episode: Si's story, which is sometimes split into two episodes, may be the most unnecessary of them all. My main problem with it is that it causes continuity problems. It is set before "Meteor Garden", but Si's hair is straight and he is not a complete a**. In the story, Si is on the run from the police, when he is found by a young girl. He stays with her and her father and forms a close bond. The series cannot be forgiven for the horrible ending to this story, but I'll leave that for you to watch yourself.
Overall, I think the series can only be appealing to die hard "Meteor Garden" fans. If this does not describe you, I would probably avoid it. I'd like to give a special mention to the music. The songs were all taken from F4's debut album and are still very catchy, despite being over fifteen years old.
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Cute and Fluffy
I've only watched a handful of Chinese dramas, but I've noticed an overall vibe from the ones I've seen. They're what I would describe as "cute and fluffy," meaning they make me smile and relax. Of course, "Count Your Lucky Stars" like any drama has its share of emotions. However, for the most part, the drama was just a nice escape. I would also recommend not going into this drama with too high expectations. It doesn't take itself seriously and you shouldn't either or you'll probably be disappointed.Jerry Yan and Shen Yue's chemistry was amazing! Honestly, when I heard they were going to do a drama together, I thought they were cashing in on Meteor Garden's popularity. I was pleasantly surprised. (P.S. I don't mind the large age gap, but you might. Fair warning.) I also enjoyed the side romances, though Ruru and Bao were dragged on a little too much while Wen Xi and Mu Yang happened at the snap of a finger! The second male lead was so wholesome. I really hope he gets a main lead in a drama. Another warning, Shen Yue's love rival was so annoying!
That's it cause I don't want to give away too much of the story. I recommend this drama if you're fans of Jerry Yan or Shen Yue. But remember to keep your expectations low! This isn't some revolutionary drama. It's just a cute, light drama to relax to. Also, it's very suitable for binge-watching.
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This review may contain spoilers
"I want to serve as a bridge between Hawaii and Japan."
"Sakura" is the 29th asadora that I've completed. I've been watching "Sakura" since @heart-ereki began fansubbing it last year. [A great, big thank you to them for subbing it!] I've really enjoyed watching it 2-3 weeks at a time. After watching it for so long, I feel quite attached to this asadora unlike ones that I've binge-watched so this review will be heavily biased [lol]. Oh, it might be a bit rambling..."Sakura" is a rare example of a nearly perfect modern day asadora. "Modern day" meaning that it takes place around the time that it aired. Modern day asadoras used to be popular, particularly during the early 2000s. Some examples are "Hitomi" and "Dondo Hare." In my opinion, these are more misses than hits. [This is also probably why NHK has moved to a more hybrid format like "Mare," which is set during the 1990s but also takes place during modern day.] "Sakura," thankfully, avoids all of the pitfalls of a modern day asadora. It keeps up its relaxing vibe without any drastic tonal changes. There aren't any supporting character that cause neverending frustration. And it keeps conflict to a minimum.
The asadora follows Japanese-American Matsushita Sakura (played by Takano Shiho) who comes to Japan to teach English at an all-boys middle school. Through Sakura, the asadora gives a lovely, nuanced take on identity. In the first week, Sakura's father tells her that Japan will always make her feel different for being American, despite being fully Japanese ethnically. And, yes, she goes through several culture shocks, though she's slowly able to "bridge" the gap through kindness and understanding. It's quite amazing to see the contrast between the beginning and the ending. Shiho is also the perfect actress to play Sakura. She is able to portray all of her emotions well and her English accent is great.
I really love how the asadora is structured. Each week has a new story sometimes focusing on a supporting character or expanding Sakura's character. Through Sakura's "meddling," we get to know more about characters like one of my faves, Sawada (Noguchi Goro). I also appreciate that certain storylines are given more time to develop. For example, the sweet romance between Sakura's grandmother Yoshiko (Tsushima Keiko) and her first love (Naito Taketoshi). While some storylines I'm grateful were wrapped within a reasonable amount of time, which includes the conflict between Sakura's mother Kyoko (Ohta Hiromi) and her grandfather (Kobayashi Asei). This is mostly to say that I think the storylines in "Sakura" were very well-paced.
As for the romance, it's very rare that an asadora wait so long to settle the main couple. However, considering it's Katsuragi (Ozawa Yukiyoshi), I think it was well worth the wait [lol]. I won't lie and say that the will they, won't they wasn't annoying at all, but the culminating moment in the final week convinced me it was worth it. As a character and love interest, I really like Katsuragi. He is given great character development on his own. Though there's obvious chemistry between him and Sakura, the drama is careful about not making it a romance until after Sakura and her fiance are broken up. [Shout out to Robbie and his actor Camus Thane! I loved him so much too.] When it does turn into a romance, all of the moments are perfect!
I highly recommend "Sakura" for all asadora lovers. I think it comes close to perfection, barring a few moments here and there. Overall, I think this asadora will stick with me for a long time and I know that I will rewatch it one day.
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This review may contain spoilers
"...until the skies clear."
"Mai Agare" is the 23rd asadora I've completed. Like a lot of people, the negative comments about this asadora made me hesitate to watch it. I don't think the comments are unwarranted. "Mai Agare" actually really reminds me of "Mare" and "Hanbun, Aoi," which both have similar storylines (and caused me frustration at times). However, both of these asadoras are beloved in this community so I think "Mai Agare" should also be given some slack. Major spoilers follow!The first two weeks of "Mai Agare" featuring the childhood of our heroine, Mai, are hands down my favorite part. I really loved the child actress who played Mai and I was very happy that they brought her back briefly to play Mai's daughter in the final episode. The first half of the asadora I think is very strong. It shows Mai developing a passion for airplanes and then deciding to go to flight school. It starts to go down for me when Mai decides to help her family's factory instead of becoming a pilot. I personally wasn't particularly fascinated with the 'look how screws are made' thing at first, though I started to like the factory part later on. Thankfully, the plot starts to pick up when Mai and her second love interest, Takashi (Akaso Eiji), get together. From there, I really liked the asadora again. Mai discovers her real passion and even gets to complete her original dream.
I saw some comments about people not liking the actress, Fukuhara Haruka, who played Mai. Of course, that's their opinion, but I personally really liked Fukuhara as Mai. She played a bright, almost too positive character perfectly. Anytime she was slightly annoying was really the plot's fault not hers (lol). I also just really liked Mai's personality, which made me want to continue watching even when I was getting frustrated.
Sadly, the side characters don't really stick out for me besides Mai's family and some of her friends, particularly childhood friend Kurumi (Yamashita Mizuki). I wasn't a fan of her brother's, Haruto (Yokoyama Yu), "arc." I did really like Mai's flight school friends, Rinko (Yamazaki Hirona) and Kashiwagi (Meguro Ren). The latter being her first boyfriend as well. However, once flight school is over, you maybe see them a handful of times. I think this is another big problem of "Mai Agare." Only Mai herself, Kurumi, and Takashi have satisfying arcs (and to a certain extent her family). No one else really does, which is a shame. I will say that my favorite character is definitely Mai's grandmother Shoko (Takahata Atsuko). I love her so much.
In conclusion, "Mai Agare" is not a masterpiece asadora but I still enjoyed it. It had a solid first half. I'm sure everyone who watches it will love the flight school part in particular. And it has a very solid, full-circle ending, which made me cry. Though some parts were frustrating, I realized that "Mai Agare" never got away from its theme of taking flight. I even ended up liking the secondary focuses on small-town factories and Takashi's tanka poems. (Honestly, the poems were so pretty). I'm really happy I completed this asadora after all and it helped me through a difficult loss in my life.
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A word-for-word adaptation
I read "Three Body Problem" earlier this year in preparation for the Netflix adaptation being released (though I haven't seen it yet since I'm waiting for my dad). I discovered that there was already a Chinese drama based on it and decided to check it out, though Chinese dramas aren't usually my favorite. I really wanted to like this drama since it got such good reviews on here... but the last five episodes almost killed me from boredom.What I didn't like:
1) The drama is essentially a word-for-word adaptation of the book. While I appreciate the production sticking close to the book, it got boring pretty quick once I realized that I was just *watching* the book this time lol.
2) The character of Mu Xing was added for the production and was just a plot device. They stuck so close to the book that they had a hard time actually adding anything new.
3) They removed the *MOST* pivotal scene from the book, probably because of censors. This is unfortunate as I think it justifies Wen Jie's actions a bit more, though thankfully doesn't mess with it too much.
4) The editing is strange like most Chinese dramas. It has to be shot almost like a movie so the episodes are kind of cut weird, particularly in the episodes where characters are telling long stories. The sound editing was also not up to par
What I did like:
1) The characters are given more personality than in the book. I've read others say that Liu Ci Xin's characters are a bit bland and I'm inclined to think the same. This drama thankfully gives more insight into characters like Wang Miao, Ding Yi, and Yang Dong.
2) The acting by everyone is fairly competent though Chen Jin and Wang Zi Wen deserve extreme praise for their role as Ye Wen Jie. They made me look forward to the backstory episodes even if the story became somewhat meandering.
3) I really liked the two scenes that set up the next season featuring "The Dark Forest" protagonist Luo Jie. I'm really looking forward to it since I think that book is a lot better than the first one.
4) The music was surprisingly really good and perfectly set the tone of the drama.
I recommend this drama to those who love sci-fi but have not read the book. Those who have read the book will not get much out of this sadly. I will watch the sequel if and when it is released. I think it has better potential than this one. I'm giving it a 7.5 because I did think it was worth watching for me personally and it was able to get across the ideas in the novel with simplicity.
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This review may contain spoilers
"As long as we're alive, there's hope"
"Manpuku" is the ninth asadora that I've completed so far. I'd actually downloaded and started this drama early on during this journey, but I ended up putting it on hold because I was tired of WII stories at the moment. Week 2 was also surprisingly heavy for this asadora being mostly a comedy. I was able to pick it back up pretty easily and honestly the WII part wasn't as long as I was expecting. "Manpuku" was also one of the asadoras I watched for "Natsuzora" as Sakura Ando has a small voice cameo in it. Another note: Sakura Ando previously appeared in my [thus far] favorite asadora "Ohisama."Now on to the meat and potatoes. "Manpuku" is one of those "couple" asadoras, meaning that a couple are the lead characters instead having just a female lead. As such, I think the drama has a very different flavor to most other asadoras. Fukuko (Sakura Ando) doesn't have an aspiration like the traditional asadora heroine. Instead, she's there to support her wacky inventor husband Manpei (Hiroki Hasegawa). I don't think this is actually a bad thing but it's not what people are typically expecting from an asadora. As a couple, they're very cute together though Manpei irritates me a bit. While it's obvious how much he needs Fukuko, it's not exactly obvious why Fukuko needs him. But I suppose there's no logic in love [lol]. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that the dynamic is one-sided. I've heard similar complaints about "Gegege no Nyobo" [which I haven't watch], and ironically Nao Matsushita appears in both.
"Manpuku" is a fictionalized account about the inventor of instant ramen, Momofuku Ando. Everyone has eaten instant ramen and, being American, I didn't know for a long that there was a different way to eat ramen. I wasn't immediately sold on this premise, but I was surprised how I invested I got once we finally got around to it (a little over halfway through I believe). The process of inventing something was shown in the previous asadora "Hanbun, Aoi," but "Manpuku" really goes into it and several times over since Manpei gets involved in numerous endeavors. If you can believe it, I shed some tears at the end over the invention of Cup Noodles.
As for the side characters, my favorite is Fukuko's mother, Suzu-san (Keiko Matsuzaka). I love her so much. She in my opinion has the best comedic moments in the drama, particularly when she's paired with Fukuko or Manpei. The rest of the cast was also great, but by the last few weeks it seemed that the writers were unsure of what to do with them. For example, Fukuko's niece Taka (Yukino Kishii) graduates from college during the eight-year time skip but simply becomes a housewife and mother afterwards. There's nothing wrong with being a housewife but I just thought it was boring that we only see her and her mother Katsuko (Nao Matsushita), Fukuko's sister, just sitting around the TV. I also have a small complaint about Taka's sister, Yoshino (Mai Fukagawa). They made a big deal about which man she was going to marry, but didn't show it playing out. Instead, they just revealed it randomly after the final time-skip.
All-in-all, I don't have many complaints about "Manpuku." I think it's a solid comedic asadora and just an all-around good time. Not *the* best, of course. It's a little boring towards the end, and Manpei and Fukuko have just a few too many hardships. However, I believe most asadora fans will enjoy this one and it being a comedy makes it easy for a beginner to watch. A final bit of trivia: "Manpuku" ends in 1971 and mentions the Osaka world's fair and the previous asadora "Hanbun, Aoi" begins in 1971 and also mentions the world's fair.
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This review may contain spoilers
"Song of Life"
"Dandan" is my eighth asadora thus far. I chose it because of the twin angle as well as Mikura Mana appearing in "Natsuzora," which I'm planning to watch soon. "Dandan" has a harsh score of 6.7 on MDL. To be fair, it's only been rated by eleven people but it doesn't feel very balanced. "Dandan" isn't bad; it's just not the best asadora anyone has every seen.The premise for this asadora is basically "The Parent Trap" so it's a bit derivative. However, I enjoyed this sort of "reimagining" of the premise and it was initially what hooked me into watching it. Two girls, Megumi (Mikura Mana) and Nozomi (Mikura Kana), meet by chance as if fate is pulling them towards one another. Megumi is an ordinary high school student living in Matsue, while Nozomi is a maiko (apprentice geisha) living in Kyoto. I think both girls have interesting, realistic reactions to finding out that their twins. Some of their family members reactions may seem harsh, but I also think it's realistic from the point-of-view of Japanese culture.
Megumi initially wants to become a professional singer, but then lands on deciding to be a caretaker [i.e. looking after the elderly at retirement homes]. She moves to Kyoto to go to college and starts living with Nozomi and their mother (Ishida Hikari). Ironically, this not only knocks Nozomi off her life's course, but also the story. After a lot of badgering from Ishibashi (Yamaguchi Shogo), the girls become twin singers in the same vein as The Peanuts (if you've seen Mothra, you know them). Strangely, their time as actual singers is very short compared to the build-up. Megumi almost immediately disbands the duo as soon as it grows in the wrong direction. Nozomi tries for a while on her own, but eventually goes back to being a maiko. As such, this whole middle section of the drama ends up feeling pointless.
The last section of the drama was what they should've been doing with the whole dram in my opinion. Megumi decides to become a nurse on top of a caregiver. Her love interest, Ishibashi, also leaves music and decides to become a doctor. Nozomi goes from being a maiko to a geisha. Her love interest is her former bandmate and manager, Kota (Kuboyama Tomohiro). His earnest admiration of her and willingness to watch to support her from afar is just sweet. I would've rather watch more of this even if it had the twins being in separate cities for most of the time.
Honestly, even the singing career path had its potential. What I'm frustrated with is the noncommitment to either storyline. "Hanbun, Aoi" comes to mind since it had a similar problem, but it was able to stick the landing better in my opinion thanks to the supporting cast. "Dandan" has some lovely side characters, but two of the male characters are particularly frustrating. Additionally, while I did cry, it wasn't able to hit all of those emotional notes I love so much in the last week.
Now that I'm done complaining. I will talk about its good points. Mana and Kana are wonderful as the heroines, though I preferred Kana's Nozomi to Mana's Megumi. Both heroines are played beautifully nuanced and I loved how their facial expressions perfectly encompassed their characters feelings at any given time. The female side characters were almost all amazing. I loved them all. I particularly found the girls' grandmother (Mitsubayashi Kyoko) to be poignant at this time for me. The girls' mother (Ishida Hikari) and Megumi's mother (Suzuki Sawa) were also stand-outs. And finally, the best point of the asadora is the music. It was all so good from the theme song to all of the songs that the girls sing throughout. "Ue o Muite Aruko," "Akai Sweet Pea," "M," etc.
So, in conclusion, I would argue that "Dandan" is worth watching, especially if you're an asadora enthusiast. I probably wouldn't recommend it to a beginner because it won't hook them in immediately. I enjoyed my time with this asadora and I will be singing the music it introduced me to for a long time.
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This review may contain spoilers
A place to go back home to
"Dondo Hare" is the seventh asadora that I've completed. I first chose it at random since it was one of several asadoras I currently have downloaded on my computer. I was also curious about watching a "modern" asadora (i.e. one taking place around the time it aired). I then noticed that the lead actress appears in "Natsuzora," which is the 100th asadora and references older asadoras. That's when I really committed to watching it (I'll be watching "Dandan," "Chiritotechin," and "Manpuku" next for the same reasons). "Dondo Hare" was a surprisingly easy watch, excepting a couple of the storylines. I was really able to just breeze through it.The drama follows Natsumi (played by Higa Manami) as she trains to become a proprietress for a traditional Japanese inn, called Kagamiya, which her fiancé Masaki (Uchida Asahi) decides to take over. Masaki's aunt Tamaki (Miyamoto Nobuko) is the current proprietress and wants her son Shinichi (Azuma Mikihisa) to take over instead. However, the head proprietress and Masaki's grandmother Katsuno (Kusabue Mitsuko) thinks Masaki would be better suited for the role. This family conflict pushes the plot forward for the majority of the drama.
The first two weeks of "Dondo Hare" set up the drama well. I really liked the weeks that follow since it had a slice of life vibe as every week had different guest for Natsumi to help. The tone shifts, however, when Natsumi's meddling causes her to quit her training and return back home. Of course, she goes back to the inn but the tone never returns to that slice-of-life vibe. From then, there seems to be a series of neverending problems for Natsumi or the inn. At one point, the poor girl has two "rivals" [one for Masaki's affections, one for the position of young proprietress] to contend with. The drama's best feature is its sense of family and I wish it had focused on that instead of just throwing one problem after another at them.
Natsumi is a good heroine and her characterization helps the drama when the writing gets weaker. Her naivete may be a tad annoying at sometimes, but (like the drama says) her ability to "believe" in people is also her strong point. She seems like the typical hard-working, bright smile heroine at first. Natsumi, however, is not just that and shows a wide-range of genuine emotion. Her and Masaki's relationship could've been stronger. Since they were engaged before the story starts, it feels that the writers phoned them in just a bit and it would've been nice to see more of them falling in love. Instead Natsumi's relationships with Katsuno and Tamaki are much more interesting and nuanced. I also just want to add that I liked all of the supporting characters. Everyone at the inn felt like a family.
Now in conclusion, I recommend "Dondo Hare." It's not the best asadora, of course. But it's a fun, easy watch. I got tired of the constant troubles towards the end, but Natsumi makes these times easier to get through. The final week of episodes could've had more happiness, instead of hastily trying to wrap up the final conflict. The very final episode, however, was worth it. I definitely cried T_T At the end, I felt just as attached to Kagamiya as all of the characters. It felt like (as the drama says) a place to go home to.
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Charming and sweet romance
Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil are a charming pair. The pair perform better here than their slightly problematic "Just the Way You Are" though they're still relatively green here. However, they easily coast through the movie on their undeniable chemistry. It's no surprise that these two are a couple in real life. Gerald Anderson has a stand-out performance, despite being in a coma for the majority of the movie.The story and characterization feel weak at times in the movie. We're told a lot of details about the characters but not shown. Enrique's character in particular is not fully fleshed out. I think the film shined in its portrayal of Audrey's (Soberano) and Tristan's (Anderson) relationship. Some of their scenes towards the latter half were definite stand-outs.
Overall, this film was not my favorite from the Liza-Enrique pair. However, it's still worth a watch for fans as are all of their films. Their performances in "My Ex and Whys" were quite good, though the story was a bit iffy for me. "Alone Together" is their best film to date and would recommend it to anyone.
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Short and enjoyable
I enjoyed this so much. It was light and fluffy, making me smile the whole time. I picked up this series since I'm becoming more interested in GMMTV and its actors (I really liked Jan. I'll probably look for more of her). Since it's a web series, "Youniverse" I felt had a very different look from the ones they broadcast on TV. It felt more raw and the actors seemed as if they were really just regular high school students. As for the story, it was really simple but enjoyable. I liked watching the two couples form. The ending had a bit of twist, but I'm still hopeful.Anyway, this is a short review since I just wanted to put a few thoughts on it out there. I would recommend this series to anyway who has forty minutes to spare. Trust me, you'll enjoy it!
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An interesting rom-com
First, I want to say that I liked this movie even though the student-teacher relationship kind of bothered me at first. Thankfully, they are not student and teacher for that much of the movie. The plot is simple, Ginny is an architecture student in love with her professor, Marco. They end up splitting up after three years together and Ginny moves to Barcelona. Four years later, Ginny receives an email from Marco that he originally sent after they broke up. Cue the tears T_T Ginny moves back to the Philippines and ends up working with Marco on converting a house into a restaurant. However, Marco now has a girlfriend, Patty.My favorite part of the film was that their whole past was not revealed at the beginning. Instead, more is revealed as Ginny and Marco remembered certain things. Also, the flashbacks are shown from both of their POVs so it's completely fair. These parts ended up being my favorite. The film kind of became problematic for me towards the end, but I'm trying to keep this spoiler-free. I ended up giving this a 7.5 since I liked *most* of it. However, by the end I was unsure how I really wanted it to end. Did I want Marco to end up with Ginny or Patty. Still not sure...
Anyway, I recommend this to anyone who likes rom-coms with interesting twists. Also, this movie reminded me of the American movies, "My Best Friend's Wedding" and "Little Black Book," both of which I also liked.
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