DramaHeroine

I was all ready to give this movie a rating of ten. Then we hit all of the angsty bits in the middle, and I had to change my mind.

It’s not that I didn’t find anything to enjoy about this movie. Au contrare! I love the beginning and the end, the funny way our leads relationship starts and the romantic way they walk off into the sunset with each other. It's just the middle I want to rip out and set on fire.

Silly plot devices that do nothing but drag the story down have no place in stories that begin end in such cute ways. Get outta here with that nonsense.

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Sh**ting Stars was one of those dramas where there was enough humor and romance and likable characters and general cuteness to keep me around, but the story lacked in some important ways.

First, some of the plotlines went in directions I wasn't a huge fan of. For example, I think Oh Han Byul agreed to date Gong Tae Sung a little too quickly considering she'd been so disappointed by him before and still carried a lot of hurt from the experience to the point that she'd put up a wall in self-defense. I was expecting Tae Sung to have to work for it a little bit, but Han Byul agrees to date him rather quickly. There were also a couple of really dramatic subplots, namely Tae Sung's mom abandoning him as a child and his friend's untimely death, that felt very tacked on for the purpose of dramatics rather than meaningful storytelling. If they had tied these two subplots into the drama's overall theme of working in the entertainment industry managing celebrities and the toll being in the public eye can take on the celebs and those who work with them, maybe they would have been more effective. As is, they weren't integrated well, and I kind of zoned out whenever the drama focused on them. It didn't help that Kim Young Dae's more emotional character moments did not work for me at all. Whenever he was being cute or playful or jealous or argumentative (or smoldering, lol), he sold his character so well I wanted to buy plushie versions. But I did not like his way of emoting pain or anger or sadness. It always felt...weird. Even when he was just being more serious, I just wanted those scenes to be over.

And it must be said here that while there was some decent focus on what it's like working in the entertainment industry from the non-talent's perspective, the drama didn't do a very good job of maintaining this focus throughout and was even at times very surface-level in this respect. At a certain point, the romance began to overshadow everything else to the story's detriment.

I also have to ask...what happened to the fun sense of humor the drama had in the first half, because the second half was kind of missing it. Of course, that is kind of the rom-com curse. The build-up to the leads getting together is a fun romp, but then they get together, and the romance (and comedy) sometimes loses its spark, and I think this drama is a good example of that. There's a lot of fun early on, but then the leads get together, and the whole thing kind of feels a little womp-womp. (That and I was disappointed by one of the secondary OTP's, as the characters I wanted together did not end up together. I had some pretty major Second OTP second male lead feels, lol.)

My last critique for this drama, which I really can't write this review without bringing up, is the Africa issue. A humanitarian trip to Africa (not a specific African country, but just...Africa) is used as a plot device for the male lead, and it's really just unnecessary. If they had left it in the first two episodes and not brought it up again, you could have chosen to ignore it. Or even better, they could have turned it into a celeb faux pas where he went on the trip for the optics, and it backfired on him. But it kept popping up, sometimes to help move the plot along in some way, and this just kept reminding the viewer of how poorly written and cringy it was.

So I'm disappointed with this drama. I don't think it's the worst drama I've ever watched, and I certainly got lots of enjoyment out of it. And like I said at the beginning of my review, there's some good humor and romance and lots of likable characters and overall general cuteness, so other viewers might have a more satisfactory viewing experience then me. I just don't think it lived up to its potential, and to me, that's a shame.

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Uuuuuuugh. This movie frustrated and angered me to the point that I quit it about 30 minutes from the end. (It's about 2 hours long total. I read spoilers for the ending in order to know what actually happened, because I had no plans of actually watching the ending myself.) I really hate teen movies (adult movies too) that do the whole back and forth, back and forth, back and forth thing for the sole purpose of there being some kind of drawn out conflict rather than simply writing a compelling and relatable story. (It makes me want to burst my own eardrums.) This movie...is one of those teen movies. The writers take an infinitely fascinating premise, a Heroine who's not actually the heroine of the story she thinks she is and has to figure out her true story, and then scrap it probably less than halfway through for your standard, uninspired take on teen romance. (Which I guess isn't actually the movie writers fault as this is based on a manga so they had to write based on the source material, but I haven't read the manga and don't know if it does the story any better or not, so I'm just gonna be mad at the film's scriptwriters for now.) Some of the more egregious plot points include cheating that goes unpunished and pretty much treated as not a big deal, a teenager with a history of dating an adult that the movie never makes any kind of declarative statement on how grossly inappropriate that is, a character faking an illness to trick another character into not leaving them, and just generally selfish and stupid behavior from the majority of our characters.

The story also starts with these honestly quite interesting characters (aside from the second male lead who's pretty much a card board cutout of every bad boy character ever) and then ruins pretty much all of them. (Maybe not the female lead so much, since she does stay pretty consistent throughout the movie, but that consistency isn't always a good thing. And again, the second male is a cardboard cutout, so there's not much there to really ruin.) I'm most upset though with how the second female lead is treated. She is this beyond sweet and selfless character until the very end where she's turned into a villain for the sole purpose of the leads having an excuse to be together. It's a disservice to her character and is used as a supposedly 'valid' reason to excuse both leads of being incredibly selfish themselves multiple times throughout the movie.

If you're a young teen/pre-teen, you will probably find this movie really romantic. As a 31 year old adult, I found it asinine and annoying. This is just not a good movie.

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This drama is truthfully quite silly. Much of the viewership in dramaworld is past stories about female leads chasing the male lead around hoping he'll fall for them. I'm not really over this type of story as long as it can be done in a way that's not over-dramatic or requires a truly awful male lead or a female lead with no worthwhile personality traits (or worse, Both). But I don't necessarily gravitate towards these stories anymore either. But as silly as this drama can seem, it's also quite charming. And swoony. And cute. And laugh out loud funny.

Off the bat, you have to respect the female leads determination and drive, both in love and in work. This is one of the things that keeps this drama from being totally grating. The female lead has a major crush on the male lead, and she pursues him doggedly. But she also takes being a nurse seriously, and cares about doing well at her job.

The male lead is perfect, and I will not complain about him. (Look. Kairi is just way too good at being smoldering and brooding and adorable and unexpectedly moved by Nanase all at the same time. Also, the kisses are on point.)

The only thing that would have made this drama better would have been for the writers to ex the secondary couples. I didn't enjoy anything about them. They felt like the writers trying to shove as many age-gap couples in as they could, whether they should or not, and neither couple really has any reasonable story or plot reason for being together.

So in conclusion, An Incurable Case of Love is quite silly, but it's also a whole lot of fun. And now I want to read the manga, lol.

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This is such a feel-good, pick-me-up, give you hope in life story, which is exactly the sort of thing I'm looking for a lot of the time right now. It addresses the 'pandemic' very lightly (although I wouldn't have minded if it had touched on it a little bit more), but chooses to keep it's focus mainly on the simple, heart-warming, sometimes challenging lives of it's characters.

That's not to say that there's not some real trauma and pain (unrelated to the pandemic) to be processed by some of our characters, because there is, and the drama never shies away from it. Instead, it highlights this trauma and pain and then offers an antidote. It offers hope. It's obvious this drama was made with the intention of giving it's viewers a reason to keep trying in what has been a trying time for many. And while I can't speak for the Japanese audience, I can say that for myself, it succeeded.

It tackles some deep, heartbreaking issues while never losing the heart and joy and wonderment that makes the story special. If you're struggling to keep hope right now, give this drama a shot. I don't think you will be sorry.

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I don't know that I like this drama. I like the main characters and relate to their struggles with finding love and purpose and meaning in their lives. I like their friendship with each other and how loyal they are to one another and always there to lend a shoulder or an ear. And I inherently love stories that explore what it means to love and be in a relationship and all that juicy romantic stuff. It's just the story built around these characters and their friendship and their pursuit of love that could have been fleshed out better.

Rinko's story has the most substance to it and the most development. She's a rather immature character who spends most of the drama seeking the most shallow idea of love possible. Throughout the story, you find yourself feeling more and more frustrated with her childish, immature way of thinking and how many times she makes a decision only to change her mind at the last minute, because the truth is, she really doesn't know what she wants or what she's doing. But she does have a genuine story arch and experiences some real character growth, and by the end of the drama, you can tell that she's finally, genuinely trying to get it right. She really wants it this time, and she's doing everything the right way...and yet she still gets it wrong. Ooof, did I feel for her in that moment.

The other female leads stories were not nearly as engaging.

We have Kaori whose story arch starts off strong. She runs into her ex after having not seen him for years and swiftly finds herself engaging in an affair with him despite her better judgement. I will never approve of affairs as a matter of principle, but the storyline Makes Sense. There's history there, unresolved feelings, the question of what-if, and you can understand how Kaori would find herself in such a situation, even if you don't agree with her choices. But the storyline starts to fizzle out toward the end, and by the time the situation is resolved (and it's resolved in a mostly satisfactory way), you've kind of lost interest.

Then's there Koyuki. I feel like the writers got to Koyuki and were like 'Uhhh, we don't know what to do with this character, sooooooooo let's make her have an affair too!' Not only is her relationship with 'random guy' probably the most BORing relationship ever, but it feels so incredibly out of character for Koyuki to engage in an affair in the first place. She's the most headstrong, conscientious one of the three leads, and I was hoping for something more meaty and interesting for her character. Like maybe she meets a man who is disabled, and the people around her are all telling her not to be with him because of how difficult the relationship would be, but she defies them all and loves him anyway. Or maybe she decides to eschew love and marriage altogether and live out the rest of her life a single lady, because she's happy with things just the way they are. Either way, both of these options would have been better than what we ended up with. I honestly feel bad for her character, because she really does get the short end of the stick in terms of storyline.

But what really frustrates me with this drama is that none of the leads, with the exception of the main lead towards the end, take any real responsibility for their part in the situations they find themselves in. It takes two to tango (or to have an affair in the case of this drama), but neither of the girls involved in the affairs really take much accountability for their actions, and that's just about the most annoying thing ever.

You're probably wondering at this point in the review why I kept watching this drama if I found the female leads separate storylines so frustrating. Well, first and foremost, their friendship with each other is one of the best parts of the drama, and one of the things that kept me coming back. As annoying as it is to watch them make such silly decisions on repeat, it's equally delightful watching them together, chatting over food and drinks about the daily goings on of their lives. They're such a tight-knit group, so loyal to each other, and they just look like a lot of fun to be around.

I also really liked Rinko's two biggest potential romantic interests, KEY and Tetsuro. I was sad for Tetsuro at the end, because he came so close to getting the girl (and honestly is every bit deserving of her as any other guy, and might even be more suited to her, if we're being honest), but he ultimately found himself in second male lead land through no fault of his own, and I hope he's able to find his own happiness in the sequel drama coming out later this year.

As for KEY, a lot of people think he's mean or abusive or what-have you, but I have to disagree. Yeah, he could be kind of a jerk at times, poking his nose into the leads business and offering his unwanted opinions and being rather judgmental of them (although I can't totally fault him for that one considering how consistent these girls are in making stupid choices and then whining about it later), but he's certainly not this awful, abusive monster that a lot of people have made him out to be. His bark is definitely worse than his bite, and I personally was not opposed to him ending up with our female lead at the end.

My only complaint with KEY is that his tragic backstory...is that he married his high school teacher because she was dying to fulfill her last wish????? I'm not surprised to see this in a Japanese drama, because it's the sort of thing I would expect at this point in my drama viewing history, but I will never stop finding these sorts of plot lines ridiculous. I don't know much about marriage laws in Japan, and it may very well be legal for a teacher to marry their student, but I certainly don't find that particularly...copasetic. I also just find it pretty stupid, because how does marrying your student whom you are not in love with fulfill your dying wish of falling in love and getting married? Um, it doesn't. But it's a fortunately small part of the drama and was no more than an innocent friendship rather than romantic relationship, so I can overlook it.

Now, if you've read all of that above ^ and are thinking 'this girl didn't like this drama and probably won't watch the sequel'........I will most DEFinitely be watching the sequel, because as frustrating as this drama was, I also strangely enjoyed it. I know. I started this review saying I don't think I like this drama and then I ended the review saying I enjoyed it. I guess I'm as illogical and all over the place as the Tokyo Tarareba Girls, lol. But it's true. I've given this drama an 8 overall, because in spite of it's flaws and the frustration with characters decisions and there not being enough character and story development for two of the leads, I'm invested in these girls and want to see where they end up.

That and I had planned a trip to Japan this year during the Olympics myself that all fell apart (before the Covid stuff ever happened), and I guess I want to live vicariously through these characters a little bit.

So sue me, lol.

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For the most part, this was nothing more than a goofy, honestly quite stupid, but still lighthearted and funny film with a delightful female lead and some great romantic chemistry.

That is until possibly the stupidest scene I have ever seen in all of Asian media happened.

We watch the female lead be lured to an empty building in the middle of the night where she is then bombarded by a group of dancers gyrating in a semi-choreographed fashion to a song about literal twerking while the male lead plays the drums (which is apparently a new skill he developed between this scene and the last one) and then when this mess of a non-sensical performance is over, he confesses his love to her complete with a flying drone.

Because what every woman wants is for the man she loves to confess his love while people twerk in the background to the equivalent of a bootycall song.

Yes. That is a sentence...that exists. And that is a Scene...that also exists. *metaphorical throwing my hands up in utter mystification*

The side of my brain that wants stories to be logical and well-thought out can't fathom why anyone would choose that song for such a moment or want twerking dancers involved in a love confession, but then the part of my brain that stores all of the information I've collected about Asia over the years through their dramas and films and music understands Exactly why that song was chosen. Because Someone on that production team heard it and liked it and didn't know what the Literal Hell it was about.

But I'm digressing at this point, so let's get back to the actual review.

Truthfully, I wanted to quit watching the movie after this scene (it's so cringeeeeeeeey), but I went ahead and finished it anyway for review purposes, and the story ends...pretty much how you would expect this type of movie to end. There's a tragic reveal, followed by a big romantic gesture, and finally, the leads accepting their feelings for one another. I will admit the reveal that Min's 'boyfriend' is actually dead and what happened to him made me very sad for her character. The accident is emotional to watch, and you definitely can understand why she's been so traumatized since. The big, romantic gesture, on the other hand, didn't do anything for me, most likely because 1/3 of the way through the movie I'd already stopped being invested in the male lead because he stopped being interesting.

If you take out the ridiculous love confession, this is a really fun, if pretty stupid, movie with charming leads, and it does some interesting things with it's premise, even if I didn't personally find all of those things all that enjoyable or interesting. (One of the better parts of the film were all the little animated sidebars. They go a long way in helping you connect with and like the characters.)

I think a lot of people will probably like this movie and how goofy it is. Heck, me from 5 to 10 years ago probably would have really liked this movie. But me today? I'm not ever gonna watch this again, because I refuse to give that stupid confession more of my screen time, lol.

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This movie is incredibly goofy and sometimes dramatic but also unexpectedly charming in it's style and execution. The young actors give stellar performances, and the story has a genuine heart at the center to ground it's more over-the-top elements.

The main conceit of the film, May's condition, is very well handled. While completely made up and unbelievable, it's very well used to explore the nuances of not fitting in or being unable to connect with your peers and feeling heartbreakingly alone and different. And May herself is extremely likable, so you automatically feel for her and the struggles she faces.

Pong, while extremely likable and well-written in his own right, is unfortunately also the source of my least favorite aspect of this film, as the first half has a number of plot points (of his own making) involving some unnecessarily perverted and degrading humor. I very much could have done without that or even have been willing to accept it if the behavior had been followed up by some form of appropriate consequences or punishment. And while some of the characters are rightfully angered by it, and he does attempt to write the wrongs, it's never fully dealt with, and I didn't like that. (Especially in a film aimed at a young audience that is extremely impressionable.)

Perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the film is the animation. You don't expect it when it first shows up, but it quickly becomes a vital addition to the storytelling. The animated sequences are not only superbly done, they're also incredibly creative and a lot of fun and serve as an important tool for exploring our characters and who they are. I loved seeing Pong's imaginative stories come to life on screen (minus the perverted parts).

And I guess my final thought about this film is wow, does the last third of the movie have a lot of twists. They're well-utilized and heartfelt, but they also sorta keep coming, and you start to wonder if they're ever gonna stop.

So yeah, this movie is really cute and enjoyable, and I kind of want to immediately watch it again, lol.

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I've struggled when it comes to Japanese dramas. I have frequently found myself starting a Jdrama and quickly noping out because it's not anything like what I wanted/expected. First and foremost, I don't trust any Jdrama genre tags. Just because it says romance or rom-com (totally unrelated example; not the bane of my Jdrama existence or anything) doesn't mean there will be the kind of romance or romantic comedy you're looking for. Second, there appears to be a much wider variety of subject matter when it comes to Jdramas compared to Kdramas (my personal drama country go to), which makes it that much harder to find that specific type of drama you're looking for. Third, it kind of feels like Jdrama production teams are just experimenting by throwing things at the wall and seeing what works and then sometimes not even really caring if it doesn't work. And fourth, everything about Jdrama production is just Different. Different acting styles, different camerawork, different forms of story-telling, etc. etc. etc. I've had to come to the conclusion in recent months that in order to find, watch, and enjoy Jdramas, I have to leave All my expectations at the door, because they most likely won't be met except in the exact moments when I'm not looking.

I tell you all of this to say that when I find a Jdrama that works for me, it's kind of a big deal. And this Jdrama worked for me. Very, very, deeply worked for me.

There's honestly not a single thing about this drama I could complain about. We're presented with an unusual, but still very real and relatable and easy to connect with family who may fuss and fight but will always love each other at the end of the day; multiple life situations grounded in reality and tackled by our characters in satisfying ways; and a female lead who may be spoiled, but who is easily one of the kindest, most determined, easiest to root for female leads in all of Asian drama history. Kahoko is just likable, and you want to see her succeed.

I highly recommend this drama to anyone who watches Asian dramas.

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This movie does almost all of the right things for an Asian romantic comedy. The leads have great chemistry, the story is grounded and fun, some of the humor is surprisingly dark and hilarious (which I know isn't common for rom-coms, but it most definitely works here). If not for a misstep towards the end, this movie very well could have propelled itself out of the rom-com genre entirely into something deeper and more substantive. It does make a misstep, however, in the last fourth of the movie, where the writers decide to pivot the story into a more dramatic (and quite tonally different) direction. Of course, this is not unusual for Asian films or dramas. It's the genre's bread and butter. But I found myself missing the movie's earlier humor and lightheartedness, and even a happy ending didn't totally put out that disappointment. Still, despite this misstep, everything else about this film is superb.

And the best thing? How realistically compatible the leads are with each other. They both love inappropriate jokes, are unafraid of expressing their feelings and opinions, enjoy trying new things, and are willing to trust each other enough to spend two to three days touring a foreign country together.

I love stories that make me believe their characters are suited for each other, and this story most definitely does.

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This drama was an emotional ride, joyous and heartfelt and at times, bittersweet. I hit the halfway mark, and it became unusual for me Not to cry during an episode. The characters are so real and so easy to connect with, and the topics the drama explores are handled beautifully with thoughtfulness and sincerity and honesty.

It was eye-opening getting a glimpse into Shizuka and Papa's lives, and I was pleased with how natural and consistent the drama was at adding little things here and there to illustrate just what it's like to be deaf or have a loved one who is. Shizuka using little bean bags as a way to get Papa's attention, the flashing light in the photography studio to alert Papa when a customer comes in, Shizuka leaving the sound off on the television even though she doesn't have to since she can hear, a young Shizuka signing her class' song during a performance so her father can experience it. Just so many things that really bring home to the viewer how deafness can affect your day-to-day life.

It was also heartbreaking to watch both Shizuka and Papa struggle because of the challenges that come with deafness. Papa's early life was sad to watch, although not surprising, given the historical context. Imagining how difficult and demoralizing it must have been for Papa to work so hard to learn how to speak and please his mother only to disappoint her because speaking is just not something Papa's able to do was very affecting. That would have created some deep wounds that wouldn't be easy to overcome. Shizuka faces her own set of troubles from others finding her demeanor and mannerisms offensive and being mean behind her back or excluding her to her intentions being misunderstood because of the straightforwardness she developed through communicating with Papa. Of course, Shizuka internalizes all of this, something most of us would probably do, and it becomes a reason for her to not truly live her life.

On this note, I'm very glad this drama didn't shy away from giving Shizuka legitimate problems relating to Papa's disability. I'm not a fan of the current narrative you sometimes see that the loved ones of people with disabilities shouldn't struggle or complain or ever say ever that caring for someone with a disability can be hard, because their problems aren't legitimate, and they're just shaming the disabled person or 'speaking over them' or any other number of critiques. This drama doesn't do that. Instead, it chooses to be honest and show that it can be a struggle for those who love someone with a disability. They may not face the same hardships, but they face ones of their own, and those hardships matter.

This is a drama that stirs up deep emotions as well as a lot of food for thought. It presents you with an opportunity to think a little bit deeper about things you may not often think about and possibly even examine some of your own thoughts and ideas and behaviors around certain topics. I certainly felt stretched as a person while watching.

I'll end this review with a drama suggestion. Shizuka was a very similar viewing experience to Neechan no Koibito, so if you've seen Neechan and are looking for something similar, Shizuka to Papa is a good choice. Conversely, if you've already watched Shizuka to Papa and you're looking for your next drama, Neechan is definitely worth checking out.

You should really just watch both, lol.

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