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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

What a satisfying watch! I haven’t been this thoroughly impressed with a drama in a while. The action was actiontastic. The police work actually looked realistic. (No silly 'drama logic.') The writing was witty and the story tightly plotted. I didn't even mind most of the hammy acting you typically see in a lot of Japanese dramas. It actually Enhances the drama! Does part of me wish the romance had been developed more? Yes, but that’s only because I’m a sucker for a good romance. The drama didn’t actually need it. My only complaint? That villain. He was incredibly smart, but I couldn’t take him seriously because of the actor’s acting. (What was with that goofy smile?!?!) But that father son bromance was everything.

Read More