Orangevine

I honestly think that ratings on Mydramalist should be adjusted by taking two points away from any drama with ikemen and by giving two points to any drama without. 9.5 seemed like just the right rating for Hibana, for example.

Ah, this is my ultimate fave. I've rewatched it 4 times.

There is romance but it's 15% of the whole show and arguably it is not very satisfying.

There are many intense interactions between various characters, so the show is not dry. But it's definetly not about romance.

Wow, team Yamaken was more popular?? I would've never guessed by the movie.

I completely agree about Oboreru Knife. Nana and Suda shoot an ad together (which utilized their hipster auras) that cemented them as a couple a lot more than this movie.

I must admit I believe Suda will fail in his two upcoming romances (pairing with Nana notwithstanding). He can build friendship dynamic or play up a physical desire but his romances always seem dry. The movie with Nana is going to be a serious drama so he will be able to get away with not having any romantic chemistry but I do wonder about project with Arimura Kasumi.

Suda is an acting genius, he's just not suitable for romances.

Woah, Nishikido Ryo here is just way too hot. Aragaki Yui plays a great character to boot. This is a very decent romcom drama.

My problem is, Tsuchiya Tao is too hot. And she has this nice animalistic chemistry with Suda. But every time I was expecting their interactions to explode with passion, the interactions turned PG. And Suda is too good at dialing down the chemistry so I kind of blame him (and the director).

Maybe they were aiming at pure friendship but I think they nailed friends-with-benefits instead lol

This is simple and fun procedural even if some of the jokes are problematic by modern standards.

The second movie is definitely better than the first. My Fujiwara bias prevented me from hating his performance here (which many people do, I heard). Matsuyama is a lot of fun here since L is the only character who is allowed to have any fun.

I really hate those late 90s/early 2000s Japanese thrillers where we are constantly shown posts from netizens (usually in white font over black screen) proclaiming the approaching apocalypse and the appearance of 'kami'. The atmosphere of the looming doom and society's indifference symbolised by the soulless sprawling cities are also a must.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the Death Note live-actions are exactly these kind of movies! You see, when I was reading Death Note manga as ongoing it was a cutting edge modern story. 15 years has done their job, I suppose.

Still, I can't begrudge Death Note its genre. Back in the day it was popular to proclaim Fujiwara Tatsuya a terrible actor and both live-actions a failure of an adaptation. Looking at it now, I can only shrug. The movies are stylish and fun. L and Light are suitably charismatic even if L outshines (ha) Light.

Is it just me or everytime the main characters were about to kiss, it seemed as if a heavenly grace were pouring down on them from above (thanks to the lighting and Suda's facial expressions) and completely ruined the mood?

What can I say, don't watch it for Suda, he has a very small role.

This is a movie Suda Masaki received his best actor academy award for. And he is stunning here. The movie itself, though, is a hymn to an era where toxic masculinity ruled the world. Approach with caution.

8.5/10

This is another golden classic. I can't believe it has such a low rating here.

10/10

The duo of Kamiki Ryunosuke and Nishikido Ryo is a gift from heaven. They are very entertaining together. The drama is also very funny.

Story-wise, though, it's a mess.

7/10

This is a typical action flick about tough guys with square jaws and no sense of humour. Despite the stellar cast it falls flat. Ah, it's too bad.

The projects where Ayano Gou does not play a cold-blooded murderer or an evil alien used to be quite rare. This is one of his works that brought him recognition as everyday decent (and cute) guy.

9/10

Have you ever wanted to see a project that stars Yamazaki Kento, Sometani Shota and Nikaido Fumi? This is one!

Joking aside, this homage to Twin Peaks turned out to be too eccentric for my taste (and I couldn't watch Spec so you can recalibrate accordingly).

This is a light school drama with great pacing and unbelievably charismatic male lead played by Kamiki Ryunosuke. He also have great chemistry with the female lead played by everyone's favourite Hirose Suzu.

Honestly, it's very entertaining and a must for Kamiki's fans.

This a very good drama!

Suda Masaki lovers can watch to see him play his now trademark 'wild petty antagonist' role. He kicks desks and humiliates people with an aplomb, while the scene where he reacts to a scary threat looks scary only due to his extra acting.

BTW Kubota Masataka plays a guest role here exactly like the one you would expect him to get in 2010.