Enjoyable Watch Despite Flaws
This Japanese effort is a reworking of the Korean original. While it corrects some flaws of the original it has a few of its own.The basic story remains the same hitting the key plot twists in fewer episodes. This version improves on the original by moving faster, so better pacing, and by eliminating the weird direction imposed on the original acting, in particular the weird facial expressions. It a bit less in that there's less music.
Like the original the switched gender deceit isn't taken seriously and I mean that anyone looking at the lead would know she's a she however she is identifying. She doesn't attempt to change her voice. In Japan females tend to speak with a higher than their normal voice, and males lower. They also tend to use different words e.g. pronouns and phrases, much more so than in English. So to be realistic at a minimum the lead would not only have to carry herself differently, but would use a lower voice, keep to male word choices etc. If taken seriously that would be interesting to watch. In both the Korean and Japanese versions the producer/directors are more concerned to make sure the female lead presents as cute than able to pass as a male.
An irritating aspect is that while in the early episodes the subtitling was average towards the last several episodes the translating appeared to be a tossed word salad. Someone got the right verb and a few words to go with it and called it good enough leaving a confusing jumble of a sentence that required active puzzle solving adding the proper order, and discovering the needed tense given the context.
Possible Spoiler Below
I looked forward to how this version would handle the twin reunion and was disappointed because it follows the sin of the original in that they don't meet or communicate. Throughout the story, the girl never talks to her brother by phone which would be so easy to do. Towards the end, when he returns to Japan, it is inconceivable that they would not get together to exchange information. As she uncovered certain truths and secrets regarding their common past, it is extremely unlikely she wouldn’t tell him. It was therefore necessary to deal with the fact that she would contact him and he would have reactions to these truths which would impact his presence in the rock group. At a absolute minimum there should have been at least a few lines, perhaps a phone call, in which she indicates she told her brother something of these important details, e.g. their mother is in fact dead, how she died, THE MOTHER’S NAME! The script, perhaps because of budget issues and time constraints, left these gaping holes and kind of too hurriedly finished things up.
And the ending felt even more truncated than the original regarding the end point for the leads.
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Concept Underutilized
If you're thinking of watching this series because it's called 'Vampire Detective' and you think the main character is a vampire you're going to be disappointed.The detective is fine. The crime puzzles ok and the acting holds up. The problem is the scriptwriter doesn't understand the concept of a vampire and why it's interesting. Different stories have different kinds of vampires, but the key is combining a superhuman with a predatory need for human blood that can't suffer sunlight. Super strength vs super lethal weakness. Think Superman and his kryptonite.
This script has none of that. The vampire element could have been dropped completely because it doesn't add anything of interest.
It's tough working as a police detective and not going about by day. I've read a few series in which the main character, a vampire, works as private investigator with normal sidekicks.
One good series by P. N. Elrod is called the Vampire Files set in the 1930's in Chicago. The first book Bloodlist is a mystery. A man wakes up at night on Lake Michigan shoreline with amnesia. He soon realizes two things. He was murdered, and he's now a vampire and he goes about solving his own murder. The vampire in this story has all the powers of the original Dracula of Bram Stoker's character. Neat twist is that the mobster who killed him becomes a close colleague and friend.
Another interesting character that could have been a template for this series' vampire is a book series called Vampire for Hire by J. R. Rain which has a vampire that can go out in the sun with protection and solve cases. The main character accidentally survives an attack by a vampire and slowly becomes one. Her becoming a cold undead vampire causes her husband to divorce her. Complications are that she has two kids to raise.
Another vampire 'detective' book series is by Fred Saberhagen (Saberhagen is better known for his SF Berserker series - stories about sentient machines roving the galaxy killing all biological life - he invented the original concept) in which his main character is the original Dracula who it turns out is not so evil after all. In the first book Dracula in modern times sets the record straight regarding Bram Stoker gross misrepresentation of what happened back then. In this series Dracula has many identities down through the centuries including Sherlock Holmes.
A series called Vampire Detective has immense potential and this one wasted it all.
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Clumsy - Best Avoid
This is the second in a series of three. These first two movies use some of the same actors and this second one is a real sequel.MWIAG 1 was worth the time and enjoyable. But while this second one was watchable, it was boring. The story meanders hitting plot points without ever getting traction.
The third one is best of the lot and is a reboot of the concept using different actors, story, and context.
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Very Enjoyable
This movie is remarkable for its success at mixing genuine creepy horror and a romantic arc together with some hilarious comedy. It feels rushed as it checks off all the steps from cold relationship to romantic entanglement in a little less than two hours. But that's because I guessing most viewers, like me, are used to seeing all these steps detailed in 12 to 16 hour long episodes, so yes it is rushed. This story as we've seen elsewhere can be told over a much longer span and it works.Master's Sun mixed some supernatural scary spooks into its story but what's remarkable here is that the spooks and how there're shown are really creepy, and then suddenly some funny switch will kick in and the scene jumps to comedy. Odd, but it works.
Stay tuned to the final credits because there's an amusing attempt by the male lead's sidekick to pick up a ghost, who ignores him walking, or drifting away.
The rules as to who can see ghosts when are loose. But the story points move fast so there's no time to dwell on this issue.
Possible spoilers.....
I only watched the one time so I may have misunderstood a scene in which the two leads get together, i.e. sleep together, in the tent she keeps in her living room. In the morning the male lead's girl friend somehow shows up from France, knows where they are, and gains entry to her house to unzip the tent catching them inside together. Then the three are shown talking in his (?) house, and after some discussion the female lead leaves his house. I am confused how that transition took place from in the tent in her house to some other house.
I liked how the story leaves unresolved the fact the female lead is being aggressively haunted by her dead former best friend. At the end the ghost is still haunting and apparently isn't going anywhere.
A final note. I almost missed this but note in the scene in which the female lead is seeing off her new boyfriend from the front gate in the morning. As she turns to re-enter the gate, look towards the top left of the screen and you'll see a ghost, the ghost standing on the balcony.
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Fun Watch
The comedic set up is made for laughs. The execution of the first half was a bit clumsy but it was the second half when all the parts come together and the story takes off.A young woman is the number two in a crime syndicate overseeing more than 50 men. She's tough and a skilled fighter. The fight scenes feel like a movie out of Hong Kong but that's OK. She finds her long lost sister who is terminally ill, and her dying wish is that she marry. This creates problems as her social skills are a bit rough around the edges, but she gets the job done and of course her clueless husband doesn't know her true occupation. If this wasn't a comedy first I might have thought she would kill him with her death glare. On their wedding night the poor guy must've felt like a male black widow spider approaching his bride for consummation.
Complications ensue when her sister dies leaving a final wish - that she has a child. Some of the scenes in the hilarious baby making process might generate an 'R' rating in the US.
The first half was good, but it was the second half that earned a high rating.
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Hilarious Action Comedy
I saw a short on YouTube and checked this movie out. I expected a B movie given the title sounds a bit cartoonish, it's the third in a series, and it's from 2006 but was delighted with a A- production.Lot's of on point humor with unexpected twists. There's a running joke with translation mishaps. The protagonist is Chinese hiding in Korea. The gangsters she is placed with obtain an innocent bilingual to translate. The translator quickly realizes she's in deep Kimchee and fearfully mistranslates the protagonist's threats into friendly comments. Later as the translator gains confidence she abuses her control. These mistranslations steal the show.
One production misstep towards the end. A close-up of a corpse from two different angles no less shows him breathing deeply and obviously. Otherwise the whole is very entertaining.
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Felt Like a Rough Draft
I liked the ending. The problem is that story was too often choppy. The story premise is a good one but the script often left potential humor on the table unexploited. The execution lacks the polish we start to routinely see some 10+ years later.An example is an early scene after they just got married and the young unconsummated couple in formal clothes are sharing an evening celebration dinner with both sets of parents. It comes time to retire to a back bedroom - one bedroom. The groom, a bit tipsy, seizes and carries the teen bride to the bedroom, and falls onto the bed, a small bed. This is just one obvious situation that this story with this set up has to confront and we the audience can see it coming and are anticipating an answer, likely comedic, as to how the couple will get through the night. But like someone starting a good joke and then denying us the punch line, the scene just ends with them very briefly tussling on the bed. The next scene the husband is dropping his teen wife off at her high school. What happened? Just how did they manage to get through the night?
Early on it's made clear that she's 16, the age of consent, before the two are forced to marry to satisfy the last wishes of their grandfathers.
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Enjoyable Watch Despite Flaws
When this recently appeared on Netflix I jumped at the chance to see Park Shin Hye as a 19 or 20-year-old - the age she pretended to be in the recent series Undercover Miss Hong. The Miss Hong series had the good sense to poke fun at the idea that a 36-year-old Shin Hye could pass for a 20-year-old new hire. In this series, we get to see her as she was way back then.This romantic dramedy appeared in 2009 and was an early effort by the Hong sisters who also wrote The Master’s Sun, A Korean Odyssey, Hotel del Luna, Alchemy of Souls, Can This Love Be Translated, and the upcoming Grand Galaxy Hotel, a sequel to Hotel del Luna.
Shin Hye plays both genders in a boy-girl twin duo. This girl lives in a convent and works at an orphanage where apparently she and her twin brother grew up. She is a devout, innocent and very clumsy novice about to leave for Italy to become a nun. Her twin brother, a major rock music star, develops a health problem and is secretly sequestered in a US hospital. His agent persuades her to assume her brother’s identity and join an existing popular rock band as the new fourth member temporarily until her brother returns to resume his identity and continue his career. So we have her trying to pass as a guy, and as her secret gets revealed little by little, the romantic angle emerges because the innocent novice has strong primal urges towards one of the rock stars, and of course, he returns the favor. Dramatic complications set in when long ago connections among parents begin to slowly emerge. Lots of secrets that cause pain as they get revealed.
Is there such a thing as identical boy-girl twins? No. There can only be fraternal twins. Does she look and act remotely like a guy? No. So that’s why this leans towards a 16-hour-long situation comedy. A situation comedy is based on dumb decisions and plot twists that are at best highly improbable, and we get an abundance of both. We have to overlook the obvious that the characters in the story seem oblivious to.
The biggest flaw is in its direction. Perhaps because the situations are so outlandish, the director decided to run with it and apparently had his actors and, in particular, the two leads, Shin Hye and Keun Suk, display over-the-top exaggerated facial expressions. I found myself in several scenes reimagining how the actors might have done the script lines minus the exaggerated expressions and acting we were treated to. This is particularly true for Shin Hye. The direction mishaps are not limited to facial expressions. In an early scene, Shin Hye is sneaking through a room using the high stepping Pink Panther walk! Or she does this tiny mincing walk that no guy would ever do. I’m sure she was directed to do that. And I suspect she and they were encouraged, if not outright told, to perform as they did. I suspect once this series was released these flaws pretty much ended the director’s career.
However, despite the above points, I couldn’t resist and looked forward to watching each new episode, and that was because the story was well written, and the heart of the characters came through strongly.
Possible Spoiler Below
A weakness in the script was the lack of an attempt to put the twins together in the same scene, something hard to do for obvious reasons but noticeably lacking. There were needed script additions to cover glaring holes. Throughout the story, the girl never talks to her brother by phone which would be so easy to do. Towards the end, when he returns to Korea, it is inconceivable that they would not get together to exchange information. As she uncovered certain truths and secrets regarding their common past, it is extremely unlikely she wouldn’t tell him. It was therefore necessary to deal with the fact that she would contact him and he would have reactions to these truths which would impact his presence in the rock group. At a absolute minimum there should have been at least a few lines, perhaps a phone call, in which she indicates she told her brother something of these important details, e.g. their mother is in fact dead, how she died, THE MOTHER’S NAME! The script, perhaps because of budget issues and time constraints, left these gaping holes and kind of too hurriedly finished things up.
The ending between the two leads felt truncated. Usually, we get more satisfying wrap-ups and we learn more about the happy ending, but this one just had one real feel good scene and then left us hanging.
Despite these flaws, I found it an enjoyable watch and well worth the time.
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First Season is Well Worth It
The first season was mixed, but what saves it is that when it's good it's very very good, e.g. ep 2 in season 1, but there are other episodes that make the show worth the time. So the nine rating is for the first season.The actress playing the main character, Nanno, is Kitty Chicha Amatayakul. She reprises the role in a season 2 return while another actress, Becky Armstrong takes up the role in a recent third season called the Girl From Nowhere the Reset.
Kitty summed the up the character Nanno in an interview - she called Nanno the daughter of the Devil/Satan. The basic premise is that Nanno shows up as a transferee to a new school, she tempts someone(s) who is misbehaving, and delivers punishment with a supernatural angle.
The series works best in the first season, somewhat less so in the second when a second Nanno like girl shows up, and falters in the third, the Reset, with Becky playing Nanno.
In general the Devil varies widely by culture. At one extreme he (or his representatives) just commit evil acts against people indiscriminately, e.g. the movie The Exorcist. At the other extreme the Devil is a being who cannot harm humans but he can make deals and or tempt them leaving them to bear the consequences, e.g. Netflix's Lucifer.
Nanno is at her best and most interesting the farther she leans toward the latter temptress option. Unfortunately the individual episodes vary widely muddling the formula. I suspect this is because there are too many people with their own visions involved in the producing / directing / writing roles. It's not always clear that the punishments are deserved.
The series needs some creative control to keep things focused. The first season is great and worth the time, and the second is less satisfying, but you'll probably watch it because of the first season. The Reset is muddled and amateurish. Becky is a capable actress and under proper creative control would work just fine as the new Nanno.
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An Unpolished Gemstone from 2010
I gave it a try because I noticed this was an earlier work by the same screenwriter who wrote 'The Goblin' and 'The Glory'. Despite some rough edges this show has a very likable natural charisma.This came out in 2010-2011 and is a Cinderella story with a supernatural angle thrown in. Note that the supernatural side doesn't get revealed until well into several episodes. It then drops away and only reappears much later. It works.
Some of the commentary in the dialogue was seriously blunt talk about class differences and issues with marriage between the humble classes and the elite few. Later Cinderella stories I've seen toned it down from what's here.
The bad is the acting (or perhaps we should blame the directors?) which at times is horrible with the actors screaming out lines and bellowing (and to top it off when they shriek the sound cracks or breaks - poor quality sound). Very off-putting. And then even my first time through the rough transitions and dropped or mishandled threads are very noticeable. What saves the production, as flawed and dated as it is, is it has a lot of heart. I found myself ignoring the bad acting and getting so engrossed in the story that the full hour episodes flew by.
Given this came out in 2010 and the screenwriter later followed up with such polished work as Goblin and Glory (among others) it seemed often that there were story twists and scene situations that she was experimenting with and that later were used by her (and other screenwriters) very successfully in better executed productions.
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This review may contain spoilers
It's Okay, And Flawed
The first episodes grabbed my attention, and I found them good enough to watch until the series end, but there were aspects that rubbed the wrong way.The medical aspect seemed superficial and these doctors and their behavior were not convincing. However, the main characters especially at the initial set up are interesting and their conflicts held my attention keeping me watching.
There are several interesting twists in the characters' backgrounds as we learn more about each.
Potential spoiler.... It was annoying towards and at the end the two doctors working together but divorced suddenly had partners. The tension for these two for 14 or 15 episodes concerned where these two and their relationship would end up, then suddenly in a near final scene the male doctor has a previously unmentioned spouse return from the states, and the female doctor suddenly has a previously unmentioned spouse? or perhaps boyfriend? return from abroad. My first reaction was that the director/producer/ or writer wanted that broad scene in which a happy ending showed everyone was paired up into nice neat couples despite the storytelling and relationship development of the prior 14 episodes. Not a good decision.
The two leads were interesting enough to keep me watching but several twists and turns in their relationship were not believable, especially regarding the serious mental illness of one and the impact on the relationship. Often I felt there was a message - i.e. The Message - preaching about proper attitudes towards mental illness that took priority over telling a good story.
I suspect most viewers will fall into the love it or hate it categories. I happened to hit the sparse middle.
PS: The subtitles were good enough but often contained mistakes. Unusually (most get this one right) this translator did not understand agreement between subject and verb.
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Relaxing Entertaining Watch
An easy going romantic comedy with an interesting twist at the ending.The lead actress pulls off the dual character challenge well. During the day she's a mild mannered personality and then at night a 'demon' inside takes over and stresses everyone close to her. The demon knows both sides but the daytime personality isn't aware of her nighttime adventures.
Well worth the time and very enjoyable.
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This review may contain spoilers
Watched but sometimes for wrong reasons
Keep in mind this was released in 2016. The beginning and middle held my interest, but the last third I watched more to see if the apparent flaws were going uncorrected until the very end. They were.The writer had an idea of the growth arc for their main character and like an alligator they locked onto to it right into a death roll. Hideo, the main character, is weak willed lacking in the follow through action part of living. And he does go through some tremendous development at the very end. The problem is that it's delayed through the middle of the story into situations that are simply unbelievable.
The bigger problem is that death roll for the main character was pursued at the expense of the development of certain other characters, in particular the half zombie school girl. It's unbelievable that she's used merely as a McGuffin through until the very last second! She should have had an active role in the final resolution.
Yes, the writer wanted us to understand how important the transformation of Hideo is but this is not news that the main theme can be developed along with other characters and themes.
The nurse carried her load in the story well enough, but the total neglect of the story and character potential of the half zombie girl in the last half was criminal and seriously damaged the finished movie.
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It's the Journey
You know going in the ending, more or less, but it's the journey that matters. The writer, director, and actors execute perfectly delivering a moving experience following the lives of two teens who got dealt the short end of fate's stick. Lot's of tears, but inspirational, too.The ratings here of Japanese movies/shows tend to be lower by about .3 or .4. Drawing Closer caught my attention for, as of this date, a rating of 8.9 which is remarkable. And it deserves that high rating.
A multi-episode TV show has much longer to create a connection with the viewer. It's also remarkable that this relatively short movie managed to develop a strong connection to these several characters.
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Two of Three Worth Watching
The Black Swindler (2006)Kurosagi: The Movie (2008)
Kurosagi (2022)
This Kurosagi series is about a young man (Kurosaki) whose father got swindled or conned pushing him to kill his family and himself. The son survived and thereafter dedicated himself to revenge on all such swindlers. A straight forward vigilante themed story.
Con men who swindle the innocent financially are called white swindlers (Shirosagi). Con artists who swindle romantically for money are called red swindlers (Akasagi). Our main character only cons white (Shiro) and red (Aka) swindlers (Sagi) so we have a strong Robin Hood theme in order to ensure sympathy with the lead who is after all breaking the law.
All three were written by the same screenwriter and one of a few directors is common to all three.
The cast of both The Black Swindler (2006) and the Movie (2008) are the same. The 2022 version is a reboot with all new cast.
I first watched Kurosagi (2022). Generally Japanese productions can be problematic with exaggerated acting styles and seriously obnoxious background music. However, this 2022 version is very watchable and the music not too distracting.
The 2006 TV Show was at first off-putting due to the acting and background music but I was curious how it compares to the 2022 reboot. It’s very similar following main plot twists - mostly - but has several significant changes in subplots. The result is a nicely done resonation between the two. You’ll get more from watching both than either alone.
The screenwriter loves symbolism. Conning someone is called ‘eating’. A main support character, a mentor to Kurosaki in all three, is shown having difficulty at times eating some thing or other. He is of course the master swindler who is guiding Kurosaki after his survival as a young teen.
The Movie (2008) is a clumsy return to first series (2006) and is essentially a long single episode. It doesn’t work so well and is forgettable. It could be the persistent references to the assassination of Julius Caesar and his betrayal by Brutus (whose mother was Servilia Caesar’s love interest over decades so possibly Caesar was real father of Brutus) or the frequent exposition.
Two out of three are worth the time. The third is for curiosity.
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