Both lead actors tried but the script and overall execution is just not it. And I'm saying this in good faith as I've seen both actors in other stuffs prior to this so I know what they're capable of, probably would've came to different conclusion had this been their first work I've seen. The characters are not very believable even though they're supposed to be interesting on paper. Their supposed idiosyncracies and depth are conveyed through some of the most telegraphic writing I've seen making them jarring and somewhat uninspired. The original manga was 12 vols long and summarizing them to 2 hours movie came with challenges that unfortunately this movie didn't overcome all that successfully. Alas, I came here because I want to see Yuya Yagira in romance and I did melt everytime he called Shinju by her name lol so I guess it's not complete loss for me.
An authentic jdrama fan experience is when you go to a jdrama MDL page and half of the comment section is discussions about subs availability lol.
As for the show the first 2 or 3 eps didn't leave positive impression on me; the doctor came across like your typical jdrama protag in these type of shows, whose lack in communication skill and social awareness is framed as daringness to say what others wanted but couldn't say out loud, and the weekly cases weren't that interesting. It only grows on me from ep 4 onward, as I noticed the show starting to become more evident and deliberate in its exploration on children behavioral and developmental state, and the doctor actually developed as a character.
This adaptation captures the essence and vibe of the original work really well. The cases are never mind-blowingly complex or deep, but the unpretentious characters make it charming and inoffensive. The background set can give "this is a studio set" so much it almost feels like watching a stage play at times, but the show seems to try to make it up with colors and lighting coordinations to keep things visually pleasant.
I first started this because the premise of the story was interesting. Now, i'm on ep 4, and so far so good. Can…
Nagatan to Ao to, Long Goodbye, Tantei Romance, Tenno no Ryoriban, In This Corner of The World, and a bunch of asadora such as Carnation, Tora ni Tsubasa, Massan, Gegege no Nyobo, etc.
Interesting that despite the drama being about makeup and beauty the FL never had any 'glowup' and stays true to her modest fashion/look throughout the show, being pretty comfortable in her own skin. Only ML wears makeup (at least at the level the audience can notice) and I guess that's just matter of course since the show is about men's cosmetics. Though it's not like the show is "loud" about this either. In fact it's pretty difficult to pick out strong point or standout theme from this show. There's motivational part, starting a business/being a start up part, friends to lovers, family drama etc, but it doesn't seem to aim to be remarkable at anything. Being a drama that aired at ungodly hours aimed at tired overworked OLs though, I can understand that it's self-aware enough to choose to be a lighthearted, simplistic, unambitious fare.
Even the supposed 'love triangle' kinda just peetered out in the second half without making any significant impact to the plot or the characters that I wonder why they even put it in the first place.
It's a movie about humans behaving at their worst when life pushed them around too much; the same humans who otherwise equally capable of loving and receiving love. I consider myself immune when it comes to gory sadistic scenes but still flinch at the scene when they bong each other's face with durians lol. Still trying to process the ending, as I think things don't need to go down that way that badly, but I suppose you can't give characters like Mo and Thongkam perfectly happy ending after all they've done (before giving them redemption arc first at least), so the movie killed off Jingna using Mo's husband to make sure neither of them is "rewarded" at the end.
Watched this at recent local Japanese Film Festival thinking this would be a fodder movie inbetween my most anticipated ones only for this to end up being my most favorite from the whole line up.
im not familiar with them, im debating on watching this drama, why does it make you cautious? so I can consider…
Just that they're not very good, in my opinion. So this time I'm not entirely sure whether we're in good hands. The 'mystery' part here is especially worrying because it has consistently been the weakest part of the aforementioned shows.
Wacky teacher giving life-lesson-of-the-week and helping troubled students out through unconventional means, only this time we got a billionaire CEO as the teacher instead of ex-yankee/yakuza member/drag queen etc. Same old recipe with different dressings. Nothing to complaint about if you like the comfort of familiarity though. Not everything under the sun have to be original to be entertaining.
Tried the first episode and found it pretty refreshing. A school drama that doesn't try too hard to be inspirational/gritty/preachy etc. The teacher actually act like your average gen z worker and not a caricature of some extreme personality traits to drive a point.
Definitely lost steam towards the end, though if the subplot about the owakon screenwriter is anything to go off of, maybe there was never a clear finish line to aim to since the beginning.
Each mental illness case covered in this show deserves its own 12 eps drama but because there are several of them here in one show, we got a rather broadstroke portrayal that lack the depth and complexities they deserve. It seems the show aims to say "hey these stuffs exist and they're actual medical condition and could happen to anyone regardless their economic/social etc status, these can be treated to some degree with therapy and meds, so don't be judgemental, don't discriminate people with mental health issues (by robbing them of job opportunies, etc), and do get professional help if you found yourself/your loved ones in these situations" with varying degrees of success in term of how well each message is conveyed, but if so then it makes sense that the show prioritized to include as many type of mental illnesses as they could to raise awareness of over extensiveness of few. While stuffs like "recognizing you have an issue is the first step to solve the issue" and "addressing the root cause of one's mental problem at one's own pace is key" are probably some of the most basic, acknowledged, and frequently perpetuated notion in articles I've read about dealing with mental health issues, ultimately I think the show struggled to strike a balance between hopeful tone and realism in its attempt to conclude some of the patients' stories. That pyschiatry is not nearly as cut-and-dry as other medical field in terms of its diagnoses, treatments and effectiveness, and that mental illness is a lifelong condition the sufferer has to learn to live with, end up being important points for another show to tackle and not this one, unfortunately.
The kids are portrayed too much of dimwits with no sense of self-preservation at all. They keep getting outed or at risk of being one because they keep flirting in public without even making sure they're safe first. Yes highschool kids can be impatient reckless short-sighted brats but they also notoriously can come up with ingenious ways to avoid getting caught doing things they shouldn't be doing lol. I know some of these couples need to be outed for plot purposes but I'd love to see some actual "battle of wits" or "cat-and-mouse-game" in a show with "battle royale" in the title and I can't have that when the parties involved barely equipped with a wit.
Other than that I actually find the show tried to tackle too many issues at once that the main ones end up just getting scraps. While it managed to argue that dating/love experience can be good for teens growing up as part of learning curve, I feel like more could've been said about the school violating the students' basic rights and infringing their privacy in the name of 'protecting' them and useless adults failing in their role as protector figure which is already a repeat motif in youth-themed shows.
She knows him like the back of her hand, reads him like a book, has him in the palm of her hands, poor lad never stood a chance lol. Good thing this is a late night dorama hence it's able to keep its laidback gag manga format otherwise they would've needed to add stuffs and change things until it's completely unrecognizable from its original source to appeal to primetime slot audience' taste. PSA if you haven't read the manga just so you know what to expect, the source material is a gag manga where character development and relationship progress are essentially sacrificed for the sake of delivering punchline and plot is basically non-existent with whatever there is is just as deep as the synopsis goes, things can easily feel repetitive as it's a collection of same skit rinse and repeat and it might not be until the show reaches its last leg that any significant progress happens.
In the earlier chapters of the manga FL had pixie(?) cut and ML has longer hair than her, would've been cute to see that in the LA adaptation as we don't see such combination often.
Two eps in, generic and nonsensical, not something I would recommend if you want to learn more about nurse aide as a profession. I get that it's comedy, but stalking a patient's wife to prove she's not having an affair just feels too random and removed from what being a nurse aide actually entails. Not saying the show as whole is not funny tho it has its moments and the two leads are charming enough together and separately to make it enjoyable watch so long that you manage your expectation. The show makes fun of dorama cliches and tropes while also being cliche and trope-y lol.
The last conflict only highlighted that Taku was still immature both in how he deals with life choices and how he treats someone he supposedly loves, which probably to be expected since he's still in his early 20s. But the narrative also felt too rushed that even tho he character developed by the end, I still am not convinced that he is indeed secure and mature enough now that he won't do anything that'll hurt Sayako and put their relationship in any more jeopardy in the future. I finished the show thinking "will these two really be okay from now on?" which is definitely not the most satisfying note to end a romcom lol. That said, thanks to ECOTVsub for subbing the show.
As for the show the first 2 or 3 eps didn't leave positive impression on me; the doctor came across like your typical jdrama protag in these type of shows, whose lack in communication skill and social awareness is framed as daringness to say what others wanted but couldn't say out loud, and the weekly cases weren't that interesting. It only grows on me from ep 4 onward, as I noticed the show starting to become more evident and deliberate in its exploration on children behavioral and developmental state, and the doctor actually developed as a character.
Even the supposed 'love triangle' kinda just peetered out in the second half without making any significant impact to the plot or the characters that I wonder why they even put it in the first place.
That pyschiatry is not nearly as cut-and-dry as other medical field in terms of its diagnoses, treatments and effectiveness, and that mental illness is a lifelong condition the sufferer has to learn to live with, end up being important points for another show to tackle and not this one, unfortunately.
Other than that I actually find the show tried to tackle too many issues at once that the main ones end up just getting scraps. While it managed to argue that dating/love experience can be good for teens growing up as part of learning curve, I feel like more could've been said about the school violating the students' basic rights and infringing their privacy in the name of 'protecting' them and useless adults failing in their role as protector figure which is already a repeat motif in youth-themed shows.
PSA if you haven't read the manga just so you know what to expect, the source material is a gag manga where character development and relationship progress are essentially sacrificed for the sake of delivering punchline and plot is basically non-existent with whatever there is is just as deep as the synopsis goes, things can easily feel repetitive as it's a collection of same skit rinse and repeat and it might not be until the show reaches its last leg that any significant progress happens.