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Minami - not JUST cute
I started this for Hamabe Minami, on the strength of finding her cute and pretty. Happily, she proved to be a competent actor in this as well. The comic elements made me think it might have been adapted from a manga, but they never overpowered the stories.I was also impressed with the final episode. Ms Hamabe showed she could really emote, and the scenes with her and the amnesiac geko even got my eyes a bit damp - well done! It was also a pleasure to watch Okada Masaki in a VERY different role from Okitegami Kyouko. I didn't even recognise him at first, which is a tribute to his disappearing into the role.
Ooverall, a short, light and satisfying tale of a quest for justive becoming a path to personal growth.
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An adult Drama
After watching about 3 episodes of this Drama, I was getting similar vibes to one of my TW faves, My Queen. The leads have similar attitudes and behaviour, and so the end of this Drama came as no surprise to me. It fitted very well with the way My Queen ended. Learning that My Queen was made the year AFTER this one makes me onder hether it was in part inspired by or modelled on this one.Another reviewer commentd on the lack of romantic chemistry between the ML & FL, and I would agree. They always seemed more like friends and colleagues, to the point where I think the Drama had not tried to force them together.. That said, the ultimate resolution was satisfying and in character for both of them. I gave it 9 for what it said about the challenges faced by women of that age in a society still as overtly patriarchal as Japan
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Sweet, and smart in the right places
My wife and I watched this together, and we both loved it. The story was not original, of course, but the execution was good. The leads matched, and the acting of Zhou Yu Tong in particular was very impressive. Her character was also a good example of the thoughtfulness of the writing that elevated this one above the many similar dramas out there. It was great to see her "badass CEO" persona was driven by a sense of loss and grief BUT she still had solid self-esteem.The show's writing also showed intellligence when the plot dragged out the hoary old 'noble idiocy' trope. The supporting characters, and the ML, all called it exactly what it was, stupid. And happily, the show didn't wallow in it. After her return, it was also refreshing to see that both the ML & FL thought about how they needed to actually use their words, albeit after an amusing 'intervention' by friends.
There were plenty of very amusing scenes as well. The FL's 'uncle' at the gym had us both doubled up laughing, and the group hiding under the table toward the end was almost as funny.
There was a lot of great dialogue in the show - the FL's rant against public proposals was superb, exactly right in every detail.
There were flaws, of course. The 'bad guy' was both a bit OTT in his fixation and then let off with blnding ease and speed. That last was a reflection of the slightly over-saccharine nature of the final few episodes, quite likely a PRC requirement. It could have benefited by being 30 instead of 35, and the way the characters all moved on from the 6 year gap was a bit too hassle-free. Despite that, it was a very enjoyable watch, one of my favourite C Dramas now, with a sweet happy ending that earned extra points by NOT bringing back a character that most K Dramas almost certainly would have.
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A better quality daily
I have to start this review with a confession: As with every daily I've ever watched, I doownloaded it and watched with MASSIVE amounts of FF. It's the only way I can get through 120 30 -minute episodes without wanting to make my quietus.That said, as dailies go, this was a good one. I ended up giving it 7/10 because I decided to judge it on its merits AS A DAILY, not scoring it down for the glacial pace and excess filler of the first 50-60 episodes.
The core storyline was predictable, but one of the reasons I scored it as high as 7 was for the several occasions when the Drama surprised me not going where I expected. It dodged some of the tropes and clichés I was expecting, and did so right to the end, when the arc of the second couple did not end as I thought it would.
The acting was better than expected too. I'd not seen either of the female leads before and both did well. I was particularly impressed by Cha Min Ji, who did very well with a character that very typically 1-dimensional for the first 100 or so episodes. I'll be looking out for her work in future. And as the brony that I am, I'm mildly pleased that both female leads still follow each other on Instagram at the time of writing, 10 months after the Drama ended. Another happy ending to wahat was really not a bad daily at all.
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Clichés done right
The Title of this Drama gives the final scene away, but then anyone who starts watching this would be expecting exactly that. The thing that marks this a really enjoyable watch is the skill of the execution. It's how they get to that ending that makes for an entertaining journey. The Drama really doesn't put a foot wrong in any major way. In my personal database I scored this as 8.25/10 so here at MDL I gave it 8 rather 8.5 because the "evil ex" was a leeetle bit overdone, but only a tiny bit, and not for long. A very sweet and satisfying romance Drama that illustrates how it IS possible to stick to a very well-used formula and produce a real treat if the writing and acting come together just right. Overall, this one was "nothing but net"Was this review helpful to you?
Life is like a box of Nagamashi
Tokyo Sentimental centres around Karuri Takuzo, who is a maker of traditional Japanese sweets. The drama is best viewed like a collection of sweets, individually wrapped and testing better when not consumed all at once.The structure of each episode is really simple: A hopelessly romantic dreamer in his mid-50s "falls in love" each episode and wanders around a specific part of Tokyo with his new love, before the episode and the new love end.
The drama is very well named. It is all about Tokyo, and about being sentimental. There is no central plot or story arc connecting all the episodes, they really are like individual treats. Because they are all very similar, watching a lot of them back to back can be a little much, in the same way that having too many sweets all at once can be a little much. Taken one or two at a time, they are deliciously sweet and enjoyable.
I really like this drama for a couple of reasons: first of all I had the pleasure of QCing the subs for the first five episodes, which meant lots of long lingering looks at each of those episodes. Second, I like the fact that Karuri-San is a man of roughly my age. A confirmed bachelor who never stops dreaming of finding "the one" he reminds me of Don Quixote, a man whose perceptions of himself are strikingly different to the way others perceive him.
This Don Quixote also has a Sancho Panza. Takahata Mitsuki absolutely shines as his very levelheaded shop assistant/reality anchor Sudo Akane. Their relationship is strictly platonic and a nice demonstration of how dramas can show warm close friendships that have nothing to do with romantic attraction. Akane-chan gets one episode in which she is the central character, and experiences her own crush, and that is one of the highlights, both for giving her the focus she deserves, and also as a break from the formulaic nature of the basic structure of most episodes.
There is one other episode in which despite conforming to the standard formula there is a lot more emotional depth. The episode in which Karuri-San interacts with a woman he knew as a child who now has dementia was very touching, and gave Yoshida Kotaro an opportunity to show more emotional depth and range and his character. The episode in which the actor plays the shopkeeper learning to be an actor was also one that stood out for me.
The other thing which makes this drama a success is the fact that each episode does feature the same object of affection - Tokyo itself. The episodes are actually named after the part of Tokyo in which they are set, and as someone who is unlikely to ever go, the languorous and loving look at the byways and alleyways and nooks and crannies of various parts of Tokyo is a standout. In the life of the lead, women may come and go but the city he loves remains, and he loves sharing his encyclopedic knowledge of that beloved city with each of his episodic dates.
So if you want to show that celebrates Tokyo, that embraces mature middle-age and that can be a lot of fun in small doses, do try an episode or two of Tokyo sentimental. Then, before "sweet" becomes "cloying, " put the box away and have a couple more on another day.
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NOT worth the wait
I held off watching Radiation House until this SP was subbed, and while the Drama was great and well worth the wait, the same could sadly not be said for this SP.This was a 90 minute SP that was 45 minutes of flashbacks woven into a couple of interesting "case of the week" stories. It was clearly intended to "catch up" viewers in time for Season 2, and felt like a filler, way too much padding. Which is a shame because if the flashbacks had been cut out, or at least massively trimmed, the fresh content would have stood out more. I'm not sorry I watched this, but it adds VERY little to the series overall, and leaves me hoping that Season 2 returns to the excellence of Season 1
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Sometimes, 10 is too much
One of the things I love about Japanese doramas compared to K dramas is that they are short. Generally speaking 10 episodes of 50 minutes to an hour is exactly right. Every now and again though, there is a rare J dorama which is too long even at just ten 50 minute episodes. This drama was one of those.I gave it 6.5/10 because of the strength of the way the relationship between the two leads developed, and a lot of the very thoughtful and insightful commentary on relationships. But it was stupidly overlong. Nine episodes would have been better, eight would have been ideal. This drama had two incredibly aggravating factors that served primarily to drag it out to the required 10 episodes. The first was the female lead's work colleague, the male nurse who kept talking to the camera. His contribution was as funny and appealing as stepping on a dog turd, and much less useful to the story. The meddling of he and his girlfriend was one of the factors used to drag out and complicate the relationship of the OTP.
The other major aggravation was the 2ML. His nasty sly passive-aggressive method of not taking no for an answer was again simply a device to stretch out the drama. In the end it was an effort to finish this drama because they kept dragging it out so much.
The above is even more disappointing because the core of the drama was strong. Had they cut a lot of that unnecessary baggage, it would have been a really top-notch contemporary romcom. As it was, the good outweighed the bad by just enough.
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Nailed the landing
I have tried MANY school C-Dramas, too many, tbh. I started this one wondering if it was time to admit that the genre and I just don't fit well together. That might indeed be true of the genre as a whole, but THIS school Drama blew me away!The story was intelligent, and the characters given real depth. The OTP were genuinely funny together, never cloying in what I think of as "aegyo", and the journey each character took was well-plotted and credible.
As VERY satisfying as the OTP arc was, and the two leads did a wonderful job with their well-written characters, my favourite role and performance was by Li Ying Ying as Zhu Jn Xiao. High IQ and low EQ, but portrayed with wit and wonderfully restrained expressive facial gestures. I hope to see more of this fine actor in future, and espcially hope she gets roles as good as this one, albeit with a character arc that runs more to what I wish for her :)
I headed my review "Nailed the Landing" because way, way too often East Asian Dramas just don't. But this one really did. By the time Ep 16 started I had scored it 9/10 on my personal Dramalist, but by the time it ended, I had changed that to 9.5. Dramas this good are rare - of the 280 East Asian Dramas I've finished, this only the 24th to score at least 9.5, and only the 2nd C Drama out of 31 finished. It's probably completely ruined me for any further C school dramas, but that's OK, because it was a stunner.
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Several reviewers have complained that it was too short, I could not disagree more strongly. Far too many K Dramas are far too long, even at 16 episodes, this one was a great example that "less is more" I really wish more K Dramas would be made in shorter formats. Eight episodes means no pointless filler, no draggy go-nowhere side stories. AND, being short makes it very rewatchable.
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Aka no Shou - Keishicho Shomugakari Hitomi no Jikenbo
1 people found this review helpful
The female lead is an interesting character, bright and motivated, and also discreetly conflicted. By that I mean her inner angst remains largely inner. That inner conflict was brought into VERY sharp relief at the very end of the final episode and was responsible for me upgrading my score from 6.5 to 7.
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This review may contain spoilers
What a tragedy that the 50th J dorama I completed was one of the worst of the 300+ Asian Dramas I've finished. I gave this Drama 2 stars for the only two likeable characters, the two leads. Their growth was the reason I got though it, with MASSIVE amounts of fast-forwarding. That and Takahata Mitsuki's very convincing portrayal of an unusual character were there only reasons I stuck it out to the end, rushing through to check out the SP. This Drama also distinguished itself by having one of the most loathsome, vile, criminally insane characters I've ever had ot choke back a vomit reflex watching - Kahoko's indescribably appalling MOTHER. The woman was utterly and irredeemably horrid, and stark raving mad. All I can do is hope that the trauma of watching this ghastly trash will fade soon, while I look for more of the indubitably talented Ms Takahat's work.
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The storyline has zero originality, the male lead's "stern, gruff" act makes wooden acting seem like an insult to trees, and the morality tale lessons are preached with all the subtlety of a megaphone.
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This review may contain spoilers
Sometimes, Bad is Bad
I tried this Drama once, made it to 10 before rage-quitting at how unspeakably AWFUL, really VILE the ML was. After a few months, I tried it again because so many Wu Qian fans said it was a great role for her and that she shone. After reaching 30/44 with ZERO improvement in the utter dchebag ML, I gave up for the second and final time. I kept hoping for improvement, but there was NONE. And I do mean NONE, ZERO, NADA, ZILCH.The final straw for me came in episode 26/44. That's SIXTY PERCENT done, by which point most tsundere MLs are starting to show signs of being vaguely human, giving SOME reason to accept that the FL might fall for them. NOT THIS ONE. In episode 26, after she was doing her job as his agent by giving him sensible advice related to his career, he stopped the car in the middle of nowhere and ordered her out, leaving her to find her own way back to the city. When she was picked up by a creep who tried to rape her, the ML blamed HER, and refused to accept that it was all his fault.
As awful as that was, it's actually fairly standard tsundere behaviour, but what made it even worse, besides being so late in the Drama, was her reaction. After having been almost raped because of his childish petty rage and utter selfishness, she "fell in love" with him because she discovered that he's bought a stupidly expensive t-shirt for her. ACTUAL HEADDESK MOMENT!
After 26 episodes of being her own woman and putting up with all his ENDLESS cr*p, verbal and physical abuse, being treated like a slave, and his infantile possessiveness, she falls for him because he bought an expensive shirt? Sigh! Also, GOODBYE.
The moral of this story? When you drop, trust your gut and LEAVE IT DROPPED.
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Noona-dongsaeng done VERY right
This is my new favourite noona-dongsaeng romance. Or maybe that should be jia-didi romance. In the end I scored it a 10 because there was nothing substantially wrong with it, and it delivered a near-perfect blend of emotion and realism that left me feeling completely satisfied at the end. No makjang (often a plague in TW Dramas), minimal histrionics, and lots of real feeling. Several times it skirted landmines I expected it to hit, impressing me each time.The Chinese remake Sunshine By My Side was very good, but completely different and lacking almost everything that this drama supplied. If you want a Drama almost exclusively focused on a woman succeeding professionally despite toxic Confucian chauvinism in both her personal and professional life, and with dialogue that ruthlessly skewers that mindset, watch the C drama. If you want a not dissimilar message presented more quietly and with the addition of emotion, warmth and romance - and quite a lot of humour - watch the original.
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