carorueil

Came for Ryoma Takeuchi stayed to watch great series with brilliant ensemble acting by all involved

Having discovered Ryoma Takeuchi in "Then you cook it" and "10 Dance" was intrigued to watch this. I'd already seen
Seto Koji in "My Housekeeper Nagasi San" and "Kururi: Dare ga Watashi to Koi wo Shita?" and Mao Inoue in series with Takeru Satoh "I should have told you a 100 000 times" (where weirdly she also played a hairdresser).As I'm beginning to watch more and more jdramas I suppose I'm now able to recognise a lot of the actors ! One of the detectives played by Kamikawa Shusaku was Nakase's brother in "Incurable case of love" (though didn't like his role there) . As other reviewer jeoneungd stated the series also reminded me of the film "Stand by Me" about 4 young people. I had never seen the actress Eguchi Noriko before and thought her character was brilliant as the murder-solving detective munching on bananas... Part of me wanted her to team up with the ML as a crime-fighting duo. Suffice to say I will be trying to watch her in some of her other works. Just love the quiet unfolding of the different storylines over the 9 episodes - all done in a understated style of Japanese dramas (perhaps mangas apart- I'm a relative newbie). Also loved the OST and now will go looking for the title track.

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Slow paced series about 5 Uni Friends

I read somewhere that this was similar to 'Orange Days" which I saw last year and absolutely loved it.. I found this series quite slow (and I do like Japanese style slow shows). It's mainly about 5 friends and their relationships with each other - apart from the female friend who is in love with the FL (and all she does is present her with portraits) this isn't really a 'romance' story.

The only actor I'd seen in other Japanese series is Ai Mikami (who was brilliant in "Chastity High") I found her the best actress in this.. The two leads ML and FL I had a hard time trying to understand their relationship as they definitely didn't talk too much.. Compared with other jdramas where some characters are relatively monosyllabic this one just felt 'off'. Having finished it I definitely wouldn't watch it again.. Ok if you want something slow moving and a bit incoherent (last episode FL and ML decide to live together (despite him planning on studying in the US and she's a secondary school teacher in Tokyo)>

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Disappointing more damp squib than Dynamite Kiss

I just finished this yesterday and boy was it a struggle. I had never seen either FL or ML in anything before - I found the ML's acting quite good and believable.. The FL may be a good actress but the character /direction wasn't great: hard for me to believe a 30 year old still sitting civil service exams for 5 years in any country... Found her quite self-centred in the first episode and after the 'dynamite kiss' (which really wasn't passionate at all even by K-drama standards) felt that the ML was totally more into her than she was ever into him (ready to sell that blue dress at the end for example). So difficult to believe in the romance.. Felt really sorry for the SFL who got a rough deal and the SML really wasn't playing fair.. Loved the Mother's working group and most of the cast were pretty good actors but the storyline which was completely chock-a-block with all the k-drama cliches let them down. Really didn't like the 'group dance' at the end and actually felt that the FL and ML dancing together showed how little chemistry there was between them.. Relative newbie to k-dramas and j-dramas but perhaps I've been spoilt by the FL/ML leads chemistry in 'My Demon' and 'Destined with you'. The poor working class heroine and the son of chaebol scenario was more wittily handled in "Business Proposal" which also had fewer episodes.

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Strange OTT series definitely not a rom-com but funny all the same (if you can suspend disbelief)

What can you say it's the most OTT jdrama I've seen: definitely not a rom-com but hilariously funny (assuming you don't take the ML's pursuit/stalking of FL seriously). I haven't seen the mango so can't compare but it is very funny as it's so over the top. I loved the fact FL held her own faced with the increasing crazy actions of the ML. To be honest if you watch it without assuming that it reflects real-life it's fun. I found it more amusing that the creepy priest/monk in "From 5 to 9" this at least is playing for laughs... Likewise the FL kicks ass much more than the FL in 'I wanna punch that scumbag' who didn't and resorted to classic rom-com style. Definitely a unique series quirky funny and not to be taking seriously.. ML actor I've seen before in 'From 5 to 9" where I felt he was a way better actor than the ML there: here at least he gets to show his comedic and slapstick skills. Not too sure it's as funny to re-watch - unless you're an afficionado of the manga.

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