This review may contain spoilers
A well written story of 5 young adults as they finish off their college lives together.
Story - Young adults in college together who are making their way into the work force. Each character gets their own story about some issue that we learn can be solved with the support of your friends. Episodes are plotted out with foreshadowing from previous episodes or a non contextual beginning of an episode. While some ideas may seem silly, such as how meaningful a yawn can be, there is reason and there are lessons that can be learned from them. I would say that the first 7 episodes really cover this extremely well as we are introduced briefly to something seemingly small, but as the episode finishes we realize the importance of it. The level of drama in this series is more towards internal struggles and unwillingness to share for a variety of reasons. If that turns you away then this may not be the series for you. There are small moments of funny bits littered throughout as well! As a fan of the older series Orange Days, this has a similar feel due to the group and setting.Acting/Cast - The cast is fairly large and everyone typically gets a decent amount to say. They are well written and the dialogue I found to be natural. I thought that characters could easily go on longer monologues to explain, but other characters would add in a question or comment to provide a more dynamic way of story telling. They really did seem like friends. There is a range from the more goofy to the more serious for the characters and I liked the mix. Kiyohara Kaya as the main and Mikami Ai as a support are stands outs in particular, but everyone has memorable pieces and contributions that it seems like they switch off being main characters with each episode.
Music - Had two memorable tracks. Insert song by Yamato Mori - Gunjounikki, and the ending song by Saucy Dog called Kusege. Pretty typical setup for a show. They were placed well and are memorable, so good job to the show for that.
Rewatch Value - I also found that upon a re-watch, there are a lot of little bits throughout the first few episodes that are addressed later, which is a good testament to writing the series as a whole. How characters may look at one another may not seem like much until later. What characters say are remembered and used again later. There are cute moments between our female and male leads, and even the secondary characters that enhance the relationships that can easily be rewatched.
To end, I truly think that one can learn a few things from the show, just like Yuki who was re-reading her diary.
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Cute show with tons of character growth
We Are Worse at Love than Pandas is fun, cute, heartwarming, and filled with character growth. Shibata Ichiha is trying to find her way as a worker at a magazine company when they get a new tough and straightforward editor in chief Fujisaki. Ichiha is tasked to write articles for a model she worshipped when growing up named Aria, who she finds to be extremely cold and unwilling to help. By chance, Aria's assistant introduces Ichiha to Professor Shido, who has absolutely zero interest in human relationships, but ask him about any animal and he will happily give you a fun lecture on their behaviour.The base of the show deals with Ichiha gathering material to write romance articles on and the once very famous model Aria to get the credit. Ichiha struggles to understand the types of romantic issues as she herself is in a poor relationship, but gains unexpected help from Professor Shido who ends up helping as Ichiha relates animal courtship (QI code as it is referred to in the show). One charm is how well some of the human issues are, they are simple relationship problems that have these fun animal courtship-related solutions/advice for. With each issue solved, Ichiha, and her friends all end up learning and maturing from the lessons. Nobody is evil, it's about overcoming obstacles, and all the main characters and support characters are involved.
Ichiha is absolutely the heart of the show. Professor Shido is at first the comedic relief but even he has his moments. Aria as well has a great storyline to follow throughout.
This show overall is a comedic, heartwarming, and light on romance show that focuses on how we as humans may complicate our relationship issues, and looking at our animal friends may simplify how we solve them.
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Poetically changing the formula and keeping the series' spirit
Following the Chihayafuru movies is a large task, and the crew behind Full Circle (Meguri) really put a ton of work into the story they wanted to show. The series result is a well put together, detailed, and modern story that has that Chihayafuru style emotional connection to our new main cast.An easy path for a sequel would be creating characters that are similar to the originals with different back stories. What this series did to change up the formula and look at a different kind of main character was very well done. As the series progresses we gradually find through Meguru's growth why she was the focus of this series and I applaud the team for this choice. Intangibles that set her apart and make the relationships she has with everyone so much more impactful are shown to us viewers in every episode.
I enjoyed the details of the show a ton. Not only do we have small bits to show what the characters go through, but we also have the poems themselves that play a huge role in the influence of each episode and character. Paying attention to this was greatly rewarding for me, personally. The stories and interpretations of the poems really makes you want to get into karuta.
While this is a show about youth and maturing, as an adult I found it to be endearing without feeling the usual tropes. The cast was chosen to perfection, and following the behind the scenes online showed how much chemistry the cast has off camera as well. Everyone played their parts well and the acting was great. The one hope I have is that someone who watched the movies goes straight into this show without any promotion media because I think that would have the best reaction.
Overall, in every episode I felt strongly for the characters and was emotionally attached. Week after week I would be anticipating watching a new episode and felt rewarded (and a little empty, not going to lie) when it all ended.
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This review may contain spoilers
Once the dialogue is digested, you get yourself a decent film
She Taught Me Serendipity, along with it's translated title I Can't Say Today's Sky Is My Favourite are both quite fitting titles for this movie.We have our male lead, Konishi, who is an odd college fellow who uses his umbrella no matter the weather. He was on leave for 6 months and just returned to campus. He instantly is captivated by Sakurada who has a large hair bun and is always by herself. He has a part time job at the public bath where our second female lead, Sacchan (Saki) also works. Sacchan is in a school band and is very cheery, unlike Konishi.
On the surface I think this movie may not resonate too much with some viewers. It is heavy with lines, has some very weird transition shots, and a plot that is good but falls into that usual communication between characters problem. However, the acting, especially from Kawai Yuumi and Ito Aoi really do carry a lot of the memorable weight of the movie. Personally, I was a bit bored on my first watch and had to carve out time to re-watch it to appreciate the movie a bit more.
The deeper layer for this movie is quite well done by the writer and director, Ohku Akiko. She blends humour and every day thoughts into quirky and fun dialogue. The first half of the movie reminds me a lot of Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise in which a man and woman meet and have a long evening together getting to know one another with tons of relatable dialogue. Sakurada as a character is great. She has grown up with a fairly large issue that caused her to have no friends. She doesn't want to be seen by others and treats her large hair bun as a type of armour against those who may look at her. Konishi is similar in which he thinks he can hide from the gazes of others with his umbrella. Sakurada is more written and developed as she has her quirks like listening to the TV at full volume, and reading about The Three Princes of Serendip, to which accounts for the two main characters meeting and getting along well in a serendipitous fashion. She is the lead of the two and brings some interests to Konishi. The two even go into a local restaurant where the owner himself wishes to "hide" a menu item and digs further into the theme of having these pasts that don't wish to be shared.
After the half way mark we have a fairly large turn. Sacchan has a wonderfully long scene with Konishi that is a stand out scene. The lines she delivers is touching and memorable not only for us, but our main characters as well. From then on we get an act that I understand what it is going for, but is really just communication problems among the characters, and even hallucinations that throw us viewers for a loop. The resolution comes with some drama and is it enough of a pay off? Personally for me, it was good, but some scenes just did not fit the environment and takes away from the emotion. Sakurada has a fairly long take filled with lines that is done very well and I feel needs to be pointed out.
My biggest gripe would have to be Konishi. He is written to be a fairly flat and boring character. While there are things written to develop him only in the end, he doesn't really do anything with the supporting characters and it makes me question how some of them can feel the way they do.
Overall though, the little details of dialogue, the way words are said, the two female leads delivering detailed and relatable lines, and a decent plot are great positives for this movie. The odd transitions of slow motion and zooms, the somewhat boring male lead, communication issues, and odd scenes here and there that don't really fit do take some points away from this movie. But I see these points at the deeper level of watching to which the good outweighs the not-so-good, so I can easily recommend this to those who want to pay attention and even learn a bit about young adult life lessons. Obviously Kawai Yuumi fans as well.
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A slight variation on a trope that worked for me
First, this is going to be confusing with addressing who is who. I'll try to keep it simple with just addressing the leads as they are after the swap, and ML (male lead, male body) and FL (female lead, female body).We start off with our two mains meeting at a cafe in their hometown at the age of 30. We learn that at age 15 they somehow swapped bodies in the swimming pool and were unable to find a way to switch them back. This means they've spent half their lives as the other person.
The journey that our main characters go through are well thought out. One of them seemingly quickly adjusting, and the other struggling to adapt. As the story goes on we learn the layers to each of their stories and really start to feel for the two of them.
What I found extremely interesting is that their own relationship with each other is not what I expected at all. The two didn't seem close. They lived as the other and when they meet they try to address each other as if talking about what the other person did. I found it a bit hard and had to keep in the back of my mind that they are swapped through their journey in life and their interactions with each other.
On the surface, this is a drama genre movie with great acting, an interesting long term body swap premise that I haven't seen before, and a male and female relationship throughout time in this bizarre situation. There is a purpose to the movie other than living as each other and I think about it a lot even after watching. However, I think if you are the type of person who needs a black and white perspective regarding certain decisions made by characters or writers, I don't think this will be 100% satisfactory.
There is a deeper layer to the movie as well. Thinking about the situations from each of the characters' perspectives and how it all ends up I think was done very well. Revisiting certain parts to understand the characters more I think will paint a broader and potentially more important picture.
Apologies for being intentionally vague but I think it is important to watch it for yourself and with a good mindset. One final thing, I stupidly thought that a body swap meant you would just pair up with your swapped person, but no, that's probably the last thing someone would do. Can't Cry With Your Face is a more realistic take in this impossible scenario.
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Seemingly simple but touches on a lot of topics
I watched this movie a few times over the years. At the heart of this movie are our two leads play by Narita Ryo and Kiyohara Kaya. They are perfectly cast with quick banter and fun conversations. Ryo's character, Yasuomi is a robotic-like cram school teacher, and Kaya's character is his student, Kasumi. While this does have a teacher and student trope, it's a lot more than just that. Both are characters that personally feel "not normal". Yasuomi is a boring smart man who can't seem to date normally. Kasumi wants to stick to her gossip filled girl group but thinks they are quite fake, and would rather look at a future thinking, tech company CEO who she believes is bringing us to a better future.The dynamic relationship built between the characters and how things develop is done very well. The mix of old vs new school, female vs male views, adult vs teen, straight/stoic vs dynamic, experience vs inexperience, and probably more that I can't think of are all shown. I really enjoyed the acts as we progress through the story, and there is a fair bit of comedy in each section. The synopsis does say how Kasumi helps Yasuomi to be normal (with women), and this is absolutely what makes this movie a gem. To boot, it's filmed very well with some long cuts with tons of realistic and fun banter.
Personally, this made me a huge fan of Kiyohara Kaya and is still memorable to this day.
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Sayonara Maestro: Chichi to Watashi no Appassionato
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Music is a type of communication that is dynamic
Story - Straightforward premise of a conductor father who has some family mending to do after 5 years. In Japan, the people around him and how they influence one another is written out in a wonderful way. There are portions of inspiration that I think will live on with me.Cast - A very strong cast of many characters. Everyone has their own motivations that we are able to find out about as the story progresses. Nishijima Hidetoshi, Ashida Mana, and Touma Ami are stand outs, especially in the latter half of the series. I'm a sucker for talented acting and musical skill, so when combined the effect really enhances the emotions.
Music - What can you say about music for a music based show? The descriptions of the music and passion behind it are well laid out to us viewers. Even for those who may not understand a lot, like myself, there is a beginner who is learning right along side us.
Rewatch Value - There are definitely stand out scenes that I will not forget anytime soon. I've already gone back to them! However, I rated this section a bit lower because my personal taste for rewatching is finding out more about things I may have missed, which is not a knock against the show because everything is laid out in a straightforward way.
Music is a way of communication. It can be used positively and negatively. Sayonara Maestro: Chichi to Watashi no Appassionato shows both sides, but wants to leave us with the positive impact it can have. The characters are able to use this to mend issues and grow. By the end I found myself very emotionally attached to the characters.
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