kitty10

Nope, they don't even think of asking for help. No going to the police or anything. Even the biological mum did crap. And I assume the orphanage didn't bother to check. The logic fail is so strong.

The adoption happened way too fast as well, it's like they just wanted to hand him off cuz he was like an extra burden (well, the psychological impact would have been interesting to explore).

Episode 15 bored me anytime Ryan was not on screen. Seriously, what's with the dead brother subplot coming out at this point in time? And all those childhood connections... seriously. Can't two adults date normally without going back all the way in time?

And yes, way too many coincidences. There's only one cafe in the world (Seon-joo's cafe), and they spend 16 episodes planning ONE exhibition. Sigh. Granted, the timeline is very short (it's only been two months since they started dating), but it just feels like a number of things could have been handled better.

The "leaving kid in a park" thing was rubbish. I hated how they resolved the issue of Ryan's mother. It was so poorly handled, and Ryan was shortchanged.

The fathers are almost non-existent in this drama, except for Deok-mi's dad, who isn't much himself, and Seon-joo's husband (Geon-woo's father). There is no mention of either Ryan's biological father or Shi-an's father, and of course Eun-gi's father is presumed to have abandoned his wife and son so he's good riddance. I think Ryan's backstory is mostly wrapped up except the bit about the orphanage, which... sigh, I'm not looking forward to too much since it looks like it involves Deok-mi's mother and "something that cannot be talked about".

I'm also glad Ryan finally brought up his adoptive parents. They seem to have a great relationship judging by how honest they were about his adoption and how much they cared to assure him that he wasn't abandoned originally. He has grown up relatively well-adjusted thanks to them.

Cindy is fun comic relief, and her growth arc is done quite well. I can't believe she just went ahead and interrupted a tender moment when Deok-mi and Ryan are asking each other if they slept well, hahaha. The mortification on Ryan's face is priceless.

Could be financial reasons? Deok-mi's dad lost his business and the family couldn't take care of three kids. Also, didn't Deok-mi's mom lose her own son as well? Maybe she was rushing to the son (accident?) and couldn't manage to take care of Ryan at the same time. But yeah, really hoping there's no noble idiocy.

I feel so sad for Ryan :(

I have a strong feeling Shi-an already knows and is using the paintings as a way to reach out to Ryan. Maybe his mom mentioned she had a son from a previous marriage (?) and Shi-an did some checking on his own. He seems like a sweet boy, so I'm hoping he and Deok-mi will help heal the rift between Ryan and his mother.

It seems Shi-an might already know, which is why he keeps seeking out Ryan, calling him hyung, and being close to him. Either that or he just really likes having an older brother figure. Ryan doesn't know for sure.

Agree very much with you. Almost all of Kurosawa's romantic gestures put Haruta on the spot and made him feel uncomfortable and even distressed. I don't know how he can think this is right (but Japanese workplace dynamics are so warped sometimes, maybe this is normal for them). The proposal was so wtf, but I guess they needed a big shock for Haruta so that he'd finally realise who his true love was. I still think this is a step forward for mainstream Japanese TV, but yes, the missteps are evident. Hopefully the film will correct some of that.

The office hierarchy power play was one of the reasons why I could never get behind Kurosawa's pursuit of Haruta. As Haruta's boss, Kurosawa made it difficult for Haruta to refuse him whenever Kurosawa wanted to meet. Also, his refusal to let Haruta go during that "coming out" in front of his wife. And then getting up close and personal with Haruta during the apartment viewing. That is not how you go about showing someone you love him and that he should pick you to spend his life with, especially when Haruta has been acting reluctant from the beginning, and even rejected Kurosawa. I also did not like how Kurosawa took advantage of Haruta when he was at his lowest (after Maki broke up with Haruta) and basically made himself at home behaving like Haruta's lover. I understand all these were played for laughs, in part because Haruta was such a doormat and could not say no, and that Kurosawa eventually backed off. However, if this drama had taken a more serious tone, Kurosawa's actions could easily have come off as any form (or many forms) of harassment. For someone in his position, and given his life experience, I felt he should have known better. But I guess loves makes fools of even the most rational people.

Still, the drama was a really fun watch and Tanaka Kei really shone. I'm so glad he's getting his time in the spotlight now. I hope the film will be good as well.

Thank you so much for that interview, it was so interesting and I really enjoyed it! I loved how Nakadai-san described the working styles of the various directors, and the insight into his film and theatre careers. Like the interview, I also really like Nakadai-san's voice, and he's so eloquent and gracious. Just as he said he was fortunate to be able to work with the five great directors, Japan is fortunate to have such an amazing actor like Nakadai-san.

Oh, I second Nakadai Tatsuya, what a great actor. He was fantastic in Ran.

Thanks for this article about Mifune, as it's always nice to see more Japanese content on MDL. I really liked Mifune in Stray Dog, and if you haven't seen it, I do recommend it.

Just curious why you wrote "Birth Name: Sanchuan Minlang", as it is just the Chinese pronunciation of Mifune Toshiro.

Rurouni Kenshin swordfight:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcjjl4kTDL4

Happy to see Tanaka Kei finally getting the recognition he deserves. He's so underrated. I agree with him and Takenouchi Yutaka in this list.

Happy to see Beautiful Mind featured, it's really underrated.

For Story of a Man, I'd also recommend Kim Kang-woo's performance as Chae Do-woo. Brilliant stuff.

I agree, and maybe a bit more buzz would have helped as well.

I haven't seen these nominations - would have chipped in if I did. I've seen a bit more J-drama content lately on MDL, but it's still skewed towards a certain demographic, which is a bit sad.

It's a shame indeed.

The makers of this poll haven't thought through the choices properly (or are clearly not familiar with the J-drama scene). Shoplifters not being in the Best Movie category is a huge red flag. Todome no Kiss is not a romance or rom-com. Ishihara Satomi did well for Unnatural but neither she nor Ando Sakura are in for Best Actress, just to list but a few misses.

Ain't that the truth.