Nice article! I'd love to see more about Japanese dramas & actors, quite honestly...
Anyway, IMO he totally stole every scene he in was as Nakatsu in Hana-Kimi. And I agree with the second-lead syndrome in that regard-- that's probably the most universal fan agreement I've ever seen on the topic (and felt myself). I think pretty much everyone who watched the series loved Nakatsu.
I just heard about this and I'm incredibly excited! Love both Kimura and Shibasaki Kou, and I really enjoy the fantasy/sci-fi plots we're been seeing a lot of lately. As much as I love Lee Min Ho, this is the drama I'm anticipating most this October (mainly because the premise sounds a lot more interesting to me).
Same-- so far Hanae is such a passive character whereas Natsuki is so much more interesting. I would however like to see video-rental boy step up so that Hanae finally notices him.
One, I'm excited that Soratobu Kouhoushitsu is getting recognition. Two, why is Ayano Go a supporting actor instead…
I know, what's up with that? He was abso-effin'-lutely fantastic in that drama. Sorai-san pretty much instantly became one of my favorite drama characters.
Ok after watching City Hunter I went into LMH fever -though not a huge fan- and decided to watch this, and I'm…
I agree with your puzzled sentiment re: Why it's not as popular as City Hunter-- I loved Faith and it's what made me a LMH fan, so when I subsequently went back and watched CH (which I remember people going crazy over back when it was airing) I was actually... bored. Yeah, I liked Faith a LOT more than City Hunter. Maybe it's a matter of "whatever you see first is what you like most" but I could watch Faith yet again (it'd be the 4th time) yet I don't see myself ever rewatching CH...
This drama was FANTASTIC. It's been a while since I fangirled quite so much over a Japanese show (my viewing's been primarily Korean lately because the last few years of J-dramas seemed to have been dominated by detective/cop and other procedural-type shows, not really my thing). But this really made me remember how much I could love a J-drama and I'm feeling really optimistic about reacquainting myself with the fandom now-- not only brand-new series but maybe some I've unfairly overlooked in the last couple years.
And omg I ADORE Sorai-san-- so adorable and (sometimes) awkward and sexy all at the same time. The character is quite honestly a breath of fresh air after all the cocky K-drama leads I've been enjoying lately. I'll be paying closer attention to Ayano Go in the future.
I finally finished it this week and while it was okay, I think it would've been better if it had been trimmed down to no more than, oh, 20 episodes. 28 was just too much and I was ready for the story to wrap up when they just started introducing the third guy in the line-up.
Not hating but this drama is just awful. OK technically i am hating, but this drama is just so damn stupid. The…
I totally agree; Song Jae Rim was wasted in this drama. Better he play a villain in something interesting than a protagonist in something... well, lame.
I first loved him in Dal Ja's Spring as Kang Tae Bong (one of the handful of drama heroes whose names I remember YEARS after seeing the drama-- perhaps because Dal Ja yelled at him so much. >_<). I've not see much else since besides Chilling Romance (a.k.a. Spellbound as the [eventual] American DVD release is retitled) but he's definitely one to watch.
(I dropped I Really Really Like You after a handful of episodes because I wasn't feeling the heroine [should I reconsider?] and I dropped Shut Up Flower Boy Band for the same reason as everyone else who dropped it after ep.02, enough said.)
I finally got around to starting this and 3 episodes in now, I'm totally hooked! I love Sorai, not to mention his and Ina-pyon's burgeoning romance (so sweet!) and all the supporting characters and their individual stories.
I struggled through ep.3 of this and then halfway through ep.4 I threw up my hands and said, "That's it, I quit!" Unless Song Jae Rim has, like, a shower scene in every subsequent episode (which I'm sure I'd hear about without actually watching the show), I'm dropping this. It's trying to juggle too many random plot elements (girl posing as boy to stalk boy; girl having flights of fancy; customer-of-the-week problem solving; and on top of all that, the gumiho mystery) and imo it's not doing justice to any of them.
Honestly, of the 3 big currently-airing dramas I'm following (Gu Family Book, Jang Ok Jung, and Queen of Office), this is the one I most look forward to every week. The incredulous exasperation on Gyu Jik's face every time Miss Kim shows him up (yet again) is priceless. In the J-drama version I was rooting for the shy manager to win the OL, but in this version there's no contest-- Cabbage Patch Head all the way.
Anyway, IMO he totally stole every scene he in was as Nakatsu in Hana-Kimi. And I agree with the second-lead syndrome in that regard-- that's probably the most universal fan agreement I've ever seen on the topic (and felt myself). I think pretty much everyone who watched the series loved Nakatsu.
P.S. Also, Voice! <3
And omg I ADORE Sorai-san-- so adorable and (sometimes) awkward and sexy all at the same time. The character is quite honestly a breath of fresh air after all the cocky K-drama leads I've been enjoying lately. I'll be paying closer attention to Ayano Go in the future.
(I dropped I Really Really Like You after a handful of episodes because I wasn't feeling the heroine [should I reconsider?] and I dropped Shut Up Flower Boy Band for the same reason as everyone else who dropped it after ep.02, enough said.)