I love it!! And it has mild angst done right. I found Tojo's self sabotaging tendencies as relatable, which made me cry at the end of ep 9 and a bit during ep 10. Also, plus points for that kiss. The actors gave it their all, considering this is a jdrama which is known for fish kisses lol. I liked this better than Old Fashion Cupcake as I feel that this one had more character development.
came in with low expectations since i've seen a lot of ppl's comments on this drama. and i got what i expected. i did enjoy this doomed yaoi with an obsessive yandere trope, along with its handful of fanservice. i think storyline and characters were there but it's the production that bothered me: out-of-sync voice acting, some moments where you can see the camera struggling with the focus, the makeup where you can see their faces being paler than their necks, etc. anyways, i have to say, liu xuan cheng's face card here served.
I liked the Before movie more than this After. This was too "feel good, cliche, shoujo live action adaptation" for me. Maybe if I were still a high schooler I would've ate this up. Anyway, it skewed a bit from the webtoon, but the overall plotline is the same. I didn't get second-lead syndrome unlike when I read the webtoon, but that is because I think the ML here was open and vulnerable to the FL. If you watch a lot of jdrama, there are lots of familiar faces here, so there must've been some decent budget for the casting. There are even some hot buzz names down the cast list like Miyase Ryubi and Tsuda Kenjiro.
I liked this Before movie more than the After. The school festival part was nice, and the acoustic song that played during that part was good. I think its a decent adaptation. It skewed a bit from the webtoon, but the overall plotline is the same.
At first, I was a bit annoyed that they showed our main character as this sort of potential hero that could solve all the team's problems just because she has an exceptional skill and overflowing passion. But as the series continued and they showed more of the other characters, I didn't find it annoying anymore.
The acting performances fluctuated (some really good ones and also some overacting). But I have to say, the voice acting was great. It made me immersed in to the scenario even without showing what was happening on the field.
As for the ending, it was weak for me. I expected some type of wrap up for the series but it just felt like another day at the office.
A lot of scenarios felt unrealistic. But that is to be expected from a feel-good drama. So overall, its a good one but mediocre. Nothing sets this apart from other emergency response jdramas.
I like Shizuka-sensei's character, flawed but very honest and relatable. But good lord, the rest of the teachers…
Finally finished the series.
Poorly written antagonists. Main character was relatable. Acting performances range from exceptional (Hirose Alice, Shida Mirai, and some of the main students) to outright overacting (Moriguchi-sensei).
Highlight was the confrontation between Shizuka and Aika in Ep. 8. The acting was superb, I got too into the scene.
I like Shizuka-sensei's character, flawed but very honest and relatable. But good lord, the rest of the teachers are unbearable, especially Moriguchi. He's such a dumb villian, which is poor writing for me.
Regardless as to whether they will release a director's cut or not, this was a really beautifully-told story. Love character-driven stories like this where the characters themselves have depth and are complex.
"But what is grief, if not love persevering?" A perfect and beautiful adaptation of this quote. Hope this becomes a cult classic. Another one of Sakamoto Yuji's works hitting it out of the park once again. And of course, the superb job from our main leads. I've only seen a few stuff with Matsu Takako, but this was her most memorable role. And then we have Matsumura Hokuto who gave what might have been his best performance so far (I've only also seen a handful of his works).
Once again, hope this someday becomes a classic with a cult following. It's just so good.
S-tier as a comedy!! Loved it. Didn't care about the romance at all, but I did love the managers. Wish we had more of them as they were more interesting.
Good lord, not even pretty boy honda kyoya could save this drama. It was so boring. And everything didn't make sense. There are other polyamory-themed jdramas out there that would be more worthy of the time. I'm just glad I could tick this off my watch list.
they didn't bury a body, actually. it was shown on episode 6 that it was just him and his brother burying the…
Oh I see. Must've missed that. Somehow, only the scene of Shinpei watching/reading the news about police authorities finding a body stuck with me for that storyline.
This is actually so cute when you just watch it as it is and not take it seriously. The only thing is that whatever happened to Shinpei's memory of burrying a body? They never really delved into that part of the story.
Why is this rated so low? This deserves far more than a 7.5 rating. Every episode was engaging. There were no…
The only parts that bothered me was during some portions at Ep. 8(?) when Shindo and Sakikubo just left the lock at the hospital room and when Shindo left an article excerpt on his office floor for Sakikubo to see after he left. It was very uncharacteristic of them given how careful their characters usually are.
Also, I loved how the latter half of the last episode had this solemn air to it. Like, the grand revelation of it all wasn't supposed to be this sort of happily ever after, but a reminder to the audience of what really is involved when it comes to journalism.
Anyways, a S2 is more than welcome. I hope they bring back the same cast, including Nagano Mei and the dude who played Jaesung. Will Sakikubo finally publish a much bigger scoop than Shindo. If so, will it become Shindo's down fall. How about Shindo's ex-wife and daughter? What happens to them next? And do we get to see even more development to the other characters, like Motohashi? I hope they push through with a S2 in the near future. I really want to see more of what happens.
Why is this rated so low? This deserves far more than a 7.5 rating. Every episode was engaging. There were no slow moments. It was paced just right. The mysteries were really interesting. And the characters had great chemistry with each other, not just the main three but the entire broadcasting team in the drama.
If this was because of Nagano Mei's scandal, I just wished ppl would separate that from the work. Everyone involved did such a good job.
In addition, shoutout to Kimura Tatsunari for playing the fruity 💅 video editor. I loved watching him when he's on-screen lol
Overall, this is the best 2025 jdrama for me so far.
At first, I was a bit annoyed that they showed our main character as this sort of potential hero that could solve all the team's problems just because she has an exceptional skill and overflowing passion. But as the series continued and they showed more of the other characters, I didn't find it annoying anymore.
The acting performances fluctuated (some really good ones and also some overacting). But I have to say, the voice acting was great. It made me immersed in to the scenario even without showing what was happening on the field.
As for the ending, it was weak for me. I expected some type of wrap up for the series but it just felt like another day at the office.
A lot of scenarios felt unrealistic. But that is to be expected from a feel-good drama. So overall, its a good one but mediocre. Nothing sets this apart from other emergency response jdramas.
Poorly written antagonists. Main character was relatable. Acting performances range from exceptional (Hirose Alice, Shida Mirai, and some of the main students) to outright overacting (Moriguchi-sensei).
Highlight was the confrontation between Shizuka and Aika in Ep. 8. The acting was superb, I got too into the scene.
Once again, hope this someday becomes a classic with a cult following. It's just so good.
Also, I loved how the latter half of the last episode had this solemn air to it. Like, the grand revelation of it all wasn't supposed to be this sort of happily ever after, but a reminder to the audience of what really is involved when it comes to journalism.
Anyways, a S2 is more than welcome. I hope they bring back the same cast, including Nagano Mei and the dude who played Jaesung. Will Sakikubo finally publish a much bigger scoop than Shindo. If so, will it become Shindo's down fall. How about Shindo's ex-wife and daughter? What happens to them next? And do we get to see even more development to the other characters, like Motohashi? I hope they push through with a S2 in the near future. I really want to see more of what happens.
If this was because of Nagano Mei's scandal, I just wished ppl would separate that from the work. Everyone involved did such a good job.
In addition, shoutout to Kimura Tatsunari for playing the fruity 💅 video editor. I loved watching him when he's on-screen lol
Overall, this is the best 2025 jdrama for me so far.