Lily_B

Okay, then I'll watch the second season as well. :) Maybe I'll try Mayonaka no Panya-san first. It's already on my ptw-list and what you say about it sounds good.

No, I can't remember such long titles! Especially not when I don't understand each individual word of the title (which I rarely do).
It's funny, many people say that about Miura Haruma, haha. (And it's kind of true because he's not even 25 yet, so he was a bit young to play that part but he did it well, imo.) The first time I saw him was when he was a gorgeous, seductive womanizer so I had kind of the opposite reaction; it was strange for me to see him as a kid in Bloody Monday, Hi wa mata noboru and Kimi ni todoke. (*lol* Now I sound like I'm stalking this "kid" but the truth is I came across him twice when stalking Iura Arata!)
I think Saigo kara blabla is a romance; watching people older than me finding love can be reassuring, while youngsters or people my age can be stressful. Or maybe I've just watched too many dramas with 30somethings talking about it beeing "too late"... ;)

I guess there a lot of ways to look and to handle such a dilemma, and had they dealt with it differently, the drama would have been shorter...

I loved that last little bit in thhe end so much, it made me very happy. :)

Yeah, I watched Taisetsu na Koto wa Subete Kimi ga Oshiete Kureta all in one day. Haha. It was pretty good.

A drama that I recently began watching is Saigo kara nibanme no koi, I like it so far. It's mildly amusing with some odd characters. (I put it on my list because I wanted to watch Koizumi Kyoko in something other than Amachan.) Sometimes I like watching something with older characters as a contast to all the 20-somethings.

Well, maybe "selfish" was not the best word choice, I don't know. Perhaps I should have called it "very sad". I just meant that if she loves him more than she loves her job, that's completely up to her to decide! Instead he just decided on his own, without discussing it, that she'd be better off without him. (Same with parents, friends...) Of course he did it out of love, but at the same time it meant that he doubted that she was capable of knowing what was best for her! He also doubted himself, that he'd be worthy of her love. Sometimes too much self-doubt put a lot of pressure on the other person to prove their love but luckily, she had the strength to do that. In dramas, they often create problems for themselves because it's hard for them to communicate openly!
(Also, the mere idea that she'd have to quit her job is weird, but I suppose it is realistic from a Japanese point of view.)

No, not yet... but I haven't forgotten about it, it's high up on my list. I was too busy/stressed when we first talked about it, but things are starting to calm down and I'm watching more dramas.
Thanks! I felt like trying to improve it. :)

I just started watching this, I like it so far!

I see you have watched a lot more of Boku no ita jikan than me, but now I've at least watched the first episodes, so here are my thoughts: I almost forgot about the disease because the two of them are so cute together. I like how the relationship developed and I like how important first names are in Japanese dramas... I like how it becomes a very special moment the first time a character says the other one's name. I find it very sad that Takuto's parents seem to care so little about him and only the younger brother is important. (I'm starting to get the feeling that this is a common theme in dramas because it's not the first time I've seen it.) So far I like this drama, I enjoy the atmosphere of it and it looks like this is the kind of drama that will make me have lots of feelings when I watch it.

You are right that Kaoruko says and does these things, and that's not "nice". But what I (and I think Panda-san too) meant is that step by step, she becomes aware of her own flaws and she is not happy with herself.

It is probably true that Olivier is a very honest person; he seems like a good guy. One difference between Kaoruko and Olivier is that we don't really know a lot about him (it's the same with most of the supporting characters and even Saeko) but we get to be inside of her head and follow her development and way of thinking. That makes it easier to see her as a complex and in a way more "real" character.

By now I feel that everything is about Sota and the three women who want him, and the supporting characters are all left behind. :(

Here's one! *raises hand* I was actually thinking literally moments before I saw this article: "I wonder when we'll get a news article about next season's Japanese dramas?" so thank you! :)

The first one seems interesting. I might watch any of the dectective dramas if I find that I'm in the mood for that. (I'm also interested in watching the third Pandora because you said Eguchi Yosuke is in it! *lol* - edit: strike that; only two episodes subbed. *sighs*)

And then I barely noticed the very long title because I was so excited about seeing Nakama Yukie and Fujiki Naohito in the same drama. :D :D :D

I agree with this!

That other dude, I wonder if he's going to text her at all; so far I don't get the feeling that he's that into her. But maybe he will, and if they start hanging out more, they'll become friends, and then they'll fall in love and she'll finally be happy. But this sound like it could be another drama, because I imagine a longer process than three more episodes. *lol*

Haha, I suppose that's true, there are many similar stories! I tend to take the supporting characters from Around 40 and put them in Last Cinderella when I'm thinking of either... because they're so very similar in some respects, although the dramas are different in so many ways!

Yeah, it's fine again, thanks. :) After about a week, a man came and fixed it. That's why I spent too much time last weekend watching dramas. :)

Thanks again for recommending Shinya Shokudo. I really liked it! I don't remember which episode I had recently watched the last time we talked about it, but the way I feel about the drama hasn't changed. Is the second season just as good? I wonder which my favourite episode is? Hm. I'm not sure, but I did think the last episode was good. :) The episodes that stand out the most in my memory now that I think about it are: the one with the enka singer, the one with the boxer, and the one with the food critic. Which one is your favourite?

I think the pacing stays about the same as in the first episode. I watched the first episode today, and now I'm watching episode 8...

There are many things I like about this drama, but also many things that I, from my non-Japanese point of view, find really hard to understand. Like, why is it such a terrible thing for a teacher to be a single mother? She was explictly told that having a baby out of wedlock is not acceptable for a teacher. Dramas in a high school setting always remind me of how different the Japanese culture is and how many things I don't understand. It's interesting.

Yeah, I thought it was fun how many opinions that were the same, even though we seem to have the opposite drama watching habits - judging from your lists, you watch mostly Korean stuff and some J-movies, and I'm the other way around. :)

Yes, I enjoy food dramas, that's why I started watching it in the first place. :)

Thanks! I do write reviews, but usually not for the dramas I rate 9 or 10!Maybe I should be bolder! I often feel the same way, that my taste is not the same as everybody else's...

It sounds like a reasonable explanation, what you say about the feudal system. Here, it's so simple that when a child is born, it gets a "personal number" (date of birth + four more digits) and it would be next to impossible to avoid it; that's why I was so puzzled and intrigued by that drama! The only thing parents have to register on their own is the name of the child; if you don't within 3 months, authorities will send reminders. If you still don't register a name, that's when someone might not end up in all the registers, but it can always be corrected later because there'll always be the number and family name.

Well, but maybe with some operas, the music is more memorable than the plot? :) I've noticed that my memory tend ot mix up drama plots; if they are similar, they somehow become one! lol

Maybe it sounded more impressive than it really is, but thank you. :) If I ever publish something, you can be sure that I'll be so happy that I'll want to tell the whole world. ;)

Hi, I just read your review of My Name Is Kim Sam Soon. I just wanted to say, how refreshing to see someone who feels more or less the same way I did about it. I've seen so many people who love this drama a lot so I was starting to think I was the only one to feel that way about it. :)

I just noticed that you wrote a review - I'm glad, because I often hesitate to write about dramas that I enoyed a lot; I fear that I'm too biased and/or that my writing can't do the drama justice anyway. Your review is excellent (also, good point about about the pie, ha ha!).

What I fail to understand about the family registry system is WHY they have it like that. I realize that not all countries have it the same way as in Sweden (not too long ago I talked to an American exchange student who felt that it was so different from what she's used to) but I couldn't help thinking that our way is easier. But perhaps it only works because it's a relatively small country. :)