Lily_B

In the last drama that I watched, there was also a break-up scene in an aquarium, because the girl felt it was a good place for one last kiss...

It's fine to dislike a drama for whatever reason and to drop it, and to talk about your opinion, but I don't think it's fair to write a review when you haven't completed the drama. That's what comments, feeds and forum are for! So I wrote the above comments in response to gonnabe2pro's review, simply because I feel that the statements don't do the characters justice at all, and may make people get the wrong idea. There are spoilers.

In my opinion, this is isn't a typical "romance", even if it's that, too. It's more about finding your way in life, finding out who you really want to be and what you want to do. The characters are in their late 20s or 30-something, and perhaps you have to be that age or thereabout to be able to relate to it? I don't know.

(cont.)

3rd - Yeah, Isaki is a good person. She can be just a little bit annoying, but I say this lovingly. ;)

4th - Riichi did give up his dream for a while, yes (but who wants to know what happened after ep 4??), but I'd say that's pretty realistic and human. Lots of people, maybe especially the talented ones, are a bit scared and afraid to fail; sometimes, it's easier to give up a dream than to see it become scattered... With the input from supporting new people in his life, though, Riichi was able to give it one more try. Not all people are that lucky, I'd say... but this is a feel-good drama, after all. :)

1st - Mino does not toy with any of the two (three?) guys, she just doesn't know her own heart well enough from the start. She holds on to a memory and a dream because she's been hurt before, and then she's trying her best to figure things out.

2nd - Eisuke is not "perfect", by all means, but he's also not a playboy. He and his gf just don't have a lot in common and he tried to break up from ep1 - he may not have been smooth, but it's not his fault she's close to being the typical second lead who refuses to get it when a guy just isn't into her... He does never lead Isaki on, he's just being a nice girl, he can't help it that she gets a mild crush on him. He shows no remorse over sleeping w Mino, b/c both of them are consenting adults; it was comfort sex and both of them knew it. That she ends up falling for him and he's a bit slow on the uptake, well that's no reason to hate him.

I meant to tell you, because you recommended it to me in the forum, that I adore it. I like the "mood" of it, sort of melancholy but warm - the opening and the song fits perfectly with the theme of a night time restaurant where you can order anything you like. :) The returning customers are like a little family, except not really... Because the episodes are short without cliffhangers (so far, I've only watched 4), it's like a bedtime story. So, thank you! :)

I know, right!! :D Found it on Tumblr.(Not gonna lie, sometimes if I'm really bored and tired but don't want to go to sleep I google for pictures... There are lots of pics of him looking all thoughtful and cool, but fewer pics where he smiles...)

I loved Biblia, I'm happy I watched it. Karamazov no kyodai has been on my list for a long time but for some reason I've always watched something else instead. I do plan to watch it, though! I haven't seen any of the others you mention but they all sound good to me. (But I won't watch Take Five if there are no subtitles!)

Two dramas from 2013 that I really liked were Dinner and Shima no sensei. Dinner is rated 7.54 and I gave it an 8 so I can't say it's terribly underrated, but it has been scored by only 80 users so it does not look like it got a lot of attention! Shima no sensei has been scored 7.45 by 22 users (it's a nine on my list). I guess these two dramas have plots that few people are interested in, and they aren't romance dramas. (The winner of the recent MDL j-drama voting was scored by 2,206 users, so that says something!)

I liked this, but in the end I did not find it as amazing as the beginning of the first episode (there are two very long episodes) made me believe.

Amami Yuki is great, though! She does a good job portraying this woman who doesn't feel like she can understand or belong with women, and at the same time can't like or understand men, even though she can love some of them like a woman... In the end, her being caught in the middle makes her feel lost and her view on things becomes a bit too "black and white". Personally, I thought there were too many and too long fighting scenes (but I guess there had to be) and too much "my destiny blah blah"...

(Fangirl comments: I wish Fujiki Naohito had more screentime. This drama made me also fully realize how utterly lovely and wonderful Kato Koyuki is! <3

(Also, about my rec: Amami Yuki is a more convincing crossdresser than Nakama Yukie! *lol*)

I want to watch Shitsuren Chocolatier. :) Lost Days, Kami no tsuki and Ashita mama ga inai also sound like something I could like. Maybe I'll also watch the one with Miura Haruma and the one with the ninja. (I'd like to watch Hanako to Anne because of my love for "Anne of Green Gables", but it has 156 episodes...)

"Honestly I do think many actors, especially in K - dramas have a plastic look to them." When I first joined MDL and saw pics of Korean actors, my reaction was something like: Huh? How come they're all so pretty? And they look the same! Why is that attractive? (I also felt the same about Japanese actors at first, esp. girls, but after a while I began to see that they don't all look alike, lol. I pretty much only watch j-drama. But there is this standard cuteness...) I agree that they're not supposed to look like real people precisely b/c they appeal to the masses, the same way only beautiful people do makeup commercials...

I don't really know what to say, except that I completely agree with your fascination (but it's j-dramas for me). I haven't been a drama addict myself for very long, so I also remember that "blank expression". ;) What is it about Asian dramas? just like you, I've been trying to figure it out. I don't really agree with your reasons, especially concerning looks (BUT I love the looks of certain people - hello, fangirl here!), and it's not that I dislike Western TV. I'm just less interested in it now. I first began watching b/c of the language, and now I'm fascinated by getting a glimpse into a different culture, which makes the dramas different. And it's so easy to find lots of dramas of very different genres. I like the stories and the characters and sometimes, like someone else said, the Cinderella aspect of some... I'm not uncritical of everything I see but I can't stay away! :)

That's very true... Asian drama seems to have this obsession with youth and beauty that is rather peculiar imo (but it's part of the package I guess). If a British actor happens to not be that good-looking, well, it's just the way it is. From that point of view, I've always found British drama realistic because many actors look like "normal people". (I always thought this compared to American drama.) Of course, not all Japanese actors are insanely beautiful, but I just can't take it seriously when they call a character old and ugly, while the actress is pretty and young-looking.

I'm only writing this because I know my taste is not like most people's, but it would be fun to see if somebody agrees. :)

Iura Arata (aka ARATA!)
Fujiki Naohito (I just can't get enough of him)
Eguchi Yosuke (I've liked him in everything I've seen him in)
Kitamura Kazuki
Takenouchi Yutaka

I would have added Miura Haruma, but I only find him hot in Last Cinderella; too young for me before that. Also, I quite like Abe Hiroshi.

For Korean, I can only name Kim Jae Wook and Daniel Henney (does he count?).

It's definitely true that we all have different taste. :) Most of these women I've never seen in anything, but I like the looks of some of them. If I were to make a list, I would say:

Nakama Yukie (her beauty is almost surreal)
Iijima Naoko (gorgeous... but I've only seen her in Last Cinderella)
Kato Koyuki (adorable!)
Koizumi Kyoko (a really beautiful lady)
Itaya Yuka (lovely; too bad she hasn't had many main roles!)
Amami Yuki (a true beauty!)
Uchida Yuki
Shibasaki Kou
Ueto Aya
Kichise Michiko

I made it ten Japanese women because I don't really know about the other countries' actresses.

Most of his movies/dramas from 2013 have not been subbed, as far as I can tell. This makes me sad. Actually, about half of his work has not been subbed. Isn't that really sad?!

I'm at episode 5 right now, and at this point I feel that blackstar_aria's review is accurate! Right now I can't guess who's going to end up with whom. Even though I can sort of understand gonnabe2pro's opinions (note that not episodes were watched at the time for the review, though), I don't agree with them - I still like all the main characters, EVEN with their flaws. They're not perfect, but I'd say they're human. I don't know how I'll feel later on, but right now I feel that this is why I watch dramas. :)

Haha, yes, I feel the same way... I'll not be sent away somewhere, but even so - so many things to watch, so little time! To be honest, I don't think I've gone a full week without watching any dramas since I became a drama addict last year. ;)

Well, I wrote it because of Lumiere's comment below. Since the two of you were talking about it I guess you've been interested in watching Nagareboshi, I just thought I'd add my two cents. :) I meant that it takes a long time for it to get from point A to point B. In my opinion it's a good example of a drama with a slow pacing, there's not a lot of "action" or surprises, it's pretty straight-forward and small details take quite a lot of time. Sometimes I like stories like that, but in the case of N. I thought there was too little plot on too many episodes. It's more of a family drama than a romance in my opinion, I didn't find it amazing but I didn't dislike it. I don't know your taste, but maybe you'll like it. I see you like RMPW; so do I. :)

No subs for this yet? Is it ever going to happen, I wonder?

Yes, I can even name two: This one http://mydramalist.com/japanese-drama/4604/iki-mo-dekinai-natsu and this one: http://mydramalist.com/japanese-drama/3006/mitsu-no-ajia-taste-of-honey :)

No, I haven't watched it, but I've noticed the title on people's lists, I think. I read the synopsis; it sounds good, but I don't know.