What a rollercoaster of a show LOL, it's just as ShotaSidePart said below, this is quality trash tv!! The music, the acting, the plot, everything was pure DRAMA and I loved every second. Sometimes you just want to watch something unrealistic and bizarre, and this type of show comes to the rescue. I was fully entertained for all 7 episodes. Give it a watch if you love watching crazy Japanese drama!
Finally finished this drama so I will give a critical review. The last two episodes had conflict and character development that actually saved this drama from being a complete waste of time. I think many viewers would have been able to overlook (keyword *OVERLOOK* not FORGIVE) Hijiri for going after a minor had there been proper character development and reasoning in the first half of the drama. Both her and Akira's idea of "love" in 2015 was merely baseless infatuation based on an itch that they both wanted to scratch, nothing more.
In the first half, Akira was a 15 year old impulsive problem child who clearly did not know what he wanted from life or who he wanted to be. You could feel how underdeveloped his frontal cortex was based on his reactions to his mom and on him slapping Hijiri. Yet Hijiri proceeds to dump her emotional baggage on Akira and indulges in their "relationship". She was so weak and could never establish boundaries at her age, it was so embarrassing! She never wanted to be a teacher; she wanted something to give her life meaning and Akira gave that to her by making her feel needed (which so happened to be in a classroom setting). "He listened to what I said" uh DUH because you were a teacher and he's your student. As the adult in the situation, it was Hijiri's job to hold back on her feelings and use that opportunity to guide Akira in the right direction. She could have used her power to inspire him to continue doing well in school so he could go to a good college, grow into an adult, and become the man his mom and society wanted him to be. THEN everyone wouldn't have had a problem with it, and their happy ending would have come smoothly and without turmoil. A lot of y'all like to indulge in these kinds of stories but you have to realize that children are vulnerable and don't know who they are yet. That time period is not the time to push adult problems onto them. Age matters at this point because children are growing into themselves. Age difference doesn't matter as much after your 20s because you know who you are by then, and you've had enough experiences to know what you believe in.
I will even go as far as to say that it's okay Hijiri felt something because obviously looking at her life she never experienced any ounce of excitement. However, I fully blame Hijiri for not holding back and being a responsible adult when she was teaching. She was self-sabotaging and didn't care about the feelings of those around her. And I see a lot of hate for Akira's mom, I hope y'all don't become parents if you can't see why Kuroiwa-san was so distraught to find a 25 year old messing around with her 15 year old son.
This is way longer than I intended but I hope some of you all critically think when you consume entertainment. I know it's just for fun but we have to remember that art imitates life, and nothing is without consequence. If you are into teacher/student relationships, I guess this is the drama for you. For those of you who like to be analytical and tend to make real-life connections like me, don't waste your time on this. There are plenty of other better shows that will move your heart.
You gotta understand the characters psychologically. Hijiri liked Akira because he was the only one who listened…
I fully agree with these statements. I'm on episode 4 and the character development/justification for the actions of the characters is severely lacking. It's so contrived. I don't know what age group is raving about this drama but a lot of people here seriously lack taste...
Hijiri is the perfect example of why people with low self-esteem should not become teachers, imagine falling in "love" with a 15 year old student because he remembered what you said in class. That's a sign you need therapy and some introspection, nothing more.
Quite tonally similar to Masters of Sex with how the titular director is clinical about sex. Narrative-wise, some…
I was thinking the same thing. If they went through the trouble to show us his previous family life they should have given an update on his kids and wife (just like how we see his background in sales helping him become the perfect businessman for porn).
I also thought the bit with the American porn star was a good opportunity for Muranishi to defend himself/the Japanese but since this is based on original events it probably didn't happen and they left it like that. Still annoying though, but that guy who sold them out played a huge role in just generally screwing them over so I'll blame him lol.
There are so many annoying things about this drama that I have to make a list:1) In the beginning Mia is all "I'll…
Also, can I just say the scene between Akari and Chiaki in the last episode was so CRINGE. So Chiaki has actually been in love with her friend since forever, so in order to keep her as close as possible she sleeps with every dude who shows interest in Akari? What the actual hell lol, these kinds of crazy characters perpetuate negative stereotypes about the gay community. I'm not trying to be an SJW or anything but come on, the way Chiaki acted you'd think she didn't give a shit about Akari. I thought they were straight up frenemies living together out of convenience. Whoever wrote this clearly has a messed up perception of girl friendships just sayin' ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
There are so many annoying things about this drama that I have to make a list:
1) In the beginning Mia is all "I'll never get involved with a married man!" and as soon as the vice president looks into her eyes she makes a complete 180. How contrived, does anyone have any true sense of self in these dramas? 2) The vice prez likes to go hot and cold way too often, it's unbelievable that anyone would actually act like that. Own up to your actions and just go all in if you know you want to cheat, simple. 3) Akari is the only likable girl in this show. She needs better friends who aren't unabashed thots lol. But she starts to make stupid choices as the show progresses and she ended up being annoying so that was a bust. 4) The vice is not that hot to throw your life upside down for him (to be fair I guess this is more of a personal opinion but still...) 5) Mia swears that her vocation in life is to sell Tiffany jewelry but she let herself get SO distracted on the job by getting involved with the vice prez. How embarrassing! At least do your job right if you're gonna make all that big talk. 6) Miyazawa's personality is quite eccentric, almost too eccentric but I guess that's why he's from Kansai LOL. He was annoying in the beginning but he kinda grows on you considering the circumstances. I hope he finds someone who will love as hard as he loves. 7) What was the point of the Mia Karaoke & Vice Prez Rock n Roll scenes? Are we supposed to feel for them as they release their stress because I can't help but think "wow look at these dumbasses lol".
TL;DR Overall this drama had a lot of ridiculous plot points but it wasn't completely a waste of my time because I was still somewhat entertained. If you want a *good* story this isn't the show for you haha.
This drama was soooo badly made, it took me basically a year to force myself to finish it. The story line is confusing and involves too many details that doesn't paint a full picture well. The main character Hiroshi is a joke, his actor is TERRIBLE and totally unbelievable. The only enjoyable part of this show was watching Nanao be badass while wearing cool outfits. If you aren't a super fan of Nanao don't waste your time with this show there are plenty of well done revenge plot dramas like Hanzawa Naoki out there.
I definitely agree, and it gets even more tiring when they bring in 18/19 year olds straight out of high school…
Oh I'm sorry I was speaking about the Terrace House show as a whole so when I mentioned the 18/19 year old individuals I was thinking about the whole Rikopin/Hayato situation, and even Hikaru who had just turned 18 when he started living in the house.
I agree with what you are saying though, this current season of TH Karuizawa is full of drama and it doesn't seem like any of the members care about taking action towards their original dreams and aspirations (besides Masao hoping to win Risako over). Also it's unsettling how much 'the cameras' are mentioned this season... no other groups have mentioned being watched as much as the current group. I wonder how everything will be resolved.
I definitely feel like Cheri unintentionally ruined her image with her word choice and actions. I think everyone is free to do what they want, and she didn't want to be tied down into a relationship but she shouldn't have gone on the date with the former TH member because everyone proceeded to use it against her. I felt bad for her, and for a lot of members this season you could tell they struggled to express themselves fully in Japanese (I don't know how much restrictions were placed on them in terms of language use but it felt like they really kept the English to a minimum in front of the cameras). I really liked her, she seemed like a fun person who knew what she wanted for herself.
Also towards the end of the show everything got so ANNOYING with Taishi... it went from Terrace House to Guilty House smh lol
Good to see some action again, but there's too many kids on the show.. Would be interesting to have a season with…
I definitely agree, and it gets even more tiring when they bring in 18/19 year olds straight out of high school and the older men in the house start to hit on them... can't shake off the creepy factor imo
This drama was so enjoyable even though it was short! Sure, it wasn't *perfect* and had typical drama cliches (characters making huge decisions out of nowhere without consulting anyone... lol) but because this is a BL drama I think it's important that these stories get to have their own version of cliche too. Tanaka Kei (Haruta) is sooooo FUNNY!! I was laughing hard every episode, his vocal delivery and facial expressions are top notch! If you are looking for a light-hearted LGBT romantic comedy, I recommend giving this drama a watch~
Watching a young Fujiki Naohito play the main love interest on screen is such an enjoyable experience~ I love watching older dramas; I feel this show has all the elements of your classic j-melodrama so it's worth a watch
Thanks!
In the first half, Akira was a 15 year old impulsive problem child who clearly did not know what he wanted from life or who he wanted to be. You could feel how underdeveloped his frontal cortex was based on his reactions to his mom and on him slapping Hijiri. Yet Hijiri proceeds to dump her emotional baggage on Akira and indulges in their "relationship". She was so weak and could never establish boundaries at her age, it was so embarrassing! She never wanted to be a teacher; she wanted something to give her life meaning and Akira gave that to her by making her feel needed (which so happened to be in a classroom setting). "He listened to what I said" uh DUH because you were a teacher and he's your student. As the adult in the situation, it was Hijiri's job to hold back on her feelings and use that opportunity to guide Akira in the right direction. She could have used her power to inspire him to continue doing well in school so he could go to a good college, grow into an adult, and become the man his mom and society wanted him to be. THEN everyone wouldn't have had a problem with it, and their happy ending would have come smoothly and without turmoil. A lot of y'all like to indulge in these kinds of stories but you have to realize that children are vulnerable and don't know who they are yet. That time period is not the time to push adult problems onto them. Age matters at this point because children are growing into themselves. Age difference doesn't matter as much after your 20s because you know who you are by then, and you've had enough experiences to know what you believe in.
I will even go as far as to say that it's okay Hijiri felt something because obviously looking at her life she never experienced any ounce of excitement. However, I fully blame Hijiri for not holding back and being a responsible adult when she was teaching. She was self-sabotaging and didn't care about the feelings of those around her. And I see a lot of hate for Akira's mom, I hope y'all don't become parents if you can't see why Kuroiwa-san was so distraught to find a 25 year old messing around with her 15 year old son.
This is way longer than I intended but I hope some of you all critically think when you consume entertainment. I know it's just for fun but we have to remember that art imitates life, and nothing is without consequence. If you are into teacher/student relationships, I guess this is the drama for you. For those of you who like to be analytical and tend to make real-life connections like me, don't waste your time on this. There are plenty of other better shows that will move your heart.
Hijiri is the perfect example of why people with low self-esteem should not become teachers, imagine falling in "love" with a 15 year old student because he remembered what you said in class. That's a sign you need therapy and some introspection, nothing more.
I also thought the bit with the American porn star was a good opportunity for Muranishi to defend himself/the Japanese but since this is based on original events it probably didn't happen and they left it like that. Still annoying though, but that guy who sold them out played a huge role in just generally screwing them over so I'll blame him lol.
1) In the beginning Mia is all "I'll never get involved with a married man!" and as soon as the vice president looks into her eyes she makes a complete 180. How contrived, does anyone have any true sense of self in these dramas?
2) The vice prez likes to go hot and cold way too often, it's unbelievable that anyone would actually act like that. Own up to your actions and just go all in if you know you want to cheat, simple.
3) Akari is the only likable girl in this show. She needs better friends who aren't unabashed thots lol. But she starts to make stupid choices as the show progresses and she ended up being annoying so that was a bust.
4) The vice is not that hot to throw your life upside down for him (to be fair I guess this is more of a personal opinion but still...)
5) Mia swears that her vocation in life is to sell Tiffany jewelry but she let herself get SO distracted on the job by getting involved with the vice prez. How embarrassing! At least do your job right if you're gonna make all that big talk.
6) Miyazawa's personality is quite eccentric, almost too eccentric but I guess that's why he's from Kansai LOL. He was annoying in the beginning but he kinda grows on you considering the circumstances. I hope he finds someone who will love as hard as he loves.
7) What was the point of the Mia Karaoke & Vice Prez Rock n Roll scenes? Are we supposed to feel for them as they release their stress because I can't help but think "wow look at these dumbasses lol".
TL;DR Overall this drama had a lot of ridiculous plot points but it wasn't completely a waste of my time because I was still somewhat entertained. If you want a *good* story this isn't the show for you haha.
I agree with what you are saying though, this current season of TH Karuizawa is full of drama and it doesn't seem like any of the members care about taking action towards their original dreams and aspirations (besides Masao hoping to win Risako over). Also it's unsettling how much 'the cameras' are mentioned this season... no other groups have mentioned being watched as much as the current group. I wonder how everything will be resolved.
Also towards the end of the show everything got so ANNOYING with Taishi... it went from Terrace House to Guilty House smh lol