Crazy and hilarious? Yeah, you bet! ^____^
Huge congrats to Odagiri Joe in his triple role as actor, director and screenwriter! This "Oliver na Inu, (Gosh!!) Konoyarou" is exquisitely creative (starting with the usual "This drama is a work of fiction" warning, aptly modified as "This drama is a *great* work of fiction", LOL), without *ever* feeling pretentiously artsy.
The cast did an excellent job, with honorable mentions for Odagiri himself, Ikematsu Sosuke and Aso Kumiko (great actress AND screenwriter herself, BTW).
The production value is pretty high, and the jazzy OST simply fabulous (EGO-WRAPPIN'!...'nuff said! ^___-)
So why don't I give this a "perfect 10" rating?
Well, one of the (many!) reasons that made me choose Asian dramas over Western TV series is that with dramas, 99% of the time, you get to watch a complete series made of a finite number of episodes, with a beginning, a story development and a (more or less proper) ending, rather than the usual Western approach of "well, let's leave things hanging at the end of the first season; if it's very successful you'll get many more seasons and we'll ruin everything good we had previously done by the end of the second one; if it's unpopular, you'll never see how it ends; pray that it's only averagely successful so that you'll get a second season with some kind of ending".
Unfortunately, this dorama is left unfinished as is; I have no idea of the production circumstances or whether a second season or a SP is in the making or at least planned. Fingers crossed!
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Quality over quantity...simply brilliant!
I had already had the chance to deeply appreciate Kanai Junichi's refined skills as screenwriter/director in the short movie "Transferring" and in the dorama "Bishonure Tantei Mizuno Hagoromo", and I had already become a big fan of the FL, Konishi Sakurako, while watching her drama "Keihan Ensen Monogatari". It was therefore with some pretty big expectations that I approached this "Neko", and I'm very glad to be able to say that those expectations haven't been betrayed! Quite the opposite, it's even better than I'd imagined it would be! ^____^The script is absolutely brilliant, managing to touch topics like love, life and loss, in such a delicately beautiful way; at the same time, the depth it reaches in such a short time (six 20' episodes, basically the same length of your average movie) proves once again that quality trumps quantity.
The cast did a great job too, not only Konishi Sakurako but also the ML, Maeda Oshiro (whom I had only seen in minor roles so far and therefore not really noticed; I really hope he'll get more leading roles from now on!) and my beloved Sakai Wakana added some more value even by acting in a single episode (but what a great role! Once again, quality over quantity, right?)
The direction and photography are exquisite, and the music lovely throughout the entire series.
Perfect 10!
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I really disliked it, sorry...>___<
I should've trusted my guts and dropped this immediately, after all....>__<It had some (few, waaaay too few) good moments, but those were literally drowned in a plethora of frustratingly terrible, poorly written scenes.
I've sometimes used food metaphors while praising some drama (writing stuff like "it masterfully manages to mix so many different ingredients and ends up creating an original, delicious flavor" or something like that), but here it's just the opposite: the clueless screenwriter (whom I'm adding immediately to my personal blacklist!) came up with a painfully uncohesive story, filling it with idiotic characters and mixing up genres and styles in an obnoxiously chaotic, incoherent way (back to food metaphors: mixing something sweet with something sour is perfectly fine if you come up with, say, a delicious plate of Sweet&Sour Chicken...but here it's as if she'd dropped a spoonful of strawberry jam on a tomato, and then covered the whole thing with mayonnaise, cocoa powder and wasabi...sorry, but I'll pass! >____<)
All this imvho, of course.
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What a lovely lil' dorama! ^_____^
I hope you'll forgive me for quoting/paraphrasing what I had written in my review of "Hotarugusa", as it's befitting for this lovely "Miyako ga Kyoto ni Yattekita!" too! ^__^;And that is: amidst the recent, ever-surging wave of "westernized" j-dramas (...), it does one's heart a whole lot of good to find a small gem like this!
The whole dorama is a heartfelt declaration of love for Kyoto, all while portraying the lovely story of the reunion between a divorced father and his 20 years old daughter, whom he hadn't seen in 12 years.
The script is wonderful, filled as it is with witty dialogues, touching scenes and a light-but-totally-not-shallow general atmosphere; the leads, Sasaki Kuranosuke and Fujino Ryoko, both delivered a great performance; the music is adorable, particularly that ubiquitous tango; last but certainly not least, Kyoto in all its glory is such a perfect setting and the short documentary clips, introduced by Fujino-san herself, shown at the end of each episode are just the cherry on top!
What else can I say? I literally enjoyed every single minute of it! Perfect 10! ^___^
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Similarly to what happened with that movie, in fact, until a matter of just minutes from the end of this "Blindly in Love", I was gonna give it a perfect 10, put it right away in my personal top10 of all times, and basically review it as a masterpiece. But then (no spoilers, don't worry ^__-) the ending was....well, let's just say: not what I think it should've been.
Still, differently from that other movie, I can't say that this was totally ruined, only slightly.
I wholeheartedly suggest it anyway, as the script (at least, 99% of it) is really beautiful, the cast marvelous (I already wrote many praises to Kaho's beauty and acting skills, and I'll gladly repeat myself once again here: she's simply "WOW"!!! Hoshino Gen as the ML was also absolutely brilliant, like the rest of the cast - honorable mentions for the always great Kuroki Hitomi and Hiraizumi Sei!), the directing top notch, the music lovely. Once again, if only they'd wrapped it up more nicely, this would've been a real masterpiece. It's still a very good movie, though. 9/10
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Why the long premise? Very simply put, because that's exactly what this "Cheat" feels like: a "vorrei-ma-non-posso"!
The directing, the editing, the photography, the music...all top notch and very closely imitating the style of such "heist" genre's masterpieces as the "Ocean's" trilogy or, staying in Japan, as "The Confidence Man JP".
The problem is, this dorama can't actually reach that very same level of excellency due to two big faults it has:
1) the script is good, but not perfect; whereas the cons plots are mostly well written and intriguing, the rest is just "meh": the comic relief is a bit of a "hit or miss" (the whole idol-related side story, for example, is just ridiculous), the characters are bidimensional, and some scenes and twists feel a bit too forced;
2) the cast as a whole is not up to par either; some of them are actually good (Fukuhara Haruka is lovely as usual and Kaneko Daichi is pretty funny!), but others are just embarrassingly terrible (Honda Tsubasa manages to reach new....depths...in the not so fine art of overacting - I thought nobody could do worse than Naka Riisa, but it seems I was mistaken! - and Kazama Shunsuke is outright unbearable, constantly acting as if he were God's sexy gift to humanity, URGH! Dude, no offense, but you're, like, three feet tall! Come off it, will ya? ^__^;...)
(Before Honda's and Kazama's fans jump at my throat: I haven't seem them in many other roles so far - actually, only one other drama for each of them, respectively "Shomuni 4" and "Nemureru Mori" - and I honestly don't remember whether they were good in those or what, so I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt: maybe the fault here lies with this script, I can't say for sure, so: peace! ^___-)
Still, even with all its faults, "Cheat" ain't too bad either; and if you, like me, are a fan of the genre, you'll probably find it enjoyable enough, all in all...^__-
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1) there's little - and often just nothing - heroic in war; war is bad, it takes out the worst from people, and that means cowardice, betrayal, lies, atrocities etc.
2) what passes for "history" in the mainstream is actually only the "winners' version";
3) the "losers' version" is often - if not always - at least a little more accurate and true to life; why? Simple: losers can't so easily cover their crimes and sugarcoat the truth as winners do.
All this premise so as to explain why I particularly like Japanese productions about WWII: they aren't propagandistic fairy tales, they show war for what it is, in all its absurdity. Just like this dorama does, all while portraying the real story of Ri Kouran / Li Xianglan / Yamaguchi Yoshiko, a Japanese singer and actress from Japanese-occupied Manchuria.
Commenting on another dorama ("Chanpon Tabetaka") I wrote that it felt "like an asadora's digest", but then I didn't mean it as a compliment; here instead it's really as if they had taken the best and most relevant scenes out of an asadora and managed to make a 4-hour movie out of them. Great job indeed! The script is very well done, the acting very good, Ueto Aya - wearing qipaos/cheongsams most of the time - is positively gorgeous and the historical settings, costumes etc. simply great. I also really appreciated the respect the production showed to realism, i.e. using Russian-speaking actors to portray the main character's friend Lyuba and her family (and adding those small touches that alone can give realism to a scene, like when they're all drinking tea at one point and Lyuba asks if they have any jam - 'cause she would want to drink tea "the Russian way", of course! Small detail, but it shows the authors did their homework, doesn't it?).
Last but not least, some lovely music makes this lil' gem of dorama shine even more. Perfect 10!
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Wow, seriously, I've watched it a coupla weeks ago and I'm still getting goosebumps just by thinking about it, so good it was!
The script is absolutely P-E-R-F-E-C-T, it works like the finest of Swiss clockworks and *every single scene* is a total delight to watch. Even the most minor of side characters feels tridimensional, and the scenes involving them are fabulously deep and brilliant (take for instance the beautiful subplot involving the "haafu" and his mother! Or the fantastically bittersweet one with the old couple!).
The acting is top-notch, as one would expect from such a *stellar* cast!!!
The production value / "packaging" literally reaches Himalayan heights too.
This goes directly in my personal top10 of all times!!!
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This review may contain spoilers
I must confess I started this "Miwa-san Narisumasu" without really having high expectations about it. On the one hand, it's a "yorudora" (similarly to the "asadora", many short episodes of 15' each, credits included) which made me wary it could've been aimed (as somehow more typical of the yorudora, in fact) at a much younger audience than poor old me; on the other hand, as you might already know if you've read my other reviews, romance ain't really my favorite genre.I'm happy to be able to say that this drama totally exceeded my expectations!
First of all, romance isn't really such a big part of it, but rather a side ingredient (just like the pinch of sugar we Italians like to add to our tomato-based pasta sauces, if you get what I mean, LOL). Secondly, it felt more mature and a little deeper than the usual yorudora, which was also a very nice surprise. Last but certainly not least, the whole cast did really well and contributed highly to the viewing pleasure.
So did the pretty high production value and the generally very nice script, although this latter wasn't absolutely perfect imho. In all fairness, I felt a few parts here and there were a bit weak, and most of all, the ending was way too rushed and left some things way too open (but then again, I've watched this RAW so chances are some details, and even more than that, escaped me...?)
I can still wholeheartedly recommend it though. 9/10
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M-A-S-T-E-R-P-I-E-C-E !!!
If you, like me, are big fans of the typically Japanese "iyashikei" genre, chances are you'll totally *love* this "Izakaya Bottakuri", just as I did!I must confess having become a bit tired of the whole "food drama" subgenre, as it has an unfortunate tendency to be terribly repetitive (in a nutshell: you show some food, the main characters stuff their faces with it, rinse&repeat), of course bar a few exceptions. But what we have here is much, much more than just a food drama! Sure, there's that aspect as well, but masterfully mixed with an incredible amount of humaneness, a relaxing atmosphere, beautifully written characters, some lovely music and a perfect "packaging". Fabulously written, directed, acted (they're all very good, but let me just name Katayama Moemi who's the very definition of "gorgeous" here!)...a true gem, highly recommended, folks!
Just to give you an idea of how much I've liked this: from now on, I'll have to add this small izakaya to the short list of fictional soothing places I'd really love to visit, alongside the adorable "Café Alpha" from "Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou" and the whole "Neo Venezia" from Amano Kozue's "Aqua/Aria" masterpiece! ^___-
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Wait!
I know you've already read the synopsis, I'm not such a lousy reviewer as to needlessly repeat it, trust me...so bear with me for a few more seconds, will ya?
Where was I?
Oh, yeah:
...and they came up with a master plan: to have a dorama made, starring Kumada Rinka as the ideal wife (she's beautiful, kind, feminine, honest, sweet...add a few dozens more qualities and you'll get close to understanding how perfect she is in this!) so that even such old and staunch bachelors as yours truly would actually change their mind at least for the duration of the dorama and think that it'd be nice to get married.
I swear, these Japanese are a clever bunch! Chapeau, guys! ^__________^
p.s.
Jokes aside: it's a refreshingly clean, sweet and heartwarming lil' dorama, with a beautiful script and great performances by the whole cast! Highly recommended!!!
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Indeed, the premise was exactly like that: outrageously quirky and funny (although, the ethically-conscious me was not fully on board with the "culprits get away with it" concept, I must confess >___<). The premise was mostly well developed and the mystery plots mostly well written (though, as it is often, if not always, the case with such episodic mysteries, some episodes were indeed better than others).
The cast did very well (besides, Odagiri Joe + Aso Kumiko are the perfect combo, seriously!!!) and the music was good too (the background music played during the "solution scenes" was particularly nice!); I have mixed feelings about the directing/editing though, as in a coupla episodes those were so chaotic that I got motion sickness! >___<
All in all, a nice dorama; I'm gonna watch the following seasons too! ^___-
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Even better than the drama...perfect10!
I would suggest you watch this movie only *after* the dorama ("Eizouken ni wa Te o Dasu na!" - which is basically the same title as this movie's - only, in Japanese), as you'd miss out on a tremendously witty and funny series otherwise! Nevertheless, the movie can stand by itself, and since the first twenty minutes or so are basically a recap of the drama's most important moments, even those who haven't watched the drama can appreciate the flick.I normally am a bit wary of movies following dramas, as it's been my experience that most of those can't keep up the original quality and end up being a let down; but it certainly isn't the case of this "Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!"....quite the opposite, I personally found it even better than the drama itself - which it's quite a feat, given how the drama had already been almost perfect!
A solid script, some great acting, nice music, himalayan-high production value...what's not to like? Perfect 10!
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The script is as crazy and quirky as they come, being a perfect example of the typically Japanese paradoxical comedy - a genre at which they excel, indeed! Expect lots and lots of wild fantasy (such a refreshing contrast to the ever-surging wave of bland, neutered, politically-correct homogeneity which has laid waste to the Western scriptwriting world, and has started attacking Japan as well, alas). Dialogues are witty and funny.
The acting is mostly superb (apart from one or two minor characters; but the three leads are all impeccable - a virtual standing ovation to them! Oh, and to the lovely Konishi Sakurako as well - too bad her role is not a leading one T__T).
Some pretty nice music and a tremendously high production value complete the package.
Highly recommended! Oh, and be sure to watch the following movie as well!
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This review may contain spoilers
Interesting premise, totally ruined by a lousy script
Apart from the cheesy title, this "Zambi" had a pretty interesting premise, with a first episode full of eery atmosphere. But from them on, unfortunately (and particularly from the start of the zombie outbreak - pardon, "zambi" outbreak ^_^;...), the whole thing was completely ruined by one of the lousiest scripts I've ever seen, filled to the brim with inconsistencies, plotholes, horribly poor dialogues, and idiotic scenes (just a few examples - SPOILERS AHEAD, jump to the next paragraph if you want to avoid them! - out of all the teens in the dormitory, apparently only one had her phone with her - like, seriously?!? - but then when the FL awakes inside the coffin, she has a lighter with her - and when another girl is stuck climbing outside a window, she repels a "zambi" using a big spray can - where did she find it? and where had she hidden it until then?!?...as for the dialogues, a memorable example is when one of the girls gets killed - UNMISTAKENLY killed, what with the knife stuck in her heart, the eyes wide open and dead - and in the next scene, a girl asks "Was she really dead?" - Duh! Whaddaya think, girl?!? >_____<)The acting was quite poor, but with that script, there's nothing they could have done about that - and some of the girls showed how well they can act in another drama, "Eizouken ni wa Te wo Dasu na!" (more on that in my upcoming review of that title).
The music was nothing worth calling hoe about it, either.
Summing it all up: watch it only if you're a Nogizaka fan.
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