I liked this so much, I'd want to give it more than "just" 10/10!!!
Seriously, there are times when you watch something so tremendously satisfying, that you kinda feel bad for not being able to rate it more than "just" the top grade, and it is precisely the case with this fabulous "River, Nagarenaide yo"!Hard to explain why it hit me so much without giving anything away (and that'd be a pity 'cause it would deprive you of the pleasure of finding out by yourselves!), I'll just say this: the premise is as interesting as they come; the way they actually made it work was nothing short of a serious stroke of genius; the technical difficulties I can only imagine but must have been something indeed, chapeau for the way they brilliantly overcame them; the cast did *marvelously*, with a special mention for the amazing, lovely, gorgeous (I could go on and on!) Fujitani Riko; the setting is simply F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S; the "packaging" absolutely top-notch (I normally am not really a fan of hand-held cameras, but there was no other way to make this work!).
What are you waiting for? Go watch this *now*! You'll thank me later! ^____-
10/10 and instant top10 of all times, as far as I'm concerned!
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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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A drama that requires a lot of...dramamine!
It was honestly quite terrible, I must say. I would recommend it only to die-hard fans of any member of the cast (for example, the only reason I kept watching it until the end was that the adorable Hotta Mayu is in it ^_^;....)The premise was nothing worth calling home about, but it could've been developed in a much better way, hadn't they chosen to be the Nth victim of the nefarious influence of "The Blair Witch Project".
Expect to get motion sickness from the hectic hand-held camera movements - this is indeed a drama that requires a lot of...dramamine!!! >___________<
Apart from Mayu-chan and the überfunny hunter character, the only other thing I've really, really liked was the music! Still, not enough to get the passing grade. 4/10
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Keshigomu wo Kureta Joshi wo Suki ni Natta
2 people found this review helpful
This review may contain spoilers
I've watched this "Keshigomu wo Kureta Joshi wo Suki ni Natta" both for Fukuchi Momoko (whom I dearly remembered from "Joshikosei no Mudazukai") and for the light-but-interesting premise.The script is mostly brilliant, the cast did a very good job, the music - albeit not being my cup of tea - is totally fine, and the production value as high as they come.
So why am I not rating this higher than 8? Why not a 10 or at least a 9?
(Expect a MAJOR spoiler in my answer, so if you wanna avoid it, don't read any further! ^___-)
Honestly, I really didn't like the ending.
I think the story had been remarkably realistic (without being gloomy, thanks to the script, the funny side characters, etc.) until the last episode, and I found the kinda abrupt happy ending pretty off-putting. It felt, in all fairness, too unrealistic and predictable. The FL had been written, until then, as quite cold and seriously not being really into it much...then she reads the ML's letter from their school days, and *BAM!*, she suddenly melts and they live happily ever after? Big let down, sorry. Particularly since the script had been so good until then!
Imho they either should've taken more time (like, one more episode?) to portray her change of mind, or else, why not, they could've left it like that, as weird as it may sound; if anything, it would've given off a precious message: that is, that it's a lot more important to find someone who cares about you, rather than to waste your time running after someone who doesn't.
(Yeah, I know, it sounds harsh. But it's a pearl of wisdom from someone who's almost fifty and has been there, done that, and learned the hard way...^_^;...)
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Absolutely brilliant!!!
Now, THIS is what I would call "THE perfect romance" (just as it was the case with "Naguru Onna" - another one of my all-time faves, which I never fail to recommend ^___-).No CEOs, no COLD MALE LEAD (often code for "the ML can't act, so we just had to write him like that"), no lousily written FL, no cheap and shallow "fluff overdose", but instead beautifully written, deeply humane characters and a witty script filled with funny moments as well as with moving scenes (I'm not ashamed to admit that my eyes got wet more than once!).
The cast did mostly tremendously well (honorable mentions for the two leads, Kuroki Hitomi and Kaneshiro Takeshi, and for Enomoto Kanako!), the music is *fabulous* (Paul Anka, folks! 'nuff said!), and the "packaging" is good too.
Perfect 10, as far as I'm concerned! Wholeheartedly 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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In Japan it's been pretty successful (leading to two more seasons and a movie!), but unfortunately only this first season got subbed so far.
Of course this is partially explainable with the fact that it's quite hard to translate dramas like this into another language, so full as it is with cultural references, inside jokes, quotes etc.
But I'm afraid that the biggest "problem" is the average age of the leads - and that's particularly sad, specially for "oji-sans" like me! T_____T
If you wanna take my advice though (and take a break from the more usual dramas and their mostly "ageists" casts, give this a try, as it's really very good! ^___-
A meta-drama with a cast filled to the brim with great Japanese actors (both as leads as well as the weekly guests), most of them playing themselves, though of course in fictional situations (you know the "...no Satsukyu" series? A bit like that! ^___-)
A great declaration of love for dramas and the people working on (and mostly, IN) them!
The acting was superb, as expected; the script really brilliant; the music, imho, spectacularly good!
What's not to like? Perfect 10! ^___^
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Why don't I rate it higher, then?
Well, in all honesty, the subs are a bit of a hit or miss (some episodes are well done, but some are of rather poor quality, to the point that several lines are barely comprehensible, unfortunately) and this, alas, hinders a bit the viewing pleasure. And the same can be said of the script: some episodes are little masterpieces, seriously...but others are just "meh". Generally speaking, I mostly found the last third of the series to be of lower quality, compared to the previous two thirds (and also a bit too dark and depressing - whereas one of the strong points of this drama had been, until there, its humor).
The cast did a very good job, with honorable mentions for Chen He among the main cast, and Charlene Chen and Maggie Lee among the guests.
The music is top-notch, and so are direction, photography and editing.
Not *absolutely* perfect, but still very enjoyable. 8/10
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This review may contain spoilers
Although I won't go too much into details, so as to avoid major spoilers, I have to say that right until literally just a few minutes before the end of the last episode, I was pondering within myself whether I was gonna give this a 9 (or more probably an 8, 'cause it did have its faults anyway - more on this in a while), but then imho the writer decided to ruin everything just for the sake of a silly, shallow, "hollywoodian" final scare. If I ever rewatch this, I'll make sure to stop watching before that point (just as with an American TV series I liked as well, but only except the very last minutes, "Point Pleasant" - but that's another story).Too bad, 'cause otherwise this dorama could've been a much better one, more coherently Japanese (in that horror is used also to convey deeper moral messages), despite the fact that it still had some script problems (most of all, the inconsistence in some characters' behavior - namely, the FL's BF and the mom - but also the fact that it had too much going on for only 7 episodes, and the writer wasn't able to wrap everything up nicely anyway).
Acting wise, another great performance by the lovely Shiraishi Sei and Kuroki Hitomi, whereas the rest of the cast was ok but nothing to call home about, imho. Direction, photography and music were also OK.
All in all, if you're a fan of Japanese horror, a pleasant watch.
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The script, just as expected, was really very good (maybe not *absolutely* perfect, but pretty close); the cast was great (kudos also to the female leads: I knew I was gonna get a good performance by Arimura Kasumi, but I must confess not knowing well the other two, Furukawa Kotone and Yoshine Kyoko, and they were a nice surprise, both really beautiful AND talented - particularly the former, playing that marvelous character!), and the "packaging" (directing, editing, photography, OST) was, as I consider totally key, perfectly supporting the script, rather than trying to stand out so as to cover its faults (as it is, alas, the case of many modern series, all form and too little substance).
All in all, highly recommended! ^___^
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Why have I chosen NMB48, of all the gazillion 48 groups?
In all honesty, I was drawn by Watanabe Miyuki, whom I already knew for her photobooks.
And then, being a cat person, the leopard patch in their logo also caught my eye, I'll admit it, LOL!
Anyway, I can say I'm quite glad about the choice! ^__^
Googling a bit, I noticed they're, like, the only major female idol group not produced by the ubiquitous Aki-P, but rather by Yoshimoto (at least, so it was at the time of this show) and that explains the strong focus on comedy - something I particularly appreciated, given how I'm much more interested in the variety aspects of the idols' world, rather than in songs and choreographies...^_^;;;
The show itself is a quirky-and-funny mix of idol variety, sitcom, and comedy show. Ogiri, manzai, boke, tsukkomi...if you already know these terms, you'll know what to expect. If not, try watching it just the same, chances are you might like it. True, some parts are funnier than others, but the girls did a decent job overall, and some of them did very well indeed! (Honorable mentions for Ogasawara Mayu, Yamamoto Sayaka, Yamada Nana...but also Watanabe did well enough - she's a good "tennen"....and as gorgeous as they come! ^___^;;;
The music is ok, particularly the catchy OP song, "Mousou Girlfriend".
I'm gonna watch the two following seasons for sure! ^___-
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