puddang

Give it a try!

I think I'm the first person to rate this drama, and I know 6.5 is very low by MDL standards, so I also wanted to post a review to clarify that this fell between average and slightly above average on my personal rating scale. I think it's still worth giving it a shot if you're looking for something relaxing and slice-of-life!

I watched it raw with Japanese subtitles, and I would actually highly recommend it for Japanese learners who want to practice reading and listening because the language is super simple and there isn't really a plot, so it's easy to follow. The 32 episodes might seem daunting, but they're each barely 15 minutes long, so it goes by quick and is convenient to watch in small bursts.

I would say the viewing experience is almost like a kids show for adults - simple vignettes with a cast of quirky, almost cartoonish characters who are navigating life as ~ members of society ~. And they work at a toy company, for goodness sake! The downside is that it ends up being quite juvenile in tone, which kept me from liking it more.

Regardless, I thought the way Bando supported Ichikawa and helped her gain more confidence in herself was very sweet and I found myself anticipating what wacky compliments he would give out next.

The production is pretty noticeably low budget and no one's giving life-changing performances, but if you can look past that, it has its own charm. Although I don't think Kawasaki Takaya should quit his day job as a singer-songwriter any time soon, his slightly stilted acting suited the character of Bando well.

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Surprisingly watchable

Is this drama good? Not particularly. But to come to its defense a little - I have watched or tried to watch many, MANY of these MBS dramas with this soapy vibe, and compared to those, this was quite decent. For one thing, I actually finished it without fast forwarding, which I can't say for a lot of other dramas in this category.

There are plenty of valid criticisms to be made which will very understandably impact people's enjoyment. The power dynamic between the two leads and the age gap between the actors is definitely not good. The story is super cliche, and the acting is nothing special.

However, if you're able to look past this, I think there are some redeeming qualities. I thought the FL, while naive, had some sense of conviction and agency rather than being some mindless baby whose existence revolves around the ML like so many characters like her tend to be. I particularly liked the part where she makes rings for them as a surprise, showing some more initiative than the usual passive FL who expects to be showered with love by the ML for barely anything in return. I also didn't read the ML as possessive or domineering as the description of the drama implies - rather, he seemed very sweet and loving and supportive of her. And I thought the chemistry between Hayashi Maeri and Inukai Atsuhiro was pretty decent despite their sus age gap.

It is certainly not the pinnacle of romance, but it's fine for a quick, light watch if you go in with low expectations. Honestly, I think it's worth watching for how good Yamanaka Jyutaro looks in this alone LOL

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Did I watch the same drama as everyone??

In all my years of watching dramas, I've never posted a public review, but after watching this one and seeing all the reviews online, I finally pulled the trigger and created an MDL account because I feel insane and I need someone to hear me out.

To preface, I have not read the original manga or watched the anime and movie, so I can't speak to how well this works as an adaptation - maybe I would have been more forgiving if I knew how this stacked up. Also, a disclaimer that if you enjoyed it, I'm happy for you! But I want to offer a different perspective.

The TL;DR is that I would personally recommend this drama ONLY IF you want to see Itagaki Rihito and Nakajima Yuto interact. If you are looking for ANYTHING else - romance, police procedural, mystery, thriller, sci-fi, BL - I strongly suggest you look elsewhere. Even if you just want to watch any of the actors on this cast, I think there are many options you should choose before you consider this one.

But first, some positives. I think the best part of this drama is the cinematography. The scenes have a nice atmosphere to them that fits the unsettling vibe and some of the stylistic choices were cool. I also really like the opening and ending themes and that one electronicky background track they used during tense moments. The acting is serviceable - I appreciated that it was a very different role for Rihito than what I'm used to and he did an okay job, although I think he is still a bit too young and fresh to really pull off the charisma of a character like Maki. From what I've seen of the manga, though, he definitely looks the part at least.

The first two episodes are also fairly decent. Even if the MRI stuff is a bit hokey, it's an interesting enough premise, and the way it was used in Ep 1 to catch the criminal was kinda clever. The twist at the end of Ep 1 into Ep 2 got me intrigued, too.

However, in my opinion, the number one reason this drama quickly tanked is the introduction of Aoki.

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To be more precise, I think Suzuki was killed off too early. He dies in the first half of Ep 2 when barely anything was known about his character and his relationship to the others, so Maki and Yukiko being so tormented by his death for the remaining run time ends up feeling hollow and overdramatic. Sure, we're told he has deep, strong bonds with them and catch some glimpses of the dynamic, but we basically just have to accept at face value how much he meant to them by seeing how intensely Yukiko and especially Maki are traumatized by it, when the viewers, on the other hand, have barely had time to feel any sort of emotions for him.

Then, because Suzuki was killed so early, when Aoki comes along, we don't have enough information to be able to distinguish Suzuki from Aoki, so Aoki loses his own individuality as a character and is just Suzuki with glasses and different hair, which distorts his dynamic with Maki and Yukiko. Like, do they really like Aoki for Aoki, or do they like him because he reminds them of Suzuki? It's hard to tell because we got almost no characterization of Suzuki, so we don't know how the two are different!!!

This leads into my other big issue with the drama - the romance between Aoki and Yukiko was so WEIRD. It really felt like it came out of nowhere. I can understand that maybe because Suzuki's thoughts/feelings transferred over to Aoki when he saw Suzuki's memories that Aoki would feel attracted to Yukiko, but Yukiko...girl....why are you getting involved with a man who looks EXACTLY like your dead boyfriend? That's just one coping mechanism too far! And then the reveal at the end that she was actually in love with Maki???? You got involved with TWO MEN WHO LOOK THE SAME but you had feelings for SOMEONE ELSE ENTIRELY????

And with Maki and Aoki, there's nothing wrong with shipping them (even tho I personally think they don't have that much chemistry) and I have a suspicion that they are the reason the drama's MDL rating is so high, but in my opinion, the drama doesn't even give shippers a lot to work with. I wouldn't necessarily say it's queerbaiting, but all of their "romantic" interactions are purely subtextual - even the "confession" at the end is a cop out with him saying "Everyone likes you!!" which is why I say this drama is just for people who want to see Rihito and Yuto exist on screen together and hug a couple of times, and honestly, I think that's all the writer wanted to see too because plot???? I don't know her!

It's pretty hard to make the cases interesting when you can basically see everything that happened through the MRI and indeed, the investigation aspect feels more like an afterthought. Everything is so random and disjointed and poorly paced. The twist at the end is very unearned - they suddenly throw all this backstory at us and expect us to care??? I really do believe everything was set up just so Maki could fall into despair and be all tortured every episode and have Aoki swoop in and comfort him.

I like to consider myself someone with a high tolerance for silly dramas, and I can usually find enjoyment somewhere in a mess, but this drama is decidedly not silly and takes itself way too seriously, so it had me groaning with exasperation and took watching at 3x speed to even get through it. It was a grueling experience, but most of all, it was an extremely disappointing experience. Normally, I would just drop a drama when I realize it's not for me, but I kept watching with the hope that it would somehow get really good towards the end and I would understand what all the hype was about, but that moment never came.

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Look at all these tall drinks of water (literally)

I really only watched this for Itsuki, so I can say I'm satisfied because I got what I came for. This drama also has a fun premise, and my highest points are for the cast because I think they did a great job embodying the sakes they were supposed to be. I loved the stylish image clips that would play whenever someone drank them (Takato holding a random pineapple 👍), and their interactions with each other and Gin were cute. This is definitely the best styling I've ever seen for Nishiyama Jun lol. So if you want to see a bunch of ikemen being a little silly, this is the one for you!

That being said, unlike Red Blue, which had somewhat of an engaging story while also having Makoto and a slew of other good-looking guys in it, Arabashiri is just kinda boring. With the exception of the makgeolli segment in ep 8 which I enjoyed, none of the stories introduced in each ep were particularly interesting, and I especially didn't care for the overarching plot about Gin and his mother. It would've been cool to learn more about Japanese sake or the different breweries and food pairings, but they don't really focus on this as much besides a few tidbits here and there. It runs long at 12 episodes for seemingly no particular reason - it starts to drag, and I feel like doing only eight eps would've done a lot to help with that. I also think Itsuki could use a bit more work on his emotional acting, although he still did a fairly good job for his first lead role (besides Prince of Legend lol).

Overall, a fine watch if you're a completionist Rampage fan like me or just looking for something light and full of hot guys, but don't expect much substance beyond that.

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Turn off your brain and fall into Manabu's strong, tanned arms

This is one of my most (if not my most) deranged opinions and my rating is 1000% purely subjective but I LOVE this drama. The rational part of me definitely knows this isn't that good but when I first watched it I binged it in one sitting because I was completely hooked.

I really think this is the epitome of dramas that are so delightfully unserious. The FL saying "My uterus was throbbing" after falling in love with the ML at first sight while he's wielding a jackhammer at his construction job pretty quickly clues you into that fact, and once I got the vibe, I had so much fun. I didn't even care that no one acts like a real human being and Keigo in particular was a little troll, I'm just along for the ride!

And honestly, underneath all the chaos, I thought the romance was well done, no doubt due to the chemistry of the two leads. I still go back to watch the arm wrestling scene every so often just to feel something, and I love the ending. Kasamatsu Sho was a great cast and really sold the character - I don't think it would've hit nearly as much if it was anyone else.

I really do understand why people don't like this and I can't in good faith recommend it to anyone unless you're truly, truly prepared to relinquish yourself to the mess, but I will say with my whole chest that if this drama doesn't have any defenders, I am dead.

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Two seasons and a possible third for this?

I am so sorry to fans of this series but I *intensely* disliked this. Admittedly, I did not watch season 1 and went straight for season 2 because I'm a big Psychic Fever fan and was excited to see Kokoro in a bigger role, but judging from the flashbacks to season 1, I don't think I missed much and it honestly seems like season 1 is worse, if that's possible. And if you're like me and thinking of jumping in for Kokoro, be warned that he barely gets any screen time anyway.

I think the biggest problem is that this drama takes itself WAY too seriously for how ridiculous the color-seeing ability is. If it had leaned into the absurdity more, I actually might have liked it, but instead it's played completely straight and everything is so dark and moody. The main character has almost no personality - if I'm being charitable, maybe we can interpret the lack of colors and emotions outside of the interrogations as a choice to amplify the colors and emotions that the main character sees, but I think that's a big stretch.

Also, I know I didn't watch season 1 where most of it goes down so I'm probably missing a lot of details, but I thought the plotline with Akari's sister was SO BAD. It doesn't help that both the sisters have such blank expressions on their faces the majority of the time that makes it impossible to invest in their story. It definitely did not make me want to watch season 1 to find out. And the fact that they teased a possible season 3 at the end actually pissed me off - what could there possibly be more to do with these characters???? Points I guess for this being an original concept instead of an adaptation of something, but this doesn't really make the best case for the quality of original stories.....

The only remotely redeeming thing about this was the cast. I normally like Iitoyo Marie and Asaka Kodai, so I'm disappointed that they're tied to this kind of project, and they don't even seem that invested in it themselves. And I'll usually take any scraps of Iwase Yoji, Nakao Masaki, and Fukumatsu Rin I can get, but I really don't think this is worth it.

If you want something with this kind of vibe and a somewhat similar main character, please just watch SPEC instead, omg.

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