I do hope Miyazaki Yu will get popular after this and opportunities will open for her. I always root for underdog stories like Akane Saijo this is her first big role. She is just darn baddass and cute playing drums.
15 years ago in the movie beck they had too mute Satoh Takeru because the character was described to have an angelic voice and he can't sing. Today is totally different he is like a band vocalist It actually surprised me like he summoned his inner Taka or Yojiro Noda on that stage. The first 5 minutes in episode 1 is one of the most epic scenes in Japanese dramas. The direction, vibe, cinematography, skill, music it is perfect. TENBLANK just became my favorite fictional band in any media. They should just make it real and tour Japan. The vocalist got charisma, the long haired guitarist got great style, boy next door keyboardist and the gutsy cute barefoot drummer.
Sadly as much as I enjoy epic well executed scenes the story is very weak. It is cliche some scenes even unrealistic like for example that boat scene. Also not enough characterization. This is my problem with some jdramas on netflix too much style little substance yes you have the budget now but please don't forget your roots. Comparing it to a jdrama like quartet is night and day. I understand they aim for different audience if this is normal drama they will focus on the theme, better dialogue and characterization.
I enjoy the slowburn romance loved that ending. A fascinating film about how technology connects people. Made in mid 90s early internet era. If you want to enter into a time capsule watch this movie. Silent moments is everything superb editing.
If this anything similar to more than words (same director) then I think there would be 2 scenario on how people would hate it. 1. people will hate the realism 2. long lingering shots zen af and I see people hate that too.
Kawai Yuumi shines here which makes me believe she is ready for an asadora role. Comedic timing? Star power? Screen presence? Acting chops? she got them all. To be honest she is better than some of these actresses with asadora role. lol
I like this as much as I like hell dogs (another masato harada film). I only need badassery for this type of movie which we got. I don't need character study ala Koreeda or Lee Sang Il. There are many baddass female characters here not just Ando. Nishinari is popular on Youtube as the slum of Japan and that is the setting in this movie. So many colorful yet sad characters which makes this an interesting watch.
9/10
Not really sure but it may share the same universe as hell dogs. lol
What a script funny, fresh with a twist that I didn't see coming. If you enjoy quirky outside-the-box Japanese stories you will enjoy this one as well. A different Rinko Kikuchi I didn't thought she could play roles like this.
Underrated I enjoy this just a bit below compared to 13 assassins. It seems they didn't market this well with the amount of interest the west have for this genre thanks to shogun it should be more popular. Taiga is the standout for me and what a well layered performance from abe sadao.
At times I felt like doing this like walk wherever your feet take you 10k steps a day is healthy and every new experience you gain will be healthy for your mind and soul.
And the fact that they even showed us all those flashbacks (which were very specific) made me realise that I didn't…
No.
They are definitely soulmates but soulmates doesn't always mean lovers. He didn't commit into a relationship for too long only for his soulmate could bring his love interest so they can connect. He works as a station attendant love the symbolism there. He acts like a father on the first act. The way I see it he just developed feelings for her when they exchange letters and the fact that she very much look like her mother also helps. He loved both but his soulmate is Shiori.
Quite possibly the best characterization in all of Koreeda's work it maybe because of the amount of time spent to explore each characters, 7 episodes some episodes even reach an hour. I think the only character that didn't get ample time is the son Jyo Kairi's character. Love every relationship presented here like Tsunako is similar to the dad and Makiko to mom, Takiko and Sakiko fight like 2 younger siblings, Makiko influence to her daughter, Takao the husband as the family mediator etc. There are no plot twist like you expect in some Koreeda masterpieces this drama is similar to Still Walking, My Little Sister etc. Too many thought provoking dialogue, I definitely see myself rewatching couple of scenes in the future. You may already see people comparing the legendary director Ozu to Koreeda and you will see that very obvious here. Lastly for the longest time I've been wanting to see Aoi Yu and Ryuhei Matsuda together in a film, two of the best subtle actors in Japan, I actually forgot about it already until I saw them here. These 2 dorks are lovely together and they are the only greenflag among the main cast lol.
1 
TENBLANK 30 years later
Sadly as much as I enjoy epic well executed scenes the story is very weak. It is cliche some scenes even unrealistic like for example that boat scene. Also not enough characterization. This is my problem with some jdramas on netflix too much style little substance yes you have the budget now but please don't forget your roots. Comparing it to a jdrama like quartet is night and day. I understand they aim for different audience if this is normal drama they will focus on the theme, better dialogue and characterization.
8.5/10
9.5/10
9/10
Not really sure but it may share the same universe as hell dogs. lol
9/10
9/10
They are definitely soulmates but soulmates doesn't always mean lovers. He didn't commit into a relationship for too long only for his soulmate could bring his love interest so they can connect. He works as a station attendant love the symbolism there. He acts like a father on the first act. The way I see it he just developed feelings for her when they exchange letters and the fact that she very much look like her mother also helps. He loved both but his soulmate is Shiori.
9/10