Shasha

Boring crime & fantasy mash up

Huh?!?!? What the hell was that ending? Did they suddenly run out of money and took a shortcut? It feels like about half an hour is missing there.....

The series was not as good as the first episodes promised it to be. The story of Tharn and Phaya, the latest reincarnation of legendary divine star crossed lovers, suggested a lot of drama and the added police subplot let us hope for some interesting action. But, after the first four episodes, the writers apparently did not know what to do with the excellent idea and everything went belly flop.
While the fantasy part of the drama, was gripping, the police part was ridiculous. As I was watching, I started writing down all the silly things they did as so-called special police force but after I filled out two pages, I decided to stop! I just wanted to ask the cast and the crew why they did not at least watch a few episodes of CSI in order to understand the police work. the level of stupidity is mind-boggling. And unfortunately, it even rubbed on the good i.e. fantasy part of the drama with main characters (Tharn) behaving more and more idiotic as the story progressed.

Good parts:
- training camp and lots of naked hot bodies (i am shallow, sue me!)
- action scenes choreography
- special effects were excellent
- Naga festival and the whole Naga & Garuda legend
- side gl story
- grandmothers (why are there so many cool grans in thai bls?)
- moping Phayu styling
- subs describing music were very creative: exciting sound, lovely sound, romantic sound, thrilling sound etc. etc.
- friends group
- skinship (the guys are obviously very much at ease with each other)

Awful parts:
- policework
- Tharn losing braincells as the plot progressed with his reactions getting dumb and dumber
- the ending (Tharn spent a couple of months talking to the bad guy who had been holding grudge for an eternity and everything is forgiven?!?!? You must be kidding me?) and the writing in general

What an utter disappointment! This should have stayed on my dropped list but I did not have anything else to watch so....
The actors were all excellent though the actor playing Phayu has a forgettable face, so much so it took me three episodes before I managed to recognize him in a scene with others. The writing was terrible. Cinematography and special effects were stunning. The episodes vary in length from 45 to 90min. Most of the later episodes I spent playing games and barely watching especially crime investigation scenes.

This drama had a promising premise but the execution is lacking and the mixture of fantasy and crime drama does not really work.

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Bromance aiming at us....

Short, sweet, cute with loads of chemistry and perfect pacing. Added to it is Xia Zhi Yuan's irresistible smile and some nice piano background music and songs and you have the perfect, light entertainment for a Sunday evening.

A concerned father asks a young man to pretend to be his illegitimate son in order to shake his real son out of the slump. His happy go lucky attitude first encounters refusal but slowly and steadily he breaks through his fake brother's walls and manages to find the cause of his slump.

The two young men are perfect examples of opposites attract, enemies to friends (to lovers!) challenging each other out of their comfort zone and making them aim for different goals, making them more ambitious. While the first one is an orphan, who learned early to think on his feet and not to be bothered what other think about him and worry only about his own survival, the other man is a son of a rich father, pampered but also put under pressure to realize his and/or his father's dreams so much that he could not deal with it anymore and started stalling during competition.

The drama depicts well though not enough, the pressure the high achieving athletes are put under: by their families, their coaches, their competition. Having the iron clad will to win and not buckle up under provocation and bullying is paramount in this cut-throat world.

Even though the drama is short, the development of the relationship between two men is excellently paced: no stages are skipped, from the initial animosity to tentative resignation to hidden admiration and deep friendship. And of course more. Aaahhh, love that dares not speak its name in Chinese dramas....was pretty much obvious and they stopped a few times just a second before their lips touched but the feelings were overflowing. The chemistry was top notch. Even the presence of the girl visiting from France and not minding her business and therefore putting the spanner in the works of the father, though it gave additional drama it did not stop them in their bromance. We had everything here a good (b)romance requires: initial hatred, slowly getting to know each other, sleeping in the same bed (I loved those scenes: in the same bed but texting each other!), brushing teeth and eating together (nice home life), misunderstandings and jealousies, last minute break up and then reconciliation in the last episode. It was perfect!

These short dramas have become my favourites these days: not enough time for unnecessary side characters and time-wasting subplots , just a story of two people getting to know each other. And promote dental hygiene products!

This whole drama is actually an add wrapped around a BL.

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Free will or the fate

I somehow grew to like these short historical c dramas. First of all they are short so they do not have time to waste on fillers and unnecessary side plots. Second of all, they are historical i.e. costume dramas which have no relation to real history. And finally, they are pretty to watch: pretty people dressed in pretty clothes inside pretty sets accompanied by pretty music.

Fortune Writer is one of the better ones, combining seamlessly costume drama and characters-inside -a-book drama. Even though the plot gets a bit complicated and repetitive, it is certainly worthy of the watch.

The story follows Yun Qui, the daughter of the Prime Minister as she realizes that she is a character in a book, written by the fortune (or fate) writer and decides to rebel against her tragic fate by lying and manipulating other characters. I loved the FL: she is an unabashedly gray character, not entirely evil but not far either. When the drama started, I thought she was a side character molesting the usual pretty and kind princess.

The story is tightly written. The mysteries are revealed one at a time steadily. The characters are not what they seem to be , there is a depth in them which is a nice change for a short drama. The main point of the story is the duel of wits between YunQui and the Fortune Writer. She is convinced that she is the sole master of her own fate which the FW refuses to admit. The whole concept of FW is an interesting one: they come into existence when individuals have something they deeply desire so in order to obtain it they are allowed to manipulate the lives of other people. The FW invades bodies of such people. Yun Qui refuses the offer eventually, and lets everyone in her vicinity have free will. Could this be a pique to the current politics? I wonder....

The acting was solid though I found the chemistry between the leads lacking: the main actor has one expression throughout the drama. Whether he is in love or in pain, hungry or constipated, it is always the same stony face! But I loved his line: "Just keep lying to me! I don't care!" He was in love!

I needed to suspend belief a few times especially when falling off of a cliff or when arrow wounds were concerned. At one point, the FL has an arrow buried in her shoulder, pulls it out (no visible blood) and continues as if nothing happened. When a friend sees her a few minutes later, he gives her a handkerchief she uses to wipe her chin, the arrow wound has somehow magically disappeared. This made me lose concentration badly!

Another good point for this drama is that the version on youtube is mercifully free of audio problems: they found the way to air a complete drama without cutting the sound. This is the first!

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Love knows no obstacles

Well, this was a perfect romcom for a Saturday evening!

And it is just a romcom that does not try to be anything more than that: so no dealing with lgbt issues, no history context issues, no family acceptance issues. Just a romcom! Fun, funny, sweet, butterflies inducing chemistry...what more do you need for a relaxing evening?

I have been aware of this drama but since the rating was very low and comments not good, I was never tempted to watch it. Until I discovered today that there was a movie version of it. I was actually looking for a BL to watch tonight and it was a toss up between this and Venus In The Sky. I am so happy that this film won!

The story: a man dresses up as his sister who ran away, and takes her place at her wedding. Afterwards he asks her husband to wait a few days until his sister is found. Since nobleman Ryu's mother is of fragile health, they decide to continue with the charade for a few days. But the forced proximity makes them get to know each other well and feelings start growing between them.

There is a lot of comedy, smart kind involving secondary characters: Mother heating up the room to make them undress, Ryu's friend who falls for his "wife" and sends "her" love letters even the jealous little sister pranking. There is not one single mean character, surprisingly.

The characters live in their own universe apparently: it is a costume drama but we do not know when because that is not important. Nothing exists outside this little world and I was fine with that. I was not expecting it to deal with the lgbt issues in the past: that was not the point of this film.

I have not seen the drama but this film version flows smoothly. The characters are sweet and nice. The main couple have great chemistry. The actor Han Se Jin, playing the brother dressed as a sister, is beautiful. He made me think of the japanese actor Yutaro: same kind of actor! Actually he looked better in a dress than in a hat (but anyway nobody looks well in those hats!).

This is just a regular costume romcom involving a crossdressing main character but it is amusing, well written and acted. Towards the end there is a bit of too many flashbacks, same scenes over and over again. The music is really nice and the final scene gave me butterflies....

This was a nice and light, amusing and warm, a perfect relaxing watch. I want more like this!

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Two worlds, one love

You cannot imagine how happy I am to be able to speak French, now! I wish I could speak japanese most of all but since I cannot, this is definitely the second best today. Why? Because I could watch this amazing short drama and the only subs available are in french! So first of all, thank you Rosé Fansub Traduction for subbing this little gem!

The story is about a girl and a boy secretly dating. She is getting more and more frustrated with secrecy that she starts posting on line photos of their moments of happiness(dessert, park bench etc.). Until one day someone recognizes his shadow and he gets angry. So much so that she makes a wish to live in the happy world. And her wish is granted. But in this world, he is unknown. Soon enough, she realizes she has entered the social media world where the pecking order is determined by the number of subscribers in the real world. She is surprised to discover that some very shy and unassuming people in her class have a huge number of followers.

In addition to the sweet romance, this drama mostly talks about social media vs. real life, about being yourself anonymously vs. hiding your real self afraid of rejection. This drama is optimistic, very positive about acceptance: you just need the courage to assume your choices and the others will admire you for the courage. There are a few other examples in this drama: a trans boy and a hidden singer who, to their own surprise, end up being accepted as they are! It would be nice if it were true in reality but hope springs eternal so...Baby steps internet, baby steps fixing hole in the net!

The production is exemplary for a webdrama: the plot is tightly woven, perfectly well written, the acting is top notch and the cinematography is stunning (the light is subtly different in two worlds).

I highly recommend this if you speak japanese or french: it is easily found on youtube! Half a point off because it was too short, I wanted more. Don't worry, the story wraps up nicely but I still wanted more!

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Emotions and how to show them or not....

Lifeline: more than friends but less than affaire is a story of two couples and their lack of communication on all levels. It is a slow burn drama showing how people deal with infidelity. But mostly it paints the portrait of two people completely incapable of showing their emotions to their respective spouses which brings them to the limit, to the point where they feel weighed down by life and in need of lifeline. The young woman and her husband's boss who lives next-door help each other get out of the place where they feel stuck. They become each other's lifeline saving them frow drowning.

I don't know if I am right, but japanese education is a very strict one. You are supposed to follow the rules, obey your elders and never ever show your feelings, never complain. You have to grin and bear it. Maiko, the FL is like this. Restrained and closed off. Only when she meets her neighbour, she sees herself in him and realizes that things cannot last like they have been going. Their respective spouses are having affairs but Maiko and Futaba, the neighbour, do not do anything about it. They sit quietly on the side waiting for it to pass. As the things ^progress, Maiko finds a compassionate ear in Futaba, so much so that she falls for him. She starts gently stalking him, waiting for him to come out and eventually she asks for more which he refuses point blank. His wife is having an affair and he is conscious of the reasons for it: they cannot have children and he thinks by letting her have the freedom to do whatever she wants, she'd be happy. Maiko's husband is having an affair because he is under impression that she does not love him or care for him, she always acquiesces to whatever he says, never tells him anything that may be disagreeable but all that is actually the very things he finds unbearable!

The main topic of this drama is the lack of communication born from the long marriage, strict upbringing and obeisance of rules. But all of that makes for four very unhappy people. When finally, they do start talking it is somehow too little too late. By the end of the drama, Maiko splits from her husband aware that she needs to stand up for herself. Fukada is transferred to another city. He leaves with his wife who, in spite of being childless and having devoted her life to work, sees a younger woman promoted in her place because of the politics: the woman is married with kids and the politicians, because of the low birth rates, demand of companies to show that the women can be mothers and successful at work.

The drama pictures the pressure the main characters are under really vividly: in her imagination, we see her tied to and pulling a tire and drowning in the sea. After they meet, she sees him throwing her a lifeline to save her. But eventually, when they realize that they had come to depend upon each other too much, he tells her to learn to swim so she does not need a lifeline, ever again.

The drama is slow moving, maudlin. Maiko is not a very likeable character: very pushy with the neighbour and subdued as wife. I felt actually sorry for her husband: he went looking for warmth and laughter elsewhere since all he got at home was a cold and polite housekeeper who never said a word wrong and kept a tall, unbreakable wall of politeness and efficiency between them.

This is a short drama with good production values, excellent acting and some really good music. An interesting watch though a bit depressing...

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Pretty empty...

Well, here goes another typical korean bl under the belt! Nice production value, warm and rather beautiful cinematography, zero chemistry and a lot of lipstick. A lot!

Jazz For Two was one of the first webtoons I ever read a couple of years ago and I remember liking it a lot. The art was pretty, the story gripping and I even found a playlist on Spotify featuring every song mentioned in the webtoon. What I do not remember is the plot just that it was about two boys in high school bonding over jazz!

The drama is another superficial bl romance koreans are known to produce. It touches upon serious issues but it never tackles them in depth. And issues here were many: homophobia, suicide, bullying, assault. The way to deal with these issues? Love, of course! Love, which magically cures mental problems, behavioural problems etc. etc.

Teens are still children, exploring the world and figuring themselves out, so their reactions towards anything outside the instilled norms may turn violent. Care and kindness are not necessarily the standard. They are scared of being different, to stand out and therefore, when faced with the unknown, they tend to reject it violently! This was shown relly clearly in this drama.

The main characters are four boys in an arts high school who eventually form two enemies-to-lovers couples. The actors were correct, the best being Song Han Gyom(3rd lead) who played DoYoon. The worst by far, Kim Jin Kwon(ML). I had trouble recognizing him even though I remember him from To My Star. The costume and make up designers created an unlikable image: oversized clothes and too much make up (nobody has such red shiny lips naturally: he looked really artificial). Moreover, he had no chemistry with his partner.

I would like to end just with one question: is there such a thing as korean drama taking place in high school but with absolutely no bullying?

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Butterflies inducing hope

Practically perfect in every way!

A butterflies inducing, tears of rage provoking story of two lost men who find happiness and solution in each other's company, with love being the cherry on the top! One, Hiro, is a programmer convinced by his boss(workplace bullying/harassment) that he is incompetent and therefore putting more and more effort into ungrateful work. So much so that he is completely exhausted and drawing onto his last drops of strength. The other one, Kai, is a taciturn man used to being alone and always abandoned, expecting nothing from the world. When these two meet, their worlds slowly but surely start to change and merge, almost unwittingly!

The drama is full of romance tropes: opposites attract, childhood connection but it works perfectly well here. The actors have good chemistry and the evolution of their relationship is slow but steady, with their respective insecurities taking turns in blocking it. Misunderstandings appear but are solved immediately! There was only one problem I found in the first episode: in order to help him sleep, Kai "helps" him release the stress through a handjob which can be seen as SA since Hiro keeps saying No. He does sleep well afterwards but this scene just repeats the aggressive gay man stereotype! I thought we were beyond this!

Kudos to casting director who found young actors who resemble the main actors. I find this often in j dramas: more often than in other countries' ones! They really make it an issue of finding a believable looking young counterparts.

And of course there is food: what would a japanese drama be without it? Love goes through the stomach, everyone knows that!

The opening credits are actually the "happily ever after" sort of compilation of scenes we never really see since the drama stops when they get together.

It is a great watch. Japanese have done it again! Except for the weird title...

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Coming to terms with betrayal

Contrary to the impression given by the poster, this is not a horror drama! I am always so surprised when people whose job is visual and in the media, come up with such a horrible poster! The synopsis above is from the official site ( http://areyouok.jp/en/ ) and is just as incomprehensible and misleading! There are no clouds and nobody's getting married: it is just a birthday party! Basically, this short drama has been really badly promoted!

It is a story of Mikako, who shut herself up after discovering that her boyfriend and her best friend have been seeing each other for a year with all of their friends knowing it but no one telling her. This is an interactive drama: you are given choices to make for Mikako: does she leave the house or not and what does she do afterwards. The story is quite interesting: the choices she has to make all lead to a happy ending for her: she accepts the facts and decides to move on, stronger!

The concept is original and the story is well written. Actually, I wished it was longer! The playlist on youtube lets you watch all episodes without needing to choose!

The acting is surprisingly good. The cinematography is rather grey/blue depressing which they used for the poster! When she leaves the house, the colours change and the song's lyrics have a significant impact on Mikako's feelings: after dealing with the problem, she's OK now!

The web series has been made to promote a song "Are You OK?" by the girl band FAKY.

FAKY is a five-person Japanese girl group that debuted in 2013 under Avex's Rhythm Zone record label. The group has gone through two reformations and currently consists of Lil' Fang, Mikako, Hina, Akina, and Taki. The group name was derived from the word "fake" to challenge themselves to bring something "real" to the Japanese music scene. Their name also stands for "Five Ass Kicking Youngsters" and "FAntastic toKYo". The group defines themselves as a "Next Generation Girls Union" and tends to take musical inspiration from outside of Japan while incorporating Japanese culture and fashion.

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THIS IS NOT A BL!!!!!

Yes, there is romance! Yes, there are hot guys kissing! And yet, it is not a bl, it is so much more! So if you are here for the bl, you are bound to be disappointed, hence the awful rating this drama has on MDL! Go watch something else!

This is a story about grief, relationship break up, life, selfishness and love.

Sunshine is an up-and-coming actor whose boyfriend, Rain, dumps him a week before Valentine's. He finds himself drinking in a bar/flower shop, and someone takes him home dead drunk. That someone turns out to be Kyu, a cupid reaper who offers him seven chances to win his boyfriend back by erasing people he thinks are responsible for the break up. As the days go by and people get deleted without Rain coming back to him, Sun comes to the realization that the break up was actually his fault!

What an interesting concept as grief management! Sun is incapable to see his own flaws and erasing people puts those flaws in the spotlight, so the more he denies them, the more they are visible until he has to admit it is his fault and nobody else's! Sun is young, cocky, full of certainties, like a lot of young people are, unwilling to accept that they do not know everything and that they are not the centre of the universe! Kyu, the cupid reaper, tries to warn him, make him realize the error of his way but he stubbornly ploughs forward. Their relationship is admirably well written: starting from the initial animosity and impatience to friendship and to love. Nothing is rushed!

The production is perfect: it is well written, very theatrical in its set up since we mainly see Sun and Kyu on screen talking. Most of the action (dialogue!) takes place in Sun's small flat. They talk a lot and the director transposed to tv the theatrical set up with different lighting of different parts of the flat. When Sun tells the story of his relationship, we see the flashback acted out in the background. Amazing idea! Works perfectly well!

The acting was top notch by the entire cast but especially by Atom. That guy is a walking, overflowing fountain of talent that just needs a bit of streamlining. He managed to show every side of Sun's personality: the odious, self centred one, desperate one when the realization struck(lots of crying involved: he's rather bad at it!) and finally a new man who matured through the experience (he actually looked older and calmer!). And that smile! The rest of the cast was just as good: the dialogues are delivered lively, realistically. There is a scene where Sun and Kyu argue while talking over each other. I was stunned by it: for the first time in a drama I see a real argument. Or Sun's audition scene: extraordinary piece of acting! Some side characters could be deemed annoying but Jared, the flower shop assistant and the landlady were just quirky and lovable!

The music was excellent: two songs played during the drama giving subtle hints as to the plot!

Last, but definitely not least, the cinematography and set design: breathtaking. The colours were mostly dulled shades of cold colours, so the only visible colour was red. There were touches of red all over the place: red lamp, red flowers, red taxi, red chair etc.etc. usually one single item per scene! There were also indication throughout the set of the widespread consequences of Sun's deletions: through posters, costumes and sets! The constant in all those changes is the poster campaign for the new perfume Sun did an ad for: Once the Devil! Which makes watchers wonder if Kyu is an angel of the Devil. The final scene explains that they were both a Devil, once for each other!

The ending is a bit surprising. Suffice to say it is a happy ending! Almost perfect, Kyu(not Kyu anymore but Sky) and Sun meet on the plane calling each other Q! They were actually each other's Q: halloween Q and cupid Q and they saved each other's lives! I binged it in two days: episodes are short and easy to watch if you are fan of slow burn dramas!

Just one final remark: the character of Kyu (or Q) reminds me of Star Trek: The Next Generation character Q! Kyu puts Sun through trials by demanding him to erase people in order for Sun to learn about himself! Didn't Q do similar thing in Star Trek? Just a thought!!!!

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Gruff + brawn = sunset cuteness overload

I have watched too many korean dramas. So much so I recognize the usual tropes and know their outcome. The problem is, I have been applying the same logic to japanese dramas. And have been repeatedly surprised. But still, I keep expecting the korean style outcome when exes or professional rivals are concerned, which luckily, never come. Japanese romcoms are the only dramas/films where the expected evil/mean antagonist never appears!

This one has been the same. It is a story of a burly mangaka who has no life outside drawing mangas. He is stuck, manga storywise and decides to employ a down-on-her luck women to act out different romance situations. At the same time, he is given custody of his nephew. The three of them first clash and then slowly become a family without realizing it.

Frankly, I almost dropped this a few times: the first being 30min into the first episode when her cringy behaviour was too much to bear for me. I soldiered on when the repetition of romance situation under his control in real life become too immoral for my taste. I kept telling myself: this is a drama, it needs ambiguous and difficult situations in order for the plot to move forward. Fortunately, these two issues disappeared after a few episodes and we are left with usual romcom tropes: the ex who comes back, the mother thinking of taking her son away, a rival mangaka, a stalkerish victim of first fake romance situations. Every time one of these characters showed up, I was filled with feelings of foreboding, expecting a difficult and sad outcome. And every time I was surprised when that did not happen.

There is not one single mean character is japanese romcoms. I love it but I don't think I can ever get used to it.

The cast was perfect: the ML is hottest j actor around, his sexy gruffness is so irresistible. Since it was based on a manga, I was pleasantly surprised that the manga mannerisms and exaggerated grimaces were toned down to a bearable level. The kids were the cutest.

This is a highly bingeable drama, I had a lot of fun watching it. I only wished I remembered that japanese romcoms are the sweetest dramas ever and that nobody is really evil in them: that would have saved me from some unnecessary stress! Just watch it if you need a pick me up!!!!

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Art or life? Choose! Why?

NB: Thank you for the brilliant subs evasive subs!

I discovered rakugo. I never knew it existed and one episode was enough for me to spend an hour on the internet trying to find out as much as I can about this art. And I discovered many interesting things and not only on wikipedia!

First : the lesson! (LOL!)

Rakugo (落語, literally 'story with a fall')[1] is a form of Japanese verbal entertainment, traditionally performed in yose theatres.[2] The lone storyteller (落語家, rakugoka) sits on a raised platform, a kōza (高座). Using only a paper fan (扇子, sensu) and a small cloth (手拭, tenugui) as props, and without standing up from the seiza sitting position, the rakugo artist depicts a long and complicated comical (or sometimes sentimental) story. The story always involves the dialogue of two or more characters. The difference between the characters is depicted only through change in pitch, tone, and a slight turn of the head. The monologue always ends with a narrative stunt (punch line). Rakugo has been described as "a sitcom with one person playing all the parts". Around 1670 in the Edo period (1603–1867), three storytellers appeared who were regarded as the first rakugoka. (wikipedia)

Second: the plot!

This drama was gripping from the first to the last minute! It tells the story of Bou, a young boy whose dancing career had been ruined and who is sent over to a master rakugoka to learn the craft of storytelling. He meets Sukeroku the first day there and they become fast friends in spite of completely opposite characters. The drama tells the story of their lives over a period of 60 years which covers Showa era (from approximately 1933 to 1997 with the epilogue 16yrs later!). The boys change names as they grow and get promoted within the rakugo association.

I used to watch a lot of western dramas with this kind of basic plot: story of one character's life practically from cradle to grave, spanning a long period of history when major changes happened. Since I usually avoid asian historical dramas as if they were plague, I have never seen an asian version of these life stories. I loved this one, it was gripping, but it tugged at my heartstrings too much in the last episode so I shall probably never watch anything like this again. Too painful in spite of them trying to be upbeat about main character dying of old age!

The plot describes the fight, very restrained and civilized, between the holders of the tradition (masters) and those who try to bring a bit to modernity into strictly coded art (Sukeroku). Yakoumo(Bou) is torn between the safety of known rules and codes and the admiration for the freedom and originality of Sakuroku's performance. And even though for a short moment Yakoumo felt jealous of his friend, he quickly accepted that his art is different, classical not as exciting as Sakuroku's but still admirable. The bond between those two people was unbreakable, they loved and cherished each other immensely and no matter what the world thought , they were there for each other. This was a real bromance!

The problems start when Yakoumo falls for a geisha. When his master asks him to choose between her and rakugo, he breaks up with her. She consoles herself with Sukeroku who was banished from rakugo for insubordination and everything leads to a tragedy with consequences felt for a long time afterwards. This was never really a love triangle and they showed it clearly. The rules and hidden envies ruined lives of three people who starting from that moment just survived and not lived.

The plot is tightly woven and there are no plot holes. The characters are clearly presented and they are fully fleshed out: we follow their growth over a long time period.

Third: the production.

Since this drama is a life story, there are a lot of time jumps so the extraordinary actor, Okada Masaki, first and foremost, had to play the character between the ages of 17 and 70 which is a no mean treat. The way he changed voice and posture and attitude with age is impressive. The actors also had to learn all the rakugo tales and codes of performance as well. Amazing. The only problem i had was the ageing make up (which was expertly done, no details were missed- like hands or neck.): the character who is supposed to be 70 looks more like he's 95, he looks too old for his age. Maybe it has to do with the personality of the character: dry, succinct, cold, unhappy, bitter, restrained so he looks older than he should?
The music is just perfect, with enough pathos to tug at your heart. The time period was rather faithfully recreated.

Conclusion

Drama is about rakugo, an art form thought to be on the decline but still alive and kicking and the people preforming it. it is about people in doing rakugo. As I said, I'd never heard of rakugo before this drama, but it is still easy to follow since it is a human story. Beautifully told story of people trying to overcome obstacles put before them by society, rules and prejudice. Sorry, this review is a bit messy...

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I started this story three times: somehow the boys' acting in the first half of the first episode failed to grab my attention. So I forced myself to continue watching, and suddenly I was hooked. Though the acting was still pretty bad, I liked this story a lot!

This is one of the more complex and intriguing stories in My Universe collection. It follows two brothers, inseparable fraternal twins who are growing up and starting to drift apart. Kun is the serious, studious and more intelligent brother. More mature as well, used to his happy-go-lucky brother's attitude and the lack of drive and seriousness, Kun is getting impatient to live his own life without trying to always accommodate his brother's desires. The arrival of Tod in their high school will reveal the tension in the twins' relationship and bring it to the breaking point. While Korn is trying to keep his brother glued to himself, Kun only wishes to get a bit of breathing space away from him. And even though it is hard for him, to stay away from his brother too, he realizes that it is a right decision that will allow them to have their own lives!

This is not a japanese drama so I never thought they would go the incest way as the cover image may suggest. They are just brothers, close and loving each other like brothers. No more no less! There is a beginning of a possible romance(Kun & Tod) which does not pan out. But that is not important. The accent here is put squarely on the twins' relationship and their personal growth and development. There is a mini drama involving Pond, a tutor and Korn which was eventually just brushed off. There should have been more serious consequences shown: and an apology is not enough in my book. But maybe the teens are more resilient today and get over traumatic events faster? They should not have introduced this side story as it was not treated correctly. There was enough material for the plot to stay focused on the twins' relationship!

The acting was bad in the beginning but it eventually turned all right. Those young actors definitely needed a few more acting lessons: the story demanded a lot more than standing and looking pretty like in some of the other stories (Fake Love, I'm looking at you!). They tried their best and what they did was correct but...

The title is very smart: Pisces means fish and is as well an astrological sign for those born in March as the boys seem to be. The boys keep a couple of fish in their bedroom called Left and Right and one of the boys is right handed while the other one is lef handed. I don't know if they did it on purpose or it is just the casting accident but it fits extremely well with the whole theme of the story. Pisces also resembles a lot to "pieces" as the boys seem to be two pieces of a whole, or two sides of the same coin ...

Pisces of Me is definitely worth the watch and is probably one of the best stories in this series. And not one single flashback (Fake Love, I'm looking at you!)! LOL

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Wrong timing!

I have mixed feelings about this one! While I liked the first half, the strong, cheeky and no nonsense woman, thinking about herself first and telling us about it by breaking the fourth wall, the second half was a typical K drama where the same woman decides that she actually wants to be a cliché. The man goes the opposite way: when he meets her he is a cliché, he wants to date her but once they start dating, he takes stock of his life and realizes that the marriage is not for him. He actually becomes what she was in the beginning.
This drama special had the promise of being really special but it crashed and burned. The development of the female character is disappointing: she became a typical k drama FL in love, asking for something that was not offered anymore. Eventually, at least, she got her brain back but it was too late!

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Not for the fainthearted

Recently, I've been complaining about the onslaught of insipid fluff, passing for BLs, that Japanese have been sending our way and regretting the good old times of the last year when their BLs were outstanding mostly!

And then I watched this. And, oh boy, was I served! More than I ever asked for! This was dark, gritty, cruel, depressing, thought-provoking, disturbing and more! Completely unexpected.

The story of two completely broken people trying so hard to survive in the awful surroundings is extremely difficult to watch! This is everything but a BL (except for the last episode!);it's a psychological crime drama where the main characters happen to be gay. They were both cruelly abandoned by their own families and are forced to do anything and everything in order to survive.

How do you stay hopeful in such a desperate situation? They are barely keeping their heads above the water, hanging on, still wanting to survive in spite of everything,

It was expertly filmed, the atmosphere was sufficiently heavy and menacing, the empty side streets, the garbage, the neon signs - everything on screen was dehumanizing and hopeless, hell on earth. And still, they want to live! The hope that never dies! The music, heavy, adds to the overall feeling of banging your head agains the wall!
The acting is amazing: the blond guy does not change much, he is outgoing and somehow optimistic, but he is so thin that he looks sick! The other actor does not show much feeling before the ending, he is practically dead inside but spending time with the blond guy, he allows himself to feel.

This drama was awful and I almost regret watching it. But at the same time it shows the filth behind the shiny signs and pretty clothes. Most of all, it criticizes the Family and the whole society that is turning a blind eye to people suffering.

It was very hard to watch: I could not believe that they put certain scenes involving children, in this drama. I hope those child actors are taken care of by psychologists!

HOTE gets lighter only in the last episode and goes full BL: they meet again after a time jump and everything is so nice and they live happily ever after.....

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