Ann

Asa ga kita was my first asadora and it made me addicted to asadora dramas. I've heard a lot of good things about Gochisousan and I will def watch it. I don't know Natsuzora, but thanks for mentioning it. I will look it up.

This is my sixth asadora. But it didn't engage me as much. I've got bored half-way through the series but kept on watching because I hoped that it will be better. Maybe it's also a mistake to watch this right after the masterpiece Oshin. The acting felt more comical in this drama, I didn't care as much about the characters as I'd like to. And the story felt like nth really happened and quite cliched at times. Too bad. I've always enjoyed asadora, but this one is really disappointing, doesn't have the same magic as the other asadoras I've watched up to then (love the OP though). Expected much better due to the high rating.

Just discovered this drama. What a gem! I binged it in a week. Excellent acting, it feels so authentic and real. But I think that the change of some actors as their characters ages to be too soon. It's hard to believe that Oshin would look so different in a mere time span of 4 years in the post-US-occupation chapter. They managed to make the younger actress looking older as she ages from a teenager to a middle-age woman. They should've kept her to play Oshin in her fifties/early fifties, make her look older with make-up as they had done up then, and then change the cast when she hit 60 or sth.
Someone said here that Oshin is too nice sometimes, but I find Hatsuko to be more annoying. I used to like her character. I can't understand how she can always defend Hitoshi and finds excuses for him, like, he's so self-serving and she goes like "yeah, he doesn't mean it. he also has it hard blabla". Her "niceness" feels almost pretentious.

I thought this would be a family drama, but it's more romance and even after 6 epiodes in I couldn't get immersed. I don't know if I've seen Katori in other dramas and this may be the first drama of him that I've seen. But his acting was very wooden, he barely had any chemistry with his daughter or the FL. The female lead can't cry, she's acting crying and it's quite cringeworthy. The little girl was the only one out of the main cast that did great, I loved all her scenes.
And what the father does is just stupid and irresponsible, especially since he is a father and a little girl is depending on him.

Tbh, this feels like a harem anime, just without the fluff and comedy. It doesn't warrant a 8 for me, but it's an okay short drama to kill time if you don't have anything interesting to watch.

Sorry for the late reply. Thanks! I will! I haven't seen that one.:) I love her!

It is.... okay, I guess. I've expected more given the score, but I didn't feel anything, not thrilled nor engaged. I had to force myself to finish the drama. I don't know what it is, the acting, execution or directing. Even though things happen at fast pace it does feel slow too.
I particularly didn't like the villains and the police. The acting of the villains is so comically evil and the cast of the police were so emotionless (dunno if it's intentional), despite some usually good actors there.
The only good point: Haruma is really good, he's the only one I could feel some emotion for. And the chemistry with his sister and his friend Otoya is good (a pity that Takeru doesn't get to do more, his talent is kinda wasted here).

Why is Ryo Tomioka (Hara Takehiro) not listed in the cast list? I wonder what happened to him. He's cute and talented, why don't we see him anymore?

Tbh, it's not as good as the first season. I felt they tried to cram too many plotlines into it and it was also overdramatic sometimes . I'd rather have them focused on a fewer characters and their story and spent more screentime on them.

The idea is very original and the first episodes are gripping. However, I feel that the ending was a bit rushed. After a quick research I've read that it was originally planned to be 11 episodes but due to some issues (one rumor said that both actors got very sick), it got shortened. A shame, because if the ending were better exexuted and more fleshed out this could be a great drama, instead of just good. But overall, I was entertained and it's really worth a watch.

Thanks!

Totally agree! It's one of my all-time favourite dramas!

Where can I watch it?

Yeah, same sentiment here. I was expecting more due to the hype. A shame, I like strong female leads, especially in asian dramas. I would rather recommend to watch Unnatural instead.

The casting is good, Dennis To is great to watch, his martial arts skills are beyond question. And he actually looks like a younger version of Donnie Yen. But the story could be better. The lack of built up to some events and characters decisions makes it feel rushed and difficult to be emotionally invested. Still, it's a decent movie with some great fight scees and I've enjoyed it more than I thought.

Too westernized. And a waste of talents. Seriously, they got two legends in a movie, something many fans have waited for, and this is all they got? Very disappointed. Even their fight scenes don't come near to what they are actually capable of. It's laughable. Since this is their only collaboration, it's such a shame. To see both of these great martial art actors fighting against and together is the only reason to watch, but even then it's barely worth it.

Jet Li actually didn't turn down the role because of money issues or because they fell out. Tsui Hark explained in an interview for the movie Flying Swords and Dragon Gate that, at the time, Jet Li signed a contract with a new company and that's why Jet wasn't available anymore.
The next one is my speculation: Jet Li's last collaboration with Tsui Hark was in 1992, the same year when his manager, Jim Choi (who probably was the mastermind behind the case of the movie China White, with the kidnapping of Carina Lau), got murdered. Rumor is that he refused to have Jet Li work with other producers that the triad wanted him to. Afterwards, Jet Li worked in many movies of Wong Jing who is rumored to have connections with the triad (which later got him into trouble when the triad beat him up for some reason, knocking out all his teeths).
Looking at the timeline of these events I don't think that it's a coincidence.

The message that this movie, and Jet Li, wants to get across, is beautifully expressed and conveyed. Jet Li proved, if not before but certainly with this movie, that he's more than just an action star with martial arts prowess. The action scenes are superb and the story engaging.
An interesting fact to note: Jet Li had been already ill when he did this movie, so considering this fact his performance is even more impressive. Also, apparently he had a serious accident when he fell from the high tower 12 meters down, from which he broke his ribs and suffered severe internal injuries.
Jet Li's last true martial arts movie. I can see why Jet Li chose this one to be his last. And what a legacy!

A collaboration of Tsui Hark and Jet Li after their genre-defining success "Once upon a time in China". The atmosphere and tone do remind of the 90s wuxia movies, but too much CGI . The cast is good, the costumes great. One should not expect too much from this movie. I mainly watched it for the cast and the director.

An epic movie about brotherhood and the ugliness of war and politics. The plot dragged at times and the time skips weakened the structure a a bit too. But the amazingly strong acting really sells it. The cinematography is beautiful and the characters of the main cast are well-written (the character Lian could be developed better though). Even if you come to hate Jet's character, you can't help but still sympathize with him to some extent and understand his motivations. Jet Li didn't win his award for nothing, and he was aided by the great performances of Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro (this may be the best acting I've seen so far from both).