This review may contain spoilers
because this is my first life: Sexism, misogyny, and discrimination against women in the workplace
After completing BTIMFL for the second time, I became aware of the reoccurring theme of the treatment of women, especially within the workplace.The opening scene features a narration of the FL (Ji Ho, played by Jung So Min) explaining how she grew up in a patriarchal household, where she was pretty much ignored and disregarded. Her freedom never came to her until she was much older. In fact, her father only really shows an interest in her when she says she is getting married.
The FL has to go through various situations in which she is treated horribly by her male coworker, which leads to her other coworkers defending him and supporting him, rather than siding with the FL, the victim. This causes her to quit once she realises that they would have just continued to use her and discredit her. She has no voice within her workplace simply due to the fact that she is a woman.
The 2nd FL (Soo Ji), played by Esom, also has to experience similar discrimination with her being a female, along with the fact that she has a stigma around her for her personal choice to be sex-positive and not committed to relationships. The judgment she faces is addressed in a conversation with her romantic partner, in which she explains the hypocrisy of being a woman and the double-edged sword that is constantly pointed at her regardless of the choices she makes.
We also see their mothers who have sacrificed their own happiness for the sake of their daughters, and in turn, their daughters who have been able to have a better life. The FLs are able to realise how much their mothers have done for them, thus making them closer with them as they are able to appreciate them.
Admittedly, the other FL, Ho Rang (played by Kim Ga Eun, was quite annoying during my first watch due to some of her selfish choices. However, upon my rewatch, I can notice and understand her and her actions. To her, the traditional route of becoming a housewife is what she desires. In a scene after a school reunion, we see how she feels less than her school peers who are married with children. Struggling to get by with little money, she aspires to get married and settle down in order to not feel so inferior. Her pride holds onto the idea of one day being able to settle down, and constantly boasts about her long-time boyfriend, yet struggles to be upfront with him and tell him what she wants from their relationship. Hence why some of her decisions come across as selfish and ignorant. Additionally, there are a few scenes in which both she and a coworker are criticised by a male superior, further perpetuating the idea that she is less than and worthless even.
These characters all display how the patriarchy invites hypocrisy and condescending behaviour due to the choices made by women. Whilst these characters are able to be happy in the end, the sexism they face continues. Despite the 20th and 21st centuries showing the change with laws, enabling women to have a bigger presence within the public sphere, attitudes towards women remain the same from a macro perspective. BTIMFL is a great example of this, which is why I highly recommend this drama. The actors all showcase their characters uniquely, showing the different sides to adulthood, the workplace, and romance.
11 07 21
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A Quick and Refreshing Drama Incorporating Covid
Kitamura Takumi has once again delivered!!He plays a character who has hardly left home due to the pandemic, but somehow ends up trying to solve a missing person's case. It all starts with him being a typical (but quite creepy...) internet sleuth which many of us can probably relate to (albeit his determination is probably different from most of ours).
It's short and sweet and refreshing. A quick watch for anyone who likes a bit of a mystery and enjoys the technological element of it, especially since his character spends a majority of the time in his bedroom at home. In fact, a lot of his communication with other characters happens over video calls and messages which can be quite comedic at times.
Definitely give it a try if you want something short but interesting to fill your time.
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Eh...
The show actually started off pretty entertaining and it was fun. But then it fell short due to something a lot of Chinese dramas do - drag out the episodes. Over 30 episodes? It's too much. The first third was engaging. The middle was a letdown because of how boring and slow it got. The characters also became gradually more annoying and went through the opposite of character development. The endings of the episodes also became underwhelming and I had no desire to continue watching the next episode because of how dull they ended. The last third improved but still lacked the excitement I felt when I first started watching it.Apart from the pacing, my other criticism is the characters. Firstly, I just didn't care at all for the side characters. None of them were intriguing and they added no contribution. The ML became more annoying. His female friend would constantly bad mouth the FL in front of her and behind her back to him and he didn't defend her. the FL can obviously fight her own battles (which she did), but that was HIS friend. And she was always coming in between the two for petty reasons. The ML showed a lack of emotion when the girl he liked was being insulted and demeaned right in front of his face, but you best believe he got pissed when he saw her took to her male friend. This male friend was the only character I cared about but most of his scenes were dull, however. He did like the FL but he never acted on that or made her feel uncomfortable (unlike the female friend following the ML around).
Now, my problem with the FL. Why was she trying to act like a therapist? First, she and the model FL went out of their way to find out something personal about the ML. They went behind his back because he wouldn't tell them, most likely because he didn't trust them. So clearly finding something out about him that he didn't want them to know would only decrease the amount of trust he had for them. Then, she tried to tell the ML to move on from the trauma that's been following him for a decade. She's a fashion designer, not a therapist. And she also has no right to tell him when he should move on. If she genuinely cared about him, she should encourage him to seek professional help.
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Unfortunately, this did not deliver...
I'll do my best to break it down.CHARACTERS AND RELATIONSHIPS
For the ML, I was underwhelmed. I feel like I've seen Seo In Guk in this comedic role one too many times with litttle to no development. And the thing is, his character HAD SO MUCH POTENTIAL!! He was a CRIMINAL PROFILER!! They could have done so much with that but the writers underperformed. He was funny but a bit dopey. Also, he was supposed to be able to fight but hardly ever did...? And was just a scaredy-cat most of the time instead. But he really pulled off the shamanism and took his job seriously and was quite funny at times.
And speaking of underperforming, the FL... What was going through the writers' minds? In recent years, there seems to be this conflation between strong female leads and annoying female leads. Because oh my god, was she the epitome of annoying for the first half of this drama. She constantly abused her position of power as a cop and was always hitting the ML. Physical abuse is not cute. And it doesn't make her cool or quirky. I will say that girlie is getting a lot of hate and they're dropping just because of her but I don't think she's the worst part of this drama (which I'll discuss later). But yes, I do agree she's been written poorly.
And the relationship between the two? Well, the first half consists of her abusing him and just being mean af to him. And then, we are expected to ship them. It felt so forced because they wasn't any chemistry between them. They were established as enemies (despite having the same goal)but they failed trying to do the enemies to lovers trope because she spent so much time doubting him and not believing him. Instead, they should have had more playful banter if they wanted us to be able to ship them despite being "enemies". But with me being me, of course I'm going to start rooting for them. I can't not root for them. It's instinctual.
And for the side characters, I didn't care much for the characters as much as I did for the way they interacted. The Café Minamdang crew were hilarious!! The really kept the drama going with their chemistry.
PLOT
I don't even know what happened. One minute I knew what was going on, then suddenly, it became like every murder plot. To be fair, it wasn't exactly like that and I'm definitely over exaggerating. But I felt like we (the audience and the characters) weren't really get anywhere as I watched each episode. I'm not even sure how the story progressed. And it felt a bit lacklustre because even though we were aware of certain things, there was still a lot not explained for most of the drama so I found it hard to stay connected and interested. It would have been much better if there was some dramatic irony where we knew something major that the characters didn't. It would have created so much more suspense and would have kept the drama engaging. For example, the victim was a bit mysterious. We know exactly who it is but there wasn't enough tension built around why. The motive was unexplained for the most part.
It did have a strong start. It was entertaining and fun despite the characters being annoying. The middle became lacklustre even though the characters finally became tolerable. I frequently found myself just waiting for the drama to be over. The last four episodes is where things picked up and I was genuinely having a good time. But I'm not going to be annoying and tell you to tick it out and watch it despite the negative comments. You can make the decision yourself based on whether you think it's worth it or not.
And the writers did try with the romance and I guess there was supposed to be comedic relief but I don't think it was timed well. I'm not sure how to word this part well to be honest. The best way I can explain is that the comedic scene would be in the same scene as a very serious topic. And even though they weren't making fun of it, it's obvious they were trying to relieve tension. But I just don't think it worked. It would have been better if they changed the scene and setting and then made a joke I think, because it sometimes felt ill-timed and even inappropriate. But for the most part, I did like the comedy.
This is definitely a show that could have done with just 12 episodes. Cutting out the middle fluff would have made it more exciting. For example, they tried to make it kind of deep towards the end (raising questions about morality, injustices within the police, etc but it felt out of the blue). If they had tried to do this early on, then it would have made sense and would have been more unique. Instead, we got an over the top plot at the start and an action packed end, and it didn't really balance out well.
OVERALL
Not the most unique drama. But what it does having going for it is the shamanism - the most funny scenes in my opinion. I'm sad to say that I do think that it underperformed in many aspects and was just very weak overall. Not sure I'd be able to recommend it to anyone unless. I personally only watched it for SIG. My rating comes to 7 right now only because of the lat four episodes, otherwise, it probably would have been a 6.5
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none of this will have spoilers unless you haven't watched the drama version
OK. Where to start...?I first want to discuss the pacing of the drama.
I had known about the 8 episode drama since it first came out, but I only just realised the film existed which is necessary to watch to understand everything. Just as a FYI, I did watch the film today pretty much immediately finishing the drama. One thing I noticed about the drama is how off course it sometimes got at times, and as I was about to start episode 8, all I could think about is why the siblings didn't talk to each other about their father, and I honestly still don't understand. Anyways, as I was watching thinking about how off course the drama went, I still understood that it was more about building the bigger picture and wanting everything to fall into place, and as far as I know, it is based off of a manga, so book-to-screen adaptations can be tough (which the drama does discuss funnily enough).
So, by the time I started the film, I was confused about why everything felt so rushed. Everything they had spent time building upon and expanding (from characters to plot) felt wasted in the film if I'm being completely honest.
Now onto the baddie...as happy as I was to see Nino in this role, I was so disappointed by the end of his film with how little he was developed. We spend 8 episodes of a drama and then a 2-hour film only for him to fall so flat as a character.
I do wonder why they chose to finish it off with a film (maybe so it's more dramatic?), but I think they could've just created a second season and sort out the pacing.
Regardless, I still enjoyed watching it and have already found a playlist on Spotify to stream the songs!!
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Hm...
I can't decide whether I like this drama or not.I do love the initial plot of the ML having to take care of his daughter. Watching their relationship grow and their bond get stronger filled me with so much joy (can you tell I used to watch The Return of Superman? LOL). Seeing him also actually take responsibility of his life and work was also great.
The supernatural plotline was a bit meh for me. I really enjoyed the FL making relationships with the other spirits/ghosts (idk the difference sorry), and at times, it was very interesting. But honestly, I was slightly worn out by the end, and I mostly just wanted to see the ML with his kid, but maybe that's just me.
There are a few moments which I will not mention that I just had to suspend belief for (and they were non-supernatural things) and there were other times I just wanted to shout at some of the side characters. And I feel like that only increased as the end of the drama was nearing.
So when I think about my overall experience, as much as I love the main storyline, the last few episodes were just underwhelming and slightly annoying at times, so I have very mixed feelings. But, what I keep coming back to is the relationship between the parents with each other, and with their daughter, and how the parents created their relationship , but especially the ML's with his daughter. And of course knowing the main leads are married in real life also just makes me enjoy it even more. And for that, I think this drama is worth it, and now I think I need to watch more dramas where the main actors are married irl!
<3
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The concept was quite enticing, but completely predictable. I already knew what had happened and also how it was going to end quite early on. And it was quite on the shorter side. I do think they could've tried to expand it just a bit and made it slightly longer. And even though I saw a lot of it coming, I was still very interested to see whether it would end in the way I had predicted.
There was quite a bit of symbolism that I did not understand. There was a blue feather which the MC does explain, I just don't remember what he said about it. There's also a painting involved. And I'm sure if I knew the painting, I would understand the film much better. There was also some stuff around motherhood from two different perspectives - a mother, and someone who doesn't have a mother.
Some moments/things I want to mention:
- towards the beginning, the MC says something like, 'your otaku son is really weird yanno. He only ate curry. Who does he thing he is, an Indian?' It caught me off guard so I had to rewind it so I could laugh for a two minutes straight. (I am ethnically Indian btw)
- +1 for the otaku son having the same DS as me
- +1 again for the otaku son's mother crocheting in the film. I had my own project next to me so I picked it up so we could crochet together lmao, but we hold our hooks differently.
I found it quite uncomfortable at times, but I liked that. But it wasn't out there enough for me, personally, I enjoyed the process of watching it, but I don't have much to discuss beyond that.
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This review may contain spoilers
oh my god... the wait is finally over
I already know there's going to be a lot of reviews for this drama, so I want to focus on something a little different for mine.I don't think I need to convince anyone on this page to watch this drama, because assuming you've already seen season 1, you'll probably already want to continue and find out the answers to everything (which you'll get this season).
So, I want to focus on life and death. We already saw in season 1 Arisu's behaviour. He was introverted and a social outcast. And then, he's thrown into a game where you could literally lose his life, so he plays. But of course, not everything goes well, and we end up seeing Arisu's depressive behaviour, his hopelessness as he's giving up. But then, once again, he's determined to win, understand the game, and then make sure all his friends make it back with him.
Cue season 2, and we see a similar pattern where other characters start to question the meaning of life. They're sick of being in Borderland. But this time, it's Arisu who picks them to and gives them a shoulder to lean on. It's him who shows them they should try their hardest to keep living.
Seeing the backstories of the characters in season 1, and then finding out the backstories of season 2's new characters (along with Chishiya's finally), I've noticed a pattern which can link all these characters by a thread. They all question life. They wonder why the rich always succeed, whilst the weak and poor are made to suffer. This show is filled with characters who have all undergone loss in some form in their lives, and once in Borderland, it's what they choose to do with the lessons they've learnt that will ultimately help them survive. Or at least probably.
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A disappointing book-to-film adaptation
Unfortunately, I don't think I can recommend this film to anyone. For the people who have also read the book, you'll be disappointed in the execution. And for the people who haven't, you'll be confused with most of the scenes.It's a film following Toru, a reserved university student who finds himself liking two girls - Naoko, who is dealing with mental health issues; and Midori, a fellow student who is a bit of an enigma. Whilst in the book Toru is very introspective and is able to analyse the relationship dynamics he has with the other characters, film Toru is mostly just a bit contemplative. Clearly, it is very character driven.
Despite that, it seems as if some characters have been toned down a lot. So we end up with a bunch of characters that more or less feel the same in terms of tone, mannerisms, personality, etc. This makes quite a few of the interactions slightly bland at times. Toru, Natsumi, and Midori were probably the most true to the original source material, and were best cast in my opinion.
The problem with this film is that it is very disjointed. From the perspective of someone who has read the book, it feels as of I'm in a literature class and have been given a handful of extracts of the book and I've been made to try and decipher what is happening. It lacks I'm both cohesion, and coherence.
The problem with the lack of structure means that a lot of scenes don't make sense. Since some scenes are cut out to not be too long, we're left with shortened scenes which don't add anything to the plot. For example, a scene between Toru and Midori's father is cut. Instead, we're introduced to him, only for him to stop being mentioned after 3 or so minutes. This leads to a lack of development for many characters, including Naoko's friend, Reika, making their presence seem pointless. The lack of explanation for many scenes invoking certain characters just leads to confusion. And for the scenes included from the book, the dialogue is a carbon copy from the book, not adding anything new, once again, leading to many gaps which are not explained.
And despite leaving a lot out from the book, it is a painfully long film. Since not much happens in the book, the film wasn't able to capture enough of the characters' situations and feelings well enough in order for the film to be the least bit engaging. And mentioned before, some of the characters felt the same.
Although the music fit, it easily could have put me to sleep, especially during the scenes where the characters are having a quiet and slow conversation.
Another thing to note is that it's a particularly quiet film to the point that I can hear the wind and trees more than the characters' voices. However, there are few moments where suddenly, characters are shouting, which caught me off guard since I had turned up the volume quite a bit in order to hear them.
If this was remade today, I do think that it would be a lot better. The only problem is that the author has very sexist views which bleed into his work (including this one), so it would be interesting to see how those aspects (i.e. the male gaze) are improved upon or changed without taking from the overall meaning or plot. Also, as a heads up, Toru has sex with nearly every woman within a 5 mile radius of him, or at least thinks about it. The only exception is Natsumi, who in my opinion, is someone Toru respects and sees almost as a sister in my opinion (at least in the book).
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Beautiful and Tragic; two words I use to describe this film.
What starts as a writer trying to uncover the truth about an incident turns into something much more.I found the use of light and sound quite important. It was a tool to make us -the audience- focus on certain things characters have said in order to foreshadow what will happen in the future and what will be revealed about the past. It is similar with eye contact and characters watching interactions between other characters. Watching this, you won't realise how complex the story is until the last third. Then, you understand the construction of the story and the choices the characters make.
The acting was also incredible. For Iwata Takanori, it was a step up from his portrayal as Cobra in the HiGH&LOW series and other exile-related works. He really shined in this film. His character was also interesting. He walks with intention and a purpose; he speaks with intention and purpose, making him a more compelling character. I'm not kidding when I say he walks as if he is on a mission (which he totally is). Heck, even his stares are intentional. Saitoh Takumi also outperformed as usual and brought so much to his character as a photographer.
Even though I already loved it after my first watch, I really appreciated the construction of it this time around. It is a film I plan to watch a third, maybe fourth time. But I also wish I could experience watching it for the first time. It is one of a kind.
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An exciting and thrilling drama starring none other than Oguri Shun and Ikuta Toma!!
A story which focused on ouroboros - the symbol of infinity through a snake chasing its own tail. Representing creation and destruction; birth and death.I really enjoyed the symbol of the ouroboros in this drama, along with everything else this drama had to offer. It was thrilling, but also funny. It's a compelling drama following two friends - a police officer and yakuza - carrying out revenge for a person who was their family as a child. You couldn't help but love both the main characters. And of course, they made an amazing team when they had the chance to work together (undercover, of course), and they were quite an hilarious duo during these times.
Speaking of, both Oguri Shun and Ikuta Toma played their characters fantastically. It was definitely fun to seem them reunited on-screen after Hanazakari no Kimitachi e which was released in 2007. In that time they had obviously both matured as actors and their portrayals of their characters felt authentic and genuine in this drama which is a lot more serious than Hana Kimi. It was very obvious to see how much they cared for each other. Shun's character (Danno Tatsuya) treated Toma's character (Ryuuzaki Ikuo) like his younger brother whom he wanted to protect. And it was obvious Ikuo equally cared for him. It was really sweet but also sad during the times Tatsuya would get hurt because of how worried Ikuo would get. I also loved the contribution Ikuo's sense of smell would make. A pretty funny quirk.
I know some people were annoyed at the female lead, but she wasn't bad in my opinion. It's important to know that for the most part, she didn't know about Tatsuya and Ikuo's relationship for the most part. So, whilst I sometimes felt like she was getting in the way, she was doing what most people would do in that situation, especially as a police officer herself.
I also really liked how the other side characters contributed to the story. also, Ayana Go was also a character in the last few episodes and I was not expecting to see him, but it was nice to see him in this.
I find the plot quite hard to fault. Revenge is quite a popular troupe and this drama made it into my favourite revenge plot dramas. There were a few red herrings but I also felt the emotions Tatsuya and Ikuo would feel when they thought they were getting somewhere with a certain suspect.
I also found the ending fitting. That's all I will mention on that. I was pretty sad, but also relieved in a way.
Overall, a great drama which I definitely recommend for all the reasons mentioned above. It has easily become a new favourite of mine.
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Good drama but lacks characterisation!!
I freaking love this drama, but i have quite a few criticisms.The actors were great and the storyline was engaging. There was a lot of tension and high intensity scenes, and even episodes.
The characterisation fell flat, however. There should have been more of a background story for the characters. It would have been interesting to know how the ML started the whole job and why exactly he did it. In a way, it sort of doesn't make sense; he explains that he wants to lead a normal life without drawing too much attention to himself but his "job" is the opposite and can get him into a lot of trouble. If he wanted money, he could just get a job that regular kids his age got like at a convenience store.
The FL was the same; she wanted to make money but had no motive. They tried to give the storyline that her parents wanted her to pursue the same thing as them and she didn't want to, but how exactly is doing what she was going to help her get out of her parents' desired plan for her? Also, why is she willing to risk getting in trouble for managing a sex work business just to not be a ceo - it's not equivalent.
Another thing about the fl was that she was annoying. She clearly hadn't set her priorities straight, as evident in the previous paragraph. But, from the first episode we see that she's a pretty shit person. She went out of her way to take the ML's phone so she could go through it. When she didn't know the passcode, she watched him enter the passcode for his other phone and used that to get into his phone. The invasion of privacy is not cool and I'm pretty sure she doesn't apologise. I don't like how the writers chose that as a catalyst for how the FL had to find out about everything. Other than that, she's purely fucking annoying. She is constantly putting everyone in danger and she feels no remorse. As soon as she is introduced, she fucks everything up. And luckily for her, she has the money to buy herself out of trouble because her parents are rich, whereas the ML has to suffer more.
Mr Lee was such a g bro. I love him. I also liked the homeroom teacher.
Did the second leads even genuinely like each other? He was pretty shitty towards her and relied on her for her money. But, he was able to get his homeboys to trash the karaoke bar for his GF. The scene was pretty iconic though.
With most of these characters, there was no clear motive for most of their decisions *cue motive by Ari and Doja* which i think is the biggest flaw in this drama.
But I did genuinely enjoy my time watching it. I'm really into high school dramas that are dark like 'Class of Lies'. Both of these dramas, along with 'How to Buy a Friend' have all been compared. Personally, my favourite would be 'Class of Lies'. Because there were only 10 episodes in extracurricular, they might have not been able to develop the characters as well.
I know some people want a second season after the last episode but i don't really think it would be as good. I'm not sure how they would add another 10 episodes without dragging out and ruining it. I think people need to start being okay with dramas where the ending is unclear.
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The returning characters, along with the new characters, provide a fun experience and interesting dynamics. However, I did find it much harder to get used to 80% of the characters being new. It was much harder to connect with them. And unfortunately, for most of the returning characters, their appearance was minimal (aside from Alice and Usagi). In fact, I kept forgetting about some of the returning characters until they randomly popped up on my screen again after episodes away.
As someone who has been a fan of Alice in Borderland since just after its live action release, my feelings about the show are intense, and part of my opinion is wrapped up in nostalgia for the very first time I watched season 1 as a teenager. So I did my best to lower my expectations coming into this, and I'm glad I did as I feel like I was able to enjoy it a lot more. However, the further in we got, the more confused I got, and the need to make this season became less justifiable. So whilst I enjoyed most of it, I was slightly disappointed by the end of it and wonder why another favourite series of mine had to be tainted by the need to expand it for monetary gain. The more I think about this season, the more I dislike it, to be honest...
The most redeeming part was the bit of fan service we got right at the end.
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Story
It's hard to talk about because I do genuinely think you have to just watch it for yourself to see how it all ends (assuming you've already seen part 1). There will be a moment around half way through where things will get more confusing before they can get answered, but you just have to trust the storytelling and know everything will come back full circle to part 1. And I do believe it's crafted so well that it'll be worth the wait in order to see everyone get exactly what they deserve. Of course I won't spoil the ending but there is one thing I wish had happened but I will include it right at the bottom of this review (it's not really a spoiler but more of a way for everyone to get closure after everything that happens in episode 10).
Acting/Cast
Honestly such an amazing performance from everyone. The terrible people did such a great job at making you hate them. In fact, I probably hate the characters more now than I did when watching part 1. And of course our main cast, they were so great and embodied their characters so well that I regularly got emotional watching them.
Music
Perfectly fits every scene. And just like the first part, I love the opening sequence/credits so so so much. So beautiful. I do need to see if anyone has made any playlists for part 1 and 2, or I might just make my own. [update: I found a wiki page with the OST so I just made my own playlist]
Rewatch value
I have given it a 10 for rewatch but I do feel like it'll be a while before I can rewatch it. But in the meantime, I will be listening to the music a lot.
Overall
Definitely a favourite of the year and I don't if I'm just good at picking them, but I always manage to find dramas from Taiwan that I just absolutely fall in love with. Just like many dramas I've watched from Taiwan, this drama will stick with me and I'll be thinking about it for a while. So if you have seen part 1, waste no time in starting part 2. And if you've somehow stumbled onto this page without watching part 1, go back and watch it because it's so special. Although please do check out the trigger warnings because it can be a tough and painful watch and episode 10 might leave you heartbroken.
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the one thing I wish happened at the end:
they make the documentary exposing everyone!!! omg, it pains me so much to know that only a few people would know the full truth
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My New Comfort Show!
I watched this drama the weekend before my dissertation for undergrad was due - the last assignment I needed to do as an undergrad student, and for the past few months, I've had so many people (family and even strangers) tell me I should do a Masters. And the more I heard it from people, the more I got worried about my choices. Being in education for so long wears you do after a while, especially me who did a very ambiguous degree that does not have the most obvious career prospects. And this drama is what helped me realise the choice I needed to make: I need a break from higher education. And for the comfort this drama has brought me, I can only say this drama means a lot to me.
Anyone can say this type of drama is nothing new, and you can say that about anything, but at the end of the day, the viewing experience is subjective. I recently watched a video of someone saying people should stop reading cosy books, particularly South Korean and Japanese translated ones, and this drama is the exact reason I disagree.
This drama is about a burnt out worker (Yuta). and through having this bankatsu with his two closest friends (Kosuke and Aoi), he starts to find joy again. And what I love about this the most is that this drama isn't just an upwards trajectory. Without spoiling anything, just because he starts to experience happiness again, his problems don't go away completely. And I really appreciate showing that side of things.
There's also his friend who is currently an unemployed chef (Kosuke) who is the one hosting this dinner parties, and their other friend (a konbini worker who recently got divorced - Aoi) who is admittedly seen a lot less than the other two characters because he's a supporting character (much to my dismay). So this drama is just layers upon layers of people who feel a little lost in life and their friendship and food gives them healing and comfort. And whilst one of the friends is the chef, I appreciate the fact that all three men help around in the kitchen whilst they cook, instead of relying too much of thee chef friend.
This drama came at such a perfect time for me, and I cannot be more grateful for that, and I really recommend that you all watch it!!
The OST:
Opening song: Categorize by Retroriron
Ending song: Hanasouze by Aki
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