More than just ok!
When I watched Pornographer (the series this one is a prequel to), I honestly felt quite disappointed. It took convincing from a bigger fan of the franchise's adaptations but I finally gave Mood Indigo a try and I'm glad I did! It wiped away some of the sour taste the original series left in my mouth, and drew me into the story significantly more.I personally felt there was a pretty good improvement in acting from the Pornographer/The Novelist, and in the way the acting interacted with the story and scenes. I still occasionally felt awkwardness in some parts where the actors' deliveries felt detached from the mood that was trying to be conveyed, but Kijima and Kido had a much better natural chemistry than Kijima and Kuzumi in my opinion, which made this so much more enjoyable to watch. That short scene after the final credits with Kuzumi also felt much better to me than any "cute" scene in Pornographer which confirms to me there was real improvement beyond just the main characters being different. That being said, the smexy/tense scenes were still the best parts for me :P
Sorry for all the comparison with Pornographer, it's just what is in the front of my mind when trying to review. But another thing I like about this series is how well it works as a stand-alone series and that you can watch and enjoy it without having watched Pornographer (besides a slight lack of context for those two minutes post-credits, I guess). Obviously, that's kind of just what comes with being a prequel and the way the manga was written, but it adds points for me regardless, and gives it more rewatch value even when I feel the the first series is not that rewatchable.
That's about all I have to say. I had a good time watching this and I'm so happy that I was genuinely invested. The music was way less annoying, thank goodness. Also Gamoda-sensei is a sweetiepie and I liked his acting a lot. And I can't believe I didnt mention it until now but Kijima was such a sexy uke like OMG 0_o. Worth watching just for his sl*t moments HONESTLY. Kido you pissed me off but I still like you handsome man. And that's the end of my review.
Was this review helpful to you?
Twink of the year
I liked the ending a lot. This plot is the stuff of my daydreams. The whole thing throughout felt a little disjointed for lack of a better term, in a way that left me feeling lost and head scratchy sometimes. That quality served to its advantage in most cases though. It was like very whirlwind and fucky (good), and this served the story. So I disagree with a lot of the people saying it was too quick, I think that was a good thing overall. I had a fun time and I fujoed out and I heterojoed out and I even serioused out.Was this review helpful to you?
Just ok
Well it turns out I had watched this already like at least a year ago and I had no recall of it so it seems it isn't a very memorable drama. That aside this means my review comes after a second watch so I am very trustworthy folks... heed my words... or don't... it's up to you....I liked it when it was smexy but it was kind of a drag at other times... Also the music and the sound design in general were SO annoying!!!!! I just started groaning every time the theme played for the 20th time in an episode. But I did like when it got to the silly part of it and something kind of funny happened on screen. I couldn't always tell if it was actually meant to be funny or if it was just the music influencing me but it was welcome nonetheless.
Overall, it's a good story in theory, but the execution was just kind of awkward and it really had no emotional impact on me, hence why I only really felt invested during the scenes that inherently came with some more tension. One thing I must say is they did a very good job of casting the titular novelist appearance-wise based on the manga. It's been a while since I read the manga but I believe I enjoyed it more (for starters, I actually remembered having read it...)
From my memory the drama seems to have very faithfully followed the manga but in my perspective that might have actually been a big part of its downfall. Most of the shots felt so static, almost like they were trying to mirror manga panels, in a way which didn't lend any appeal to it and helped make the whole atmosphere very awkward. I feel like a drama adaptation of Pornographer had a lot of potential to be better than the source material by having more of a sensual feeling hanging in the air at all times but it just didn't work for me.
I wouldn't recommend against watching this, but I can't say it's great. It was just ok.
Was this review helpful to you?
ABSOLUTE CINEMA
It almost feels unfair to rate this drama so high among a sea of very well done ones I've watched since it's pretty clear to me that the novel that is the source material for this must already be amazing in terms of premise and writing (I'm unable to find a translation of it in English so I can't say for sure), and I have a tendency to rate adaptations lower when I enjoyed the source material more. That being said, my mind unclouded by that type of judgement in this case, it feels safe to say that this is a nearly perfect mini series.The portrayal of sexual frustration is so skillfully subtle yet so impactful, thanks to both the writing and the acting from every member of the cast. It lends a very real depressing atmosphere to the majority of the series until the last few minutes, but this only make the leads' interactions so much more stirring, beautiful, and sensual when it's called for. Their talks through email as well as the "reveal" were so hopeful and adorable. Not only that, but every little interaction with/between other characters felt so real in a way I can also only describe as cute, even the sad ones lol. Like I was watching actual tiny humans inside my screen with real lives of their own (???)
The narrative played out very well and I was hooked from the start. It's already been mentioned, but you can tell every actor in this was truly "in it" which is all one can ask for and allowed for great chemistry between everyone. A few moments related to the supporting characters in the last two episodes kind of left me desiring more, only because I wish the series could have been one or two episodes longer to spend a bit more time focusing on their stories and feelings, though I also want to consider the possibility of constraints due to being an adaptation. If this was a manga (my main area of expertise~) I would have liked to see a sappy bonus chapter of the main two consummating but I am happy with the way it ended here XD. With everything taken into account on top of my undeniable enjoyment of it, I feel this drama was incredible and I can't recommend it enough if you like realistic, sensual stories, and a rational but still hard-hitting dose of angst well-balanced with hopefulness.
P.S. if you enjoyed this drama you should try reading the manga "Kimi ga Boku no Subete" by Nishida Higashi, they both hit the same spot for me :-]
Was this review helpful to you?
