The characters in this drama are very believable and well-done, they are realistic and have their good and bad sides.
I like how important friendship is for the story, much more important than the romance or violence.
The acting was really good, especially in the dramatic and fighting scenes. The actors looked like they were really in character and I never thought someone looked awkward, when they weren't supposed to.
The music wasn't outstanding, but it was there. I didn't pay much attention to it and felt like it wasn't really important.
The story itself was great, interesting and full of emotions. I never thought an episode was dragging, though there were some that confused me in the beginning.
You do notice that the drama is a few years old, though, but I don't think it's a bad thing.
I recommend everyone to watch this and give it a try because I thought it was great.
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MDL did a good job at summarizing IWGP, but honestly, I thought this drama was gonna be so cliche. Like I thought there would be a fight between Makoto and his best friend for the leadership spot of the gang, but no such thing happened. Makoto's best friend, Takashi, has his back throughout the entire drama. Not only does Takahi love Makoto, but everyone does. This character just has so much swag I can't take it.
There's also kinda sorta a love triangle, between Makoto, the main girl, and some other girl. I definitely liked the other girl better, but w/e. I'm not even upset with the ending because things get wrapped up, all questions are answered, and it all just ties together very nicely.
I wouldn't call this a detective drama to be exact, but if you like those types of dramas (the types where the characters are trying to figure out who committed a certain crime), u like laughing (it was kinda funny, u know anything with Nagase will have u laughing), u like dramas with friendship and loyalty, u may like this one. I'd definitely recommend, although some may not like the style/quality since it is a kinda older one (2000 I think). Of course the acting/cast is on point. And the music is pretty good (at least it is to me). The only character I didn't like was the main girl, I found her very annoying and self-centered. But that didn't stop me from enjoying the drama. It's good, definitely worth a watch.
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Cast: Amazing, great cast. I was shocked to see Yamashita pop up and I have to say, his acting here is the best I've seen of him since... Nobuta wo Produce. So to me he was better at acting when he was younger compared to how he is now, but that could also be to do with the lame characters and doramas he does now... anyway, yeah loved the cast! Nagase Tomoya only seen him in My Boss, My Hero. Definitely plan to watch more of his stuff now! He looks good in a cop uniform too! haha Kubozuka Yosuke is another I've only seen one or two times and defo want to see more of! Sato Ryuta awesome as always and seriously hasn't changed in 13 years xD I normally see Takahashi Issei do quite everyday characters and I liked he was a hacker in this with a MASS of hair xD WAIT... Oguri Shun was in this?! o_O I do not remember =/ Tsumabuki Satoshi another I rarely see and plan to watch more of. I liked Watanabe Ken in this dorama also!
Characters: Where to start... Favourite characters: Makoto was cool and as the main character you gotta be interesting which he was and he has a nice stomach! Yokoyama - I love his corruption and the fact he doesn't play the 'good' cop that you seem to just see in doramas now these days, The King was AWESOME I think he was my favourite, crazy mother chucker! Kazunori was enjoyable when he popped up. Loved Shun and that he was quiet and has this side of him that was interesting even when quiet! Masa was adorable and fun! Yamai was interesting til he died his hair dark then the rest of the story he wasn't interesting. Characters I hated: Rika, glad she left the show early, and Hikaru - words can not express how much Hikaru annoyed me. I wanted to kill her and he VOICE was hella annoying! Shame the story didn't go the way I wanted with her, grrr...
Music: LOVED the opening theme. Loved Makoto's ringtone was awesome, I want it as a ringtone! The soundtrack was reminiscent of Wong Kar Wai's 1990's film music which I loved so naturally loved this soundtrack =]
Overall: I enjoyed it, sometimes didn't care about the story line and some parts of the story I really didn't like and had that one hella annoying character that I wanted dead from the moment I saw her. But besides that it's interesting, funny, great how the story comes together in the end, it does feel mysterious at times too! Now to watch the SP xD
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What should I say more?! This series can be categorized as one of the best, a must see, as it combines the street factor with all the violence, gangs and raw characters with detective work and funny moments. For me this is the recipe to success.
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Story, Characters/Cast, Music and overall.
The story was just awesome. From the very beginning until the end it was very entertaining and didn't even try to let me bored. Every episode was really enjoyable, the funny ones in the beginning and the more serious ones in the end managed to make me give a 9.5/10 to the story.
I personally liked every character. They were very realistic and well-developed. The evolution was also good and the actors were just perfect for every character.
Not too much to say about the music, loved the opening and the soundtrack was also enjoyable.
If you like street-style comedy/drama with some mystery and the idea of the main character giving all he got to help out his friends, without giving (who reminds of the Onizuka character from GTO) then you should definitely try this one.
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This review may contain spoilers
Jazzy
You know how free jazz is a bit chaotic, but there's an underlying element to it that's smart about it? That's this show.I went into this show not knowing much. Put it on my ptw after seeing it on the feeds, and eventually watched it to complete a challenge. It starts off feeling a bit like a mess. There's so many things happening, so many characters to get to know, and each one has their own charm or displeasing element to make them memorable.
Honestly, I'd like others to go in kind of blind as well, so I won't explain the story all that much. If you don't mind feeling a little uncomfortable with an alternative-feeling directing style and can handle the plot occasionally going over the top, then just go with it.
I found the story a bit predictable, though the plot somehow made me doubt my instincts several times. The writer did a good job of dropping hints and then dropping red herrings. I liked that a lot. The reveals still felt rewarding to me.
idk I liked this, probably more than the average person, but I did. It feels like I should give it an 8.5 rating, but I gave it a 9 for the overall feeling it gave me. There was a lot of heart and empathy in this tale.
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A Quirky Sensibility & Charming as Hell Characters!
This was made 23 years ago and, man, it still holds up! Heck, it even feels quite contemporary. For instance, there is a transgender character who is played as a perfectly normal person whom the main characters had known as a female child at school, but now accept as a male adult without missing a beat. They simply accept that the girl had surgery and is now a man, and move on to other issues as the story progresses in this episode (the trans person appears as a supporting character in ep 5).But it isn't just this character who feels contemporary, it's the sensibility of the entire show in general. This is achieved with a lot of fun, tricky camera work that keeps the narrative pulsing with a vibrant, visual appeal, as well as with the use of constant, witty dialogue. Indeed, the entire vibe of the show is fun in a quirky, original sort of way.
And the main characters are all highly charismatic and enormously likable. Yet it isn't just the main characters; because in this show, even the side characters draw you into the screen. It must be said that while each episode plays as a crime procedural with the main character setting out to solve a different crime, the real pleasure is not found in watching him solve the crimes, but in watching him and the rest of the cast be charming as hell.
Moreover, the actors playing these charming characters all do a wonderful job. In fact, a lot of the fun in this show is watching these actors 23 years ago before they became super famous in Japan. To wit: Ken Watanabe, Tomoya Nagasa, Yasuke Kubozuka and Issei Takahashi. There's a reason such fine actors all chose to be in this show, and that is because it has a terrific script, talented directors and exceptional cinematographers. In short, the show is a winner.
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The personalities of the cast were thought through until the end, the BGM fitted perfectly and the whole plot was done nicely.
It was my first Drama. I totally recommend that to everyone.
You'll laugh a lot and cry a lot. It's a very good drama. :D
The OST is one of my favourites until now. :)
[off topic]And I choose a Hotel in Ikebukuro when I went to Japan in 2009.. because of this Drama. :D[/off]
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IWGP lays the foundation for quirky Kudo Kankuro dramas
While it is a thriller, you see how the characters are goofy which makes them more human. Apart from the main character who's been a Kankuro mainstay, the drama boasts of a support cast that came to be well known over the years - Ken Watanabe, Kubozuka Yosuke, Sato Ryota, Yamashita Tomohisa, Kenji Sakaguchi and guest actors such as Satoshi Tsumabuki, Koyuki, Takashi Issei, Abe Sadawo, Shun Oguri, Endo Kenichi and many more.The story with the multiple subplots is the highlight of this drama as the characters inch closer to finding the main culprit in every episode, which keeps you gripped. The humour is also subtle so there's no boring moments. The camera work is great with good shots of the IWGP area. I have watched it twice already and am currently on my third rewatch. Kudo Kankuro saiko!!
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Surprisingly good!
Fun and emotional! Im sure this isn't a show for everyone due to the comedy style thats very distinct to japan and more common in the early 2000's (from what i know) of japanese media, but if you like that sort of comedy or can look past it, it's just wonderful! I didn't actually expect this to be as good as it was, seeing as it was just some TV-show from early 2000's japan.I think the comedy adds to this show a lot, but if it isn't something to your taste that you can still ignore, it's still very good. The characters and stories are very believeable, and the character designs/costume designs or whatever you call it is also very believable. The locations all look very good, for example, the main character, Makoto Majima, his room looks like the room of a typical guy around his age in that time, and the way he dresses and acts is also very accurate to him and his character, which is something that he shares with many other characters and locations.
Even when the reactions of characters seem a little exaggerated for comedic value, it doesn't feel out of place, which is a big upside for me personally, because with some shows, they make it extremely realistic and then suddenly break my suspension of disbelief just to make a joke because they might exaggerate it too much or make it seem out of place, but this is not a problem that this show has!
The characters are well written, both in the perspective of being enjoyable to watch, fitting into the show well, and making you feel emotions about them. When the show wants you to care about someone, it makes you care, when it wants you to really dislike someone (which isn't very often with reoccuring characters, where it usually makes you have more mixed feelings about them) it makes you really dislike them, and so on. I will say that remembering the names of characters is a little bit difficult, but i cant tell if that's just because im bad at names or if they really do just not say the names of some characters very often.
For the time it was written in, it is surprisingly progressive as well sometimes. A couple of examples i have are that it treats characters that work in the sex industry well and just as equal as other characters, it supports migrant workers, there's a trans character (female to male) who never really gets deadnamed on purpose or misgendered. This was a nice surprise in my opinion, but it still had its moments of showing its time and setting (such as the normalized perversion of some characters, which was a bit iffy but to be expected of an early 2000's j-drama, unfortunately).
Overall, very enjoyable show! personally, i would compare it to stuff like the tiger and dragon show, due to having a similar energy to it, and the yakuza/like a dragon games, because i feel like they have a similar balance between comedy and seriousness to them and both have that specific japanese feeling to them.
(Though i do feel that it is important to mention that this show handles mature themes frequently such as violence, rape, sexual things and death.)
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the G-Boys will stay in my heart forever ?
Mann I could watch this forever I'm mad this ended so fast ?Extremely entertaining and enjoyable, funny and serious and just a really fun and memorable ride.
Dripping with style, the visuals work really well with very frantic but fluent editing and costumes and sets which perfectly showcase the culture and fashion of the time. Great acting and tons of likeable and memorable characters, a few of which get unexpected development near the end. Some portions of the show are episodic and some progress the overarching story, both elements are handled really well imo with some great story revelations and emotional beats. Amazing final few episodes.
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