This review may contain spoilers
This is a very particular drama and not really what I was expecting when I came across it the first time. I haven't read the novel, so I don't know how it's constructed, but the drama doesn't quite follow the kind of format you'd think when you read the description. From the main plot, you'd think this is a story focused on Yazaki Rio, where these other girls and their situations with this mysterious man are secondary, but it's the reverse, for the most part. You know more about these women than you do about the protagonist, and her own story unravels slowly throughout the series, ending in a cliff-hanger that I assume is setting the story for the movie that follows. The premise of the drama is developed as a multiple perspective story, where each of the girls (A to D) get 2 episodes each focused on them (the drama has 8 episodes in total), while small parts of the protagonist's story get shown along the way. Each of the girls is reduced to represent a character archetype for Rio to write her drama about, but reality tends to exceed these limitations and even if Rio's perspective most times seems to remain objective, the girls suffer from great changes in their lives prompted by these situations, but which ultimately have to do with themselves and their life choices, as well as their friendships and relationships.
Even though I find the direction of this drama very good and very distinctive, I felt it at times confusing to follow because of how it was filmed and how transitions and back-and-forth elements were disclosed. Maybe it was the intention, to keep reality and fiction blurred, so I can't fault it too much for that.
The leads are represented as flawed girls rather than plain characters, which I applaud in a jdrama. It represents elements of reality in different perspectives while keeping the characters less idealized, as dramas tend to do, and more flawed and complex. They all make mistakes, they all have to face them and you are at times shouting at the screen for some of the things they do, but it engages. The meta element of this being a drama within a drama makes this opposition of "plain archetype characters" and "real life flawed people" a very interesting thing to see set in this way.
I also feel that the marketing for the drama could have been better, because if the whole situation with who the E woman was would have remained secret, it would have been a really good plot twist, but the posters and public releases already give that away.
All in all, it's an unexpected, different sort of drama that takes a cliche premise and deconstructs it in very interesting ways. If you're looking for something more straightforward, with a steady plot that's focused on one character's journey, this is not your thing. If you're, however, looking for something different, a bit meta and very interestingly filmed and scripted, give this one a chance. I hope that the movie that follows stays interesting as well.
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I do think the final ep sort of fizzled off with the writer's arc and ive never read the book so I don't know if this would actually flow in with the film but I'm really looking forward to the film to see more of the writer and Ito.
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Rio Yazaki is a 32-year-old screenwriter. She was once popular, but not anymore. In her past, she wrote hit drama series “Tokyo Doll House.” Since that time, she hasn't written any other hit titles. One day, Rio Yazaki gives a lecture. She gives out a questionnaire and from the answers, notices 4 women in her audience are dating the same man. Rio Yazaki decides to write a drama series based on these women's love story.
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There is something wrong in my understanding of japanese love
Just finished the drama.STORY - The story could be interesting to me, but the glue that sticks it all is so uninteresting… And that glue is Ito. A man that does not care at all for his lovers. And 4 lovers that do not have any self-esteem. Or maybe there is something quite different in Japanese ways of loving.
I like strong women characters, and in this drama, they are all the opposite.
ACTING – good acting for the most part, even if the characters are not very interesting…
MUSIC – there was a song that I enjoy very much.
REWATCH – will not watch again since I did not like it very much.
OVERALL – do not know what to say. The end is absurd to me. Knock Knock, it’s ITO?!?!?!!?!?!?!
I rate this regarding my feelings watching this. Nothing special about the production, so I stick to the plot.
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Machiavellianism in a comedic semi thriller
The above clause I would use to define this drama.One of the greatest, most meticulous and manipulative drama you'll ever see.
It starts slow, in fact very slow, but rarely I've seen it happen that the start that's been slow and by each and every episode it attains the best pace and theme possible.
In fact, the last episode was the best episode of this drama.
TBH , I was going for an 8 or even a 9 rating for this drama, until I saw the last episode changed everything, It Just amazes you.
The way this drama sparks your curiosity is phenomenal.
The casting is spot-on, acting is god level and the characters are so distinct.
The direction is absolutely stunning.
Cinematography is full of details.
The plot is kinda in reality check zone.
One of the best dramas I've ever seen.
The way this has been written is its absolute strength.
Such an interesting and fun drama to watch.
It's PERFECT.
You'll love this only if you're into mature things.
I would say by the looks of other reviews this drama is way too underrated.
If you're one of those you get confused with depth of direction and plot, this ain't for you. PEACE!
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This review may contain spoilers
Not Bad for Such a Short Series
The plot definitely seemed interesting to me and it was easily accessible on Netflix, so I kinda started this on a whim.The story is definitely interesting. The first 2 women and the second 2 women's stories fit together really nicely, but for some reason, I couldn't connect all 4 together. I feel like they kinda threw in the true identity of Ito at the very end with no explanation and it was a bit hard to digest. All of a sudden, they were like "well, this is the dude" and they didn't explain how they got to that conclusion or anything. The dude showing up at the end with that creepy ass grin really freaked me out. I'm not very satisfied with the ending.
I definitely liked the editing with the author sitting in on all the scenes and making commentary, especially when she was on the receiving end of it at the end. The only thing about that is that I didn't really understand the author's story. The clips of the author and her past lover were really short and I didn't really think anything of it, but all of a sudden at the end, it was important. The importance of the tub was interesting, but all of a sudden she broke down and I was like, what? It would have been nice to see some more explanation of her past and experiences so that I could empathize a bit more.
I kinda hated all of the characters in the show. They were all annoying and shitty people and somehow in the wrong and no one actually ended up happy, which is realistic I guess, but... In a way, it was good that they were all shitty people - it made it all the more interesting. Some of them were a bit predictable but they never changed so that's to be expected.
Overall, it was interesting for a short series that only takes a day to finish. Not a bad watch.
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Romance tóxico
Las relaciones son asquerosamente tóxicas. Ni siquiera dan como para meterlo en la categoría de sátira.Lo peor de todo es la autora de la historia que sigue incentivando las conductas tóxicas solo por el morbo de crear un libro (o serie. Fue tan irrelevante esa parte que ya no la recuerdo).
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The relationships are disgustingly toxic. They don't even make it into the satire category.
Worst of all is the author of the story who keeps encouraging toxic behaviors just for the morbidity of creating a book (or series. It was so irrelevant that part I don't remember it anymore).
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The world is smaller than what we think.
As viewers, we are already given the impression that Ito is a rotten person, someone who enjoys playing with the lives of the women he interacted with. The fact that he was mentioned by four women who are having problems with their relationships doesn't actually give a good impression to me, because how horrible can he be for that to happen?! But as the stories of these four women were unveiled one by one, maybe Ito wasn't the only rotten person.The characters were flawed in their own ways, and at the same time (to me), still very complex to simply understand. They aren't easy to like and have their own battles to attend to but unfortunately, were struggling and failing to face them. And to my own surprise, I actually think that maybe meeting Ito somehow helped them overcome their problems because I like to interpret that deep inside, they initially thought that they all have the same 'enemy' so they gathered their senses together and resolved their challenges along the way to 'defeat' him. So if I have the time (and as a Psychology student lol), re-watching and analyzing their characters in a more detailed way may be interesting.
The storytelling was also good because just like what was mentioned, this is like a puzzle that is gradually putting itself together in front of us. I also liked how the four women were given two episodes to focus on their stories so I was becoming more excited as the other characters were introduced. But to my dismay, the ending was really underwhelming. For me, the appropriate depiction of what I felt is this: it's like after meeting the characters, you have reached the peak of its interestingness so you glue your eyes closer to the television to wait for something to happen...until suddenly the screen just turned off.
I could've watched more and learn about Rio's background or see her face-off with Ito, so I'm hoping that I can count on its movie with that. The stories of these women who are interconnected with the same person made me realize that the world is indeed smaller than what we think. It's amazing how this drama also depicted that despite millions of people living at the same time, we can be connected with each other, may it be directly or indirectly.
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I enjoyed the way the story was presented, like a puzzle. The ambiance and setting were on point, and so was the music. The acting was alright, well chosen for each character. The ending felt kind of lacking. It’s probably because the drama was too short and could benefit from additional episodes to delve more into the main characters’ lives.
The drama was engaging enough to keep me interested, but bland at times. The 20 minutes long episodes fit perfectly with this style.
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Estranho mas interessante
Eu adorei esse drama! Não achava que fosse tão bom assim. Só achei que o final ficou em aberto mas verei o filme e descobrirei o que vem ai.Acho que a história é estranha mas interessante. A premissa é muito boa para estudar estruturas narrativas já que cada personagens têm seu arquétipo característico. Não sei como o livro é estruturado mas o dorama soube muito bem desenvolver as caracteríticas de cada uma das mulheres. Também achei que o dorama em si é bem diferente dos que eu já assisti já que além de curto é dividido em capítulos focados em cada uma das mulheres buscando moldar a personalidade do Ito a partir do ponto de vista não delas e sim da roteirista que é a protagonisto. Algo inusitado mas que torna o roteiro mais interessante ainda.
Um bom dorama para maratonar e ser feliz.
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