I also really liked the music used in this drama, I felt it matched the drama completely.
Overall, although Rich Man, Poor Woman is a very good drama I would not classify it as a must-see.
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Although the title is not convincing, the actual drama itself and actors/actresses are amazing. There are so many plots in the story - romance problems, best friend problems, family/abandonment problems, work issues lalala.
It was a very cute romance drama, as most are. Compared to most romance dramas, though, it wasn't like... full-blown romance. There weren't cute scenes between the leads all the time, and I think that this balances with the other things happening in the drama. For most frequent romance drama watchers, we can predict how the end will turn out, but even so, the details of the other plots in the drama kept me interested. There was good camerawork, acting, and pretty music at pretty scenes.
Also, if you're an Oguri Shun fan, then WATCH WATCH WATCH. :]
Yea, hope this helps...
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I expected a kdrama style romance comedy. Rich Man, Poor Woman felt more like a anime and a coming of age/ slice of life type show. As a result romance felt lack luster. More humorous than hilarious. As a coming of age story entertaining enough.
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This review may contain spoilers
I wrote this review while watching (and immediately finishing) the series so it's a little detailed (no spoilers though, I promise) and a little lengthy, too. Plus, I seriously seriously SERIOUSLY loved the NY special so I'm overloaded with feels right now.Just like how everybody else who have watched the series said, the title has absolutely nothing to do with the whole story, and thank God for that.
"Money is more important; we'll do any job for it... But we won't sell our soul."
To lay the plot out in a non-spoiler way, Rich Man, Poor Woman's (I am terribly uncomfortable whenever I'd mention the title) central theme is ambitions. It's what puts everything together. How, on the one hand, ambitions combined with pureness and sincerity could "change the world" and serve as an inspiration to others, while on the other hand, when combined with greed, could be self-destructive. Ambition is a seed that grows along with the intentions of the sower. It could flourish and feed the good, pure-hearted sower and propagate the dream, or it could grow into a poisonous plant and kill the evil, greedy planter. But in the end, no matter how evil, the purest heart pollenates and prevails. Story revolves around Hyuga Toru who, as the story has drawn, would somehow be an IT superstar, a little like Steve Jobs.
This drama is definitely, DEFINITELY, one of my favorites. I just love eeeeeverything about this drama. It made me feel all kinds of emotions, which is my favorite thing about dramas. The reason why I only gave it a 9.5 is that I tend to reserve the perfect 10.0 to life-changing existential dramas (which I associate highly with melodramas like Boku no Ita Jikan). But overall, Rich Man, Poor Woman is indeed a good product of its genre (career focused, romance) and it has its way of sprinkling viewers with the morals it would like to covey. It is indeed in my Top 5 all-time favorite dramas in my 9 years of being a drama fanatic. So I highly recommend this to everyone.
As I've said, I love everything about this drama but let me highlight what I loved about the series:
1. IT FELT HUMAN. This was the best and refreshing aspect of the story. Given the plot and the background of the characters, the show had an excuse to be extra flashy with a company president as the male lead and several other characters as rich and privileged people but I was absolutely pleased with how they kept everything believably modest. There was small emphasis on materialism and more on character depth so I got more interested in character development and less on the drama technicals, which was a good thing. Which leads me to the next thing I love about the drama.
2. CONSISTENCY. Dramas focused on character growth tend to have inconsistent characters, and rather than having a story about them, they become mere plot devices which makes things boringly predictable. This drama though, had well-thought of characters and their consistency made the character growth more relatable and heart-warming, and the story was a lot easier to follow. It's quite hard to explain, but the story unraveled on its own with the characters being themselves rather than the characters being merely tailored for what the writer intended the story to be. There were times where the story was a little bit predictable, but in a good way. This is because you already know the characters and not because you had the whole story figured out (I hope it makes sense).
3. ROMANCE. I don't jump into drama OTPs so easily but oddly enough and contrary to some other reviews here, the romantic storyline was definitely my most favorite part. It was what got me watching everything in one go. Probably, the fact that I loved the main leads' characters was a factor. Watching the trailer, I thought they didn't have the chemistry to keep the romantic storyline going but as I watched, I found their scenes cute and adorable. I might be a little biased, but I could say I was pleased with the romance. It is common knowledge in drama fandom that jdramas aren't the best players in the romance genre. Maybe because the romance is usually kept low-key and subtle, giving more spotlight to character growth. Personally, though, I found pleasure watching the little sweet things. I found it more realistically appealing for a company president to focus more on his work where several jobs and lives are at stake than to waste his time solving his own love life's problems. Most fangirls wouldn't agree (coz duh, love should be a man's topmost priority) and several years ago, I would have been severely pissed with a guy holding back because of his work obsession. But having watched plenty of dramas, plus aging lol, I grew out of love for the lovesick male leads and had an inclination towards practical guys who looked much more dependable. And this drama nailed it for me. Surely, Hyuga-san is a rude temperamental jerk I'd want to kick in the ass but I still understood why the heroine fell for him and why she decided to stay in love with him. And more than being a side story, work storyline had EVERYTHING to do with the romantic storyline so I believe the story was able to maintain cohesion of both sides which created the larger picture, which again proves its consistency.
5. OGURI SHUN. As if I hadn't said it enough, Shun was one of the best parts of the drama. Aside from his romantic side, I also liked how he suited his character so much. His rough untamed manly appearance went well the the eccentricity of his character. Plus, Hyuga Toru's business presentations gave the Steve Jobs feels and I find myself in awe that sometimes I have to remind myself that Hyuga Toru is a fictional character. "He's Oguri Shun, he's Oguri Shun!!"I had to remind myself several times. Plus, his teary-eyed, "I-am-deeply-touched-but-no-I'm-not-crying-I'm-a-big-boy-now" expression is just priceless. It kills me. Every. Freaking. Time. Don't get me wrong, I don't find Shun stunningly handsome (my favorite ikemen is, and will always and forever be, Miura Haruma) so I'm not one of the fangirls who follow him blindedly just because I think he looks good. But there's something about how he carries the role that I find endearing and this is where my Shun fondness roots from.
6. SATOMI ISHIHARA. I'm definitely fan now. To be honest, I thought her character was going to be annoying but I found her really cute, and Satomi Ishihara carries her role so well. She and Shun looked so natural with their roles. I haven't seen other works of Ishihara so I don't know if this is her signature image but I am extremely satisfied with her acting. Actually, everyone in the cast was a perfect fit.
7. COMPREHENSIBLE. If you're not the techie type and you dread jargons, you don't have to forego watching this drama just because it is set in an IT workplace. Although it involves a lot of workplace scenes, they focus more on the incidents that create ideas rather than the creation of the system itself so no technicality involved aside from the usual business talks we get to see in the usual dramas (stocks, shareholders, investments, etc.). If I may compare, it's like those American TV series, House or Suits for example (though a lot less complicated), where even though you don't really understand the technicalities, you still understand and have a full grasp of what's happening.
MUSIC
They had one song playing almost all the time and I barely noticed the usual instrumental sound effects but I honestly didn't care. The story was engaging by itself so the little support it got from the music department was surprisingly enough.
Having loved it this much, I'm pretty sure I'll watch it again some time in the future.
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I am NOT a fan of Japanese Dramas simply because I don't get them! But this one - you must give it a chance. It did have a slow start and at some point I According so some of the reviews...
Yes the plot is not as original- the whole rich man vs poor woman (the title says it all)BUT this is my favorite theme of dramas. In my opinion that is the whole point a drama- to forget about what is happening in our world. And simply relax and enjoy the ride of emotions.
In the beginning I thought "oh boy this is going to be annoying" because of the main actress'es voice. It becomes so high pitched that it made me want to run away. After a while I did not care.
What I did care about was how is it going to end? We as viewers can predict oh they will be together, but how that's why stay and find out for yourself.
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The actors were amazing. Oguri Shun being amazing as always, played his role perfectly well. Ishihara Satomi did great as well. I did find her character a bit annoying in the beginning but she grew on me. They were great together more so than I had expected.
The music was superb! Incredibly amazing, especially in the special~ I could not stop listening to it. Probably one of the reasons why I keep watching this drama over and over!
It's just simply amazing and cute. I like the fact that it wasn't too dramatic or frustrating to watch and it was just refreshing! I recommend this drama 100%~ Watch the special afterwards. You'll be screaming *internally* ~~~ (FANGIRLING like crazy)!!!! :D
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This drama had a more mature feel to it, unlike other jdramas, this one doesn't deliver overreacted scenes, but more of normal reactions in certain circumstances which makes the characters easy to relate to.
The two main leads deliver strong performances and have a great chemistry.
I'm going to rewatch this drama for sure and enjoy every moment of it cause there are lots of scenes in there worth watching and maybe even knowledge.
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If we vote for best couple this year this pair has my vote hands down!
They are so funny and cute together :)
what else can I say...um I (lol) watched the last 3 episodes without subtitles that is how addictive it is :D
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From what I gathered, this piece teaches folks of different values: friendship, attachment and above all, will to be a hard worker not only for yourself, but for the benefit of the world you live in. This is my first drama with Oguri Shun in it, and I thought he acted well. Other characters haven't made much of an impression, be it a few times when they felt too plastic, or just the lack of what had to be said. This, this damn show will make you frustrated, giddy and partially obsessed. Probably because you'll be skidding through the episodes like a madman, wanting to know will it be or will it not. Now then, I think that sentence alone says more than a lengthy review should do...so, enjoy.
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The first episode didn't draw me in, but I never give up watching something when I've only seen the first ep, be in English or Japanese. I'm so happy I kept on because I LOVED this!! Hyuga Toru can be the rich man to this poor woman any day.
The story isn't original: a rich, arrogant, attractive business man hires a poor clumsy woman to work for him. Sounds basic and dull, but it's the opposite. I found myself staying up till 4am binge watching episode after episode, I just couldn't look away. The acting was flawless, I am already a big Oguri fan but will have to add Ishihara Satomi to my list! She was amazing and so beautiful, I will be checking out more of her work now. Also- her characters style is on point, I found myself super envious over all her outfits.
I loved the music, found myself singing along on more than one occasion. I will be buying this on DVD to re-watch soon. This is a must watch for any romantic comedy fan. Now I'm off to watch the New York special!
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There's just so much going on in every aspect of this series. Each character is entirely believable, and you can tell that time has been taken to ensure that characters have their own depth without needing to be supported by the others. And don't even get me started on the actual storyline - it's original, almost entirely unclichéd (that's right - no mid-season camping trips where the main character eventually comes to terms with their feelings, lol!) and totally believable as a genuine narrative which could happen between two people in real life.
It's this which I personally feel makes the drama's title so clever. Instead of following its namesake and being a predictable, cookie-cutter love story, what the writers have actually done is create an original piece whilst remaining totally self-aware of the sort of tropes and clichés that occur within its genre. In short: the drama's title and overall plot idea is INTENTIONALLY clichéd. By taking the bare skeleton of a stereotypical romantic comedy then creating something new, original and interesting, the writers have shaken up and brought new life to the very genre it has stolen its skeleton from. It's probably done tongue in cheek... but I also think it's very, very clever.
One other thing I particularly loved about this drama is that the lead characters genuinely irritated me sometimes. In most dramas or fictional stories of any kind, the general idea of a main character is that they are somebody we can relate to and root for - but instead, the writers of this drama have opted to give us interesting and complex characters instead of just slotting in the same tired stereotypes. Every personality in Rich Man Poor Woman is fully-fleshed out with positives, negatives, memorie and faults, and you'll see clash after clash of personality and personal intentions throughout the series - just like in real life. It's extremely human and realistic, and I absolutely love that there are producers out there brave enough to try something new with its castings and characters.
So honestly? If you've currently got a spare hour or two, then just stop what you're doing and watch the first episode. You will NOT be disappointed. Trust me. ;)
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