I'm a big fan of Yamapi, so it was obvious that I would give this a try. And I wasn't disappointed. The plot was a bit different from other dramas, or maybe I should say it was less drama than in other dramas. And believe it or not, I found that to be really nice.
It's a story about love and friendship and about finding your way in life. But, it was realistic and a story that could happen to anyone and that's why I found it to be different from other dramas. It's nice to once in a while watch a drama that could happen in real life and somehow I found myself recognizing so much that happened to my daily life.
Overall, a goodfeel drama with good cast. Watch it!
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In terms of the story, it starts out very cliche and romanticized. Yamapi plays his standard lovelorn guy who is way too nice for his own romantic well-being. He has a lot of facepalm moments, and I felt like he was a Disney character. The plot was a little unbelievable and tried sometimes to be 'soap-opera-ish' in the way they dealt with relationships. But the found a way to reel it back in before it became too over the top. But it's a little head-scratchy at times.
The cast was amazing, finding a way to really create characters that fit their actors/actresses. Besides Yamapi's typecast character, everyone else really felt fresh. I liked how they got top notch guys that you can buy into. Even the characters in their little romance side story were cast. Especially Ricky!
The music was fantastic! I'm a big fan of Tomohisa's music, so 'Summer Nude '13' was a big hit for me. They really created a nice smooth track list of BGM that didn't go over the top and distract from the story.
This is not a show you rewatch though. It wasn't a bad show, but it wasn't great either, and the plot isn't the strong point of the show. It's the characters. This is one of those shows you watch once when you're feeling that drama fever and are caught up on your current shows.
Overall, I liked the show. It's not a show you put at the top of your watch list, but it's a good watch on a boring day with nothing to do. Not much suspense or drama in this show, so it's not a must watch. But it's a fun watch if you have nothing better to do and have seen Densha Otoko or Proposal Daisakusen.
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Story- The story in itself had a lot of potential. The story itself really isn't bad at all, just the execution of the story. I know Japanese dramas tend to move at a slow pace and don't rely on frequent twists and turns, but even this moved a bit too sluggish for me. For that, I can only give the story a six because of the poor execution. One huge plot point that was never explored was Natsuki's relationship with her former fiancee. If he ditches her at the alter, there had to be a big explanation; yet there wasn't. All we got were scattered flashbacks that contributed very little to story. I honestly wish it were explored further. Her ex-fiancee could have been incorporated as an actual character, just like Asahi's ex-girlfriend was. The ending was pretty basic and extremely cliche; in fact the last scene is very similar to the ending of Yamapi's much, much better drama Proposal Daisakusen.
Acting/Cast- I wish I could separate the acting and the cast and give a rating for each. The cast would get a high rating but the acting...not so much. Yamapi is as deadpan as ever here. Instead of engaging the viewer in with his character he really does nothing with the character at all. He's just reciting lines, not acting. The rest of the cast pulled the bulk of the weight and put on satisfactory and good performances. In fact, Katsuji Ryo who played Asahi's best friend actually outshone him. Based on acting skill alone, he probably deserved the lead role.
Music- I actually found it to be enjoyable. I like the ending theme song and the opening theme. It was suitable for the drama and I would listen to the soundtrack again.
Rewatch Value- Really, there is nothing outstanding or memorable about this drama to warrant a re-watching. If anything, the only re-watching appeal would be to see the cast in swimsuits.
Overall, it wasn't so terrible that I had to stop watching. Since I watched it while it aired it only took a mere one hour out of my week. I can honestly say that if I chose to watch it after it aired I may not have continued.
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Whilst not necessarily meant to be the star of the show, I feel that the character of Hanae (played by the beautiful and talented Toda Erica) brought a lot of warmth to the plot and I found myself unwittingly rooting for her at every step. Her charm and gentleness engages the viewer in a way that few characters can, pulling the entire cast along with her to make being part of this story a heart-warming experience.
The setting is pretty and well captured (as it should be considering that photography is one of the key concepts in the show) and the soundtrack does its best to match the feel of the whole series perfectly. Whilst enticingly beautiful, it is apparent, particularly when indulging in this show over a short period of time, that the range of content in the soundtrack is somewhat limited. Every emotive moment, of which there are many, is accompanied by the same melody. This issue of repetition becomes glaringly obvious when the same theme is used to highlight the comic relief character's amusing, and hopelessly inept, emotional diatribes.
Don't let this small fault sway you from enjoying the show however, since this is only a small part of what Summer Nude has to offer. I would recommend this to anyone looking for some romantic light relief, interwoven with an enviable tale of friendship and personal growth.
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One Word ---- "EPIC FAIL"
From the first episode, the atmosphere is relaxed and has a light tone because it's indeed a "Summer Drama". I believe the plot has a potential but they didn't develop a twist, screenplay, storyline and character depth. The drama is just a plain itself as you can read from the synopsis, make your own prediction and.. tadaaa! You are 100% correct.
Okay, we have a bunch of friends bonding around here and there, and everywhere. We can feel that too because their friendship is somehow relatable. My! What a cinematography! What a music! What an acting! A lovely scene. You can feel the freshness of Summer Sea, Azure Sky and Cool Breeze and you'll enjoy it the most if you have a 14-inch TV or more than that. Along with the presence of music, I can assure that you'll love it. I swear. Witnessing like that makes you go -
"Aw, it's nice to be young!" (^o^)
Hhhmm.. am I the only here? *laughs*
Then again, the story is a piece of crap and I think the writer has ran out of ideas and script, perhaps? I noticed that some of its dialogues doesn't really necessary to be said, I just hope that the writer improved some of its quotes since his previous 'Proposal Daisakusen' is good and inspiring actually.
Seriously though, Why do you have to make this series? What's your intention really? You've wasted an expensive budget! Look, there's two highest-paid actress and Yamapi and branded gadgets such as Canon, Playstation and etc.
I'm sorry Erika, you were my favorite and I like your redeeming acting here so you don't have to blame yourself, ne?
And.. Yes, it's not a triangle-love story but more than rectangle, hexagonal, diagonal or whatever shape you want. Please, tell me that I'm not the only one who's ranting about this drama. It's so frustrating that I'm about to choke. :/
PS.
If you're a Yamapi fan and you're planning to watch this, then go! I'm not going to stop you, just to remind you of my concern above this 'NOTE' review.
All in all, I'm very sorry that I've vent my frustration to this drama. I'm so sorry.. that's it.
Here's a trivia about their names and its meaning:
Asahi -- Morning Sun
Natsuki -- Summer and Hope
Hanae --- Flower Blossom
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I don't really recommend this to people whom doesn't seem to like slow place drama. In addition i shall thank the producer, director & casts to creating such a beautiful movie. anyways this is my first reiew
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At the beginning, it was slow, but it wasn't that bad. I thought ''hey, maybe this will get better.'' I actually started watching this only for the cast. I miss seeing Yamapi. I haven't watched a romance drama of his for a while, and same with Erika. They're my favorite Japanese actors and I was SO excited to see them onscreen again after a long time, since their other newest dramas didn't seem so intereting... but no, this was a TOTAL DISAPPOINTMENT.
First of all, where is the chemistry? I didn't see any chemistry between Yamapi and Karina or even Yamapi x Erika... ? Like, really? I couldn't get into this drama ONCE. Well, maybe sometimes there were some cute scenes and I was fangirling... but there wasn't even that much.
And I thought that this was supposed to be a love triangle... but, I don't know what you would call this... ? It's all mixed up, so confusing. He likes her, and she likes the other, and the other likes another, the ex shows up, it gets complicated... now.. ugh, I don't even know where to end.
All in all, this drama was a WASTE of time for me. I was so disappointed. If you're a fan of the cast, then you might give it a try... but if you're not really a huge fan or Yamapi, Erika, or Karina... just don't even waste your time.
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This review may contain spoilers
It is really hard to write a review without being all spoilery... I'll try my best!I must admit, I started watching Summer Nude because of the cast: my goodness, what a cast! Yamapi, Karina, Erika Toda and even Nagasawa Masami (yes, my little ProDai heart started beating so fast), Katsuji Ryo, Itaya Yuka... oh my worlds collide. And I wasn't disappointed, I must say.
It has everything we want from a getsu9: great actors, good music, beach, sun, a bunch of friends and love triangles/squares/pentagons/hexagons... The overall story is not THAT great though: in my opinion it lacked a little something, you know, that thing that can hook you up for the whole series and which is originally provided by the main characters.
I ended up being more interested in secondary characters (Mami, Takashi, Secchan), and especially in Hikaru. I honestly didn't know much about Kubota Masataka (well, i've only seen him in Boku no Hatsukoi wo Kimi ni Sasagu) but I think his acting is really good. I love his character so much, and who wouldn't: a young man who is always super quiet, loves reading, not that handsome and wearing glasses (oh how I love clichés), doesn't speak much, works in a small video-rental shop and is desperately in love with Hanae (Toda Erika) who's herself involved in a one-sided love with the gorgeous Asahi (Yamapi) . Good enough for me!
What's really agreable is the background: we can follow a group of friends enjoying summer in their small town by the beach, it's hot, they have fun, they eat, they drink (A LOT), all this served with some good soundtrack.
I would not call this a must-watch, 'cause I pretty much knew how it is going to end from the first episode. (yeah, I am patiently waiting for the last episode to be subbed but still, it's obvious.) It remains a nice story for those who long for summer!
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Just hate with the scenes with the stupid couple really like to edit my video removing their scenes. very annoying!!
But so-so like the show!!
Somehow Yamashita Tomohisa's Acting the same in every role he had.
you can't really feel if he's sad, angry. overall like the whole cast!!
wish the title would be "Summer Love" instead of Summer Nude!!
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I love this dorama first of all because of the casts: Yamapi, Toda Erika, Nagasawa Masami! Second, it's because the genre. Third, because Yamapi being a photographer, it's such a pleasure seeing him behind the camera ^_~
Heart warming. That's what I thought about this dorama. The plot and conflict are not too spectacular, the plot somehow a bit slow and predictable too, but the story about friendship always melt my heart, so I gave the high score for that.
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So, this drama has Yamapi and a love story. Seeing how it's a Japanese drama, most of the more experienced drama watchers can already guess that it won't be the most exciting love story ever made. Instead, they have nice chemistries, cute stories and give importance to all the areas of live. Love, heartbreak, friendship, work, dreams, hope... You name it. That's what makes this drama good but also a bit bad. It has so many nice characters who grow on you, but on the other side there isn't anything happening with the characters you want to watch. For me, there was also some development with Yamapi missing. Not his character, but his feelings seemed so random to me. It was a good story, but I want to see him changing more. If he can't play it, they have to script a scene to make his inner feelings obvious or something.
So, I actually enjoyed the drama, but not enough to give it more than 3*. There are better romance dramas out there, but also worse. You will enjoy it if you want to relax, if you like Yamapi, Karina or Toda Erika or if you want to see a tiny story like Anego or Sapuri.
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