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Probably 1 of the best Asian dramas in 2020
Japanese filmmakers are really good at using small, simple moments to tell a story. No exaggeration (unless it is a comedy) and no over-abundance of subplots. This is minimalist filmmaking. Matsumoto Hana's recent works are really good, an actress-director to keep an eye on :)Honestly, I have picked Neko to watch on a whim. I love cats and well, there is cat in the title ^^ But oh, do not be mistaken, this drama is not about cats. Rather, it is about how 2 lonely people met over a cat, how they became companions and fell in love with each other.....
The script is very honest. Right in ep 1, FL tells ML that she has brain tumor and is expected to die from it soon. He is homeless so she offered him to stay at her home, on condition that he does what a family member would-- FL is living alone and craves for companionship. Of course, they fell in love. You would watch them struggle with the love, she wasn't sure if to accept him as he would eventually be heartbroken, but he convinced her. Better to have loved and lost, than not love at all. But life is unpredictable.....
Neko is an excellent mini drama that is a role model for how with good script and cinematography, you can present loneliness, love, companionship, loss, sadness and recovery in a few short scenes. This drama is 6 episodes of 20 mins each, the length of a movie. But the production is right to make this into a drama, to present the different arcs and emotions, and give viewers time to absorb in what was shown. By the end of this drama, it would make you rethink about life and death.
I know the story seems too heavy (I suspect that is why the title is "Neko", to trick us into watching it, lol) but trust me, you would be very glad to spend 2 hours on this drama. We all love those lighthearted, idol romcoms or gritty mysteries dramas, but when such a good slice-of-life drama comes along, it deserves your time.
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Very easy time for me to watch this, sweet, emotional, I'm thankful that I decided to watch this one
Disclaimer: I usually write this reviews for myself to see in the future, that doesn't mean that this can't help people at all, there a some big spoils on the story section, they're not very detailed but they are big spoilers so if you don't want to get spoiled just skip this part, the rest of the review is spoiler free.Well, I didn't expect to like this drama that much, for various reasons. This is my first japanese drama, usually when I dive into new countrys, it usually takes time for me to get used to the language, but it wasn't the case at all with this one, because of the innumerous japanese animes I watched in my life so it was very easy. Another reason why I thought I wouldn't like this a lot is because I initially decided to watch it only for my 2021 watch challenge, cause I saw that someone on my page used it for something, so I had no expectations on it, but I ended up liking it a lot.
That was very long intro, but now I'll dive into the drama and why I liked it so much.
Story: 10/10
It was a very different story than what I'm used to, I'm used to watch chinese/korean cheesy romances, so to watch a very realistic story yet very simple love story for once was a very exciting experience, for the first half of the drama it was a very sweet romance of two people that met by chance and fallen in love with each other, but what really makes me value this story that much is the breach of expectative that happened on episode 3 when we all were expecting Mineko to die at some point, but who ended up dying was Koji, at that point I thought we would ended up in a route situation, where we would see various possibilities of the story, but no the story goes on and Mineko eventually was healed from her disease. As much as I wanted the guy to be there with her during that process. This story give us a lesson that everything can happen, and that life is really dynamic, even if it was obvious that she would die and he would be left alone the exact opposite opposite happened.
Acting/Cast: 7.5
It was not bad by any means, but it was not great, which is understandable since both Sakurako (22) and Oshiro (20) are very young and on their first main roles, that being said I think her acting was actually really good and convincing, the way she acts is very my style and is what made me raise the acting rate that high and I think that was noticed by directors because looking at her MDL's page she already have 2 Main Roles scheduled for 2021 and I'm very happy for her. On the other hand I really dislike Oshiro's acting it seems like he is always trying too much, and his acting is not convincing at all and totally not my style, but he is still very young and I can see potential on him, I'll look forward to his next roles too.
Music: 9.5/10
It's really good and fitting, there's not much variety, but it was enough to make the drama really enjoyable and easy to watch, I don't have much to talk about it, it was just pretty solid and fitting.
Rewatch Value: 10/10
I give this a 10, because it's a really good story packed in 6 eps of 24 minutes each, two well invested hours, and I'll definitely end up watching this again in the future.
Final Thoughts: This review is packed with a lot of firsts for me, it's my first review in long time, it's my first japanese drama and it's the first time I'm doing a review strictly for myself, but I hope that this was a good review for whoever is reading this, sorry for my not perfect english.
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Quality over quantity...simply brilliant!
I had already had the chance to deeply appreciate Kanai Junichi's refined skills as screenwriter/director in the short movie "Transferring" and in the dorama "Bishonure Tantei Mizuno Hagoromo", and I had already become a big fan of the FL, Konishi Sakurako, while watching her drama "Keihan Ensen Monogatari". It was therefore with some pretty big expectations that I approached this "Neko", and I'm very glad to be able to say that those expectations haven't been betrayed! Quite the opposite, it's even better than I'd imagined it would be! ^____^The script is absolutely brilliant, managing to touch topics like love, life and loss, in such a delicately beautiful way; at the same time, the depth it reaches in such a short time (six 20' episodes, basically the same length of your average movie) proves once again that quality trumps quantity.
The cast did a great job too, not only Konishi Sakurako but also the ML, Maeda Oshiro (whom I had only seen in minor roles so far and therefore not really noticed; I really hope he'll get more leading roles from now on!) and my beloved Sakai Wakana added some more value even by acting in a single episode (but what a great role! Once again, quality over quantity, right?)
The direction and photography are exquisite, and the music lovely throughout the entire series.
Perfect 10!
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An Unbelievably Equal, Lovely, & Cute Romance When All Odds Are Against You!
I think the story is open to interpretation: A realistic one and a supernatural one. Maybe it's made this way to let the viewers see it as they like, so less be hurt by the tragedy. But either way, the main theme is the same: The temporary nature of life and everything in it, also the risk of being hurt that loving someone can bring to our lives, to the point that sometimes makes suicide a very reasonable choice. What do we want to do? Can we really enjoy this?We all know the answer that a typical J-dorama gives us. And "Neko" isn't an exception. But what makes this one special is how lovely, how equal & balanced, how cute, the relationship of 'Mineko' and 'Koji' is! It's like you're on Titanic, the ship is drowning, and you sing the most heavenly song ever! What is it like? Watch 'Neko' to find out! Another question: Can humans really do this? 'Neko' thinks so! Japan thinks so! And I'm in complete agreement!
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Life and Death at its Fluffiest...
First this dram taught me how to say Cat in Japanese! Which is an achievement on its own.Second this drama had me laughing, crying, then laughing and crying at the same time which is a huge achievement and I love it for it.
Third this drama managed to convey people with illnesses, that are dying as actual human beings.. They then almost ruined that by talking about leaning stuff from the dead and having to live on for them.. but they also talked about moving on for one self so I forgive them...
Forth they actually let a person who was dying have a pretty normal romance...
Fifth fluffy cats.. and an occasional dog
Sixth UMBRELLAS used to perfection! ok not perfection it was a bit to gender coded.. and not yellow... but almost to perfection.
So basically this was actually a really good story... Painful, Powerful, strangely relatable... With vey lovable characters, living life to their fullest while facing death in a more human less judgey more realistic kind of way... Showing a person with a terminal illness wishing for other things than just a cure. As she truly is shown as a human being with both feelings and fears... and so on and so on. There is a lot of fun dialog in this drama, bed jokes (in a good way) and just life.. and death... and life....
Unfortunately there were some aspects of the male leads mimics/acting that did not really work for me in several of the episodes... as if he felt just a little bit to child like at times... which is one of the reasons this is not scored higher... that and a few unrealistic portrayals here and there + the whole use peoples death as motivation to do stuff...
Defiantly a drama I recommend, it is also highly bingable just make sure to have a sleeve and prepare to cry, not ugly cry but foggy eyes at the least... I actually shed a bunch of real tears.
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