Acting/Cast: No complains in this department. They are all wonderful and experienced cast. Kimura Takuya is brilliant in his double role as an android and a super-nerdy human scientist. These two roles are almost opposite of each other:- one a cool looking, killing machine with minimal expressions and conflicted in many ways (an adroid struggling with his identity and later his developing human emotions); another a shy, passionate nerd with numerous comical expressions who knew exactly what to do and what he wants. Kimura shone in this drama. Shibasaki Kou (the female lead), however - I cannot comment much on. Her role is adequate to pull through the story but limited due to the many premises the story aims to address. So, yeah - she's the female lead but her role is not over-powering that the main story did not come through. In short, she was... there. The rest of the cast - two thumbs up for them (Reiji style!) *grins*
Music: Love the theme OST. And btw, it's in English! :)
Rewatch value: In my opinion, a gem for rewatch. There are not many action, futuristic, romances out there and those who are available are either overrated, a manga live-action or lacked in the storytelling and action parts. In Ando Lloyd, you find a balance.
Overall: A solid 9/10. Highly recommended if you are like me who values storyline (NOT the typical love triangles type storyline that appeals to the young female audience!) and get your kicks out of seeing handsome men kick butts admist tonnes of special effects! Yes, I am referring to all you closet "Matrix-ees" out there! :)
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In fact I was not prepared for this. It pleasantly surprised me. I'm so glad I watched this and now that it finished I'm lost and want to see more of it. So I'm listening to the music on repeat to impregnate myself in it again, not forget and bring back the feels.
The music is a beautiful sound to my ears and is well adapted to the drama. I'm not really found of the loud stressing TADAM sound that comes each time there were powerful actions but the peace calm musical parts that come with it definitively give me goosebumps and make me want to fly in the beautiful sky of this drama. For me the best song is the one we hear on the very last episode. Best discovery ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGPSWyyUMCQ
As I said, the first episode was a real surprise for me. I didn't expect it to be this complete, complex and simple in the mean time, fast and punchy. Ok the story might be a bit far fetched, it deals with lots of nonsense but don't forget that it's totally sci-fi. And surprisingly it's not completely unrealistic. In fact I might believe it ! The writers did a good job. I wasn't bored a single time, I wasn't too much stressed neither, I loved most of it. Ok I guess that once I decided to stop understand every parts and just enjoy it, I was able to fully enjoy it. No need to think, just watch and enjoy !
I think I should say a little more about myself to understand why I loved it that much.. I like science, I love computer stuff, I'm a mix between art and science, drawing and 3D-ing, I come from a family full of engineers and computer scientists. This drama compile all of it. I loved the way they managed to explain the robots as living computers dealing with programs, viruses, back up, flash memory, system restoration... that's my thing. XD. My other thing is totally completely fantasy. And with this drama I was served !
About the relationship itself... I was afraid it might be too romantic and a little bit creepy. Imagine a girl falling in love with a machine that exactly looks like her dead fiancé ! Yeks. But that wasn't like that. Of course they grow some feelings but it was so beautifully, simply done I never feel unease about it. I couldn't not talk about the relationship between Reiji and Asahi. Oh my ! They're so freaking cute adorably sweet together. I smiled and aww EACH TIME we saw them together !! I'm craving for this kind of relationship !
About the actors and their characters. First I was so amazed by Kimura Takuya's acting here ! Playing both Reiji and Lloyd, he was so great at it !! I mean, it was like two different actors ! He was unbelievably credible as a robot and totally him as a shy over clever quirkyscientist. I loved both of them. Loved so much how he moved me as Reiji, how touched I was by his actions, his reaction and his love for Asahi. Loved so much how reassured I felt seeing his robot side, he was so serious, so straight forward but so reassuring, so stable. I never stressed for Asahi's safety knowing he was here for protecting her.
I was pleasantly surprised by Shibasaki Kou. I hated her in Orange days, didn't like her in Nobunaga Concerto, but here... Here she shined ! I loved following her trying to survive in this new world without her beloved one and with someone who want her dead. Was sad with her when remembering her lost love, smiled at her silliness when dealing with a robot, was impressed by her bravery facing danger.
I could say a word for each second character because as always in Japanese production each character was well developed and I always feel like they are real important person and not just someone used only to make the first leads shine. I will never be tired of jdrama and I'll miss them all because it's like I know them personally and it's something I don't find in other countries productions.
The special effects were so well done that it's almost unnoticeable and it becomes more easy to buy it and believe in this fantastic story. I have to say I particularly loved how Lloyd disappear and travel through space.
I know I'm completely biased regarding this drama, I know there are a lot of flaws but I think I definitely find the drama that suit me the most. And believe me or not, just writing this review makes me rethink the final rating and improve it.
The end is kind of questionable but I won't talk about it, I like to remember my loved dramas without an end, it's like it never ended and can continue forever and ever. And it's more enjoyable the day I'll decide to re-watch it ^^
I'll re-watch it for sure !
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This review may contain spoilers
I just finished watching this dorama, and, I must say, I loved it. I didn't expect it to be so action-packed, and sometimes the bloody scenes were disturbing (not my cup of tea), but the special effect, man. Wow. I didn't see that coming for sure.
The main cast did a great job! Both Kimura-san and Shibasaki-san are so pretty that I don't know if I ship them together or with me, but that's something for another time.
I loved how Kimura-san could keep his acting fresh, playing Reiji and Lloyd in a different way, just changing the look on his face. On this note, I just loved Reiji's expressions, so sweet and clueless. I also loved his relationship with Asahi, and I would have liked it if we could have seen more of that.
As for Asahi's character, the way the dorama started, I had the impression that she was going to be a more active part of the story, but instead she's just there - sometimes yelling, some crying, some being extremely cute... but... that's it. It was kinda disappointing, I must say.
On the other hand, Nanase-chan and Reiko were amazing characters, surprisingly enough. I don't want to talk about them for fear of giving stuff away, but I will just say... *slams fist on table* MOAR NANASE-CHAN!!
The music was really good - and in English! And, speaking about that, there was a lot of English in this dorama! (And, yes, it was English, not Engrish - even though you have that occasionally as well)
As for what I disliked, there's only really two things that bothered me: 1. I felt like some things were not coherent in the dorama itself - like unanswered questions or incomplete storylines - but maybe it's just me; 2. the very last scene of the ending - but I won't say any more here, because it would be spoiler.
To conclude: watch, watch, WATCH!! I don't understand why there are so many negative comments on this dorama, really! If sci-fi is not your genre, then don't watch it. If it is, you're good. ENJOY!
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the acting performed by most of the leads (especially Kimura and Shibasaki) was simply a waste for this drama. Definitely a waste of talent and effort on such a meaninglessly stupid drama.
I gave it a 3 and not less, coz I really liked Matsushima Reiji's character which felt kind of fresh and found his love story with Andou Asahi to be super cute, and well you can add to that the fact that the drama made me laugh a lot at it's ridiculousness....period. I honestly can't seem to think of anything else that I found positive about this whole drama.
I guess they were trying to deliver a very profound and deep message to the human world or something, but they just used the wrong method, it all felt so hackneyed in particular the final episodes, plus the obvious fact that similar ideas have already been used over and over again in previous media all over the world. Add to that the story which was soooo full of holes big enough an elephant could fit through, it made me kind of surprised coz it was against my previously perceived image that Japanese particularly excel in sci-fi and horror. Seemed after all I was wrong to generalize that idea, and need to accept the fact that not everyone can write a sci-fi story that feels convincing and above that execute it in a manner that saves it from seeming ridiculous and laughable.
I can't say it had been a waste of time watching this, coz after watching I had the great satisfaction of taking one drama off my PTW list, but I'M POSITIVE I won't be EVER watching this drama again, EVER! (no need to worry, I already deleted the thing from my hard drive "waste of space")
I'm not used to writing negative reviews this bluntly, so sorry if I may have offended anyone in anyway, it's all just my personal opinion, no ill feelings please.
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STORY: What an imagination! A true Sci-fi!A "MUST SEE" for J-Drama lovers and Kimura Takuya's fans!
Acting/Cast: Superb!! Kimura Takuya's acting is just AWESOME!!!
Well,everyone's acting is appreciable.
Music: Love the music,especially the starting song (ARX 11-13).
Rewatch Value:10/10
Overall,I just LOVE this drama!!
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On a Special Note:
Acting/cast: Takuya Kimura(one of my favorites) and Kou Shibasaki (another one of my favorites) did amazing jobs as leads. It also helped that they had a great supporting cast.
More Please!
I was really hoping for some romance between Lloyd Ando and Asahi Ando - maybe this was a territory the writers did not want to explore.
Honorable Mentions: Sapuri and the evil little girl. Sapuri was the comic relief for this show; her character did a good job of keeping the light-heartedness of the drama. The evil little girl was just that - evil to the core and I love when characters have no redeeming qualities; because sometimes people do not change.
Would I re-watch?
Yes, this was actually a re-watch for me since the show last premiered.
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The first two episodes were fine and good. I was definitely surprised by how decently good the special Sci-Fi effects were. This is something that always worries me when watching dramas, especially Japanese ones. So I can confidently say, this drama has had the best effects from all the Japanese ones I have watched. But once the surprise wore off, I started to become bored. I just didn't care whether Ando Asahi lived or died. Also, the whole concept of the drama as to why she needed to live, not buying it. Nope. Ando Lloyd may have had more human emotion than I do. *shrugs*
So, I'll just say...
Ando Lloyd wasn't that bad. The acting was decent and the effects were good, but it was boring, except when they were using atomic disposal and stabbing/shooting/dismembering each other. Those parts always got my interest.
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This review may contain spoilers
It was very refreshing. A bit of comedy, drama and action rolled into one.It doesn’t drag or get boring.
The concept, the characters, most especially the timeline (timeloop -whatever you want to call it) — it’s most definitely not the first time that the topic / concept has been used but it was delivered differently.
I loved the action scenes too.
KimuTaku’s acting was superb. From being Reiji, he totally morphs into this new character as Lloyd. From a dork to a ruthless yet kindhearted killing machine.
Full review here: https://elijahmaliksmom.wordpress.com/2017/01/02/ando-lloyd-a-i-knows-love/
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The story was interesting, overall the first episodes... and sad too. It's true that sometimes in the middle it gets kind of boring... but it has some funny twists, as at the end.
The acting, as I said before, was perfect. Kimura Takuya, as in Pride, can make you feel all the possible emotions through his eyes, without even a word. Shibasaki You was better that in Nobunaga Concerto, but not as good as Takuya of course.
Music: it was nice, in English, but it puts you in the mood in the right moment.
Rewatch value: perhaps the last moments of the first and last episode, to see Kimura Takuya as Matsushima Reiji.
If you want to watch this amazing actor and a lot of action, watch it!
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